MAGS November “Worlds Collide” (VOTING til Dec 20)

[Stupot]

Worlds collide
Topic set by: Creamy and 4KbShort

	Wagu Ogambo -- A Reality on the Norm game by jwalt
	The Play of Life by tbook
	Dreamscape: Silent Serenade by Kastchey
	Worlds Literally Collide by The Great Underground Empire

"For this MAGS, show us a split between two or more characters. Does it occur in reality? Or after you cross a doorway to another world?

Is it a split in culture? An enemy you have to work with to obtain your goals? Or just an unknown entity that you have to bridge the gap to further your ends? You decide."



What is MAGS?
Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for amateur adventure game makers. The idea is to create a game in under a month, following the guidelines set by the previous winner. It aims to help you work to a deadline, improve your skills, and provide a kick-start into making adventure games. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favourite" 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.

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

* A working download link
* The title of your game
* A suitable in-game screenshot

At the end of the month, voting will begin, usually lasting for fourteen days, and the winner chooses the next month's theme.

Remember that this is a challenge to see what you can do in a month, so any tinkering you do after that, including fixing minor glitches, is against the spirit of the competition. The exception to this is that you may go in and fix major, game-breaking bugs only during voting. We want you to have a game that voters can actually play and that runs on their machines.

So to reiterate, during the voting period fixing major, game-breaking bugs is okay, fixing minor glitches or making cosmetic changes is cheating.

Tips
Here are some ways to make sure you have a game to submit at the end of the month:
* Make a tiny game. Plan small, then cut it in half. Find shortcuts (e.g. if making walkcycles is time-consuming, make the characters static or have it in the first person).
* Plan to have your game playable and submittable with a week to spare. This way you have a week to fix bugs, add some flourishes and maybe even get someone to test it.
* Plan to submit it a day or so early. This way, if there are any technical issues with uploading, they can be sorted out in time.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a little help with graphics? Perhaps The AGS Trove has something you can use.
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[4KbShort]

Hey dudes! I wanna give a big shoutout to @Creamy who's been super amazing working with me on getting this theme out as I was super distracted by real life! (Really, all the credit goes to them.) Also wanna say that I won't be submitting anything this jam because my last submission was very last-minute and I did not expect to tie up with Creamy's amazing submission!

I just wanna tell everyone thinking about joining in that you SHOULD and it'll be AMAZING and I look forward to all your hard work this month! 

[jwalt]

A few days before this MAGS was announced, I'd been toying with an idea for a RON game. As luck would have it, I think it might fit this MAGS. Also, having a deadline might keep me working on my project. I think I'm going to give it a try, unless the day or two head start disqualifies me. Currently thinking of using the name of one of the characters as the title: Wagu Ogambo.

I've no clue if that name might mean anything in a foreign language. So, if it does, please let me know. Hate to be saying something naughty, without knowing it.

I've no idea where that name came from. Blame it on The Muse, I guess.

[heltenjon]

Wagu or Wagyu is a Japanese cattle and its reportedly fantastic tasting meat.

Ogombo means "who is not" in Zulu, according to Google Translate. So, unless your main character actually is a Japanese bull/cow, I think you are in the clear! 

[Stupot]

Wagu or Wagyu is a Japanese cattle and its reportedly fantastic tasting meat.

Sticking with Japanese, gambō (or 'ganbō', depending how you want to Romanize it) means 'desire' or 'wish'. It can be used with the honorific 'o' before it to make it more formal.

So Wagyū Oganbō (和牛御願望) could be taken to mean 'desire for Japanese beef'.

[heltenjon]

So Wagyū Oganbō (和牛御願望) could be taken to mean 'desire for Japanese beef'.

Have there ever been a better hero name?   

[glurex]

The theme is interesting! I can't promise anything, but maybe I'll start working on a little game. I even have the idea of putting in some Easter eggs related to previous MAGS themes of this year.

[The Great Underground Empire]

Long time y'all!  I don't want to promise anything because November has become a month of birthday and anniversary celebrations.  But I need a small creative project, I've got a good idea and 90% of the plot worked out.

