MAGS April "Sky High" (CLOSED)

Started by Stupot, Wed 01/04/2020 09:55:51

Previous topic - Next topic

What is your favourite game of MAGS April?

Skyfall
2 (12.5%)
Upducted
1 (6.3%)
Midnight Squadron
5 (31.3%)
The Penthouse
6 (37.5%)
Over Roger
0 (0%)
Vertigo
2 (12.5%)

Total Members Voted: 16

Voting closed: Mon 25/05/2020 09:59:15

Stupot

Topic: Sky High
Set by JackPutter

And the winner of MAGS April is:
‘The Penthouse’ by Intense Degree








Skyfall
by Slasher
Upducted
by Pell
Midnight Squadron
by JackPutter
The Penthouse
by Intense Degree
Over Roger
by Cassiebsg
Vertigo
by Fernewelten

Height and altitude are the centre of this theme! Make a game where things take place far above sea level. Whether this means up in the mountains, aboard an airplane in flight, or at the top of a tall building, your character must face challenges unique to being high in the sky!

Existing artwork is allowed.





pell

Since I'm studying the engine right now anyway, I might as well jump in and make a little test game, with emphasis on little and test. I don't know AGS very well yet.

Slasher

Quote from: pell on Wed 01/04/2020 10:18:34
Since I'm studying the engine right now anyway, I might as well jump in and make a little test game, with emphasis on little and test. I don't know AGS very well yet.
Best way to learn and expand your knowledge is by 'doing'  (nod)

I assume that 'far above sea level' is limitless height/altitude?

Ok... Count this sucker in as well  (laugh)


VampireWombat

Oh good, it has nothing to do with the Disney movie.

I'll have to consult my plot generator to see if I can get a good idea.

HyperAnimated

Lol, can I resubmit March MAGS?  All my characters in that are flying.  :-D

Just kidding, I might do this one too!  Lemme brainstorm a bit!

Cassiebsg

Topic is giving me some crazy ideas... whether they'll end up into a game, that's another story.  ;)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Slasher

#7
After some deliberation I have finally come up with a title:

Skyfall

I think I will use my new custom sierra-style template...

Now to build the game  (laugh)

I hope we get at least as many entries as last month  (nod)

(Edit)
Well, I'm now committed with this (laugh)






Slasher

Well, hard work and passion has helped me complete part 1 of 3...

Cassiebsg

Geez Slasher, leave a little for the rest of us!  (laugh)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

JackPutter

I have a concept, a brief plot outline, and a few rough storyboards sketched out. I'll knuckle down and start making some art as soon as I finish playing all of last month's MAGS games!

pell

I've got mine mostly worked out on paper but for a few minor details, so I'm more comfortable about getting this done in time. It takes place aboard a flying saucer.

Where do you folks normally post your games and files? I have accounts with Sourceforge, GitHub and BitBucket, so I might use one of those.

Slasher

#12
Skyfall

Storyline
Yazz Aldrin is a NASA astronaut and has volunteered for a two week mission to the moon a few months after his wife walked out on him, to collect moon samples.
Enstranged from his wife he drifts alone in the dark, lonely voids of space.
He never stops thinking about his wife and how she walked out on him.
What were her reasons? He asks himself time and time again: Why?
200,000 kms into his moon mission and his rocket begins to fail. First the thrusters, then the main power, then the rocket's AI computer'SAL' and now it's getting worse because he has lost all contact with earth!
Unless he can repair the rocket he will loop endlessly in space like a spiral in a circle... forever! His Jet pack is running low on power.



pell

Quote from: Slasher on Wed 08/04/2020 08:17:05
Skyfall

Storyline
Yazz Aldrin is a NASA astronaut and has volunteered for a two month mission to the moon a few months after his wife walked out on him, to collect moon samples.
Enstranged from his wife he drifts alone in the dark, lonely voids of space.
He never stops thinking about his wife and how she walked out on him.
What were her reasons? He asks himself time and time again: Why?
200,000 kms into his moon mission and his rocket begins to fail. First the thrusters, then the main power, then the rocket's AI computer'SAL' and now it's getting worse because he has lost all contact with earth!
Unless he can repair the rocket he will loop endlessly in space like a spiral in a circle... forever! His Jet pack is running low on power.




Wasn't there a David Bowie song that went something like that?

(to the tune of "Space Oddity")

Ground Control to Major Yazz.
Forgot your fuel, you're such a spaz.
While he trashes fifteen million bucks,
his wife takes all he has...

Tycho Magnetic Anomaly

I am offering a 3 Month Xbox Game Pass for PC to the winner of Aprils MAGS.
The pass will let you play any of the games listed here https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-game-pass/games?=pcgames for an unlimited number of times within a 3 month period. 

If the winner is not interested in the key they might consider rolling the prize over for the next MAGS.

From now on any keys that are given to me I will consider offering as a prize for MAGS jams.


Best of luck to all you April MAGS'sters

ZapZap

I've been thinking of a story, some puzzles and did about half the art, does anyone want to do the music? It's about an little angel in heaven that just wants to sleep (not revealing more to keep it interesting).
"Loose ends have a way of strangling you"

Kastchey

Hey, that must be the first time in history when MAGS has sponsorship! :)
(or is it?)

Slasher

#17
Wow... it would be great to have another turn out like last month  (nod)

My entry Skyfall is basically completed so it's testing and tweaking time  (laugh)

"Thank god, Aldrin. We lost you for seven hours!"

Yazz Aldrin is THE coolest guy on the planet  (laugh)

Slasher

#18
Skyfall

Download: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2429-skyfall

Storyline
Yazz Aldrin is a NASA astronaut and has volunteered for a two week mission to the moon, a few months after his wife walked out on him, to collect moon samples.
Enstranged from his wife he drifts alone in the dark, lonely voids of space.
He never stops thinking about his wife and how she walked out on him.
What were her reasons? He asks himself time and time again: Why?

200,000 kms into his moon mission and his rocket begins to fail. First the thrusters, then the main power, then the rocket's AI computer'SAL' and now it's getting worse because he has lost all contact with earth!

Unless he can repair the rocket he will loop endlessly in space like a spiral in a circle... forever! His Jet pack is running low on power.

Can Yazz make it to the moon and collect the moon samples he has been instructed to get and return to earth safely?

Uses my new Sierra Style Template. Left Click Interact, Right Click Examine........



Download:  https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2429-skyfall

Please report if you find any bad dogs  (laugh)


JackPutter

Slasher - I am absolutely in awe! I barely have a character designed and I'm still working on the walk cycle, yet here you are submitting your finished piece! I had better get a move on!

HyperAnimated

I finally had a good idea 9 days in, lol.  Might not make it in time but I'm going to see what I can do. :) Props to Slasher for finishing so quickly and wow, super cool of Tycho to offer a prize! Good luck everyone!

Slasher

#21
Uploaded Debugless, full screen mode.... version

TheManInBoots

#22
Quote from: ZapZap on Wed 08/04/2020 18:57:58
I've been thinking of a story, some puzzles and did about half the art, does anyone want to do the music? It's about an little angel in heaven that just wants to sleep (not revealing more to keep it interesting).
I don't have a synthesizer with me, but I could do you some recordings of some tunes and ballads on my guitar.
If you're interested you can tell me more about it via PM and I could show you what the guitar music would sound like.
I don't plan on submitting this month so that would work for me.

Slasher

Skyfall

Tweaked and improved a couple of things...

HyperAnimated

#24
Wrote the full plot/puzzle script overnight, now to get down to work!  The title is "Not My First Apocalypse: High Ground", using characters and world of an animated podcast I've been developing. The game's an animation heavy idea, but I plan to steal as much artwork as possible and the protagonists are already made. Fingers crossed!

