Some Little AGS Tricks

In the couple of years I've been fiddling with AGS scripting, I've picked up a couple of tricks that I've learned from others and from fiddling, and also shared with a few others. There's nothing mindblowing in here, but perhaps some of them can be useful to those of you interested in using AGS.

- The Game.DoOnceOnly(); function can save you a fair bit of time and save you messing around with various variables and the like. Good for whenever you just want to do something a single time - which in adventure games are a fairly regular occurrence.
- If you try to use a sprite with an alpha channel on a gui without a background image that also has an alpha channel, it won't show properly. If you don't want a background image, import a blank png with an alpha channel for the background. If you have trouble with this, try drawing a pixel at 1% opacity on the image then importing it.
- When using a limited palette or avoiding black in general, the font outline can stand out and be a bit ugly. Use game.text_shadow_color to change it to whatever you want.
-If you keep all of a character's animations in a single view aside from speech animations, after calling an animation the game stores that loop as the character's talking loop. Therefore if you try to get the character to talk after running animation stored on loop 7, the game will try to play the speech loop at 7 - which probably doesn't exist, or is some special speech loop. After running an animation, try resetting the character's loop to match what direction they are facing to avoid characters suddenly changing direction when they start talking.
- If you have a special talking loop, simply use character.LockViewFrame() to lock it to that when you want them to talk in that direction, and place it after the other 4/8 in your talking view, then unlock them after the dialogue has ended.
- Use custom icons! They make your game look a ton more professional!
- When using custom text window guis with custom border images, make sure your border images aren't too wide. I generally stick to 1 pixel wide - otherwise you may find that the border sprite can jut out from the corner. This is particularly hard to spot if you're using alpha channel based border images, but still looks odd.
- Importing sprites is a darn lot easier with the quick import sprites and assign to view functions of the AGS editor.
- Inventory items are a lot easier to use if you make a small pointer graphic for them as well - which is easy enough to do.

Hope these prove useful - if I think of more I will most definitely share them.

Another Code: R - A Journey Into Lost Memories (Wii)

Another Code: R - A Journey Into Lost Memories is the best game I've ever played in which the main character has both a Nintendo DS and Wii remote in their inventory.

Unsurprisingly enough it is also the only game I've ever played in which the main character has both a Nintendo DS and Wii remote in their inventory - and the whole device idea actually works pretty well. The fact that the player character interacts with the world with the same controller that you control them with allows for some quite interesting gameplay ideas, and never feels too out of place.

Positives:
-Interesting story with quite engaging, dynamic characters. Learning all of the characters' stories is rewarding in itself - many of the main characters have interesting secrets to discover.
-Though most puzzles are quite simple, there are some very nice and creative ones hidden in here. There were some definite "oh!" moments in here, which is always nice.
-Nicely presented with both sound and graphics.
-Well implemented controls mean walking around and exploring are both very easy - I actually liked the considerably linear movement system quite a bit.

Negatives:
-Slow pace means that it takes quite a while to become invested in the story. Yes, I know it is an adventure game, but even by my relaxed standards this game was pretty slow paced.
-Some of the gameplay feels a little bit too simple, but this wasn't too much of a bother.
-There aren't more games on Wii like this!

Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. It's less puzzley than most adventure games, but unless you get incredibly insulted by games being fairly simple, I'd say it's worth a look. Some unique ideas scattered through a rather engaging, if drawn out, story.

On another note, this is the sequel to a Nintendo DS game that I will most probably be purchasing!

Messiah (PC)

Messiah is the best game in which you control a cherub that I've ever played.

It's also the only game in which you control a cherub that I've ever played. Now imagine that!

Messiah is one of those games that I was never able to try when it was first released, but still remember. The idea and setting made a pretty big impression on me, and after playing Undying and going on a bit of a nostalgia trip through old magazines and demo cds that I have stored up, this surfaced and I thought "I'd love to try that!". Thankfully GOG.com have it at a reasonable price and working most smoothly with modern systems with no hassle! Hooray!

Positives:
-Interesting setting - a comedy take on a cyberpunk style world like in Blade Runner (I think. I still haven't seen that film :( )
-Interesting concept - instead of playing a single hero or a specific class, you possess different characters and use them as tools.
-Some interesting puzzle elements amongst the action.
-Licensed music! By Fear Factory - THE first metal band I ever properly listened to. I have one of their shirts ^__^ (and besides, the industrial metal stylings of FF really suit Messiah's game world perfectly)
-It's a 10 year old game... but still looks surprisingly nice for its age.

