This is a different question to how many of us have thought "wouldn't it be great if someone else made a game based on X".

When I read a good book, or see a good film, or play a good game, I feel inspired to do likewise. Most of the time that's as far as anything gets.

There are good tools out there which have been posted about on Boomers. Even so doing a game is a long haul which is only for the dedicated and slightly insane.

I've had a bash at doing a game, and am thinking of trying to do another. It would be fun to find other people to make a game with. But my preferences are for cross-platform (being a Mac user), photographic based first person games (since I can't draw.) Most amateur games seem to be animated cartoon 3rd person PC games.

I don't think I'm creative enough to make a game...

Don't write yourself off too easily Tigger!

After all if a pile of bricks and an unmade bed can be works of art then everyone can be an artist!

Hey now come on - that unmade bed was an excellent representation of the chaotic style of life, and a subtle commentary on how we as a people don't have time for the little things anymore, and how OUR society has itself become unmade, AND how if we're not careful, the whole world could become unmade.

...or something like that - I just made that up - I wonder if any of it is true?

I've thought it would be fun to develop my own game, but the amount of work required, and not knowing how to start have kept me from going anywhere with it. (not to mention coming up with a story, puzzles, etc).


It would nice to have a development tool that is easy to use, and allows use of photos or video clips, so you don't have to be an artist.

I don't know if it's still available, but for a while if you bought Twilight Software's game "A Sydney Mystery" , you could get a free 'evaluation' copy of the game engine used to create the game. This is a full verion of the game engine, and the only restriction I know of is you can only use it for non-comercial game development. (you can give the game away, but not sell it. Otherwise you have to buy a licenced version of the game engine).

Louis

You could use photos and video clips with Adventure Maker.

www.adventuremaker.com

I can create with fabrics, but thats about it My favourite piece is a wallhanging I made from a piece of dress fabric (the dress was in a bag of stuff to be recycled), fabric paints and embroidery threads. My Dad liked it so much I gave it to him for a birthday pressie

Well that sounds creative to me Tigger!

I personally love photographic 1st person games.. so you get two thumbs up from me!!

Sounds creative to me too, Tigger

I'm nowhere near as far along as you, Peter, but I am still enthused about making a game of my own.

I've now got big chunks of one story done and the solid beginnings of three more written out, including some of the dialogue. Made the general plotlines awhile ago. Now we're storyboarding, drawing, rendering, testing game engines etc ...when we can find some time. Seems like we're always trying to do 10 things at once. (My family is helping)

I've been looking to download Agast after seeign it recommended at the adventure developer forum. I have some programming training so I wasn't put off by the simple coding. Does anyone here know anyone using it? http://allitis.com/agast/

Adventure Maker was used to very good effect in Lifestream, so I am seriously looking at that one as well.

So...yes, I'm still very serious about getting at least one my games finished. I've no clue how long it'll take. But perhaps one of these days I'll have something worth sharing. We'll see.

Susan

That sounds pretty promising Salar! The programming isn't the hard part really. Go for it!

What you're doing is what I'll like to try doing with other people, combining talents. Though I use a Mac so would want anything I worked on to be cross-platform.

Not sure on how much need to do but have just started on one. So far have just written down locations and a bit on what needs to be done there. Like you, am not an artist so am using a graphic program that's taking longer than I thought to figure out how to use. Am using blender for graphic and it also has animation. Mine's going to be a sci-fi one. Am more of a stick figure drawer but for spme reason tend to think in pictures. Probably from all that reading when would try to picture the scene unfolding while reading or what could happen next. Have also downloaded adventure maker though not sure when will start using it.

I've thought about it. I actually started planning one some time ago, after I played Lotus Spring. I was so disappointed in their idea of a game "geared towards women" that I decided I would write a game really geared towards women and based in women's myth and women's experience. I plotted most of it out and then got distracted and intimidated by the amount of detail required. That was several years ago and I haven't gone back to it--plus my ideas of what makes a good game have changed. And I guess at this point I'm also more interested in games that would be geared towards everyone, whatever the gender. So don't know if I'll be going back to it.

WW

YESSSSSS! I intend to learn how to do this.
I am an artist, photographer and can imagine
all sorts of things that I would love to put into
a game. I just don't have enough programming skills yet, but will use the programs that help make it
happen and look for others to join me when
I get closer to doing this. I too would like to make
it cross platform as I prefer my Mac over my PC.
And, I'd also like to do something for the Palm
platform, for which I have put together several ideas already.

Hi Peter

After seeing what you have done with Adventure Maker at the UK Adventurers' Convention last month, I have downloaded it to 'play' with. As you know, I have often thought about trying to re-write some of my old interactive fictions games as graphics games, and I have made a start, using your idea of photographic images....

You definitely inspired me to 'have a go'

Karen

Karen I didn't use Adventure Maker myself (because it is PC only) but others have done to good effect and I'm sure you will too.

Beasong go to it! Encouragement help and assistance are available.

Oops! Which one did you use on the Mac Peter? I have to say that Adventure Maker is really easy to use, even for someone like me that wouldn't know one end of a piece of coding from another. I even managed to get a lamp to switch on and off!!

Karen

Karen no problem - I wasn't clear enough at the Convention.

I started by using Runtime Revolution which is a cross-platform Hypercard language. I've finished up with a homebrew scripting language, and am currently trying to write a Java runtime engine to work around the limitations of Revolution.

Hey Peter - just out of interest - would you be able to handle the various scripting languages of the various AG creation tools, like AGS and Wintermute? The Wintermute script is JavaScript-esque.

Hello Derman - both AGS and Wintermute are PC only (OK AGS I think does Linux as well) so I haven't really looked at them.

Anyone with a programming background (like me) should be able to handle AGS and Wintermute's scripting languages.

So you don't work on PC's at all? Just Macs?

Any game I worked on I would want to work on both Macs and PCs. Macs as I'm a Mac user. PCs as many of those I would do the game for are PC users.

I just meant do you work on PC's at all - do you have a PC? Or do you just use Macs? Nothing wrong with this - just curious.

Can you work with Windows based creation tools on a Mac through Virtual PC or something like that?

Anyway - are you saying you will only work on a game if it's cross-platform? No flexibility here?

Sorry if you think I'm being too nosey...

OK Derman - at work work I work on PCs (mostly in Java these days but I use a range of languages.) At home I have a Win98 PC but the Mac is the main machine, and I count myself as a Mac user.

I'm happy to advise and encourage people doing PC only games, but one hope I have is to increase the games available for the Mac. Hence why I want to write games that play on a Mac besides a PC. I'm a believer in diversity.

The authoring tools available for PC (Adventure Maker and others) will enable people to do reasonable games without needing to get into scripting or programming. Particularly for anyone who's thinking of doing their first game this is where I would start. Keep it simple, get something out of the door. Work within the limits of the authoring package, don't worry about scripting.

The PC is well served both for commercial games and for amateur games. I'm trying to do my little bit for the Mac.

ahhhh, Peter, great inspiration!
I worked with PC's and Macs at work and have both at home, but my favorite is Mac and wish that more games were developed for the Mac, thus my drive to make some of my own.
Are you up for hire if the time comes when I get too stuck to go on?