MAGS September: "Cross-country" (VOTE)

[Atelier]

See this post for voting:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=50950.msg636497575#msg636497575

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Topic: 'Cross-country'

This month's guidelines were set by granary:

Is this a sporting event or a road trip? It's not clear. What is clear, though, is that somebody is going somewhere with some sense of urgency.

Basically, create a game focused on a journey and a physical destination. Maybe it's a high-speed race, or maybe just a vacation. Pick a place to be and let your imagination fill in the details. The location could be modest and personal, such as a favorite childhood hangout, or it could be something on a larger scale, like the moon. The character doesn't even have to ultimately arrive at their goal, as long as they try to get there.

Ending 30th September



__________________________________________________________________________________________

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. For more information, please visit the Official MAGS website.

[Armageddon]

Cannonball Run 3: 2Fast2Cannon

[Mandle]

I am so in on this one...

I'm so lazy to actually get a game out so I'm just going to do it fast and nasty this time (hopefully)...

Please don't expect a lot of animations and polished game-play but I hope the finished product can reflect a bit of what made the original source awesome:

[Cassiebsg]

I've got an idea, but am not sure if it fits the theme...

Basically, it's about a guy in search for his origins, and since he's rather smart, he builds a time machine to travel back in time and find his origins... however, he's not as smart as he thought and his machine doesn't quite work as planed and he finds him self trapped in the past with a machine that has a mind of it's own. He now has to find a way to return home.
I know, not that original plot, but I already have most plotted in my mind; story, puzzles, scenarios, graphics, resolution, engine... I have no idea though, if I can complete a MAGS in time, but would love to try...

Would it be okay to run with this idea for this competition? If not, then I'll probably still try to make it within the same time frame, but won't release it as a MAGS...

[Mandle]

Sounds awesome! I think time-travel counts as travel, and I'm sure nobody would mind you entering.

he finds him self trapped in the past with a machine that has a mind of it's own. He now has to find a way to return home.

I can just picture it now:

"I'm sorry Marty, I'm afraid I can't do that..."

[miguel]

I'm in. Already did the first 3 backgrounds and main character animation. It's going to be 320x200, just like it should be, damn!

[Ponch]

Probably won't finish, but I started on mine.

[Atelier]

Probably won't finish, but I started on mine.

You could just release it half finished, I guarantee nobody will notice any difference.

[miguel]

A half-game made by Ponch is a master piece anyway.

[Atelier]

Precisely. Wait no, not precisely.

[Ponch]

A half-game made by Ponch is a master piece anyway.

Thanks, Miguel! I'm to make a third of a game and see if I can reach new lows heights!

[HanaIndiana]

Oooh, I like this one. I'm in, if I can think of a plot that interests me enough to keep me working for the rest of the month. And if I haven't stepped away from AGS for too long, that I've forgotten the basics (yuck, I hate when that happens).

[Mandle]

After a weekend marathon on AGS I have the first three rooms almost finished. I'm telling myself at the moment that some of the crappier looking objects are just "place-holders" but I know in reality that I probably won't get the time to pretty them up before the deadline. I'm just happy for the moment to have a few working puzzles done. I guess my next step is to get to work on clarifying the plot, which is not really understandable yet.

[HanaIndiana]

I kicked around a few ideas, and I think I'm going the hitchhiking route. A simple plot/game about getting from A to Z. woohoo!

[Mandle]

the hitchhiking route. A simple plot/game about getting from A to Z. woohoo!

Try telling that to Arthur Dent...

All joking aside: Can't wait to see what you come up with. I can't remember ever playing a game where the central theme/mode of getting around, was hitchhiking (well except for HHGTTG, but then again they didn't actually hitchhike that much)

[selmiak]

try http://glitchhikers.com/
very weird but interesting experiencegame.

[Ghost]

try http://glitchhikers.com/

Ah. GlitchGliker's Gluide Glue Glee Glalaxgly.

Sounds almost like Clever&Smarkt in full swing- "Glglglglglglgl...."

[LRH]

Ooh. I actually quite liked glitchhikers myself! I'll be interested to see what this MAGS brings around.  I think I might try to get in during October.

[Adeel]

I'll be interested to see what this MAGS brings around.  I think I might try to get in during October.

Ditto.

