AGDInteractive - Sierra Adventure Game Remakes Forum

I am looking for sites about designing games. I already found several useful links such as:

http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/pro ... enture.txt
http://www.allowe.com/gamedesign/index.htm
http://www.ihfsoft.com/articlesgamedesign.htm

Does any one know of any other sites about designing games? I would prefer sites that focus on designing graphical adventure games.

There is a site

nehe.gamedev.net

which is on the same domain as the site just listed, but has its own tutorials and articles.

Try also

http://www.drunkenhyena.com

www.adventuredevelopers.com

It's about developing adventures. There's several good theory articles. Yay!

Okay, thanks for the links, some seem to be very useful. But, please keep in mind that I am looking for sites about designing which is not the same as programming or scripting which nehe.gamedev.net seems to be about.

I am not really interested in game engine, authoring system or programming language specific sites as I know quite a bit about programming and scripting already (although not adventure games specifically.) However, I need to learn a lot about designing...

Game Design

By Blackthorne
1) Create story

2) Write story

3) Outline possible flow of game

4) Create puzzles based on story elements

5) Outline list of all backgrounds, items and possible points

6) Assemble all elements into a design document, that will lay out all possible points for different factions of your game team.

7) Throw out all work, and beat head unmercifully with a hammer.
    (optional)

8) Start over again. (optional, again)

----------------------

Just a couple of helpful ideas.
Also, always show ideas to friends, but make sure you have everything laid out clear; make your intent and objects very lucid.  For example, this is not a design document.

EXAMPLE #1: okay dudz i got an idea for a space quest game. roger saves xenon from a robot monster fish and rescues beatrix from potter

It's a bit vague, and not very well written.  No one will take you seriously.

EXAMPLE #2: I have an idea for a Quest For Glory Game.  I need Artists, Designers and programmers.  I will come up with an idea after you join me.

Uh, gotta have the goods if you want people to join up.  A team needs direction, and a leader.  You need to have clear goals and ideas to guide your members.

It's not that hard to design a game, but the best advice is to be thorough and have everything written out before hand.  Say what you want backgrounds to look like, and have goals and objectives.  I'm being redundant, but hey - it's the best advice I can think of.



Bt

Show your work to as many people as possible. Listen to what they say and be prepared to change anything and everything if your ideas turned out not as good as you thought. You can never have enough feedback.

Oh and importantly, learn some m4d skill0rz because no team needs somebody who only 'has an idea'. Because everybody has ideas - that's the easy part. The work is the important part. 10% inspiration, 90% transpiration.

bigbluecup.com has some nice papers on adventure game design. If you're not into adventures, tell us what you seek instead.

Radiant wrote:

If you're not into adventures, tell us what you seek instead.

I wrote in my first message in this thread:

I would prefer sites that focus on designing graphical adventure games.

Peter Swinkels wrote:

I would prefer sites that focus on designing graphical adventure games.

Well, good. As I said in my previous message,

bigbluecup.com has some nice papers on adventure game design.

Okay, thank you.  :)

Not really about typical graphical adventure games, but there is also a game-making links section at

http://www.lemmasoft.net/projects_devcenter.html

Very basic stuff, though. But at least it helps show that there are lots of people out there who want to make games...

There's also the articles at

http://www.brasslantern.org/editorials/

Which talk a little bit about design and such.

www.gamingw.net/forums is one, I produce a lot of music fro gamemakers and get some requests there and theres all kinds of makers on there...