MAGS June Special Edition "Rescue" (RESULTS)

[Stupot]

Voting has finished and the winner is:

• The Robolovers by  Brane and Tycho -  10 votes

Well done Brane and Tycho. You will be contacted soon about choosing a topic for August.

Thanks to all the participants and voters. What a brilliant month. You guys rock!

	Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue From Despair by DBoyWheeler
	Hang On by Pilchard
	Terror of the Vampire! by Scavenger and Eggie
	The Rotary Club by Mandle
	The Robolovers by Brane and Tycho
	Bury Me in the Sand by Funkpanzer
	Bustin' the Bastille by Blondbraid and Creamy
	The Forgotten City by SilverSpook

Click on the game title to download.

Voting

Please use the poll at the top of this page.

Remember:
* try all the games before you vote
* vote only once
* vote for your favourite
* don't forget to leave a comment and rating on the AGS games database

Voting Ends: July 16th


This month's Topic: Rescue
This month's guidelines were set by Slasher

This month's MAGS is all about rescue.

It could be rescuing anything from Grandma's secret Apple pie recipe that has accidentally gone out with the trash to saving refugees from a war-torn location. Maybe even rescuing your job or pride...

As long as it's about rescuing it's in.

Let's hope we can get more people to enter, so no restrictions apart from subject.


___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

• You may work in a team to produce an entry.
• You are not allowed to use any material created before the competition. Your game must be completely new! An exception is music and sound; you can use any audio that is freely available to the public.
• Any modules and templates featured in this board 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.

[Nixxon]

Cool theme! Anyone keen on a collaboration?

Happy to spin out some backgrounds if anyone wants to handle sprites and programming? I can contribute to dialog/story/puzzles/music.

Nice head start in any event.

[DBoyWheeler]

I'm willing to be a proofreader, or perhaps help bounce ideas on refining a story.

[Edit] Actually... maybe, just maybe, I might be able to participate.  Since I've been gaining adoptables from the art website I'm on (er, long story), I can use MAGS to have one of my new characters star in a game for the first time.

Specifically, a cute angel cake skunk gal I have.

Finding a way to mix her "heavenly sweet" nature with the MAGS theme of "rescuing"...

Two words:

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

Interesting theme . cant wait to see what eye candy nixxon comes up with.

good luck to all the entries , may the force be with you and may it be strong!

[DBoyWheeler]

May it indeed.

Besides, since MAGS rules include using "all-new assets" (except perhaps music and sound fx), I figured it'd be a great way to set a debut for the character, and then some of those assets can be used in a future non-MAGS game. (Yeah, that's the ticket!)

So anyway, I plan to start writing some ideas down this coming Monday... give me a little time for brainstorming.  But I do already have in my head the main idea of the plot for mine--basically, this angel character I have is trying to cheer up a really sad young boy, and thus"rescue the young child from his own despair", in some way (I'm sure that'd fit the rescue theme).

[Stupot]

Thanks for the show of interest, guys.

DBoy, that's as good a definition of 'rescue' as any. All the best.

[DBoyWheeler]

I've pretty much completed the brainstorming session for my game.  God willing, around Thursday (June 1st!) I'll start working on the main character's sprites.

But the title for the game I plan to make for MAGS is "Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue from Despair".

Rosaura Docelestial is an anthropomorphic skunk angel girl, the "angel cake" from a list of adoptables I gained in an art trade (er, long story).  When I got her, I wanted to give her a Portuguese name.  "Rosaura" obviously meaning "rose", and her last name "Docelestial" is a portmanteau of the Portuguese words "doce" ("sweet") and "celestial" ("heavenly").  So, "heavenly sweet".  And her nature best reflects it.

And as I said in a previous post (and as hinted in the subtitle), her mission is to rescue a young child from his own despair.  To do so, she needs to prepare three things to give for the young boy's birthday.  Hopefully more will be posted as I work on them.

[Riaise]

That sounds good, DBoyWheeler! I'm looking forward to playing it!

I have an idea which I'm trying to work into something feasible. I have a vague plot and no puzzles, so I'll see how I go with it.

[Cassiebsg]

Ahm... I'm Portuguese and I have never heard that name... so I checked... I'll give you that it's listed on the Wiki, however it's not even mentioned on the official listing....
you can check the official list here: http://www.irn.mj.pt/sections/irn/a_registral/registos-centrais/docs-da-nacionalidade/vocabulos-admitidos-e/downloadFile/file/Lista_de_nomes2017-03-31.pdf?nocache=1491571447.75

However, a good Portuguese name always has 2 first names, So if you name her "Rosa Aura" or "Aura Rosa" you will get away with it, since they are both accepted names.

[Crimson Wizard]

I would like to try participating as a... background artist. I am not very experienced, but if I give it enough time and devotion, sometimes I can come up with something like this:
http://imgur.com/tVvr6D3

Assuming you like that kind of drawing style, and do not plan having big number of backgrounds (because I am not experienced to draw fast).

[Stupot]

Keep spreading the word. Today is the day the contest would've started so your head start is over. You still have 30 days to go and seeing as this is a super extended edition, the deadline could also be super flexible if needed.

@CW - Nice BG, Crim. I wanna play a game that looks like that.

Who has a story idea and can help CW and Nixxon find teams?

@Riaise - glad to see you're considering something.

[DBoyWheeler]

However, a good Portuguese name always has 2 first names, So if you name her "Rosa Aura" or "Aura Rosa" you will get away with it, since they are both accepted names.

I looked up the name from Babynology.com--"Rosaura" was in the list of Portuguese names.

[Gurok]

I looked up the name from Babynology.com--"Rosaura" was in the list of Portuguese names.

I think you should trust the Portuguese person on this one.



I have a question, Stu. I made a Baywatch thing two weeks ago:

Would it be alright to reuse some parts of this intro with a different song and make a Baywatch-inspired game? "Bay Rescue" or "Rescue Watch", something like that. I had no idea it would be relevant to this month's MAGS theme when I was making it. I was just making it for fun, but it seems like a good opportunity to turn it into something more. I'm also not sure if I'll have time to participate.

[Stupot]

I have a question, Stu. I made a Baywatch thing two weeks ago:
Would it be alright to reuse some parts of this intro with a different song and make a Baywatch-inspired game? "Bay Rescue" or "Rescue Watch", something like that. I had no idea it would be relevant to this month's MAGS theme when I was making it. I was just making it for fun, but it seems like a good opportunity to turn it into something more. I'm also not sure if I'll have time to participate.

Yeah, it should be alright. As long as it's different enough. I like the sound of a Baywatch-ish game.

[Cassiebsg]

I looked up the name from Babynology.com--"Rosaura" was in the list of Portuguese names.
[/quote]

Well, either don't announce it as "Portuguese name" or take base on the list I post. That is an OFFICIAL list name of approved and reproved names. In Portugal you can't just name your baby any crazy name you like, if it's not in the list, you'll have to submit it to approval, and chances are high that it will be rejected if it sounds "too weird", can be confusing or does not sound Portuguese. Don't look at me, I didn't made the law, but that's the law we have. Not to say that "Rosaura" would be rejected, just that it might. As I said, I wonder why Rosa isn't on the list , even though it's a solid Portuguese name, and I had a friend named Rosa in school (I have a feeling that the list might be build with base on the submitted names for that year, and that might explain with Rosa isn't in there).

I checked your site, and the very first Portuguese name, "Aaron", is on the list I posted... as REJECTED... so don't take that site as the Bible of truth.

[DBoyWheeler]

Well, semantics of names aside, I'm currently working on the character sprites in my game.

Since for time constraints, I'm sticking with the walking, talking, and give/take sprites, this shouldn't take too long...

[Update] I've finished making the sprites for the main character.  When I made them, I had the sprites separate to upload into AGS, but afterwards, I decided to make a sprite sheet so you can see what she looks like.

Spoiler

[close]

Yeah, I know the side view looks slightly different than the front view, as far as her face goes--didn't realize the eff up till it was too late to fix it.  If/when I do another AGS game of Rosaura Docelestial (one that isn't MAGS), I'll try to do better.

And also, I didn't intend to make her look slightly pudgy, but didn't wanna make her look anorexic either.  I guess when you're forced to go solo, there are gonna be some errors here and there...

[Funkpanzer]

I'm working on a short mellodrama currently titled "Bury Me in the Sand" about a young studly lifeguard on his last days at the beach.

[Eggie]

Funkpanzer: That looks cute as a button!

[DBoyWheeler]

Nice.  It's great this MAGS is gaining momentum, isn't it?

[Pilchard]

Funkpanzer: Very much looking forward to playing that! I love the art style, with those super saturated colours.

I'm hoping to enter this month too. I probably won't have that much spare time, but I'm sure I can put something together.

[Riaise]

Yay, it's good to see so many participants this month!

DBoy: Those sprites look good! I don't think she looks too pudgy, and I like the little halo!

Funkpanzer: That looks really good and sounds interesting, too. I'm looking forward to playing it!

My idea is slowly coming together. It's currently called Rescue Station 228 and is set aboard a space station which rescues ships that have broken down or had some kind of emergency. So totally mundane, but IN SPACE!

[SilverSpook]

So the good news is, I'm going to be participating in this competition.

The bad news is, I'm going to be participating in this competition!  Ohnoes, teh pressure! :O  I've been making like one background a week, so I'm going to have to start kicking that up a few notches here, but it will be good to get the mind-body-wacom tablet chakras back operating at full capacity again.

[Mandle]

chakras

That's all I need to know! Now I only need to play the game!

[gameboy]

Hope I'll have some time to finish what I've started already.

Here's a background:

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

Hey this contest seems to be picking up, whoever wins pick a nice theme for the next mags I might consider entering then.

Love the teaser images and ideas people have already been posting, this is going to be a royal rumble indeed!

[Eggie]

USE HAT ON RING.

Me and Scavenger of Heatwave and Death Wore Endless Feathers renown have teamed up on a short game about cartoon animals and I am devastated emotionally by how freaking beautiful all the graphics they've made are for it. I am a wreck. I am in no fit state.

IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL! WHAT THE HELL! HOW DID I END UP GETTING TO WORK ON SOMETHING THIS PRETTY THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE!

Look at THESE ChArAcTeRsss, look at our sweet gothic animal children who we love:


This is the best-looking game ever you guys!

[xBRANEx]

I agree. Looks amazing!

[Cassiebsg]

This looks insane!
looking forward to all your games!

[Stupot]

Nice to see the party kicking off. Keep it up, gang.

[SilverSpook]

Awesome entries all around!  That is looking pretty fantastic, Eggie.   I like Funkpanzer's studly lifeguard melodrama concept as well.  Sounds like it will be a riot!

Here's a sneak peek at what's in the works (not so sneaky for those in the know ):

[Nixxon]

Holy fuck spook, that looks mint!!!

[Nixxon]

Looks awesome funk. gameboy & eggie very nice!

[Mandle]

WTF?! You look away from a MAGS for a day and suddenly it explodes with awesomeness?!

* Mandle averts his eyes for another day!

[DBoyWheeler]

@Mandle Well, you know what they say--a watched pot never boils.

Anyway, thought I'd share with you another spritesheet of my project (on a side note, I did more progress in other ways too--namely a title screen, the "cutscene" of explaining Rosaura's mission, and the ending... planning to start the main rooms next time).

Here's the sprite sheet of NPCs.

Spoiler

[close]

The three NPCs (I limited the number to save time for the MAGS project) are as follows:

Madame Serenite: An anthro poodle lady.  She's a recent person, an elderly woman from a French speaking country who passed on from natural causes.

Chef Genio: An anthro gray cat man.  He was an Italian chef who lived in the 1800's--passed away from illness in 1869.

Taban Queenslander: A male human.  He was an Australian skater who is the most recent addition to Rosaura's heavenly neighborhood (died in a freak accident).  Oh and his arm didn't atrophy, it's just the arm near the viewer (hand on his hip) is at a "weird angle" compared to the "camera".

So, just thought you'd like to meet the NPCs that Rosaura meets with on her mission to save the child from his own despair.

[selmiak]

Awesome things are happening in this month and this thread and this months mags!

[Mandle]

Nice looking work!

Back on the point of names though: An Australian named Taban Queenslander?

People in Australia have normal names (with UK surnames being quite common) and are not named after the state they come from

[DBoyWheeler]

People in Australia have normal names (with UK surnames being quite common) and are not named after the state they come from

Well, it was the best I could come up with at the time.

[Ponch]

People in Australia have normal names

Also, Slim Dusty? Phar Lap? Rocko Wallaby? Max Rockatansky? Kylie Minogue? Ben304??!

[DBoyWheeler]

Also, Slim Dusty? Phar Lap? Rocko Wallaby? Max Rockatansky? Kylie Minogue? Ben304??!

Touche!

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

lets not forget the venerable Dame Edna Everage, possums.