Update 4/14: Plugging away like crazy building the game, but super happy with how it's coming out.  I'm having a lot of fun patching together the art and NPC's.

KyriakosCH

#25
Well, I actually have an idea, and will try.

This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Slasher

Quote from: KyriakosCH on Mon 13/04/2020 21:35:30
Well, I actually have an idea, and will try.
I hope you do...

Come on gang, let's get Sky high  (laugh)

Stupot

Quote from: Tycho Magnetic Anomaly on Wed 08/04/2020 17:28:56
I am offering a 3 Month Xbox Game Pass for PC to the winner of Aprils MAGS.
Wow, I've only just ntoiced this. Thanks, Tycho. That's a mighty generous offer.

Glad to see a few folks entering this one, too.  Good luck everyone.

HyperAnimated

Not sure I'll make the deadline now, had to take a few days for pandemic-related stuff. :/ But I'm having so much fun making this that I'll finish even if not for the competition!

Cassiebsg

I'm also coding, but I'm not coding an adventure game, so not sure I'll be able to put something worth playing by the deadline. Although you can already do something... adding a few more game stuf, and then randomizing some "settings", and I might have something worth playing,  even if only for 5 minutes.  (laugh)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

JackPutter

I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this concept, I am still working on the artwork. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that everything will go smoothly when I start coding it! It's another point-and-click game so hopefully there won't be too many surprises. I will hopefully have something playable by the time the deadline comes around!

Stupot

Would a couple of extra days help?

JackPutter

@Stupot - I mean, if the deadline was to be extended it would certainly increase my chances of adding all the content I want! Regardless I will be doing my best to upload something to the AGS database on whatever this month's deadline turns out to be.

Cassiebsg

#33
Right now, my game can entertain for entire 30 secs.  And only way to end is to die.  (laugh)

EDIT: My plan with this game is to expand it and have both arcade and story mode, so a couple extra days are nice, but won't help me finish my game faster. But maybe the little that there is will be a bit more complete and less buggy. Right now I need to solve one bug (one of the targets doesn't want to die) and then need to code the "win" (or send a new wave of enemies). I also have another bug, which I suspect I know why it happens, but not sure yet how to stop it (maybe a timer will be the solution). Then I need to add the BG, since a boring static BG won't cut it. Maybe it's time to experiment the parallax module.  :-D
Lets see where things will be in a week.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

pell

I'm good either way about an extension, but I don't see mention of an original deadline. I'm assuming it's before midnight on April 30 in someone's time zone.

Cassiebsg

Official deadline is the last day of the month, 23:59 GMT (as far I know, at least that's what I count with), then there's the unofficial deadline, that allows to submit before the host has time to close the comp and sets up the voting. And then there's the "I'm just uploading, please give me an half hour extra to post!" and last but not least, occasionally we get the extra couple days, if people ask for it (either way, the above deadlines pushes with the amount of extra days given).   (laugh)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Slasher

Oh, I do hope you guys manage to pull it off in time....

Fingers' out and nose to the grindstone  (laugh)

HyperAnimated

#37
Update: disregard my extra days request...I reached too high, no chance I'll finish in time.  On the other hand, having a total blast and will definitely finish within a couple weeks.

JackPutter

I've finally broken the back of the workload for my entry. It's definitely my most complex game so far, and because of that I'm sure my spaghetti code would make a seasoned programmer nauseous, but the damn thing runs! I still have a few programming bits to complete, one or two additional art assets to quickly whip up and insert, and of course there's all the sound to put in too! I might just make it!

Nothing beats the feeling of the first time you put your character in a world and watch them walk around reacting to your instructions, does it?

pell

#39
Here's mine early, just in case:
https://gamesbypell.itch.io/upducted

Let me know if you have any issues with it. I may still touch up some things if I have time.

Here's the AGS game database link:
https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2440-upducted/

fernewelten

I will be able to present a "sky-high" adventure game. But I'm not sure whether it'll be quite ready at midnight today yet .

Can I have an extension, please?

JackPutter

MIDNIGHT SQUADRON

GAME LINK: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2438-midnight-squadron-mags-april-2020-/

SYNOPSIS: In the skies above war-torn Europe, trouble strikes the crew of an RAF bomber as it returns from its mission. The aircraft's copilot Fredericks needs to get to the bottom of what's going on, and live to tell the tale.

SCREENSHOTS:







FEATURES:

  • An original horror story full of mystery and suspense
  • Faux 16-colour graphics
  • Approximately 15-20 minutes of gameplay
  • Occasional strong violence and gore
  • "Beneath A Steel Sky" style interface - Left click to interact, right click to examine




If you are a fan of horror films or scary stories in general, I hope you will enjoy this game! Please let me know what you think of it, it is my most ambitious project to date and I would love to hear your feedback. There were a few things I really wanted to include but I had to set aside because of the time constraints. I enjoyed making this one a lot, even if it was quite taxing!

This is my third MAGS entry in a row, and I think it will be my last for a little while. I had never developed a game before entering this February's MAGS competition, and while taking part in these contests has been a great way to learn I feel a little worn out. I haven't had the chance to actually PLAY any games since January! So I'll probably sit out of the competition for a month or two.

Anyway, I hope you all have fun with my entry, and best of luck to all those still putting the finishing touches on theirs!

Slasher

JackPutter..

Just played... nice game ;)

JackPutter

Slasher - Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I shall be playing your entry shortly, I'm looking forward to an exciting trip to the moon!

Cassiebsg

#44
atm I have "one small bug" that makes and invisible dead enemy shoot back. I'm trying to fix it.
A couple more days would be nice, so I could add some more game play (I lost 2-3 days to make my enemies shoot back... and then I trashed all that code and started over this evening)... right now all you have to shoot at are 20 enemies perfectly aligned.  (laugh) I guess the invisible shooter makes it more interesting.  (roll)

Otherwise I'll just post what I have before going to bed.  :)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Intense Degree

#45
Hi all - so it's been a while since I was last around here, and I was always more of a lurker than anything so I'll not expect you to remember me.

But anyway, thanks to the lockdown, downtime, bank holidays and a whole host of late nights, I have actually managed to cobble something together for the first time in over a decade!

The Penthouse




A struggling artist receives a commission to paint a portrait of a wealthy businessman in his Penthouse apartment, but this apparent stroke of luck turns into something rather different.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ikabuvhi9k03fty/The_Penthouse.7z/file to Download.

EDIT: Uploaded a version with a quick bugfix - at https://www.mediafire.com/file/djw6vzhc1gkn6gp/The_Penthouse_v1.1.7z/file

JackPutter

Intense Degree - Delighted to hear that you've had the opportunity to flex your creative muscles! Welcome back to the forums, I'm sure putting together a MAGS entry is a great way to shake off the game development cobwebs.

Unfortunately your download link doesn't seem to work for me, I get a 404 error when I try to access it.

Intense Degree

Thanks! Hmmm, never used Itch before so might have to look at it. I have changed the link above to http://www.mediafire.com/file/ikabuvhi9k03fty/The_Penthouse.7z/file.

Just had a play of your game - really nice. Interesting story and characters and the art style fit nicely.

JackPutter

Ah, that's fixed it, I have been able to download and run your game! I've started to play it, and here's just a little thing to bring to your attention...
Spoiler
If you search the body more than once, or use an item on the body, you end up with multiple copies of the mobile phone!
[close]

I'm really glad you liked my game! I took a bit of a risk with that art style and I'm glad you think it paid off. I've just started playing your game, I'll let you know my thoughts when I do a roundup of all the entries once they arrive.

Cassiebsg

#49
Sorry for the "late" entry, I had to upload it 3 times, as I was taking a screenshot I noticed a debug msg I forgot to turn off.

The bug of the invisible shooter is still there, so live with it until I have time to figure out why... probably just some bad logic on my code.  (laugh) (Fixed)

Anyway, I present you, yet another Battlestar Galactica 78 inspired game.

