I’d like to get some opinions on the design and writing of CoG games. It seems to me that most of these games – though I’ve only examined a few – focus primarily on creating branching storylines that evolve in different ways depending on the choices made by the player. This feels natural to me.
I wondered if anyone has ever developed games that are more reminiscent of classic adventure games (like those from Infocom, but also more or less recent ones). Specifically, I’m interested in games where the story doesn’t unfold through multiple branching paths but instead challenges the player to progress within a single, continuous storyline.
Do you think the CoG gameplay system is suitable for developing classic text adventures?
I believe ChoiceScript can do that with some caveats. The first is that ChoiceScript is meant to produce choice-based games. If you want to implement some parsing mechanism, although possible to an extent, would be very challenging from the engineering perspective. So, it would be best to adapt the puzzles to a choice format. You obviously can’t have puzzles where you need to figure out the correct command since choice options are always player-facing, but other puzzles, like perform actions in the correct order, collect clues, riddles, etc, should still be possible.
Edit
I’d just like to say that, ChoiceScript games also have a lot of “puzzles” but of a different kind. Like resource management for stats and building social rapport with NPCs to unlock different paths. Granted, this is more laid-back than an actual puzzle.
The second caveat is the community expectation. Don’t let this, by itself, get in your way, but it’s something worthy to keep in mind. Most ChoiceScript players are interested in story-rich (character-driven) games. Games that deviate from that framework and focus more on puzzles have been noticeably less popular, but they do exist.
Not worth it. There are a few games that used text box input for some scenes but if you’re talking about anything with an actual parser, it’s not really doable. I’d stick with something like inform seven for that
Theoretically you can do whatever. It’s just a coding language, after all. It’s not like people who used the classic Adventure Game Studio exclusively made adventure games or people who used RPG Maker made exclusively RPGs. It’s just a matter of what amount of effort you want to put into things.
If you can manage to make a classic adventure game, I’m sure the novelty alone would be neat. Though it’d require a likely obscene amount of effort and you’re obviously playing against the audience if you’re actually looking to get the game published. But there’s no harm in putting your experiment out for people to play if it’s something more of a hobby or personal project to yourself.
I really appreciate the thoughtful responses. It’s good to hear that ChoiceScript can handle certain types of puzzles, even if it requires adapting the mechanics to fit a choice-based format. The point about community expectations is particularly valuable—I had considered that aspect, and it does seem like a significant factor in how such a game would be received.
I also see the argument that, while theoretically possible, making a true parser-based game in ChoiceScript would be an uphill battle. Inform 7 might indeed be a better fit for that kind of experience.
That said, I like the idea of experimenting with the system and seeing what’s possible, even if just as a personal project. The challenge itself sounds intriguing!