[DBoyWheeler]

Well, as of this post, I'm now working on the Rooms of my game project.  Compared to the more in-depth games I do (AGS or otherwise), this shouldn't take too much time.  And since I'm using the usual default (i.e. the Sierra style with icons), it shouldn't be too much a hassle (unlike trying the verb coin--I'll probably rework that idea when I pick up my Sarimento AGS again, as I plan to start over with that particular project).

[Add on] So you know, I did make up my own pictures and stuff with the Sierra style GUIs... just wanted to point that out.

[Mandle]

People in Australia have normal names

Spoiler

[close]

Actually, that's pure genius Ponch!

D-Boy, maybe keep the name as is, but perhaps just mention somewhere in the game that he legally changed his name to "Taban Queenslander" out of love for his birth-state, like Greg Pead changed his to Yahoo Serious out of love for being a fruitcake.

[DBoyWheeler]

@Mandle Or perhaps when they found him as a baby, his original last name on his birth certificate was smudged.

[SilverSpook]

Post-apocalyptic cyborg goth girls, you better work.

[Blondbraid]

Great to see several promising entries this month!
Me and Creamy are also working on a MAGS project, a game set in late 1700s France,
about a woman who joins the storming of the Bastille in order to rescue the prisoners there.

[DBoyWheeler]

Great to see several promising entries this month!
Me and Creamy are also working on a MAGS project, a game set in late 1700s France,
about a woman who joins the storming of the Bastille in order to rescue the prisoners there.

Dude... given your past stuff, you are a MASTAH of historical themed games!

[Funkpanzer]

These entries are looking sick, I can't wait for the end of the month!

I have all of my set pieces and backgrounds roughed out as of last night and the story seems to not be completely confusing according to one other person. Here is the player standing by the ocean while an unsuspecting beach-goer snoozes...

[Ponch]

That game looks great, Funkpanzer. But I don't recall giving you permission to use my likeness as a model for the fellow with the umbrella.

[Blondbraid]

Dude... given your past stuff, you are a MASTAH of historical themed games!

Thank you, but I won't be working alone on this game, Creamy is working on some terrific gameplay for it as well!

Also, nice screenshot Funkpanzer!

[Funkpanzer]

That game looks great, Funkpanzer. But I don't recall giving you permission to use my likeness as a model for the fellow with the umbrella.

I may have taken one or two liberties with your private life...

[Creamy]

Gameboy, each time you post a mouth-watering screenshot, you should be legally obliged to finish the game. I'm still waiting for the skier game. And for the boarded-house game.

[Mandle]

Is it just me or does Ponch-On-Da-Beach look like he was stabbed through the face with that sun umbrella?

[Danvzare]

Is it just me or does Ponch-On-Da-Beach look like he was stabbed through the face with that sun umbrella?

It definitely does.
Murder mystery perhaps?

[gameboy]

Gameboy, each time you post a mouth-watering screenshot, you should be legally obliged to finish the game. I'm still waiting for the skier game. And for the boarded-house game.

Haha, the ski game is actually sooo close to completion. When this MAGS round is over, I really need to kick myself to finish it.

[Slasher]

So good to see more entries this month

keep it up guys

[SilverSpook]

Today's progress!  Not nearly finished with this spaceport but it's getting there!  Also made a new character today so that's good!

[DBoyWheeler]

Rejoice with me, for I have completed my MAGS entry!

It's called "Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue from Despair".

Here's the completed games thread for more info: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=54906.0

[Edit]
In order to help, as well as fit the submission rules, here is the submission listed here as well.

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue from Despair

http://gamejolt.com/games/RosauraMagsJune2017/261950

[Stupot]

Nice. We have an entry. Well done D-Boy.
Fingers crossed for a few more. Some interesting stuff happening here :-)

[Mandle]

I just finished playing DBoy's game and it was really fun!

I posted a little review with my opinions on the game's strengths and weaknesses in the completed games thread.

I had a really good time playing and hope to see more games from DBoy!

[DBoyWheeler]

@Mandle I saw your review, and posted a reply.  Yeah, when you're forced to go solo, there are gonna be mistakes here and there.

[Mandle]

@Mandle I saw your review, and posted a reply.  Yeah, when you're forced to go solo, there are gonna be mistakes here and there.

Still plenty of time to fix them...

[DBoyWheeler]

Well, HOPEFULLY I fixed the volume (I hadn't noticed that much a change at my end), but I did fix the character speed and the display text (so the text wouldn't cover the characters in the intro cutscene or the ending).

[Mandle]

A simple fix for the volume is to change it directly in the audio track's properties pane: 100 is normal volume, 50 is half volume, etc.

[DBoyWheeler]

A simple fix for the volume is to change it directly in the audio track's properties pane: 100 is normal volume, 50 is half volume, etc.

Okay... let's see if this fixes everything.

[SilverSpook]

@DBoyWheeler: The game looks great, and Jezus you finished it fast!  I have not had a chance to play anything yet but will get to it by the end of MAGS of course.  Going solo can be rough, let me tell you!

[DBoyWheeler]

Thanks.

Oh, and I edited my earlier post here so that it would list the title, screenshot, and download link as the rules required.

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

holy cow you are done already? super fast worker. will try out at some point and let you know how i got on

[Pilchard]

I'm making progress with my MAGS game - here are some character sprites:



It seems like there will be a bumper crop of 'Rescue' games, looking forward to playing them all!

[Stupot]

Good stuff, Pilch.

We are now halfway through June. How about a round of show-and-tell?

[DBoyWheeler]

Ooh!  Show and Tell!  That sounds good!

[Gurok]

I'm sorry, I'm out for this month. Too much has come up (real life stuff) for me.

[Stupot]

I'm sorry, I'm out for this month. Too much has come up (real life stuff) for me.

Not to worry, G. I'm sure we'll see the Baywatch game in some form or another once you've got the irl stuff sorted :-)

[SilverSpook]

I'll be live-showing and live-telling tomorrow at 9PM EST as I livestream work on the Silver Spook Games MAGS June entry. 

Link to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/twiliteminotaur/videos

Here's a sneak peek for now though:



This is just the tip of the post-apocalyptic sunset-tastic iceberg, comrades.  Just the tip! 

[DBoyWheeler]

Dang.  Looks like a REALLY sci-fi Mad Max here!

[Eggie]

We are now halfway through June. How about a round of show-and-tell?

UPDATE:

Design: 100%
Backgrounds: 100%
Character animations: 50%
Writing: 60%
Scav's art skills: 11230%
Eggie's feelings of inadequacy: 98%

[Creamy]

We have the broad outlines of the game.
So far, Blondbraid has produced lots of amazing art and I've jerry-rigged a few buggy demos.


Because no game on the French revolution is complete without a chopping heads minigame.

[Cassiebsg]

These are all looking amazing! This looks to be a rich month for MAGS.
Keep up the good work everybody!

[SilverSpook]

Thanks @Dboy!

Wow that looks amazing Eggie!  Like the character design with the bird's hair also. 

@Creamy Really excited to see how that turns out!  You're in good hands with Blondbraid.

You can see the livestream of me working on this MAGS June entry here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a19EZFU52og

The latest and greatest of sunset-pocalypse!  Now with 200% more decimated space port, spacecraft and broken unobtanium-pipelines spewing radioactive green goo!

[Riaise]

I don't think I'll be able to finish my game. I haven't had time - or, honestly, the motivation -  to work on it much in the last week or so. If I can get back into it and get something finished then I will do, but just to let you know that it's not looking likely.

All the other entries are looking amazing, though! I'm really looking forward to playing them all at the end of the month!

[DBoyWheeler]

At least we may still get a good number of entries.

Yeah, there are times were a lot have interest, but then some drop out because time and energy waned on them (or, in the case Gurok and probably a few others, RL s**t happens!).

But even then, we still might have enough entries to have a decent competition.

[SilverSpook]

Being a small goth chick in the robopocalypse, with homicidal death machines everywhere, it goes without saying, you're going to have to do a lot of running.

[Stupot]

I don't think I'll be able to finish my game.

Sorry to hear it. I hope you get a sudden burst of motivation. But if not, no worries, you can still participate by playing, voting and spreading the good word

[DBoyWheeler]

Being a small goth chick in the robopocalypse, with homicidal death machines everywhere, it goes without saying, you're going to have to do a lot of running.

Run, Forrest, run!

(Sorry, it had to be said. )

Yeah, where are the Maverick Hunters when you need them?!  Especially the main trio of X, Zero, and Axl.

[SilverSpook]

In her case it's going to be more like, "Run, Lola, Run" or "Run, Furiosa, Run,"

[SilverSpook]

Here's a better illustration of why young cyberpunk girls definitely should not skip cardio day in event of Amazon buying out the US Military.  You won't have time to figure out that that Prime Drone that's flying your pumpkin spice latte to your house that you bought with Universal Basic Income?  It's actually there to vivisect you to steal your organs for use by richer old people Amazon-ordering kidneys and blood transfusions from young people to achieve immortality.

Forgotten City

"We Want Your Organs And Bodily Fluids.  All of them."

[DBoyWheeler]

Forgotten City

"We Want Your Organs And Bodily Fluids.  All of them."

Damn!   The animatronics at FNaF ain't got s**t compared to these droids.

[Mandle]

Holy shit!

You'd better be releasing this game SilverSpook!

You have whetted too many appetites with that last post to be allowed to ever leave with your own organs intact otherwise!

[Funkpanzer]

I've fallen madly in love with the HQ renderer. It looks like a pad-print!

[DBoyWheeler]

I've fallen madly in love with the HQ renderer. It looks like a pad-print!

Wow!  Excellent work here!

[Mandle]

Yeah, that last pic looks good enough to frame and hang on the wall.

What's this "HQ render"? An engine feature?

[Nixxon]

Man I love that palette, funk.

[Mandle]

Damnit... I have a nagging idea for a game following this theme...

I "might" be in...

[Slasher]

Mandle: Going by your last game you should easily be able to run up a game before this lunchtime

[Mandle]

Mandle: Going by your last game you should easily be able to run up a game before this lunchtime

Naw... this idea is a bit more in depth (although I am really fond of the brief story Magic-8-Ball told)...

EDIT:

First screenie of a game about a high-altitude helicopter rescue team that call themselves "The Rotary Club"

[Funkpanzer]

What's this "HQ render"? An engine feature?

If you use the DirectDraw 5 driver you can set the Filter mode to Hqx in setup after the game is compiled. I don't know if you could change it while the game is running though, that would be pretty sweet.

Glad to see you're joining the fray, Mandle! Looking forward to accidentally flying that helicopter into a mountain.

[Slasher]

It an exciting MAG this month

Good luck to you all...

Wonderful..

I'm here if you need rescuing

[DBoyWheeler]

It an exciting MAG this month

Good luck to you all...

Wonderful..

I'm here if you need rescuing

Ha ha!  I saw what you did there!

[Scavenger]

I've been trying to push myself with regards to visual effects this time, so I'm glad to say our game finally has...


Steam support!

[Mandle]

Steam support!

I hope to find this level of top-shelf humour in the game itself!

(Oh, and that screenie is incredible!

[Stupot]

That's so steamy should be in hide tags.

[DBoyWheeler]

I've been trying to push myself with regards to visual effects this time, so I'm glad to say our game finally has...

Steam support!

That joke is really "half-baked"!

[SilverSpook]

"My vision is augmented."

Planning some (hopefully) really fun game dynamics with this, one of several of the main character's augmentations.  Along with a brand-spanking new stealth system that (hopefully) won't implode your computer and the presently instantiated universe with the convoluted programming needed to get a stealth system to work in AGS.  Also, she will of course have the ability to run, run, run like she's being chased by killer DARPA-bots, or like there's a Depeche Mode sale at Hot Topic.

[Riaise]

How are you doing all of this in just one month, SilverSpook?! I'm always amazed by the amount that people can get into their games in such a short space of time.

(Also, I don't know if it's just the conversion to gif, but there's a little purple square at the bottom right hand corner which I'm not sure should be there. Just so you know. )

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

So much good stuff I am seeing for this MAGS.. is this a record for entries perhaps?
Silverspook what a fantastic little mechanic there with the infrared view.. I am pretty sure that's unique to a point and click

[SilverSpook]

How are you doing all of this in just one month, SilverSpook?!

By being a crazy person.   Also, the purple square in the corner there will probably go away...  Or perhaps you just found an Easter Egg!

@Tycho: Thanks! It's been pretty tricky to figure out how exactly to do this, but I'd like to have it as a common feature throughout the game to bring some fresh ideas to the p-n-c adventure game space.  We're also looking at gamma/x-ray and sonar vision as alternate viewing modes for the main character's ocular implants.

[Stupot]

We're also looking at gamma/x-ray and sonar vision as alternate viewing modes...

