Text Based Game Question

XanaelXanael Member Posts: 9
edited November -1 in Working with GS (Mac)
Hi, i'm trying to create a text based game based off of a really old book that my brother and i found at an old book sale (the name was Shipwrecked on Mystery Island [ i think ] ). Basically, you read the book, but at the end of the page, you're presented with a set of options, and if you chose one option, you would be redirected to another page where you would continue the story in a different way. I recently tried to create a simple prototype test game using only four actors. The first actor would display one line of text, another actor would be option A, another B, and a third C. I'm trying to make it so that if one option is selected, the selected actor would send a message to the foundation text-actor and change the text, thus presenting a dilemma, giving new options, etc... I tried doing this, but when i set the actor to an OnMouseClick type function, it displays both text and it's only visible while the mouse button is clicked. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Comments

  • scrapee_netscrapee_net Member Posts: 424
    As far as I know, you cant allow users to type on a gamesalad game. There is no support for this yet, but you could create a game where you show a question to the user, and then they can click the correct option...

    But I think, a text game wont sell well. Almost everyone buy a game based on the screenshots quality. A text game, wont have good screnshots...
  • XanaelXanael Member Posts: 9
    oh i'm sorry for not making that clear, the user would be presented with the text, and the options would be given as buttons. and honestly, i don't care about how many copies of the game would be sold, i'm just doing this for 1) the experience and 2) just for fun
  • DimensionGamesDimensionGames PRO Posts: 993
    sabaterwb said:
    As far as I know, you cant allow users to type on a gamesalad game. There is no support for this yet

    Not so ;) type in keyboard demo on GS viewer! In response to your dilemma you could have a wide scene and then change camera origin or you could just have lots of attributes but could get very complicates :/
  • XanaelXanael Member Posts: 9
    yea, what i'm trying to avoid is having an image be every option. Honestly, i'm just trying to get it so that when it's clicked the text changes to a different option. I may work on a different game though, seems kinda complicated :P
  • MotherHooseMotherHoose Member Posts: 2,456
    @Xanael... I admire anyone who wants to do something different!

    I remember the type of books you are talking about... divergent story-lines.

    the problem I see is with GS is not displaying large volume of text correctly... but if you are using text in images it should be doable...

    you can have two actors on screen:
    --one with the story area
    --one with the select for next story area

    you index the pages/images for the the story...
    you associate that index with the selections

    when the user taps an area to proceed the image in the story area changes...
    (the buttons or touch area change the index... the story changes with the index. )

    as a judge for a Competition for jayisgames... I remember a game of this type
    (I did NOT like it and gave it a very low score... )
    Zebulon
    this was not done in GS

    MH
  • madmasseymadmassey Member Posts: 55
    Heh... He's talking about making a game in the format of a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. I've seen iPhone games like this. This one just came out published by EA.

    http://www.appspy.com/cause-of-death-can-you-catch-review

    It's totally doable in Gamesalad. You're just not displaying the text correctly. You need a text display actor designed to display the text from a text attribute like Game.Text.Display. You also want that actor to delete itself based on some kind of action.

    Then, as a simple example, have 2 buttons with options at the bottom of a page of text. If they press option A, set Game.Display.Text to whatever you want, then spawn the text display actor. Same with second option but different text.

    A more realistic option would probably be to just do a scene change when you hit button A or B, to a new scene with a different BG filled with text. The above option is better for drawing a block of text over the original screen, like text in an RPG.
  • THRSTNTHRSTN Member Posts: 178
    lol i used to love choose your own adventure books. If your doing one off a book you found you may want to check its public domain or that might come to bite you if someone notices.Sounds like a cool idea though good luck.
  • MotherHooseMotherHoose Member Posts: 2,456
    wow @madmassey... you can fill the screen with text? you can have a block of text created in GS show on the devices?

    you can use [option]+[return] to start new lines and have it show in Preview
    but after the 3rd line you will get just a white box in GS viewer and on devices.
    the same for text in expression.

    unless you can figure out how to make it work... any volume of text to display has to be an image.
    and, if you have this working, please let the rest of us know how to do it.

    Right @THRSTN to copyrights on material from the1950 onward are most all still valid.

    MH
  • madmasseymadmassey Member Posts: 55
    What about appending multiple strings together, or using multiple text actors? I never said it was the ideal way to do what he was trying to do, but the guy specifically asked why his text only showed when he had the mouse button down. That's the solution.
  • MotherHooseMotherHoose Member Posts: 2,456
    ah...sad thought you had that one for us @madmassey!

    think in September we tried everything and got real excited cause expressions seemed to work in Preview...but alas, not in GS viewer nor on the devices...

    still for single lines you can get a decent display; and easy to change that content.

    MH
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