[miguel]

I find Adeel's new avatar quite disturbing.

[HanaIndiana]

^^ Oh my!

[Mandle]

I have picked up quite a few passengers already on my first MAGS journey (by which I mean playtesters). They are talking a lot about knocking sounds coming from the engine, not enough ventilation (the AC is still broken), and are starting to mention the weird muffled thumping sounds coming from the trunk...

What my eclectic team of fellow travellers might have not noticed just yet is that there are no door handles on the interior of the car...

* Mandle puts the car on cruise control, turns to his passengers, and pulls out his...

(To be continued...)

[Myshkin]

And if I haven't stepped away from AGS for too long, that I've forgotten the basics.

Yep, that's happened to me. I opened up an unfinished game I hadn't worked on for about 3 or 4 months, stared at the code I had written and thought, "what the hell does this even mean???"

I'm going to try for one this time though, very simple. Estimated play time = 2 minutes.
It's verrrrry loosely based on the theme of travel; in this case, the inability to complete the journey of creating a project (something I'm probably not alone in here).

Unless my game about failing to complete things becomes too meta by remaining incomplete itself...

[AprilSkies]

I also started working on something.. Didn't know if I was able to finish it within the month, but luckly a great artist started helping me
He's an old acquaintances of the community, I'm talking of JimReed!

Luckly the development is going well, even if it's killing me and even if there are so many thing to implement yet.

Without spoiling too much, I'll just show you the main menu background of the game:

[HanaIndiana]

Ooo, I like the graphics AprilSkies, I'm jealous. Can't wait to play it.

[Adeel]

I find Adeel's new avatar quite disturbing.

Retro Wolf is the one to blame!

[Mandle]

Ooo, I like the graphics AprilSkies, I'm jealous. Can't wait to play it.

I've playtested the first few alpha versions and I must say the game is amazing already!

It's always fun knowing who you are going to lose to ahead of time...Well, I guess AprilSkies has some experience with that feeling also...

* Mandle steals AprilSkies' odometer and runs away cackling wildly...

[miguel]

Lots of interesting ideas here. I really loved the theme and am really happy to join my first Mags competition.
It's also good to get back into action after several failed attempts and disappointments.

[Mandle]

It's also good to get back into action after several failed attempts and disappointments.

I already told you mate: The other night doesn't matter to me...That kind of thing happens to all men at some point...

[Atelier]

Haha perfect.

[Cassiebsg]

Don't know if I should cry or be depressed... you guys already beta testing, and I'm still trying to get all my locations and puzzles in place...

[HanaIndiana]

I'm with you Cassiebsg. Whose talking about beta testing already?! I just downloaded the new version of AGS, created a title screen and crashed my computer.

[CaptainD]

I just downloaded the new version of AGS, created a title screen and crashed my computer.

It takes real genius to do that!  Keep up the good work.

[miguel]

It's also good to get back into action after several failed attempts and disappointments.

I already told you mate: The other night doesn't matter to me...That kind of thing happens to all men at some point...

Thanks Mandle, did I ever tell you you're my favourite bitch?

[Mandle]

Thanks Mandle, did I ever tell you you're my favourite bitch?

Awwwwwwwwww!!!

Don't know if I should cry or be depressed... you guys already beta testing, and I'm still trying to get all my locations and puzzles in place...

I wouldn't worry too much about me. I'm playtesting bits and pieces as it progresses, and my playtesters are being incredibly patient with what must be a rather annoying process for them. As for puzzles/story/locations...I have been making them up on the fly.

Granted, I do have them pretty much all planned out in my head now (I have a one hour bicycle ride to work and back every day) but the month is already half gone and I'm starting to panic! At the start I wasn't too worried because I had no solid ambitions as to where the story would go, so I was just thinking I'll just end the game whenever the deadline comes, but now that I actually have a story-arc in my head I'm getting emotionally-attached to it...Dangnabbit!!!

Time to put this Speed Buggy into overdrive!!!

[Myshkin]

Well given that I still haven't finished a game I started for MAGS last December, I decided I'd attempt something more within my reach this time. I started this one on Sunday and hopefully will be done by tomorrow (which is about as much time as this one deserves!)
It's only very loosely related to the theme, and to be honest it would be generous to call it a "game".

