MAGS June "Ice" (RESULTS)

[Stupot]

The voting is over and the results have been carefully counted and:

Don't Ice Your Cool by Hobo. You will be contacted soon about choosing a topic for August.

Thanks to everyone who entered.

	Groundhog by Slasher
	To the Mountains of Madness by Mandle
	Ice in the Air by Cassiebsg
	Comet Collision by VampireWombat
	Don' Ice your Cool by Hobo

Topic : Ice
This Month's guidelines set by: TGames

With the hot summer months finally upon us, we need something to cool us down.




Ice must be incorporated into your game in any form. Perhaps the setting is an icy tundra. Maybe the player is searching for an icy treat. Maybe a character is made out of ice. The topic is open to be interpreted as you wish and the possibilities are endless, as long as ice is somehow in your game.

There is no restriction on art you can use in this competition. Previously made art assets and public art assets can be used.

Ending:  June 30th

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is MAGS?

Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for amateur adventure game makers. The idea is to create a game in under a month, following the rules set by the previous winner. It aims to help you work to a deadline, improve your skills, and provide a kick-start into making adventure games. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favorite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you have bad art skills, use it as a chance to do some graphic work. If you're sub-standard at coding, use it as a chance to give scripting a go. Ultimately, people will vote for the most enjoyable entry.

Rules

Entering MAGS is simple. First, conceptualise your game following the month's criteria (see top). Second, create your game fueled only by coffee. Finally, post your game in this thread, including:

? A working download link
? The title of your game
? A suitable in-game screenshot

At the end of the month, voting will begin, usually lasting for fifteen days. The winner chooses the next month's theme, and their name and game is immortalised in the MAGS Archive. For more information, please visit the Official MAGS website.

[selmiak]

cool

[Slasher]

I feel a draft coming on......a cool idea is in my mind

[VampireWombat]

Must resist the urge to make a Vanilla Ice adventure game...

[CaptainD]

Must resist the urge to make a Vanilla Ice adventure game...

DO NOT RESIST!

[VampireWombat]

Oh sure it may sound like a good idea now. But I'm sure that the Hammerman cartoon sounded like a good idea to someone.

[Radiant]

What an ice idea. Does this mean that all AGS'ers are now making ice games before they become cool?

[TGames]

I'm loving all the puns

[CaptainD]

I'm loving all the puns

Ice see what you mean.

[Slasher]

Thought it was time I kept my own diary of my progress in MAG competitions.

https://sites.google.com/view/slashersbolg-diary/home

[TGames]

I've been so anxious to start working on this MAGS. I'v come up with an idea for a game where you have to investigate a Yeti attack in a Nepali village.

[Stupot]

Okay these puns are getting fridgiculous now.

[TheFrighter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq-bcFOI56E

[VampireWombat]

For some reason I find myself wondering if rubber bat nipples exist from the chill of puns.

I also wonder if I should go through with the Vanilla Ice adventure game. It could be fun. But I fear that it would be unleashing a horrible monster constructed out of the corpses of cartoons and other media from the late 80s/early 90s.
Is the world ready for a game inspired by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Kidd Video, Hammerman, Captain Planet, Captain N, the Super Mario Super Show, and Saved By The Bell?

[Mandle]

DO NOT RESIST!

Take a chill-pill, bra...

[CaptainD]

DO NOT RESIST!

Take a chill-pill, bra...

This MAGS theme is already on the rocks...

[CherishKuddleMonster]

I didn't make it for the other one but I'm going to try to for this one. If I don't make it at least I learned.

[Stupot]

I didn't make it for the other one but I'm going to try to for this one. If I don't make it at least I learned.

That's what it's all about, CKM :-) Good luck.

[Mandle]

This MAGS theme is already on the rocks...

The topic is just too polarizing.

[CaptainD]

This MAGS theme is already on the rocks...

The topic is just too polarizing.

Well that just about caps it off for today.

[Stupot]

Enough of the puns. Shouldn't you all be working on your first draughts.

[selmiak]

don't you mean thawts?

I have a great idea but decided to put it on ice...

[Slasher]

Hi

My shortish Game 'Groundhog' is now at 99.99% complete and testing is next on the list.....

It's a fantasy / romance type game..

[VampireWombat]

99.9% complete? Wow.
I didn't even have a real idea until almost bedtime last night.
I'm not even completely sure what mine is going to be other than having 1-3 characters lost somewhere with snow and ice.

[Slasher]

99.9% complete? Wow.
I didn't even have a real idea until almost bedtime last night.
I'm not even completely sure what mine is going to be other than having 1-3 characters lost somewhere with snow and ice.

Having decided to make a less time consuming game I opted for something shorter to create.. though I am playing the percentages.... the chances of getting the full solutions correct on the first go is very very slight...it may take many more goes and that expands the time.

So a game that could be completed in two minutes will probably take 10/15 minutes or even longer...

Groundhog:
"Bill Rutherford is an ordinary eight-to-five type guy. He works in a local bank doing a job that he finds rather stuffy. He is single and hopes that one day he will meet the girl of his dreams. He does not know it yet, but he is about to step into something mysterious that will change his life... forever."

This is a fantasy / romance game.

Maybe you should go for something similar?

[VampireWombat]

This is a fantasy / romance game.

Maybe you should go for something similar?

