The First Annual Festive Amiga Game Making Competition

[Cammy]

You could try using Backbone, it's easier to use than Shockwave. Backbone is available on Aminet, along with an update and a recently released keyfile to unlock the full program without limitations!

All you need is a mouse to make games with Backbone. Just download some sprite rips and mods from the net, change them around, and make a game out of it!

There are some good royalty-free characters to use like Santa Claus, Christmas Elves, Snowmen, or just a kid in winter clothes. Collectables could be presents, toys, candy canes, tree decorations, roast turkeys. If you want to be a smarty pants and give Santa a machine gun and have him riding an angry mutant reindeer feel free, be creative.

You could also use Shoot Em Up Construction Kit, or an adventure game maker!

[Harrison]

If I get a day free next week I might have a look at Backbone as I've not tried it.

[Cammy]

I'm glad I have convinced you to try Backbone, I've loved using this program on my Amiga ever since I found out about it myself. It's a shame it went so unnoticed back when it came out over ten years ago, as with more users and more support, the author probably wouldn't have abandoned it before adding all the extra features he planned. I wish someone could find him and ask if he'd like to release the source code, the Amiga community could turn it into the ultimate game maker, replacing all the Amos routines with optimised ASM ones or make it more system friendly.

If you would like to download some example games made in Backbone to try on your Amiga (or UAE) to give you an idea of its capabilities, get this pack - http://www.spin.net.au/~amiga/BackboneGames.lha and this quick demo of a Sonic type game - http://www.spin.net.au/~amiga/Sonic030.lha

[Harrison]

Thanks for the links Cammy. I will definitely check them out on Monday when I have time.

[Philski]

Hullo all!

I posted on this discussion over at amiga.org, but I was wondering if anybody here can help me.

I'm trying to put together a game for this in GRAC, however I'm having difficulty figuring out how to do certain things, for instance does anyone know how to get characters to talk to one another/create a conversation tree?

Good luck to everyone!

Phil

[Puni/Void]

Hi there Philski and welcome to the forum! Enjoy your stay!

Sadly I can't help you with GRAC. I've got no experience what-so-ever with that package. Hope someone else can give you a hand. Good luck!

I'm currently working on a little game myself, but it takes time, and the deadline is not far away. So far I've got parts of the basics in place, but I lack stuff like graphics and sound. If I don't manage to finish it in time, I think I'll deliver it as a very early alpha. I'm using AMOS Professional by the way. Are you familiar with that language?

Hullo all!

I posted on this discussion over at amiga.org, but I was wondering if anybody here can help me.

I'm trying to put together a game for this in GRAC, however I'm having difficulty figuring out how to do certain things, for instance does anyone know how to get characters to talk to one another/create a conversation tree?

Good luck to everyone!

Phil

[Cammy]

Hey P G, thanks for joining in! If you're having trouble with graphics for your game, feel free to use some ripped from another game, modify them a bit if you want, just make sure you credit the original game in your ReadMe file. Or if you're attempting to pixel them yourself, and just need a little help or advice, there are two very good pixel art forums you could post your work in progress pics on where people can offer critique and help. For music, I am going to try collecting as many Christmas mods as I can and posting them on the Amiga Christmas Tree website, so keep an eye on that, I'll be updating it soon.

Here are some useful links for you for graphics:

http://www.spriters-resource.com
http://www.bghq.com

And for pixel art:

http://www.pixeljoint.com
http://www.wayofthepixel.net


I think the best idea for now would be for each contestant to upload their finished game to their own space and private message me with a link to the download, or send me an email with the game as an attachment. I will then upload them all to the Amiga Christmas Tree Website, which I am in the process of updating for this year. The website is here - http://amigachristmastree.condor.serverpro3.com - but at the moment it's still showing last year's page. I intend to replace it with the new one soon!

All entries should be provided as either an LHA archive that can be extracted and run from Workbench, or as an ADF file that can be written back to floppy or run in an emulator. A burnable ISO image for CDTV or CD32 would be fine too. Please provide a ReadMe file with your entry to explain what the game is about and how you made it, this should help people make a fair choice when voting for the games. If you have used any ripped graphics, sound or music please credit your sources, and let us know which language or game maker you used to create the game.

After the new Amiga Christmas Tree page is uploaded, I'll post all new information about the contest there, as well as replying to anyone on the forums. I can be contacted through PM on this forum, or through MSN or email (both are the same address) which you can find out on my profile. Also, if anyone would just like to chat about Amiga stuff, feel free to add me to MSN (I use AmiMSN on my A1200 and SabreMSN on my Aros laptop).

Merry Christmas, and good luck everyone!