It's all about failing to finish things, and the personal joke this time is that it looks like I'm actually going to finish this one

[HanaIndiana]

I'm worried I may not finish this game, since it's already the middle of the month. It's late, and I may hate myself tomorrow, but I'm going to post my brainstorming notes... because I'm far more likely to finish SOMETHING once I share it. Hahaha!! Sorry future me.

A Hitchhike to Mittens
Goal: Start in Arcata, CA and get to New Orleans, LA in time for Mittens 2015.

To do:
1. Download larger font for title screen. Connect Start to intro screen and Quit to quit.
   Test menu screen with Save/Load, Options and Quit

2. Create menu bar with Quit, Map, Inventory, Score, Days till Mittens, Time, Location, $Cash and Score

3. Map screen(s)

4. Intro screen to explain game.

5. Create Hitchhiking screen. Create bus station screen (city only). Create job GUI. Create walk GUI. Create Store screen.

6. Bus station: Create ticket purchase GUI.

7. Store: Create store purchase GUI. beef jerky, water(?), crowbar, sleeping bag, pennywhistle, uh ..WTF?!

8. Hitchhike: Create vehicle drive-bys and dialogs.
9. Create ending screen (game over).
10. Create ending screen (win game).

-------------------------
PLOT
-------------------------
Need to track time and days. Track what towns are next to each other.

Vehicle has quiet soundtrack when they stop, then turns up during travel.
Small, fast animations for each choice (job, walk, bus, hitchhike), then quickly
show map and the next location.
Small, fast animations for game events.
Game music acapella? Silly but why not.
Keep an eye on the map to determine where you are, and where you
might want to go.

Store items can also include sign Materials and musical instruments to make money.
Instead of JOBS, you can do things in town like dance, play instruments, juggle, ect...
Use cash to tempt people to stop. People who stop to give you a ride, will take the money.
Wait for the best ride.
Thieves can take your money and make you lose turn.

Every so many days, there is a small cutscene, showing “Meanwhile… in New Orleans”. With avatars of AGS'ers arriving at Mittens 2015.

Walking is an option but takes much longer.
Bus is an option but very expensive.
Stores sell weapons for safety. Sleeping bag for staying overnight and being rested.
Beef jerky to walk faster, goes bad after awhile if not used.

Every town has a hitchhiking spot. Some may have bus stops and/or ways to earn money.
Bus stops and hitchhiking spots are set.
Ways to earn money are random, but bigger cities are much more likely to have ways to earn money.

Certain cities are more likely to have shops/jobs/ect...
Certain cities are more likely to have theives.

Need an awesome ending for winning because you just do.
-------------------------------
LOGIC
-------------------------------
Need to have default settings for each town. Each town needs to have a screen.
Defaults for cities/medium town/small town/rural.

Will reuse car/bus/truck/ect.. animations.
Will also reuse dialog, but plug in town names for locations.
(ex. Hey, I'm headed to _______, need a ride?)
Music softly playing in the vehicle.. will play louder during the map traveling montage.

Less traffic at night, but longhaul trucks more likely.
Have clock tick down fast until a vehicle pulls over.
Clock ticks when trying to earn money too and sleeping.

Keep graphics simple and clean (if possible).
No voice acting, but use sound effects and music.
The music could indicate the 'type' of car/driver. That could be cute.

--------------------------------
LOCATIONS (too many?)
--------------------------------

Arcata, CA (small town): Home of Humboldt State Univ. <insert a sentence or two of town info>
Chico, CA (medium town): Party school... woohoo!
Willits, CA (rural)
Petaluma, CA (medium town)
Cloverdale, CA (rural)
San Francisco, CA  (city)
Benicia, CA (small town)
Modesto, CA (medium town)
Turlock, CA (rural)
Prunedale, CA (rural)
Fresno, CA (city)
San Luis Obispo, CA (medium town)
Solvang, CA (small town)
Bakersfield, CA (city)
Valencia, CA (small town)
Barstow, CA (rural)
Los Angeles, CA (city)
Las Vegas, NV (city)
Palm Springs, CA (medium town)
Lake Havasu, NV (small town)
Blythe, CA (rural)
Flagstaff, NV (medium town)
Phoenix, NV (city)
Silver City, NV (rural)
Winslow, NV (rural)
Gallup, NV (rural)
Grants, NV (rural)
Albequrque, NM (city)
Roswell, NM (small town)
Clovis, NM (rural)
Amarillo, TX (small town)
Lubbock, TX (medium town)
Childress, TX (rural)
Vernon, TX (rural)
Witchita Falls, TX (medium town)
Gainsville, TX (rural)
Decatur, TX (rural)
Dallas, TX (city)
Athens, TX (rural)
Longview, TX(small town)
Shreveport, TX (medium town)
Winnfield, TX (rural)
Alexandria, TX (small town)
Baton Rouge, LA (medium town)
New Orleans, LA (city) WIN!!
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------

