MAGS January: "Aftermath" (Winner Announced)

Atelier · Fri 02/01/2015 13:22:22

Heeeere we go! 4 entries to choose from:

Mess Goblins by Dropped Monocle Games: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=51673.0
All Gone Soon by vertigoaddict: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1882/
A Landlord's Dream by LostTrainDude: https://copy.com/RRXFvM3rF9hIY8JE
Starlit Grave by xil: http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/starlitgrave.zip

Please PM this account with your vote by the 14th February. I must say, the standard is ridiculously high this month!

-

Topic: 'Aftermath'

This month's guidelines were set by Baron and Ponch:

Events can happen in a blink of an eye, but the ramifications afterwards, the fallout, the aftermath, are what make the event important. This month's theme is to depict the consequences of such an event as they play out over the next day, or week, or longer.

The event can be a wild-party typical of New Year's Eve (and the aftermath would be the hangover the next day), or a bomb strike (the fallout being the carnage or destruction wrought), or a romantic rendezvous (the consequences being the quintuplets born nine months later), or a workplace accident, etc. Think of the typical season finale of Game of Thrones, which deals with the responses to the great event of the penultimate episode, or the second half of the fourth season of The Walking Dead.

The event can be whatever you choose, but it should not itself be the focus of the game (it can be depicted minimally, for example as an intro, or sporadically through flashbacks, etc.). The main emphasis of the game should be on the fallout after the event.

Ending 31st January

__________________________________________________________________________________________

What is MAGS?

MAGS is a monthly competition for amateur adventure game makers. The idea is to create a game in under a month, following the rules set by the previous winner. It aims to help you work to a deadline, improve your skills, or provide a kick-start into making adventure games. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favorite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you have bad art skills, use it as a chance to do some graphic work. If you're sub-standard at coding, use it as a chance to give scripting a go. Ultimately, people will vote for the most enjoyable entry.

You may get help for the competition, although you must end up doing something yourself. You should however be warned that it proves difficult to organize a big team within thirty days. You are not allowed to use material already created before this competition. Your game must be completely new! Music and sound is an exception; you can use free material that is available to the public, if you wish. Modules and templates are also allowed.

Entering MAGS is simple. First, conceptualise your game following the month's criteria (see top). Second, create your game fueled only by coffee. Finally, post your game in this thread, including:

Ã¢Å"â€œ A working download link
Ã¢Å"â€œ The title of your game
Ã¢Å"â€œ A suitable in-game screenshot

At the end of the month, voting will begin, usually lasting for fifteen days. The winner chooses the next month's theme, and their name and game is immortalised in the MAGS Archive. For more information, please visit the Official MAGS website.

LostTrainDude · Mon 05/01/2015 15:39:04

I'll be bold this time and publicly ask for someone to work with

I don't have many ideas in this moment (though I have a couple), but I'd like not to deal with everything myself for a change

, so I'm pushing myself forward.

Just for the sake of information: I think I can handle music, sound effects and "intermediate" programming (if I have to learn something new, I'm most of the time able to do so, with the proper amount of time) and overall design more than graphics that are still hard for me to get to a nice level of polish and quality without a huge amount of frustration

.

I think\hope I'll come up with something no matter if I'm alone or not, but I'd really like to work with someone else if there's the chance!

Stupot · Mon 05/01/2015 16:24:52

I'm going to make a game about a bunch of kids and what they get up to when their algebra class finished.

vertigoaddict · Tue 06/01/2015 12:04:27

I think I might give this one a shot, do something more story based. I've become so rusty with AGS, this should oil the gears.

Stupot · Tue 06/01/2015 13:06:33

Long time no see, VA. Happy New year

It's a tempting theme indeed and I've been throwing around some ideas, but realistically I don't think I'll have the time.

Ponch · Sat 17/01/2015 07:08:11

Halfway through the month. Hoping to see some screenshots in this thread soon.

Dropped Monocle Games · Sat 17/01/2015 12:16:48

Well Ponch, ask and you shall receive.. was going to keep this one under a sheet till we finished but I'm hoping sharing this will get others to share on this months MAGS

Atavismus · Sat 17/01/2015 23:28:33

Maybe pixelincognito and me should enter with a game named Bowl of Dust

More seriously, great theme!
Good luck people!

