MAGS January “Trippy” (RESULT)

[Stupot]

Theme: Trippy
Set by: The Great Underground Empire

The winner of MAGS January is cat, with the colourful Apfelmännchen.

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

To get some practice at letting go of making "perfect" art - your game should be heavily, or entirely, based in a trippy visual space.

Whether this is the innate world, your protagonist has ingested hallucinogens, got licked by an alien toad, etc. is up to you.  Go crazy, abstract, wild colors, throw perspective and depth out the window, have a main character who's a scribble or has a changing number of heads.

Bonus points for well-signposted game mechanics or puzzles based around using trippy visuals or logic to overcome obstacles.

[cat]

I thought about this for a bit and suddenly this came to my mind:



Not sure if I can/will do something with it.

[Mandle]

I thought about this for a bit and suddenly this came to my mind:



Not sure if I can/will do something with it.

Oh, a character falling into that skydiver style from a top-down view would be cool!

[cat]

Inspiration DID strike, so I hope I will have something to show by the end of the month.

[RootBound]

I have an idea but I'm not going to have time to make it. If anyone wants to run with it, just DM me and it's yours.

[jwalt]

Think I might be able to continue with RON, Davy, and Josh? Going to give it a try.



Don't know, for a fact, if they are Magic Mushrooms, but it's likely they could be. Also, I plagiarized Ponch's avatar. I'm going to use it, as well, unless he sends me a cease-and-desist order.   

[Blondbraid]

I have started on an idea, I really ought to get back in the game myself!

[heltenjon]

Wow, Blondbraid, that one gives so many good vibes! Alice (not in Wonderland), Pippi Longstockings, Samorost, Falling Skywards, Narnia (the lamp), just to mention a few. 

[Pax Animo]

Heya folks,

Hoping to get something finished for this MAGS.

I'm just working on giving it that trippy-sci-fi factor if that's possible.

Previous user concepts look amazing!

[Stupot]

Wow. Looks like there are a few things in the works.
All the best bringing these to fruition, guys.

[Blondbraid]

Wow, Blondbraid, that one gives so many good vibes! Alice (not in Wonderland), Pippi Longstockings, Samorost, Falling Skywards, Narnia (the lamp), just to mention a few. 

Thank you, how fun that you spotted all the references I hadn't even thought of when I made the picture!

[heltenjon]

Wow, Blondbraid, that one gives so many good vibes! Alice (not in Wonderland), Pippi Longstockings, Samorost, Falling Skywards, Narnia (the lamp), just to mention a few. 

Thank you, how fun that you spotted all the references I hadn't even thought of when I made the picture!

I guess it tells more about my head and my references than yours. Anyway, I liked it!

[jwalt]

Just completed a playthrough of what I've been working on, and it seems playable. Still needs tweaking, but I'm headed for a finish line. Even managed to bumble into a couple of puzzles, and an alternate ending. Unfortunately, the story arc still leaves Josh and Davy stranded in the alternate dimension. Didn't initially intend to create an episodic adventure, but that's where it is taking me. Some good things about that, and some bad things about that. I really don't know what's next. So, I'll have to wait for the announcement of Feb's MAGS topic, it appears.

[cat]

Most of the graphics are done, time to start up AGS. This is going to be the weirdest game I've made so far. Think Apple Farm on LSD. Or should I say Crystal Math(sic!)?

[Kitty Trouble]

Just completed a playthrough of what I've been working on, and it seems playable. Still needs tweaking, but I'm headed for a finish line. Even managed to bumble into a couple of puzzles, and an alternate ending. Unfortunately, the story arc still leaves Josh and Davy stranded in the alternate dimension. Didn't initially intend to create an episodic adventure, but that's where it is taking me. Some good things about that, and some bad things about that. I really don't know what's next. So, I'll have to wait for the announcement of Feb's MAGS topic, it appears.

An episodic mags seems interesting, maybe I should steal that idea.

[jwalt]

Guys/gals, I seem to have reached a point of diminishing returns with my game. Last few things I've added haven't improved the game in any way. In fact, I've even removed one of them. Also, the rest of the month looks pretty crowded, time wise, so I've decided to put my entry up well before the deadline. Here it is:



Game link:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/ufzamfv2acoqdfy/Trippy.zip/file

Game uses the BASS template. I did use the inventory for one aspect of the game. Game has two specific endings, but one of the endings has enough of a "flaw" that it would probably qualify as a third ending. Josh and Davy will still be stranded in the alternate reality at game's end. Enjoy! If anyone finds a game killer in the game, before the due date, let me know. I might be able to free up enough time to fix it, or maybe not.

[cat]

Deadline: January 31st (but we'll discuss extensions nearer the time)

It's nearer the time now 

My game is playable from start to finish but I could use a few extra days for testing and polishing...

[Stupot]

Deadline: January 31st (but we'll discuss extensions nearer the time)

It's nearer the time now 

My game is playable from start to finish but I could use a few extra days for testing and polishing...

Is three days enough? Let's say the new deadline is end of the day on Feb 3rd.

[Blondbraid]

Deadline: January 31st (but we'll discuss extensions nearer the time)

It's nearer the time now 

My game is playable from start to finish but I could use a few extra days for testing and polishing...

Is three days enough? Let's say the new deadline is end of the day on Feb 3rd.

I'm in the same boat, and glad for an extension.

[Blondbraid]

Well, I'll be going away over the weekend, and my laptop isn't coming with me, so I might as well share my submission now, and hopefully release a more polished version with proper menus and credits later on.

A doll in a dream

You play as a doll sent into a young girls dream to resolve her nightmares. This project ended up being a lot more personal and esoteric than I initially planned, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same.

Download link:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/dnk9is3jdb5arix/A_doll_in_a_dream.zip/file

[cat]

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]

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.

[close]

[newwaveburritos]

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

[The Great Underground Empire]

@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! 

[close]

[The Great Underground Empire]

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.

[close]

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.

[close]

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?

[close]

[jwalt]

@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! 

[close]

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.

[close]

[The Great Underground Empire]

@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.

[close]

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

[cat]

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.

Only 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]

Game 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]

I thought it might be a bit too obscure.

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

Only 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]

Game 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]

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

[cat]

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?

[close]

A Doll in a Dream

Spoiler

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

[close]

[jwalt]

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?

[close]

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.

[close]

[heltenjon]

Game 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.

[close]

[jwalt]

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.

[close]

[/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.

[close]

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

[Stupot]

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]

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.

[close]

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.

[close]

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.

[close]

I voted for

Spoiler

A Doll in a Dream.

[close]

[jwalt]

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.

[close]

[cat]

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"

[close]

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_unit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_by_zero
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Euclidean_geometry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-balancing_binary_search_tree
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter

and of course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmxaBk09yqE
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Y1gohk5-A

[close]

[Blondbraid]

I've voted.

Trippy

Spoiler

It could use more polish, the humor wasn't quite my cup of tea, and some of the music was rather grating to me. It did have fun ideas and fit the theme though.

[close]

Apfelmännchen

Spoiler

I never liked math, but this entry made all the references in a fun clever way, and I even learned a few new things.

[close]

My vote:

Spoiler

Apfelmännchen, as it was overall a more polished and cohesive entry

[close]

[Stupot]

Thanks for the votes, everyone.

The winner of MAGS January is cat, with the colourful Apfelmännchen.

Well done, @cat. I'll be in touch soon about a theme for March.

[cat]

Wow, thank you! I'll come up with a topic soon.

[Kastchey]

Congratulations, cat! Loved all the entries this month. I'll post more detailed comments when I get a bit of time.