[Myshkin]

OK this is a new record for me -- started on Sunday and finished on Wednesday!
I ask you to please judge it accordingly

Inspired by all my unfinished projects over the years, I present to you:

MAN GIVING UP



How many times can YOU give up?

Choose from a variety of colourful settings and see how far you can go. You might just surprise yourself. You might find the power was inside yourself all along. Welcome to the world of MAN GIVING UP.

Get this "game" here:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1831/

[Mandle]

Wait...what???

Somebody is already finished???

* Mandle double checks all the locks in the car, pumps up the music, and puts away his...

(To be continued)

[AprilSkies]

WOW Emont!! You alredy finished!!!!!!!
I'll play it for sure.. even if not now because I'm trying to finish mine
So  hardddd!

I'm worried I may not finish this game

I really hope you can finish it HanaIndiana 'cause the concept and the logic is sooooo interesting!
Can't wait to play it!

[Radiant]

A MAGS in half a month? Is that even legal?   Should we call it a HAGS game instead?

[Mandle]

HanaIndiana please make sure you finish your game whether you make the deadline or not! I'm so in love with your game concept and must play it!!! It sounds like it could be truly awesome!

The big thing with your type of game I think is game balance: How easy/hard it is to reach the goal, so I'm quite happy to offer my services for testing when (not if ) that time comes...

Best of luck!

Now I'm off to play....erm I mean playTEST (keep forgetting that bit cos it's so damn fun!)...Red Hot Overdrive again

[Myshkin]

I think the size and quality of my game is a testament to how long I worked on it
Still, I'm glad I completed it! I think a full month on that game might have been overkill.

Looking forward to seeing the others! HanaIndiana it looks like you've set out a lot of work for yourself - really hope you finish so we can play it!

[Mandle]

Down to the last 10 days...How did it go so fast???

Well, I have about another available 4-5 full days to make my game happen before it's time-up...

* Mandle plugs in the nitro. Vrooooooooooom!!!

[Cassiebsg]

And I haven't even coded the interactions... :/
Working the 2nd to last location atm.

[AprilSkies]

beta-testing...
Now I can play Emont's one!

@Cassie go! finish it. You can!

[HanaIndiana]

I'm no where near done. It's going to be a looong weekend of constant back and forth between 'woohoo!' and 'No! why?!'. The usual coding session amirite.

[Cassiebsg]

All locations are now in! (though I have a few more rooms, but I'll add them only if I have the time, as they are non essential).
Though a few screens are way too messy and need polishing. But at least I can now travel thru all rooms.
Guess tomorrow I'll still be working BGs and NPCs. And maybe intro+ending... maybe...

Think I'll call it a night, and go sleep.

[Mandle]

Well, I managed some pretty solid progress yesterday, coding faster than I thought I could, which was a nice surprise!

I'm starting to get excited about seeing my game actually finished which seems like an actual possibility now instead of a vague distant blurry thingy.

Tomorrow and the next day are gonna be crunch time as after that I'll be busy with work, well except for next sunday but I'm optimistically reserving that for tidy-up time.

Good luck to everyone!

[miguel]

Thanks Mandle, I too made some progress and am now confident that I'll release a MAGS game.
The initial plan was to include a arcade sequence but it proved too faulty and buggy and I just took it out, although I was pretty happy working with rotating sprites and the likes for the first time in AGS. Next time maybe I'll come out with something.
Anyway, it's going to be a short but intense game (I hope) and although very straightforward I managed to squeeze some intros and outros in.

Hope everybody finds the time and heart to finish their projects.
Good luck!

