Suggestions for templates.

[PPAentertainment]

Hi!!
It's my first time here so I'm hoping I'm doing it correctly.
I developed several games with AGS over the years starting with Robotragedy and ending so far with Maverick Gunn and the Eye of Oggún and always I had to struggle a lot with the coding of the games because I had no knowledge of the subject and I still don't know. I had to keep checking the help to achieve things and I'm sure if one of you guys see the coding of my games you will laugh your hearts out.
Thats the reason I'll like to suggest adding to AGS full templates taking advantage of plugins and modules and having sets of GUIs, text boxes with cool animations, proper title rooms with a fully configured GUI to start the game, adjust options, see créditos, all the nice things that make a game look profesional.
For example a template for making Hidden Objects Puzzle Adventures or casual Adventures that comes with all the little details like an intuitive hint system, option for creating players, etcetera and a developer who has little notions of coding but has a knack for art and ideas can create a game like those and instead of unity people can choose AGS as a viable option.
Or a template for first person games like the Carol Reed or Nancy Drew series.
My suggestions are that the templates come with more flesh and an aspiring developer can start a game with not just a room and few details but with a base more solid.
AGS should be more oriented to people who love to try to make a game of their own but know no coding.
I tried to animate a GUI with Tween module and had to give up because couldnt make no head or tail of what to do.
I hope you can understand what I mean. I'm cuban and English it's not my mother tongue.
Thanks for the hard work keeping AGS alive and kicking.

[Crimson Wizard]

Hello!
I'd like to mentions several things.

1. Anyone can create game templates. "Game template" is simply a AGS project packed up in a file (name.agt), nothing else. In AGS editor you can do "File" -> "Make template from this game". You may do same thing using a stand-alone packing tool. After template is packed, the "name.agt" file may be copied to the Templates folder in the Editor, or "%APPDATA%\Local\AGS\Templates" folder, and it will appear for selection in the "New game" wizard.
There's a forum section for posting templates here: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/modules-plugins-tools/ (although I can barely remember couple of these posted in recent years).
Similar thing can be done to room templates. Yes, rooms may also have templates.
Distributing a new game template along with AGS is mostly a question of download and disk size. If it's a good template useful for many people then we may add one to official distribution. Alternatively, we may create a separate distribution for templates (to save on download size for those who do not need these). But at the same time, nothing prevents someone from creating a template collection of their own, and provide for download.

2. Another option is to make demo game(s), that would demonstrate the basic and advanced features of AGS. This was proposed many times in the past, and here's the most recent thread on this topic: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/adventure-related-talk-chat/crowd-sourced-of-an-open-sourced-ags-example-game-collaboration/

3. The development team of AGS is already quite busy with the AGS itself and short on collaborators; and this was always the case. There are only few people (1-4 depending on a moment) working on it in their spare time. This means that it would be most preferable that the task of creating new templates and demo games were delegated to the users of AGS (the game makers), since they already have good experience in making games, and also may know what the beginners need better.

This is why I believe that this suggestion should not be given to developers of AGS, but to AGS community. Let the community create templates and demo games, and then we may decide how to distribute these "officially", which is a less problem.

[PPAentertainment]

Hi:
Absolutely agree with You. It should be developers who provide templates. I made the suggestions in this section of the forum because I thought it covered them. Thanks for answering and for the hard work. Cheers!!

[Crimson Wizard]

I made the suggestions in this section of the forum because I thought it covered them.

This section is more about developing the program itself. It's difficult to say where to post this suggestion, but I would try "Advanced Technical Forum" perhaps. On another hand, if you have an actual idea and plan of a template but need help to create one, you may also try "Recruitment" board to get more people in, like coders or artists.

In any case, I think, it's best to begin with setting up a template "specification". Write down what the template's purpose is, and which features should it include. Then it will become more clear what is necessary to make one, what code and which assets (graphics and others). Maybe someone will be able to help with coding in "Advanced Technical Forum".