You could make use of the built-in gamma slider.

Conspirocracy (iirc) made fun use of the gamma slider for one puzzle. You could make it a feature.

[Mandle]

We're also looking at gamma/x-ray and sonar vision as alternate viewing modes...

You could make use of the built-in gamma slider.

Conspirocracy (iirc) made fun use of the gamma slider for one puzzle. You could make it a feature.

It would only work in full-screen of course, but neat idea!

[Mandle]

I got the helicopter flying controls done tonight in a very weird way which might be the AGS version of I Am Bread meets Octodad...

So it could be a fun game to master, or just the worst frustrating mess ever, or I might rewrite the controls...

I'm having fun anyway...

EDIT: Well, after playing my own game to test controls for a bit it doesn't actually seem that bad. I just had to wrap my head around how a helicopter flies with horizontal vs. vertical thrust. And yeah, I wrote the code for how it works after researching how helicopters fly , but it's like reading the flying manual vs. flying the thing yourself...

I can fly around without crashing too much, but that's still with unlimited fuel and without weather conditions (which I plan to add tomorrow) and also without having to rescue stranded mountaineers...

Oh, and did some sound design...

[Pilchard]

I've finished my entry! Check out the completed games thread here and download .zip here. It's called Hang On.



Thanks to Slasher for an inspiring theme this month! Looking forward to playing all the rest of the entries. Mandle, I'm intrigued by this helicopter game!

[DBoyWheeler]

Neat work, Pilchard.  Yeah, if there were a close up view of the person's face, she'd have that "Oh s**t!" look.

[SilverSpook]

The helicopter thing looks great, Mandle!  I'm going to bet you'll win "Most Fitting Of Contest's Theme" award.

@Pilchard: Also looks great!  Wow, you guys get this stuff done fast!  Man, I'm going to be the last one finished aren't I!?

[DBoyWheeler]

Wow, you guys get this stuff done fast!  Man, I'm going to be the last one finished aren't I!?

Well hopefully at least you DO finish.  Because your game would definitely be worth a peek and a play.

[Funkpanzer]

Man, I'm going to be the last one finished aren't I!?

I promise you that will be me. I "wasted" a whole day adding X-Ray specs to my game because of your fancy schmancy mechanics! 

@Pilchard: Your game looks gorgeous! Congrats!

[HanaIndiana]

Wow, this looks like its going to be a great one. Looking forward to playing them all!

Played HangOn so far... lovely!

[DBoyWheeler]

I'm kind of lost on the entries sent so far, so maybe I'll check out the games when we get a complete list at the end of this MAGS.

[Mandle]

I'm kind of lost on the entries sent so far, so maybe I'll check out the games when we get a complete list at the end of this MAGS.

The only other one released so far is "Hang On".

[Stupot]

I'm kind of lost on the entries sent so far, so maybe I'll check out the games when we get a complete list at the end of this MAGS.

The only other one released so far is "Hang On".

The MAGS website is currently up to date and I'll try to keep it as up-to-date as possible as entries come in.
http://www.mags-competition.info/?page=games&only=2017-06&pagetitle=Rescue

[Mandle]

Here's the crowded, chaotic, and, above all, ugly shop back at The Rotary Club H.Q. where you can refuel and/or upgrade/downgrade your chopper:

[IMGZOOM]http://i63.tinypic.com/294m6jc.png[/IMGZOOM]

And, I'm embarrassed to ask, considering this MAGS started a week early, but is there any chance of an extension over the coming weekend?

Due to getting sick last weekend and losing 3 days because of that I'm not far enough along to make it in by Friday I fear...

[Stupot]

Well I'm being super flexible with this month's contest because I was trying to boost participation. So how about having the weekend?

So anyone who's interested. The new deadline is Sunday Night 23:59 BST (That's 8am Monday Morning for You, Mandle).

Bear in mind? July's contest will begin as normal on the 1st of July. I really want to keep some momentum going. So help spread the word. If you feel like you missed out this month, Then just make something next month. Let's make every MAGS one that other people feel they missed out on

Get your teams together, like nowish.

[SilverSpook]

That looks amazing Mandle! Man this sounds like a helicopter rescue simulator almost, now! Definitely can't wait to play it!

Also, I'm going to try and get this thing done (as much as it can be) by Friday, but I'm not going to say no to an extension! 

[Mandle]

Man this sounds like a helicopter rescue simulator

Yeah, that's what I'm aiming for... No time to make the ingame helicopter sprite look like the different chassis you can buy, but hopefully the player's choice of equipment combos should have a big impact on the personality of their chopper's performance and the way in which they play the game.

Oh, and, note to self: Design a GUI's layout first before you start making it! D'oh!

[selmiak]

Since it's post some characters time I want to show you what I helped Funkpanzer with 

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/FvTdKcz.gif[/imgzoom]

[Mandle]

That's a lovely fluid walkcycle!

[selmiak]

I'm not totally happy with the hairbounce, but the boobounce is nice

[Slasher]

I'm not totally happy with the hairbounce, but the boobounce is nice

The smaller the character is the less you notice

[Scavenger]

As a little update, me and Eggie are almost done with the game, we're just doing the final cutscene and getting assets drawn for it, and tightening everything up. It'll be down to the wire, but really I am incredibly happy with how this game is turning out. We've been working every day to try to get this done, trying out new things and pushing AGS to its limit!

Though I really am surprised, we've put so many graphics in it and the sprite file size is only 1mb.

[Pilchard]

Scavenger: The hype is killing me! I really love the glimpses we've had from Eggie. Good luck with this final push!

selmiak: That's a lovely walk cycle! Lots of character in it, very strong pixel animation.

Looking forward to taking some time to play all of the June games next week.

[selmiak]

thanks, though I mostly just overpainted Funkpanzer's Andre, the main character from the game. 

[Mandle]

Here we can see a true hero braving the bitter cold and winds of high altitude winching down from the helicopter on a rescue attempt of the stranded person below:

[IMGZOOM]http://i66.tinypic.com/2nuk6ms.png[/IMGZOOM]

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

Wow, so many innovative ideas flying about in here.. I am going to play these when they are all in. Seems like I am going to have to set side a weekend to get through this intriguing lot.

keep`em`coming folks!

[Stupot]

Looking fun Mandle. You always have great concepts.

[Scavenger]

Right, we're in full crunch mode here, there's so little time and we're so close, so I think it's only fair we show another screenshot:



Y'all don't know how excited I am to finally be releasing another game!!!!

[Cassiebsg]

Looking amazing guys!

[SilverSpook]

Great work everyone! Gonna be stiff competition here!

I myself have been animating for like 12 hours straight, and boy are my fingers tired.

Here's a little sneak peek for yas!



"Survivor Punk-Wonderwoman resists the darkness of the patriarchy!  ...Oh shit, less conductance, more RESISTANCE!!!"

[DBoyWheeler]

Both scavenger AND SilverSpook have some neato stuff being made--hope they can get theirs in in time.

[xBRANEx]

You know what this world needs more of?
Robots in love!

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/KZpQfyg.png[/imgzoom]

[selmiak]

now it's getting interesting

[Stupot]

Now there's a turn up for the books.

[Creamy]

Keep 'em coming!

Thanks to the extension, there's still a chance for us to submit a full game.

[Mandle]

Every new screenshot is making my mouth water more and more for the feast of gaming that awaits us next week!!!

Go go go, one and all!!!

[Funkpanzer]

Here's a riveting screenshot to keep this party going!

[Mandle]

I long to walk those golden sands!

This could just be the most epic MAGS round in recent memory!

[Scavenger]

And... FINALLY!!!!!!!!! It's done!
Go here to get it!

[SilverSpook]

On the homestretch!  Come watch me work on Forgotten City live!

http://youtube.com/twiliteminotaur/live

[Cassiebsg]

That's one scary beast!

[SilverSpook]

Indeed!  Here's the stream itself if you want to see how this insanity happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVPBVDF0_fg

[Mandle]

The final push!!!

Creating final graphics and sound assets to plug into the game before going in deep under the hood for final coding...

* Mandle takes a deep breath...

[Mandle]

THE ROTARY CLUB



A bit of a buggy game, but still a bit of fun maybe?

The Rotary Club are high-altitude helicopter rescue pilots.

Join their ranks and learn how to pilot a helicopter and rescue stranded climbers, and maybe someday buy out the whole business.

But the game is Rougelike, so I doubt anyone can win it in its current form.

(There are some buggy issues when leaving the Shop that I tried to fix for the last five hours but couldn't... If you click the EXIT button enough times the game will finally let you leave and continue playing...Damn game...)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

[SilverSpook]

My entry is coming in guys, sorry! It's 8 AM here in Hawaii so I'm just wakin' up.

[Funkpanzer]

Aieeee! Great job everyone! I've still got a ways to go before turning this adorable little mess in and will probably be on it until midnight EST if that's alright!

[xBRANEx]

Look what we have here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=54985.msg636564969#msg636564969

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/UsNj83G.png[/imgzoom]

It's been such a pleasure working with Tycho! I've learned so much!
Good luck to everyone!

[xBRANEx]

Sorry, delete

[xBRANEx]

I'm not sure how to delete a post, I accidentally quoted the last one.

[Stupot]

Nice. Lots of entries with plenty of time to spare. For everyone else, this is your two-hour warning.

I'[...]ll probably be on it until midnight EST if that's alright!

I have to officially open the voting in two hours. I need to get it done before I go to work.

If you can upload a build by then just to get your entry in, then I might turn a blind eye if you were to secretly swap it for a more complete build a few hours later.

[Creamy]

Uploading right now. The game is buggy and unpolished but finished.
There's a video so it's heavy. Google Drive says 1 hour 30 minutes

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

xbranex and myself have been working very hard over the last month on this, and I am now worried because I have just discovered a bug very early in the game that means the player cant progress at all. Unfortunately this bug was only related to the very last build in which was uploaded as our entry (any previous builds did not have this issue).
To make matters worse xBranex understandably needed sleep so he has gone to bed, and I am sorry to say I cant do anything about this myself since I cant code. Naturally we will fix this as soon as humanly possibly, but it is very likely that xBranex wont even learn of this issue till he wakes which could be 6 or more hours from now, well beyond the mags deadline.

Stupot+ where do we stand now with respect the contest?

[Stupot]

@TMA - Don't worry. Just upload the new version when you can. Fixing game-breaking bugs is fine because we want people to actually play the whole thing. But continuing to generally work on the game and making new versions isn't allowed until after the voting.

[Mandle]

Fixing game-breaking bugs is fine because we want people to actually play the whole thing.

Which is what I will be doing tonight.... That shop exit bug is annoying me sooooooooo much, but I SHALL defeat it!

[Funkpanzer]

This is definitely not how I wanted people to experience this story but I still feel really good about what I managed to make in a month! Thanks for letting me work out my bugs until the end of the day Stupot+, and thanks for your help selmiak! I'll post version 2.0 at the end of the day in the game thread but feel free to judge based on this version.



Bury Me in the Sand v1.9a

Regarding anyone trying to play to the end:

Spoiler

Once you're told to look for Christopher, the game is basically over until I can link up the rest of the events.

[close]

edit: Game thread!

[Creamy]

Can't wait to play these games after a good night sleep

For our part, Blondbraid and I take you

BUSTIN' THE BASTILLE

The year is 1789. Anger is simmering and people take the street, they protest against the priviliges of the nobility and the clergy. The revolution is coming. It will bring liberty, fraternity, equality… …and lots and lots of beheadings!
And unbeknownst to her, a fishmonger with a mid-life crisis finds herself in the middle of it all.

Sorry for the cold sweats Blondbraid, I did my best.

[Stupot]

Thanks for the entries, everyone.

Silverspook, where you at?
I have to start the voting. But I can add you to the poll if you get your entry in soon.

[Stupot]

The competition has now ended and voting is underway.
And what a bumper crop to choose from! Thanks to everyone for coming through and responding to my desperate plea for participants.
You can vote using the poll above.

	Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue From Despair by DBoyWheeler
	Hang On by Pilchard
	Terror of the Vampire! by Scavenger and Eggie
	The Rotary Club by Mandle
	The Robolovers by Brane and Tycho
	Bury Me in the Sand by Funkpanzer
	Bustin' the Bastille by Blondbraid and Creamy
	The Forgotten City by SilverSpook

Click on the game title to download.

Voting

Please use the poll at the top of this page.

Remember:
* try all the games before you vote
* vote only once
* vote for your favourite
* don't forget to leave a comment and rating on the AGS games database

Voting Ends: July 16th


Let me know if I missed anything, got any names wrong or generally cocked something up.

Happy pointing, clicking and voting!

[SilverSpook]

I'll be getting my entry in soon, sorry! 

[xBRANEx]

About The Robolovers and the bug:

I'm pretty sure TMA just forgot about a puzzle I added in that was out of the script haha
I've tested now and had no problems

If you downloaded the game, play it. You shouldn't have problems there, none of the testers had them.