[Mandle]

Hope everybody finds the time and heart (and ability to not get divorced) to finish their projects.

Cheers mate for the inspirational words there...

[Stupot]

Seems there might be a nice little selection of games this month. Good luck to everyone taking part. X

[AprilSkies]

One question to the developers that are going to entry the MAGS....

Are you sleeping during these nights ? ? ? ?

[miguel]

I know Mandle isn't! I've got 87 messages with updates that I haven't managed to download!
I'll test your game buddy, just let me finish mine!

[AprilSkies]

Don't worry ;-) Just finish yours the best way.
My tests are almost finished... now I'm setting up... and polishing a bit... and I need to sleep.

[miguel]

I was talking about Mandle's game but yeah I'll test yours as well if you really wish so!

[Adeel]

If anyone needs a flexible (not really), unbiased, experienced (not really), beta tester, send me a PM.

[Cassiebsg]

I need to sleep...unfortunately, but yeah my sleep ratio has been shorten a great deal, but I'm just glad I have free from Thursday to next week's Wednesday.

I still don't know if I'll have a playable game from start to finish by the deadline though. Yesterday I spend the day just cleaning one BG, one NPC and coding the dialogs, interactions for that one NPC, and realizing that I'm adding possible unintended "dead ends" and having to solve them, so that the player doesn't end as stuck in time as the character (reads: unable to finish game, due to me not predicting something)... .
I think like other games, that this one has run out from me and grew slightly bigger than intended.

Anyway, if anyone want to volunteer to alpha test and proof read my English just let me know.
Adeel, you're welcome to be beta tester for mine. If I actually can have something to call beta by the end of the week...
If anyone wants to Alpha test, please also PM me. It should be possible to travel through the entire game (except the ending).

[Mandle]

Good to hear everyone is making progress...

I'm closing in on end-game territory, but still need to tidy up the front-end of the game a bit...

Excitingly, AprilSkies has selflessly done all the graphic design on my GUIs, which make my game look much more beautiful than it deserves to be...

Now I gotta go back and try to make my crappy graphics at the front end look just slightly worthy of his work...

DAMN YOU AND YOUR INCREDIBLE TALENT APRILSKIES!!!

[Cassiebsg]

Quick update... Special guest has now been added and interactions added.

[Mandle]

just let me finish mine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwea0LZQe9k

[HanaIndiana]

Progress report: No comment.

[Mandle]

Progress report: No comment.

This is the MAGs game I'm most looking forward to to kick back with once mine is released and I can finally relax for a bit!!!

[Cassiebsg]

I'm still missing Intro+Ending+GUIs+Credits...

But on the plus side, most dialogs and puzzles are done. I'm confident that I can get the remaining stuff done, so that the game can be playable from start to end, with all dialogs and puzzles in place (even if a few non-essential NPCs) are missing.
However I'll be away for the weekend. I'll take the laptop so I can try and do a bit but have no idea how much/little I'll actually end up doing. and am not sure the internet there will be fast enough to upload (or if I even get internet!). So, I'll probably only have something by sunday night/monday... :/
Not much time for beta testing/proof reading...

But I'll try, cause I'm just having too much fun.

[Mandle]

I just keep telling myself:

"Staaaaay on target...staaaay oooon taaaarget..."

(and then end up get distracted cleaning up details that annoy me when I playtest stuff)

But yeah...almoooooost there...I'm hoping for a Sunday release, but could go over into Monday...

[CaptainD]

Red Mandle Standing By.

Looking forward to seeing all these entries! 

[Mandle]

Red Mandle Standing By.

I got a deadline on my tail! I can't shake it!!!

Anyway, yesterday and today I have getting some kids in the classes I teach to play my game during "game-time" because they play without us "adventure-gamers" preconceptions of what could/should happen, and it sure did pay off!!!

One of my students, a 6-year-old girl spotted a flaw in the mini-arcade-game in my game and exploited it...She got all the way through the stage, which has taken all adult testers (including myself) at least 10 tries before getting through it once, and:on her second attempt!!!

I'm going right now to fix that abusable flaw....And she will be named in the game credits alongside the rest of my playtesters...

Thanks Yuna!!!

[AprilSkies]

Finished!!!
Here's my entry:

Rally on public roads like it was 1990!

