Adventure Game Studio

This month's winner was Cryo (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1754/) by Peder Johnsen and Atavismus.

(http://agsarchives.com/ss1.png)

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Topic: 'Rebirth'

The year is almost over, but that also means a new one is just around the calendrical corner!

This month, make a game all about something old/at the end of its 'life' starting anew. Think fresh starts or reinvigoration.

• A family move away from their old life in the city to a strange village
• A bear emerges from hibernation in the spring to find everything has changed

Ending 31st December

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-usSnkiZcFBU/UOLXc2dIZOI/AAAAAAAAAr8/UAUgv4Kr68M/s1600/Phoenix.jpg)

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What is MAGS?

MAGS is a monthly 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, or 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.

You may get help for the competition, although you must end up doing something yourself. You should however be warned that it proves difficult to organize a big team within thirty days. You are not allowed to use material already created before this competition. Your game must be completely new! Music and sound is an exception; you can use free material that is available to the public, if you wish. Modules and templates are also allowed.

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:

âÅ"“ A working download link
âÅ"“ The title of your game
âÅ"“ 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 (http://www.mags-competition.info/?page=games). For more information, please visit the Official MAGS website. (http://www.mags-competition.info/)

Anybody interested?

I have an idea, I've drawn a character. I'm still not very motivated! So take that as a very small possibility that I will enter. The idea inspires me more than last month though.

Can I submit my OROW game? :P

you could expand the story from your orow game ;)

I like the idea of this one, but I only just noticed this today. So... that leaves 3 weeks to go. Maybe?

It's awesome! The idea I had for the November MAGS fits this one quite well too! ;-D
And, most importantly I absolutely don't have enough time to even try (once again). :(

I'm working on something, perhaps I'll even make it.

Double post, but heck, here's a screenie:
(http://s9.postimg.org/904ahp1jz/sadsa.png)

It's a horror game, a short one indeed, I will hopefully make it.

Hi all!

Very interesting subject one more time.
So one more time I started something...
Will it sink into oblivion again !?
All is a matter of time...
But this time I have something! More than a start!
Please, in this Xmas time, give us a gift: time!
At least, it should end on the 2nd of January (midnight) as the Rebirth topic was posted on the 2nd of December.

Thx!

Quote from: Dualnames on Wed 25/12/2013 04:11:25
It's a horror game, a short one indeed, I will hopefully make it.

That "screenie" is incredibly charming. Hope the game keeps that style / feel.

Looks nice Dualnames! Hope you can get it done on time. I started work on one 2 weeks ago, but I haven't had a lot of time lately and at the speed I'm working (this is my second game ever so I'm still learning AGS as I go) there's no way I'll finish in a few days. Still, thanks to Atelier for the topic, because I've now come up with an idea I wouldn't have otherwise, and I'll hopefully finish it over the next few weeks. To try and get the game done in time, I just started sketching things roughly in pen, but I think I'll stick with this style because I kind of like it now.

SISYPHUS REBORN:

(http://www.edwinmontgomerymusic.com/wp-content/uploads/sisyphustest.png)

I love the minimalism of that style, Emont. Good luck with the game!

Abisso and Eremont, thanks for the nice words. And indeed very interesting minimalistic style you got there.

It would be great if we could get an extension like Atavismus mentioned in an earlier post so we can finish our game called CRYO:

"The story is about a man who wakes up in a white technological medicalized room. Sounds familiar? But this man is not anyone…
Based on a true story and hypothetical future."

(http://agsarchives.com/ss1.png)

Well, nevermind ;)
Shortened and unpolished version on the way!

Entrants, I PMd you with the new deadline (7th Jan)!

Greetings, fellow adventurers!

I'm new to this forum, and I must admit that this is a great place with the very creative community ;-D Anyway, I wanted to attend the January MAGS contest to get started. Am I correct that the December contest finishes at the 7th of January, and the next one starts right after that? Atelier, can you provide the information? Thanks in advance :)

Welcome to the forums Dmitry!

MAGS January is open now: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=49773.0

There is an extension to the December MAGS so people could finish their entries - the December and January competitions are running side by side for this first week.

Thanks for the answer, Atelier. Can't wait to join in :)

Good luck all of you who are still in! I'm going to be out of town for a week so I am officially out. Hope to play a few finished ones when I'm back! With the amount of free time I have and the speed I'm working at I think mine will take at least another few weeks anyway.

So, here's my entry.



Screenshots:
(http://s28.postimg.org/s9pdnr3x9/Untitled.png)
Story:
Dakota, is a horror game with a bit of investigation.
Taking place in a motel, on Christmas Eve in 1962, Dakota, Minnesota, the game tells the story of an unsolved case, narrated by the only survivor of that night.

"One man dead by a 6 bullet revolver."                                                                             
"Any reasonable man, would have categorized this as a hit and run. I know I should have."
"But I found seven darn bullets on the body."                                                                       
"The shots were not apart, and everyone witnessed that they barely separated each other."