I'm also going to try painting my backgrounds and characters in Procreate this time, instead of rampantly stealing and modding vector art.

Fingers crossed, hope to see you at the finish line!

[Creamy]

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Hey dudes! I wanna give a big shoutout to @Creamy who's been super amazing working with me on getting this theme out as I was super distracted by real life! (Really, all the credit goes to them.)

No problem, I get busy too. And you sure helped with the blurb and feedback.

[tbook]

The worlds might after all colide for me this month 
We will see what happens. I will go with the flow 

[Mandle]

Have an idea... might be in.

[glurex]

I'm working on a little tribute to the classic GameBoy:

[Creamy]

I'm working on a little tribute to the classic GameBoy

You nailed the esthetic.

[jwalt]

I'm making pretty good progress on this attempt. Actually, managed to play 99% through the game, only to reach a room near the end, and find out I'd forgotten to move one of the characters into the room. It's breakable, I'm finding out. Still working on it. Want to add some more interaction; as it stands, it's more interactive movie than P and C game. Doubt the finished project will change that to any great degree.

[The Great Underground Empire]

I'm slow but progressing...birthday and anniversary are over. I realized my first idea wasn't feasible timewise, so one week in I wrote a completely different game and am having a lot of fun doing retro pixel art instead.  It's called Worlds Literally Collide, about a planet who just wants some g****mn peace and quiet in his own little patch of space.

Backgrounds are done, half of the characters are done and the other half should only take a couple hours.  Then it's just write and code like crazy.

[jwalt]

Got some feedback from a friend who played through my game, as it stands right now. Made a whole bunch of suggestions, which I am thinking about. Reading between the lines of her comments, I think she's telling me not to give up my day job, because I suck at making games. She said it took a bit over 40 minutes to finish. Still time to work on it, but I'm running out of steam. And it continues to be more movie than game.

[Kastchey]

40 minutes is hell of a lot of gameplay for a MAGS game, and interactive movies are fun. Don't give up!

[Stupot]

Great to see some movement already this month. Keep up the good work, folks. Keep us posted with updates.

@jwalt your project sounds like great fun. 40+ minutes of an interactive movie is awesome given the timeframe.

[jwalt]

Great to see some movement already this month. Keep up the good work, folks. Keep us posted with updates.

@jwalt your project sounds like great fun. 40+ minutes of an interactive movie is awesome given the timeframe.

The RON assets meant a lot less time spent on artwork, allowing more time for scripting. My artwork contribution is minimal. Not sure if it's appropriate, but here's a link to what my beta tester played:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/jr9bfi9mgp7hatp/wagu11_12.zip/file

My "ending" for this one, led me to begin thinking about a follow-up, the shiny bauble syndrome. Has me kind of heading in two different directions. Such is life, I guess.

I don't remember if I turned off the debug stuff on the link above.

[The Great Underground Empire]

Still plugging away!  I finished all the basic character art and talk cycles, now I'm just working on the one shot animations.  They're not pretty but I'm finding working in retro pixel art incredibly freeing...also finally discovered my Procreate app's animation assist function that auto onion skins, so that's speeding it up.

Also got the intro done, and a bunch of the interaction responses.  I've got a four day weekend for the holiday and three day weekend after that, so it's looking good to finish, barring catastrophes!

[tbook]

We're cooking something.
Going well, I hope we will manage in the 10 days left.
I would say we're half way through, but the story is ready, art is almost ready, music half way through...
As an appetiser I will only say that for this game the world of the living will colide with the world of the dead...

[Kastchey]

I started late, but the theme is too inspiring to pass on...

Not sure if I will get anything playable ready by the end of the month, let alone finish the game, but we'll see.

[The Great Underground Empire]

We can all do it!  I believe in us!  I'm in my holiday coding binge as we speak! 

[jwalt]

Title: Wagu Ogambo -- A Reality on the Norm game, and a November MAGS entry

Download Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/133sdnagmyche3j/wagu.zip/file

Screen shot:

[The Great Underground Empire]

Nice, congrats! 

I hate to ask, but could we please extend one extra day to Friday?  I'm so close but only have a little time to code the next few nights, but then I have all Friday off and can submit it Friday night.