I haven't really played those types of games, so I'm not sure how I'd do it.
But it does give me an idea that I could make it more of an interactive story. That would solve the problem of trying to figure out puzzles.
Thanks for triggering the idea.

[Slasher]

GROUNDHOG

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2261/

"Bill Rutherford is an ordinary eight-to-five type guy. He works in a local bank doing a job that he finds rather stuffy. He is single and hopes that one day he will meet the girl of his dreams. He does not know it yet, but he is about to step into something mysterious that will change his life...forever."

He goes to the Silver Caf'e for coffee when he bumps into Carol and it is instant attraction.

The idea of the game is to get to know Carol in as few days as possible. You do this by guessing her favorite things such as drink, food, song etc etc.

You need to get all subject options correct to go to the next scene..... failure of any subject dialog option will make you relive the day again.

Will Bill get the girl and most importantly, how many days does he need to relive before he does?

Fantasy/Romance.

Game is based on Dialog Option choices.

You cannot Save (short game) and the only cursor is the Pointer.

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2261/

[Slasher]

Come on guys,

show us your wares

My game: Fixed some missed text...

[VampireWombat]

I could show pictures of silverware.
Research and starting the AGS project file are all I currently have done. I don't have a name or anything.
I was going to at least start work on graphics this weekend, but I ended up playing Kerbal Space Program yesterday and have been distracted by other things today.
I'm not even sure if I'm going to make graphics using Inkscape and Spriter or in Blender with cartoonish shading.
I do know that there will be a way for your penguin to die with every decision given. And that there will be 2-4 settings for violence level.
Edit: Okay, here's a quick version of the player penguin made in Inkscape.
Not Safe For Mandle

Spoiler

[close]

[Mandle]

Errrr... I'm finding the positioning of the penguin's tail a little disturbing to my eye...

[VampireWombat]

Is this better?

[Cassiebsg]

I suspect the opposite is actually better.

See here: https://www.arkive.org/king-penguin/aptenodytes-patagonicus/image-G57835.html
Right to the ground level, wider, and even though it's black, maybe paint the tip dark grey (to suggest it's further away).

[Slasher]

I don't think that was what Mandle's wicked soh was ranting on about 

[VampireWombat]

I'm a little confused at being shown a link to a king penguin adult when my penguin is an emperor penguin chick. And I'm pretty sure that if I made the tail anything like the image linked that it would be worse for Mandle.
But neither of my images are final. Just quick versions. The second was purely a quick change in hopes to make Mandle less... idunno, embarrassed?
I will most likely completely redo the penguin.

[Cassiebsg]

Oh, it's a chick!

Well, problem solved then... no tail! Just a huge fluffy furball !(laugh)
https://www.masterfile.com/image/en/700-02670605

[Slasher]

That would stop Mandle in his tracks

[Mandle]

Is this better?

It is pretty cold down there so... Shrinkage!!!

(And yeah, what Cassie said plus this: maybe you don't need to even show the tail in front view? Do baby penguins have that long a tail?)

[VampireWombat]

It's difficult for me to properly tell the length of the tail for a baby penguin in front view because pretty much any front view I've found has snow.
But yeah, I probably will remove the tail completely from the front view. I'm going to attempt making it in Blender first. If I can't make an acceptable version by next Monday, then I'll just redo the Inkscape version.

[Layabout]

Baby penguins drag their butt on the ground, you shouldn't see the penguins 'tail' at all in the front view.

[Mandle]

Things are heating up! Ironic!

[Slasher]

Groundhog...

Some typos/grammar amended...

[VampireWombat]

So, my game is going to be changing a bit. I've been struggling with trying to figure out a story. And last night I had the idea to make it sort of Windows 3.1 emulator. How much is included depends on various factors. But I am definitely including an internet client based on Prodigy, Compuserve, and AOL. I'm planning to have email, various ice related stuff, and a few mini games.
If I have the time, I also want to make some Shareware style games.

[KyriakosCH]

Hm... Excellent topic, so general that it allows for many personal ideas

I may try - but i am not sure if i will manage to have something ready...!

[Slasher]

Groundhog...

Tweaked...

VampireWombat.. Hope you manage to succeed your entry

[Slasher]

Where is everyone?

I was hoping we would get as many entries as last month..

Still, early days...

[VampireWombat]

Guess pretty everyone expended their time, energy, and creativity for month.
I know that I'm struggling to get anything done. But I promise I will have something for this month. Even if it's just sending and receiving 1 email and having a rock/paper/scissors minigame...

[Mandle]

I might have an ice demo at least in the works...

[Slasher]

I might have an ice demo at least in the works...

Come on... We need Mandle games

Do what you can mate

[Mandle]

Very early testing screenshot, but it does show just a little bit what it might be like for Bill Fisher to arrive in the merry old port of London CIRCA 1920....

Spoiler

[IMGZOOM]http://i67.tinypic.com/28i6sls.png[/IMGZOOM]

[close]

[Hobo]

I might jump in with a tiny weekend project to add some competition. Finished some EGA assets yesterday and set up the interface and couple of puzzles today. I'll throw in a few animations tomorrow and try to wrap it up. And if I have time during the week, I'll add some additional polish.

[imgzoom]https://imgur.com/DM4wJ4C.png[/imgzoom]

[selmiak]

I solved that puzzle already
Looking great Hobo!

