s.c.u.R.F. :: Script Creation Utility for Reality Factory
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:14 pm
s.c.u.R.F. :: Script Creation Utility for Reality Factory
Well, this was hard but, unusual for me, I'm quite satisfied.
I'm proud to introduce you s.c.u.R.F., Script Creation Utility for Reality Factory, a name that surely reminds you SCUMM (scr... for Maniac Mansion). This isn't a game, it's a creation suite for 3d adventures game in lucasarts style (Monkey Island, Full Throtlle, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis), designed around diffenrent scripts and design conventions to define the game behaviour.
It features a scripted inventory with four verbs Pick (hands on), Look at (eyes on), Talk with (lips on) + combine something with something else, that can be used to interact with inventory objects and world objects. Defining the object properties (not programming, just defining) you can set the player actions, the speech, the animations and several other aspects of the objects and character behaviour.
Another interesting feature is the cinematic engine that can be used to define the in-game cinematic scene: camera movements and targets, texts, effects, triggers and attributes, character's animations and movements...
It's hard to enumerate all the features I've implemented: the book reader (multipage with sounds), head turning to face objects (ala Grim Fandango), multiple speech line with different animations, alternative speech options...
Take a look at the videos and the screenshots (look at the end of this post).
I'm asking for help by the other developpers to add some features modifying the source. Currently I'm using a modified version of RF with new script commands. The conversation engine of RF is pratically perfect for an adventure games but must be reworked in some parts. Mainly the conversation system must be modified to let the game running and animate the pawns, adding some new commands to define cinemematic camera movements and character animations.
When the conversation system will be ok, I just need to add some basic script to manage two or three different NPC behaviour (static, walking, acting) and a scripting system to take care of the in-game music and audio (iMuse style). Then the work will be finished, ready to be used to develop a complete Adventure game in the new Sam&Max style.
I'm currently working on a modification of the verbs depending on the object type. This will make the verbs change to accord themselves to the objects: talk with the man, drink the water, smoke a cigarette, kiss your fiancée, all using the third verb (lips on).
The design "verbs + inventory" can be modified to create a verb-coin interface (Full Throttle, Curse of the Monkey Island), because the graphical design and the logical design are separated.
I hope you will enjoy this new possibilities for the game design with RF. I'm interested in support a serious team that wants to develop a game usign s.c.u.R.F., so I will reserve myself the right to decide about the release of the scripts until the system is completed. When finished all will be public released, no fear (still I don't want that you use the s.c.u.R.F. scripts outside the system without asking the permission). A closed alpha is ready for few programmers and friends to help and speed up the development, but I hope to release a first demo soon.
I'm writing some basic documentation about the new scripting reference and design conventions to make the features work correctly.
Videos:
Early Stages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVbGkHkpPGs
Basic Action + Book Reader:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APe6XK37EfU
Complex Action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfLeVUzuyaw
Cinematic + ChangeLevel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8BFV-PbJT4
Head Turning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP24Dqa_J8U
Screenshots:
Gallery: http://profile.imageshack.us/user/uomoa ... le/images/
Well, this was hard but, unusual for me, I'm quite satisfied.
I'm proud to introduce you s.c.u.R.F., Script Creation Utility for Reality Factory, a name that surely reminds you SCUMM (scr... for Maniac Mansion). This isn't a game, it's a creation suite for 3d adventures game in lucasarts style (Monkey Island, Full Throtlle, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis), designed around diffenrent scripts and design conventions to define the game behaviour.
It features a scripted inventory with four verbs Pick (hands on), Look at (eyes on), Talk with (lips on) + combine something with something else, that can be used to interact with inventory objects and world objects. Defining the object properties (not programming, just defining) you can set the player actions, the speech, the animations and several other aspects of the objects and character behaviour.
Another interesting feature is the cinematic engine that can be used to define the in-game cinematic scene: camera movements and targets, texts, effects, triggers and attributes, character's animations and movements...
It's hard to enumerate all the features I've implemented: the book reader (multipage with sounds), head turning to face objects (ala Grim Fandango), multiple speech line with different animations, alternative speech options...
Take a look at the videos and the screenshots (look at the end of this post).
I'm asking for help by the other developpers to add some features modifying the source. Currently I'm using a modified version of RF with new script commands. The conversation engine of RF is pratically perfect for an adventure games but must be reworked in some parts. Mainly the conversation system must be modified to let the game running and animate the pawns, adding some new commands to define cinemematic camera movements and character animations.
When the conversation system will be ok, I just need to add some basic script to manage two or three different NPC behaviour (static, walking, acting) and a scripting system to take care of the in-game music and audio (iMuse style). Then the work will be finished, ready to be used to develop a complete Adventure game in the new Sam&Max style.
I'm currently working on a modification of the verbs depending on the object type. This will make the verbs change to accord themselves to the objects: talk with the man, drink the water, smoke a cigarette, kiss your fiancée, all using the third verb (lips on).
The design "verbs + inventory" can be modified to create a verb-coin interface (Full Throttle, Curse of the Monkey Island), because the graphical design and the logical design are separated.
I hope you will enjoy this new possibilities for the game design with RF. I'm interested in support a serious team that wants to develop a game usign s.c.u.R.F., so I will reserve myself the right to decide about the release of the scripts until the system is completed. When finished all will be public released, no fear (still I don't want that you use the s.c.u.R.F. scripts outside the system without asking the permission). A closed alpha is ready for few programmers and friends to help and speed up the development, but I hope to release a first demo soon.
I'm writing some basic documentation about the new scripting reference and design conventions to make the features work correctly.
Videos:
Early Stages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVbGkHkpPGs
Basic Action + Book Reader:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APe6XK37EfU
Complex Action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfLeVUzuyaw
Cinematic + ChangeLevel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8BFV-PbJT4
Head Turning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP24Dqa_J8U
Screenshots:
Gallery: http://profile.imageshack.us/user/uomoa ... le/images/