[Stupot]

Nice, congrats! 

I hate to ask, but could we please extend one extra day to Friday?  I'm so close but only have a little time to code the next few nights, but then I have all Friday off and can submit it Friday night.

No worries. Friday it is.

[Kastchey]

I could use the extra day too, thank you kindly for the extension!

[The Great Underground Empire]

Thanks very much!    It wasn't just killing me that I'd have to abandon music and sound, I was down to "will I have to abandon a couple of these puzzles just to finish in time", lol.

[tbook]

Like always, almost late, but got it!

The Play of Life

Play as David who wakes up from the dead.
Discover the reason behind your return.






---

For now, download link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/c12hofkg5sw3im4/Compiled.rar/file

Later I'll post to itch.io

---

It turned out a little bit bigger than we planned, we hope to come back to add puzzles and fixes.
Hope you like it guys. Have a good one 

---

I just updated myself about the time extension!
Damn, now I feel I could work some more, haha!

[The Great Underground Empire]

Hey all!  I promise I'm still plugging away.  I should be done by 10PM EST at the very latest, so unless some crisis happens, I'll be posting the game within the next 6 hours!  Thanks again for the extra time!

[Kastchey]

I'm hoping to be able to do the same. Super tired and struggling for time, but hey, got plenty of coffee!

[Kastchey]

Not super happy with how it turned out, but better a half-finished, unpolished entry than no entry right?

Dreamscape: Silent Serenade
Download here (v.1.1)

In a dystopian world where dreams are shackled in service of an eldritch cosmic god, a small group of rogue dreamshifters are fighting for their right to self-determine.

Content warning: mature language (mild).

Download here (v.1.1)

Edit:
v.1.1: Fixed the bug with the game crashing after you entered certain rooms near the end of the game

[The Great Underground Empire]

PHEW, missed the deadline by about an hour but congrats to everyone that finished on time!!!    You all rock!

My entry is:

WORLDS LITERALLY COLLIDE

You are a planet who found his own little patch of space and just wants some PEACE and QUIET!

Unfortunately, loud and annoying jerks are invading your quadrant.  Find them and get rid of them any way you can.

Content Warning: Some light comedic swearing, comedic violence, and suggestive sexual dialogue between astral bodies.

Note: There is no sound or music because you can't hear those things in space, guy.  You can't.  Planets can.  It makes sense.  (Also I ran out of time.)

Controls:

- Right click to change cursors.

- Left click to fly/look/interact/talk or COLLIDE!  (And space is vast.  Click WASD's to start moving, click again to stop.)

- (Collide looks like two tiny planets smashing together.)

- Right click or ESC to skip cutscenes.

- TAB for Inventory, F5 to save, F7 to load, F9 to restart, CTRL + Q to quit.

Enjoy!

Download Here!

[RootBound]

Nice! 4 MAGS entries is more than we've had at once all year, I think! I look forward to trying them all out! 

[Stupot]

Well done on getting your entries in, everyone. They look great. I'm a bit poorly at the moment but will rig up the voting very soon.

[jwalt]

Trying to play through the entries but encountered problems. One may be me needing a nudge. The other, I'm not sure what is happening.

Nudge needed for Worlds Literally Collide:

Spoiler

Got to the star babies, but nothing seems to be happening. Have run searches over the background but doesn't seem to help. Hint, perhaps?

[close]

Get a total system lock up on Dreamscape.

Spoiler

Went past the grate, using the crowbar. Entered the sleeper's room. Can't seem to get out of the room, and movement toward the left side gives me the "clock" and locks up. Haven't been through the hole in the wall on the other side of the alley. Not sure of cause, but my system can't seem to handle it. Had to do a system restart.

[close]

The other game, The Play of LIfe, ran without any problems. Loving the backgrounds for all these games!

[The Great Underground Empire]

Thanks jwalt!  Making sure I understand:

Spoiler

The star babies came out but nothing happened, like they're frozen and you can't interact with them?  If you mean you can't figure out what to do next, then my hint is that I just suddenly realized I didn't say in the instructions that TAB would open the inventory, doh!

