Luckily there's a number of great tools available for developing adventure games. They exist in different levels of complexity, a few are aimed at just the adventure game genre and typically these are easier to learn, while a few others which have a steeper learning curve can be used to create just about any kind of game.
I've listed 10 of these development tools. In descending order which i feel are more suited to creating adventure games:
Wintermute Engine
Winternute is a great engine, and my personal favorite. The great advantage to this engine above some of those immediately below is the ability to use 3d characters with 2d backgrounds. I think this can really help to ad an extra element of depth and professional finish.
Adventure Game Studio
AGS is definitely one of the more popular 2d engines for creating classic adventure games. The learning curve is relatively forgiving with this one and logical, again like others the UI and approach to using AGS is very much aimed at artists with little to no experience in coding. The reality is, as with all game engines, you will need to write scripts for various events in your game. However if you're intuitive you can easily patch together code using various examples and scripts found on forums.
Visionaire Studio
Visionaire is another 2d engine for creating content similar to AGS. Visionaire definitely stands above the rest with support from the developers who are actively developing new iterations of the engine. This one really is tailored to the needs of the artist. At the time of writing this, Visionaire is a 2d engine only; however within the next few months a new version will soon be released that supports the development of 3d content and port to mobile platforms such as the iphone.
Multimedia Fusion
Another 2d engine i'd like to add to the list is Multimedia Fusion from Clickteam. This suite is highly recommended for quick and ease of use and can export to mobile platforms too!
Unity 3d
Unity is becoming very successful in the field of independent games. It's pointless in asking what can be accomplished with Unity, and instead ask what can't be accomplished. There's some great examples of work that can be found throughout the community, games that rival a lot of AAA games. The great thing about Unity is that you can download it for free and like other engines in this list, Unity is designed from the ground up to be as artist friendly as possible. That said, there will come a time when you have to learn one of the scripting languages used within Unity, but with a commitment to learning the basics, you can still accomplish some great results. Unity comes in a number of options from a free version to a premium version which include the tools to build iphone and android applications.
Unreal Development Kit
UDK, is the engine behind a number of successful games such as Unreal Tournament. Like Unity, UDK is a swiss army knife capable of tackling the most demanding of indie game projects in full 3d specularity.
Both Unity and UDK are equally far more advance than the above engines such as AGS and Visionaire, however when developing your own work, consider carefully which tool is right for your needs. If your project is completely 2d, then using Unity and UDK might be overkill. However if you intend to create full 3d environments then these will be the ideal options.
Adobe Flash
Blender 3d
Cocos 2d
Showing posts with label amateur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amateur. Show all posts
Friday, 1 July 2011
Monday, 27 June 2011
10 great Indie games!
I'm a really big fan of anyone who can bring to life a creative project through their own efforts and even more impressed if they can generate a sustainable income from this. The indie games market is just such a place to find lots of original content created by independent artists from all around the globe. It's worth noting that these game developers rarely work in the entertainment industry or have professional experience in this area, they typically have a 9-5 job working on these games in their spare time often alone with no help or funding to support them, this truly is a labor of love born from the passion to bring an idea to life.
One day i'd really like to add myself to the list of successful independent game developers, but for now i'll continue following the journey of others that are well and truly on the path to success.
In this post i'd like to highlight a few that really inspire me. I make no secret, some people admire pop stars and actors, for me i have an equal amount of admiration for these people.
Stasis
What the developer says;
"Stasis is an adventure game, that puts you in control of John J. Maracheck. A deep space ‘salvager’, war veteran, and captain of the DSV Hawking. Going back to classic adventure game mechanics, you have to solve puzzles, and use objects around you to progress, and to uncover the mysteries surrounding The Groomlake.
Graphically, Stasis is fairly unique in the adventure game genre, opting for highly detailed isometric graphics, as opposed to the more classic ‘side on’ views of other adventure games. Richly detailed rooms and fluid animations create an immersive environment for the captain to explore, with danger lurking in every shadow."
Rhem
What the developer says;
"RHEM 4 is a graphic adventure (point-and-click, pre-calculated first person). The virtual world is shown through the eyes of the players. The environment consists of individual pictures covering a 360-degree view. Navigation takes place through going forward, turning left/right, etc. In principle, each standpoint has four views. In the virtual world, one must have in advance different puzzles to unlock, representing both collection and use."
Gemini Rue
What the developer says;
"Azriel Odin, ex-assassin, arrives on the rain-drenched planet of Barracus. When things go horribly wrong, he can only seek help from the very criminals he used to work for.
Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a man called Delta-Six wakes up in a hospital with no memory. Without knowing where to turn or who to trust, he vows to escape before he loses his identity completely.
As fate brings these two closer together, we discover a world where life is cheap, identities are bought and sold, and a quest for redemption can change the fate of a whole galaxy"
The Blackwell Triology
What the developer says;
"Play the role of Rosangela, a medium, in The Blackwell Legacy. She must assist tormented spirits by investigating supernatural mysteries with the aid of her spiritual guide Joey Mallone. The duo's first case will involve a series of suicides at a local university. Something unnatural has forced these students to kill themselves, and only you can solve the mystery!"
Amertis
What the developer says;
"Indeed, those of you who enjoyed the quaint charm of the photographic settings in Atlantzone may be taken aback by the Amertis graphics which include a large amount of 3D. To soften the shock, and make them feel more comfortable, we have made sure the story begins in the “real” world, that is to say with photographs. But after that, fasten your seatbelt, you're in for a great new adventure!
