MAGS January “Trippy” (RESULT)

cat · Sat 03/02/2024 20:44:27

Apfelmännchen
(literally "little apple man", a German name for the Mandelbrot set)

Did you drink from your Klein bottle again? How else did you end up as Apfelmännchen in a world full of mathematical references? But now that you are here, you can just as well take over the world.

The idea for this game stems from a childhood memory. When I was little, my father had a software on our i386 that could draw Mandelbrot sets with colorful patterns around the black figure. I had no idea what this actually was about (and I still don't fully understand it now), but I loved to watch that pattern animating with some kind of palette rotation. The MAGS theme reminded me of this.

The graphics were heavily inspired by @newwaveburritos work. I've never worked in EGA palette before but it was fun.

What started out as a joke turned into a short adventure game and I'm quite pleased with the result. I know, this game is probably not for everyone, but I hope at least some people will find enjoyment in it.

~~Sorry, having trouble with my AntiVirus - download is currently broken!~~ Download fixed!

CaptainD · Sat 03/02/2024 21:08:15

Just played it - download link was broken at first but okay when I tried it again - made me smile, prods at the old obsession with fractals I had as a kid!

The ending made me laugh even though I saw it coming. Nice one!

Favourite joke:

Spoiler

I only extract the root of -1.

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newwaveburritos · Sun 04/02/2024 19:11:21

Aw jeez wow! I'm totally flattered. I'll have to give it a try since it looks totally wild!

The Great Underground Empire · Sun 04/02/2024 21:49:18

@jwalt Aw man, I'm sorry, I finally got time to play everyone's entries and not sure if I found a game breaker:

Spoiler

No inventory items will appear in your inventory GUI except the charge card. I got everything from the store, got mushroom, and still can't see anything but the card. I tried clicking the air fryer in case the interaction would still work to make the DoorDash order, but he says I'm still missing ingredients.
I tried going back to the broccoli and can't take either one of them, so maybe no inventory is stopping me from using something on them? Otherwise I was really enjoying it and rocking out to the music!

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The Great Underground Empire · Sun 04/02/2024 22:27:12

Super fun entries, everyone! Well done all around and it was really hard to pick one to vote for, mainly because I still feel like I'm tripping.

Here are my thoughts:

Trippy:

Spoiler

Really liked the characters and music, great vibe to it all. The mushrooms were very Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.

Unfortunately, like my previous comment said, I think it has a game-breaking bug so I wasn't able to complete it.

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A Doll in a Dream:

Spoiler

Absolutely gorgeous graphics, great premise and dialogue. I always love stories about toys protecting children. I also thought the tree and grave puzzles were very clever.

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Apfelmännchen:

Spoiler

This one got my vote just for sheer creativity and chaos-related humor (I've thought many times in real life that vegetable looks like a fractal pattern

). I loved that the main character was a Mandelbrot set, and the puzzles made me giggle. Only question I had was that music didn't play until the very end when the butterfly flew off, was that intentional?

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jwalt · Sun 04/02/2024 22:32:14

Quote from: The Great Underground Empire on Sun 04/02/2024 21:49:18@jwalt Aw man, I'm sorry, I finally got time to play everyone's entries and not sure if I found a game breaker:

Spoiler
No inventory items will appear in your inventory GUI except the charge card. I got everything from the store, got mushroom, and still can't see anything but the card. I tried clicking the air fryer in case the interaction would still work to make the DoorDash order, but he says I'm still missing ingredients.
I tried going back to the broccoli and can't take either one of them, so maybe no inventory is stopping me from using something on them? Otherwise I was really enjoying it and rocking out to the music!
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I was inconsistent on the inventory, so my bad. I let the game manage the ingredient portion.

Spoiler

You obviously found the ship's model, or you couldn't get to the air fryer. Did you find the first cookbook in the library? That should open up a dialogue tree with the broccoli when Davy leaves the library. It sounds like that may be what went missing?

Edit: Did you encounter the YMCA gag? It was part of the interaction with the broccoli.

