Don't Panic!
Alright.... I talked this out a little with Greg last night. I think I have convincved myself to get it done too. I have decided to make my own LASSIE game. In another thread I made a very brief reference to it. So I figured I would make the offical announcement. I am going to remake one of the classic text adventure games. The most complicated and difficult one of all time. The great, the brilliant.... have I led you on enough?... Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy! I was going to wait for Towel day (May 25th, don't forget your towel that day) but I can hardly contain myself. I do of course have a few concerns and I was wondering what others thought about it. Most of this is just for my own sake, to know that it'll be worth while for myself. Since the original was a text adventure, it was very possible to die (and quite often) so I need to think of creative ideas around some of that. The only REAL concern for me is that the original was written by Douglas Adams, and is therefore impossible for me to get permission to make it. However my thought on it is, there are hundreds of coppies of the game available online, including directly on DNA's site, and an AIM bot that will let you play it. I suck at drawing. So I have thought of alternative to that. I could take pictures of things I want in it, and set up my own scenes in real life, and take a picture, however, doing ship shots would be a pain. I could find someone else to draw for me (preferably Greg, but he is too busy) but I'd have to wait for someone to do the art before preceding. Or I could suck it up, and draw it myself, as craptastical as it would be. After drawing the first two rooms thumbnails, I have decided to use my own art. I figure if I shoot for odd, it'll mask my own inability to draw, and can be looked at that everything is just "alien". I feel that to Arthur Dent (Assuming you have read the books.... if not, get on it immediatly) even Earth feels a bit alien. OK I think that's enough babelling for now. Let me know what people think (especially on the copyright front)

i think you could actually get way it, there was a compitition to make the original text game graphical around 2003, and its still a work in progress as it keeps getting updated, one version was finished but better ones keep turning up but rarely a full game. i didn't like the dieing bit in the text version.. i think i got as far as meeting marvin when i last played it and that was with a LOT of hints :oops: i guess the worst part is going to first part of the game and figuring away of meeting Ford and the bulldozer problem.. you could do it from his point of view? if you want any still shots from the original TV series, i've got the DVD's, which is the version i'd go for rather than the movie design wise, thinks we're a lot more basic in those days :wink: you could use the crappy effects to your advantage you've set yourself a mamoth task thats for sure, i'd be tempted to do it in chapters and let the feedback spur you on :D if you need any help with it, i'll be un employed once the Lovecraft game is finally finiished lol

Yeah, I agree.... If I was to use stills I would stick to the Mini Series from the 80's. While I have it on video (haven't bought the DVD) I have a hard time watching it, it's so bad.... but it is quite word for word of the book. My original idea was to stick to the book, have the first scene be in Arthurs room, everything in there but the things needed, that you can interact with would be yellow. Then when you interacted with them, Arthur would just say "Yellow" like in the book. I may still use the idea. I also agree that chapters/episodes is necessary, if I ever plan on finishing ANY of it. If I go for it all in one shot, it's not gonna finish (ask Greg). But doing a room or two at a time, is very conducive to the story any way. Only problem I see with that is what you see in many webcomics, where the art style slowly changes over time. In which case once I'm finished I guess I'd have an other project of fixing the old art. :wink:

So.... looking at some of the walk throughs, there is a lot of using the "wait" command in the text adventure. I'll have to play through it, and see if that is just to break up "cutscenes" (if there is such a thing in a text adventure) and how I might be able to get around it.

Are you specifically wanting to remake the text adventure, puzzle for puzzle?

That's where I'm having trouble deciding..... I have a feeling things are going to have to be a little different, since I as I said before, it's a lot of waiting in the original version. Also because of the dieing factor in the original I don't think puzzle for puzzle will work. Ultimately I think I'm just going to have to use the original as a basis and build upon it.... I've already come up with some ideas for the first room... So I'm going to work on that first.

Yeh why dont you use d book as ur main resource and inspiration, and then borrow or adapt puzzles from the text game? Surely text games and visual games are effectively different mediums, and puzzles which work in one won't necessarily work in the other (the waiting one for instance). Like how radio shows differ from Tv shows?

Then I get to the problem of the book, and playing as Arthur (as the book would lead you to do)... Quite bluntly..... Arthur does NOTHING.... EVER.... except push a button once in a while :-)

Ah :) Heres the bit where it becomes obvious I've never read the book, havn't played the game (well, i did download it but couldn't be bothered typing) and only payed slight attention to the film... which frankly would have been a lot better if it had realised its not 1980 anymore and aliens dont have to be played by actors in really badly made latex suits... :) Arn't you Arthur Dent in the game? I just played a remade version of it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game.shtml , typed in 'who am i' and it said arthur dent Would it be possible to do a game about somebody new who has to deal with Earth being destroyed? Or is Arthur the only one who survives?

i'd go muliple characters, Arthur did bugger all but complain! use the original series and corny effects for background ideas, and fabicate your own puzzles to fit a graphical game

Yeah, the more I think about it.... the more I have a little bit to adapt either way I go.... I have pretty much the first rooms "script" set in my head. I've started drawing the first room.... We'll see how it all comes out. I do think switching characters from time to time, will help the story progress.... Maybe I should read the series AGAIN. ;-)

Comming up with some interesting game play ideas.... maybe I will make my own story, based on the plot of the book.... Now I just have to hash that out Sketched out Zaphod today (most visually interesting of course) he looks freakin' awesome.... When I have a vector version of him, maybe I'll post it ;-)

Hey
Hey, this sounds really cool! :) Maybe you can take at least the music from the TV Show - I liked the the intro sequence. How about chapter one (the one you make first) is in fact chapter 22bc34green or something, which should mean something like "episode from a parallel universe where all things end up to have many characters involved in a very short story that doesn't really follow the original storyline. that parallel universe is called demo-verse." :) maybe god has a demo-verse now that i think of it. that might help you to try out things and experiment with the characters and settings etc. and it might be fun since you seem to know your hitchhiker!

LOL.... that's a good idea Matt :-) But since I've already made the first room, based on... well I think all but the redio series... I think the first chapter is going to be "Earth" and since I have Zaphod almost 100% made, I guess I'll throw in the party where he and Trillian meet too (it is on Earth). I mean that'll help introduce the characters and all too. Tonight I might draw up Trillian. It's kinda funny, I sketched Zaphod while at work last night, got home at 11, and was in bed with him just about done at 2:30..... This might get done faster than I thought, since I have the summer off :)