Adventure Game Studio
Encyclopedia
Adventure Game Studio is a free software
development tool that is primarily used to create graphical adventure game
s. It is aimed at intermediate-level game designers, and combines an Integrated development environment
(IDE) for setting up most aspects of the game with a scripting language
to process the game logic.
. AGS was originally released in 1997 as an MS-DOS program entitled "Adventure Creator".
Jones was inspired by the apparent simplicity of Sierra On-Line's adventure game interface, specifically as showcased in Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers. The first version of Adventure Creator allowed users to create only low-resolution
, keyboard-controlled games.
Initially only small tests and demo games were created with AGS, and most of the more ambitious projects were cancelled. As a result of the lack of completed games and engine features, the user base was small, but the community grew slowly. Game developers started requesting more features so that they could create more complex games. Gradually, as these requests were implemented, AGS became a more capable toolkit and it was finally possible to create high-quality games with it.
After a long period of slow activity, Lassi Quest was released as the first complete AGS game in late 1999. It was not until the Larry Vales and Rob Blanc games had been released in 2000-2001 that the engine gained widespread popularity. There is now an active community containing thousands of members, and a large output of completed games of all sizes.
AGS itself continues to be added to and improved upon, with the release of version 3.0 in January 2008 including a complete rewrite of the editor using the .NET Framework
and an update to the game engine to support 3D hardware acceleration.
On 26 October 2010, Chris Jones released the source code for the editor under the terms of the Artistic License
, version 2. On 27 April 2011, the runtime engine code was released under the same licence.
operating systems; though Mac OS
and Linux
ports of older versions of the engine were also developed. Prior to AGS 2.7, a DOS
engine was also available; this has since been discontinued. It is not yet possible to run the editor to create games on operating system
s other than Windows without an emulator
or API wrapper such as Wine
.
AGS can create games with a graphical range from 256 colours and a resolution of 320×200 (games with more "classic" looks) to truecolor games with a resolution of up to 1024×768 (games with more "modern" looks) and an alpha channel. The higher the resolution, the more demanding a game is on computer resources, resulting in the need for a faster computer.
It also supports the following graphics filters: none, 2x nearest-neighbor, 3x nearest-neighbor, 4x nearest-neighbor, hq2x
, hq3x
.
The program has the support of a sufficiently large number of multimedia formats: mod
, S3M, wav
, xm
, midi, ogg
, mp3
, avi
- version 2.61. Version 2.72 has support for it
and S3M.
business that has created most of its commercial titles using AGS, most notably the Blackwell series of games and Gemini Rue
. The AGS Games Page has a complete list; see also :Category:Games created using AGS.
Development teams AGD Interactive
and Infamous Adventures
have remade and updated King's Quest
and other Sierra
releases. LucasFan Games have done the same with LucasArts
adventure games.
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
development tool that is primarily used to create graphical adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s. It is aimed at intermediate-level game designers, and combines an Integrated development environment
Integrated development environment
An integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development...
(IDE) for setting up most aspects of the game with a scripting language
Scripting language
A scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...
to process the game logic.
History
Adventure Game Studio was created by British programmer Chris JonesChris Jones (AGS)
Chris Jones develops the Adventure Game Studio since 1995. In this constructor was made by millions of games worldwide. AGS - has the largest community of game developers. Here's a recipe for success Chris Jones....
. AGS was originally released in 1997 as an MS-DOS program entitled "Adventure Creator".
Jones was inspired by the apparent simplicity of Sierra On-Line's adventure game interface, specifically as showcased in Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers. The first version of Adventure Creator allowed users to create only low-resolution
Image resolution
Image resolution is an umbrella term that describes the detail an image holds. The term applies to raster digital images, film images, and other types of images. Higher resolution means more image detail....
, keyboard-controlled games.
Initially only small tests and demo games were created with AGS, and most of the more ambitious projects were cancelled. As a result of the lack of completed games and engine features, the user base was small, but the community grew slowly. Game developers started requesting more features so that they could create more complex games. Gradually, as these requests were implemented, AGS became a more capable toolkit and it was finally possible to create high-quality games with it.
After a long period of slow activity, Lassi Quest was released as the first complete AGS game in late 1999. It was not until the Larry Vales and Rob Blanc games had been released in 2000-2001 that the engine gained widespread popularity. There is now an active community containing thousands of members, and a large output of completed games of all sizes.
AGS itself continues to be added to and improved upon, with the release of version 3.0 in January 2008 including a complete rewrite of the editor using the .NET Framework
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
and an update to the game engine to support 3D hardware acceleration.