[Mandle]

A rather ugly screenshot showing a concept GUI where you select your 3 out of 7 possible characters for the game:

Spoiler

[close]

So yeah, the GUI was pretty much made up on the fly to try to fit everything in. It's confusing as hell but shows maybe a bit of the scope I want for this game.

There's no way the game will be ready for this MAGS by the way, only a demo, sorry.

[VampireWombat]

Eh, demo is better than nothing.

I'm going quantity over quality with mine. I just started the rpg portion of mine on Friday and it's going to be more proof of concept than anything else. And I haven't even started on the email or Alien portions yet...

[Slasher]

Interesting possible entries guys

I will sit and hope.....

[Stupot]

I thought I posted this yesterday. Maybe forgot to press 'post'.

Basically I'm pre-empting any extension request and giving you an extra 24 hours whether you like it or not. I'm not going to have time to set up the voting and stuff until the next day.

[Mandle]

Basically I'm pre-empting any extension request and giving you an extra 24 hours whether you like it or not.

Y...y...you MONSTER!!!

So, that's until the end of Sunday? (Monday morning here in Japan?)

[Stupot]

Yeah Monday morning for us.
I work Sunday mornings which is bad enough but it's gonna be extra hard this week because I'm gonna be up late Saturday night.

[Mandle]

I work Sunday mornings

Dude, how'd you get suckered into that?! A boss once offered me 30,000 yen per day if I would work like 3-4 hours on Sundays and I still turned it down.

Probably wouldn't these days though I suppose. That was back in the 90s when money flowed like the Arakawa if you were a gaijin in Japan.

I'm guessing the late Saturday night has something to do with a certain Cup?

[CaptainD]

I might have an ice demo at least in the works...

A nice demo you say?

[Mandle]

I might have an ice demo at least in the works...

A nice demo you say?

Youse know it!

[VampireWombat]

I will try to use the extra time wisely. It will be useful since in the last few minutes the idea I had for an abduction game has ballooned into something much more.

[Mandle]

I will try to use the extra time wisely.

Damn! That's so much better than my plan to only work on my game when I feel motivated to, squander the rest of my time on youtube and AGS forums, and, in the end, release a "demo" not even close to playable but showing a ton of promise which will most likely never get realized.

[VampireWombat]

Oh, that's most likely closer to what will happen for me. But an extra day does mean 1-4 extra hours I will actually spend on the project...

[Slasher]

Damn! That's so much better than my plan to only work on my game when I feel motivated to, squander the rest of my time on youtube and AGS forums, and, in the end, release a "demo" not even close to playable but showing a ton of promise which will most likely never get realized.

To me, it does not matter if it is a demo / or is very short... but it must be playable and have a start. middle and an end otherwise it is not actually a bona fide game which would be a shame

[Mandle]

To me, it does not matter if it is a demo / or is very short... but it must be playable and have a start. middle and an end otherwise it is not actually a bona fide game which would be a shame

Oh, then it's just gonna have to be a shame...

I've always wanted to make a game worthy of the Lovecraft mythos and this one seems to be it.

BUT, to create such a game means that it needs a lot of writng, a lot of research, a lot of atmosphere, and a LOT of balancing the gameplay so that it always feels to the player like they are up against near impossible odds and yet they still could win if they learn how to beat those odds.

This game has become my new passion project and will probably take a long time to finish. In fact, it might even become a commercial game at some point with the current graphics/music/everything just being placeholders for someone much better to redo...

I won't be releasing anything close to a playable game but at least the theme of "Ice" turned my mind To The Mountains Of Madness.

[Slasher]

That sounds really cool Mandle... Obviously not within a month.... If I can be of any use PM me...

Good luck

[Kastchey]

I won't be releasing anything close to a playable game but at least the theme of "Ice" turned my mind To The Mountains Of Madness.

Ohh yes please! I always thought this one would make an awesome adventure game.

[Mandle]

Ohh yes please! I always thought this one would make an awesome adventure game.

Mine is not exactly an adventure game but does contain some elements of one.

You'll be happy to know though that the adventure game "Chronicle Of Innsmouth"'s sequel is in production and is subtitled "Mountains Of Madness"

[VampireWombat]

With only 35 hours left, it looks like I'm going to have to ditch any creativity in the rpg segment and limit it to 1 on 1 battle.
But I have a fair amount of ideas for the alien segment and it doesn't require having to implement coding I haven't done before.

Hopefully everyone who has started a game will at least have something they can share, even if it's only a minute long and has no actual gameplay.
Good luck to all.

[Slasher]

As long as it's playable bring it on

[Cassiebsg]

I started yesterday, so I appreciate the extra time.
Might just come out with something worth playing for 5 minutes. Bugs will be considered features!

[VampireWombat]

If a character eats bugs, extra points.

I just finished down views for the 4 life stages for the penguin virtual pet tamagotchi thing I'm doing. There's only a 2% chance of side views or animation beyond waddling up or down...


Now to design some aliens, Vanilla Ice rpg character, and maybe even do a bit of coding...

Edit:
[imgzoom]http://i68.tinypic.com/vgh5pi.jpg[/imgzoom]

[Mandle]

Well, I ended up with a touch of heat-stroke the last 2 days and other issues prevented any solid blocks of free time last week.