Over Roger

Story: After the Galactica left the 12 colonies, some humans were left behind. This warrior saw his home be destroyed and the last remain of humanity fly away. Not one to roll over and die, he vows to die fighting  to his last breath... or laser!



Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/dhrp74rh8og2tzi/Over_Roger_v0.5.zip/file

Keep in mind that this is still a prototype, and there's lots more I want to do with it.

- Game provides minutes of shooting entertainment (?). It's a plain shoot them up.
- A dazzling one enemy variation to shoot at!
- Use keyboard or mouse controls (choose on the settings page).
- 1280x720 & 32 bits of vast space (I could swear I've been here before  (wtf) ).
- No requirement of knowledge of the TV series what so ever.

Have fun! :-D

Edit: Fixed the invisible shooter bug, and a fixed some other stuff, plus fined tuned some stuff. Hope it's playable to the end though. (I haven't been able to  reach the end (roll) ).
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Intense Degree

#50
EDIT: Scratch that, found it! Only in one particular case.

Quote from: JackPutter on Thu 30/04/2020 22:48:51
Ah, that's fixed it, I have been able to download and run your game! I've started to play it, and here's just a little thing to bring to your attention...
Spoiler
If you search the body more than once, or use an item on the body, you end up with multiple copies of the mobile phone!
[close]

Hmmm, I genuinely can't reproduce this, can you let me have any more details?

Stupot

@Fernewelten

Quote from: Stupot on Tue 21/04/2020 03:06:27
Would a couple of extra days help?

Deadline is Midnight BST May 2nd (or thereabouts).

fernewelten

#52
So, I can now proudly present:

Vertigo


Meet Luke, a tiny hermit living in a tall, tall tree. He would have loved to stay in his seclusion, but he must come out of his tree flat to prevent disaster from happening.

Will he manage?
Can you help him save his father?

Standard BASS interface. Get the inventory and main menu either via the "hamburger" icon or by pressing "i".
Download the game here

Have fun playing, and tell me what you think!

JackPutter

#53
fernewelten - Congratulations on getting your entry in! I just downloaded it and started to play, unfortunately I came across a game-breaking error.

Spoiler
I was on the bridge next to the ladder. I had successfully made my way across and placed the crowbar into the broken ladder. However I still couldn't climb up, so I thought I might have missed something earlier on. I tried to head back to the left, but after the main character walked to the edge and said their line about not jumping, the game quit unexpectedly. It threw up this error message, maybe it will help you get to the bottom of the issue?

[close]

EDIT: I loaded the game up again and managed to get to the end, making sure to avoid repeating my previous mistakes!

Spoiler
Is it just me, or was the hexagon maze different the second time around? I swear I took a different route... Unless there are multiple paths you can take?
[close]

fernewelten

#54
Hi Jack,

concerning that bug, bummer, I probably left the name of a deleted function in the events grid for an object. Thanks, I'll iron out that kink.
Edit: Found the problem.
Edit: Uploaded a version that has the bug fixed.

Concerning the maze:
Spoiler
You're right: The maze is randomly generated on-the-fly. It will be different in each game.
[close]

Intense Degree

#55
@FerneWelten - nice, I had fun. with it

Unfortunately I also had a game breaking bug, sounds pretty similar to JackP

Spoiler


When I clicked in the position shown above with the mallet the game crashed and gave the following warning: Script : (room:311)[R 22] Character.Scaling: cannot set property unless ManualScaling is enabled
Spoiler


Quote from: JackPutter on Fri 01/05/2020 21:20:21

Spoiler
Is it just me, or was the hexagon maze different the second time around? I swear I took a different route... Unless there are multiple paths you can take?
[close]

I thought that too! If so how many variations are there...?

EDIT: Randomly generated - cool!
[close]
[close]

fernewelten

Quote from: Intense Degree on Fri 01/05/2020 21:59:18
Unfortunately I also had a game breaking bug, sounds pretty similar to JackP

Yes - same bug. I'd taken out a plank for visual reasons and then renamed all the planks with higher numbers so as not to leave a "numbering hole". So oPlank9 became oPlank8. Unfortunately, I wasn't thorough and let myself be distracted, so I forgot to edit the events grids and change the function names there, too.

I've fixed and re-uploaded the code.

fernewelten

#57
Quote from: Intense Degree on Fri 01/05/2020 21:59:18
I thought that too! If so how many variations are there...?

I adapted an idea called "Recursive division" for generating a maze. Here's the idea for grids of square cells:

Take a piece of chequered paper (aka. grid paper, the paper you use for doing math, a grid of squares). Imagine that all the cell edges can either be solid "walls" or open "doors".

Now fold that paper along any line of cell edges. You get two smaller areas that have the fold line in common. Assume that you already know for both smaller areas that within each area, each cell can be reached from each other cell. Then this will be true for the whole paper, too, if the whole fold consists of walls except for just one door on the fold line. (Why? We already assumed that you can travel from each cell to each cell if those cells are within the same area. To travel from one area to a cell in the other area, first travel from the source cell to the cell that is next to the fold door. Cross areas through this fold door. From there, travel to your destination cell.)

So do exactly that after creating your fold: Make the whole fold into walls, then randomly choose just one wall on the fold and make that a door.

Now repeat that for each of the two smaller areas separately: Fold the area somewhere, make all the edges of the fold into walls, then open one door on the fold. You get four areas that are even smaller.

Rinse, repeat for ever dwindling areas until each area either contains two cells or just one cell. If the area has exactly two cells then connect them with a door and you are done; if it consists of just one cell, you are done.

Here's a good description of the algorithm.
Here's a page that will show this algorithm in action visually (and lots of others, too).

I've adapted that idea to hexagonal grids with the following idea. In a grid of squares, you have TWO angles for the folds to choose from: A fold can be either horizontal or vertical. In contrast, there are THREE angles for the folds to choose from in hexagonal grids. This means that the folding operations can yield "irregular" shapes, and you must take great care to keep track of just what cells are on both sides of the folding lines.

Cassiebsg

I've updated my game. :)
unless someone reports any serious bug that needs fixing, I won't upload anymore versions of it for MAGS. Hope you have some fun shooting raiders.  ;-D (assuming you enjoy shooting games)

And welcome back fellow cavefish, Intense Degree.  ;)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Intense Degree

Hey Cassie, yep Cavefish for life, i've still got the tattoos and everything! 8-) Glad to see you're still active and productive around here!  :)

I played the first version of your game and liked it - will definitely check out the updated version soon.

heltenjon

Over Roger:
So I've been shooting at some cylons...

Spoiler
After a while, I run out of enemies, and a message popped up onscreen. I managed to read "You should not" and then it disappeared. I guess this is the end of the game, but what was that message?
[close]

Just wondering.

Cassiebsg

#61
Uhm... "bug! You should not been seeing this message"...  :-\
You should have gotten the "you win" with the total score and play time. Sorry, like I said I haven't been able to play it to end, I always die around wave 3...  (roll) I suck at this

I'll move the end code to that "spot" instead. And upload a new version, since the deadline hasn't been reached yet.

Edit: here's the new version: http://www.mediafire.com/file/dhrp74rh8og2tzi/Over_Roger_v0.5.zip/file
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

heltenjon

Over Roger fully operational, over!

pell

I've updated mine just to bring up the "Quit game?" dialog at the end. I'm looking forward to playing the other games.

pell

Quote from: JackPutter on Thu 30/04/2020 16:17:34
MIDNIGHT SQUADRON

GAME LINK: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2438-midnight-squadron-mags-april-2020-/

SYNOPSIS: In the skies above war-torn Europe, trouble strikes the crew of an RAF bomber as it returns from its mission. The aircraft's copilot Fredericks needs to get to the bottom of what's going on, and live to tell the tale.