CaptainD · Sat 17/01/2015 23:49:35

Sox - that looks terrific!

Mandle · Mon 19/01/2015 02:35:29

MESS GOBLINS!!! Now we know who to blame!!! I can finally convince all my work-mates that it's not my fault!!!

This game looks seriously charming! Loving their clothes made out of garbage scraps! Adorable! Where can we buy the plushies? Me wantie!

Myinah · Mon 19/01/2015 14:06:25

Sox is a dab hand at needle felting and I have made Woo into a plushie before so a Mess Goblins toy is within the realms of possibility! We at Dropped Monocle love us some plushies!

Nag Sox to share his needle felt goblin in the forums because it is epic! And I really want him to make a mess goblins one too because I think his design is so cute and was exactly what I had in my head when I wrote it.

Ponch · Mon 19/01/2015 17:27:59

Sweet! More entries! MOAR!

LostTrainDude · Thu 29/01/2015 00:19:59

I know it's not Screenshot Saturday, but still...

This is to say that me, Kastchey and CaptainD are working of something

Actually, the art you see is entirely by Kastchey: as far as you know he may be the only one working on this game

.

Anyway, we plan to release it on time and maybe use it as a starting point for something else!
Still... If Ponch is pleased by this screenshot, is there any chance of an extension?

Also, looking forward to play Mess Goblins! Seems awesome!

Dropped Monocle Games · Fri 30/01/2015 00:15:52

Ooooooo looking good, I'm happy to see someone else taking part in this MAGS, was worried we would be the only ones!

Quote from: LostTrainDude on Thu 29/01/2015 00:19:59
Still... If Ponch is pleased by this screenshot, is there any chance of an extension?

We are very close to being finished, but a little extra time for polish is never a bad thing, so I wouldn't mind if an extension happened myself

Ponch · Fri 30/01/2015 00:29:43

Quote from: Soxbrooker on Fri 30/01/2015 00:15:52
Quote from: LostTrainDude on Thu 29/01/2015 00:19:59
Still... If Ponch is pleased by this screenshot, is there any chance of an extension?
We are very close to being finished, but a little extra time for polish is never a bad thing, so I wouldn't mind if an extension happened myself

Ponch is pleased with these screenshots. Send word to Atelier to extend the deadline a few days (once he's sobered up, of course).

Actually, it's not up to me. This would require joint approval by Atelier, Baron, and myself (with Atelier's vote being the only one that isn't purely symbolic). But I think a 48 hour extension would be reasonable. We all lost a few days at the start of the month from celebrating New Years, right?

vertigoaddict · Fri 30/01/2015 06:34:14

An extension would be awesome! I don't want to be "that guy" who makes excuses but... I did get pretty ill for the most part of January (lost my voice for a while and I really wanted to show off what I could do with my throat), there were days I couldn't be bothered to do anything.

My game is barely a game now, I decided to cut out the actual adventuring >_>; It's more of an interactive short movie really.

Screenie:

Everyone else's games look awesome btw!

Myinah · Fri 30/01/2015 15:48:37

You aren't the only one. I have IBD and caught the norovirus which has really knocked me back and I've been struggling for the past couple of weeks. A 48 hour extension would make things easier at Dropped Monocle HQ. Poor Sox has been doing much of the polishing solo and ideally we need to get it tested this weekend just to make sure we haven't missed any major bugs.

xil · Sat 31/01/2015 21:15:49

Do we have any official confirmation on whether this deadline has been extended? I started my game rather late (about a week ago

) so the extra 2 days would be awesome!

Atelier · Sun 01/02/2015 00:17:10

Yes of course, everybody consider the end of 2nd Feb to be the new deadline!

Baron · Sun 01/02/2015 01:36:20

I symbolically affirm what Atelier, the guy with all the real power, has already dictated. If AGS were a constitutional monarchy, I'd be the Queen....