Feeling better today so hopefully I can show at least an intro and a tiny bit of gameplay.

[Cassiebsg]

Good news everybody!
Mine is now playable from start to finish, and I haven't spotted any crashing bug yet... maybe I should add a few? I'll use tomorrow to add a few SFX and Music.

The bad news? It's 3AM and I haven't eaten dinner yet...

[VampireWombat]

Yes, definitely add more bugs. The more the crunchier.
But congratulations for it being playable from start to finish. Mine has neither at the moment. And will have no end...
Today I have to add in the login screen, a screen to choose the different mini games,make all the mini games actually playable instead of skeletons with limited interaction, add music, and try not to go insane.

[DBoyWheeler]

Yes, definitely add more bugs. The more the crunchier.

(sings)
Bugs bugs bugs bugs
BUGS BUGS BUGS BUGS
LOVELY BUGS!  WONDERFUL BUGS!

(talks normal)
Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what options appear here.

[VampireWombat]

Yes, it'll be interesting indeed. I have a feeling that some of it will be like watching a train wreck.
It'll be interesting to see how much I can actually pull off with my ideas since I'm now fighting against sleep deprivation and can barely hold a... kitten? No, that's not the right word... Thimble? Toaster? I'm sure it's some word starting with t. (okay, not quite that bad).
I'll see what I can get done in the next 5 hours or so. Things that aren't at least somewhat functional will be dummied out. And after that I will finish up whatever loose ends need to be tied and dot any polkas I find.

[Mandle]

TO THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (INTRO)



In the frozen wastes at the bottom of the world lies the salvation for all mankind.

Four members of the secret society "The Wardens At The Threshold" set out to save the world from the return of The Great Old Ones in this Lovecraftian nightmare.

Ummmm... Literally!!! They just set out to save the world... That's all they do!!!

Yeah, there is no gameplay except for watching the game intro and choosing your four characters.

This is the intro to a much more ambitous project and therefore I had to be quite careful with the coding with future expansion in mind. This took up all my time as I stared blankly at the wall for minutes on end, debating such choices as: How big should this array be?! I have no idea, so I'll just make it stupidly BIG!!! and... other stuff...

After you have chosen your characters and returned to the map screen you can hit Alt-X to go instantly insane, or you can press ESC to slowly sink into the abyss of madness from where you should select "Quit Game".

Ummmmm... Sorry?!

DOWNLOAD THIS AMAZING GAME INTRO HERE

[VampireWombat]

Going insane sounds fun. You completed something, so don't be sorry.
It's more than I've managed so far...
I don't know if anything will be actually playable other than the alien minigame.

[Cassiebsg]

Ice in the Air

Charly has just been told he needs to play outside as long as the weather is good. However what he wants is to go back in and play on his computer, since all his friends are on vacation.

P&C adventure game made in 3 days made for MAGS, hope you have some fun with it.

Music: Eric Matyas
Game length: 5 to 15 minutes
Game res: 320x180, 32bit colour

[imgzoom]http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2267_1.png[/imgzoom]

[imgzoom]http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2267_2.png[/imgzoom]

DOWNLOAD HERE!
Completed Game Announcement: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=56216.0

[Mandle]

You completed something

I only wish I could see your face when you "play" my entry...

[Slasher]

Frozen NOT Frozzen

[Mandle]

Frozen NOT Frozzen

Context is key!

Is this a typo in Cassie's game?

[VampireWombat]

I only wish I could see your face when you "play" my entry...

I will attempt to find or make an emoticon that best fits.

[Cassiebsg]

Probably, typos are great and to be considered features.

[VampireWombat]

Sleep deprivation and less than 3 1/2 hours means major sacrifices must be made.
I'm doing only the alien game for today. Hopefully a global disaster leading to an ice age is enough ice.

[Slasher]

I think a certain someone is having a 'Bubble'

[VampireWombat]

I think the bubble burst awhile ago.
Luckily this game will be very easy to code. Literally just hotspots and move to another room...

[VampireWombat]

Comet Collision:
Guide your planet to salvation.
Graphics by me.
No music.
Completed all today.
Haven't had a chance to test.
Download at.

[Hobo]

Don't Ice Your Cool

[imgzoom]https://imgur.com/q3vBi6j.png[/imgzoom]

Download here!

Whew... Last minute, untested, lots of bugs probably.


Edit: AGS game page here!

[Stupot]

The contest is over and the voting begins.
Five entries. Not a bad follow-up to last month's bumper edition.
Please vote using the poll at the top of the page.

	Groundhog by Slasher
	To the Mountains of Madness by Mandle
	Ice in the Air by Cassiebsg
	Comet Collision by VampireWombat
	Don' Ice your Cool by Hobo

[horusr]

Congrats everyone who made it! I hope voting will be cool!

[Shadow1000]

Wow..talk about 11th hour entries!

So...here are my comments:

Groundhog

Spoiler

Don't be deceived by what seems to be a simple guessing game. It wasn't till I finished that I realized that it's actually very clever!

[close]

To the Mountains of Madness

Spoiler

Well, it's just an intro...looks like a good concept.

[close]

Ice in the Air

Spoiler

The most complete game, with a goal, inventory, steps to take to achieve the goal and decent graphics.