[SilverSpook]

Hey guys I'm trying to upload but my computer has crashed O:  I'm going to get this thing up ASAP sorry!

[Mandle]

Hey guys I'm trying to upload but my computer has crashed O:

It's a machine conspiracy to stop you from telling the truth about their evil plans!

[SilverSpook]

Indeed! Good news is, looks like my game finally went up! 

[Danvzare]

Wow, a lot of entries this month.

[Riaise]

Well done, everyone! I'm looking forward to playing all of the entries! Although I'm not looking forward to deciding who to vote for, I think it will be a difficult choice!

[Slasher]

Slasher has pushed the MAG barrier this month...

Many thanks to all those that entered....

It keeps MAG's alive

So many to play.. what can a poor boy do

[Stupot]

Cool. I think that's all the links and everything up to date. Again, let me know if I've ballsed up something.
I wanna say thanks again to everyone who came out and participated. 8 games is a fantastic number and I'm really happy. And that could have even ended up as more than 10. Unlucky to those who didn't get their games across the line.
Thanks also to Slasher, who's enticing topic suggestion pretty much sealed the deal for most people to enter the contest.

I'd really love to keep some sort of momentum going, so anyone who feels like they've got another game in them, or anyone who missed out on June but still wants to be part of 'The Summer of MAGS', check out July's great theme. Don't be shy about setting up a team if you don't think you've got the energy to tackle it on your own.

Now, go and play June's games!

[Funkpanzer]

Soooo apparently having players wander around aimlessly until I tell them "Oh yeah, this is as far as I got with programming..." is not a very good way to get people to enjoy your game! I've added a little "To be continued..." pop-up in place of the missing ending and fixed some game breaking bugs that people have found. I hope that's alright!

Congratulations to everyone for getting in these amazing looking games!

[Shadow1000]

Soooo apparently having players wander around aimlessly until I tell them "Oh yeah, this is as far as I got with programming..." is not a very good way to get people to enjoy your game! I've added a little "To be continued..." pop-up in place of the missing ending and fixed some game breaking bugs that people have found. I hope that's alright!

Congratulations to everyone for getting in these amazing looking games!

Hmm...I got as far as:

Spoiler

Agnes tells you that Christopher is missing and then I got Gilda off the car roof. I wandered around to no avail and then somehow got stuck in front of the food truck area. In addition, a bit earlier someone told me that the food truck lady wanted to speak to me but there's no added dialogue. When I realized that I can't move the character out of the area and there's no new dialogues, I tried saving the game to come back to it but there's no save, apparently? I ended up turning the game off at this point.

[close]

Is that where the game ends or did I miss something?

Edit:

Spoiler

I now see that the original post says that this is the end of the game. I hadn't noticed that before playing

[close]

[Mandle]

UPDATE: ALL BUGS NOW FIXED!!!

THE ROTARY CLUB



CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

The Rotary Club are high-altitude helicopter rescue pilots.

Join their ranks and learn how to pilot a helicopter and rescue stranded climbers, and maybe someday buy out the whole business.

The game is roguelike, one slip on the stick and you're mountain-fodder, so I doubt anyone can win it.

But maybe...just maybe...?

IMPORTANT:
If you click on "NEW" in the main menu this will start a new game and all of the progress on your saved game will be deleted!
Be sure to click on "LOAD" to continue your previous adventures!
The game only autosaves every time to reenter the Shop! Exiting the game while out flying WILL NOT save your progress!
This also means that if you make a hopeless buying mistake in the shop, as long as you push ESC and quit the game BEFORE the next time you enter the shop you can reload the game and make better choices.(Sorry that there's no better system for this at the moment, but, MAGS. Probably in a future version!)

HAPPY SKIES!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

[Mandle]

UPDATE: Sorry, I found one last fatal bug and fixed it... Should be the last...

Link above updated so please download again if you playing an older version.

[SilverSpook]

I am not a roguelime fan by any stretch of the imagination (I can't even spell it right), in fact this might have been the first real roguelyke that I have played, Mandle.  But I could not stop playing "The Rotary Club" for at least an hour after I started. I felt like 5 again with my Nintendo, feigning the flu so I could stay home and beat that goddamn Quickman level in Megaman 2.  Super awesome job, and a true feat of programming to make that out of the AGS engine, I'm amazed you did it in a month!

I haven't got to play much yet, still looking forward to getting to the other entries!  The Robolovers thing has orgasmic visual style!

[Mandle]

Super awesome job, and a true feat of programming to make that out of the AGS engine, I'm amazed you did it in a month!

Hehe, I started making the game on the 21st...

(And about 50% of the work was done on the last day before extended deadline was up. Man, what a rush (in both senses of the term))

Also, please download the newest version that I uploaded a short time ago. That should be all bugs fully squished!

[selmiak]

I had fun flying around and then going shopping. Some story sequences while you are shopping would add to the experience, even if it's just text. And a helicopter that turns around when going left

[Pilchard]

Well done everyone! Exciting to see such a varied bounty of MAGS games this month - I know it's not something to take for granted. I'll be playing them all later this week.

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

Well done to everyone on getting their games complete, boy this contest was a corker for sure. I honestly thought we might be up against 2 or 3 other projects, 4 at the most,... but 7!.. and all reeking of such quality.

I have downloaded all of your games and intend to go through them one by one this week/over this weekend so shall start to comment on each of your projects as I go.

Best of luck with regard the contest, but all of you have already won in my books by completing your games in such a glorious fashion.

[Mandle]

Some story sequences while you are shopping would add to the experience, even if it's just text. And a helicopter that turns around when going left

I actually planned to have a "story mode" for the game, but no time. In the "deluxe" edition for sure though!

And, actually the helicopter does change directions but only after reaching a bit of speed in that direction. This was to simulate the way a helicopter can hover/fly backwards during delicate maneuvers like a rescue.

[Mandle]

Now, go and play June's games!

SIR, YES SIR!!!

All downloaded and ready to go!

Such an orgy of gaming do I have planned for tonight and tomorrow!

The perfect way to kick back after the insane rush of work right at the end to get my own entry finished, playable, and bug-free!

Such a great feeling to be able to relax and see what everyone else has been sweating over!

**********
***EDIT***
**********

Comments on all games:

RoboLovers:

Spoiler

WOW! I just finished playing... It took me about and hour and a half I think, but a lot of that time was just exploring all the options the game gave and enjoying the world instead of rushing through every solution to just get to the ending...

I LOVED the end credits! And I actually think

Spoiler

you should leave all the grammar errors in the game as they are explained there and it's a funny joke... Also loved all the references hidden in the credits, although I think I only got about half of them... But, you cheeky bastards: "Dolly: An Android Dreaming Of Electric Sheep"...I wonder how many players get the double-reference there? Insanely clever!

[close]

I had an awesome time and felt at times like I was playing a short Wadget Eye game. All it needs is some good voicing and slightly (and I mean slightly) more polishing on some parts and it would be at that level! I wonder if Dave Gilbert would consider including a short game such as this one with one of their releases like Pixar adds a short film to their theatrical releases/DVDs...

I loved the bots and they reminded me of my childhood obsession with the bot from Disney's "The Black Hole" (V.I.C.T.O.R?)... I believe he was mentioned in the credits?

A lot of

Spoiler

2001 references, but for me that was a good thing, especially "Something wonderful"...

[close]

I haven't played all the games from this MAGS yet, but they are gonna have to be really something special to beat yours!

Thanks for the great time! You guys rock!

[close]

Bustin' The Bastille:

Spoiler

CHARMING!!! I got as far as to:

Spoiler

...sew the white flag into the middle of the current French flag to make the current one (VERY FUNNY *AND* OFFENSIVE...LOVE IT!!!), but could get no further... I feel like I have to attach the flag to the broom to wave it around and rally the crowd, but it just doesn't happen no matter how many interactions I try... If this is a game-breaking bug then please let me know...If not, then just tell me so and no hints because I want to solve it if it's not a bug...

[close]

I just finished the game and it was truly a wonderful treat, especially the

Spoiler

slapstick comedy and final reveal of the ending!

[close]

Yeah, some "video-game logic" was a bit of a problem at points and I got heartily stuck two or three times because of such issues, always wondering if I had perhaps broken the game by doing something out of order, but it all worked out in the end.

AWESOME GAME, with perhaps just a bit more work needed to perfect its gameplay, but no further work needed to perfect its charm!

[close]

Terror Of The Vampire:

Spoiler

Well, what can anyone even say after playing this game?

Except perhaps: "I can't believe I got to play this game for free!!!"?

This is the most incredible MAGS game I have ever played AND also ranks now as one of my favorite games of all time!

Apart from the incredible graphic design, special effects, and animation which all draw the player into the game world:

Spoiler

The delicately crafted story arc of the main character from self-acclaimed know-it-all to self-admitted know-nothing-but-willing-to-listen is both profound and moving...

I got so choked-up emotionally during the final scene that I forgot I was playing a game. I was that invested in seeing everything end right for everyone.

[close]

In fact, this game is so masterful that I almost don't want to vote for it, because that just feels like backing the sure winner over a potentially deserving underdog... (Reminds me of when Heroine's Quest came along and crushed Donald Dowell at the AGS awards)

But, if I'm to be honest, I think I must vote for this game at the moment... (*Sob*, sorry RoboLovers, I still love you dearly!)

I haven't yet played another two games yet so who knows, right? But...wow...Just WOW!

[close]

Bury Me In The Sand:

Spoiler

I just finished the game and played it on the HiRes Graphics mode as intended by the author I believe...
First of all: I wouldn't have thought that such bold colours would not get tired on the eye at all after even an hour of playing, but you pulled it off!
And: What an interesting world! The non-gender-standard names and relationships and also the mysterious year numberings and other world-building hints makes me think this might take place after some kind of global disaster?
Is that the Great Wall Of China visible in the background?!
All very intriguing and also a real treat of a game to play! I can't wait for the full version!

[close]

Forgotten City:

Spoiler

A brief and obviously incomplete journey back into the amazing cyberpunk world, SilverSpook, the author of this series is creating.

I love that we get to see this new facet of this world through the eyes of a sarcastic teen survivor of whatever "F-Day" was (voice acting is spot-on!) rather than the hard-boiled eyes of our previous hero...

The game-play is limited in this demo but, more than the gameplay, I LOVE this game world!!!

I can't vote for this game this time around because it's obviously not complete yet but, at the same time, I'm most excited about this game for where its story is headed in the future releases!

AMAZING!

[close]

[Shadow1000]

Bustin' The Bastille:

Spoiler

CHARMING!!! I got as far as to:

Spoiler

...sew the white flag into the middle of the current French flag to make the current one (VERY FUNNY *AND* OFFENSIVE...LOVE IT!!!), but could get no further... I feel like I have to attach the flag to the broom to wave it around and rally the crowd, but it just doesn't happen no matter how many interactions I try... If this is a game-breaking bug then please let me know...If not, then just tell me so and no hints because I want to solve it if it's not a bug...

[close]

[close]

Nope. Not game breaking. I finished the game and absolutely loved every minute of it.

[Mandle]

Bustin' The Bastille:

Spoiler

CHARMING!!! I got as far as to:

Spoiler

...sew the white flag into the middle of the current French flag to make the current one (VERY FUNNY *AND* OFFENSIVE...LOVE IT!!!), but could get no further... I feel like I have to attach the flag to the broom to wave it around and rally the crowd, but it just doesn't happen no matter how many interactions I try... If this is a game-breaking bug then please let me know...If not, then just tell me so and no hints because I want to solve it if it's not a bug...

[close]

[close]

Nope. Not game breaking. I finished the game and absolutely loved every minute of it.

Okay... good news then... I go back to play it again!

[Creamy]

Mandle, I can only advise you to

Spoiler

look for hotspots in places you haven't (no pixel-hunting, I promise).

I feel like I have to attach the flag to the broom to wave it around and rally the crowd

The reason why this doesn't work is :

Spoiler

video game logic I don't like when point and clicks overlook obvious solutions. We're guilty of it here.

[close]

There should have been a cutscene to explain why you can't use the pole of the white flag in the first place. It will be in the next version.

[close]

I finished the game and absolutely loved every minute of it.

Thanks Shadow, that's good to hear!

I'll post some reviews tonight.

[Mandle]

Is anyone else having trouble downloading/playing "Bury Me In The Sand"?

I get a "checksum" error or something when I download. Bitzipper unzips the folder properly. But when I try to run the game it says it's not a windows exe and won't run.

EDIT: Just finished "Bustin' The Bastille" and completed my comment on it above.

[SilverSpook]

Having a great time with 'Bury Me In The Sand'!  But now I'm stuck where

Spoiler

I need to give Earnie something to me by. Is there a way to get past this part of the game?

