MAGS April: "Time" (CLOSED)

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

If I am not mistaken, this might also be the first AGS game to feature achievements! Correct me if I am mistaken!

You are .
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=1318  


Playing the games now, concurrence is rather buggy (the platform edges in particular) but quite impressive so far.  Also it needs a readme with all the controls and such.  If you want to make it work a bit better, have the character stagger back once when against a cliff (when walking).  This was used in Fade to Black to great effect so you could get as close as possible to an edge for a timed jump, etc.  Also, making the collision area actually line up with the platforms is a good idea, since 90% of the time you'd fall off with a good 2 bodies wide worth of ground left beneath.


Essence:  Pretty cool!  I'd like to see this expanded so this event takes place some time later in the game, with the rest of the game having Commando or Ikari Warriors style control.  The music in particular was very retro-delicious.  My only issue with it is the controls could be more responsive and his vertical movement speed should match his horizontal with perhaps 8-way movement added for great justice.  Very nice!

Lurking Horror:  As a huge fan of Phantasm, I can't fault the story, though for some people it will seem pretty surreal and confusing in this condensed form.  I'd really like you to officially slap on the Phantasm title and do an actual, faithful translation of it from the film.  It would be awesome to see the balls of pain flying again.

City of Thieves:  Pretty neat!  The lockpick sequence is a bit fiddly because when it first starts it's easy for it to pop off and fail until you figure out what's going on, but the mechanics are good and it's a good framework for a larger game.

RunAway:  It's difficult for me to say much about this as it feels like more of a framework for a game than a game right now.  I'd like to see it after more time has been spent on an actual story and gameplay model.

15 Minutes:  Simple, yet funny.

OSD 3D:  Not sure what to say, really.  The battle is rather confusing and one-sided, the '3d' effect isn't particularly functional or compelling.  Basically I'm just not sure what's going on or if this is even a game.

[arj0n]

MAGS April 2011 pack (7 games): direct download

[Icey]

I think I can make it 8. All I have to do is finish this game soon.

[Bulbapuck]

@Arj0n
I figured that part out :p
The problem is that I don't know how. I tried every single key.

[arj0n]

@Arj0n
I figured that part out :p
The problem is that I don't know how. I tried every single key.

Spoiler

tab and spacebar while in front of the vines, can't remember if you need to duck. But you probably figured that already out too by now :-)

[close]

[AnalogGuy]

In Concurrence, press esc and you will see the info for controls. 

[Matti]

Run Away:
I couldn't get far, I'm constantly getting stuck behind trees or houses and there seems to be a bug with shooting the bazooka upwards (the nine fields include the one I'm standing on and it's game over).
Will give this another try once I understood the controls properly.

I didn't have the time to improve the environment/item randomizer any further, so if you got bad luck, you'll get stuck early on despite good planning. But you should really aim for using your items as infrequently as possible.

I haven't encountered a bug with shooting the bzaooka upwards, but there seems to be a problem with shooting both the pistol or the bazooka two tiles to the left. I'll look into it and may upload a new version asap.

RunAway:  It's difficult for me to say much about this as it feels like more of a framework for a game than a game right now.  I'd like to see it after more time has been spent on an actual story and gameplay model.

True, that's why I don't submit it to the game database or post it in the games forum. I DO have quite a few ideas about what could be improved and enhanced, so I'll probably update the game later on, but I'm not sure if I can find the time anytime soon. But I really wanted to get it out for this MAGS  


I haven't played all the games yet, but these are some nice entries. Essence is hard but rather cool. Too bad you aren't going to expand it. 15 Minutes was easy but fun (as the others mentioned). As I'm a huge Another World fan I really like Concurrence and I don't have any problems with the controls (they're quite similar to AW).

[mode7]

ok I'm back from my boozing spree:

@Khris: you can perform a standing jump by pushing shift+up
Sorry the movements aren't documented better (you can hit esc though) the full version will feature a context driven tutorial

@ProgZmax: Thanks for your comments. The stagger thing is a excellent idea. Its on my  list already.  Its true that the painted bg doesnt always match up that good with the grid based level design. I will try to improve this and make some tweaks here and there.
I don't see how the game is buggy apart from that. Could you be more precise.

@Everyone else: Thanks for your lovely comments. The timelimit for the door is a little too tight. I might expand it.

I completely forgot to emphasize that a lot of credit for the games dense atmosphere goes to ptp88 (Analog Guy) and his awesome music and sound effects. Thank you buddy and sorry for not mentioning earlier.

[Atelier]

I think I can make it 8. All I have to do is finish this game soon.

I'm confused now. Would you like me to include your game? You can't have two entries.

[Atelier]

Woop woop.

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

The Lurking Horror by Diath
RunAway by Matti
Of the Essence by Wham
OSD 3D by Studio3
Concurrence by mode7
City of Thieves: Rescue Sandy by Rocco
15 Minutes by hedgefield

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

[Khris]

Voting doesn't work for me.

@mode7:

Spoiler

I'm at the blast door, however I can't do anything. I picked up the rod and still have the shard in my inventory but I can't use them anywhere and I can only look at the console.

[close]

I'm probably again missing something obvious, the jump I couldn't figure out was explained right there in the pause menu, stupid me

[mode7]

Voting doesn't work for me.

@mode7:

Spoiler

I'm at the blast door, however I can't do anything. I picked up the rod and still have the shard in my inventory but I can't use them anywhere and I can only look at the console.

[close]

I'm probably again missing something obvious, the jump I couldn't figure out was explained right there in the pause menu, stupid me

Hint 1

Spoiler

You are missing an item..maybe some back tracking might help you..