Run your shiny Ferrari 430 "Scuderia" through ever-changing tracks and through 5 different scenarios.
Beware though, the roads are full of other cars, turns and hazard;  you got to be an Ace at the Wheel to complete them on time!
Note: This game was made for MAGS (September 2014, theme "Cross-country").

FEATURES:

5 Different scenarios
3 Difficulty levels
AMIGA vibes
Ever-changing random tracks
Gas station before each checkpoint
Car Stereo with 4 different tracks to play
(Stunning tracks by Yarcanox, Dualnames, FSi and Peder)
Spacebar to honk at other cars
Totally NOT playable with mouse
Customizable controls
Cows (please don't crash on them)
Snowmen (please crash on them)
Green German Cars (Courtesy of selmiak)

COMING SOON:
Abducted Cows from A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. (Courtesy of Ghost)

DOWNLOAD LINK:
Click here

Completed Game Announcements Thread:
Click here

Screenies:

This game would not have been realized without the cooperation of Jim Reed that made stunning GFX and helped me in designing it.

[Cassiebsg]

Awsome!

One my side I managed to write one dialog today... twice!. As my son decided it was a good idea to press the shutdown button of my laptop... and AGS just closed without savi:-(  Will go back to writing now...

[HanaIndiana]

Looks amazing AprilSkies (and everyone else)! I can't way to try it out this weekend!

[Retro Wolf]

One my side I managed to write one dialog today... twice!. As my son decided it was a good idea to press the shutdown button of my laptop... and AGS just closed without savi:-(  Will go back to writing now...

My son likes the backspace key!

[Mandle]

Well....stayed up until 2AM last night when I should have been in bed by 11PM at the latest (early start for work today), but it was worth it!!! I got a lot of issues that I had been banging my head against for quite a while sorted to my satisfaction. Now I've just got to survive work today, and then I've got tonight and tomorrow to take care of a few last things: ending cutscene (graphics are ready to go) and credits mainly...

I think I'm gonna make it for a Sunday release

[Myshkin]

AprilSkies that looks brilliant! Congrats on finishing.
Downloading now

Good luck to... Mandle, Cassiebsg and HanaIndiana, hope you all make it

[Stupot]

Looks to be an exciting month. I hope there some people left with enough energy to have a go at my October theme :-)

[Cassiebsg]

Minus all the bugs that I'm sure are there, the game is now almost playable. :-)
Will try and code the intro and ending, as it's more or less the only stuff missing... Then am still missing graphics for the GUIs, few objects, one BG (the one to start and end in),  few NPCs and polishing BGs and NPCs... puff... some times I think I'll make the deadline, others I think I won't.

Of to try and do a play test, and see if I can play from start to end, as I only tested the bits as I coded...

Later :-)

[Mandle]

... puff...

** COUGH *** ... pass...

some times I think I'll make the deadline, others I think I won't.

I have had the same feeling since I started on this, but I know myself too well: Missing the release deadline cannot be an option for me!

If I miss it then I know my game will never see the light of day: I would tell myself "Nevermind! It's a good thing! This means you can get everything perfect instead of shit-on-a-shingle like it is now." and then I would probably fool around for a few months pretending I was getting the game ready for release, while getting steadily less and less interested in it. Eventually it would just be a forgotten project on a memory stick somewhere...

Besides: I've honestly built this thing out of sticky-tape and plasticine. In a few weeks, if that, I will have no idea what any part of my code even does anymore...

I shit you not... The Clean Coding Practices guys knocked on my door yesterday with a warrant and I had to pretend I wasn't home for like half an hour...

[miguel]

Okay, only 2 days to go and I'm behind schedule but that isn't a surprise for me!
I'll stay up late tonight to compensate. I will deliver this Mags!

[Mandle]

Okay, only 2 days to go and I'm behind schedule but that isn't a surprise for me!
I'll stay up late tonight to compensate. I will deliver this Mags!

Staaaaaay on taaaarget...

Almoooost theeeere...

Yeah, I have actually finished and planned to release, but last minute fixes weighed me down and now it's 4AM...

Must do final testing before release...So see you all tomorrow!

[Cassiebsg]

I think mine is now playable from start to finish (minus intro&ending), though the GUIs been driving me nuts all day.

