+Vorticon Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 I'm breaking some rules for parsing player input by going with multiple choice. That reduces it to a "Choose Door #1, Door #2... approach. But I'm maybe also adding some parser input for a "wildcard" factor. Might work for gameplay, might not. Then you get down to the nitty gritty of which course to pursue instead of wrestling with two-word verbiage and syntax. I was always a fail for getting anywhere in any type of text adventure game. My keyboard input always reduced itself to me typing some string of expletives about what I suggested the computer and adventure programmer should do with their key or candle or door or lock or... Multiple choice is definitely a time honored method harking back to the adventure books predating computers where each chosen action will take you to a specific page of the book, and it works just as well. As for the expletives, I feel your pain I believe they are an integral part of any adventure, which is why the programmers always account for many of them. Sadists... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 (edited) I guess it (the text adventure) has to be in English to have a better chance of scoring. Didn't you describe the process of how to select the winner ? 1) I was working on one (a text adventure). Small story by another fellow - to concentrate on "the engine" (big word). Double height font - to make it catchy and different. Compiled - to have it load quickly - text would still be appear slowly. Multiple-choice or rather only two choices all along. First it was "left or right" on the joystick. I guess copying a story is not going to score high. Basing your own stuff in another known universe like Harry Potter, would probably go a longer way. Anyway, complying with contest rules and having a few ideas along the way, and things have now split into two. The one I've been telling you about will be finished shortly and maybe I'll take time to polish it before releasing. Think I'll save the double height feature for something else. Also perhaps not acceptable to use sprites on the opening screen (demo below). 2) This is the other text adventure. Not sure how far this will go (sorry). A smaller silly story to build "the engine" around. I guess you can screw up any parser, like "DO NOT GO NORTH" - bad example but you probably get the idea. Still like the idea of the text appearing slowly, but also, displaying all text quickly may create time for my key stuff to get in place before the input. Unfortunately I can't process while also waiting for input to be entered. Of course certain objects are revealed, but actions and hidden stuff may cause a lot of "YOU CAN'T DO THAT" and the about 10 variants of that, "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE", "SHE WON'T ALLOW THAT" (spoiler) or "YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS" (somehow game over if you stand still to avoid boredom). I guess your imagination, or in fact my limitations, will catch you in situations like that. Edited May 7, 2014 by sometimes99er 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 The (edited) demo above is not compiled but using CPU Overdrive to get a sense of what the compiled version would offer. Same font used on title screen and in game, but obviously the title screen shows a nice way to actually save data in the font definition without loosing much. Think I saw this text/font effect in about 1988 in a sector loader with the Amiga. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senior_falcon Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Nice looking intro! I am looking forward to seeing this and since it is not April 1 I am assuming it is the real thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Nice The contest rules state standard height fonts only. Regarding the restriction on graphics, it applies to the main game, and I don't see why we can't have flashy graphical intro's. As for the judging, it will be done via polling by all the AtariAge members of this forum and not by me. Since originality will be one of the judging criteria, it will definitely be important to have a catchy story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed in SoDak Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) There's more to this adventure programming than I thought! I first had to recall a lot of what I used to know by heart about keyboard input and creating organized displays to have some continuity as the game progresses. I've spent so much time on that, I started losing the storyline I was forming in my head. When I finally got things looking and working right, I I found I'd lost my focus on the story! I prefer writing off the top of my head, but I'm finding I'm gonna have to jot down some plot to keep continuity and how the program should flow. Otherwise I get immersed in the minutia of getting screens to work and look right and in the meantime I forget what the heck it was the main character's current objective is supposed to be. That's just showing how out of practice I am at writing an XB program. It has been at least a couple decades for me! Edited May 5, 2014 by Ed in SoDak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) Nice looking intro! I am looking forward to seeing this and since it is not April 1 I am assuming it is the real thing! Nice The contest rules state standard height fonts only. Regarding the restriction on graphics, it applies to the main game, and I don't see why we can't have flashy graphical intro's. Thanks. As I was trying to say, this one will try and comply with contest rules and therefore will have a standard height font. The new version I'm working on has text and font moved to a file, and of course not compiled, which is a contest rule. I'm considering what to do now that graphics are allowed in the intro. Had already thought about some "ASCII art" (using only the font). As for the judging, it will be done via polling by all the AtariAge members of this forum and not by me. Since originality will be one of the judging criteria, it will definitely be important to have a catchy story I'm pretty sure I saw a description of the judging process and criteria