Nice looking prospective entries, btw!

selmiak · Sun 01/02/2015 13:28:05

ohnoes, waiting one more day for all this great new mags games will kill me...
btw, what's the february mags theme?

Dropped Monocle Games · Mon 02/02/2015 00:48:00

Is finished and ready to be played!

Completed Games Thread

That was pretty hard going... I don't think I have left my computer desk much the whole month, can't wait to see the other games

vertigoaddict · Mon 02/02/2015 15:54:52

Got it in, in time.
I feel so...tired, I think I'ma sleep till September.

Submitted for the approval of the AGS Community, I present to you...

All Gone Soon

Giles and Niel have been separated for months, is it really the end? Or do they still have a chance at love?

Download here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1882/

LostTrainDude · Tue 03/02/2015 00:06:02

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/TMDAd30.png]http://i.imgur.com/c3eb0LF.png[/imgzoom]
A LANDLORD'S DREAM
Brought to you by LostTrainDude and Kastchey, with some additional help from CaptainD!

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

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

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

Baron · Tue 03/02/2015 01:58:13

Holy avalanche of entries, Batman!

Based on the screenies these are some serious entries. Not like that fluff that Ponch & I won with in November....

Look forward to playing!

Stupot · Tue 03/02/2015 02:03:11

Blimey. Another healthy looking MAGS line-up.
Well done folks.

xil · Tue 03/02/2015 02:42:52

Apologies for posting late. I bit off more than I could chew for starting so late!

___________________________________________

[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/starlitgrave1.png[/imgzoom]

Starlit Grave is a very short intro to a game set on a space ship based around the theme: Aftermath.
I had recently come back to game making and the January MAGS theme really inspired me.
However, I started about 3 weeks late, so what I have so far is not exactly everything I wanted to get done.

DOWNLOAD Starlit Grave Alpha 0.2

[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/starlitgrave2.png[/imgzoom]

My main aims were as follows:

To use a very low resolution using the new AGS build.
To have a no voice acting RPG-esque speech style.
To to try to design a 1-click or 'tap' interface that could be used universally (PCs, phones, tablets etc).

[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/starlitgrave3.png[/imgzoom]

DOWNLOAD Starlit Grave Alpha 0.2

LostTrainDude · Thu 05/02/2015 20:54:41

Since it has no official thread (if so I'll delete this!), I really enjoyed the (unfortunately short) Starlit Grave experience!
Loved the pacing and your use of pixel art. I also found your GUIs to interesting (yet a bit "clunky" sometimes - My fault for being too much used to a "Right Mouse Button = Examine" way of thinking, anyway).

I can't wait to see where this goes, so please keep us updated!

MAGS Host · Thu 05/02/2015 23:02:56

Heeeere we go! 4 entries to choose from:

Mess Goblins by Dropped Monocle Games: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=51673.0
All Gone Soon by vertigoaddict: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1882/
A Landlord's Dream by LostTrainDude: https://copy.com/RRXFvM3rF9hIY8JE
Starlit Grave by xil: http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/starlitgrave.zip

Please PM this account with your vote by the 14th February. I must say, the standard is ridiculously high this month!

HanaIndiana · Sat 07/02/2015 23:26:14

Just finished playing all the entries, and they are ALL so good!

All Gone Soon - Lacking in puzzles, but the story and art were nice. And adding voice to a MAGS entry I know is tough to do, very cool.
Mess Goblins - Hilarious, great mix of puzzles, and a fun story! I love it when people create all new creatures, complete with back story.
A Landlord's Dream - I couldn't figure out how to create an emergency, but I'm guessing there's more.

Wow, just wow. Kudos for creating such an immersive
story, without burying me in paragraphs of dialog. You make it look easy. I hope this one is 'to be continued'.
Starlit Grave - Ditto here. A true adventure, with some great puzzles, and an interesting story.

This is some serious talent

Voice acting, great graphics, animations, inventive stories, geez...
I love it!

Mandle · Sun 08/02/2015 04:10:13

I just finished playing the last of the entries, and WOW it's hard to decide on voting order: The level of all entries is just so high this month!