[close]

[Stupot]

@SilverSpook

Spoiler

I'll give you a clue, but it'll cost you.

[close]

[Mandle]

Just finished "Terror Of The Vampire" and added comment above...

Also: Tomorrow I'm going to print out the poster, laminate it, and hang it on my wall!

[Stupot]

Just finished "Terror Of The Vampire" and added comment above...

Also: Tomorrow I'm going to print out the poster, laminate it, and hang it on my wall!

Good idea! I knew there was a reason I bought that laminator.

[Mandle]

Good idea! I knew there was a reason I bought that laminator.

Lamination brings out the colours so much sharper!

[kconan]

  Wow, lots of high quality entries this MAGS go-round!  Nice job!

[Tabata]

Such a lot of really well done games
I am still playing and enjoying the entries - just cool stuff so far

But I feel the need to tell you right now that (again) I feel confirmed:
If a mouse is involved (even if it is named Pedro) the game is top notch 

... but also

Spoiler

... the kissing scene at the beach ...

[close]

... was a cute surprise and nicely done
... and now I have to storm the Bastille (tricky  flag pimping awaits me)

You don't know what I am talking about?
Shame on you! Start playing the MAGS games, have fun - and (maybe) understand 

This will be sooo hard to vote

[Stupot]

I'm pretty much at the end of Terror of the Vamipre at the moment. Loved the game so far. Great characters, and fun puzzles but I'm a tad stuck:

Spoiler

I'm in the tower, at the top of the cogs and the pole but I can't work out how to get to the ledge.

[close]

[Mandle]

I'm pretty much at the end of Terror of the Vamipre at the moment. Loved the game so far. Great characters, and fun puzzles but I'm a tad stuck:

Spoiler

I'm in the tower, at the top of the cogs and the pole but I can't work out how to get to the ledge.

[close]

Yeah it's a bit confusing:

Spoiler

You have to either "use" or "move" the lever, I forget which, but one works and the other gives a kind of misleading "hint" that sounds like have to do something else first.

[close]

[Stupot]

I'm pretty much at the end of Terror of the Vamipre at the moment. Loved the game so far. Great characters, and fun puzzles but I'm a tad stuck:

Spoiler

I'm in the tower, at the top of the cogs and the pole but I can't work out how to get to the ledge.

[close]

Yeah it's a bit confusing:

Spoiler

You have to either "use" or "move" the lever, I forget which, but one works and the other gives a kind of misleading "hint" that sounds like have to do something else first.

[close]

Spoiler

There's a lever? Haha. I'll have another look. Thanks

[close]

[Mandle]

Updated my game comments above to include "Bury Me In The Sand"...

Gonna go play "Forgotten City" now!

[Riaise]

OK, I've finally finished them all. Here's some comments:

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue From Despair by DBoyWheeler

Spoiler

This game has a lovely story and fits the rescue theme very nicely. The puzzles were well thought out and the music worked well to add the right kind of atmosphere. There is a nice range of characters to interact with, too. The biggest downside I found was that the sideways walking animation made the character move quite slowly, although the up/down animations were fine. It would have been nice to see a bit more detail in the backgrounds, like more furniture, paintings on the walls, etc. Well done!

[close]

Hang On by Pilchard

Spoiler

Really charming little game. The graphics are wonderful and the puzzles worked really well. The game fitted the theme really well and was very enjoyable. I do agree with others that some background music, or ambient sounds, could have added to the overall atmosphere of the game, but everything else was just about perfect!

[close]

Terror of the Vampire! by Scavenger and Eggie

Spoiler

A great game, with plenty of funny moments. The graphics and animations are fantastic, especially the character portraits. The puzzles are also very good and the story is actually fairly poignant beneath the jokes. It's just a shame about the bugs that are still there. With just a bit more testing, this game could be brilliant!

[close]

The Rotary Club by Mandle

Spoiler

This is a great idea, and fits the theme really well. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get the hang of it (which is my own fault, rather than the game). Great music, though!

[close]

The Robolovers by Brane and Tycho

Spoiler

Really great graphics and animations. The puzzles were OK, although it would have been nice to have a bigger variety. The music fitted really well with the atmosphere and the overall quality of the game was really good.

[close]

Bury Me in the Sand by Funkpanzer

Spoiler

Nice graphics, with really good animations and sound effects which worked very well. The puzzles are bit simple, although the solution to finding the code was a neat idea, and the story itself is sweet. It would have been nice to have had a proper ending, but I understand you wanted to leave it open so you could link up the events with an existing game. Overall, great work!

[close]

Bustin' the Bastille by Blondbraid and Creamy

Spoiler

The graphics and animations are all very good, and the music is nice, working well with the atmosphere of the game. There are some funny moments, too, which add nicely to the interesting story. I found the puzzles a bit patchy, I was clicking randomly at times to try and find something to do, and I wasn't a fan of the cannonball run section, but overall the game is very enjoyable.

[close]

Forgotten City by SilverSpook

Spoiler

Interesting story, with some good music. The backgrounds looked great, and although the gameplay itself was a bit short, I did like the heat-vision mechanic. Great work!

[close]

Really well done, everyone. All of the games fit the theme in such different ways. It's really good to be able to play so many entries, too. You should al be really proud of yourselves for what you've all achieved.

[Mandle]

The Rotary Club by Mandle

Spoiler

This is a great idea, and fits the theme really well. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get the hang of it (which is my own fault, rather than the game). Great music, though!

[close]

I'm a bit bummed out by this comment to be honest. I would like to ask how much time did you spend on trying to learn to fly the helicopter? Did you just crash a few times and then give up? I understand that going back to the main menu and trying again is time-consuming and tedious (my bad there, as I got so good at piloting during my own testing that I didn't consider repeating that over and over as a new player would get annoying)...

I stood behind a student of mine today and taught him to fly the heli in about 5 minutes (in English of course...it's an English lesson... ) and then he could fly it masterfully...

I'm a bit bummed out, still... Could you give it another try?

[Mandle]

Spoiler

... but also the kissing scene at the beach was a cute surprise and nicely done

[close]

Tabby, maybe hide-tag this comment... I hadn't played the game yet and this was a bit too much of a spoiler for my taste...

[Shadow1000]

I'm a bit bummed out by this comment to be honest. I would like to ask how much time did you spend on trying to learn to fly the helicopter? Did you just crash a few times and then give up? I understand that going back to the main menu and trying again is time-consuming and tedious (my bad there, as I got so good at piloting during my own testing that I didn't consider repeating that over and over as a new player would get annoying)...

I stood behind a student of mine today and taught him to fly the heli in about 5 minutes (in English of course...it's an English lesson... ) and then he could fly it masterfully...

I'm a bit bummed out, still... Could you give it another try?

Just a suggestion: people might be more inclined to keep at it if you had a 3-life system or something like some games. That way you don't lose all progress when you crash.

Some ways to implement this:

- You can start the game with three helicopter icons in the top and when you crash you lose one. Lose all three and it's over
- Instead of a crash ending it all, maybe have a certain amount of damage sustained as a percent and when you're down to 0%, it's game over. There are many other ways to further this graphically (icon depicting helicopter on fire, and so on). Maybe you can pay for repairs at the shop if you earn money, etc.

The point is that I think people would stick to it more if they didn't just lose everything with one mouse-slip. And it would let people get past the initial learning hump so they can really get into it to the point of addiction.

Just my opinion!

Cheers

[Mandle]

I'm a bit bummed out by this comment to be honest. I would like to ask how much time did you spend on trying to learn to fly the helicopter? Did you just crash a few times and then give up? I understand that going back to the main menu and trying again is time-consuming and tedious (my bad there, as I got so good at piloting during my own testing that I didn't consider repeating that over and over as a new player would get annoying)...

I stood behind a student of mine today and taught him to fly the heli in about 5 minutes (in English of course...it's an English lesson... ) and then he could fly it masterfully...

I'm a bit bummed out, still... Could you give it another try?

Just a suggestion: people might be more inclined to keep at it if you had a 3-life system or something like some games. That way you don't lose all progress when you crash.

Some ways to implement this:

- You can start the game with three helicopter icons in the top and when you crash you lose one. Lose all three and it's over
- Instead of a crash ending it all, maybe have a certain amount of damage sustained as a percent and when you're down to 0%, it's game over. There are many other ways to further this graphically (icon depicting helicopter on fire, and so on). Maybe you can pay for repairs at the shop if you earn money, etc.

The point is that I think people would stick to it more if they didn't just lose everything with one mouse-slip. And it would let people get past the initial learning hump so they can really get into it to the point of addiction.

Just my opinion!

Cheers

Yeah, I thought of the damage to HPs option for the helicopter and a repair station back at HQ, but it was one of the concepts that I eventually ditched because: Helicopters don't just take damage when they hit a mountain, they crash, and I wanted to maintain the feeling of the fragility of the machines that these badasses actually go out in and risk their lives in choppers that can barely even fly at such high altitudes.

And also: I wanted to maintain the risk factor of knowing that this is your one and only life on the line, and hence no extra lives.

So I guess this means it's a difficult game and not suited to everyone's tastes, but I was curious if people gave up before or after learning how to fly the heli...

[Funkpanzer]

Spoiler

Nice graphics, with really good animations and sound effects which worked very well. The puzzles are bit simple, although the solution to finding the code was a neat idea, and the story itself is sweet. It would have been nice to have had a proper ending, but I understand you wanted to leave it open so you could link up the events with an existing game. Overall, great work!

[close]

Thanks for the feedback! I ran out of time and couldn't add in the last two scenes! selmiak very kindly pointed out that I needed to give in and just post what I had at a certain point.

Yes to the spoilers please, not everyone will see that scene!

edit: Could selmiak be added to the Bury Me credits? He made himself available for a lot of testing and took on some of the animations I didn't have time for. My bad for not making that clear!

[Shadow1000]

Just a suggestion: people might be more inclined to keep at it if you had a 3-life system or something like some games. That way you don't lose all progress when you crash.

Some ways to implement this:

- You can start the game with three helicopter icons in the top and when you crash you lose one. Lose all three and it's over
- Instead of a crash ending it all, maybe have a certain amount of damage sustained as a percent and when you're down to 0%, it's game over. There are many other ways to further this graphically (icon depicting helicopter on fire, and so on). Maybe you can pay for repairs at the shop if you earn money, etc.

The point is that I think people would stick to it more if they didn't just lose everything with one mouse-slip. And it would let people get past the initial learning hump so they can really get into it to the point of addiction.

Just my opinion!

Cheers

Yeah, I thought of the damage to HPs option for the helicopter and a repair station back at HQ, but it was one of the concepts that I eventually ditched because: Helicopters don't just take damage when they hit a mountain, they crash, and I wanted to maintain the feeling of the fragility of the machines that these badasses actually go out in and risk their lives in choppers that can barely even fly at such high altitudes.

And also: I wanted to maintain the risk factor of knowing that this is your one and only life on the line, and hence no extra lives.

So I guess this means it's a difficult game and not suited to everyone's tastes, but I was curious if people gave up before or after learning how to fly the heli...

I agree as far as making it life-like, and as the author that's certainly your prerogative.

However, every game from Pacman to Mario Brothers to Call of Duty has a 3 life or hit point system to let the user progress and get into the game rather than giving up. Imagine playing Call of duty and it's game over with no progress saved the second you're hit by a bullet, which is sadly the reality of war. No save-points, no magic healing, no med packs, etc...no one would play.

Just to repeat: just my opinion! There's no right or wrong in game design

Cheers

[SilverSpook]

On the Rotary Club three lives / no lives topic / how to get more people to play longer:

I'd say definitely shortening the time between a helicopter crash and starting the game again would help, even being able to just skip the entire title screen with escape or a click. This is one thing that wouldn't compromise the realism / rogue-like-ness of the game, but also people might not get frustrated as quickly.

I'd also say that roguelikes involve permadeth and thus greater difficulty -- that can deter certain players, but that's part of their appeal as it increases intensity, suspense, and excitement, for that more specific subset of gamers. This game is also a realtime dexterity / eye-hand coordination game rather than a point-click knowledge and logic game. In my limited experience in the community, the realtime dexterity-based games are just not the blue cup of tea of many of the AGS folks, and it makes perfect sense. As I came from the Mario, Sonic the hedgehog, and later FPS end of the spectrum, Rotary Club was kind of second-nature in a sense, like riding an old bike, and so I had a great time with it. (In fact, Neofeud I had originally designed to be a Megaman-like, SNES action platformer, with lots of running, shooting and jumping, if you can believe that! I only later switched to point and click adventure game after having difficulties with the Unity engine!)

So basically, don't feel too bad about it. As a veteran arcade-action gamer, I can say Rotary Club is top-notch, my friend.

