> Do-It-Yourself audio games
- 27 Jun 07, 12:40 PM
Good news for audio gamers and anyone who has ever thought, “I can do better than that” – The Audio Game Maker (AGM) is tentatively scheduled for a July release.
The AGM does what it says on the tin. It is an application for people to create sound based games. It is being produced by Game Accessibility, just one of several schemes regarding game accessibility from the Bartiméus Accesibility Foundation - more or less the Dutch equivalent of the RNIB.
The game had been scheduled for a February release, but a fire in the Bartiméus offices in January put paid to that timetable. Which is a salutary lesson to us all about the importance of backing up our stuff.
Despite the delay, the AGM has created a bit of a buzz, and it is clear that people are looking forward to getting started with it. On the Game Accessibility Forum, Bryan P says, “Looks pretty interesting. Now I really can't wait to try doing some of this stuff.” On the audiogames.net forum, Andy writes, “I am going to PRAY it comes out soon!”
Whilst the AGM is not yet available, some tutorials are. From taking even a quick look, it is clear that the AGM is going to be accessible. There are audio instructions and help, and navigation is done using the keyboard. It also looks fairly straightforward to start making games, and I’m already thinking of scenarios where I can include the death traps demonstrated in the tutorials. Getting Gary Bushell home from the pub in a rough part of town perhaps – succeed or fail, everyone is a winner…
If you are seeking inspiration, then check out the audiogames.net Game List. There are loads of titles there. Using the AGM, perhaps you can write the next Sarah and the Castle of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
What is quite exciting about this is that audio games are relatively youthful compared to the more mature video game arena. By making it possible for everyone to create games, I’m sure we’ll see some really innovative titles appear. At the moment, a lot of the focus is on making audio versions of visual games like AudioQuake or Poker. Sound has different qualities to vision, and I’m sure we’ll see some original games that explore those properties further than we have seen to date.
Now, if you’ll excuse me – I need to go back up my computer…
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