Adventure Game Studio

At last I am finally able to release this small game! :D
[Story]
For years now Dave has sworn to ave those in harm from evil. However he is bout to come face to face with a a sick little girl stuck in coma. The Docters say that this is her last nigh and if she does not wake up then they must pull the plug. Dave knew he couldn't help her in the real world so he wen't to sleep in order to Dream Link into her mind. He found himself in a cold, barron world. He seen the sick sitting quitely in a chair. She stated that she is being held captive by Death and the only way for her to awaken is for thy savior to lose all memories to the Void and if thy can retrive them back & remember who they are before time runs out then they both will be able to return to the living world. However if thy is to fail then both of our souls belong to Death...Forever!

Dive into the Dream here (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=1560)

Please, at least put a download link in your post.

It's the floating welder from the 6 Days credits!

Nice cutscene game, riddled with "typos" though. (Grifiti...? Someone grifityed on the wall...?)
And why can't I even look at the other main character, let alone talk to her?
This is like a techdemo for a two button interface.

Save for the art, which is obviously an attempt to recreate 304's style, but not bad, this is an incredibly lazy game. That's really the only word that applies here. Lazy. From what I've seen, coding and writing this took half an hour, tops.

I don't get why you keep doing this. Why you keep killing your rep like this.

I checked for typos and nothing came up underlined red so I thought it was straight. I didn't wan't you to talk to the little girl for the simple fact that there wasn't much to talk about.

I'm telling you the only reason I released it is cause I thought all the problems was fixed.

Maybe Icey meant this: http://www.grifiti.com/products  ::)

Quote from: Icey games on Wed 29/02/2012 11:10:19
I'm telling you the only reason I released it is cause I thought all the problems was fixed.

What about the problems called "this is not a game" and "there is little to no content here"? Those are pretty big ones in my mind...

And before you ask: "What do you mean it's not a game"
It's not a game because:
- There is no challenge, I could script a program to play and "win" this "game" in 10 minutes
- There are no real gameplay mechanics involved

"What do you mean there is no content"
- Player is given little to no context
- The story is a mere fragment of a story

Other things that grind my gears:
- I'm pretty sure you are still using ripped music that is licenced to someone else / to a corporation
- The "twinkle" object is next to impossible to click on accurately
- There is no proper end, the game just loops back to the start

Icey, this is my FIFTH post telling you to beta-test your games, and every time before you promised you would (since you promised, I guess it doesn't make it arrogant to write what I just wrote).

Are you THAT stubborn, and craving for failure? Or do we just have to wait one more year for you to be  mature enough?
Then again it's just frustrating to see you transform every potential success into failure, just because of stubbornness.

Does anyone have a walkthrough for this?

Quote from: veryweirdguy on Wed 29/02/2012 17:52:53
Does anyone have a walkthrough for this?

Spoiler

Left click on everything in no specific order. After that, right click on everything in no specific order. Repeat until game restarts.

[close]

Quote from: Monsieur OUXX on Wed 29/02/2012 12:42:52
Icey, this is my FIFTH post telling you to beta-test your games, and every time before you promised you would

To be fair to Icey, he did have this game beta tested. I gave it a spin Sunday evening. I sent him a short report and promised a list of typos I found would follow. I didn't get the list to him in time, I suppose. But it was tested... sort of.  :)

! big thing I must point out before I start my real post, This game I can admit is short and doesn't have a big way or challenge to getting to the end of the game. However I wanted to make another finding game that was short and simple. I wanted to get this game out here after I had it tested and fixed what I had thought needed to be fixed because I have a big animation project to do for school and I have to put AGS Colosseum on hold because it's a big grade and I need to use AGS for it.

Now on to the post.