Think I'll up a beta (?) and see if anyone wants to take it for test drive.

[Mandle]

This game was created for the September 2014 MAGS Contest. The theme of the contest was "Cross Country", meaning a depiction of a journey.

This made me think of a cartoon I loved as a kid called "Speed Buggy". The Speed Buggy Team tours the world's racing circuits, always managing to get caught up in some kind of nefarious wrong-doings, of course eventually beating the baddies and going on to win the race!

I hope my game managed to capture at least some of the charm of this old Saturday-morning kids' classic.

The picture above is the title screen for the game. I will show one more screenshot of ingame play as per the rules of this forum, but I don't really want to show more than that to avoid spoilers.

Here is a shot showing off AprilSkies' heart-breakingly beautiful iconbar he made and donated to my game, making the game much more lovely graphically than it probably deserves to be:



FEATURES:

* Saturday morning kids' cartoon atmosphere. (I hope)
* Old-school adventure game puzzle solving. (I tried to pack in as many puzzles as I could)
* Music and sound effects. (again, as much as I could get done in under a month)
* Some animations even! (a few eh...)
* A mysterious bad-guy to beat!!
* A driving mini-game!!!
* A TALKING CAR!!!!!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

VROOM-A-ZOOM-ZOOOOM!!!

[Mandle]

I had a problem with my initial upload where when I unpacked the zip file onto my computer the folder never appeared. After a fresh upload it now seems to be working fine.

If anyone else had this problem too please re-download from the same link. It should be sorted.

Also: the game doesn't run from the Desktop on my computer. I've found this happens with many AGS games. It works fine when the game folder is placed in MyDocuments or somewhere.

I don't know if these issues are particular to my own outdated computer/OS or not, but thought they were worth a mention.

Now for some well-deserved sleep I'd say!

[Cassiebsg]

Congrats on the release Mandle.
I'll try and work in the intro and ending on mine today, plus those annoying GUIs!
Otherwise, am debugging with the help of Stupot+

[HanaIndiana]

Can't wait to start playing all of these! Unfortunately my game was too big for me to finish on time. So I'm out this month.
I'm just going to keep working on it, and finish it when I finish it.

[Ponch]

I'm out too. My game was way too ambitious for me.

[Cassiebsg]

Still in, but struggling with getting the save/load/quit GUIs to work/look good.
Unfortunately a few jokes/info will end up not getting into the game, as time is running out.

But added about/credits page (hope I have not forgotten anyone), help page (not that any experienced adventure gamer will need that little bit of info), intro is scripted, but still need to get the BG done (and adjust hot spots/walk-behinds accordingly). And then there's some NPCs that are missing, even though they are non-essential, except for atmosphere/enrichment of the story.

[miguel]

Still in but not sure if I can do it on time!
I just got home from work and I'm doing some more work on it and see how it goes.

[Cassiebsg]

Start & Ending are now done!
I just test played it from start to end, without much detours and not reading dialogs, and took me about 20minutes from start to end.

What's missing? Cleaning up a spite or two and correct a few bugs I noticed.

GUIs still not working like I want them, so haven't really bothered with their graphics yet.
Need to find one music track more to one location.

And then there are a few NPCs and story jokes, that won't make it to the deadline. (Maybe in a version 2, if I ever do one).

Otherwise, not too bad I think.
Oh, and of course, I still need to figure out who to add the game to the AGS games DB.

[Mandle]

Oh, and of course, I still need to figure out who to add the game to the AGS games DB.

I sent you instructions in a PM....Couldn't risk missing out on your game!!!

[Stupot]

I've played a test build of Cassie's game and it's looking very promising.
Will play Mandle's later this evening :-)

[AprilSkies]

Noooooo
Ponch and Hana!
I was really hoping to play your games!

Miguel! Please! Do it!

[miguel]

I've got one last background and got to work in a few hours, so it's going to be difficult to finish in time for the competition.

[Mandle]

It seems the SETUP in the last uploaded version didn't work because I was an idiot...New version with working SETUP icon is now uploaded and available at same link...

Sorry!

Also fixed a few graphics things that were really annoying me, and got the whole thing uploaded just at midnight September 30th (my time zone)...

I won't be updating the upload again until after MAGS voting is finished as that would be cheating in my book...

