Adrift - is it worth it?

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Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

Hello.
I am making my first steps in IF game design and trying to find the
best solution that doesn't involve extreme programming skills. So far I
am torn between Inform as the "industry standard" and TADS which looks
a little less complex and still robust. But I have run also in a much
more newbie-oriented design tool called Adrift that I don't hear about
much here. Can anyone tell me how good it is for designing complex
adventures (involving some custom parts like characters walking on a
set path, LucasArts conversation style, gametime clocks, etc.)? And
generally what's good and not so good about it? Thanks in advance.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

You can take a look at some of the threads in rec.arts.int-fiction
(which is about IF authorship and so a good, even better place for this
question). I'm not sure what you mean by calling Inform the "industry
standard" however. Though probably the most pooular language, TADS is
a close second (not considering Adrift games that don't get publisized
to the newsgroups) and Inform's only advantage that I know of is its
ability to run on more systems (mostly older or portable). Be sure to
look at Roger Firth's Cloak of Darkness page
(http://www.firthworks.com/roger/cloak/) to compare systems if you
haven't already. I would use whichever one seems most natural to you.
All three that you mentioned, and to perhaps a lesser extent Hugo, have
active user communities who are glad to help you with any problems.
Given you list if requirments Adrift may be too limiting, but I am no
expert.

Cirk R. Bejnar

[Disclaimer] I prefer TADS.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

On 20 Jan 2005 02:52:49 -0800, RaynerApe <raynerape@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello.
> I am making my first steps in IF game design and trying to find the
> best solution that doesn't involve extreme programming skills. So far I
> am torn between Inform as the "industry standard" and TADS which looks
> a little less complex and still robust. But I have run also in a much
> more newbie-oriented design tool called Adrift that I don't hear about
> much here. Can anyone tell me how good it is for designing complex
> adventures (involving some custom parts like characters walking on a
> set path, LucasArts conversation style, gametime clocks, etc.)? And
> generally what's good and not so good about it? Thanks in advance.
>

Good things:
1) ADRIFT has a fairly shallow learning curve at first; it's easy to pick
up, and it does plenty of handholding.
2) The ADRIFT message boards is one of the nicest places online.
3) The runner features automapping, object location and pathfinding.
(For example, if a player forgets where he dropped an item, he can ask
"where is (object)", then "go to (wherever)", or click in the appropriate
room on the map.
4) There's a built-in feature to make characters walk on a set path.
5) It's possible to create a good game (The PK Girl, To Hell in a Hamper,
Goldilocks is a Fox, The Magic Show, Back to Life Unfortunately to name a
few) if the game doesn't require anything too complex, and you're willing
to put the effort into it.

Bad things:
1) The file format is somewhat volatile; games that work in one version
of runner may fail in another.
2) The official runner is windows only; SCARE and jAsea do not have full
compatability.
3) Overriding any command is done by pattern-matching; the writer has to
duplicate a good deal of the logic of the parser.
4) It lacks a built-in feature for LucasArts conversations, though it is
partially possible to duplicate the effect; there are a few threads on the
subject in the Tutorial area of the board.
5) If a built-in feature isn't just right, you'll probably have to do a
case-by-case to handle it, or just do without.


--
------------------------
Mark Jeffrey Tilford
tilford@ugcs.caltech.edu

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

"RaynerApe" <raynerape@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106218369.628085.191790@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Hello.
> I am making my first steps in IF game design and trying to find the
> best solution that doesn't involve extreme programming skills. So far I
> am torn between Inform as the "industry standard" and TADS which looks
> a little less complex and still robust. But I have run also in a much
> more newbie-oriented design tool called Adrift that I don't hear about
> much here. Can anyone tell me how good it is for designing complex
> adventures (involving some custom parts like characters walking on a
> set path, LucasArts conversation style, gametime clocks, etc.)? And
> generally what's good and not so good about it? Thanks in advance.
>


Ideally it depends on what kind of game you're intending to write as well as
whether you know anything about coding or not. If you're not a coder then
you'll be able to download Adrift and be writing your first game five
minutes later; the same can hardly be said for Tads or Inform. And while
writing a complex game in Adrift is difficult, it's probably still quicker
and easier than learning to program in a language like Tads or Inform.

There's a free version of Adrift which might be a good starting point.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

Thank you for pointing me to that website, it is indeed a very
interesting read for someone still making his first steps on the
development side of the scene.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (More info?)

As someone who is also just beginning (with no programming experience
whatsoever) I would have to say that TADS2 is pretty user friendly.
There is a tutorial that comes with the TADS download that was
originally written for jr. highschoolers. This (unlike the TADS
official manual) goes from easy to difficult complexity and teaches you
about 90% of what you need to know to write good IF. I would encourage
you to try TADS if your are at all interested.

Lisa Marie