Hi
I'm a fan of graphic adventures like the pawn and quest probe - Im mainly trying to see how I can maintain a graphic over 3/4 of the screen like in the games stated above.

Is this done through panes - and if so how?

You can use the picture frame for this. Activate it in the features tab of game then you can set a room picture for every room. And you can manipulate the pictures with the script commands "Set frame picture" and "Clear frame picture"