ASCII Graphics

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Lemonz

Guest
Hello, how are you all? Also happy new years!. I want to start the new year by learning something new and maybe others feel the same way? my question is, "How do you write a game or make a game using ASCII graphics?

It would be fun to make a minimal game using a new art style. Ascii would fit that bill. Anyone have any tips or ideas on how to start a project using that art style.
 
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Lemonz

Guest
So I thought about this for a while and with my lack of knowledge about coding I came up with an easy solution that game maker shouldn't have an issue with. What if I just make a tileset that looks like old ASCII art? I did this for the most basic ASCII tile, the standard wall symbol, #

By doing this approach I can utilize each symbol easier than trying to work with the print text function. It takes about 2 minutes, more if I look for a font style. If we take it a step further we can animate characters and make special effects like explosions and death animations.
 

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zendraw

Guest
you can make your font in a sprite and load it as a font. then your whole game will be done in a single draw and step event. adding explosions is not really ascii?
 
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Lemonz

Guest
ASCII can have explosions. You can make grand oceans, giant monsters, dragons. whatever you can think up it can be in the game. I am about halfway done with my tileset now.

I think in the game I am making it will not be a roguelike. not sure yet though. I was thinking shmup.
 
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zendraw

Guest
i meant as independent effects and not drawn with the ascii
 
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Lemonz

Guest
So I have an issue now. I have been doing a lot of research and I have made a lot of .png files for this game idea I wanted to do. the problem is when I import them they look horribly pixilated. Is there something I am doing wrong when I import them or should I be doing something different entirely? Are .png and jpegs not a good file format for game maker? I can't use svg files... and I have no software that can convert these to swf.

should I give up on the sprites entirely and try drawing text? can you make text that aligns to a grid and can be manipulated by the player? like opening doors to reveal new rooms ect.. or make the text into a tileset? I don't know much about the tileset functions in game maker.
 
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