[Riaise]

I'm a bit bummed out by this comment to be honest. I would like to ask how much time did you spend on trying to learn to fly the helicopter? Did you just crash a few times and then give up? I understand that going back to the main menu and trying again is time-consuming and tedious (my bad there, as I got so good at piloting during my own testing that I didn't consider repeating that over and over as a new player would get annoying)...

I stood behind a student of mine today and taught him to fly the heli in about 5 minutes (in English of course...it's an English lesson... ) and then he could fly it masterfully...

I'm a bit bummed out, still... Could you give it another try?

Nooooo, I didn't want to make you feel bad! I'm useless at these type of skill games, my co-ordination is pretty awful. I'll admit that I didn't spend very long on it before I gave up, I just couldn't get how the thrust worked with the left and right buttons and I didn't manage to save anyone. HOWEVER, just for you Mandle, I gave it another go and I think I've worked it out now. Although I still keep lowering the winch when I mean to click left or right . At one point I think I saved about six people before I crashed. So that is a definite improvement.

One thing I would say is that when I clicked load after crashing, it would just load up the crashed helicopter. I think this is intentional (you only want it to load after someone has quit the game rather than crashed, right?), but it might be worth disabling the load button if the player crashed during the last game. Other than that, I think the gameplay is fine as it is. It is very difficult, but people who want to keep playing will do so for the fun of it. So in that respect, it completely fulfils it's purpose.

EDIT: I completely agree with what SilverSpook said.

[Mandle]

Cheers, mates! Everything you commented on makes perfect sense! Hopefully in a future version I think I will include a "safe mode" at the start of the game where you can't crash until you at least rescue someone and make it safely back to the HQ. As the in-game excuse for this it will be because the Rotary Club owner is along for your first outing and takes the stick whenever you are about to crash.

I think this will give people a chance to get a better feel for the controls and reduce the rage-quit factor.

[DBoyWheeler]

Played all the games (and posted my comments on each game's individual section).  And cast my vote.

Best of luck to all the entrants.

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

I am going to steal Mandle's sensible idea and bunch all my feedback on this mags into this post of which I will update as I play/complete each game.



Hang On

Spoiler

This was on my MAGS list first. and I am happy to say I loved it.
Its quite short, but incredibly sweet.

A very neat and tidy game, the visuals have such a strong style, I love your de-saturated/pastel-ish pallet, excellent delicate color combos.
The characters had so much charm with very apt dialog.

I would love to see you expand on this game in some way or another.

And of course super well done on getting it complete it such a short time frame.

[close]

THE ROTARY CLUB

Spoiler

Well this was an unexpected experience for me indeed!, So very far away from what I would expect AGS to do, yet people that push tools beyond their defaults often produce something innovative, which I think is what you have managed to do here.

I love the idea, and this reminds of some classic games with a similar premise.

As a proof of concept the idea is well executed, and after all game jams are all about executing concepts, however I thought as pure game experience I felt the control of the helicopter could have been better in some areas.

Improvements such as when the heli turns around when flying, could be as simple as a few frame animation of it yawing 180 degrees, then heli sprite slightly tips back and forth as it pitches. Those 2 things alone could make the feel of flying it better, maybe even make the mouse wheel action more sensitive to throttling so there is more obvious feedback to the player they are throttling up or down.

Even with the slightly stiff feel of the heli I found myself playing this for a good while, and did enjoy it to bits. I love your upgrade system too, and I really also think with a little more time and work this could in fact be an interesting casual game. I could see myself getting lost with this on my mobile/tablet.

All in all, great work, and super well done on getting it all complete for the contest.
Keep up the good/innovative work dude!

[close]

Terror Of The Vampire

Spoiler

Well, there is no doubt in my mind this game is at such a high standard, and perhaps I was lucky to play this after bugs had been ironed out but I will ignore them and focus on your game.
The graphics are wonderfully charming, and so much of it too. As with the graphics the characters and their dialogs fit the bill so perfectly.
I assume you made the music custom for the game? and its great, but I thought some of music distracted away from the atmosphere of the game, I think if you toned down the beats of one or two of them they would set more into the atmosphere of the game.
The work gone into this astounds me considering the time it had to be done in, and some of the effects seem to really be pushing AGS such as that amazing glass refraction.. just wow. I cant tell you how long i spend scrutinizing that refraction
The composition of the rooms are top notch, and I really admire and am inspired by how you  use the foreground layers to help compose your scenes.


I have not completed this game yet, but felt I had played more then enough to give feedback, so I may comment a bit more when I complete it fully.

Considering the clear amount of work gone into this in such a short space of time it is a true achievement you got it done. No reason why you cant make a few bob on this by making further improvements and expanding on it more.

Well done.

[close]

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue From Despair

Spoiler

Fantastic atmosphere, especially with your music choice, at times it felt like a Ghibli movie or classic jrpg!
The scenario which the game is based on I thought really interesting.
I was very surprised to see you enter this game only a week or so after the contest had been announced. Like others I definitely feel the game could have benefited with a bit more attention to details and features that could have been done with extra time worked on it. I would love to see you make an improved version of this, and perhaps work a bit more on the player walk/movement which I think is pretty OK as it is, but you seem to be missing a frame or two in the animation to complete the walk cycle?
Asides from that I really though this was charming, and the theme in particular was very clever, its a very strong theme to build a game around.

Even though I thought you entered this way too early, well done anyway on getting it complete, and I hope to see more from you soon!

[close]

Bury Me In The Sand

Spoiler

This was a really sweet game
I particularly love that electrically vivid pallet you have chosen, its a really strange thing but I never would have though these colors suit would suite the theme so well.
I tried this as native pixels, but also tried out playing with the filter and I have to agree the filter really dose add a touch of class to the whole look of it.
Another relatively short game I thought, as is understandable with a game jam. The animations where superb, little touches like the flag waving really catch my eye a lot. I got stuck a few times but managed to get through it, the dialogs where very amusing and all in all I thought this was a very neat experience. I would love to see a more fleshed out game made with this style for sure.
Great work on getting this in on time too.

[close]

Bustin' the Bastille

Spoiler

Although I have not completed this game yet (seems to be quite lengthy) but I think I have played enough to at least give some initial feedback. I really thought you did very well with the period setting, it must be an extra challenge to make something that is based on something specific historically.
The game itself is very very charming and really made me feel like I was playing a game set in that period of strife.  I loved the puzzles in particular the whole cannon set up, that was really clever indeed. I thought the graphics suited perfectly and your colors reflect those troubled times.
A couple of times I felt some of the dialog could have been cut down a tiny bit as it took me ever so slightly out of the game experience.
All in all a very strong entry, with an obvious amount of work and passion put in. Extremely well done on getting it polished off in time for the deadline too.

[close]

Forgotten City

Spoiler

Extremely impressed with this entry, although it was quite short. The time gone into its graphics and general presentation amaze me. I love the attention to details on the various animation sequences, the backdrops where awe inspiring.
Just the whole atmosphere was spot one and that surreal/grungy sound track playing in the background really added a cherry on top.
I love how you explored a variety of interesting mechanics from body parts system up to infra red viewing mode.
I was surprised to see most of it was voice acted too, however I thought one of the characters accent/culture of language was a bit over done in a stereotypical way
All in all a fine experience set in a believable world and if this demo is anything to go on I will most surely give the full game a solid play through. I just wish has been a bit of a longer experience.

And really amazing work getting this to such a state in so little time. Well done

[close]

Be very proud each and every one of you for producing what you did in such a short time. Just amazing, everyone!

[Blondbraid]

Now I have played through most of the games, but I'm stuck on Bury me in the sand.

Spoiler

Does anyone know what to do when Millie tells you to give something special to Ernie?

[close]

[Stupot]

@Blondbraid

Spoiler

I'll give you a clue, but it'll cost you.

[close]

[Shadow1000]

Now that I voted, I'll leave some comments:

First, I'm very pleased that there were so many entries this month. I congratulate anyone who took the time to work with the deadline to get something in to be played and evaluated. It's amazing to see people put their talents to work for the competition.

My vote went to The Robolovers. The reason for this decision was the overall experience playing. I took into account the gorgeous graphics, the well designed puzzles, variety of puzzles, lovability of the characters, perfect length of the game, plot, humour, dialogues and overall presentation. Great application of the Rescue theme. I can't believe that something so complete and almost flawless was made in such a short time period.

I did experience some frustration with one of the early puzzles that requires the player to have good colour-vision, requiring me to get the exact answer from the author. It's worth suggesting that future games account for the 8% of male players who will be locked out of such puzzles.

Runner-ups:

Terror of the Vampire!
This was a real treat. The puzzles are great, the scripting is hilarious, the spoofing of 18th century european superstition as well as psychology as well as British superciliousness is BRILLIANT. I love vampires and this is almost a complete twist on the Van Helsing character and I LOVE IT. The Psychoanalyse verb-coin was a GREAT touch. There were some other parts that I think are genius in how they were presented but I don't want to ruin it for others. Again, hard to believe that it was developed considering the time constraints.

The two things I didn't like were the drawn out dialogues (just too much talking that gets in the way of the flow of the game) and I just don't like the colours. Pixel art is great but the colours just didn't work for me. I am overlooking the bugs that I and others encountered and am focusing just on the finished product.

Busting the Bastille
Another classic showcasing Blondbraid's cartoon graphic style being applied to European history. I enjoyed everything about the game. The message is actually quite thought-provoking. Great puzzles and humour.

Hang On
Very attractive art. Great adaptation of the Rescue theme.

To me the best part was the well-designed puzzles. It's amazing what you can do in a short game done with time contraints - exactly what MAGS is about.

The two-playable characters just adds to the overall polish of the game.

Comments on the other games:

Rotary Club
As others have mentioned, it's amazing what you can do with AGS. Definitely fits the theme. Once you get into the game it can be really addictive. I had a bit of trouble getting used to the controls and I posted my comments on considering a way for new players to learn the controls without the Game Over so they can get a chance to get into it.

Forgotten City
This game gets the award for the cool factor! Mind-blowing art, well-performed voice acting. As the title says, it's a demo and incomplete at this point.


Bury Me in the Sand
In a similar vein, this game is a small part of a bigger game. The puzzles were decent and the game was playable, but there was a lot of feeling that there's much more going on that never became clear.

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue From Despair
Great first game. Fits the theme well. Impressive that it was made in a short time period. I get the attempt to give people personality with some humour, but like others, I didn't care for the language stereotypes. There were some other stereotypes that I didn't care for either.

Thank you to everyone who entered, played and voted!

[Blondbraid]

@Blondbraid

Spoiler

I'll give you a clue, but it'll cost you.

[close]

Spoiler

It will cost me?

[close]

[Mandle]

@Blondbraid

Spoiler

I'll give you a clue, but it'll cost you.

[close]

Spoiler

It will cost me?

[close]

I think that was the subtle hint

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

I have got through all the games, however still need to finish off a couple of them, but I have updated my comments above and cast my vote since I feel I have played deeply enough into all the entries.

I cant say how amazing it is to see all of your produce such amazing things in only a month, , just imagine what you guys can do with 6 months or a year!.. keep up the great work each and every one of you.

[cat]

I'll add reviews as I play the games:

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue From Despair
There were lots of locations to explore. The puzzles were straight forward and all logical. The writing was good but too many stereotypes for my taste. The close-up graphics were nice, but sadly the detail got lost with the scaled down version during the game.

Hang On
Lovely graphics! The setting and puzzles were really nice with two playable characters. The only thing I was missing is some background music or wind/ambient sounds.

Terror of the Vampire!
Wonderful graphics and animations but I couldn't get into the game. I found the writing way to verbose and most characters annoying. I also didn't like the GUI, it was not convenient to use and that flickering effect (the lamp?) in the foreground was distracting. I wasn't able to run the game with the default settings and had to fiddle around in winsetup to get it working (windowed mode did the trick). Maybe I'll continue playing once I've finished the other MAGS games.

The Rotary Club
Interesting concept but I'm bad at figuring out such controls. Maybe I would have tried harder if I were just reset to the base after a crash, but back to the main menu was annoying.

The Robolovers
Lovely graphics and heart-warming finish. I think the concept was great but lacking a bit of polish (there were a few glitches here and there and lots of missing interactions, especially for the drone). The music was fitting and the puzzles were nice, but could have been better balanced (lots of GUI puzzles).

Bury Me in the Sand
Wonderful little game! I love the pixel graphics, limited palette and animations. The setting, puzzles and characters are very enjoyable. Too bad there is no real ending and full of dead ends, otherwise this would have been my favourite of the bunch.

Bustin' the Bastille
Interesting historic setting, nice graphics and original puzzles although

Spoiler

obtaining the wooden rail was rather obscure and not hinted at at all

[close]

The music was also quite fitting.

Forgotten City
Promising demo, amazing what you managed to accomplish within just one month!