@WHAM: I find it few people may think this isn't a game. However as the creator I know that it's a game. It stung together with not 1 but 3 characters,1 BG, Lot's of text, Nice art, Music, and a start and a end. I can't make music and I'm not gonna result to using music made by just random people cause I don't like the way it fits in my game. I make levels based off of 1 song that I am listening to as I make the level. This song maybe used in the game or composed by a composer if it's a bigger project. Each PMQ game released since the Release Something is nothing more than a spin-off quest of Pub Master Quest Legends. The only reason why know it's "like" a fragment of a story is because you already know there are more Pub Master Quest's.
Also WHAM if you think this game has no point and your way to advance for the game why don't you create a walkthrough for the game?

@Monsieur OUXX: I know it may seem like I don't listen at times but there are many people around here I choose to listen(one being you). And even though it may not seem like it I always listen to khris. It sometimes gets me upset but I still take it and find away to work with it.

@Ponch: It's not that I couldn't wait for you, It's just after you told me there were spelling errors I wen't on and edited what I seen wrong.

Icey: I already wrote a walkthrough, check a few posts up. The "walkthrough" works, and if that works, it's not a game, it's just a simplified visual novel, and there is a slight difference there. Just having characters, backgrounds, story and music, and being able to walk around on the screen, does not a game make.

I'm not sure I should even bother asking this but; Is there actually any gameplay present?

Backgrounds, characters, music, dialogue, a start and an end != a game. That's a cutscene.

Quote from: Victor6 on Wed 29/02/2012 23:35:08
Is there actually any gameplay present?

After thoroughly testing this "game" I can verify that you CAN click on things and TEXT will happen! Sometimes even walking! Nothing more, nothing less.

Icey, the errors in this effort are so staggering - "He seen the sick sitting quitely", "Save us from from fate ahead us" - that whomever was responsible for teaching you the basic fundamentals of reading and/or writing should be ashamed.

It's also hard to tell who is saying what, as all the text is the same colour.

It took me five minutes to play this "game". It took me another five minutes to rewrite and edit it so it actually makes sense:

Dreams - Rewritten and Edited to make Sense.

***Intro***

"Where there is Light, there must also be Dark. Where there is Life, there must also be death. And where there is Evil, there is...The Saviour. The Saviour is sworn to help those too weak to protect themselves against the forces of darkness. The Saviour...is Dave.

However, Dave is about to come face to face with a little girl trapped in a coma, a girl named Molly, a girl who's time is running out. If she doesn't wake up soon, the machines keeping her alive will be shut off.

Knowing he could be of no use to her in the real world, Dave, against the advice of Molly's doctor, has asked to be put into an artificially-induced coma in order to DREAMLINK into Molly's mind.

But in doing so, Dave has lost his memories. He has no idea who he is, and no idea how he came to be standing in this cold, barren world."

Dave: What's going on? Where am I? Who am I?!

Molly: We are...trapped.

Death: This is my domain, human. No one can help you now. The girl is mine, and soon you both shall be consumed in darkness...forever!

(He fades away)

Molly: No. There is hope. The Saviour. You must remember. Your mind lies fragmented in this world. Remember. Only your memories can free our souls.

Dave: My...memories?

Molly: Remember.

Dave: I'll...try.

***Interactions***

Right click the Sign:

"The light from the sign seems insignificant, and out of place."

Dave: Pub? I know that word. Didn't my brother...Chris?...work in a- Yes! A pub! And I worked there too! I remember!"

Molly: "Remember."

***

Right-click on Graffiti:

"Though the paint may be fading, the letters are still legible."

Dave: PMQ? I...I've seen those letters before. I remember journeys. Journeys with friends. Quests! Pub Master Quests! I remember!"

Molly: Remember.

***

Right-click on the Sparkle:

"Something sparkles in the bushes. A small glowing sphere."

Dave: Holding it in my hand makes me feel...warmer, somehow. I remember...a name. Muffy! I owe you so much. You saved my life with a sphere just like this! I remember!"

Molly: Remember.

***

Right click on the Tree:

Someone has carved a heart into the trunk of this tree.

Dave: "D+T FOREVER". Did I do that? Is the "T"...Tifa? It is! I promised I would be with her always. I remember!

***Once all memories have been found***

Molly: Dave.