[close]

Comet Collision

Spoiler

Reminds me of those paper "fortune tellers" we made in grade school

[close]

Don't Ice your Cool

Spoiler

I love the graphics and animation! Short game with simple, progressive puzzles.

[close]

My vote goes to

Spoiler

Ice in the Air, as I felt that it was the most overall complete game of the bunch.

[close]

Well done!

[Mandle]

Can't wait to start playing this selection! Looks like a good way to shake off the last bit of my heat-stroke.

[VampireWombat]

Wow..talk about 11th hour entries!
Comet Collision

Spoiler

Reminds me of those paper "fortune tellers" we made in grade school

[close]

Yes, I was kind of panicking when I saw how close it was.

I'm only vaguely familiar with how those work. At my school the knowledge to make those only seemed to be passed on to girls while boys did paper airplanes and paper footballs.

Thanks for playing and commenting.

[Mandle]

My feedback on the games, updated as I play:

Ice In The Air

Spoiler

I haven't been able to get the game working on my old computer yet. It says "This is not a Win-32 application" or somesuch. Had the same problem with Lab Maze Rat. I'll try again on my work computer tomorrow.
UPDATE: The game ran properly on my work computer. I found that the game was bugged: After finding and reading the paper I found that I could put any one ingredient into the fire, even if I hadn't found them all, and win the game. I only had the matches, paper, and twig, but putting only the twig into the fire started the fire and won the game. I did go back and find all the other items, I think, but this was not a lot of fun because now I knew the game would not confirm if I had actually won or not and would just accept any single item to win. Graphics and mood were nice and the story was cute.

[close]

Don't Ice Your Cool

Spoiler

Charming although very short. An intro explaining how this situation came about would have been nice, but the player can just pretend this is just one stage in a larger game and make up their own story I guess. A few of the puzzles were a bit of the "Oh, that's not what I expected at all from that interaction, but... okaaay..." type, but I was happy to see that the orca doesn't the hook jabbed into it at the end like I was expecting so that's good. Maybe set the music to 50% as the default value? It is very loud at full volume! The animations are amazing and are the main star of this game in my opinion! It also looks like a lot of work went into the control panel design which seems a bit of overkill for such a short game but I suppose the design can be recycled for other projects. Great effort!

[close]

Comet Collision

Spoiler

Simple and provides a bit of fun but, is a Restart Game option too much to ask for?! I would have liked to continue playing and see all the endings but quitting and restarting the game every time after an ending got the better of my completionist side and I gave up. Most of the endings were abrupt with almost no way to guess what the "correct" choices were so I never really felt like I'd "won" the game even if the ending described a good outcome. I think this kind of gameplay really needs a longer build-up before any endings are reached to create the feeling that the player's choices actually matter and to make the player go back and play again because "I wonder what would have happened if I'd tried that instead". Of course this creates a more complex tree of choices, a lot more endings to write, and a lot more time to create the game. Still, some simple fun was had!

[close]

Groundhog

Spoiler

Pretty much what I expected from the game given the title. I do have to wonder though how thick Bill is that it took like four days to realize the day was on repeat. Couldn't he figure that out from how the rest of his day presumably went? I think having the game remember all the correct answers was maybe not needed. I think the average person could remember them all and feel just a little bit smarter having to select them once they were all known. If the girl had said that her favorite song was "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" I would have wanted an option to just never talk with her again. By the way, the theme song to Titanic is "My Heart Will Go On" not "Titanic". I did love the final cutscene: ice skating in Titanic pose was very cute! An unusual choice of material (but a fun one) from Slasher!

[close]

I voted for:

Spoiler

Don't Ice Your Cool. It was a hard choice between Groundhog, Ice In The Air, and Don't Ice Your Cool. I probably would have voted for Ice In The Air but a bug kind of spoiled the experience for me. I ended up voting for Don't Ice Your Cool mostly for the awesome animations which showed quite a bit of effort!

[close]

[Shadow1000]

Wow..talk about 11th hour entries!
Comet Collision

Spoiler

Reminds me of those paper "fortune tellers" we made in grade school

[close]

Yes, I was kind of panicking when I saw how close it was.

I'm only vaguely familiar with how those work. At my school the knowledge to make those only seemed to be passed on to girls while boys did paper airplanes and paper footballs.

Thanks for playing and commenting.

If I recall correctly, the paper airplanes were for during class and the fortune tellers for recess.

[VampireWombat]

Comet Collision

Spoiler

Simple and provides a bit of fun but, is a Restart Game option too much to ask for?! I would have liked to continue playing and see all the endings but quitting and restarting the game every time after an ending got the better of my completionist side and I gave up. Most of the endings were abrupt with almost no way to guess what the "correct" choices were so I never really felt like I'd "won" the game even if the ending described a good outcome. I think this kind of gameplay really needs a longer build-up before any endings are reached to create the feeling that the player's choices actually matter and to make the player go back and play again because "I wonder what would have happened if I'd tried that instead". Of course this creates a more complex tree of choices, a lot more endings to write, and a lot more time to create the game. Still, some simple fun was had!

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Spoiler

Given how sleep deprived I was yesterday and the fact I barely got it finished and submitted before the deadline... Yes. Anything more than there is too much to ask for. lol.
But if I get around to making an updated version, restart will be added.
I agree that the endings were abrupt. But my goal was just to have something finished for the deadline. A lot of sacrifices had to be made.
I wanted it to be less linear and to have an actual research tree. I also wanted gameplay in space and beyond. Hopefully this fall I'll have the time and energy to make a better version. Thanks for the comments and for playing.