[Mandle]

The Rotary Club
Maybe I would have tried harder if I were just reset to the base after a crash, but back to the main menu was annoying.

I know, right! This was one thing I didn't consider properly during the rush to complete the game as I got too good at flying the heli myself...

If you could try again I would give you this advice: Go slow on the left-right button holding at first until you get a feel for how that affects the up-down lift of the heli. You have plenty of fuel to play around with at the start so take your time. Once you have a feel for the controls the game actually becomes very easy. I hope you try again, and sorry for such a noobie-dev fail on my part for that annoyance factor...

[Stupot]

Finally finished the remaining games. My personal vote went to Robolovers, which for me was the most complete package. I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and put all my mini-reviews here.^*

Forgotten City

Spoiler

Although this was just a small taster for a larger project, this has got everything: badass music, great art & animation, decent voice acting, a couple of nice puzzles and heaps of cool. If I was ever on the fence about buying Neofeud, this has pushed me off of it (into the yes garden).

[close]

Bustin' the Bastille

Spoiler

Lovely art and great storytelling. And with the music I really felt like I was in Revolution era France and badly wanted to explore around the streets more. The ending is funny and the puzzles are mostly satisfying, if a little rough around the edges. Good game, just needs a little polish.

[close]

Bury Me in the Sand

Spoiler

Really nice stuff. Great attention to detail, wonderful sun-bleached atmosphere, fun puzzles. It's a shame you couldn't quite finish it up in time, but what we've got is really fun and I hope you keep working on it.

[close]

Terror of the Vampire!

Spoiler

A fine game with poignant message, lots of lovely animations and the characters are great so they are so they are.

[close]

The Robolovers

Spoiler

Very nice stuff, really well put-together. The puzzles are fun with a couple of head-scratchy moments. The writing is pretty funny and the artwork is gorgeous. I would love to see more games in this universe (hint hint).You guys make a great team.

[close]

The Rotary Club

Spoiler

This game is cool. There are so many things that you learn after every few goes that you can use to improve your next turn.
It could benefit from an option of difficulty levels (preferably easy mode), but I love it.

[close]

Hang On

Spoiler

Very nice work. Cute concept, pitch-perfect puzzles, superb visuals. The only thing missing is some background music or sound effects.

[close]

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue from Despair

Spoiler

I enjoyed this. Could have done with a bit of polish but it's a charming game. Great job in the time you did it.

[close]

^{*These can all be found on the games' database pages. If you haven't already, it would be great if you could rate and comment on each game. If you've commented in this thread or in the games' announcement threads, you can just cut and paste them. :-)}

[SilverSpook]

Ok, here are my reviews!

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue from Despair

Spoiler

Fantastic job for a first-time AGS developer. And this guy finished first -- he should unlock the Speedy Gonzales achievement or something!

Loved the game, very sweet and kind-hearted, that's just about helping people out and being a good person just because. Kind of refreshing in that way.

Great work man!

[close]

Hang On

Spoiler

Great game, very tight and just enough challenge to the puzzles not to rage-quit. Love the unique art style here and the animations are all very well done. The writing is spot-on as well; the dialog feels natural, and the characters come off like real people. A rarer delight these days!

Great job!

[close]

Terror of the Vampire!

Spoiler

Awesome game, and very funny. Graphics are stellar, animations are amazing, pretty much everything is amazing here. It's also got something to say, and a heart, beneath the cartoon exterior, which you can't say about every game. Five overweight rodents out of five!

[close]

The Rotary Club

Spoiler

I am not a roguelime fan by any stretch of the imagination (I can't even spell it right), in fact this might have been the first real roguelyke that I have played, Mandle. But I could not stop playing "The Rotary Club" for at least an hour after I started. I felt like 5 again with my Nintendo, feigning the flu so I could stay home and beat that goddamn Quickman level in Megaman 2. Super awesome job, and a true feat of programming to make that out of the AGS engine, I'm amazed you did it in a month!

Graphics were also perfect for this sort of game. Controls themselves were super smooth, feels like piloting an actual helicopter! Not that I have any experience in that field, but it was very intuitive! The sound effects all added great and appropriate atmosphere as well. The shop was really fun to play around with too, an incredible amount of depth in this game that was made apparently in like 9 or 10 days (!#!(@?!!!!???) it seems like you could clock in hundreds of hours with this on Steam and share oodles of achievements to feel cool with your online friends like, "Insomniac - played for 48 hours straight". I'll probably win that award soon

[close]

The Robolovers

Spoiler

Awesome game! I finished it last night and it was a real blast. I'm all about the robots and cyberpunk, so this game was right up my alley.

Graphics are pro and it's obvious Tycho came from the industry. The writing is snappy and funny, and I really liked the 'leet-speak' character names (G1R7, etc.) and the witty wordplay that you can only really get away with in these sort of cyber-adventure games.

The puzzles were all pretty much spot-on. I got stumped by the janitor door bit, but it made perfect sense in retrospect. Probably if I was playing in the morning rather than around midnight it would've come to me sooner.

Took me a little over an hour to finish, I think.

Overall, fantastic job!

[close]

Bury Me In The Sand

Spoiler

Fantastic game, absolutely loved the color scheme!

It's very polished for a one-month MAGS job. The writing is great and lots of humor, lots of visual gags (some raunchy ones, but it's about getting some in the summer -- what do you expect!? ).

The puzzles are all well-done, nothing head scratching and all felt satisfying. The 'hearts scratched into the wood puzzle' was very original and well-designed. There's a lot more depth than the sunny cartoon feel lets on!

Highly recommended to any adventure lover, or adventurous lover! (Seriously, there is a great makeout scene and everything! )

[close]

Bustin' The Bastille

Spoiler

Awesome game! If Monty Python did adventure games, and comedy on the French Revolution, I imagine it would be something like this.

The graphics are great, animations are smooth, and everything really puts you into late 1700's France right around the Revolution. The writing is great, with lots of hilarious bits, especially if you know a little of the history. My favorites were the 'hero getting shot mid-speech' scene, and the 'house husband who does the sweeping, sewing, etc'. It seems to be a signature audience-expectation-subversion of Blondbraid's, and it works perfectly in Bustin' the Bastille.

5 beheaded fish out of 5!

[close]

[Funkpanzer]

I played through everything with my partner over the weekend and we had a blast! I have a strange urge to thank everyone for making these...

Rosaura Docelestial
I'm impressed by how quickly you managed to finish this and I was really into how earnest and sympathetic the story was. The accents were the only off-putting thing, and made the game a bit difficult to read. Your characters are interesting without them! I hope you'll revisit this at some point because I think it's a really pretty story.

The Robolovers
Absolutely gorgeous on every level! I love the dialogue and especially anything to do with iGore. It all had that nice lived in smell to it.

Spoiler

My gripe is how dark the game got at the expense of sex workers for humour or tension. The game never really took itself seriously until you meet the janitor and he starts talking about robots being beaten. I know they're just robots but you have such a fun, empathetic game and it bummed me out way more than I think was necessary.

[close]

Bustin' the Bastille

Spoiler

I have a recurring nightmare. At first it's the sound of a bird's wings or distant gunfire. I try to run the other way but still it gets ever closer and louder until I have my eyes clenched shut and my palms pressed to the sides of my head. I scream but it's not my voice I hear… my lips flap and my tongue flicks violently but all that comes out of my mouth is a thick, wet “POP!”

[close]

HangOn
The muted palette and friendly puzzles were just what I like on a lazy afternoon.

Spoiler

The one thing that bugged me though… the stalactite! I have a ski pole! I'm gonna whack that thing, or jam it in the crack I made! Why couldn't I just grab the cog with it? I think it would help alot if items could be lost or if there were explanations for why certain combinations didn't work but the amount of polish on everything and the fact that the solutions were still logical in some way made up for it.

[close]

The Rotary Club
This shit got me PUMPED UP! I didn't get very far but we laughed the entire time. It reminded me a lot of 90's Apple shareware (in a good way!). I don't know what the solution is for the difficulty and those of us that aren't good at these things but I would definitely spend more time with an updated version that skipped the menu and instructions after a crash.

Terror of the Vampire!
I walked through that gas lantern just to see it distort everything so many times… I love the amount of care that went into this game's visual style. My favourite part is the "Psychoanalyze" animation, I just wish it played every time!

Between the dialogue often filling the screen and the high-contrast of the text, I got lost and never quite knew what I was trying to do. Because the game is so dark, it might help to have the text UI background be a slightly darker colour. I'm also going to have to agree with cat for some of the characters. I ended up skipping through some dialogue and got stuck while trying to avoid him telling me I couldn't leave again.

All that said, I played Terror 2nd to last and I'm excited to do a fresh headed play-through this weekend and finish the game with a better idea of what's going on!

Forgotten City
There are a lot of fun ideas here and I'm pretty damn excited to get my hands on Neofued while you expand on this. I also really appreciated your live dev streams. The art style really sells the dark future, everything looks like it would be sticky and smell terrible.

[Blondbraid]

I've finally played all the entries this MAGS, and here are my thoughts on them:

Rosaura Docelestial
+ A very sweet story and protagonist
+ Good pacing and puzzles, I never felt stuck or frustrated
+ Good music
- The visuals were not very impressive, and especially the walk-cycle of the protagonist looked jerky and weird
- The characters felt like they had too much funny accents
All in all pretty good for a first game!

The Robolovers
+ Good graphics
+ Good music
+ Good puzzles
- The robot puns got rather tired after a while
- I very much agreed on Funkpanzer's criticism of the game's story and humor
- The timed puzzle towards the end felt a bit too stress-inducing
Even if I didn't like the jokes and story, its still a very well-crafted game

HangOn
+ Charming characters and story
+ Good pixel-art
+ Fun and well-paced puzzles
- The choice of colors felt a bit dull
- No ambiance sound or background music
It's a cute and funny little game.

The Rotary Club
+ Interesting controls for the helicopter
+ The sound effects and music put a smile on my face
- No story
- Every time I crashed the helicopter, I had to start over from the beginning. And that included seeing the tutorial over and over again.
This game was pretty fun to play with, if not very memorable

Terror of the Vampire!
+ Superb artwork
+ Fantastic story and characters
+ Good music
+ A very intense ending sequence
- It was really hard to figure out what to do in the first half of the game, it felt like I just wandered around aimlessly throwing everything at the wall seeing what would stick.
Now even if the puzzles in the first half of the game felt weak, it more than made up for it once the protagonist moved out of the tavern and into the clock-tower. The ending was powerful and well made, and this game is definitively my favorite entry of this MAGS.

Forgotten City
+ Amazing artwork
+ An interesting setting and premise
+ A protagonist with many interesting abilities to play around with
- Just a short demo
I liked Forgotten City very much, but it was a very short demo

Bury Me In The Sand
+ Great artwork and animations, it looked amazing with the HD-filter
+ Interesting character dynamics and dialogues
- It was easy to accidentally get stuck in a dead end
- For some reason, some of the character sprites look like their arms are missing
- It ended abruptly with a "To be continued" message
The game was fun and had a very memorable style.

[cat]

I just extracted "Bustin' the Bastille" but wow, this game is huge - 1,3 GB!
I understand that you also want to provide a Linux version, but this would be better done with a separate download link. Now all game data (including the video) is in the rar package 3 times!

[Creamy]

True. I was under pressure and took a bad decision. It will be changed in the next version.

[Cassiebsg]

Bury Me In The Sand:

Spoiler

Lovely game, loved the art, good job!
Was a nice walk in the beach, and I'm just sorry that we didn't really get to the "rescue" part.
Puzzles were nice, but not overly complicated.

[close]

Bustin' the Bastille:

Spoiler

Awesome game set in an historical time, loved it.
I too suffered a bit from the lack of reactions, and was stuck for a while running back and forth wondering how to get that blasted white flag... I'm not sure what triggered the dialog, as I was sure I had looked and tried to pickup the flag before...
And then when I thought it was over, the cannon balls inside were a blast and the puzzles inside the Bastille fun and well balanced... Loved the end! And I'm wondering if it was possible to fail there...

Spoiler

Funny how two unrelated games in this MAGS, make use of a turning table.

[close]

[close]

Forgotten City:

Spoiler

Awesome art, setting and game play, great work, even for a short game promises a lot. And I was glad to see I didn't instantly died when letting the robot see me.
Voice acting top notch.
Very well done... I'm just wondering where the "rescue" part of the game was?

[close]

Hang On:

Spoiler

Again, a second lovely light hearted game from you, lovely pixel art, nice story and very clear goals with not too hard puzzles. Well done!

[close]

Robolovers, The:

Spoiler

Awesome art, just top! Great little story, this game felt very polished and complete to me. Loved the puzzles, there were just a few hotspots/reactions missing. I wasn't a fan of the two occasions where the 4th wall was broken, and I see no real need for it, as there would have been a better and perfectly rational reply for both.

