MAGS October "Miniature" (CLOSED)

[Stupot]

Voting is over and the winner is Dr. Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness by Slasher and Mikeg
Congratulations, gents.

	Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess by Blondbraid
	Captain Carver's Carnival Curios by VampireWombat
	Dr. Chuckles' miniature world of madness by Slasher and Mikeg

Topic: "MINIATURE"
Guidelines by The Outer Zone
Deadline October 31

Interpret the theme in any way you want.

Since the dawn of man, we have built small worlds. A dollhouse for the kids, a ship in a bottle, art installations showing us a grand scene inside a box. We have written tales of "the small folk" living in the furniture in the attic, and created small scale models that transform into titans on the big screen.



I place the power of the miniature in your hands! - I look forward to see what you do with it.
...a snowglobe pick-up is also accepted

Using any pre-made assets is up to you.



___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 rules 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 "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.

Rules

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:

* 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. 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.
[/quote]

[VampireWombat]

Hmm. I see a Mighty Max set. Mighty Max, Monster in My Pocket, and other toys from my childhood could definitely be a good starting place.

[Click'd]

Mighty Max, aka Polly Pocket for boys.

[CaptainD]

I have a weird feeling, like I want to make a MAGS game this month or something...

[Slasher]

Shut down your computers...CaptainD may be on-board

None the less.... I feel a 'dark-horror' coming on

[The Outer Zone]

Woohoo. Lots of designers on board already.
It will be so awesome seeing you guys re-imagining polly pocket

[VampireWombat]

While my idea may have started with Mighty Max, the setting is going to be based on Lemax Halloween miniatures.
Now excuse me as I go make bugs in my recolored Easy Bake Oven.

[Blondbraid]

I've been thinking of doing a new MAGS entry, here are a sample of animations I've made (the background is a work in progress):

Basically, my idea revolves around a 1500's pirate privateer captain being locked in his quarters by other pirates,
and in order to break out, he will have to utilize the stuff he has lying around his cabinet of curiosities,
including a few miniatures.

[The Outer Zone]

Hey miniature makers

How's it going with your adventures?

Nice to see the test from Blondbraid
Anyone else want to share their tests, sketches or concepts?

[Slasher]

Hey miniature makers

How's it going with your adventures?

Nice to see the test from Blondbraid
Anyone else want to share their tests, sketches or concepts?

I am working on a game, excited about this one and it's going well.. With some help from a reliable source

Not showing anything yet... it's under wraps of secrecy

[VampireWombat]

I have nothing to show yet. I was sick all last week. All I have is the core concept, general setting, and some reference. Still need a name and protagonist. But I am going to try to do a graphics style that's somewhere between Sam and Max/DoTT and some cartoons from the 80s and early 90s.
Probably the shopkeeper will be the first character made. But probably won't be until Saturday or Sunday.

[Slasher]

I'm glad you have not changed your graphical style Blondbraid.... It if works why change it?

I wonder what is in his cabinet of curiosities?

VampireWombat: Hope you can pull it all off in time

[VampireWombat]

Thanks. I learned enough from my last game that I should be able to.
The key is that I need to focus on the main storyline the first couple of weeks and only add more to it once it's completed. I plan to start with 4 characters and 4 locations and only add more if I have time.

[Blondbraid]

I'm glad you have not changed your graphical style Blondbraid.... It if works why change it?

I wonder what is in his cabinet of curiosities?

Thanks! Though I did try using a pre-made pattern on the protagonist's clothes this time, I hope it looks alright and isn't distracting.

All I can say about the cabinet though is that it contains some puzzle items and I'm worried giving away too much might spoil the gameplay.

[Cassiebsg]

Don't give anything away!
It's fine to just tease us.

[VampireWombat]

Mine is changing a bit from the initial plan. I'm keeping the same basic premise, but I'm using 2 characters from my unfinished September 2016 MAGS game. It's going to be more of urban fantasy/contemporary fantasy/horror (there really is a fine line dividing them). Since I haven't played Unavowed or seen any playthroughs of it, hopefully I won't accidentally have the magic system similar. I'm basing the magic on types from The Dresden Files and Constantine (not the Keanu Reeeves version).

[VampireWombat]

So... it's going to be just Slasher, Blondbraid, and I this month?

I have so much left to do on my game. Luckily I still have 2 weekends left. With the change of protagonists, my art style is going to be a bit less cartoonish than initially planned. Sprites will be more of a mix of Dropsy and The Real Ghostbusters/Extreme Ghostbusters and newer DC animated movies, like Justice League Dark. And backgrounds will be... whatever they end up being. Hopefully I'll have something to show by Monday or Tuesday.

Anyone else have any kind of updates? Or anyone decide to do a game last minute?

