MAGS 2009-01: (No) Drugs!

[Klaus]

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

For more information please visit the Official MAGS website.

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

MAGS is the perfect opportunity to make a game, and the wonderful prize is to announce the next month's rules, and all competitors get the game placed on the MAGS website.

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

You are not allowed to (re)use material already created before this competition, you game must be completely new! An exception goes for sounds and music where you can also use free material that is available to the public.

Please do not just enter the competition with a rushed entry (a game created in just some hours or a few days)!

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Topic: (No) Drugs!

"And suddenly I had an inkling of what it must feel like to be mad."

This month's guidelines were set by last month's winner bicilotti.
They are brief and pretty vague, so there's a lot of freedom for your games:

The main character in your game must ingest (or sniff, hear, see, meet, breathe, touch, etc. - you choose) something or someone. This will affect the functioning of his (her) body and/or mind.

No further restrictions.

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All games need to be in by January 25th.

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

[bicilotti]

This month's guidelines were set by last month's winner bicilotti.
They are brief and pretty vague, so there's a lot of freedom for your games:

Indeed they are.

Even though I've entered only once, I'm a big fan of MAGS. They get you in the mood for producing something, they give you a release date to motivate yourself, they're friendly towards newbies.

I feel the theme of this month can be dissected in many ways; just looking at the "technical" side of it,  there are many solutions that could be implemented, like using a weird palette or abusing of the

Code: ags

Rand();
RawDrawSomething();

routines.

Not to talk about the story: drugs are a fundamental piece of background in many tales (opium in China, for example).

And a drug could not even be a substance...

Bottom line: let loose your imagination and reward me with a plethora of games!

[Play_Pretend]

Heh...from a quantum observationist standpoint, absolutely everything you encounter will change the body/mind of the observer.  So you could just have a game of a guy sitting on a couch.

[limeTree]

Can you explain the theme a bit more,i am not a native English speaker so
i don't  quite catch that.
So,the point is that the main character is affected by something or someone so that after the interaction he goes nuts as if he were on drugs or...?

[Ryan Timothy B]

This sounds great Bicilotti.. Perhaps I'll be motivated enough to push myself through until the end.

[bicilotti]

Can you explain the theme a bit more,i am not a native English speaker so
i don't  quite catch that.

Sure thing!

So,the point is that the main character is affected by something or someone so that after the interaction he goes nuts as if he were on drugs or...?

Let me give you a straight example:a game where an hippy takes LSD for the first time, or a game about a trader and his cocaine addiction.

As Strange Visitor pointed out, the rules are flexible enough to allow different kind of stories (a fantasy hero drinks a potion and is transformed into a frog? A 14-year-old boy gets drunk swallowing a beer in one gulp? A cosmonaut has its mind warped as he touches a black, featurless monolith? A...).

Find a "drug" that suits you and build a story around it

This sounds great Bicilotti.. Perhaps I'll be motivated enough to push myself through until the end.

That's the attitude! Good luck!

[IndieBoy]

Awesome rules, I wonder if there will be an other Crackwell game... Also well done bici!

[Akatosh]

Hm... I think I have an idea...

Yeah, or not.

[Dualnames]

2000 post. Oh, well...I'll enter man. I have a cool idea. Might even work.

[bicilotti]

2000 post. Oh, well...I'll enter man. I have a cool idea. Might even work.

Hm... I think I have an idea...

Awesome rules, I wonder if there will be an other Crackwell game... Also well done bici!

Very good my minions... now, produce!

[Ghost]

Find a "drug" that suits you and build a story around it

Can the game I build around the drug be the drug I build the game around?

*gasp* that actually was an idea!

[bicilotti]

Can the game I build around the drug be the drug I build the game around?

Also, very Escheresque Ghost

[Klyptomaniac]

I hope I get around to actually making this game! () It would really help me jumpstart myself, right?

[bicilotti]

I hope I get around to actually making this game! () It would really help me jumpstart myself, right?

MAGS is the ideal place! Good luck with whatever you're working on!

[Ryan Timothy B]

Bic, I just gotta say........ "Arghhh!!!"  Why'd you choose such a wicked theme?  I've been working steady on the background art, it's 1:30am, I work in 6 hours.. I should be sleeping!  Yet I'm still up.. drawing....  I blame you.... *evil -tired- eyes pierce through your soul*..