somewhere. Where are they ? Edited May 5, 2014 by sometimes99er Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 I'm pretty sure I saw a description of the judging process and criteria somewhere. Where are they ? They are in the first post at the top of this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) They are in the first post at the top of this topic. Oh, I think my AtariAge theme has black text hidden inside black boxes there. Edited May 5, 2014 by sometimes99er Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I really like the look of that double-height font, though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ti99iuc Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 i'm TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY TO BUILD A FIRE... my "K" key si almost broken 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 i'm TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY TO BUILD A FIRE... my "K" key si almost broken I know what you mean! After many many tries, the word "sucker" came to mind Well done sometimes99er. You have thrown the first punch, so let's see if we can counter that! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 So here's a demo of my submission titled Eons. It's still rather raw visually and includes only the starting location. However, the game mechanics are all in place and adding the remaining 4 locations will only be a matter of creating the text and entering the associated data. The parser will accept full sentences but in upper case only. I had hoped not to use disk files for the game, but this proved to be not possible if I was to have a meaningful story to tell... I would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions regarding the game mechanics as well as the coherence of the text and parser.. I have used Matthew180's TidBit utility for the source code (included in the zip file) which has been extremely helpful in keeping the code neat and organized. I have to admit that this has been a bit harder to implement than I had originally expected, and I have a lot more respect for the Infocom guys now Eons.zip 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Aside from sometimes99er and myself, is anyone else planning an entry for this competition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed in SoDak Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I did start one... When exactly was the deadline? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 July 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfernalKeith Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 On first glance, it looks great, very pro. I always have disliked text adventures on screens with less than 40 columns (the ones on the Vic-20 are particularly ugly) but this is formatted well. And the prose itself is great - very well done! I haven't done anything yet but get eaten, so I can't speak to much more than that at the moment. I have an idea for one that combines a limited parser with some yes/no decision making. Not very far along with it yet, but if i can get motivated after this weekend I'll plug away at it some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 On first glance, it looks great, very pro. I always have disliked text adventures on screens with less than 40 columns (the ones on the Vic-20 are particularly ugly) but this is formatted well. And the prose itself is great - very well done! I haven't done anything yet but get eaten, so I can't speak to much more than that at the moment. Thanks Try to put yourself in the situation and think of what you would normally do under the circumstances. Also make sure to check out objects around you: you might die in the process but learn something valuable anyway The parser accepts natural language input unless there is no ambiguity in which case 2 word inputs (e.g. open door) will also work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 I finally completed my entry and it's in the submission thread. It was an interesting challenge for me as I had never explored that programming genre before. Regarding the competition, I can't say that it was a roaring success with only 2 submissions, but hey that's 2 more programs than we had before If anyone is still contemplating filing an entry but needs more time, we can always extend the submission deadline by another 2 weeks till July 15th since I don't expect the judging period to require a full month given so few entries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed in SoDak Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 My own entry has languished for over a month while life intervened. I'm far enough along I shouldn't just abandon it. Maybe some of the other hopefuls will get busy as well if there's a little extension on the deadline. -Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Title: EONS Very nice. Thought I had plenty of patience, but apparently lacked imagination or something to get past the first location. Cheated to see what else happens. Excellent story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfernalKeith Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Don't extend the deadline solely on my account, but if you DO extend it, I'll work on my story some more. I've actually been programming again lately, just got wrapped up in a different project. I think I could finish my entry by the 15th, given the chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 Why don't we extend the deadline till the 15th. I fully understand the demands of real life as it took me nearly 2 months to finish something that should have taken a week at most Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 Very nice. Thought I had plenty of patience, but apparently lacked imagination or something to get past the first location. Cheated to see what else happens. Excellent story. Just put yourself in the situation. What would you do? It's that simple, no tricks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfernalKeith Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 He did just that - cheated and looked at the code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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