[Blondbraid]

My game is playable from start to finish, but I'm worried it might be a bit short even for MAGS standards.

[Slasher]

Glad your game is basically finished Blondbraid....Being really short has not stopped some people from winning....

The game I'm doing is about 70% done so still lots to do....

[Blondbraid]

I've released my entry! (never thought I'd finish my entry it before slasher! )

Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess

Captain Roderick Downes is sailing the Baltic sea when he is boarded by pirates led by a local princess, and Roderick soon finds himself prisoner on his own ship.
He will have to escape using the things he can find in his cabinet of curiosities.

Here's the download link!

[Click'd]

Reminds me of another Roderick.

[VampireWombat]

Congratulations on finishing, Blondbraid.

I'm at a point where I have to decide if I want to start from scratch to make something that's fully playable or keep working on the current game knowing that there's no way I can fully playable.

[Blondbraid]

Reminds me of another Roderick.

Which one?

[Click'd]

http://jadeempire.wikia.com/wiki/Sir_Roderick_Ponce_Von_Fontlebottom_the_Magnificent_Bastard voiced by John Cleese.

[Blondbraid]

http://jadeempire.wikia.com/wiki/Sir_Roderick_Ponce_Von_Fontlebottom_the_Magnificent_Bastard voiced by John Cleese.

Right, I do remember that character, just not his name.

[Mandle]

Being really short has not stopped some people from winning....

Yeah, Cat's won more than once and she's quite short...

[Shadow1000]

Nice short game with beautiful graphics, as always. I did get stuck because I missed

Spoiler

the seam. The only way to see that is by moving the cursor carefully across the screen

[close]

. Otherwise, a nice experience.

[VampireWombat]

So, yeah... I'm starting a new game today. I watched something last night which gave me an idea that I can actually have a beginning, middle, and end for. This change means I'll be doing a more cartoonish graphics style somewhere along the lines of DOTT/Sam and Max, Dropsy, etc. Hopefully no one has a fear of clowns.

[Slasher]

Watch out for the release of: Dr. Chuckles
Plenty of action and miniature is what this Topic it's all about.

[VampireWombat]

You're making a game based on a movie that was mentioned on Thursday in the Guess the movie title thread?

I probably need to think of a name for my game today...

[TheFrighter]

I probably need to think of a name for my game today...

"Daylight saving time"? (just kidding)

_

[VampireWombat]

A name has been decided.

[The Outer Zone]

All your games sound interesting - I am looking forward to see the results

I hope to see a lot of games.
Remember that the theme is miniature.. so  a miniature length would only be a plus

Cheers,
Malte

[VampireWombat]

Unless there's lurkers making their games in secret, it looks like there will be just 3 games once again.
Mine is definitely going to be short, but at least the new idea is one I can actually have a beginning, middle, and end. Unlike my previous idea.

Now, send in the clowns.
[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/gi8y.png[/imgzoom]

[The Outer Zone]

Yeah I think you are right VampireWombat..

But I strongly encourage anyone to make a game in the last day.
A miniture game. A one line game. One punch to knock us all out!
Would be nice to see

[Slasher]

Short game:

"I'll tell you a story of Jack and Nory and now my story's begun. I'll tell you another of Jack and his brother and now my story is dun."

Do I win?

[VampireWombat]

You have to at least put it in a game using say, display, or as a gui...

[Stupot]

A little more than half a day to go.

Also if Slasher or Kastchey read this. I need your November theme by tomorrow too.

[VampireWombat]

Less than 11 hours now...
Where's your entry, Slasher?
Mine will of course be close to the deadline. Hopefully no one will expect too much from 6 days of work.

[VampireWombat]

No Slasher?
I have mine finished and compiled, but I lost the screenshots. So it's going to technically be a few minutes late. Sorry.



Captain Carver's Carnival Curios

[Slasher]

Dr. Chuckles' miniature world of madness. DOWNLOAD Created by Slasher and Mike G... Synopsis: You are officer Marc Delago. You've been tasked with reopening a cold case leading back to the 80's, involving a string of missing people in the Sleepy Oak area, after new evidence matching the M.O. of the deranged maniac behind the kidnappings came to light. A heavily wounded and psychologically distressed man claiming to be an escaped victim of the kidnapper has provided a compelling statement that could lead you straight to his captor. Will you finally bring justice to the homicidal mad man behind these kidnappings? Are these kidnappings in any way linked to the disappearance of the governor's daughter? What hidden dangers will you encounter along the way? Find out in Dr Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness. Specs: 1280 X 720 32 Bit color Direct3D 9 hardware acceleration

[Mandle]

Slasher, that looks amazing! Can't wait to try!

[kaput]

Hey guys. Dr Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness didn't have a chance to be tested, so we're doing that now.