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Edit: Actually, I just made an updated version with a restart button. It can be found at the same link. It's the second download on the page.

[Cassiebsg]

Ice In The Air

Spoiler

I haven't been able to get the game working on my old computer yet. It says "This is not a Win-32 application" or somesuch. Had the same problem with Lab Maze Rat. I'll try again on my work computer tomorrow.

[close]

Uhm... could this be a problem/bug with the latest beta of AGS?

[Slasher]

Try downloading it again... as sometime this is an indication that windows hasn't fully downloaded the file.

[Hobo]

Groundhog

Spoiler

I love time loop stories, they offer so many different opportunities for twists and surprises. This was a pretty simple and small-scale implementation of that plot device, but still enjoyable and the ending was rewarding enough. Most answers seemed to be related to the MAGS theme, so that was a nice touch.

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To the Mountains of Madness

Spoiler

Well, not much to say about it, this is indeed only an intro. The character sheets look decent, but the selection arrows blend a bit too well into the interface and it took me a moment to notice them. The board-game-like feel and set up seems interesting and I'd like to see what sort of gameplay you'll implement for this. Good luck with finishing the full version. Oh, what's the connection to the "Ice" theme?

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Ice in the Air

Spoiler

A neat little game. It was interesting to see a simple pixel background mixed with a more detailed character model, usually it's the other way around. Story worked nicely with the theme and you can't really go wrong with music by Eric Matyas. Very light on puzzles, I personally don't mind that, but I guess it would add a bit more challenge if some of the items had more steps to obtaining them than simply picking them up. Well done, it was an enjoyable five minutes.

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Comet Collision

Spoiler

I like the concept, I've always enjoyed the choose-your-own-adventure type games. I agree with Mandle that this sort of format probably benefits from longer stories and having a path end only after one or two clicks felt a bit underwhelming. The restart button is a welcome addition, but it now appears on top of the text on couple of occasions. The default AGS restart button F9 also seems to be working, so I guess there was always a restart button. Music and sound effects would have also been nice too, would have helped to create a better atmosphere. It's great that you got it released (your first AGS game?) and hopefully you'll find some time to develop it further.

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[VampireWombat]

Comet Collision

Spoiler

I like the concept, I've always enjoyed the choose-your-own-adventure type games. I agree with Mandle that this sort of format probably benefits from longer stories and having a path end only after one or two clicks felt a bit underwhelming. The restart button is a welcome addition, but it now appears on top of the text on couple of occasions. The default AGS restart button F9 also seems to be working, so I guess there was always a restart button. Music and sound effects would have also been nice too, would have helped to create a better atmosphere. It's great that you got it released (your first AGS game?) and hopefully you'll find some time to develop it further.

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Spoiler

I'm glad you enjoyed the concept. Of course it wasn't supposed to be a choose your own adventure game. It became that since it was the only way I could get it finished by the deadline. I have notes and ideas for what I wanted to do and hope to do. And shame about the restart appearing on top of the text on some. I didn't have time to test more than a few rooms/options. I'll look into a fix for it when I have time.
I agree that music, sound effects, and actual graphics would have been nice. They are all things I plan to include if/when I make a full version.
Thanks, but this is actually the second game I've completed for MAGs.
Thanks for the comments and playing.

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A 3rd version has been added to the page which should fix the issue with the restart gui.

[Mandle]

To the Mountains of Madness

Spoiler

Oh, what's the connection to the "Ice" theme?

[close]

The Mountains Of Madness are in Antarctica (according to Lovecraft), "at the frozen bottom of the world" as the intro says.

[Mandle]

Spent a very pleasant few hours gathering pictures of cities worldwide from 1920 to use in my game.

Amazing to see people just wandering around unaware that about 100 years later someone would be able to instantly find a photo they were in and then plug it into a game a few minutes later...

Crazy!

[Mandle]

I've updated my comments on the previous page now that I have been able to play Cassie's entry.

[Cassiebsg]

Also, thanks for the bug report Mandle!
I've updated the game to v1.1 now.

Spoiler

You now need all the objects to finish the game.

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]

[VampireWombat]

I was finally able to download and play some of the games today.
In order as I played them:

To the Mountains of Madness

Spoiler

Not sure what to say about this one. I mostly knew what to expect from screenshots and all. And I knew to expect something. I raised my eyebrow a little when hearing the theme music and then chuckled a bit when it distorted.

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Don't Ice Your Cool

Spoiler

Short, but effective. The animations were nice and I never got stuck on a puzzle.

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Ice In The Air

Spoiler

I was a bit confused what to do with the items for a bit until I took a break. Apparently I forgot to actually read the list.
Cute game, but some of the stuff referenced is more interesting to me. Like I want to see a game about the clown...

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Groundhog

Spoiler

I was able to guess most of them pretty easy, but I think I had to go through all of the food options to get it right. I kind of would like to see more done with the premise, but it worked well enough as it was.

[close]

My vote:

Spoiler

Don't Ice Your Cool. It was the most fun for me and had the most variation with the puzzles.

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[Cassiebsg]

Time to give some feedback, before I get too tired again.