SCREENSHOTS:







FEATURES:

  • An original horror story full of mystery and suspense
  • Faux 16-colour graphics
  • Approximately 15-20 minutes of gameplay
  • Occasional strong violence and gore
  • "Beneath A Steel Sky" style interface - Left click to interact, right click to examine




If you are a fan of horror films or scary stories in general, I hope you will enjoy this game! Please let me know what you think of it, it is my most ambitious project to date and I would love to hear your feedback. There were a few things I really wanted to include but I had to set aside because of the time constraints. I enjoyed making this one a lot, even if it was quite taxing!

This is my third MAGS entry in a row, and I think it will be my last for a little while. I had never developed a game before entering this February's MAGS competition, and while taking part in these contests has been a great way to learn I feel a little worn out. I haven't had the chance to actually PLAY any games since January! So I'll probably sit out of the competition for a month or two.

Anyway, I hope you all have fun with my entry, and best of luck to all those still putting the finishing touches on theirs!

I played it last night and enjoyed it. Those RAF officers are unshakeable, huh? The logo on the side of the plane is a nice touch.

pell

#65
Quote from: Intense Degree on Thu 30/04/2020 20:28:43
Hi all - so it's been a while since I was last around here, and I was always more of a lurker than anything so I'll not expect you to remember me.

But anyway, thanks to the lockdown, downtime, bank holidays and a whole host of late nights, I have actually managed to cobble something together for the first time in over a decade!

The Penthouse




A struggling artist receives a commission to paint a portrait of a wealthy businessman in his Penthouse apartment, but this apparent stroke of luck turns into something rather different.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ikabuvhi9k03fty/The_Penthouse.7z/file to Download.

EDIT: Uploaded a version with a quick bugfix - at https://www.mediafire.com/file/djw6vzhc1gkn6gp/The_Penthouse_v1.1.7z/file


I played it tonight and got...
Spoiler
two passes out of five, but it was the two I was looking for (save your own skin),
[close]
...so I was satisfied. I'll have to go back and try the game again with the goal of achieving the others. My only real criticism so far is that the...
Spoiler
knife
[close]
...was a little bit of a pixel hunt for me. It blended with its surroundings enough for me not to notice it until I started clicking around.

pell

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Thu 30/04/2020 23:17:07
Sorry for the "late" entry, I had to upload it 3 times, as I was taking a screenshot I noticed a debug msg I forgot to turn off.

The bug of the invisible shooter is still there, so live with it until I have time to figure out why... probably just some bad logic on my code.  (laugh) (Fixed)

Anyway, I present you, yet another Battlestar Galactica 78 inspired game.

Over Roger

Story: After the Galactica left the 12 colonies, some humans were left behind. This warrior saw his home be destroyed and the last remain of humanity fly away. Not one to roll over and die, he vows to die fighting  to his last breath... or laser!



Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/dhrp74rh8og2tzi/Over_Roger_v0.5.zip/file

Keep in mind that this is still a prototype, and there's lots more I want to do with it.

- Game provides minutes of shooting entertainment (?). It's a plain shoot them up.
- A dazzling one enemy variation to shoot at!
- Use keyboard or mouse controls (choose on the settings page).
- 1280x720 & 32 bits of vast space (I could swear I've been here before  (wtf) ).
- No requirement of knowledge of the TV series what so ever.

Have fun! :-D

Edit: Fixed the invisible shooter bug, and a fixed some other stuff, plus fined tuned some stuff. Hope it's playable to the end though. (I haven't been able to  reach the end (roll) ).

Nice. This is the one game I'll probably keep playing after the voting is over. But then I'm old school. My first game was a Space Invaders clone.

JackPutter

pell - Thank you so much for playing! I'm very glad you had fun with it and that the characters came across that way to you. Classic British stiff-upper-lip, what-what!

Stupot

#68
Six entries, if I'm not mistaken. Another great turnout. And welcome back Intense Degree. Long time no see.

Here are the entries. Please vote using the poll at the top of the page.








Skyfall
by Slasher
Upducted
by Pell
Midnight Squadron
by JackPutter
The Penthouse
by Intense Degree
Over Roger
by Cassiebsg
Vertigo
by Fernewelten

As always, please let me know if I've missed anything or made any mistakes.

Happy Voting!

Shadow1000

Wow! 6 entries this month, all with great adaptations of the theme. That said, making my voting decision hasn't been this easy since last month's competition   ;)

So, here are my thoughts:

Skyfall by Slasher
Spoiler
This one has Slasher's style all over it! The overall feel, section-by-section things to solve, a couple of good laughs. Good job!
[close]

Upducted by Pell
Spoiler
Good introductory project for learning AGS. I am using Windows and the game ran smoothly.
[close]

Midnight Squadron by JackPutter
Spoiler
Creepy! I enjoyed this interactive story and the colour palate contributed to the mood.
[close]

The Penthouse by Intense Degree
Spoiler
Outstanding entry. It's actually quite rare for such a complete project to be made under such time constraints. From the story to the puzzle to the graphics. A lot of original thinking in here. My favourite part was the puzzles. I was able to solve them on my own yet they were challenging enough to be satisfying as I completed them and the game progressed.

I am blown away that there are multiple endings as well. You better believe I played the ending till I got a perfect score.

If you choose to develop it further, you may consider putting in more sound effects. I realize that when you're under time constraints, decisions have to be made so if this is the only compromise then you did really well.

One thought/observation:
Hebrew is read from right to left. When I did the slider puzzle, I naturally did it in the natural order that one would expect considering the direction of the language. When that didn't work, I had to do the puzzle over in order to complete it which did NOT brighten my day! I'm not criticizing but I do want to express that
[close]


Over Roger by Cassiebsg
Spoiler
How did you know that as a kid, Space Invaders was my favourite video game?? (Ok, I'll admit there weren't many to choose from ;)) Seriously, a space shooter using 21st century graphics and awesome music! Add to it the BSG Theme that Cassie is known for and you have a terrific game!

My only contention is that you only have the one precious ship :( The furthest I got was till wave 3. I wish the game were more forgiving. If you want to extend it when you have a chance, I'd add in more ships and a chance to recover lost ships and you'll have me playing this one all night...:D
[close]

Vertigo by Fernewelten
Spoiler
I think it took about 4 seconds from when the game started that I realized that this entry was made by the author of Jake's Last Journey! Some good puzzles that I will admit took some time to crack, and that maze was freaking unbelievably fun!!  The thinking behind the game was really unique.
[close]

In case you couldn't tell, my vote went to
Spoiler
The Penthouse. Probably the hardest part of game design is designing and building puzzles with the right difficulty to pace the story and this one really nailed that.
[close]

I don't know how the other voters will feel but you get a huge congrats from me, even if I'm your only vote! :D

pell

Quote from: Slasher on Fri 10/04/2020 08:01:30
Skyfall

Tweaked and improved a couple of things...

I played Skyfall last night and today. It has nice graphics, and I like the variety of puzzles. My only problem was that I was stuck for a while until I realized that...
Spoiler
right-clicking on things is necessary to trigger certain events and continue the game.
[close]

pell

Quote from: fernewelten on Fri 01/05/2020 21:03:24
So, I can now proudly present:

Vertigo


Meet Luke, a tiny hermit living in a tall, tall tree. He would have loved to stay in his seclusion, but he must come out of his tree flat to prevent disaster from happening.

Will he manage?
Can you help him save his father?

Standard BASS interface. Get the inventory and main menu either via the "hamburger" icon or by pressing "i".
Download the game here

Have fun playing, and tell me what you think!


