JDelekto: I know how you feel. There are several different tools out there for creating games (even creating levels within games), from RPG, to FPS to Simulators. However, for people who really want to dive in and start creating from scratch, there is always a pretty steep initial learning curve.

What was interesting was when Sony open-sourced their Game Level Editor in the attempt to get engine developers to incorporate the tool into their game engines. This was actually a great idea that some people used because it gave a really familiar API and GUI. (Meaning if a person learned one framework/editor used for many games, they didn't have to learn a new proprietary editor each time.)

I've toyed around with a couple different engines, but never sat down and wrote a design document for a game to be serious about it. I really liked AGS, not because I'm a point & click adventure fan, but because it was fairly easy to pick up and learn.

I like to buy and play games (when I get the time), because it's great to see what's out there, what works and take notes for the best elements of different games that would work well together.

BTW, I've also dabbled with Construct 2 for HTML games --it doesn't require learning a proprietary programming language per-se, but putting together looping and logical constructs at a higher level. Very cool stuff, but I wish I were artistic enough to create the assets and music for it as well.

mobutu: at first I thought the title is Ananas Quest :)

VampiroAlhazred: This adventure looks awesome... wishlisted!

gamesfreak64: same here... i cant create music, not even a simple loop or own beat, cant draw graphics, and animation is something i will never learn, i do have very great ideas of what i would make if i could design my own games.
I photoshop for fun, basic stuff add existing faces of artists on a head of an animal or on a face of a game character.
So i will be gaming mainly and designing is something i will always try to do but i know i will never be able to create something.

I have a reasonable creative mind, but creative thoughts alone won't do the job.

JDelekto: I didn't think I had any musical talent at all, but I'm not completely tone deaf and found there are tools out there that can make great music with only a little input (and no, I'm not talking about autotune LOL). Apps like Acid Pro and Caustic (two separate things, go figure), are great for making loops or entire songs. What I like about Acid Pro was that it was like "painting" with sound clips, you could guess, try, re-edit and play until you got something that sounded awesome.

You know what would be an interesting experiment? Four games, (actually the same game, but with different presentation).

One game with crappy sound and crappy graphics.
One game with crappy sound and gorgeous graphics.
One game with beautiful sound and crappy graphics.
One game with beautiful sound and gorgeous graphics.

I would choose a pool of 100 people, 25 people for each game, they could not have played the 'game' before in any of its incarnations (of graphics/sound combinations).

Then I would ask each of them to rate the game that they played and see how it pans out.

zavlin: Just finished this and it is great! one of the best point&click games in years.

ebuyitall: Anna's Quest is a fun, familiy friendly point-and-click puzzle adventure with likable characters and interesting story.

Spoiler free review:

Most of the puzzles in Anna's quest range from easy to slightly challenging. The only thing that slowed me down was that some of the interations needed to solve puzzles will only work at certain points in the story, so you may need to double back to try something that didn't work earlier.

The graphics and artsyle are simple but appropriate for the setting and still pleasent enough to look at. The music and sound are also good.

Among the familiar fairy-tale themes are some new takes especially with regards to certain famous characters and archetypes.

There are various jokes and referenes hidden throughout the game some of which refers to other games, e.g. Monkey Island and Assassins creed, you can track some of these in the achievements menu.

Pros:
Good characters;
artstyle;
Interesting story and world building.
Value for money -I bought this on sale and would say 10/10 for value.

Cons:
Ending;
From a story telling perspective a lot of things are set up that later on are never explained and are left dangling.

Final thoughts: Due to the good story and characters I can easily recommend this game for anyone It is pretty much a must buy when it goes on sale.