Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
need to perform few preliminary actions, for example, fix a pipe or add some fuel to
a tank. Each preparatory action is an individual equation, and they must be solved
correctly to push the final puzzle to work well. Sometimes, without hints, such prob-
lems cannot be performed as there are many variables and many combinations.
X "Use"[on a] Y = {
IF A "Use" [on a] B = "Success" and C "Use" [on a] D = "Success" then
"Success"
Else "Not working" }
Note
A linguistic paradigm based on noun-verb constructions was successfully ap-
proved by LucasArts in their
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion
(
SCUMM
), a scripting language that became the core logic for many graphical
adventuregamesdevelopedbythecompany,includingthefamous
The Secret of
Monkey Island
(1990). Its key feature was a compromise between a natural lan-
guage and a low-level code, as Assembler. Thus, SCUMM could be easily used
by game designers without deep skills in programming.
In Game Developers Conference 2011 (
http://www.gdconf.com/
),
Ron Gilbert
(one of the creators of the original Maniac Mansion game), in his talk, Classic
Game Postmortem - MANIAC MANSION, showed an example of SCUMM's de-
scription of a pendulum clock.
In this example we can see the corner-stone of SCUMM: a pair of words, a verb,
and a noun divided by a hyphen that defines the object's behavior, for example,
play and sound. The idea was to describe each object in the game individually,
thus it could be easily added to a scene, removed, or adjusted.
Thinking about puzzles
The craft of creating elegant action sentences and hints is real art that requires some
experience and flair. The point is in arriving at an equilibrium between the simpli-