Negatives:
-Controlling the character took me quite a while to get used to. No targeting reticule is a bit odd on PC, and controls seem slightly sloppier than I would have liked.
-Some annoying bits - combat is difficult and basically involves possessing each person fighting you until your host dies, then moving on until there is only one human left.
-Because you can control all of the characters, very few of them are actually interesting beyond appearance. Most NPCs have about the same level of personality as the pedestrians in Carmageddon - with such an interesting setting it would have been really fun to see more characters that take advantage of it.

Messiah is a hard game to recommend because it is a hard game to "get into". It took me quite a while of actually playing the game to start enjoying it properly, and the game never really sucked me into the story as much as I'd like.

What it was, however, was a reminder of a time when companies - like Shiny and publisher Interplay - were not afraid of making games that were different and trying new things. The setting itself made me nostalgic for the strange and quirky games I used to see all the time as a kid and that I do my best to look out for amongst newer games.

If you're willing to forgive the fact that Messiah isn't the player friendliest of games to check out, you may just find that you will enjoy it quite a bit - and it's super easy to find, unlike some older games, due to the fact that gog.com have it on their website.

All My Character Look Exactly the Same...

It amused me to compare the concept/mockup pics of three very different game ideas of mine that I've jotted down/sketched out (and in one case, designed & built some of) and realize that all of the player characters I've drawn in the past few months look... pretty much exactly the same.



Well... at least I'm consistent, I guess ^_^

Clive Barker's Undying (PC)

Undying is the best Clive Barker game I have ever played.

It is also the only Clive Barker game I have ever played, and judging from what I've seen of Jericho and the two Nightbreed games, as well as the fact that Demonik never actually got released, it will probably stay that way for a while.

But that's not to say I didn't enjoy Undying. Not at all. Far from being a typical FPS, Undying mixes some very creative elements in with all the shooting and running around finding keys.

Positives:
-Interesting story based around diverse characters with plenty of fragments of exposition scattered throughout the world for those interested.
-Spells add not only tactics to the combat but also puzzles and additional information on the story - with good effect.
-Well paced gameplay for the most part, with interesting battles and puzzles that aren't too easy.
-Sound design is very atmospheric and adds to the immersion considerably.

Negatives:
-Graphics look dated - for those who never played games back when this was released, it will all look very blocky and angular. For those who remember when games were like this, nostalgia allows one to look past such things.
-At times the game felt a bit directionless, with some sections having me wandering around the map in circles aimlessly.
-The final boss battle. What was up with that?

I've never really been a fan of horror stuff, but Undying doesn't really come across as a pure horror game, thankfully. Depsite having some creepy parts, it is still quite accessible to those not overly fond of the genre.

If you want a good, creative FPS with a very low price that doesn't need a super high end machine to run, Undying is a beautifully atmospheric tale, with plenty of action to boot.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)

Fragile Dreams is the best game I've ever played that feels like an interactive anime film.

It's also the only game I've ever played that feels like an interactive anime, but if you've been reading any of my more recent reviews, you were probably expecting this. Though filled with flaws, the positives were still enough that I was quite satisfied with the game, despite feeling it could have been done better.

Positives:
-The world you are given to explore is beautiful, and a joy to explore.
-The idea of running around shining your flashlight with the controller works very well.
-The characters - if a little hit and miss at times - are generally well written and getting to know them and their story is handled nicely, with some beautiful and also sad moments.
-Great audio all round, between voice, effects and music.

Negatives:
-Combat! No lock on button, strafing is hard, weapons break constantly, enemies are hard to hit... there's not very much to like about the combat, but thankfully that is not the focus of the game.
-It all feels very anime at times - not that this is a bad thing, but if anyone is turned off by anime (and I know people who are!) then this just won't be very enjoyable.
-Gets tedious at times; some of the quests have you backtracking and running around looking for things for ages.
-Sometimes gets a bit directionless and leaves one wondering where to go/what to do next.

It's hard to recommend this game to everyone because I am sure there are some out there who will dislike it immensely. However, if you can stomach some very anime moments, some clumsily implemented combat and think that exploring the beautifully realized ruins of a world much like the world of today is a tempting offer, it's most worth checking out.