[close]

Hint 2

Spoiler

You still havent discovered all locations

[close]

Solution

Spoiler

You can use the rod at the wall in the cave

[close]

[Rocco]

Final and proofreaded Version (City of Thieves) is now online.
link is the same as before -> http://www.maniac-mansion-mania.de/downloads/AGS/CityofThieves_RescueSandy.zip

Spoiler

Just finished it, is it possible to get the 20,000? I'm pretty sure I got all the money out of both locations.

[close]

Yes it is possible, so i guess you missed something, but its very close. Total money ammount is around 20900.

Spoiler

I felt actual tension when the police showed up during the second burglary

[close]

This is the best comment for me,  cause my biggest fear was that you cant feel the tension, and without that the whole game wouldnt work. 
(And i started to implement the police on monday this week.)

MAGS April 2011 pack (7 games): direct download

Arj0n: Please can you alter the zip pack with the updated version from City of Thieves?

So i guess i have time tonight, to look at the other entries. 

[Atelier]

Cheers Khris, works now.

[arj0n]

Arj0n: Please can you alter the zip pack with the updated version from City of Thieves?
So i guess i have time tonight, to look at the other entries.  

MAGS April 2011 pack (7 games): direct download

Pack contains:
The Lurking Horror by Diath
RunAway by Matti
Of the Essence by Wham
OSD 3D by Studio3
Concurrence v1.1 by mode7
City of Thieves: Rescue Sandy v1.1 by Rocco
15 Minutes by hedgefield

[Bulbapuck]

@Arj0n:
I hadn't, thank you 

[WHAM]

I have now decided who to vote for.
Also: my two cents on each of the games (in no particular order).

The thing Studio 3 made
> Meh. Too complicated for me, I couldn't grasp the intricate battle system in place here
> Great story, though!

15minutes
> I like the idea here, very goddamn much! Yesss! I will have to invest more time to this game.
> I got the game to bug out quite badly within the first minute =( Seems a little unfinished, or perhaps just lack of testing
> Funny as heck!
> I blew it =(

concurrence
> So it's prince of persia / another world. I sucked at all these games, and this was no exeption. I got stuck, and eventually got frustrated after dying a gajillion times. Haven't finished so far, might keep trying. =(
> Still, the little bit of the game I got to see was pretty as heck! Really lovely art
> Buggy and unfinished, though I would love to see the final version. With a bit of polish this game could be really awesome

RunAway
> An interesting idea, but hampered by crude control scheme and uninformative graphics. I hope you will keep developing this one in the future, though. There is a good idea here.

Lurking Horror
> Good atmosphere and the quality of animation earns you back all the points you might have
lost due to simple character sprites, and you still end up in the green!
> I've gotten into creepy stuff like this lately, and I have to admit I loved the theme. Needs more creepy tall people! =)

City of Thieves
> Not a fan of 3D models turned into sprites, although this is one of the better ones
> Mouse control is less than ideal for this type of game, keyboard control would have given
much more feel of urgency and preciseness to the game (see Yahtzee's Art of Theft)
> GUI seems to function a bit strangely. The buttons don't all seem to react the same way
> I have to reduce points for lack of manual and use of music from a Troika game (that music is holy! Using it anywhere else than the original game is sacrilege!)

[Diath]

Here are my thoughts on the games

15 minutes:
This game has a nice mix of humor and game play. Without giving away anything, I really liked the last puzzle and how it all operated.


concurrence:
I didn't have any trouble at all figuring the controls out. I completed the game and would like to say you should defiantly expand on this because you have something really good going here.


In essence:
The only downside I really have to say about this game is that it seemed like punishment when you died because you couldent skip the intro  otherwise this is another game that has promise and should get expanded on!

OSD:
There isn't a whole lot to say that others already havent.


City Of Thieves:
The mini games took me a minute or two to figure out what in the world was going on but when I did I was very impressed on how it worked! The 3d characters are not really my thing but this is another one of those games that should be expanded upon!


RunAway:
This was a fun little game. Add some flashy animations and a little user friendly controls and you got yourself a pretty unique AGS game!

Lurking horror
Since this was the game I made I'm not going to say a whole lot about it. I would actually like to do a full length game with Phantasm but I would fear I would not be able to give it the best presentation nor the care it rightfully deserves. I will discuss it with my artist but we have a much larger and less borrowed element game planned 

[OVER ALL]
This was really tough competition and very strong entries! It was really hard to vote

[hedgefield]

I got the game to bug out quite badly within the first minute =( Seems a little unfinished, or perhaps just lack of testing

Send me a PM with the details, I thought I squished all gamebreakers! Thanks for the kind words though, glad you liked it

I don't follow MAGS that closely in general but this does seem like a strong and bountiful edition. So many interesting games! Haven't had time to check them all out yet, will do so in the next few days. Great job everyone.

[Armageddon]

Here's what I think, I don't know if I can vote if I didn't play them all though.

15 minutes:
This game was GREAT the art style was cool, the puzzles were perfect I had a blast and defiantly would like to see some more Jack Brewer games. The animations were perfect though, very smooth and clean.

concurrence:
This game looks great as anyone can tell, I couldn't beat it sadly because the controls didn't always work and I could never get past those two pillars. This was enjoyable but far too hard.

City Of Thieves:
This game was an absolute joy to play, not only was it fun and very solid, it was the first 3D rendered AGS game that didn't look terrible. I loved racing around and stealing money, the only tool that was hard for me to figure out was the alarm deactivation it wasn't very clean and I ended up losing the game when it went off. I also loved the walk animation and sound it just fit.

Lurking horror
I've been meaning to play this but haven't had the time, I'll update this when I play it.

There were a ton of great entries in this contest and I can't wait for the next one.