First Post

About three weeks have passed since GSoC started. Since I haven’t made a single post yet, I will dedicate this first post to introducing myself and my project.

My name is Yuri Guimaraes, although I go by ayyg online. I am currently a 2nd year university student studying Computer Science. Nice to meet you.

The task I am here to work on during this GSoC is the implementation of the SAGA2 engine. Putting simply, ScummVM is a software that enables users to enjoy old (generally adventure) games in a portable way. You may see it being run on the 3DS, Wii, and even PS1. In concept, it’s like an emulator, although it doesn’t rely on methods like binary translation to play games. Instead, it implements each “engine” differently according to each game. This way, it can be ensured that compatible games play almost perfectly on any machine. This also means that non-compatible games cannot be played, generally speaking.

Among those engines, there is the SAGA engine, that plays some of the games developed by The Dreamers Guild, like Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. Another game developed by The Dreamers Guild is Faery Tale Adventure II: Halls of the Dead, whose description is as follows:

Halls of the Dead: Faery Tale Adventure II was the fifth game to use The Dreamers Guild’s SAGA engine. It is an adventure-RPG that is a sequel to Faery Tale Adventure by Microillusions. The game follows three brothers who are transported to a faraway land, where they have to save the local people from evil powers that have consumed their once peaceful land.

ScummVM Wiki – Halls of the Dead: Faery Tale Adventure II

Unfortunately, it seems that the SAGA engine is not appropriate for playing FTA2, so we have decided to implement its functionality into another engine.

Therefore, the goal of my task is, in specific terms, to have the game playable within ScummVM as a new engine named SAGA2.

Of course, we’re not doing this empty handed. We have gratefully received full sources from the authors and will build from that into the SAGA2 engine.

It’s a big project, which makes me thankful that I have capable mentors to guide me in case I get lost along the way. I am grateful to have been accepted into GSoC and to have the opportunity to work on this project.

From the next post onward I will describe in more details the process so far, along with difficulties on the way.