[Cassiebsg]

I know I'm a bit late, but it's done (sorta): [img]http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/Smileys/AGS/smiley16_laughing.gif[/iumg]

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=51067.0

Hope you all enjoy it! I had a lot of fun doing it!

[Mandle]

I know I'm a bit late, but it's done (sorta):

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=51067.0

Hope you all enjoy it! I had a lot of fun doing it!

WOOT!!!!!! THANK GOD AND WELL DONE MATE!!!! Now I have something to do tonight! The thing I missed most during MAGS was playing a game that I didn't already know how to beat and how it ended!

DOWNLOADING!!!

[Adeel]

Congratulations for releasing your games, dear participants!

Now, if Atelier would be so kind, will he please go ahead and start October's MAGS? 1st of October is now coming to an end, here in Pakistan (only 13 minutes to go), and only few hours are left for the day to pass in Great Britain (where our dear host lives) too. It's already hard enough to come up with a good game in 30 days, how can you expect us to come up with a game in just 29 days?

[Atelier]

No worries Adeel, here it is: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=51070.0

I'll open voting tomorrow as I am a bit busy tonight - thank you for the entries everybody!

[Cassiebsg]

Atelier, I have a version 1.1 of my game ready, that fixes a bug (that makes it impossible to finish) and adds a little to the ending cut scene.
Should I just replace the link to the new improved version, or wait until the votes are in?

[Atelier]

Of course, fixing game-breaking bugs is even acceptable during voting - but obviously nothing else! I will still treat the deadline as today though, so nobody should be adding content to their entries.

[miguel]

Congratulations to all participants who made the deadline! It's an achievement to produce a game in a month and it take dedication and hard work. Well done!

[Retro Wolf]

Congratulations everybody! A very inspiring selection of games this month!

[MAGS Host]

Hello everybody! Four entries to choose from this month:

Click on the game titles to download.

	Man Giving Up by Emont
	Red Hot Overdrive by AprilSkies
	Minifeg: The Search by Cassiebsg
	Speed Buggy: Manifold Destiny by Mandle

---

Please PM this account with your vote. I'll close voting on 16th October.

[Atelier]

Let's have one last voting drive guys! Two days to go.

[MAGS Host]

Votes are in people! In ascending order:

Minifeg: The Search by Cassiebsg - 1 vote
Speed Buggy: Manifold Destiny by Mandle - 3 votes

and the winner is...

Spoiler

Red Hot Overdrive by AprilSkies - 8 votes


Congrats AprilSkies!

[close]

Thank you to all entrants this month!

[CaptainD]

Congrats AprilSkies!

I couldn't really vote as I had only had time to play two of the games, but both RHO and Speed Buggy were excellent!

EDIT - oh yeah I did play Man Giving Up too - a feeling we game designers know all too well!

[Stupot]

Good round. Well done to all who partook.
I enjoyed the hell out of both Minifeg and Speed Buggy for different reasons, and Man Giving Up was an entertaining few minutes. But RHO was just on its own level. Good Jorb!

[Mandle]

WOOOOOOOO!!! I WIIIIIIIIIN!!!

IN YOUR FACE, APRILSKIES!!!

Oh, wait....what's this [ hide] thingy...

*CLICKS*

OH....MY....

*SOUND OF GUNSHOT*

....silence...








Just kidding... CONGRATZ AprilSkies and great kudos on a game that has not only lifted the bar for MAGS contests but has also gained internet popularity on its own merits...

To quote the man himself from not too long ago: "It's an honour to lose against a game this good."

[Jim Reed]

Thanks for all the votes girls and guys! April rocks like roll!

[Cassiebsg]

Congrats AprilSkies and Jim Reed!
Good job!(nod)

[AprilSkies]

Whoooa! I'm super super happy!
Thank you all guys and gals!!!

It was a great comp tho! All the entries are great! I played all and I enjoyed all!
Emont's one made me laugh so much and Cassie's and Mandle's ones are excellet for a mags! I voted one of those last two  

[miguel]

Congrats April and all of the contestants.

[Myshkin]

Well done AprilSkies!
I'm amazed you could make that in AGS, and in less than a month too

[splat44]

Great Job AprilSkies, it also makes me feel good in helping out polishing that game aka beta testing!