[close]

[jwalt]

Thanks jwalt!  Making sure I understand:

Spoiler

The star babies came out but nothing happened, like they're frozen and you can't interact with them?  If you mean you can't figure out what to do next, then my hint is that I just suddenly realized I didn't say in the instructions that TAB would open the inventory, doh!

[close]

That TAB fixed it, for me. Thanks. Enjoyable game!

[The Great Underground Empire]

Phew, thank you! 😅 I finished it around 1AM my time and was worried I missed some gamebreaking bug in my half awake brain. 😄

[jwalt]

Get a total system lock up on Dreamscape.

Spoiler

Went past the grate, using the crowbar. Entered the sleeper's room. Can't seem to get out of the room, and movement toward the left side gives me the "clock" and locks up. Haven't been through the hole in the wall on the other side of the alley. Not sure of cause, but my system can't seem to handle it. Had to do a system restart.

[close]

Regarding the lock up, it did it twice, but the third attempt all went well, apparently. Appears to be a user issue, rather than a bug.

[Kastchey]

Get a total system lock up on Dreamscape.

Spoiler

Went past the grate, using the crowbar. Entered the sleeper's room. Can't seem to get out of the room, and movement toward the left side gives me the "clock" and locks up. Haven't been through the hole in the wall on the other side of the alley. Not sure of cause, but my system can't seem to handle it. Had to do a system restart.

[close]

Thanks for trying the game! I have made a quick fix. I couldn't reproduce the exact issue you encountered, but your feedback led me to discover another gamebreaking error in the same room that had slipped my mind yesterday night.

Just noticed your second response when I was previewing, glad to hear it finally worked ok. I do think it's a game issue, the custom GUI I made is a bit wonky at times. Something to do a better job with after MAGS, I guess.

[tbook]

Phew, thank you! 😅 I finished it around 1AM my time and was worried I missed some gamebreaking bug in my half awake brain. 😄

We've just played your game and it was very fun 
Planet dating simulator.
We had a good time, the comedy was on point   

[tbook]

Get a total system lock up on Dreamscape.

Spoiler

Went past the grate, using the crowbar. Entered the sleeper's room. Can't seem to get out of the room, and movement toward the left side gives me the "clock" and locks up. Haven't been through the hole in the wall on the other side of the alley. Not sure of cause, but my system can't seem to handle it. Had to do a system restart.

[close]

Thanks for trying the game! I have made a quick fix. I couldn't reproduce the exact issue you encountered, but your feedback led me to discover another gamebreaking error in the same room that had slipped my mind yesterday night.

Just noticed your second response when I was previewing, glad to hear it finally worked ok. I do think it's a game issue, the custom GUI I made is a bit wonky at times. Something to do a better job with after MAGS, I guess.

The art is stunning!
Seems like a part of a bigger game, do you intend to continue with it?
I loved how the menu looked and the in game graphics were crazy good for a MAGS entry 

[Kastchey]

The art is stunning!
Seems like a part of a bigger game, do you intend to continue with it?
I loved how the menu looked and the in game graphics were crazy good for a MAGS entry 

Thank you! Yes, definitely part of a bigger game. The gameplay as it is now probably makes little sense with the noise alert not really doing anything, so the game is more of a prototype, not even a demo. I had intended to make certain actions trigger different levels of noise, ultimately leading to the player being captured if they are not careful enough, or if they leave the streets without some sort of distraction. But I didn't have time to implement it.

I have already added some things to the game (unpublished - it wouldn't be fair to update as long as the competition is still ongoing) and I'm hoping to continue afterwards, or at least add it to the projects that I'm switching between

[Stupot]

Sorry for the delay in setting this up.

I was very happy to see a lovely crop of FOUR games for November. And they all look great. I trust you've all started playing some of the games already, but you still have until the 20th to vote for your favourite.

Vote using the poll at the top of the page.

	Wagu Ogambo -- A Reality on the Norm game by jwalt
	The Play of Life by tbook
	Dreamscape: Silent Serenade by Kastchey
	Worlds Literally Collide by The Great Underground Empire

[The Great Underground Empire]

No worries, glad you're feeling better!