Features:

• Simple left-click interact/walk - right click examine interface
• Several GUIs to spicen up gameplay
• J-RPG inspired artwork and visual style
• Horror gameplay
• A story told from three perspectives
• Pretty particles including rain, noise and snow[/i]
  

Thanks For playing, please let me know what you think.

Mine and Atavismus entry:

The Story:
"The story is about a man who wakes up in a white technological medicalized room. Sounds familiar? But this man is not anyone…
Based on a true story and hypothetical future."

Screenshots:
(http://agsarchives.com/ss1.png)

WARNING!
This game was designed to run using a 2x nearest-neighbour filter, if you are unable to run the game using this filter we advise you to play the game in full-screen mode!

Thanks guys that's brilliant! I think that's everybody. I'll start the voting in a couple of hours when I get back home.

The competition has now ended and voting is underway. Please visit the MAGS site (http://www.mags-competition.info/?page=voting) or make your choice right here:

(http://s28.postimg.org/s9pdnr3x9/Untitled.png)	Dakota (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1753/) by Dualnames
(http://agsarchives.com/ss1.png)	Cryo (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1754/) by Peder Johnsen and Atavismus

Click on the game title to download. Be sure to play all the entries before sending your voice! Good luck to all participants.

VOTE (http://atelier.agser.me/magsvote/)

First of all, congrats to both the teams!

I've already played and completed your entries. Though for both, I'm not sure if I got the best ending available. I'm not even sure there's a different ending for Dakota, but I'm fairly positive there's other 2 for Cryo.

One thing is sure: they're surely 2 completely different experiences and approaches to game-making.

Dakota is much more narrative, basically a slightly interactive game whose main focus is telling a story. Graphics in japanese rpg-style (quite nicely put together, I must say) and a good atmosphere, thanks to several changes of ambience, pace and visual effects. Not much challenge, but a neat experience. Good interface, responsive character. Maybe a bit too much info in a short span, but the way it's repeated and explained makes it quite easy to have a clear idea of the events at the end of the game.

Cryo is more interactive and offers some challenge. Some of the puzzles looked really crazy at the first attempts, but they turned out doable and entertaining shortly after. The medicines' one I still don't understand fully (though I suspect some sort of subtle critique to the sanitary system). Graphics are minimal, maybe too much for my taste. And a lot of white, so much that you almost can't open your eyes! Couldn't you use at least a darker tonality, like, for example, vanilla? ;D
Interface is what I liked the least: I hate not having a way to know what I'm clicking on, or at least if I'm clicking on something or not. This made

Spoiler

finding the Computer Theory&Practice book

[close]

a matter of repeated clicking. And the character usually walked far from the clicked objects.

Anyway, thanks to both of you for a pleasant hour of play (maybe less? I actually didn't bother to check).

Thx for your comment Abisso.
Indeed two different approaches.
Besides, I have to sincerely congratz Dualnames for his really polished game with good atmo ;)
About white gfx, I guess it's a matter of brightness adjustement.
About label, it's a choice: you have no label in real life hehe (mind, the cursor changes when on something)
About "vanilla", Im very glad you noticed the allusion, congratz (I put some others all along the game...)

Quote from: Atavismus on Wed 08/01/2014 12:24:10
Thx for your comment Abisso.
Indeed two different approaches.
Besides, I have to sincerely congratz Dualnames for his really polished game with good atmo ;)
About white gfx, I guess it's a matter of brightness adjustement.
About label, it's a choice: you have no label in real life hehe (mind, the cursor changes when on something)
About "vanilla", Im very glad you noticed the allusion, congratz (I put some others all along the game...)

Did the cursor really change? I swear I didn't notice. It might be due to the fact I've played in a window, although with 2x filter on. I'd seriously consider doing a remake with different graphics. Do you really need all to be so small on the screen, and those huge rooms (which, by the way, don't even take up all of the available screen)? I'm saying this because I tried to imagine how the game could be with a graphic style like, for example, Ben Yahtzee Croshaw's one, and my mental depiction was very satisfying. A lot of puzzles would be much more pleasant as well.
That said, the current style is consistent and has its own charm, but it just doesn't fit such a game in my honest opinion.

I noticed a lot of other references in the choice of books, but the only global one I got is that.

Spoiler

The whole thing about "white", though true, was mainly an attempt to slip in the "Open your eyes" reference as well, by the way. ;D In case you didn't know, "Abre Los Ojos" (which translates as "Open your eyes") is the Spanish film whose Vanilla Sky is a remake of. I only watched the former, because I read that Vanilla Sky is not just a remake, but an exact reshoot with the same sequences, and just different actors (except for Penelope Cruz). I enjoyed the original a lot, anyway.

[close]

Abisso, since years, Peder and me have tonnes of ideas, but we are always blocked by gfx coz none of us is good at drawing.
As we want to go back on AGS, I decided to draw those minimalist gfx in order to finally finish a game.

But you are right: we would like to make a remake with better gfx and an extended story (as the lift shows it, I had several floors in mind).
Of course, we'll consider it only if the game has enough feedbacks and downloads (no point to extend something useless :O)
So people who wants to redraw Cryo are welcome: contact us!