Groundhog by Slasher

Spoiler

Not my kind of game and it's basically pick the right dialog branch. The plot of redoing the day until you get it right has been done to death too. Basically I just clicked all "the repeating" dialog as fast as possible... Cause I thought: Got it wrong, so the game just restarted... took me 2 or 3 restarts before I noticed the text was slightly different.
spoiler:

Spoiler

Also took me a while to realize the connection of the theme with the answers.

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To the Mountains of Madness by Mandle

Spoiler

Loved the intro! Then I got stuck in the choose the characters screen... was about to quit when I accidentally hit the arrow and wondered "what happened?" Then I finally saw the arrows. Picked the team and took the next screen to figure out what to do... eventually I found the hidden quit button.
Looking forward to see how the game actually turns out.

[close]

Comet Collision by VampireWombat

Spoiler

Read. Click. Game over.
Think your ambitions for the game you want to make are bigger than your current capacity. Where was that Penguin? You took so long to make it, and it never got into the game?
I think you should focus on a small one room game and not get sidetracked by all the extras you want to add. Some times "less is more" (Mies van der Rohe).

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Don't Ice your Cool by Hobo

Spoiler

Loved this little gem, great graphics and lovely animations. And the puzzles were also very good thought out. Plus I love a huge amount of options... probably a little too many for such a short game though. The only critic is the audio is all set to 100... I would rather they were set much lower. like 50, so it doesn't burst my hears when it starts.
Spoilers:

Spoiler

Well, I'm probably not going to figure out why I can get the stick by throwing a piece of ice on the stick, but the sardines didn't work...

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I voted for:

Spoiler

Drums roll

Spoiler

So you really want to know?

Spoiler

Drums roll

Spoiler

honestly?

Spoiler

Ice in th.... errm   just kidding

Spoiler

Don't Ice your Cool by Hobo

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[VampireWombat]

Comet Collision by VampireWombat

Spoiler

Read. Click. Game over.
Think your ambitions for the game you want to make are bigger than your current capacity. Where was that Penguin? You took so long to make it, and it never got into the game?
I think you should focus on a small one room game and not get sidetracked by all the extras you want to add. Some times "less is more" (Mies van der Rohe).

[close]

Spoiler

You must have chosen one of the simpler ones. Several of the scenarios go much farther than others. I think it ended up with 31 or 32 rooms.
And I didn't spend that long actually making the penguin. Maybe 2-3 hours total. Sadly, I was sleep deprived the final weekend and was unable to implement it as virtual pet.
One day I probably will end up doing a one room game. The idea hadn't occurred to me until I played the games today.
I could probably finish up the virtual pet penguin in a couple of hours if you want to see the penguin...

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[Cassiebsg]

Yes I do want to see him
Well, the first try was eaxctly that, I managed to beat the game the second try and that was it. But also the 2nd time is didn't took that long to reach the end.
Also, why do you need 31-32 rooms? You could have settled with one room, one GUI and then just change the picture and text on the labels/buttons...

[VampireWombat]

Alright, I'll see what I can do. I have the code mostly figured out, I just need to do some fine tuning and testing to make sure it works real time as planned.

And yeah, I know I could have done it that way. But the sleep deprivation made me unable to think how to code. The method that ended up in the game was literally just rooms with backgrounds and hotspots to handle the choices.

But I have learned from the experience. Any new code not finished by the 2nd or 3rd week gets scrapped or simplified.

[Blondbraid]

I've played all the games, and here are my thoughts:
Groundhog by Slasher:

Spoiler

At first I just picked answers at random, but once I saw the connection between the right answers I finished the game quickly. It's not a bad game, but there's nothing particularly fun and interesting about it compared to most other games by Slasher.

[close]

To the Mountains of Madness by Mandle

Spoiler

I have to agree with Cassiebsg that the GUI was a bit tricky with the arrow the same color as the surrounding frame, but otherwise it was an interesting intro and premise, I'm curios to what the actual gameplay would be like.

[close]

Ice in the Air by Cassiebsg

Spoiler

Unfortunately I think I encountered some sort of bug, I putt all items on the list into the bonfire but I can't light it, so I haven't finished the game.

[close]

Comet Collision by VampireWombat

Spoiler

It was fun seeing all the weird results coming from the choices you could make, but I wish I didn't have to restart the game every time I hit an ending.

[close]

Don't Ice your Cool by Hobo

Spoiler

It's a cute, bite-sized game with nice graphics and animations in addition to a neat puzzle, and I ended up voting for it.

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[Cassiebsg]

@Blondbraind

Spoiler

Seems like you are now playing the game as intended.
It's not a bug.

Spoiler

You need to start a fire... what would you do if you wanted to start a fire?

Spoiler

Also the character gives you a hint about what the "last" item is.

Spoiler

And if you haven't figured it out by now, just throw the paper in the bonfire, then light it.

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[Blondbraid]

@Blondbraind

Spoiler

Seems like you are now playing the game as intended.
It's not a bug.

Spoiler

You need to start a fire... what would you do if you wanted to start a fire?

Spoiler

Also the character gives you a hint about what the "last" item is.

Spoiler

The problem is that I tried,

Spoiler

but I couldn't light the fire even after putting the paper in the bonfire.

[close]

And if you haven't figured it out by now, just throw the paper in the bonfire, then light it.