Found some game breaking bugs that brought the gameplay to a grinding halt, but they've been fixed now. Still sifting through. Slasher will probably update the mediafire link soon but here's a link to the fixed version of the game @ dropbox:

Dr. Chuckles' miniature world of madness Download (Game breaking bugs fixed):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j1jk9x8v1a5pb14/Dr%20Chuckles%20Miniature%20World%20of%20Madness.zip?dl=0

[Slasher]

New build uploaded

[VampireWombat]

I'm glad to see something else did get submitted. Of course when I submitted my game I didn't realize there had been a time change since the time change doesn't happen here until this Sunday...
So, some warnings about my game.

Spoiler

I didn't have time to do a full playthrough, I didn't have time to do dialog trees for more than 2 characters, most of the subtlety and foreshadowing is missing, and what's needed to get the ended was severely dumbed down. And I had to cut being able to choose characters because of the coding required for the mirror room. Probably at least one of these would have been slightly different if I had actually noticed the time change before hand. But it has a beginning, middle, and end. But I'm fairly happy with the results since I only worked on it 6 days.

[close]

[Stupot]

[Stu's a moron]

[VampireWombat]

The contest is now closed and the voting begins.
Vote using the poll above.

Not to be too nitpicky, but aren't you forgetting BlondBraid's entry?

[Slasher]

A new revised, bug sorted build is now uploaded...

DOWNLOAD

[Blondbraid]

The contest is now closed and the voting begins.
Vote using the poll above.

Not to be too nitpicky, but aren't you forgetting BlondBraid's entry?

Exactly, I'm feeling like chopped liver over here.

[Slasher]

You'll have to forgive Stupot, he's getting older

[The Outer Zone]

Looking forward to play your games!
When I'm done playing, I will give a comment as usual.

Looks promising! Good job everyone

[Stupot]

Sorry Blondbraid. Not sure how I let that happen. If it's any consolation I love a bit of chopped liver.

I've reset the voting now.
Please vote using the poll above.

	Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess by Blondbraid
	Captain Carver's Carnival Curios by VampireWombat
	Dr. Chuckles' miniature world of madness by Slasher and Mikeg

Happy voting.

[Slasher]

Have you downloaded the very latest build (last night---Fri 02)?

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2302/

My apologies to those that haven't...

[Blondbraid]

I just voted, here are my thoughts:

Captain Carver's Carnival Curios by VampireWombat

Spoiler

It's a very neat idea, but it was a bit disappointing that there was no graphics for the map screen.

[close]

Dr. Chuckles' miniature world of madness by Slasher and Mikeg

Spoiler

The story and visuals very much reminded me of a slasher movie.
Anyway, there were some good puzzles and animations, and the timer gave some stakes and tension. I ended up voting for this game.

[close]

[VampireWombat]

Captain Carver's Carnival Curios by VampireWombat

Spoiler

It's a very neat idea, but it was a bit disappointing that there was no graphics for the map screen.

[close]

Spoiler

Thanks. Actually, that's one of the issues I fixed yesterday. I'll be uploading a revised non-MAGS version sometime today if you're interested in seeing the 2 player characters, more dialog, etc.

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

Just an (OT) notice. Seems like MediaFire now has added code to detect if you have an adblocker running, and won't let you download the file...

Anyway, after a little fiddle and trying to find an addon for Firefox to make the addblocker "stealth"... I ended up finding the easier way: Just turn off scripts from mediafire. Then you can download free of nagging "please pay or turn your add block off" screen. How long this will work, I don't know. But for now it works, so enjoy it will it lasts.

[Shadow1000]

Here are my thoughts:

Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess

Spoiler

Beautiful graphics as expected from Blondbraid! My comments and evaluation are based on the second release. A good, short game. Lots of little puzzles and things to do, combining inventory to solve problems and so on, and the miniature theme was included. Puzzles were on the easy side; the only place where I got stuck was

Spoiler

finding the seam, because it blended in visually with the rest of the chair. The only way I can think a player would find it would be by moving the cursor around the room

[close]

. Good job!

[close]

Captain Carver's Carnival Curios

Spoiler

Decent graphics and a few things to do. No puzzles per se. The miniature aspect was the voodoo doll (?)