Dave: "I remember! Molly! I'm here to rescue you! We've got to get out of here! You have to wake up."

(Fade to white)

Molly: Saviour.

***Outro***

Dave awakens. He looks over at Molly, still asleep in the bed next to his.

Dave: Molly?

He feels a hand on his shoulder, and looks up into the face of the doctor standing beside him.

Doctor: I'm sorry.

Dave: No! I saved her! I know I did! She just...needs more time!"

As the doctor moves to shut off Molly's life-support, a small voice croaks:

MOLLY: Dave. Thank you.

(Fade to white)

***END***

It's still not a game, or particularity well written, but at least it doesn't read like a brain hemorrhage. If you want to use this version, Icey, then feel free to do so. If I must be credited, then I ask that I be credited only as Alan Smithee. Or you could just look at how I've written it (again, not in a way that's particularly special), how I tried to make a clear distinction between narrative and dialog so as to prevent confusing the player, and rework your own writing in a similar way.

I'll leave this thread open for now, but if we start going in the same old (oh, so very old!) circles, I'll be forced to drop a lock-block.

I will fix it up and credit you.

I just think next time I might ask one of my friends to test it and proof read it and let me know what you think cause I think me going in alone isn't going to work unless I like type it in something like Word then add it to the game....Why didn't I ever think to do that before.

Quote from: Icey games on Wed 29/02/2012 04:01:32
He found himself in a cold, barron world

It's always cold in Baron World......

And again, it's hard for people to even download the game when they see in your posts that you really don't care about polish or even some basic double checking of your work, like reading what you actually wrote.
I've said this before, but what I wanted to say is that you inspired me to actually commit to a game in AGS, since somebody who barely makes coherent sentences can write code for AGS, surley I can as well. So thank you for that.

Quote from: LimpingFish on Wed 29/02/2012 23:49:56
Icey, the errors in this effort are so staggering - "He seen the sick sitting quitely", "Save us from from fate ahead us" - that whomever was responsible for teaching you the basic fundamentals of reading and/or writing should be ashamed.

Ashamed? No way, I was thinking more of a public mauling with a dicitionary.

I didn't mean to attack Poland, I was trying to say empty. I could have sworn the way you spell it was baron or barron. oh and your welcome....I think.

Harsh much?

But, spell checkers are a necessity as far as I am concerned and one would of spotted most of these errors.

It is spelled "Barren"

Games do not need challenge to be games, freeware games do not need to be released in a polished state, stories do not have to be fully explained and complete.

I guess the big reason why I skipped over the big misspelled words and repeated words in such is because I already knew the story and cause I wrote it.

Quote from: wisnoskij on Sun 04/03/2012 15:32:44
Games do not need challenge to be games, freeware games do not need to be released in a polished state, stories do not have to be fully explained and complete.

Thank you for pointing that, Truth be told the only challenge is finding the 4 pieces of his memory. It's of course not that hard but you have to use some brain power to go around the room looking. Even if it's just 1% it's still brain power.

Quote from: wisnoskij on Sun 04/03/2012 15:32:44
Games do not need challenge to be games, freeware games do not need to be released in a polished state, stories do not have to be fully explained and complete.

I fully agree with #3; a story that has white spaces can be even better than a fully explained one.

As for #1 and #2, I disagree. A game without challenge may still be a game, but has a pretty high chance of being dismissed as boring, and a boring game is quickly forgotten. An unpolished game is guaranteed to be remembered for its flaws, and if it is a very unpolished game it is ONLY remembered for the flaws. So a not-challenging, unpolished game IS a game, but I think a designer wants to deliver a GOOD game.

Personally I had few issues with this one, Icey. The graphics very nice (though really VERY reminescent of Ben's style, but there are worse styles to draw from ;) ), and I rarely object to ripped music.
I was disappointed that you didn't really focus on the premise. In the end this is a game about Dave, and the girl is nothing but a throwaway hook. There'd been a lot of room for more, since the setup is a bit more serious than the average OSD. I see this as a step into an interesting direction, but a hesitant step. Still, way to go!