On 26 October 2010, Chris Jones released the source code for the editor under the terms of the Artistic License
Artistic License
The Artistic License refers most commonly to the original Artistic License , a software license used for certain free and open source software packages, most notably the standard Perl implementation and most CPAN modules, which are dual-licensed under the Artistic License and the GNU General Public...
, version 2. On 27 April 2011, the runtime engine code was released under the same licence.
Capabilities
The editor and runtime engine are currently designed for WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems; though Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
ports of older versions of the engine were also developed. Prior to AGS 2.7, a DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
engine was also available; this has since been discontinued. It is not yet possible to run the editor to create games on operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s other than Windows without an emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
or API wrapper such as Wine
Wine (software)
Wine is a free software application that aims to allow computer programs written for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. Wine also provides a software library, known as Winelib, against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like...
.
AGS can create games with a graphical range from 256 colours and a resolution of 320×200 (games with more "classic" looks) to truecolor games with a resolution of up to 1024×768 (games with more "modern" looks) and an alpha channel. The higher the resolution, the more demanding a game is on computer resources, resulting in the need for a faster computer.
It also supports the following graphics filters: none, 2x nearest-neighbor, 3x nearest-neighbor, 4x nearest-neighbor, hq2x
Hqx
In image processing, hqx is one of the pixel art scaling algorithms developed by Maxim Stepin, used in emulators such as Nestopia, bsnes, ZSNES, Snes9x, FCE Ultra and many more. There are 3 hqx filters: hq2x, hq3x, and hq4x, which magnify by factor of 2, 3, and 4 respectively...
, hq3x
Hqx
In image processing, hqx is one of the pixel art scaling algorithms developed by Maxim Stepin, used in emulators such as Nestopia, bsnes, ZSNES, Snes9x, FCE Ultra and many more. There are 3 hqx filters: hq2x, hq3x, and hq4x, which magnify by factor of 2, 3, and 4 respectively...
.
The program has the support of a sufficiently large number of multimedia formats: mod
MOD (file format)
MOD is a computer file format used primarily to represent music, and was the first module file format. MOD files use the “.MOD” file extension, except on the Amiga where the original trackers instead use a “mod.” prefix scheme, e.g. “mod.echoing”...
, S3M, wav
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, xm
XM (file format)
XM, standing for "extended module", is an audio file type introduced by Triton's Fast Tracker 2. XM introduced multisampling-capable instruments with volume and panning envelopes, and basic pattern compression...
, midi, ogg
Ogg
Ogg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
, mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, avi
Audio Video Interleave
Audio Video Interleave , known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows technology. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback...
- version 2.61. Version 2.72 has support for it
It
It may refer to:* It , a third-person neuter pronoun in English* IT , often refers to information technology-As a name:* Cousin Itt, a monster character in the TV series The Addams Family...
and S3M.
Games
Thousands of games have been produced using AGS. Wadjet Eye Games is an Indie gameIndie game
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
business that has created most of its commercial titles using AGS, most notably the Blackwell series of games and Gemini Rue
Gemini Rue
The game was well received by game critics, praising the game for its compelling storyline, and its retro graphics....
. The AGS Games Page has a complete list; see also :Category:Games created using AGS.
Development teams AGD Interactive
AGD Interactive
AGD Interactive , LLC. is a non-profit company given a fan license to remake Sierra Entertainment's popular classic adventure games from the 1980s and early 1990s.-History:...
and Infamous Adventures
Infamous Adventures
Infamous Adventures is an amateur game development company, founded in 2004 by Shawn Mills and Steven Alexander , and is dedicated to making games in the classic adventure made famous by the releases of Sierra Entertainment and LucasArts in the 1980s and early 1990s.Their games are created using...
have remade and updated King's Quest
King's Quest
King's Quest is an adventure game series created by the American software company Sierra Entertainment. It is widely considered a classic series from the golden era of adventure games. Following the success of its first installment, the series was primarily responsible for building the reputation...
and other Sierra
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
releases. LucasFan Games have done the same with LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
adventure games.
Community
The AGS community is based on the AGS Forum and the [irc://irc.bigbluecup.com/AGS AGS Internet Relay Chat channel]. There have been real-world meetings of the community each summer for some years, known as "Mittens". There is also an ongoing blog covering the latest goings-on in AGS development, games and community. The community runs several competitions to create games, art, writing and music, as well as the annual AGS awards to honour the best of the year.See also
Games created using AGS- Amateur adventure gameAmateur adventure gameAn amateur adventure game is a computer game belonging to the adventure genre that has no commercial or similar official backing. The amateur adventure game scene emerged in the mid to late 1990s, when releases of new commercial adventure games became more rare and easy distribution of games and...
External links
- Official Homepage
- Linux
- GNU/Linux support page
- AGS Linux Port
- Adventure Game Goddess (Linux frontend)