Cute story and game. I especially liked the intro animation. My only real problem early in the game was that...
Spoiler
the crowbar graphic was practically indistinguishable from the cracks in the walkway. I think I found it by accidentally clicking on it.
[close]

pell

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Mon 04/05/2020 23:19:52
Upducted by Pell
Spoiler
Good introductory project for learning AGS. I am using Windows and the game ran smoothly.
[close]

Thank you.

Quote

The Penthouse by Intense Degree
Spoiler
Outstanding entry. It's actually quite rare for such a complete project to be made under such time constraints. From the story to the puzzle to the graphics. A lot of original thinking in here. My favourite part was the puzzles. I was able to solve them on my own yet they were challenging enough to be satisfying as I completed them and the game progressed.

I am blown away that there are multiple endings as well. You better believe I played the ending till I got a perfect score.

If you choose to develop it further, you may consider putting in more sound effects. I realize that when you're under time constraints, decisions have to be made so if this is the only compromise then you did really well.

One thought/observation:
Hebrew is read from right to left. When I did the slider puzzle, I naturally did it in the natural order that one would expect considering the direction of the language. When that didn't work, I had to do the puzzle over in order to complete it which did NOT brighten my day! I'm not criticizing but I do want to express that
[close]

Spoiler
The slider puzzle was solvable? Awww. After a while I decided breaking it was supposed to be the solution, so I gave up and broke it.
[close]

Shadow1000

Quote from: pell on Tue 05/05/2020 03:13:47
Quote

The Penthouse by Intense Degree
Spoiler
Outstanding entry. It's actually quite rare for such a complete project to be made under such time constraints. From the story to the puzzle to the graphics. A lot of original thinking in here. My favourite part was the puzzles. I was able to solve them on my own yet they were challenging enough to be satisfying as I completed them and the game progressed.

I am blown away that there are multiple endings as well. You better believe I played the ending till I got a perfect score.

If you choose to develop it further, you may consider putting in more sound effects. I realize that when you're under time constraints, decisions have to be made so if this is the only compromise then you did really well.

One thought/observation:
Hebrew is read from right to left. When I did the slider puzzle, I naturally did it in the natural order that one would expect considering the direction of the language. When that didn't work, I had to do the puzzle over in order to complete it which did NOT brighten my day! I'm not criticizing but I do want to express that
[close]

Spoiler
The slider puzzle was solvable? Awww. After a while I decided breaking it was supposed to be the solution, so I gave up and broke it.
[close]

Spoiler
Theoretically, all slider puzzles are solvable. As I said in my comments, I solved it first from right to left, then left to right. How did you break it? I think that would have been more satisfying :)
[close]

pell

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Tue 05/05/2020 03:54:30
Quote from: pell on Tue 05/05/2020 03:13:47
Quote

The Penthouse by Intense Degree
Spoiler
Outstanding entry. It's actually quite rare for such a complete project to be made under such time constraints. From the story to the puzzle to the graphics. A lot of original thinking in here. My favourite part was the puzzles. I was able to solve them on my own yet they were challenging enough to be satisfying as I completed them and the game progressed.

I am blown away that there are multiple endings as well. You better believe I played the ending till I got a perfect score.

If you choose to develop it further, you may consider putting in more sound effects. I realize that when you're under time constraints, decisions have to be made so if this is the only compromise then you did really well.

One thought/observation:
Hebrew is read from right to left. When I did the slider puzzle, I naturally did it in the natural order that one would expect considering the direction of the language. When that didn't work, I had to do the puzzle over in order to complete it which did NOT brighten my day! I'm not criticizing but I do want to express that
[close]

Spoiler
The slider puzzle was solvable? Awww. After a while I decided breaking it was supposed to be the solution, so I gave up and broke it.
[close]

Spoiler
Theoretically, all slider puzzles are solvable. As I said in my comments, I solved it first from right to left, then left to right. How did you break it? I think that would have been more satisfying :)
[close]

Spoiler
The game provides that alternative if you notice it.
[close]

Shadow1000

Quote from: pell on Tue 05/05/2020 04:09:35
Quote from: Shadow1000 on Tue 05/05/2020 03:54:30
Quote from: pell on Tue 05/05/2020 03:13:47
Quote

The Penthouse by Intense Degree
Spoiler
Outstanding entry. It's actually quite rare for such a complete project to be made under such time constraints. From the story to the puzzle to the graphics. A lot of original thinking in here. My favourite part was the puzzles. I was able to solve them on my own yet they were challenging enough to be satisfying as I completed them and the game progressed.

I am blown away that there are multiple endings as well. You better believe I played the ending till I got a perfect score.

If you choose to develop it further, you may consider putting in more sound effects. I realize that when you're under time constraints, decisions have to be made so if this is the only compromise then you did really well.

One thought/observation:
Hebrew is read from right to left. When I did the slider puzzle, I naturally did it in the natural order that one would expect considering the direction of the language. When that didn't work, I had to do the puzzle over in order to complete it which did NOT brighten my day! I'm not criticizing but I do want to express that
[close]

Spoiler
The slider puzzle was solvable? Awww. After a while I decided breaking it was supposed to be the solution, so I gave up and broke it.
[close]

Spoiler
Theoretically, all slider puzzles are solvable. As I said in my comments, I solved it first from right to left, then left to right. How did you break it? I think that would have been more satisfying :)
[close]

Spoiler
The game provides that alternative if you notice it.
[close]

Indeed it does! I could have saved a few minutes!

Intense Degree

Some short reviews from me:

Skyfall - Slasher

Spoiler
Interesting idea with a happy ending. Several little mini-game style puzzles to complete with enough variety to keep things interesting. The spaceman sprite and feel of 'floating' worked really
well in the first bit I thought.
[close]

Midnight Squadron - JackPutter

Spoiler
I like the look of this game, the 'sepia' sort of colour scheme is a good fit for the subject matter and the tone was set well. An interesting story - felt like it could be part of a much bigger tale and the characters were written in a way that helped set the scene.
[close]

Over Roger - CassieBG

Spoiler
Fun little shooter - and why am I not surprised it's Battlestar Galactica themed?! ;) To be honest I'm rubbish at this sort of game so I'm probably not the best person to judge, but I enjoyed several runs through. Also, is it me or did it get harder in the newer version?
[close]

Upducted

Spoiler
A fun little couple of minutes. The little guy's walking animation makes me smile. Nice little test project. :)
[close]

The Penthouse

Spoiler
Looks like it's been drawn by a 12 year old. Character sprites are bad but walking animations are frankly embarassing. Over-reliance on system interfaces as puzzles. There is an attempt at a story but it doesn't quite hang together.
[close]

Vertigo

Spoiler
Can't stop being impressed by the implementation of the randomly drawn maze sequence. Proof positive that mazes in games aren't always bad. ;-D
[close]

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Mon 04/05/2020 23:19:52
Spoiler
One thought/observation:
Hebrew is read from right to left. When I did the slider puzzle, I naturally did it in the natural order that one would expect considering the direction of the language. When that didn't work, I had to do the puzzle over in order to complete it which did NOT brighten my day! I'm not criticizing but I do want to express that
[close]

Ah man, that was actually the plan from the word go and then I completely forgot about it! It's a solid and constructive criticism, so please feel free to make it. :)

Quote from: pell on Tue 05/05/2020 04:09:35
Spoiler
The game provides that alternative if you notice it.
[close]

Spoiler
Yep. I wanted to code a slider puzzle, partly to check I remembered how to use structs, but they're much more fun to code than to solve in my view, so I gave an alternative for all those who just want to destroy them whenever they see them!
[close]

pell

Quote from: Intense Degree on Tue 05/05/2020 08:58:15
Upducted

Spoiler
A fun little couple of minutes. The little guy's walking animation makes me smile. Nice little test project. :)
[close]

Thank you. The walkcycle animation was my biggest challenge.