[close]

Dr. Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness

Spoiler

Before my comments on the game, I want to point out that part of my ratings of a MAGS entry includes how the entry relates to the theme. This one wins that hands down, in the sense that 80% of the game is based on the theme rather than forcing something small into a game. As far as the game itself, the graphics and animation are AWESOME. Good job to Slasher for engaging someone so talented. The game is really well-designed in terms of the concept, story, puzzles, gameplay, atmosphere and length. Even had it not been a MAGS entry I would have a glowing review. A lot of the crazy evil scientist reminded me of the Joker from Batman with the HA HA all over the place, booby-trapped teddy bear, nursery rhymes and so on. It just had so much evil all over it that it was particularly perfect for Halloween. Some small pointers: a bit of proofreading for the spelling would add to the polish. As well, the last puzzle would have been nice had the bottles been labelled so players who cannot tell colours visually would be able to solve it without almost random guessing. Otherwise, EXCELLENT job; possibly Slasher's best so far

[close]

Soo....it's probably not difficult to predict that my vote goes to

Spoiler

Dr. Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness

[close]

Well done!

[cat]

Just an (OT) notice. Seems like MediaFire now has added code to detect if you have an adblocker running, and won't let you download the file...

Yes, this is really annoying. Could you use another file-host in the future?

Edit: I played all games

Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess

Spoiler

Nice story, graphics and puzzles, but the miniature aspect is not really there.

[close]

Captain Carver's Carnival Curios

Spoiler

Nice character art, but what about the rest? Next time maybe focus on story and gameplay before you spend so much time on character art and a mirror effect.

[close]

Dr. Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness

Spoiler

Great graphics and atmosphere. Some really nice puzzles, even though I didn't like that it was timed. I had a bit of trouble with the hotspots of the cursors - it was hard to hit the scroll-down button in the inventory. Good use of the miniature theme.

[close]

I voted for

Spoiler

Dr. Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness

[close]

[Slasher]

cat: I had a bit of trouble with the hotspots of the cursors - it was hard to hit the scroll-down button in the inventory. Good use of the miniature theme.

You probably had an early build...

[cat]

You probably had an early build...

I downloaded it yesterday.

[morganw]

I had similar problems, the 'active' part of the cursor was changing, and the sizes were so different that I was struggling to work the interface.

Spoiler

The overall presentation and style was really good, but just based on the control issues, I voted for Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess. I seem to be the only person not penalising it for not matching the theme, but I'm not seeing any better application of it in the other two games. Honestly, if I had to guess, I'd say that both of these games have had the theme retro-fitted. I also thought that the dialog in Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess was very well written and entertaining.

I struggled to play Captain Carver's Carnival Curios, I thought the game had gone wrong because of the map screen, and then it wouldn't let me pickup a drink, which I just told someone I would get for them. Apologies, but I gave up.

[close]

[VampireWombat]

Spoiler

I struggled to play Captain Carver's Carnival Curios, I thought the game had gone wrong because of the map screen, and then it wouldn't let me pickup a drink, which I just told someone I would get for them. Apologies, but I gave up.

[close]

Spoiler

Yeah, the map didn't get its own graphics. Sorry about that. It should still function, though. But I'm surprised you had trouble getting the drink. The one on the top of the stack in the refreshment tent is the only one that can be grabbed. Did you not see it? Or did you just not go to the refreshment tent?
By the way, the non-MAGS version does at least fix the map.

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

I think the problem with grabbing it was that you couldn't just click on the stack, but needed to click that exact one. Maybe the text should have said something like "If I take that one the entire stack with fall off..."

[morganw]

Yeah, I think I clicked the stack rather than the top can...

[VampireWombat]

Given some of the moon logic in adventure games, I never would have expected that to be a problem. But okay, easy fix.

[Stupot]

Thanks for the votes and comments so far. One week left.
Don't forget to rate them on the database if they're on there.

[Stupot]

ting is over and the winner is Dr. Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness by Slasher and Mikeg

Congratulations, gents. You will be contacted soon about choosing a topic for December.

Thanks to all voters and participants.

[Slasher]

Thanks to those who voted for Dr. Chuckles.

Cheers..

[Blondbraid]

Another win for Slasher. Congratulations!

[The Outer Zone]

Better late than never - here are my comments on the games!
I did remember to vote in time though

Really nice to see what you did with the theme

Colonel Carvers Carnival Curios by VampireWombat:

Spoiler

I liked the theme of quitting - I would have loved to explore that further.
And the mirror room was nice. Good idea with voodoo doll as the "miniature".
A strange little experience as always

[close]

Dr Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness by Slasher and Mike G

Spoiler

Best Slasher game I've played so far The story and scenes use the miniature theme really well.
Maybe a bit too many clichés for my taste, but the whole concept was nice and the story well told.
Also good to see a consistant artstyle.

[close]

Captain Downes and the Pirate Princess by Blondbraid

Spoiler

A fine adventure indeed! Too much pixelhunting though..
I tried out everything for some time before the curser found the seam (I didn't see it at all).
I wish it was a bit more obvious what had to be done.
Building the weapon from the curiosities was great

[close]

And my vote went to:

Spoiler

Dr Chuckles' Miniature World of Madness by Slasher and Mike G

[close]