I was pretty lucky with the music I found. I enjoyed it myself.

I did dump a couple inventory items into the ship's inventory, for use if you chose that path.

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The Great Underground Empire · Mon 05/02/2024 01:19:26

@jwalt

Spoiler

Ohhh, whoops! I didn't find the cookbook. I even carefully ran the mouse back and forth over all the shelves to make sure I wasn't missing something, tried walking upstairs, and tried walking through what looked like a door in the back/ground level without success.

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Sorry about that, I'll give it another go!

cat · Mon 05/02/2024 08:11:00

Thanks for the lovely comments so far! I'm really happy that you liked it, I thought it might be a bit too obscure.

Yesterday I needed a good night's sleep after all the long evenings I worked on the game. But I look forward to playing the other games tonight.

Quote from: The Great Underground Empire on Sun 04/02/2024 22:27:12Only question I had was that music didn't play until the very end when [...], was that intentional?

No, there should be music. It plays directly from the start screen. I just downloaded the game again to make sure it works and it does for me on my work PC. Did you hear the rain sound effect? Did anyone else have a silent game?

heltenjon · Mon 05/02/2024 08:50:15

Quote from: jwalt on Fri 19/01/2024 22:30:40Game has two specific endings, but one of the endings has enough of a "flaw" that it would probably qualify as a third ending.

D'oh! Redownloading!

CaptainD · Mon 05/02/2024 09:46:36

Quote from: cat on Mon 05/02/2024 08:11:00I thought it might be a bit too obscure.

For a normal audience it probably would be, but not for us!

Quote from: The Great Underground Empire on Sun 04/02/2024 22:27:12Only question I had was that music didn't play until the very end when [...], was that intentional?

No, there should be music. It plays directly from the start screen. I just downloaded the game again to make sure it works and it does for me on my work PC. Did you hear the rain sound effect? Did anyone else have a silent game?
[/quote]

Music and sound played fine for me.

jwalt · Mon 05/02/2024 14:52:02

Quote from: heltenjon on Mon 05/02/2024 08:50:15
Quote from: jwalt on Fri 19/01/2024 22:30:40Game has two specific endings, but one of the endings has enough of a "flaw" that it would probably qualify as a third ending.
D'oh! Redownloading!

Probably not worth the effort, unless you're into getting away with murder; it has the same ending, more or less.

Stupot · Mon 05/02/2024 15:12:00

Thanks for the entries, everyone. I'll set the voting up soon. In the new time, get playing.

cat · Mon 05/02/2024 20:34:25

I played both games

Trippy

Spoiler

I love that this game also features a variant of broccoli

It is trippy indeed, and for an alternative world, the backgrounds and graphics were fitting. Fun characters and dialogs, but I was not able to interact with Ponch or his island.
It felt a bit unpolished and the virtual vs. on-screen inventory thing was confusing.
Which game is the first in the series with the orbs?

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A Doll in a Dream

Spoiler

Wonderful graphics and animations. The atmosphere and immersion were great, really scary at the end.

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jwalt · Mon 05/02/2024 21:50:35

Quote from: cat on Mon 05/02/2024 20:34:25I played both games

Trippy
Spoiler
I love that this game also features a variant of broccoli It is trippy indeed, and for an alternative world, the backgrounds and graphics were fitting. Fun characters and dialogs, but I was not able to interact with Ponch or his island.
It felt a bit unpolished and the virtual vs. on-screen inventory thing was confusing.
Which game is the first in the series with the orbs?
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Thanks for the comments.

Spoiler

You have to have a murderous inclination to deal with Ponch.

Yahtzee has the needed ilems, and, when acquired, they transfer to the ship's inventory.

Regarding inventory, my apologies. I'm still figuring out portions of that feature. I'm using it more in what I'm working on for this month's Forest MAGS.

Regarding the orbs, I started using them in the Wagu game, but the intent was to incorporate Roger's Room from the BASS template. Wagu left Josh and Davy stranded. I let them explore an alternate Reality in the Dec MAGS game. Followed that up with Trippy, and continuing with the Forest MAGS. Not sure where I'm headed with it.