QuoteThe Penthouse

Spoiler
Looks like it's been drawn by a 12 year old. Character sprites are bad but walking animations are frankly embarassing. Over-reliance on system interfaces as puzzles. There is an attempt at a story but it doesn't quite hang together.
[close]

I thought the graphics were pretty good.

Quote
Quote from: pell on Tue 05/05/2020 04:09:35
Spoiler
The game provides that alternative if you notice it.
[close]

Spoiler
Yep. I wanted to code a slider puzzle, partly to check I remembered how to use structs, but they're much more fun to code than to solve in my view, so I gave an alternative for all those who just want to destroy them whenever they see them!
[close]

I went back and solved it, so I'm redeemed. :)

JackPutter

I have just finished playing through all of the entries, I think that the quality of entries this month is extremely high! Everyone should be really proud of what they entered, I got a lot of enjoyment out of my time with the games! Here are my thoughts:

Skyfall by Slasher
Spoiler
A very fun space adventure with interesting and varied puzzles. There were nice"Aha!" moments when I realised the solutions to each of the puzzles, which are especially strong in the early section where you have to fix the ship. The overall story surrounding the game's events was a nice touch, and the graphics had a distinct and unique style. One thing that did frustrate me was that sometimes I would work out the solution to a puzzle but I wouldn't be able to actually solve it until I had examined the area involved. (E.g. I tried using the shovel on the gold dust since I figured that's where the gold nuggets would be, but it wouldn't work until I had right-clicked on the gold dust first. Same with flying into the crevice, I knew I had to go down there but I couldn't actually do that until I'd right-clicked on it.) I've now played a handful of games from Slasher and I definitely got the most fun out of this one, I think it's one of his strongest!
[close]

Upducted by pell
Spoiler
What a cute game! I loved the whole aesthetic, it came across to me as a child's picture book come to life. Very simple concept, but effectively executed. There was really only one puzzle, but I thought it was a great one because it did the main thing all good puzzles should do - it made me feel smart when I solved it. There was a slight lack of polish (e.g. starting with inventory items that never need to be used) but knowing that this is the author's first ever game makes those things understandable. This really was a bite-sized treat! I'm looking forward to what pell does next.
[close]

Midnight Squadron by JackPutter
Spoiler
Dialogue-heavy and barely a game. No puzzles to speak of ("use fire extinguisher on fire" is about as complicated as it gets) and the dialogue trees don't actually affect the story in any way. It's like watching a very poorly-animated cartoon that occasionally pauses every two minutes and you have to press play to continue the story. The main character is a wimp. The game is also VERY poorly optimised. A 51MB download? What did the author do, leave a 15-minute music track in the project when they compiled it?
[close]

The Penthouse by Intense Degree
Spoiler
There is a lot in this game that I think is really wonderful! The central concept of erasing evidence is a fantastic hook to drive the plot in an interesting way. The puzzles were imaginative, varied, and challenging-but-not-too-challenging. I really liked the graphical style, the simplistic artwork with great use of perspective is something I found really endearing. The ending was a terrific touch, it instantly made me want to play again to see what I had missed. I am especially impressed by how mature the author has been in certain areas, for instance with the sliding tile puzzle. A lot of developers would be so chuffed that they had managed to code one that they would force the players to solve them, and it took great humility to be willing to toss all that aside and give the player an alternate way to progress. There's only two very small areas that weren't quite to my taste. The first is just general quality-of-life things, such as the text being quite small in relation to everything else and the movement speed being just a little too slow for my liking, but these are things that no doubt result from the short one-month development time and can be forgiven. The other thing that I wasn't fully on board with was the way the main character acted. It's a long tradition in adventure games to have the player character give snarky responses when they examine things, but when Charlotte watched a man DIE in front of her and then proceeded to walk around his house insulting his taste in art and furniture... well it didn't exactly make me root for her. The concept was so good that I played it right through to the end, but more because I wanted to find out if I could successfully cover my tracks as opposed to actually wanting that particular character to succeed. As I said though, these are very minor criticisms, and as a whole I thought this was a really terrific entry!
[close]

Over Roger by Cassiebsg
Spoiler
A really great time-killer for sure, I've loaded it up more than once throughout the day just to see if I can get that little bit farther each time. The music and graphics are great, I particularly LOVED the scrolling backgrounds. I have never seen anything Battlestar Galactica related so I was very glad that I didn't need to know anything about the franchise to enjoy this game! I played it using the mouse controls which were very responsive, though I think I nearly wore out my left mouse button by clicking so much. A function to press and hold the button to shoot would be a lovely feature! An overall criticism would be that there isn't a particularly huge amount of content, but that can be forgiven since (a) this is just a demo, and (b) THIS WAD CODED IN AN ADVENTURE GAME CREATION ENGINE. It boggles my mind how the author managed to code such a smooth and fluid arcade shooter using a programme that is in no way designed for anything remotely close to that. This shows off some lovely mechanics and I would love to see them incorporated into a full game of some description.
[close]

Vertigo by Fernewelten
Spoiler
This game is just dripping character from every frame. I really loved the simple-but-effective plotline, and Luke was a really memorable and likable character. Little moments like the way he pokes his head out of the door before leaving the house really made me smile. The music and art style were both really pretty and suited the story extremely well. On the gameplay front I enjoyed the variety of puzzles and how they came in different forms; there was a maze, some use-inventory-on-object classics, and even a spot-the-hidden-item moment that gave me a giggle when I realised what was going on! (I was particularly impressed to learn the maze is randomly generated, to implement that kind of thing in a game that you only have 30 days to create is very impressive!) My main criticism would be similar to what I said about Slasher's entry, that is I don't particularly like puzzles where I HAVE to examine something before I can use it. I knew that I needed to use a piece of railing and what the correct use for it was, but left-clicking wasn't enough to pick it up. In general though I thought that this was really fun to play, looked and sounded great, and told a lovely story. Top-notch stuff!
[close]

As I said at the beginning, the standard of entries this month has been really high in my opinion, and I think all of the authors deserve praise and congratulations for what they have achieved. It's things like this that make me feel very happy to be part of the AGS community, and even though I haven't been here long it's still obvious that there are many talented and creative folks here.




To quickly respond to a couple of folks who said nice things about my entry:

Shadow1000:
Spoiler
I'm really glad you enjoyed it, the fact you actually called it creepy means an awful lot! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to actually make it scary. I think the way you described it as an "interactive story" is pretty spot-on. I originally had many more puzzles and interactions planned but as the time I had left grew shorter and shorter I had to ditch them one by one until all that remained was the bare-bones story. I'm relieved that the colour choices worked for you! Thank you so much for playing and for giving your feedback.
[close]

Intense Degree:
Spoiler
I'm thrilled that you liked the graphical style and that you thought I established a good tone! Setting a tone is so difficult, I'm very happy you thought I did well there. Similarly I'm chuffed that you thought the story and characters came together, since I couldn't add more puzzles I used the time I had to try and make the characters as interesting as I could. Creating this game gave me lots of ideas for expanding the story, it feels a lot like an "Act I" to me now... there may be more adventures with Fredericks to come!
[close]

Cassiebsg

#79
Thanks for the comments.  :)

Currently there's really only 5 waves, so I decided no extra lives or power ups, or anything. Just a little simple shooter to entertain for a few minutes. I added the time for those that like a challenge, since the points currently are "fixed" (no ships escape, they just start over until you kill the wave completely). In the future I'll probably let them go by... but that needs another level design entirely. ;)

Shadow, I'm also rubbish at this kind of games...  (laugh)

Here's a tip, for those that just want to finish the game (even though the Win game GUI is currently identical to the Game over, expect for the text).
Spoiler

If you quickly shoot the 2 or 3 in the middle, you can then just stay there and wait until they come to you, or you can slowly move to the left, since the ones disappearing on the right will "materialize" on the left.  ;)
[close]

@Intense Degree I did increase the speed of the lasers from 14 to 16, but I think that the raiders are moving at the same speed. +2 on wave 2 and then +1 for each additional wave (this was already set before). Oh, I also added laser alternating  left and right cannons for the viper and raiders (not sure I did this in this last update or on the previous version).