Hidden references are always fun to add and even more fun when people find them.
I also prefer the spanish version, even if the US one is good too.

Forgive me for such a newbie question, but don't the rules say that game assets must be completely new apart from music and sound? Dakota's main graphics are ripped from Illusion of Time (or Illusion of Gaia as it is called in North America), a JRPG for the SNES. Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious as someone outside of the competition.

Quote from: Daniel Eakins on Fri 10/01/2014 14:20:55
Forgive me for such a newbie question, but don't the rules say that game assets must be completely new apart from music and sound?

Yes, that's true. The thread in Completed Games says "J-RPG inspired artwork and visual style". But I've looked at some screenshots and at minimum, the drug addict in the beginning is directly taken from it.

Well, we'll have to see what Dualnames says.

Yeah, they are ripped, besides the drug addict that I didn't draw on, the rest were drawn on, so yeah, whatever you guys want to do. In my defense I didn't have the time to draw on them as much as I wanted, so if you feel like it I may withdraw the game from the competition.

If I have my say, I am for maintaining Dakota.
Sure, ripped gfx are a significant help but, imo, no big deal, that's only games, just for fun!
Go for a reminder of the law and let me lose with Honour :D

Quote from: Atavismus on Fri 10/01/2014 22:19:14
If I have my say, I am for maintaining Dakota.
Sure, ripped gfx are a significant help but, imo, no big deal, that's only games, just for fun!
Go for a reminder of the law and let me lose with Honour :D

Very honourable of you, indeed!

As a supporter of having clear rules and limiting exceptions to an absolute minimum, I have an opposite view. Of course, it's no big deal! No prize, just a funny competition: but the contest is cool because it has got rules, guidelines and deadlines.
Creating graphics from scratch takes a lot of time, and steals precious days that could be used to make better puzzles, sfx, music tracks and so on. As a matter of fact, I think Dakota looks much better than Cryo, visually speaking.

But if it's true that the graphics have all been painted over, except for the drug addict, I think we can consider them "almost" original.

So I guess the decision is up to our dear Atelier! :-D

Look guys, I forgot about the rule, and when I did remember it took much time to repaint, and they still look like the originals. Basically, I didn't make the game to win, I made the game because i felt so inspired to do so after watching Planet Terror. Thanks for the kind words.

@Atelier, if you want you may take down the entry, I don't mind at all. It's all in good faith, Peder and Avatismus worked hard on their entry, and deserve to win regardless of whether I'm participating or not.

Did you really repaint or overpaint these backgrounds or did you just overlay a colorful layer in a blending mode and said artwork done?
If it was just the second point I think this is not what MAGS is about (except when the theme is copy+paste your own adventure...), as much as I like Dakota and also having it tested and all...

The backgrounds are combining and editing tiles, so they're original per se. Basically I've made several games editing pictures, so that's basically the art style here as well. If you want i can make a list of where and how everything was created.

nah, this is too much, imho if you think that you didn't violate one of the few mags rules, especially

QuoteYou are not allowed to use material already created before this competition. Your game must be completely new! Music and sound is an exception;

then it should be fine.

Is anyone else struggling with the "perseverance" sequence in Cryo? Is there a way around it for us slow typers? (or am I the only slow typer?)

Votes!

Dakota by Dualnames - 1 vote
Cryo by Peder Johnsen and Atavismus - 8 votes
(http://bestanimations.com/holidays/fireworks/Fireworks-02-june.gif) (http://bestanimations.com/holidays/fireworks/Fireworks-01-june.gif)

Thanks to our participants, and congrats to Peder and Atavismus!

Re. painting over graphics: it doesn't matter in this instance as Cryo won anyway; but, I may be inclined to allow paint-overs if the source is freely available to the public, as the rule is for audio - provided it's done sparingly (not constituting the majority of the game) and transparently. Even so, it's not worth making much of a comment on as this is the first time it's happened afaik.

Congratulations to Peder and Avatismus!! And thanks to whoever voted for Dakota. I didn't vote. :PP

Quote from: Atelier on Thu 16/01/2014 21:01:54
I may be inclined to allow paint-overs if the source is freely available to the public, as the rule is for audio - provided it's done sparingly (not constituting the majority of the game) and transparently. Even so, it's not worth making much of a comment on as this is the first time it's happened afaik.

Good point. I think the key here is honesty. If a game maker submits a MAGS entry and openly states "well, I took <this sound> or <that graphic> from <some source>" then the voters can take that into account, and if they think it is too much they can discuss it in the thread and/or vote for someone else. Allowing this may well lower the barrier for entry (as people can use e.g. RON materials) and we'll get more MAGS games, which is always a good thing.

I just came back from one week holidays without internet and learnt that CRYO won the MAGS!
I could not be more glad with this returning gift!
Thx to all of you who played it and vote, also thx to Dualnames: Dakota is a great competitor.
We are already on a new game, but if some people want to participate to a deluxe and/or extended version of CRYO, we'll do it.
We mainly need gfx, but ideas (story, riddles, etc.) are always welcomed: just PM us ;)
Thx again and have fun with AGS (playing or coding)!