Thread: Text Game Engine Thoughts

  1. #1
    Its hard... But im here swgh's Avatar
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    Text Game Engine Thoughts

    Hey guys!

    I have been thinking about this for a while now and was
    hoping to get any insights on whether it would be an idea
    to create a text game engine.

    I know proper industry Game Engines are coded in C++/Script
    and handle rendering, physics, sound, input and output etc. That
    sort of task is way beyond myself. Do text game engines even exist,
    or is their even a market or place for them? I understand from what
    I have been debating that the overall "Engine" would simply create a
    template for the adventure. Sort of "set the scene" or create a
    dummy "Player" and "Enemy" structure. Graphics are almost
    nothing bar simple ASCII text files which the engine could implement
    with a built in FILE reader etc.

    Again, this is just an idea at the moment. If I do go along and design
    one (on paper first ), I will probably code it in C. Is it a good idea
    or a waste if time?

    Ada x
    Double Helix STL

  2. #2
    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
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    Sure. You might want to google the term MUD engine for some other ideas. Text games can certainly be more than people think. For a good engine I'd like it to have support for dialogue trees, so it's easy to script NPC lines and such. It'd be nice if there was good support for commands too so it's easy to program "get ye flask", "walk north", and stuff.
    Last edited by whiteflags; 08-26-2016 at 05:57 AM.

  3. #3
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    MUD engines are indeed a good way to start. You'll be covering multiple aspects of design, including player account and management, multiplayer structural design, world design, combat system, character development system, etc. Another alternative, simpler in some ways, but still exciting, is rouguelike engines.

    As whiteflags says text games are only elusively simple. Once you start, you'll realize there's quite a level of complexity that mirrors the same challenges you'd face on a graphical game but that requires different solutions.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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    Test Adventure Development System

    Example game play

    To try it, click "play online" button and then select "play without logging in" (at right-hand side).

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