Archived from groups: rec.games.int-fiction (
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dwhyld@gmail.com wrote:
> I always figured Panks wrote games with obscure languages because:
>
> a) He likes being different.
<devils advocate>
There is a glut of good quality functional and playable games written in
modern IF authoring systems flooding the market. Paul is addressing the
imbalance.
</devils advocate>
What is interesting is the refusal to learn, create or use any dedicated
IF authoring system and the desire to produce 'Scott Adams' style games.
The interesting part is that Scott Adams used a dedicated IF authoring
system (his own) to write the games. There is a fallacy here, especially
considering that several early IF authors and companies either created
and/or used IF authoring systems or used and developed bespoke game engines.
Game engines develop over time and so does the quality of games using
them, but this only happens if you are using/writing/developing an engine.
> b) The games themselves aren't good enough to generate much interest
> but if he writes them in an obscure language, they'll get more
> attention than if he wrote them with Tads, Inform or something similar.
Many of Paul's games are written in BASIC variants, these are hardly
obscure. I would recommend that he uses a powerful modern procedural
BASIC such as, for instance, BBC BASIC. A language which if he switched
to and learned to write in a structured way he could certainly produce
better quality code. Paul's current programming style leaves much to be
desired and I believe that this is part of his failure to develop his
skills to the point where he can write easily maintainable, readable and
structured code. This also leads to the fact that unnecessarily complex,
unstructued spaghetti code writen in the style of a novice who never has
developed good programming practices is a nightmare to develop, debug or
improve to any significant end. His programming style and devotion to a
single game setting is a part of his failure to develop.
HLA (High-level assembler) is hardly obscure. What might be impressive
would be a game + engine written purely in assembler, but probably only
in the way that he would be one of the few people to do it in a modern
setting and only if it used more efficient algorithms. Currently Paul
produces bloated and very inefficient code.
I will say though to be fair that Paul should continue to write the
games he wants to write. I am sure that he has an audience but I, like
many others, write for myself.
Paul has the willingness, drive and desire to produce interactive
fiction. I believe that Paul has the potential to become a really good
IF author, but only if he is willing to become one.
If Paul expresses a desire to improve I say that we should help him, he
needs his code and algorithms reviewing aswell as the games themselves.
Even if the language is BASIC and not one of the modern IF authoring
systems we should support any desire to improve that he expresses.
> I imagine he's hard at work on his Ancient Sumerian Parser even now...
Funny you should say that...
Paul is currently writing Triple-Sec, a BASICesque language which
appears to be emminently suitable for writing dunric type games.
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.lang.basic/browse_thread/thread/64c7b4f721ade1a/065fd05b51c55218
No doubt there will be a masterpiece from him coming soon.
Have fun,
Jon Ripley
--
http://jonripley.com/