If not, know that you're missing out on a fairly unique gaming experience which, despite some glaring flaws, proved to be quite enjoyable.

Dead Space Extraction (Wii)

Dead Space Extraction is the best lightgun style game I've ever bought.

It's also the only lightgun style game I've ever bought, but we won't dwell on that. While I was nervous at first to see how much I could enjoy such an on rails experience, I soon got sucked into the ride.

Positives:
-Great graphics, nice use of lighting to create atmosphere.
-I enjoyed seeing each character develop and being able to play as each one. Actual story in a game where I didn't really expect any.
-The gameplay isn't just shooting foes - you also have other tasks to complete, extras to pick up, and abilities to use that make the game more satisfying than how I pictured it; merely aiming and shooting. Extra elements like stasis and quicker reloads (if you get the timing right) keep things more interesting.
-Game difficulty is just about spot on.

Negatives:
-Took a fair while to get used to not being able to control movement.
-Most of the bits that felt like they were intended to be scary came off as a bit silly (this didn't bother me too much, as I don't really look for horror as a rule, and there will still a couple of moments that caught me).

After finishing the game, I'm not really sure what to think. On one hand, I found it a quite fulfilling experience - I got to try a new genre of gaming and it was a well polished, well paced affair. The style, while linear, allows the developers to pace things exactly as they want to, which I felt was a bit underused. There could have been a few more personal moments with characters, but this didn't bother me too much.

I wouldn't say that this has instantly converted me to lightgun games - I made sure I read enough reviews of this and picked it up for a low enough price to make sure I was fairly certain I'd consider it a purchase of reasonable value... and I am sure that there are many, many worse lightgun games out there. If you've never tried a lightgun game, and are curious, this is probably a quite sensible place to start.

No More Heroes (Wii)

No More Heroes is the best game designed by Suda51 I've ever played.

It's also the only game designed by Suda51, but that's besides the point. No More Heroes is a great, if relatively unknown, game.

Positives:
-The game plays something like Grand Theft Auto without the stealing cars, and with much more of the hitting people with laser swords.
-The game is incredibly quirky - something that I always appreciate in a game.
-Gameplay is fun, well paced, controls well and is still challenging enough to make you work for victory without being unfair.
-Although a little washed out for my tastes, the game is very stylish.
-The characters and story are actually quite interesting, behind their outrageous surfaces.

Negatives:
-The open world felt quite pointless and the game might have been better with some streamlining.
-Although I wasn't put off it personally, some may be taken aback at the reckless abandon with which the game destroys the fourth wall. In a sense, it doesn't so much break the fourth wall as it installs a door, walks out of the tv onto your couch and asks if you have any snacks in the fridge.

If you have a Wii, a good sense of humour and don't mind a bit of action, look for this game. It should not cost very much, and is well worth a try. Initially I was a bit reluctant to get it, but encouraged by very positive comments from a fellow AGS chap, took the plunge and am glad I did. I know I will be getting the sequel.

Tomb Raider Underworld (Wii)

Tomb Raider Underworld is the best Tomb Raider game I've ever played.

It's also the only Tomb Raider game I've ever played, but we won't let that detract from it. To make reviews slightly more concise, I am going to break it down to what I did and didn't like:

Positives:
-Fantastic graphics and atmosphere, art design really built the immersion.
-Some *very* clever puzzles.
-Fluid controls (for the most part)
-Beautiful, beautiful underwater exploration parts.
-Interesting (if slightly quirky) story.
-Focus on exploration over combat. Feel like an actual archaeologist rather than a soldier who happens to be looking for relics as well.

Negatives:
-The little combat the game had was quite weak and frustrating.
-Some camera issues - particular in the last part of the last level (to the point where I nearly said "I cannot get past this one bit because this camera is at an angle that makes this impossible")
-Sometimes it felt a bit directionless - one could wander around for 30 minutes looking for a single ledge to jump onto.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game. I don't think I've ever had so much fun exploring as I did going around in the underwater sections, diving through forgotten ruins. I was interested in the fact that the game is basically an adventure game with direct control elements - much of the puzzle was figuring out how to get to the next part, but as I mentioned before, the puzzles that the game did have felt very clever to me.

As an action/adventure hybrid this gets a big thumbs up in my book, and is definitely worth a try.