🚀 go-pugleaf

>>I dunno.  My text adventure compiler handled everything (it was similar
>>to the ADVSYS library), and it took me a couple of weeks.  I could do
>>everything Infocom could do and more.  The resulting executable was 18k.
> 
> If you wrote it in a couple weeks, believe me, it doesn't handle
> anywhere near "everything."  You're falling into the same trap I
> mentioned before:  using a totally outdated notion of what a "game
> design system" is.  A decent game design system is far more than just a
> suite of routines you write for your personal use.  You can do
> "everything Infocom could do and more" directly in C, but that's not
> what we're talking about here -- a game design system should take care
> of all (or at least many) the tedious grungy details for you.  E.g., if
> I want to extend the parser in a TADS game, I need only define a new
> "deepverb" object.  If I want to add an actor I just have to say,
> "foobar: actor" and supply some simple methods.  This is a far cry from
> having to write everything directly in C.

So does mine.  That class is included in an include file.  I just go:

(noun Monster
  (adjective Grungy, Dirty, Ugly)
  (synonym Thing)
)

and so on.


> A good example from game programming is the nifty texture mapping that
> Origin and Apogee use for their 3D games.  That technology has been
> around for several years (check SIGGRAPH proceedings) and is
> well-documented in many places.  Sure, the optimizations that make the
> process possible on a 386 are not freely available, but one would hope
> that with a firm understanding of the algorithm you could adapt it to
> 80x86 assembly language yourself.  Specifics like this would be good
> topics for the Internet PC Graphics Guide.  1/2 :)

Who needs an algorithm?  I did it with a modified Bresenham line drawing
routine.  As fast as it could possibly go...unless there is a method
to zap it there instantly.
\
My game language was written generally enough that it could handle any 
text oriented operation.  With the proper class designations, I can 
simulate anything.

Josh