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Adventuring Underground
Issue 7
By Rob Merritt
Adventuring Underground is a weekly feature that covers the burgeoning community of shareware and freeware adventure games available on the Internet.
Welcome to another, albeit much delayed, issue of Adventuring Underground. Since last time, a new game construction kit was released. This one should satisfy the more traditional garage programmer, especially if one of your goals is to build skills that would help you in a professional career. The package from Macmillan Computer Publishing is called The Game Programming Starter Kit 3.0. An "introductory" version of Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, a 3D engine, and documentation is included. From the press release, I gather that the kit is aimed toward people wanting to make first-person shooters, but I imagine the information can be used to create action-adventure games similar to the Lands of Lore series. I've not been impressed by pervious game programming kits, but coding in C has never been my thing. You should be able to pick up The Game Programming Starter Kit 3.0 for under $50. I imagine that most game software retailers will carry it.
The Creator's Toolbox: 2D Animation
Originally, I was going to do a summary of the past six weeks, but I decided that was kind of redundant. So I'm going to talk a little about 2D animation. Before you march off to the drawing board with a plan to do an adventure game with Disney-quality graphics, let me tell you that animation takes a huge amount of time. No mater how much time you think it takes, it will take longer. Set your sights small. You may start out off on a good foot but become quickly burned out. Just animate 10 to 12 frames per second. This is the frame rate that the cheaper Saturday morning cartoons use and probably the lowest you can get away with. You could go lower if you are going for a 1980s minimalist look. Most modern adventure games use 30 frames per second, but remember, this is your hobby.
The first route that everyone takes is just drawing frames of animation on a piece of paper and scanning them into their computer. Also, you can just draw each frame on the computer. Unless you are blessed with ultra-talent, the figures don't move right and change scale suddenly, and worse, the lines suffer from squiggle. For just practice, this method is all right. It might also be the look you want. That's what the makers of the TV show Dr. Katz do. It is the quickest and easiest way to do animation.
A better method is to use tracing paper. A book of tracing paper is best. Start at the back of the book and draw your first frame, probably the hero of your game about to take a step. Draw an "X" in some corner not being used by your character. This X is a reference point you can use to position each frame after you scan it into your computer. Then flip down a new sheet of tracing paper and draw the next frame with the first frame as a guide. You will find this generates a more constant image. Make sure to mark the reference point on each frame along the way. If your paint program supports layers, you could use that feature instead of drawing them on paper and scanning each frame in. You may want to invest in a light table. This is a box with an opaque top and light shining through--it makes tracing a lot easier. Another thing you should do is use the mirror function of your paint program. There is no need to draw both the left and right animation when you can just draw one direction and mirror.
So maybe just faking movement didn't turn out as well as you hoped. Perhaps you should consider motion capture. Here is a low-tech system I've used at work with great success. You will need a video camera, TV, color construction paper, tape, tracing paper, pencil, and most importantly, a volunteer willing to be videotaped. Cut out squares from the color cardboard and tape them on areas you want to motion-capture. If you want to capture the motion of picking up something, put squares of color cardboard on the volunteer's wrist, elbow, and shoulder. Make sure that one piece of cardboard is a different color from the rest and tape that at a stable point on the volunteer's body. Use some point that doesn't move much such as the chest or waist. This will be the point that all other points will be referenced too. You will want to make sure that the colored pieces of cardboard are all facing toward the camera. If you have a tripod for your camera, use it. Have the volunteer perform the motion you wish to capture while recording. Then go inside and play the tape on a TV. Frame-step through the entire segment you wish to capture. At each frame, put a piece of transparent paper over the TV screen and with the pencil, circle the cardboard squares except for the reference square. Draw an X over the center of the reference square. Since your volunteer is moving, an external reference point will be useless. Quickly draw a stick figure linking the circles. Remember, you are not drawing the volunteer, just his/her motion. Feel free to skip frames if you are going for lesser-quality animation. Once you have all the frames captured, begin sketching your character over the motion-capture papers using the circles as a guide for placing what, where, and when. Overlay multiple frames as mentioned above to maintain detail. This system is similar to the rotoscope method of animation seen in such games as The Last Express. You may be able to use this method for 3D animation as well. Just look at the motion capture frame and position the joints on your 3D model to match it.
Once you have your animation frames in the computer, you will begin the process of cleanup. Align all the frames at the reference point at the same spot. Remove unwanted reference lines. Darken the lines you want to show. Color the image. Save the complete frame in a format you can use. Which format will depend on the construction kit you use.
Don't expect great results right away. If drawing doesn't come naturally to you, it may take a lot of practice before you reach the level of quality you want. You may find animation to be just as much fun as game creation. If so, many colleges have courses in animation. Also, your local library should have some books on the topic.
Featured Game of the Week: LSD
This
week's featured game was brought to my attention by Adventuring Underground
reader Virtual_Cat. LSD is a web-based text game, but don't let
that turn you off. The game is very humorous. You play a college student
on the campus of LSD. While LSD is "any University,"
the name LSD is a play on the author's campus of LSE. The game tends toward
college humor, but that shouldn't stop anyone from getting it.
The interface is amazing yet very simple. In the center, there is the main game screen. There you'll find the narration of the story and hot buttons that will allow you to interact with the game. At the bottom center you'll find the response window, and to your right is your inventory. If you are fearful of doing graphics, this is a good example of a game you could try to make.
LSD does have storyline problems. It tends to drag quite a bit and doesn't draw you in as do the Infocom classics. Still, it's an unexpected gem.