I want to do a lot more levels, different stuff to shoot at (currently adding a Basestar, as the "level's boss"  (laugh) ) and include a story mode (optional) that will run in between levels.

Cheers, now I need to find some time to play all these wonderful games.  :)

There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Tue 05/05/2020 16:19:30

Here's a tip, for those that just want to finish the game (even though the Win game GUI is currently identical to the Game over, expect for the text).
Spoiler

If you quickly shoot the 2 or 3 in the middle, you can then just stay there and wait until they come to you, or you can slowly move to the left, since the ones disappearing on the right will "materialize" on the left.  ;)
[close]

That was essentially my strategy and the only way I got to round 3!

Cassiebsg

Don't be sad, I haven't been past wave 3 either and I coded the damn thing.  (laugh)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: Intense Degree on Tue 05/05/2020 08:58:15
Quote from: Shadow1000 on Mon 04/05/2020 23:19:52
Spoiler
One thought/observation:
Hebrew is read from right to left. When I did the slider puzzle, I naturally did it in the natural order that one would expect considering the direction of the language. When that didn't work, I had to do the puzzle over in order to complete it which did NOT brighten my day! I'm not criticizing but I do want to express that
[close]

Ah man, that was actually the plan from the word go and then I completely forgot about it! It's a solid and constructive criticism, so please feel free to make it. :)


In this case, it's not an easy call.

Spoiler
I was expecting you to rationalize the decision in one of two ways:
- Once converted using the handy-dandy guide (or happening to know Hebrew), they are no longer regarded as Hebrew letters but rather numbers, which indeed are from left to right;
- Although technically correct about the language, the majority of players would not know this. It's not considered proper form to assume that a player knows something that most people don't know without more information. So, it's more practical to create the puzzle for the majority of English-only (or Latin character language-only) players than cater to the 1% who make an assumption, even if correct.
[close]

As such, it was more an observation than criticism.

heltenjon

My thoughts on the entries this month follows.

Skyfall:
Spoiler
I played this a long time before the others, and I remember thinking this one would surely win. I was impressed how a love story was combined with repairing a space station. The puzzles are connected, so I experienced this mostly as a beautiful mood piece. If there is such a thing as modernist romanticism, this is surely it.
[close]

Upducted:
Spoiler
I think the comment about this game feeling like a children's book come to life, hit the nail on the head. Good mood, mooing and a fine first game. I'd like to see it expanded.
[close]

Midnight Squadron:
Spoiler
A scary story which plays like the first part of a larger game. I liked that the exploration was extended by events. There wasn't really much to do - this one is more about following the story, but it's engrossing and suitably dark.Creepy-looking monster!
[close]

The Penthouse:
Spoiler
I actually was stuck here for a while because I hadn't discovered the hall to the south. Oh well. Long game with well-thought-out puzzles and story, multiple solutions and multiple endings, kind of, anyway. The scorecard in the end was impressive and added a lot. I liked the original plot twist about needing to hide the evidence. A gem.
[close]

Over Roger:
Spoiler
Okay, while I seldom will vote for the arcade games, I tend to be drawn to trying them out first. I had fun blasting cylons. The game was a lot more difficult when playing with the keyboard, but once I opted for the mouse, I got the hang of it. Very satisfying to see an end screen in a shooter. I tend not to get that far.
[close]

Vertigo:
Spoiler
I liked the graphic style and the crazy world premise a lot. Could there be more stories from the people living in the treetops, I wonder? A bit of pixel hunting for me, but it didn't hinder my progress. A couple of good puzzles in the bridge scene. Not difficult, but made me feel good when I solved them.
[close]

My vote vent to:
Spoiler
The Penthouse. I spent the most time with this one, and I was never bored. On another day I may have chosen Skyfall because that was the one that most gave me something I wasn't prepared for, in a good way. Solid entries by everyone!
[close]

Slasher

I can't believe how many entries we have had this month.

It's fantastic and we have played some well developed, fun games.. Hats off to everyone  (nod)

It's great to see and I hope more will follow us into the wonderful world of MAG games.....

pell

Quote from: heltenjon on Wed 06/05/2020 13:11:18
My thoughts on the entries this month follows.

Skyfall:
Spoiler
I played this a long time before the others, and I remember thinking this one would surely win. I was impressed how a love story was combined with repairing a space station. The puzzles are connected, so I experienced this mostly as a beautiful mood piece. If there is such a thing as modernist romanticism, this is surely it.
[close]

Upducted:
Spoiler
I think the comment about this game feeling like a children's book come to life, hit the nail on the head. Good mood, mooing and a fine first game. I'd like to see it expanded.
[close]

Midnight Squadron:
Spoiler
A scary story which plays like the first part of a larger game. I liked that the exploration was extended by events. There wasn't really much to do - this one is more about following the story, but it's engrossing and suitably dark.Creepy-looking monster!
[close]

The Penthouse:
Spoiler
I actually was stuck here for a while because I hadn't discovered the hall to the south. Oh well. Long game with well-thought-out puzzles and story, multiple solutions and multiple endings, kind of, anyway. The scorecard in the end was impressive and added a lot. I liked the original plot twist about needing to hide the evidence. A gem.
[close]

Over Roger:
Spoiler
Okay, while I seldom will vote for the arcade games, I tend to be drawn to trying them out first. I had fun blasting cylons. The game was a lot more difficult when playing with the keyboard, but once I opted for the mouse, I got the hang of it. Very satisfying to see an end screen in a shooter. I tend not to get that far.
[close]

Vertigo:
Spoiler
I liked the graphic style and the crazy world premise a lot. Could there be more stories from the people living in the treetops, I wonder? A bit of pixel hunting for me, but it didn't hinder my progress. A couple of good puzzles in the bridge scene. Not difficult, but made me feel good when I solved them.
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My vote vent to:
Spoiler
The Penthouse. I spent the most time with this one, and I was never bored. On another day I may have chosen Skyfall because that was the one that most gave me something I wasn't prepared for, in a good way. Solid entries by everyone!
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Thanks again for the feedback. I don't know if I'll expand the game. But I'm sure I'll reuse the character and/or some of the assets.

Cassiebsg

Skyfall:
Spoiler

I liked the story, not sure about the puzzles... fixing the ship was mostly random try until it *clicked* (except for the pin/password... that made me think for a few seconds.  :) ). Maybe they had some cleaver solution to look somewhere, but they kind of solved them selves without much effort from me. And having to use the mallet to open every port was a bit painful. Sure, one is okay, but all?
I had the same issue with the picking up the gold, knew how but the game didn't "let me".
But I enjoyed the mood and feel of the game.  (nod)
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Upducted:
Spoiler

I was struck for a long time now sure what to do. I did enjoy the puzzle though.  :) And was fun to zap animals up and down.   (laugh)
Good first game. Keep it up.
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Midnight Squadron:
Spoiler

I was so sure I this one would win me. The graphics are awesome, the story is gold and time period is a "favorite" of mine... unfortunately there wasn't much to do than to follow the story. I'm not even sure that choosing another dialog option would have made any difference...
Since I play adventure games more for the puzzles than for the story, I felt somewhat disappointed with the entry... but I'm sure you did it on purpose and you just didn't win 3 times in a row... very noble of you of letting someone else take the trophy this time.  (laugh)
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The Penthouse:
Spoiler

You come back in good form! Just loved everything about this entry, the story, graphics and especially the puzzles. So much to do and explore!  (nod)  I was a bit upset of going around the house of a man, that is is dead in front of me, and going on "my own business"... Giving an alternate solution to the slider puzzle was just brilliant! I don't mind solving them, but was more fun to break it.  (laugh)
I also felt a bit lacking of ambiance, an when I finally managed to get some music, it only worked on that one room. (don't rich guys have speakers installed thru out the house, so they can listen to the music no matter where they are? ;)
I loved the check at the end, that made me go back to the game and redo my steps. (I failed the 1st and last on my first attempt - the 1st was mostly cause the remote was giving me "need remote access" that I thought that was all I could do in there)...

