Dream Weaver is a new AMIGA program which lets you do all this and more. Now, before you go pointing out that there have been similar products in the past to tackle this chore, let me say that there have indeed been similar products in the past to tackle this chore. Some of these require you to be able to (GASP!)..program, but since I for one have the programming skills of dried fruit, I have always been intimidated by them (if you've ever played my game "Wonkii", you know what I mean). As for any adventure creation programs that I've seen that require NO programming, oh lets say The Bards Tale Construction Set for instance, well they, oh what's the word......stink. Dream Weaver requires NO programming whatsoever, and the interface is as brilliant as the finished product. If you can click a mouse button you are halfway to making a fantastic adventure. The only typing required is the actual typing of the game text, which any of us semi-evolved primates are capable of.
Dream Weaver (DW) by AmyGames comes on 2 disks which are not copy protected and are hard drive installable. The manual is very easy to follow and contains a nice tutorial for getting you started. Aside from the actual creation program, the package comes with a freely-distributable player program to make your adventures stand alone. There are also two sample games to play, Nanglor, Lord of the Dinosaurs and The Village Idiot (love that title!). Just a few minutes of either game will show the power and endless possibilities of DW. Game play is a snap (or should I say "click"). Just click on one of the 8 preset actions, or from one of an endless number of custom actions which you create yourself (talk to, punch, smash, tickle- they could be anything), and then on an object in the room you are in OR in your inventory. Clicking on the compass directions (N, S, E, W, Up or Down) moves you through the adventure. The adventure keeps track of points, number of moves you have made so far, and weight carried. It couldn't be easier.
Now, to create your own world! You may have up to 120 rooms on 10 different levels for a whopping grand total of 1200 rooms, more than any adventurer could ever want. You create rooms by clicking on a map grid and just "plopping" them into place. Then select MODIFY ROOM and click on the room of your choice to spice it up. Type in a name for the location and a description of it (NOTE: room descriptions and ALL OTHER TEXT in DW may be as long and verbose as you need! Type all you want without limitations!). Exits are created by simply selecting the exit button and clicking the direction box of your choice. If you want to lock the exit, just select an ACTION/OBJECT combination and the text to go along with it. Example: The game tells you that you face a locked door. Selecting "Use Key" might tell you "The Lock is Jammed!", while selecting "Smash Door" might let you through (provided you have the SLEDGEHAMMER in your inventory). In this way puzzles may be put on any exit or object in the game. It is also possible to have an object within an object within an object etc. You may also make an exit OPEN or LOCKED by simply having (or NOT having) a certain object in your inventory. One could be very devious in this respect (who me?).
Each room may be filled with as many objects, whether they be tricks, traps, or treasures, as you need. Rooms can also have timed events placed in them, such as wandering objects, sound effects at certain timed intervals and messages that pop up suddenly, such as "Get out of there, someone's coming!", "Do you actually LIKE the odor in that room?" or "Lets get going, there's a whole game out there!" Anything your twisted little heart desires. Adding special effects to your game is where the real fun is. You could set it so "Push Button" makes a light come on or a machine work in the room you are in, or it could make an object Appear/disappear in a room that you are NOT EVEN IN! I bet you are already thinking of nasty little tricks to pull with this one. It is also possible to teleport the character around your game when he selects a certain combination. Simply selecting ANY ROOM will make an effect happen in any room of the game, provided the player has the necessary item(s) in his/her inventory. This brings up another aspect of DW, the weight problem.
If you have ever played ZORK, or any of the other classic Infocom text adventures, then you will remember the hair-pulling problem of trying to decide which items to carry and which to (with a teary eye) leave behind. With DW, you define the weight of any objects, 98 being the maximum load a character can carry. Selecting FIXED for an object will make it non-moveable. But it's more flexible than that too. Suppose you want to make a wandering monster who trucks on into a room and teases the player? Now you can't make him FIXED (or else he wouldn't WANDER), and you can't let the player TAKE him either. What's a game master to do? It's simple with DW, just set the monster's weight to 99. Now he can chase the player all around the game, while being too heavy to be carried.
Speaking of monsters, you can set any command combination to (to put it bluntly) KILL the character off. This brings up a death picture and text of your own creation. Like all good adventure games, this is where the SAVE GAME and RESTORE GAME features really pay off. DW also comes with it's own Paint Program to create the pictures and locations for your world. Although it's no DELUXE PAINT, it is good enough to help out folks who don't have a separate paint program. But if you prefer your own, DW will import any 16 color 640X200 Resolution picture. You may even use color cycling to give the illusion of animation. IFF Sound effects may also be imported to give your world "atmosphere", or to give sound effects to an action or special effect.
The game comes with 6 built in graphic "Overlays" to give your game a certain look and feel. These range from stone-like DUNGEON to the futuristic looking SCI-FI. Don't like any of them? The author has also provided a template which can be loaded into a paint program as a guide to create your own! You may also set a PASSWORD into your game to keep any other DW owners from using the game editor on your creation and thus, ruining all the nifty surprises you have lurking in the shadows. The author has kindly provided the passwords for the sample games. Loading them into the game editor is a great way to learn the ins and outs of DW, since they use most of, if not all of the programs features. The program also has a powerful DEBUG option which lets you test your game from inside the editor. This has some nice features. Selecting UNLOCK EXITS will (you guessed it) unlock all the keyed exits in your game so you may move about freely. Selecting GET OBJECTS in a room will deposit all "puzzle necessary" objects in that room into your inventory for easy "testing" of puzzles. It is clear that author Duane Bernloehr really loves adventure games (and the AMIGA!).
Dream Weaver's player program will run on any AMIGA with 1 meg, although you must have 1.5 megs to run the editor and build adventures. I must point out that I have had a few minor problems when running it under 1.3, but when run under 2.1 these minor problems are eliminated (all the more reason 1.3 owners should upgrade, it's quite quick and painless). DW is available for $29.95 (plus shipping and handling) from AmyGames P.O. Box 485, Zionsville IN 46077. I believe it is well worth this price. I have already completed my first game. It is called "PSYCHO WARD" and it should be available by the time you read this. I sent a copy of "PSYCHO WARD" to AmyGames and the author sent me a complete upgrade of the program and a list of solutions to a few little problems I was having. I have spoken with Mr. Bernloehr several times and he backs up his program 100%. Like I said, this program is WELL WORTH the price.
If anyone out there is as big an INDIANA JONES fan as I am, you will undoubtedly remember a scene from the last movie....
INDY: "Do you know how long I've been looking for this Marcus?"
MARCUS: "All your life?"
INDY (sporting a nostalgic look): "All my life."
I feel the same way about this program. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to make a text adventure. I'm not sure why but it always seemed like something I had to do. Thanks to Dream Weaver, non-programing types like myself can feel the power of creating a computer universe. Give it a try, you will be surprised at how easy it is.
One final note. I stewed and thought long and hard about whether or not to include this in this review, but it's something I must do. Although Dream Weaver is a PHENOMENAL program, I do have one itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny problem with it; the name. Every time I pick up the disks, I see the name, and the song "Dream Weaver" begins to careen through my head. Remember that song? I've always hated that song. Oh well, I guess "Red Barchetta" wouldn't have been a good name for the program. Maybe you agree. "Ooooh, ooh, ooooooh, Dreeeeeeeeam weeea-ver." Ouch!
Dr. Torgo
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