MAGS 2008-07: Retrofest!

[Klaus]

Okay - two days are gone, still not all announced games are posted here... So let's set the final limit:
Please submit your entries within the next 10 hours (see timestamp of this message), then the voting will begin.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Yay, lots of entries so far.  Since I set the rules this time I feel obligated to comment on each one, which I will do when all are submitted.

[Brad Newsom]

Damn it, this isn't working. I'm out. Unless I can fix it in t-6.

[Klaus]

Okay - so no more announcements turned into entries... Let's start the voting:

For voting please visit the MAGS site or make your choice right here:

Vector Vendetta by Radiant
The Shawshank Redemption by Eggie
Super-Pitstop-Racing by Rocco
Retroron Demo by zabnat
Philosophers like hot Cocoa by JuuL
Crash! Evade! Destroy! by Akatosh

Please vote only once and be sure to have played all games before sending your voice! Good luck to all participants.

[zabnat]

Funny how only one of six games is a point & click adventure game that AGS was designed for

Some comments on the games:
Vector Vendetta
Very solid game. Can't find anything to complain.
Ghost Fight The Shawshank Redemption
Well, it did bring smile to my face couple of times. Though the only thing in common with Shawshank Redemption in the actual game is escaping the jail.
Super-Pitstop-Racing
This really gave me the feeling I was playing a C64 game. Pretty solid gameplay though it was a bit annoying when you suddenly get stuck in the sand and all hope is lost. I also would have liked to see the other cars drive more smoothly.
Retroron Demo
Well, my ambitious attempt to make a Game Boy JRPG with AGS in two weeks that failed. You can't really do much in the demo and there is no ending so does it even qualify as a game?
Philosophers like hot Cocoa
A point & click adventure with slow moving character and EGA palette. It really feels retro. Game is very short though. Only one puzzle?
Crash! Evade! Destroy!
The other Game Boy game. Gameplay seems a little glitchy at times but still pretty fun.

Good job everyone.

[Radiant]

Funny how only one of six games is a point & click adventure game that AGS was designed for

We could always rename it "Arcade Game Studio" 

[Rocco]

The Shawshank Redemption
If someone have to define Retro, then its this game  , "You doing awesome"
Vector Vendetta
Great Music, great programming, great entry
Retroron Demo
Awesome Graphics, good fighting system, very cool Demo with ultrahigh potential - I hope you go on with this game.
Philosophers like hot Cocoa
An adventure, well i have seen to many of them around here, so i didnt finish it, but i liked the personal speech at the beginning.
Crash! Evade! Destroy!
A little funny platformer, but the timelimits were to low for me mostly.

My own Game:
Hadnt enough time to finetune the opponents, and the difficulty of the game.
I know that the area where the car slows down near the trackboundaries, can be frustrating.
Without that maybe the game is easier and more fun.
But i have also not enough feedback to know how the players get along with the game.

The Opponents are powered with the Character Control Modul from Strazer, so they drive somehow angulary.
I guess the AGS Performance is to low, to calculate all 4 cars.
I tried to start the game with AGS 3.xx and the game stucks with the players car only on the screen.
I switched back to 2.72 and it runs fortunatly smooth enough to play it.

overall great entrys

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

As promised, I have some comments to make on these games!


Vector Vendetta

First of all, I liked the intro effects and vector 'feel' of the game, as well as the Gradius-like powerup structure.  However, the automatic shot feels all wrong for a retro game which relies so heavily on precision, so manual shot (with an option to hold down the button to repeat fire or tap rapidly for faster shots) would be welcome here.  Also, the grid cursor was more confusing than helpful, and a standard crosshair seems more appropriate.  Overall, I definitely think it has a nice retro feel to it!

Philosophers Like Hot Cocoa
I liked the look of this game and the general design of the gui, but the extremely short gameplay definitely left me wondering why it was so short for a month of development.

Super-Pitstop-Racing
One of my favorites of this competition.  The title screen was awesome and I'm a big fan of the old overhead racing games.  That said, the vehicle controls are really unwieldy at this stage and could use some tweaking, especially for turns.  The car turns like a tank, and it makes the race harder than it should be (though this could be a design choice).  The vehicles and map design looked particularly good, so nice work!


The Shawshank Redemption
I laughed playing this a few times, but I don't think anyone will argue that this is not a 'joke' entry.  The gameplay is extremely limited and it's almost impossible to get hit by a ghost unless you want to. 


Retroron Demo
I found myself wondering why Dr. DeeVee Ess was speaking japanese (or why he looked anime style), and then I remembered that this was your style choice, a japanese rpg.  I will say that anime style is not something I'm fond of, but I think you've done a great job here and the visuals, particularly the backgrounds, are solidly designed with the limited palette and everything is easy to identify (which is much more difficult than it seems).  The combat was also amusing, so great work!


Crash! Evade! Destroy!
At first the rules at the beginning of the level confused me, but once I understood what 'crash' (collect would have been a better word here) and 'destroy' meant, the game was rather fun!  I noticed that sometimes the objects would get stuck on the platforms and just spin there, which made it easy for me to avoid/collect/destroy, but it also adds to the retro charm.  Nice job!


Overall, I'm really impressed with the turn out and I'm glad I could inspire so many people (even those who did not yet finish their entries) to make nice retro games.

If you had fun making your games, you are all winners.  Yay!

[voh]

My idea for MAGS has turned into a full-fledged game design. So while I may not have been a real part of this, thanks for the much-needed inspiration

[Klaus]

Many thanks for all your comments on the games. For the voting: It is over now!
The winner is way above all the other participants and got about 55% of all votes.
So who is it!?

The winner this time is Super-Pitstop-Racing by Rocco !

Congratulations to Rocco and also many thanks to all participants for bringing back the retro feeling!

[Rocco]

Wohooo victory,
thanks and congratulation to the other developers that participated to make some retrogames. 
A great big thanks to everyone who voted!
It was a cool theme, and it showed nicely how good AGS works as Game Maker for all types of games. 

[Akatosh]

Congratulations! I think you really deserved the win.