GR.A.C   (GRaphical Adventure Creator)      AM
           ---------------------------------------
        F1 Licenceware - Disk #F1 066 (2 disks) œ4.99
                  Author:  Edmund W. Clay
               Reviewed by:  Philip Richmond

Requirements 1mb minimum.  2mb or hard drive recommended.

From the author of 'Starbase 13' and 'The Lost Prince' graphic
adventures comes GRAC.

If you've played 'Monkey Island' or 'Beneath a Steel Sky' or
similar point and click graphical adventures and would like to
create your own interactive extravaganzas then this wonderful AMOS
Pro coded utility package is tops!

Disk 1 contains the GRAC Editor, a demo game and a tutorial.

Disk 2 is a full example game written using GRAC called 'Lethal
Formula' (also available separately as PD) This is a lovely
example of what can be constructed using GRAC and well worth the
asking price in its own right.  Good plot/storyline, music, sound
effects and animation.

Firstly, it should be said that GRAC will not create the entire
adventure for you. You need to come up with an idea for a story
and then create the various picture files for the rooms, objects
and character(s) associated with your game. Pictures can be easily
created using an art package eg. Dpaint.

The powerful editing options included in GRAC allow you to grab
and manipulate images from your pictures and store them in special
'bank' files to be used in your masterpiece.  You can design
various 'walk zones' which define the areas on the screen where
Characters can walk by simply mapping out suitably sized
rectangles with the mouse.  3D type effects can be obtained using
'Background' and 'Foreground' objects so that Characters can move
in front of, or behind things. This gives the illusion of more
depth to the main playing screen area.  Bridges or staircases can
be created for Characters to move up or down. Large screens can be
positioned so that when a Character reaches a certain height the
rest of the picture scrolls neatly into view updating the display.
A customized user interface command screen can be created with
'click zones' for your selected verb keywords eg:  walk, examine,
operate, use, take etc.. (a GRAC game can have up to 10 verbs + an
inventory).  These can be linked to a Character using special
'scripts'.  GRAC's 'scripts' are its built in language consisting
of simple commands and flag variables (all explained in docs) and
can be changed and edited at will.  Samples and music can be added
to games. Check out the example game.

It is worthwhile working through the tutorial to get the hang of
using GRAC and to understand the process of designing a game. The
tutorial is easy to understand and will only take about 15 minutes
to complete.  It demonstrates how you move a Character around,
perform an action and take an object.  It is quite a thrill to see
your Character come to life and move about on screen, obeying your
commands, and responding via on-screen messages.  The small demo
game 'Dodgy Game' is also informative and fun to solve.  I was
surprised and pleased to see just how quickly a game could be put
together using this system.  All the hard work is done for you by
GRAC - no programming knowledge is required to use it.  Playing a
game is simple. The left mouse button moves the Character around
or selects buttons on the control panel.  The right mouse button
selects objects in the main screen.

GRAC's editing facilities are easy to use, menu driven and mouse
controlled. There are many useful options, too many to list here.
Ample documentation on all aspects of the program is provided. The
program is hard drive installable and Multitasking is possible.
When your game is finished you can easily create a bootable disk.
The author has given permission for games produced with GRAC to be
distributed as PD, Shareware or Licenseware.  Commercial releases
need his permission.

GRAC is possibly the nearest you can get to writing an interactive
film on your Amiga.  It uses actors (Characters), backdrops (room
pics), props (objects) and scripts.  I could find no bugs and
everything worked as it was supposed to. The program is quite user
friendly. There are pop up dialog boxes that appear to ask you to
confirm or cancel operations and regular prompts to save files at
appropriate times.

This is an excellent program and a fine utility. The first true
graphic adventure generator for the Amiga which will allow 'Monkey
Island' type games to be devised.  The author is to be
congratulated for producing what is sure to be a warmly welcomed
package in the Amiga world.  If you have ever wanted to make these
types of games but lacked the expertise or know-how then don't
hesitate.  Just as PAW or GAC allowed game creators to unleash
their imaginations in text adventures, so GRAC is set to do the
same for the graphic adventure genre.  Buy it now! You won't be
disappointed.

The program is available from-:  F1 Licenceware, 31 Wellington
Road, Exeter, Devon, EX2 9DU or from PD/Software Houses who stock
F1 games.  At only œ4.99 it's great value for money.

Phil's Rating:   95/100  (Recommended)
                              - o -