I’m going to start my adventure-game project by creating a software framework through a simple prototype game, so I can implement all the things adventure games do without worrying about game design, art, sound, or music yet.
Still, the prototype will need all those things, so I came up with a simple scenario which exercises typical adventure-game verbs and game objects, and I located some free clip art, sounds, and music.
This is the puzzle-dependency graph for the prototype:
Graphs like these can help structure an adventure game. Each node represents a puzzle, so I can see if there are any problems with the game logic, like dependency loops, or if there are any problems with player agency, like railroading or aimlessness, or if there are any problems with plotting, like the player not knowing things before he needs to or the player discovering things before he should.
Complicated puzzles can have their own graphs, which are like visual walk-throughs with the actual verbs and game-objects specified, to ensure the puzzles are sensible and solvable, but there’s nothing very complicated in this prototype.
Here’s a character model I found for my player-character:
In the simple kind of 2D animation suitable for point-and-click adventure games, characters are usually seen from one of eight angles, three of them being mirrors of another three, so there are five views. I’ve also found models for the two non-player characters who will do typical NPC things, like communicate with the PC, follow instructions, follow the PC, or walk along a track.
Free-to-use sound and music is widely available, so I’ll grab those when necessary.