I use more brain power sleeping. But on a more serious note, you should expand the gameplay, an example would be; not telling the story, showing the story. There would be a lot more content, if you had made the introduction as part of the playable game. But first you need to step away from the game for a few days, come back to it three or more days later and play through the game. This will make it easier to find grammar, spelling mistakes and the like.
Keep working.

Quote from: wisnoskij on Sun 04/03/2012 15:32:44
Harsh much?

But, spell checkers are a necessity as far as I am concerned and one would of spotted most of these errors.

It is spelled "Barren"

Games do not need challenge to be games, freeware games do not need to be released in a polished state, stories do not have to be fully explained and complete.

So if I make a video of a bunny jumping up and down shouting randomly generated nonsense, with the bunny stopping every now and then, forcing the viewer to push the "play" button to continue, that would be a "game" in your mind? Oh right! I forgot: we must make the "play" button MOVE AROUND THE SCREEN! Now that's a game, and because it's free it's completely immune to critique!

Quote from: WHAM on Sun 04/03/2012 16:01:32
So if I make a video of a bunny jumping up and down shouting randomly generated nonsense, with the bunny stopping every now and then, forcing the viewer to push the "play" button to continue, that would be a "game" in your mind? Oh right! I forgot: we must make the "play" button MOVE AROUND THE SCREEN! Now that's a game, and because it's free it's completely immune to critique!

Yes, if someone wants to call it a game.
Dear Esther, 99% of Portal 2, most non action HL mods, visual novels. These are all games that have less gameplay then Pub Master quest.

Never said you comment WHAM but goddamn it this what you do. I don't appreciate harsh criticism. Everyone has basically said the same thing but all in a different way. You talk about my games being simple or not even a game at all and wonder when I'm gonna make a real game but when are you gonna realize just how I work my self so you can get through to me better?

Look at you, you think you got it so damn hard, Sure we may not really be friends but I don't see you ignoring me either, I all ways like when people comment because it helps not just my games but me  as a developer. All I'm saying is it would be swell if you could say something a little less direct.

Quote from: wisnoskij on Sun 04/03/2012 16:08:33
Dear Esther, 99% of Portal 2, most non action HL mods, visual novels. These are all games that have less gameplay then Pub Master quest.

Define gameplay, please. I smell an interesting discussion.

Quote from: Ghost on Sun 04/03/2012 16:43:25
Define gameplay, please. I smell an interesting discussion.

Challenge, choice.
Obviously watching a cinematic is not gameplay, but I would argue walking down a corridor is not really gameplay either.

Quote from: wisnoskij on Sun 04/03/2012 16:47:52

Quote from: Ghost on Sun 04/03/2012 16:43:25
Define gameplay, please. I smell an interesting discussion.

Challenge, choice.
Obviously watching a cinematic is not gameplay, but I would argue walking down a corridor is not really gameplay either.

Okay, so you say games do not need challenge to be games.
And gameplay is challenge.
So games do not need gameplay?

Can we agree on interactivity? The good old trio "choice, problem-solving, coordination"?

[edit]
I think I know what you mean and where you are coming from. Maybe interactivity is the best term, and interactivity needs coherence. A player wants to understand what he does, it's just more satisfying. Consequences to actions can be a bit foggy or mysterious, but sooner or later you want to know why a pony appeared after you stomped on the banana while wearing a top hat. And that's where "Dreams" is weak. The rule is "click on things to remember things". But a) the things you remember are all about yourself and have nothing to do with the girl, the dream world, or anything present. and b) you do it four times. There is a logic and there is interactivity, but hardly any control. The result is a feeling that I clicked on four things, not that I figured out something.

Icey: As long as you post these "games" I and many others will comment on them, discuss them, analyze them and critisize them. If you don't like that, don't post them here.

wisnoskij:
Portal 2 is a game and has gameplay mechanics and puzzles to resolve, so I don't see why you brought that up at all.
Dear Esther is not, in my mind, a game. It is a slightly interactive story.
So are many visual novels, though in those you can at least affect the outcome so they DO have a gameplay element. However, here the answer is already present in the name of the medium: "Visual Novel" that is "a storybook with pictures". I see nothing about gameplay or interactivity here, so I would not necessarily call them games.

