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Automating the Conversation

One of the problems that has been covered in earlier chapters is the need to write code to handle branching conversations. While cutting and pasting old code and making changes to that code to reflect the new conversation accomplishes this task, this is not the best way of creating code. What is desirable would be a set of classes that are capable of handling most of the conversation work with only special cases needing new code.

The ultimate goal, though not reached during the development of One of those Weeks, would be to have a conversation system that can run with the only requirement being a simple XML file describing the conversation. By having the system able to use a simple XML file, the development of conversations can be greatly simplified.

In order to allow a XML file to be able to handle more complex conversations, a simple scripting system would be useful to have. For that reason, the framework for supporting simple token based scripts was put into the system.

Sadly, while I put a lot of work into this system, it was far from complete by the time it became time to implement this episode. Because the code is going to be used in other games, the library that the conversation system has been placed in is different path from the game. It is currently in the cqfs package as I had plans on using it with my Flash/Flex version of Coffee Quest Five and Six.

While the system is not complete at this time, it is far enough along that it can be used within the game with just a little bit of work. I had hoped that in later episodes that used the game that I would be able to finish my more elaborate plans for the library, but I simply never had the time to do so before I finished the One of those Weeks series.

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