[Coco] converted AGD games - BIGPacks v2.4 released

[Arthur Flexser]

Thanks, Pere.  I would be curious to see what an AGD script file looks
like.  I have no preference as to what it might be, just that it might be
helpful if there were comments as to what lines or sections do what.  I
have not played any actual AGD games, I'm just approaching it as a casual
onlooker without game-writing experience, but with some curiosity about
what a gaming language/script might look like.  If there's a reference
sheet listing the AGD commands and their syntaxes, that would be
particularly helpful.

Art

On Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 4:25 AM Pere Serrat <psergm at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Art,
> the Arcade Game Designer is an application created by Jonathan Cauldwell
> that runs on a ZX-Spectrum and allows the user to create elements as
> tiles, sprites, objects, fonts, screens and define the behaviour of the
> sprites
> programming some kind of events.
> There is a group working on a Windows version of the application to
> make use of the easy of work of modern O.Ss.
>
> You will find a lot of info in these pages
> https://jonathan-cauldwell.itch.io/arcade-game-designer
> http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0020176
>
> Let's say that the events are written in a high level language using
> special commandsthat are predefined (see AGD manual)
> The full script can then be converted to an executable binary file using a
> compiler made in C language that 'must' include as part of the code the
> AGD engine already ported to the target CPU.
> In our case I ported the engine for 6809 machines and then changed the
> C 'compiler' so that it outputs proper 6809 ASM code for each AGD command
>
> To me, the most difficult thing is not the programming ability but the
> need to imagine/draw the tiles to build up the screens, design the fonts
> and create all the frame sprites to get a smooth movement, not to say
> the need to write the game 'story' for the characters that move ...
>
> cheers
> pere
>
> Ps In case you would like to have a peek at at real AGD script file, I
> could
> upload a few in the archive.world.ofdragon web. Just let me know what
> games you would prefer.
>
> ------------------------------
> > Previuos Message
> > Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2019 05:55:04 -0400
> > From: Arthur Flexser <flexser at fiu.edu>
> > To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Coco] AGD converted games - Pack #36 (Bearsden P6 part
> >       4)
> > Message-ID:
> >       <CA+LuDcc5kdKs1NcqLfJwZ7ZindF05N8MKOkua=
> XdpaEdcmGFVQ at mail.gmail.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
> >
> > Getting 10-year old children to acquire the skills to write a computer
> game
> > seems like an impressive achievement in itself.
> >
> > Am I correct that the games are written in some sort of language that is
> > peculiar to AGD and from there compiled to run on various platforms?  If
> > so, I wonder if you could be so kind as to upload a short, preferably
> > commented listing of some lines of AGD code so as to convey a general
> > impression of what the language looks like and what a 10-year old might
> > need to grasp to write a game in it?
> >
> > Art
> >
>
>
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