Anyway, all jokes aside, thanks!  It's been a fun 4 and 1/2 days so far.  20 more to go.

[Dualnames]

20 days.. And I'm reserving a spot later on for my game which is almost finished (ok, just the readme. time doesn't equal quality.)

[bicilotti]

20 days.. And I'm reserving a spot later on for my game which is almost finished (ok, just the readme. time doesn't equal quality.)

By the way, if you've posted in this thread and fail to deliver a game by the deadline, mobsters sent by yours truly will search for you and eventually break every single bone of the hand with wich you operate your mouse.

So Dual, Ryan, Kliptomaniac, Ghost, Akatosh, Indie, lipaoklipa, Strange Visitor and Klaus (yeah, you too), you're warned.  8)

[IndieBoy]

Damn I don't want the mafia on my arse. :o

[Klyptomaniac]

Oh noes! Weez in trouble naow!!!

[Ghost]

Hah, teh Ghost is un-findable and unscared 

[Ryan Timothy B]

Oooo and to make matters worse... it's the Italian Mafia...
Looks like I'll have to quit my job just so I can keep working on this game.  I need my hand.

[Dualnames]

Well, can I at least die tomorrow? It's my birthday today.

[Trihan]

Happy birthday.

Oh crap, I'm not entering this...

*evades mobsters*

[Dualnames]

-WINNERS DON'T DO DRUGS-

Sales Pitch:
What if you wanted that drug badly...but your grandma was in the way? What would you do to distract her and get some lonely time with it? How far would you get?

An awesome entry full of awesomeness and randomness by DN Games. A game that will shock you so bad, you won't be watching Grey's Anatomy today.

Remember:


Download it here (2Mb)

And if you like it or no one else enters and makes me the favour, vote for it.

About:
This is my first clean no photoshop drawn game ever. Secondly, bicilotti has installed a large numbers of macktheknifers, sharpshooters and tommy gun holders outside my house, not allowing me to leave...

[ALPHATT]

not bad looking DLing now

[bicilotti]

A game, very good, very good! Downloadin'

[ALPHATT]

Only 1 entry?

Please more.

[IndieBoy]

Only 1 entry?

Please more.

Er not to steal Klaus' job, but there is still 5 days to go. I'm in the middle of play Dual's entry but I'm little stuck what to do next. Anyway this is to say that I'll be leaving the country in the next 5 days

[bicilotti]

Dual, how the hell do you

Spoiler

get out of bed?

[close]

[OneDollar]

Finished it, after a couple of tries. Nice job, and I really like the idea of having everything set in one (AGS) room with an NPC wandering around. It's still a little rough around the edges though, can't help thinking it'd flow better if you could somehow link the upstairs with the downstairs by a walkable area, but that's a minor thing. I enjoyed it anyway.

Couple of bugs though:

Spoiler

As soon as you use the hammer with the picture or nail you lose it, regardless of whether you take the picture down, so if you use the hammer before the pen the game becomes unwinnable. Also there doesn't seem to be a way to quit without closing the window or Alt+x ing out?

[close]

Kudos on the speed options though, very useful and very necessary.

Dual, how the hell do you

Spoiler

get out of bed?

[close]

Bic:

Spoiler

Click on the bed approximately where you had to click to climb under it. There's no hotspot label though

[close]

[Dualnames]

Bic:
Well, due to a scripting problem I've trying to hammer down for many many days but couldn't there should be a hotspot label appearing with label "Get out of bed", so well sorry for that.

One Dollar:

Spoiler

If you use the hammer before the pen? The code actually allows to use them in any order.
And I just check that. Use the pen on the picture and it will drop it.

[close]

As for your suggestion for walkable areas, I did  want to do it that way, but well baselines came to kill my idea. Wish I had more days, but I'm giving an exam this saturday so I had to finish the game by yesterday. Also I wanted to implement a save system ,but due to a bug I came up with (which has been solved in 3.1.2 beta), I couldn't add save and load routine. Using beta version wouldn't be wise.

As for the speed, while I was beta-testing it I said, man this is really slow wish there was a way to..(you guess the rest). Glad you enjoyed and thanks everyone for giving it a shot.

Cheers.

[OneDollar]

Dualnames:

Spoiler

It might work if you use the hammer on the picture before using the pen, but I don't think it works if you use the hammer on the nail before using the pen

[close]

[Dualnames]

Dualnames:

Spoiler

It might work if you use the hammer on the picture before using the pen, but I don't think it works if you use the hammer on the nail before using the pen

[close]

One dollar. I said i checked it .