Then we compare THIS game by Icey here to those. What can I affect? Nothing! What do my actions change? Nothing!
This IS a cinematic that just requires the player to click on the next "play" button until it finishes. There doesn't even seem to be any order to them, you just CLICK ON STUFF.

In my mind gameplay requires thought. You need to understand the game to win it. I could code a program that just clicks on the screen mindlessly and endlessly and it would always "win" this game 100% of the time. Such a thing would not work and any REAL game.

Icey, just have your games beta tested. I bet there are many people on these forums that would gladly beta test your games and help you find any bugs/spelling mistakes etc. You're better of spending an extra month having your game tested and fixed up than releasing an untested game. Wouldn't you just love to finally release a game and the first 10 comments all being positive not mentioning any bugs or spelling mistakes?

Don't try to be Ben, use more time on your projects. I'm sure you will enjoy it a lot more and I'm sure more people will like your games if you spend more time on them!

Hell, why not even team up with some people? You'r art seems to be improving a lot. If I managed to do art like that I'd keep practising trying to get better and focus on art.

Quote from: WHAM on Sun 04/03/2012 16:58:48
Icey: As long as you post these "games" I and many others will comment on them, discuss them, analyze them and critisize them. If you don't like that, don't post them here.

You are coming off more as a personal enemy then a critic in this thread.

Quote from: WHAM on Sun 04/03/2012 16:58:48
wisnoskij:
Portal 2 is a game and has gameplay mechanics and puzzles to resolve, so I don't see why you brought that up at all.
Dear Esther is not, in my mind, a game. It is a slightly interactive story.
So are many visual novels, though in those you can at least affect the outcome so they DO have a gameplay element. However, here the answer is already present in the name of the medium: "Visual Novel" that is "a storybook with pictures". I see nothing about gameplay or interactivity here, so I would not necessarily call them games.

OK, it is fair to say that interactive stories are not games, but "not a game" does not need to be a derogatory term.
But personally game, to me, game means any interactive thing.

And I disagree, I am not sure if Portal 2 has any real puzzles. 99% of portal is cinematics and walking down corridors to the next cinematic. 99% of the remaining gameplay can be solved with this simple algorithms:
Find the two portal sized light coloured sections of wall, shoot portals at them, go through the closest one.
The remaining 1 or 2 "puzzles" can be solved using this algorithm:
Or the perhaps 5 important possible areas to place portals which one is the only one that both changes the situation and does not regress the situation. Place a portal here, go through and repeat.
At no point do you have to understand the "puzzle" or understand how you are progressing.
IMHO

I will continue to read cause I'm not finished with Ghost's post. The reason I have the player remember who he is, is so he can help the little girl. You can't cast magic or remember how to escape if your have no memory of the exit correct? Another reasons it's four times and cause I wanted to find a way to incorporate Christen, Muffy , & Tifa. Friends help each get succeed in life at times. But that's only 3 friends so why 4 times? You can't get help from others until you take the time to help your self. One of those questions is him helping himself. The 4 fragments help past together his memory which is tagged to his name.

Quote from: WhamThen we compare THIS game by Icey here to those. What can I affect? Nothing! What do my actions change? Nothing!
This IS a cinematic that just requires the player to click on the next "play" button until it finishes. There doesn't even seem to be any order to them, you just CLICK ON STUFF.