I'm going to have to go with Mess Goblins for my #1 vote though as it is a complete game of a good length, and is also charming, funny, and looks just beautiful.

For #2 I'm going to choose All Gone Soon as it really stuck in my mind storywise, and also I got some genuine laughs out of the funny parts, and felt genuinely sorry for the characters during the sadder bits. The bonus material also provided a great insight into themes that lie just beneath the surface of a deceptively simple-looking story.

My #3 slot goes to Starlit Grave for its awesome retro graphics and slick animation and all around look and feel. The music is awesome too!

A Landlord's Dream was a great glimpse at what looks like a much bigger story and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what that story turns out to be.

Baron · Thu 12/02/2015 02:32:42

Voted. Man, that was hard. All the entries really glowed in their own way, in that they were by far and away better than what Ponch and I were able to cobble together last November.

I feel bad that you all can't win: try to disperse your entries more next time!

All Gone Soon might have suffered from a lack of actual game play, but the story line was very well-written, the voice acting superb, and the humour outright hilarious. Bonus points for Neil mimicking Gile's accent in mockery, Audrey Hepburn with a Penis, and the sarcastic "Shouldn't you be transitioning to the game-over screen now?" ending.

A Landlord's Dream did an amazingly atmospheric job of slowly introducing the player to a futuristic dystopia. The dialogues were snappy, and the background art jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The puzzles were logical (if a bit outlandish in terms of the cat...

), and the animation solid (especially the fish and the fixer). Such a large concept obviously begs a larger game, but I thought you guys did a phenomenal job given the timeline restraints. Awesome!

Starlit Grave was a very intense experience. The music really made it work! I loved the low res-art and animations, and the puzzles were logical (though short). I felt a little overwhelmed by the sudden introduction of so many characters at the beginning, but otherwise the plot was solid. The interface was a complicating factor for me, but it certainly gave the game that old-school vibe. Nice work!

Mess Goblins was icky-sticky cute. The world, the back-story, and the dialogues that revealed it were all wonderfully executed. The puzzles all had an inspired insight into the minds of the slovenly (luckily I share this wavelength

). But all of this pales in comparison to the blinding light of the animation. I think my jaw shattered into a thousand pieces when it hit the floor: it is INSANE that you were able to pull all that off in a month (among all the other tasks necessary to assemble a functional game). Wow!

Good work all around, and I hope to see more from all the developers and teams, either expanding upon the work above or in other projects!

Ponch · Sun 15/02/2015 05:17:19

Whew! I wasn't sure I'd get these played before voting closed but I squeaked across the line!

All the games were great and I'm thrilled there was such a nice turnout. It's hard to choose who I'm going to vote for, but I'm PMing in my ballot tonight.

Thanks for a fun batch of games, everyone.

MAGS Host · Mon 16/02/2015 23:27:39

Results time peeps, and we have an overwhelming winner!

All Gone Soon - 1 vote
Landlord's Dream - 2 votes
Mess Goblins - 7 votes

Congrats Dropped Monocle! Thank you to everybody for a very 'meaty' month.

CaptainD · Tue 17/02/2015 00:00:45

Well done Dropped Monacle Games!

Ponch · Tue 17/02/2015 00:16:49

Congrats to Dropped Monocle. And thanks to everyone who entered this month!

Myinah · Tue 17/02/2015 00:50:08

Thank you so much for voting for us! It was a really amazing month and we were so impressed with the work everyone put in! I felt terrible for most of MAGS, as I contracted the Norovirus, so this is really awesome and makes the days I stared at the computer screen blankly feeling like crap wondering why I let Sox talk me into this again all worth it lol.

But seriously thank you. It means a lot

LostTrainDude · Tue 17/02/2015 08:04:38

Congratulations to Dropped Monocle! You rule!

Now a bunch of Mess Goblins will take over the forums, I just know that

vertigoaddict · Tue 17/02/2015 08:46:30

Ditto what he ^ said, after playing Mess Goblins, I can never watch "Hoarders" the same way ever again XD

xil · Tue 17/02/2015 12:09:47

Congrats Dropped Monocle, very worthy winners indeed.