I also really enjoyed everyone's games, you all did a great job!

[tbook]

Let's just say that it wasn't so obvious to me how to spend my vote.

I went with Wagu Ogambo. I felt that it was the closest to a full game.
World Collide was very fun experience, I really enjoyed it but the problem for me was that it was only one room.
Dreamscape had the best looks, it was in more serious tone and I think I was feeling more like something lighter that day.
Wagu was funny, the characters were fun, lots of humor, nice locations, I liked it!

[Kastchey]

I've played through all the entries, here are some thoughts:

jwalt's Wagu Ogambo -- A Reality on the Norm game:

Spoiler

Very simple on the puzzle side but enjoyable. I loved the "map" in the form of the characters lined up, very clever! I haven't played RON all that much so I could have missed some jokes, but I had fun nonetheless.

[close]

tbook's The Play of Life:

Spoiler

Despite the moments where MAGS time constraints bit off some of the puzzles, this one felt the most like the classic point'n'click adventure game. I liked the interpretation of the theme, and the consistent graphics and nice animations added to the overall enjoyment.

[close]

The Great Underground Empire's Worlds Literally Collide:

Spoiler

This was super fun! I absolutely adored the geek humor and the cute graphics. To finish the game, I had to replay it three times (loading doesn't work - you might have forgotten FillSaveGameList() somewhere, perhaps?) but the dialogues are so fun and well-written that re-reading them was a pleasure.
(Also, I'm so gonna nominate this planet as Best Character this year)

[close]

My vote went to:

Spoiler

Worlds Literally Collide. You had me at "Eat my ice!"

[close]

[jwalt]

I've played through all the entries, here are some thoughts:

jwalt's Wagu Ogambo -- A Reality on the Norm game:

Spoiler

Very simple on the puzzle side but enjoyable. I loved the "map" in the form of the characters lined up, very clever! I haven't played RON all that much so I could have missed some jokes, but I had fun nonetheless.

[close]

The stuff I do with RON is, very likely, well outside the canon for a RON game. RON's story lines are pretty disjointed, and some of the older, establishing games take more fiddling around to get to run, than I'm willing to devote to them. I'm, mainly, stealing the backgrounds and characters.


Regarding this month's entries:

Spoiler

I felt both Play of Life and Dreamscape had above average graphics. Dreamscape left me wanting much more, which is not a bad thing. Even asked a friend to look at Dreamscape, since I felt I might have been missing something. I found three sleepers; my friend only found the one. Making me wonder if there were more than three? In the end, Worlds Literally came out on top, because that's the one I enjoyed the most.

[close]

[Kastchey]

Spoiler

Dreamscape left me wanting much more, which is not a bad thing. Even asked a friend to look at Dreamscape, since I felt I might have been missing something. I found three sleepers; my friend only found the one. Making me wonder if there were more than three?

[close]

Spoiler

No, there are three of them, congrats on finding them all! Initially, I was planning a noise system (the vertical bar in the top left corner) that would alert the patrols if you're not careful enough. That would limit the choice of actions within a single playthrough and push the player to search for more subtle solutions instead of, say, just bashing your way into the house with a crowbar. But alas, no time! That's probably why the game feels like there's something more to be discovered, but there actually isn't.

[close]

[The Great Underground Empire]

The Great Underground Empire's Worlds Literally Collide:

Spoiler

This was super fun! I absolutely adored the geek humor and the cute graphics. To finish the game, I had to replay it three times (loading doesn't work - you might have forgotten FillSaveGameList() somewhere, perhaps?) but the dialogues are so fun and well-written that re-reading them was a pleasure.
(Also, I'm so gonna nominate this planet as Best Character this year)

[close]

My vote went to:

Spoiler

Worlds Literally Collide. You had me at "Eat my ice!"

[close]

Ack!  I never thought to test my save load functions!  Thank you for catching that!  (Update: just fixed and reloaded, turned out I accidentally just made the Restore GUI visible with the main menu button instead of running RestoreGameDialog.  Saves and loads worked in-game, just not from that menu.  )

Spoiler

And thank you for the kind words, it really means a lot to me!  It's just fun doing this with so many talented creators! 