I just got one question: since she failed to take her stuff with her and clean up her fingerprints, and place the stuff, that she should not have, back... I can't see how she thinks she'll get away with it.  (laugh)
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Over Roger:
Spoiler

Not worth my time. It's not even an adventure game!  (laugh)
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Vertigo:
Spoiler

Really lovely game! Luke is great and expressive. The story was great and the puzzles were okay... though I  must admit I had some trouble opening the gate, seeing what was under my nose and then fixing the ladder... and didn't quiet get how I fixed the generator though...  ;)
Very solid entry as well.  (nod)
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My vote vent to:
Spoiler
The Penthouse!  :-D
[close]


But awesome job with the games everyone!  :)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sat 09/05/2020 16:20:08
Skyfall:
Spoiler

I liked the story, not sure about the puzzles... fixing the ship was mostly random try until it *clicked* (except for the pin/password... that made me think for a few seconds.  :) ). Maybe they had some cleaver solution to look somewhere, but they kind of solved them selves without much effort from me. And having to use the mallet to open every port was a bit painful. Sure, one is okay, but all?
I had the same issue with the picking up the gold, knew how but the game didn't "let me".
But I enjoyed the mood and feel of the game.  (nod)
[close]

Same here.
Spoiler
I don't know if there were any clues to the puzzles. One of them I just clicked around and I guess I was lucky. The others I did by testing each permutation. The whole thing took a few minutes.
[close]

JackPutter

Cassiebsg - Thank you so much for your feedback!
Spoiler
I totally understand why you would be disappointed by the lack of puzzles, unfortunately as the deadline approached I ended up dropping pretty much every actual puzzle I had planned because I was running out of time. Ditto about having the dialogue choices affect the story. I made the decision to tell the complete story as much as I could, instead of an incomplete story with a couple of puzzles. The good news is that if/when I revisit this idea, I won't be working to a one-month deadline, so I can spend time putting in puzzles galore!

Also I think it was less a case of me being gracious and breaking my streak on purpose, more that I had a very long string of beginner's luck for the last two months!  :-D

P.S. "The graphics are awesome, the story is gold" is definitely a quote for the box blurb! Thank you so much for such wonderful praise, it is a great encouragement.
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Shadow1000 - With regards to Skyfall, there is one clue to help you when you are repairing the ship at the start...
Spoiler
The right setting for each of the instruments is some variation of Yazz's wedding date. The date is mentioned during the opening cutscene, and I think if you examine Yazz himself in-game he mentions it. (I'm not 100% sure of that, I know I was able to remind myself of the date somehow but I can't remember what I clicked to make the reminder appear.)
[close]

pell

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sat 09/05/2020 16:20:08
Skyfall:


Upducted:
Spoiler

I was struck for a long time now sure what to do. I did enjoy the puzzle though.  :) And was fun to zap animals up and down.   (laugh)
Good first game. Keep it up.
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Can you elaborate on what you were confused about? I was trying to make it understandable without words so anyone could play without needing to know English (or how to read). I intend to make more games with that criteria, so I'd like to know were I'm failing.

Cassiebsg

@pell
Spoillers inside!
Spoiler

I just didn't think of steeping into the pad and then press the down button... cause for some odd reason I though he would walk out of the pad to press the button.  (laugh) Maybe the fact that there's where he walks to when I press the button elsewhere in the room, and his arms being so short.  ;)
[close]
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: JackPutter on Sun 10/05/2020 07:45:48
Shadow1000 - With regards to Skyfall, there is one clue to help you when you are repairing the ship at the start...
Spoiler
The right setting for each of the instruments is some variation of Yazz's wedding date. The date is mentioned during the opening cutscene, and I think if you examine Yazz himself in-game he mentions it. (I'm not 100% sure of that, I know I was able to remind myself of the date somehow but I can't remember what I clicked to make the reminder appear.)
[close]

I see. I played again and you are correct. I don't fault myself for not figuring this out because
Spoiler
while I did figure that the date is the code for the keypad that Yazz created, it doesn't make much sense for it to be related to the amount of chemicals to power a battery or booster switches and so on.
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Oh well

Stupot

Thanks for the votes so far. We have quite a close one, so keep the votes coming.

Ponch

Voted, but it was a tough call. Some really good games this month.

pell

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sun 10/05/2020 10:10:12
@pell
Spoillers inside!
Spoiler

I just didn't think of steeping into the pad and then press the down button... cause for some odd reason I though he would walk out of the pad to press the button.  (laugh) Maybe the fact that there's where he walks to when I press the button elsewhere in the room, and his arms being so short.  ;)
[close]

Thanks. I was a little concerned that could be confusing.

lanchong

Brief reviews

Skyfall:
Spoiler
Sweet story with good puzzles.
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Upducted:
Spoiler
Short but very funny and entertaining.
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Midnight Squadron:
Spoiler
Great graphics and animation once again. I love this kind of interactive story. It's better than watching the telly.
[close]

The Penthouse:
Spoiler
Very interesting game, much longer than your average MAGS game.
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Over Roger:
Spoiler
It looks like a good arcade game but I'm not a good judge for this.
[close]

Vertigo:
Spoiler
I like your unique graphic style and your stories
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My vote vent to:
Spoiler
Vertigo. The Penthouse and Midnight Squadron are good runners-up.
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Stupot

Last few days to vote, chaps and chapesses.

pell

Quote from: lanchong on Thu 21/05/2020 06:32:03

Upducted:
Spoiler
Short but very funny and entertaining.
[close]


Thank you.

Stupot

And the winner of MAGS April is:

‘The Penthouse’ by Intense Degree

What a comeback. Well done ID. I’ll PM you soon about coming up with a topic for June.

Shadow1000

Quote from: Stupot on Tue 26/05/2020 17:57:32
And the winner of MAGS April is:

‘The Penthouse’ by Intense Degree

What a comeback. Well done ID. I’ll PM you soon about coming up with a topic for June.

Big, well-deserved congratulations to Intense Degree. Lots of great entries but this really stood out! Can't wait to see June's topic.

Slasher

Well done The Penthouse by Intense Degree...  (nod)

Fine entry ;)


Intense Degree

Oh wow, thanks guys, and to all who voted. As others have said some great entries this month so well done everyone.

Now i'd better get thinking of a theme...

JackPutter

Gosh, another close result! Congratulations to everyone for their hard work, and well done to Intense Degree for coming out on top! Damn good, bloody good, damn good job!

Tycho Magnetic Anomaly

Well done Intense Degree well deserved!

Also fantastic job to everyone else too,  this was a close one for sure!


I totally forgot about this contest, Intense Degree if you are still interested in that 3 Month Xbox Game Pass for PC, don't hesitate to claim it. Otherwise I can still offer it to roll over onto next months MAGS, though I am not sure how long this key takes to expire, but anyhoo, give me a shout if your still interested , and super well done again everyone!

Tycho Magnetic Anomaly

hi folks, i wasn't sure if anyone was interested in this so i thought to pass it on to someone else as I am not sure how the time limit on theses sorts of keys work and when/if they exprire.
If/when I do come across any more keys I think might be more suitable I will make sure to offer them as incentive/prizes for future mags.

Anyhoo well done , the lot of you!  keep up the fantastic work and dedication!

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