Spoiler

Use the hammer on nail then use pen on picture. Works fine, check it yourself. 8)

[close]

[OneDollar]

One dollar. I said i checked it .

Ah, so it does.

Spoiler

Was confused by the picture not moving

[close]

[Ryan Timothy B]

I'm sluggin away at my entry... it'll either be finished JUST on time (with hopefully minutes before midnight, on the 25th), or it'll be a few days beyond that.  Depends on how many snags I encounter, this is what happens when you save most of the character animation and all the programming until the last 5 days.
I'll let you know, Bicilotti.   Don't send the mafia, yet.

[Klaus]

So only some more hours left until the voting will begin - or we will see a winner by default. Please submit your entries within the next 18 hours (see timestamp of this message) to join the competition!

[Ryan Timothy B]

Oooo.. 15 hours to go. 
Looks like I'm not going to sleep tonight.

[Ryan Timothy B]

Alright.  You don't have to worry about me when the clock strikes.
I ran into a programming snag. I managed to figure it out but it still delayed me at least half a day.

So anyway.... now I'm going to bed. 

(Here's a little preview of what I had been doing. This and This. I had 8 backgrounds in total with 4 characters completely animated.)

[bicilotti]

Alright.  You don't have to worry about me when the clock strikes.
I ran into a programming snag. I managed to figure it out but it still delayed me at least half a day.

So anyway.... now I'm going to bed. 

(Here's a little preview of what I had been doing. This and This. I had 8 backgrounds in total with 4 characters completely animated.)

What a pity! I hope to see that completed in the next weeks/months

[Klaus]

... it still delayed me at least half a day.

So would a deadline extension of 24 hours be helpful to see some competition here?

[ALPHATT]

Ryan those look very good. Too good for a MAGS entry?

[Ryan Timothy B]

So would a deadline extension of 24 hours be helpful to see some competition here?

Klaus man, I wasn't expecting to see this. 
I was actually trying to whip this all together as fast as I can before I even noticed your post.
Hopefully it can get done within the 24 hour extension.  I'll try my best.

I'm sorry... I can't be of any competition to you Dual.  I'm throwing in the towel.
This is mainly due to the lack of puzzles I had and an unclear ending (I need to start playing more Adventure games ).  I set my limits too high for a short MAGS game. 
I'd love to upload the progress I have done so far, but honestly I'd rather just sit on this game until it's finished, or use the characters for other projects.

Congratulations Dual.  You are the superior game maker this round.

[Dualnames]

Ryan save yourself from the mob...

EDIT: Awww..well, that sucks. I recall seeing you working on those backgrounds while we were at stickam..So I'd love a stickamags sort of competition.

[Klaus]

I'm throwing in the towel.

Okay, a sad situation and I think we all are lost now... 

Congratulations to the winner: Dualnames and Winners don't do Drugs!
I do not say "winner by default": There are some very nice and new ideas
here that make this entry a real number one. Thank you for that game!

[bicilotti]

Congrats Dual! I hope your round will be less, errr, empty?

[Dualnames]

Aw, so my first MAGS, and I'll say my grandkids I won by default?!

Well, Ryan had concerns about finishing his game on time when we talked about it, but I always had the hope, he'd enter on the last minute. Thanks for the nice comments everyone.. I send Klaus the guidelines... (NO HHGTG BASED COMP I PROMISE), and hopefully it won't be bicilotti.

Surprised that when MAGS hosted themes about drugs and sex, we had winners by default.

[ThreeOhFour]

(NO HHGTG BASED COMP I PROMISE)

My faith in humanity is restored.

THANK YOU

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

So the kid loves Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...

IS THAT A CRIME!? 

[Dualnames]

So the kid loves Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...

IS THAT A CRIME!? 

Let's say I'm sort of obsessed..

[kaputtnik]

Surprised that when MAGS hosted themes about drugs and sex, we had winners by default.

Then your MAGS topic better not be Rock 'n Roll!

[ThreeOhFour]

Surprised that when MAGS hosted themes about drugs and sex, we had winners by default.

Then your MAGS topic better not be Rock 'n Roll!

If it is I am SO entering!

[Dualnames]

I'll just leave you guys guess..