And as you will see, very soon, the game stops being linear. Of course, some actions will still be required before you can progress or get to do something else, but you will have much more freedom of movement than in our previous game."
The Lost Crown
What the developer says;
"There is an ancient treasure, hidden out there in our haunted landscape...but, are you the one to find it? Others have tried, and failed...not though lack of effort and skill, but because someone, or something, has stopped them...dead.
Join Nigel Danvers & Lucy Reubans, treasure seekers and ghost hunters, on their adventure through the murky world of Saxton, England, as they seek answers from a mysterious world inhabited by the living, but haunted by the dead.
Be warned; not all lost treasures should be found. Beware the ancient guardians, who have guarded the last great Anglo-Saxon Crown for over a thousand years...they will be waiting for you."
Limbo
What the developer says;
At this time I can't find anything to quote from the developer. See the wiki article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo_(video_game)
Alpha Polaris
What the developer says;
"In the midst of the snowfields of Greenland lies Alpha Polaris™, an American oil research station. High above, the ion storm of the century is gathering, bringing about a strange intermixing of reality and night terrors. It is up to Rune Knudsen, a Norwegian biologist, to take on a desperate struggle against fear and death, and to face the primordial force lurking beyond the veiled sky.
“The heart of the game is its restrained horror setting. It allows us to explore a wide range of human themes in a realistic way: paranoia, isolation, friendship, love and so on. To us, that is the core of a good horror adventure.” -project leader Teemu Vilén."
One day i'd really like to add myself to the list of successful independent game developers, but for now i'll continue following the journey of others that are well and truly on the path to success.
In this post i'd like to highlight a few that really inspire me. I make no secret, some people admire pop stars and actors, for me i have an equal amount of admiration for these people.
Stasis
What the developer says;
"Stasis is an adventure game, that puts you in control of John J. Maracheck. A deep space ‘salvager’, war veteran, and captain of the DSV Hawking. Going back to classic adventure game mechanics, you have to solve puzzles, and use objects around you to progress, and to uncover the mysteries surrounding The Groomlake.
Graphically, Stasis is fairly unique in the adventure game genre, opting for highly detailed isometric graphics, as opposed to the more classic ‘side on’ views of other adventure games. Richly detailed rooms and fluid animations create an immersive environment for the captain to explore, with danger lurking in every shadow."
Rhem
What the developer says;
"RHEM 4 is a graphic adventure (point-and-click, pre-calculated first person). The virtual world is shown through the eyes of the players. The environment consists of individual pictures covering a 360-degree view. Navigation takes place through going forward, turning left/right, etc. In principle, each standpoint has four views. In the virtual world, one must have in advance different puzzles to unlock, representing both collection and use."
Gemini Rue
What the developer says;
"Azriel Odin, ex-assassin, arrives on the rain-drenched planet of Barracus. When things go horribly wrong, he can only seek help from the very criminals he used to work for.
Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a man called Delta-Six wakes up in a hospital with no memory. Without knowing where to turn or who to trust, he vows to escape before he loses his identity completely.
As fate brings these two closer together, we discover a world where life is cheap, identities are bought and sold, and a quest for redemption can change the fate of a whole galaxy"
The Blackwell Triology
What the developer says;
"Play the role of Rosangela, a medium, in The Blackwell Legacy. She must assist tormented spirits by investigating supernatural mysteries with the aid of her spiritual guide Joey Mallone. The duo's first case will involve a series of suicides at a local university. Something unnatural has forced these students to kill themselves, and only you can solve the mystery!"
Amertis
What the developer says;
"Indeed, those of you who enjoyed the quaint charm of the photographic settings in Atlantzone may be taken aback by the Amertis graphics which include a large amount of 3D. To soften the shock, and make them feel more comfortable, we have made sure the story begins in the “real” world, that is to say with photographs. But after that, fasten your seatbelt, you're in for a great new adventure!
And as you will see, very soon, the game stops being linear. Of course, some actions will still be required before you can progress or get to do something else, but you will have much more freedom of movement than in our previous game."
The Lost Crown
What the developer says;
"There is an ancient treasure, hidden out there in our haunted landscape...but, are you the one to find it? Others have tried, and failed...not though lack of effort and skill, but because someone, or something, has stopped them...dead.
Join Nigel Danvers & Lucy Reubans, treasure seekers and ghost hunters, on their adventure through the murky world of Saxton, England, as they seek answers from a mysterious world inhabited by the living, but haunted by the dead.
Be warned; not all lost treasures should be found. Beware the ancient guardians, who have guarded the last great Anglo-Saxon Crown for over a thousand years...they will be waiting for you."
Limbo
What the developer says;
At this time I can't find anything to quote from the developer. See the wiki article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo_(video_game)
Alpha Polaris
What the developer says;
"In the midst of the snowfields of Greenland lies Alpha Polaris™, an American oil research station. High above, the ion storm of the century is gathering, bringing about a strange intermixing of reality and night terrors. It is up to Rune Knudsen, a Norwegian biologist, to take on a desperate struggle against fear and death, and to face the primordial force lurking beyond the veiled sky.
“The heart of the game is its restrained horror setting. It allows us to explore a wide range of human themes in a realistic way: paranoia, isolation, friendship, love and so on. To us, that is the core of a good horror adventure.” -project leader Teemu Vilén."
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