[close]

[The Great Underground Empire]

Regarding this month's entries:

Spoiler

I felt both Play of Life and Dreamscape had above average graphics. Dreamscape left me wanting much more, which is not a bad thing. Even asked a friend to look at Dreamscape, since I felt I might have been missing something. I found three sleepers; my friend only found the one. Making me wonder if there were more than three? In the end, Worlds Literally came out on top, because that's the one I enjoyed the most.

[close]

Spoiler

Aw, thank you too!  Everyone did fantastic, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! 

[close]

[Ponch]

Voted! Really great roster of games this month.

[heltenjon]

Whoa, four great entries! You all did really well!

My thoughts about the individual games this month:

Wagu Ogambo -- A Reality on the Norm game by jwalt:

Spoiler

It's been a while since I've played the RON games, but even though I couldn't remember all the characters' traits very well, this worked out fine and was a fun play. It's a funny story, and while the puzzles mostly consist of doing things in the correct order, I didn't mind. I agree that using the characters as a "map" is a good idea (I've even done that myself  ) that saves the player from walking around too much.

[close]

The Play of Life by tbook:

Spoiler

Great story. It looks like you had intended to include some more content, if the unused inventory items are anything to go by. The design seems to be a mix of different ideas - walking between locations or movement through a sort of map, for instance. Cool use of the same locations in daytime and at night. I like the puzzles and the story, but I don't think they are completely integrated. Like gathering money before knowing the price of admission.

[close]

Dreamscape: Silent Serenade by Kastchey:

Spoiler

I want this game now! Exceptional in art, mood and puzzles, but of course, it isn't finished. I broke the game by entering the dreamscape while wearing the helmet, for example. I found multiple solutions to puzzles, three sleepers, but no way to complete the first task. Is there one? I made a decoy, but had no place to put it. This is the only entry with challenging puzzles this time.

[close]

Worlds Literally Collide by The Great Underground Empire:

Spoiler

Great humour and a really fun, yet short play. I liked the literal take on the rules. Constant breaking of the fourth wall and a rounded game.

[close]

I basically liked all four games and think all of them could be worthy of my vote. I'll give it a think before I decide.

[Kastchey]

Spoiler

I want this game now! Exceptional in art, mood and puzzles, but of course, it isn't finished. I broke the game by entering the dreamscape while wearing the helmet, for example. I found multiple solutions to puzzles, three sleepers, but no way to complete the first task. Is there one? I made a decoy, but had no place to put it. This is the only entry with challenging puzzles this time.

[close]

Thanks so much! Yes, the game is unfinished, but I'm glad you still enjoyed the atmosphere and the prototype puzzles.

Spoiler

As you figured out, there is no way to complete the first task. I only had time to implement 2 & 3, plus some elements that would lead to 1 but make no difference if you set them up, like the decoy (there IS a place to put it, though I dare you to find it).
As for the helmet error, ehh, this is what I get for posting an untested last minute entry. Thanks for letting me know, I've fixed this in the version I'm working on outside of the competition.

[close]

[Stupot]

Last chance to vote, folks

[Stupot]

Thank you to those who voted.

The winner of MAGS November is. . .

Worlds Literally Collide by The Great Underground Empire

Well done, TheGUE. I'll be in touch seen about setting the theme for January.

[Kastchey]

Congrats, The Great Underground Empire! A well deserved win

[The Great Underground Empire]

Oh dang, thanks everyone!  It really means a lot.  I'm just glad we all had fun being creative together! 

[heltenjon]

Congratulations, The GUE! Funny game and a worthy winner! Now how about that Not My First Apocalypse world...

[The Great Underground Empire]

Congratulations, The GUE! Funny game and a worthy winner! Now how about that Not My First Apocalypse world...

Thanks very much!  Funnily enough, I've been upping my game, finally learning how to do proper 2D art and animation, because I want to release more NMFA games where I'm not "borrowing" online art in a mad rush, lol.  Fingers crossed!