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.