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[Stupot]

Last call for votes!

Also. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: Rate and comment. Rate and comment.

[VampireWombat]

Comet Collision by VampireWombat

Spoiler

It was fun seeing all the weird results coming from the choices you could make, but I wish I didn't have to restart the game every time I hit an ending.

[close]

Spoiler

I'm not sure how else to have done it. Unless you played the first version, without the restart gui.
But glad you enjoyed the weirdness. My mind went weird places that day.
Thanks for playing.

[close]

[Stupot]

The voting is over and the results have been carefully counted and the winner is (by quite a margin):

Don't Ice Your Cool by Hobo. You will be contacted soon about choosing a topic for August.

Thanks to everyone who entered.

[Shadow1000]

Well deserved win. Congrats.

[Hobo]

A big thanks to all who played and commented, it was a fun little project to work on and I'll try to come up with something inspiring for August MAGS. I'm also planning a small update for the game later this week, so all the feedback has been very helpful to improve and maybe even lenghten the experience.

Also, my game is still the only one with enough votes to form a rating on the AGS games page, so go there right now and play and rate and comment the other ones.

[DBoyWheeler]

Congrats to you, Hobo!  Looking forward to what you have planned for August!

[Cassiebsg]

Congrats Hobo. Was a little neat game you made there.

The problem is that I tried,

Spoiler

but I couldn't light the fire even after putting the paper in the bonfire.

[close]

@Blondbraid

Spoiler

Did you got the match out of the box and lit it? Or were you just throwing the box or the unlit match at the bonfire?
Cause I have tested it and it's working just fine as intended.

[close]

[Blondbraid]

Congrats Hobo. Was a little neat game you made there.

The problem is that I tried,

Spoiler

but I couldn't light the fire even after putting the paper in the bonfire.

[close]

@Blondbraid

Spoiler

Did you got the match out of the box and lit it? Or were you just throwing the box or the unlit match at the bonfire?
Cause I have tested it and it's working just fine as intended.

[close]

Aw, I didn't realize I could do that. I'll try it when I get back home again.

[Cassiebsg]

What would have been a decent clue there? I thought I had given enough, but guess not.

[Mandle]

What would have been a decent clue there? I thought I had given enough, but guess not.

Spoiler

I don't remember exactly how the mechanic worked to take out a match from the box but I do remember that I stumbled upon it by accident and it surprised me at the time.

Whether or not I would have found it later, either on purpose or again by accident, I can't say.

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

It's a two click BASS standard... so right click in inventory (if not holding anything) will look/interact with the object.
Is the help not helpful enough?

When in inventory: (...) Right click to drop or use an item.

[Mandle]

It's a two click BASS standard... so right click in inventory (if not holding anything) will look/interact with the object.
Is the help not helpful enough?

When in inventory: (...) Right click to drop or use an item.

Ahhh, so it was right click that did it. That's easy enough!

Having not played Beneath A Steel Sky until having joined AGS, and then only once, and not being an A-grade-student of well-known user interfaces I might be a good example of why this kind of interaction could be unknown or surprising to a player.

Also, I didn't read the help guide I guess... Most players won't though... Pretty much why games these days have a dumbed-down tutorial level at the start just to teach the player the controls... Mostly not possible in a MAGS of course...

Maybe just a big flashing warning at the start saying "YOUR MOUSE ALSO HAS A RIGHT BUTTON!!!"

[Cassiebsg]

Oh right, maybe they didn't even find the "hidden" buttons.
Okay, next time I'll make the GUI visible from the start, which might have been my idea all along but then forgot.

[cat]

A bit late to the party, but I just recently had time to play all the games. I thought I'd leave my comments here nonetheless:

Groundhog by Slasher:

Spoiler

It took me quite some time to see the pattern in the answers, I have to admit. It got annoying pretty soon having to redo all stuff just for one answer. I'd have preferred being able to ask let's say three different subjects until she became annoyed and we have to start over. Not one of my favourite Slasher games (because I usually enjoy them).

[close]

To the Mountains of Madness by Mandle

Spoiler

I picked my favourite characters and found the hidden exit button - I guess that counts as a win?

[close]

Ice in the Air by Cassiebsg

Spoiler

Nice game, although a bit buggy. I was missing a reason why I would follow the recipe.

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Comet Collision by VampireWombat

Spoiler

It was fun and made me chuckle a few times. Gotta love the tree-top-shelters

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Don't Ice your Cool by Hobo

Spoiler

Great graphics and animations although some of the puzzle solutions were a bit weird.

[close]

Beware that this is all based on the most recent version of the games which probably differ a bit from the MAGS version.

If I were able to vote, I'd go for

Spoiler

either Don't Ice your Cool or Comet Collision

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

The reason was "Why not? Got nothing else to do anyway, might as well see what it does..."
What bugs did you encounter?

[cat]

Yeah, later on I thought so, but a comment like "I got nothing to do, let's try this" would have helped.

Regarding bugs:

Spoiler

I think I had to add some items multiple times (maybe I've also picked them up multiple times? Can't remember) Anyway, nothing serious.

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

Uhm. I'll check if any item can be picked up multiple times. Thought I had made it not to, but maybe I slipped...
Sure, I can add that to the next version, if I find that bug(s) and upload a new version.