Spoiler

And I didn't really got why I couldn't enter the P.I.M.P.'s cubicle, through the door, since it was wide open...

[close]

PS. Loved the credits! And I'm so glad I read them all, lol. Thanks.

[close]

Rosaura Docelestial: Rescue From Despair:

Spoiler

Lovely game! Very sweet story, clear goals and nice with a variety of locations. The music was also very fitting. Puzzles were simple and not too hard, which balanced just fine with the overall of the game.
I do fell you could have spent some of the extra time polishing the art, as the main character deserved a proper walk-cycle, IMHO.
Still, it was refreshing playing this leaving one with a sense of having done a good dead.

[close]

Rotary Club, The:

Spoiler

Again, Mandle pushes the engine beyond it's intention, and creates a cool game... for the the wrong audience.
I'll be sure to try the game again, if certain things are fixed and we get an hard/easy mode... like many the lack of checkpoint and perma-death is an off for me. It's the reason I never actually played many action games, as starting all over was too much for me.
I did managed to fly the Helli nice and stable and rescue a couple ppl (and the spacebar doesn't seem to work btw ), but I gave up when I was hovering right above a guy, I lowered the winch to rescue the guy and the winch just went past the guy as if he wasn't there. Now I do get it that you can't rescue if the winch is too high... but there's no reason for it to just go past the guy and not pick him up...

Still, a very nice game for the right audience.

[close]

Terror Of The Vampire:

Spoiler

Awesome, just awesome! Lovely art, lovely story, great puzzles and interesting game play and effects.
For me this game suffered of a lack of reactions/reply from hotspots, as I wanted to leave and couldn't understand why it just wouldn't leave. Also had some problem getting Ego into the kitchen as I clicked he would walk there, but then didn't exit to the kitchen.
I ended up doing stuff without knowing why I was doing them, and I never did get my supper! But was nice to be able to do the stuff "out of order"...

[close]

I ended up voting for Robolovers, as it's the one game that felt complete (and it's sci-fi on top of it! ). But was a close call with Terror Of The Vampire.

[DBoyWheeler]

Wow!

Spoiler

Robolovers caught up with Terror of the Vampire in the voting!

[close]

I'm surprised!  This is gonna be a close one!

[Mandle]

Wow!

Spoiler

Robolovers caught up with Terror of the Vampire in the voting!

[close]

I'm surprised!  This is gonna be a close one!

Impressive voting turnout too!

[Slasher]

Ooo eeee

So many entrants this month...

I have had a lot of fun playing them...

Choosing a winner was so difficult. Each had their own merits with pros and cons...

Unique Innovation / Graphical Looks / Game Play....

There were four I think stood out from the rest....

Not naming any but I think I have made up my mind and have voted...

My hat's off to all entrants and commiserations to the ones that do not win..

Above all they were done in such a short space of time which I admire greatly...

The winner deserves a place in MAG's History...

May this be the start of MAG utopia...

slasher

[DBoyWheeler]

I'll say!

Spoiler

And as of this post, Robolovers overtook Terror of the Vampire.  Seriously, prior to this turn of events, I thought TotV was going to win this month!

Also, my game didn't get a vote.  But neither did Bustin' the Bastille--which is a shame because I liked it, especially the hilarious ending.

[close]

Well, to Stupot, I want to say, there are times MAGS has a big turnout (like this time around), and there are times where maybe two or three (at most) come in.  But either way, MAGS is one of those great competitions that deserves to stay with us.

[Jack]

Congratulations Pangaea and xBranex!

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

Hi folks,

I am quite overwhelmed by this , but i fought back the sleep (late here) to post my thanks to all who entered, everybody who played the games, and everybody who voted, also to the wonderful host.
I would like to say more tomorrow when I am a bit more awake and less numb from the feeling of being involved in winning something like this.

[Stupot]

Voting has finished and the winner is:

• The Robolovers by  Brane and Tycho -  10 votes

Well done Brane and Tycho. You will be contacted soon about choosing a topic for August.

Thanks to all the participants and voters (all 29 of you). What a brilliant month. You guys rock!

[DBoyWheeler]

Wow!  Yeah, congrats Brane & Tycho.

Man, early on, I thought Scavenger was gonna win it with Terror of the Vampire, but somehow Robolovers had the energy to pull through.

Anyway, again, props to those two!  Let's see what cool theme they can make up come August!

[Slasher]

Congratulations Brane and Tycho for The Robolovers.

I thought this was a lovely game and the graphics superb.

Keep it up......

Hope to see you both working again

Commiserations to those that did not win... There were a few entries that deserve their own merits...

[Tycho Magnetic Anomaly]

Words can never justify how grateful to this forum I really am but I will try anyway.

Before I joined this forum about 3 months ago I was kind of at a low spot with my life, I had lost direction.
I really did not know where I was going and was contemplating abandoning working with graphics and game design.

Ever since joining this forum and meeting the wonderful folks on it my life has taken a complete and utter u-turn.
Above all its the encouragement and feedback this forum has given me that has re-ignited a fire in me that i really in all honestly thought was at the point of being extinguished.

With regards the MAGS none of it would have been possible without Brane and much has Brane already knows how appreciative I was with working with him I would not have found him without this forum, and I am sure Brane will have a few words to say himself.

Alas, I also feel really bad for the others that put just as much if not more passion, dedication, work and time into their entries and would strongly encourage them to keep producing magic because seeing the fantastic projects on this forum no matter what level they are at primarily inspired me to try it out myself.
When Brane and myself first started considering entering we both honestly thought we might be up against perhaps 2 or 3, but it became apparent early that this MAGS was going to explode with entries. I was also sort of aware that the MAGS had been suffering a bit of a slow down in recent months so not only have you guys produced wonderful games but also, hopefully, heavily contributed to a new interest in MAGS which I hope continues and on that note I would also like to thank Stupot+ for being a wonderful host and also to Slasher for the awesome theme to work around.

I think for me personally lady luck has played a big part too, and I would like to see the luck I have been getting brush off on others, for this reason I am going to bow out of entering any more contests for a while because I know lady luck cant get around to everyone at the same time, but I will continue to vote and offer feedback, it will also give me the opportunity to finally give feedback's on projects and games I have not had time to consider due to this forum keeping me so dam busy

Well sorry for the soppy post but I'm sure for some of you this is just another month, just another mags, just another set of winners, a trivial occurrence, but for me its like winning the lottery, or winning an oscar and I felt I needed to say a little more then I had last night in my previous post.

This community left me more confident then I have ever been in my life, and if lady luck is with me and if any of my ventures are a commercial success I promise to put something back in to AGS community to  help AGS develop even more. 

And too all, never give up, keep progressing, developing, learning, never be afraid to ask for help, keep making magic.

[Riaise]

That's a lovely post, Tycho. Congratulations to both you and Brane.

It's completely understandable that you'd want to take a break from entering contests for a while. I've only entered two MAGs before, but both times I've felt like zoning out for the next month or so. So take all the time you need, but I hope you do enter some of the contests again in the future. And it's not all luck, you know. Your graphics are beautiful, and that's down to your own talent. People will always appreciate hard work when they see it.

Really well done to everyone else, too. You should all be hugely proud of yourselves just to have got your games finished, let alone to have made them as good as they all were.

[Shadow1000]

Congrats to Brane and Tycho on the well-deserved win. This really was an outstanding competition both in entries and votes.

[Mandle]

Massive congratz to the Robolovers team!

And also massive feels about Tycho's post! Thank you for sharing your potential downfall from and return to game-dev grace with us!

You have massive talent! Don't let the constant harping of life, and negative people around you, rob you of what you love to do! The world can be a very soul-destroying place and I've found that doing what you love, at least some of the time, can combat the flood of the other shitty stuff that can just make you feel like plugging yourself into an uncaring cycle of just giving up on your dreams one by one.

With your game you have touched the lives of all who play it for a brief time. This is the magic of creating something from nothing for both the maker and for those that experience it.

That being said: All entries this month were amazing and all showed a heartfelt commitment to express their vision to the player as best they could.

I have entered many a MAGS in my time, and I think I have often said that just by entering a "finished" game you have already won. And this is true...

But this time it's especially true. I will never forget this EPIC MAGS or the games that it inspired!

Thanks as always to Stupot+, and to Slasher, that Gandalf-looking git!

[SilverSpook]

Huge congrats to Tycho and Brane! And glad to hear that you've short-circuited the downward spiral of depression, man.

I was almost not going to enter this MAGS as I just coincidentally happened to start working on my second AGS game when Stupot announced the competition was starting early.  Mostly I just figured 'what the hell' and help fill out the ranks due to low turnout in May.  But I'm very, very glad I did enter, as this was certainly a MAGS for the history books.  After Neofeud I was just feeling swamped with the sales/marketing work and generally feeling more like a Lord Business than a David Sandberg, unsure of what exactly the next Silver Spook Game project would be.  But just having that encouragement and some friendly competition really helped light a creative as well as 'crunch-mode' fire for me too.  So thanks AGS community for that!

And thanks again and congrats to all entrants. Everyone really did an amazing job, truly! There was such a diverse set of unique entries and styles, yet all were great in their own way. It was really an excellent showcasing of the possibilities of the AGS engine, and how it still has a place even in 2017. 

[Pilchard]

Congratulations Tycho and Brane! Very worthy winners - and it's wonderful to hear it's represented such a U-turn for you personally, Tycho. I'm looking forward to whatever you come up with next.

Even though I didn't have as much time for my entry as I'd have liked (I was away on holiday at the end of June) the 'Rescue' theme was just too tempting, and I'm now really glad I took part in what turned out to be a particularly inspiring round of MAGS.  I've learnt a lot from playing all of the games submitted, trying to make constructive comments about them, and reading the feedback on my own game. I might not be ready to enter another MAGS straight away, but it's definitely something I'll return to.

Thanks to everyone who played through, commented on and even voted for Hang On, you're ace.

My vote was actually for Bury Me In The Sand, but it was such a strong field, that wasn't an easy decision.

It'd be great to collaborate with some of you for some future MAGS!

[Blondbraid]

Congratulations Tycho and Brane!
It will be fun to see which theme you come up with!

[Eggie]

Yo! Congrats Robolovers!!
We're disappointed but also pumped we got to be in this crazy, intense month! I don't know if everyone else is having this thought a lot as a result of this contest but this game engine and community we like... it's still pretty hecking good, right???

[Funkpanzer]

I don't know if everyone else is having this thought a lot as a result of this contest but this game engine and community we like... it's still pretty hecking good, right???

Damn right!

Congrats Tycho and Brane! This is the second time I got to take part in a massive MAGS and it was so fun to see all the amazing work trickle into the thread. My only regret is not voting for Bustin' the Bastille because that gem definitely deserved more love!

[xBRANEx]

This is the best community I know of!

I'm just back from holiday to thank you guys for voting and playing our game. It was a lovely experience! I hope that this amazing MAGS will really rescue the upcoming ones.

[Mandle]

Wow, The Rotary Club just got some love in the form of fan-art from the magnificent lorenzo:

[IMGZOOM]http://i66.tinypic.com/28c28tf.png[/IMGZOOM]

There is a huger and more detailed version in the main game thread...

CHEERS to lorenzo for this Tintin-esque art!

[Blondbraid]

That's just awesome, I've always thought it's a shame that there isn't more fan-art of the AGS-games here in the forums!

[selmiak]

awesome

[Mandle]

That's just awesome, I've always thought it's a shame that there isn't more fan-art of the AGS-games here in the forums!

Good point... maybe if there was a thread? Hmmmmmmm....

[Creamy]

The Bastille crashed and burned a second time

Here is my second round of reviews :

Bury me in the sand

Spoiler

A very good vibe with this one. The puzzles are simple but the ambiance is spot on. Amazing what a good artist can do with few pixels and colors. I can't wait to play Fish Life.

[close]

Robolovers

Spoiler

Tycho's colours and lights are a delight for the eye. The mini-games are fun and the story flows nicely. However, replacing people with machines seems to me a convenient way to deny them humanity when necessary. Would you fry an actual person?

[close]

Rotary club

Spoiler

I have a soft spot for Mandle weird experiments. At first, I kept crashing because the initial engine is barely powerful enough to let you take altitude. As I was able to rescue 2 people and buy a better engine, the game got better too. Unfortunately, the grapplin stopped working after I upgraded it. Dunno if it's still relevant because I haven't played the game since the last update.

[close]

Terror of the vampire

Spoiler

Kickass graphics and animations, excellent dialogs (if sometimes long), good puzzles and catchy soundtrack - the game has it all! Every character has a distinctive personality and I liked their evolution. Well done Scavenger, Eggie and EHCB.

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

I think one should not focus so much on the points, but more on the reviews. Since a person can only vote for it's favourite, it will eventually leave games at zero, even though they're just as good to been able to grab 1st place.