Re: It's that FAQing Jools again!


10 Sep 1995 18:11:14 GMT

In article <19950908.004110.99@arnod.arnod.demon.co.uk>,
Julian Arnold <jools@arnod.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>More opinions are needed I think. Someone e-mailed me asking that the
>authoring systems section of the FAQ not get too large. I agree, and so I
>thought I might post here and ask which systems do you consider `major', and
>which `minor'? I don't mean to play God with these things; I'm sure they're
>all lovely, *but* the FAQ can't detail all of the current systems, so the
>small-fry only get a mention by name, while the big boys get a longer listing
>(main features, platforms, etc). If you have an opinion on this one don't
>mail me, post it here instead so that other people can comment. Anyhow,
>here's my list:
>
>MAJOR
>-----
>ADL (?) AdvSys (?) AGT
>ALAN Hugo (doing well) Inform
>OASYS (?) TADS
>
>[BTW, you'll have a hard time convincing me to move TADS or Inform 8)]
>
>MINOR
>-----
>Advent Adventura AGIFG
>Archetype (big league?) Aventuro DROOL
>Figment GAGS Gamescape
>LADS Questmaker
>--
>Jools Arnold jools@arnod.demon.co.uk

I'd like to recommend the following as a subdivision for the devolpment
systems:

1) Primary systems (described): TADS, Inform

2) New systems (described): ALAN, Archetype, Hugo

3) Others available at ftp.gmd.de (listed): your list plus OASYS, ADL and
AdvSys.

AGT is a problem. It's been around a while, and some people still seem to use
it. A few weeks ago I wrote a post asking if anyone used any of the systems
other than TADS, Inform, and Hugo; I did get two responses indicating it was
still being used. However, from what I've read of AGT (I'm a Mac user and
ther doesn't seem to be a working Mac AGT interpreter) the general consensus
is that it is less advanced than the other systems. Also, there are a number
of different versions which may or may not be wholly compatible with each
other. So it would seem that it would be a disservice to list it with the
"big boys" of TADS and Inform. On the other hand, there are lots of
games written in AGT, though given the quality of some, such as "Detective"
and "Space Aliens Laughed at my Cardigan," this may not be the virtue that it
appears to be. (Yes, I know there are a number of good AGT games, I just wish
I could play them.) So, I would suggest listing AGT in the primary
systems, but with the proper caveats in its description.

Which brings me to a potentially controversial point: should the FAQ
list recommend some systems over others. I beleive that it should. I
think it would be a disservice if readers of the FAQ if they came away
with the impression that writing a game in figment would reach as large
an audience as a game in TADS. How to choose which systems to
recommend is difficult. I think my choices are apparent. Anyone else?

Robert