Topic: August MAGS

[Klaus]

What is MAGS?
MAGS is a monthly competition for all amateur adventure game makers. The idea is to use AGS to create a game in under a month, following the rules set by the previous winner.

For more information please visit the Official MAGS Website

Why should I enter MAGS?
We're not here to tell you that you should enter MAGS, but merely allow it as a creative opportunity to help you work to a deadline, improve your skills, and generally as a good kick-start for the new comers (a.k.a n00bies).

MAGS is the perfect opportuninty to make a game, and the wonderful prize is to announce the net month's rules, and all competitiors get the game placed on the MAGS website.

MAGS is meant to be fun and is aimed at everyone, despite their skill. If you have poor art skills work on graphics, and vice-versa, as the voting is based on "favourite" games, and not the most artistic, you may get help for the competiton, but must not get anyone else to do any part of the game for you.

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Unlike most other topics this competition is not limited to a special theme or  to a number of inventory items, but see for yourself:

Topic: Textless

This month's MAGS has only one limitation - your game should not contain any ingame messages or texts (including speech) in a known language. Exceptions are title and load-save-exit dialogs. You can invent your own language, use symbols and icons all the way or create a game without any message at all.

There are no other rules for this month!
We probably won't see adventures using the standard question-answer dialogs. Anyway it is possible to make short and creative games with this rule. Be inventive

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All entries should be in by early August 25th.

Please post a download link of your game entry to this thread, best with a screenshot. Thanks and good luck.

[Phoenix]

Good rules, well rule . Im in

[Erenan]

That is one great topic. I'd like to make something, but I'll have to see if I can come up with any good ideas.

[What a loser.]

Can we have credits & a title screen? 

[bluber]

Exceptions are title and load-save-exit dialogs.

and credits.

[Mats Berglinn]

Is it okay to have dialogs as long as there no text (voice speech) and that the options are either in text symbols (in unknown languages) or pictures (I know it doesn't work in dialogs but it can be possible with a GUI instead)?

The rules seems interesting. It reminds me of the Humongous games for kids, which don't have any text apart from the title but all the speech were made of voices and the dialog options was made of pictures (similiar in Sam and Max and The Dig).

I'm not sure if I will be in but I'm thinking about trying to make a picture based dialog (not the talking itself but the dialog options, like Sam and Max and The Dig) as an experiment for a future project, if it's okay.

[bluber]

Is it okay to have dialogs as long as there no text (voice speech) and that the options are either in text symbols (in unknown languages) or pictures (I know it doesn't work in dialogs but it can be possible with a GUI instead)?

It's okay and a very good idea.

I'm not sure if I will be in but I'm thinking about trying to make a picture based dialog (not the talking itself but the dialog options, like Sam and Max and The Dig) as an experiment for a future project, if it's okay.

Sounds absolute nice. Due to the limitation I expect very short games that feature a nice idea.

[Erenan]

Just to clarify, I thought the rule meant that the characters cannot even speak in known languages, whether text appears or not. Is it just that there cannot be any text displayed in known languages? Because that's much easier to pull off.

[Phoenix]

Is it ok if there is a glimps of a word, its just the word bank above the door :

[BorisZ]

Is it ok if there is a glimps of a word, its just the word bank above the door :

Why don't you just draw dollar sign instead?

[bluber]

Just to clarify, I thought the rule meant that the characters cannot even speak in known languages, whether text appears or not. Is it just that there cannot be any text displayed in known languages? Because that's much easier to pull off.

There should be no speech(voice acting) or text in a known language. I hope I understand your question (you know my english...).   

[Erenan]

I mean, you could make a talkie game in which the characters talk audibly but the words don't actually appear.

[bluber]

sorry I edited the post in the same second you submitted the post.

Is it ok if there is a glimps of a word, its just the word bank above the door

I hope Boris suggestion helped you to overcome this problem.

[Ishmael]

Oh yeah!

Now someone mail or MSN or DCC or whatever me a truckload of motivation!

[Erenan]

Okay, it is as I suspected. Good to know.

[CodeJunkie]

I might have a go this month.  I really should stop enetering competitions and actually make a real game
If I can be bothered to get my entry done, it'll be a sort of abstract, experimental game.  I won't let on more because I can't say it'll get finished.

[Mats Berglinn]

There should be no speech(voice acting) or text in a known language. I hope I understand your question (you know my english...).

I thought it was okay to use voices in english as long as there were no text speech.

Well, I got a couple of other questions:

1: Is it okay to write any known language backwards or mixed up like in Shiffer (for those who don't know it's sort of a message-code were you replace the letters in the alphabet to create a language)?

2: If the language is totally made up then is it okay to include a file with the game a kind of wordlist that translates from the madeup language to english?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Is it okay to have dialogs as long as there no text (voice speech) and that the options are either in text symbols (in unknown languages) or pictures (I know it doesn't work in dialogs but it can be possible with a GUI instead)?

It's okay and a very good idea.

Just to clarify, I thought the rule meant that the characters cannot even speak in known languages, whether text appears or not. Is it just that there cannot be any text displayed in known languages? Because that's much easier to pull off.

There should be no speech(voice acting) or text in a known language. I hope I understand your question (you know my english...).   

I'm probably meddling where I shouldn't, seeing as I'm not even gonna enter, but I'd just like to say that, as regards this questions, and the competition's rules as stated in the first post:

your game should not contain any ingame messages or texts (including speech) in a known language.

...Mats' suggestion of including voice acting not only respects the rules totally but it also creatively circumvents them. I think he should be allowed to do it, but I know I'm just a bystander. I'd just like to say, Kudos to you, Mats, for obeying and circumventing the rules as first posted, that's creativity at work.

EDIT - This is because that "including speech", as is stated, does not immediately suggest voice-acting. On the other hand, only now, rereading, I saw it MIGHT. But the first thing it suggests is "including the text that exists in in-game speech".

[Erenan]

I immediately understood it to mean voice acting, but bluber's later comment made it seem like that wasn't the case. That's why I asked for clarification. But at this point he has made it clear that voice acting in known languages is not to be used.

[bluber]

Sorry for the confusion.

1: Is it okay to write any known language backwards or mixed up like in Shiffer (for those who don't know it's sort of a message-code were you replace the letters in the alphabet to create a language)?

2: If the language is totally made up then is it okay to include a file with the game a kind of wordlist that translates from the madeup language to english?

I think this is both ok.

I hope the rules are now clarified : No displayed text or voice acting in any known language.
If you think it is absolute necessary to stretch this rule a little bit for your game (like adding the word bank over a building or adding a translation file for your game) do it. But don't overstretch it. The most important thing is that you get your game finished in time.