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heltenjon · Fri 09/02/2024 19:25:04

Quote from: jwalt on Mon 05/02/2024 14:52:02
Quote from: heltenjon on Mon 05/02/2024 08:50:15
Quote from: jwalt on Fri 19/01/2024 22:30:40Game has two specific endings, but one of the endings has enough of a "flaw" that it would probably qualify as a third ending.
D'oh! Redownloading!

Probably not worth the effort, unless you're into getting away with murder; it has the same ending, more or less.

I'm uncertain what the third ending is, or if I've achieved it or not.

Spoiler

I have given the guru both pies, of course, which must be the specific endings. I've also given him the vegetarian pie after murdering poor Ponch. Is that the flawed ending? I also tried to reach the end of the vegetarian path without learning the secrets of the orbs, but that looks impossible.

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jwalt · Sat 10/02/2024 00:41:57

I'm uncertain what the third ending is, or if I've achieved it or not.

Spoiler

I have given the guru both pies, of course, which must be the specific endings. I've also given him the vegetarian pie after murdering poor Ponch. Is that the flawed ending? I also tried to reach the end of the vegetarian path without learning the secrets of the orbs, but that looks impossible.

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[/quote]

The third ending is pretty lame.

Spoiler

The first ending: one dish and go vegan.
The second ending: one dish and kill the cow.

Edit: Had to edit the following. I misspoke.

The flawed ending: make both dishes, but give the Guru the vegan entree, which is the same as ~~not even~~ making the vegan dish.

Regarding the First Secret of the Orb, it really doesn't matter; it isn't in this game. I'll reveal it in this month's MAG's Forest attempt. It is likely possible to communicate between the two games, but that is probably beyond my abilities. So, even if you sacrifice Ponch, you will ultimately get the Secret in the next one. And I'm making good progress with my Forest game. Hope I don't screw it up.

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I appreciate your attempt at understanding my thought processes. You deserve an attaboy!

Stupot · Sat 10/02/2024 23:55:10

Three interesting entries. Thanks guys.
It's time to vote for your favourite game of MAGS January
You have two weeks.

Please vote using the poll above.

	Trippy by jwalt
	A Doll in a Dream by Blondbraid
	Apfelmännchen by cat

As always, let me know if I've missed anything.

heltenjon · Sun 11/02/2024 01:20:55

Three fun entries this month! Here are my thoughts.

Trippy by jwalt:

Spoiler

I have a lot of fun following this series. They need to be added to the database! Come on, jwalt! This time around, there was both branching and some puzzles. I'm already looking forward to seeing what happens next. The strong point is the humour, and my favourite joke was Kenny's line.

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A Doll in a Dream by Blondbraid:

Spoiler

Beautiful art, nice story with a point to it, and puzzles/tasks given somewhat philosophical meaning. Not especially hard, but thoughtful.

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Apfelmännchen by cat:

Spoiler

Shortest, but very funny, if you like nerdy math jokes. Which I do. I liked the same joke as the Captain, and also laughed at the Purple Tentacle reference.

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I voted for

Spoiler

A Doll in a Dream.

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jwalt · Sun 11/02/2024 15:48:01

Voted.

Spoiler

Went for Little Apple Man. Hard to choose, since both games were quite good. I found Doll's puzzles a bit harder, and also felt some of the scale changes along the Doll's walk paths were jarring.

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cat · Sat 17/02/2024 15:39:03

I finally voted as well. It was a tough decision

Spoiler

YMCA dancing broccoli and perfectly fitting the theme, but confusing inventory and rough around the edges
vs.
beautiful atmosphere, graphics and animations but light on puzzles (but my game didn't have any real puzzles either)

In the end, I voted for "A Doll in a Dream"

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Btw, here are some links regarding Apfelmännchen, in case you want to know what this is all about (or if you want to check whether you got all references):

Spoiler

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MAGS January “Trippy” (RESULT)

What is your favourite game of MAGS January?