@Wham: I now kindda understand where your coming from. It's more like a controllable cutscene. Which may not be a game in a whole but would rather be a nice touch in full game. But again I don't think I mentioned this but most short games I make are just for me to see how I can perfect something or add something in a full game such as AGS Colosseum or Pub Master Quest Legends. The only thing though is these test games become so important to me that I end up turning them into real games. Most of them I haven't released but still I have released a good hand full. OceanSpirit Dennis was the first game I made to help me develop a RPG even though it's seems impossible cause now I'm a the limits of room objects. But still each game, RPG or not has gave me new ways to develop something better or just simply add something better. I mean I wen't from using scores to int's, and instead of Dave move to set position I can use X,Y. So with that being said, these games may at times pull my rep down but in distant future it will grow 10 fold with the a awesome game like AGS Colosseum

Spoiler

Which maybe going on Steam when it's finished latter this year from my last conversation.

[close]

@Peder: I really admire Ben's work for some reason, I guess they pull me in leaving me wanting more. Like Square with Final Fantasy. Sometimes I feel the need to make a "look a like game" Like Project 304, OSD Last Boss & 99% Famous, and Dreams. It's also so I don't lose the Skill & so I can prefect it cause everyone knows how hard Ben's style is but I guess I use his style because it just seems a bit cool to me I guess.

Quote from: Icey games on Sun 04/03/2012 18:18:03So with that being said, these games may at times pull my rep down but in distant future it will grow 10 fold with the a awesome game like AGS Colosseum. Which maybe going on Steam when it's finished latter this year.

But has it occured to you that a reputation is EASY to go down, and very HARD to go up again once it is low?
I may be extreme in my view that a reputation as "maker of good games well worth the download" must be earned by making good games (which are well worth a download), though.

It has been said already: You have come some way, and you have improved your graphics. Everything else, however, is an endless repetition of the same issues: No testing, only taking advice you like (and even that is usually ignored), and acting as if every critic is out there to get you.
Dreams is something of a signature game because it HAS potential and WASTES a lot of it. It's not ugly and it is not broken, both of which are good things. it is also a very small and limited game, but that isn't necessarily bad. But if you once again just turn heel and whip up the next game without ever, ever listening, well, the next thread will be a carbon copy of this one, which is already a carbon copy of the last one. Get my point?

[edit]
And what Radiant said- Red is hardly an original character, so it's fair game, but don't link to Once Upon A Crime, then, please.

Quote from: Icey games on Sun 04/03/2012 18:18:03
AGS Colosseum
Which maybe going on Steam when it's finished latter this year from my last conversation.

Hold it.

I have not given you permission to make money using Crystal Shard characters from a freeware game. If you intend to go commercial with AGS Colosseum then I must request that you remove all content related to A Tale Of Two Kingdoms from your game.

@Ghost: Yeah I get what you mean. I really mean that too.

@Radient: I hope everyone who is evolved in this project in the littlest of ways is listen. AGS Colosseum is yes up to me where I wan't to take it but I am only putting it on steam for one reason. growth. I need money to help make the game grow. There is so much more I can do with this game if I just had the money. I wan't to be able get people to help me fix up all aspects of this game. Sound effects, voice acting, um graphics like effects, adobe after affects skills, and 3D cutscense made with something like maya or blender. There are people on the forums willing to help but let's be honest. Times are hard and most people require if not non then and at least a bit of money. I don't have the skills for everything when it comes to this game. I don't plan to use any of the money for myself but rather only towards the game further development of the game. Cause I'm telling you know that this is gonna be on e big growing game. There will be many more AGS characters added later on as I have already planed how I would fit them in with game story.

Also each AGS world has there own type of story for example

Spoiler

In Technobabylon world, The player must go inside the core system computers to remove a virus that is effecting the worlds defense system causing robots to attack random people. But how did the Virus get there in the first place? In Scavenger's world, Jacob's and the other cyber punks create a small virus which would grow over time. They implanted this virus into the world of Technobabylon.

It adds a bigger connection in the game to make the story more detailed and gives the player a much more to do cause with out stuff like this and quests the story would be way to linear. People like a lot do while still being able to complete the main story. Side stories is what they're called.

[close]

If you require some revenue out the game then let me know but(And I'm not saying you Radiant, just in general) don't take it for an unnecessary use cause it's like taking away from our game.

If anyone would like to discuss more on the future and the current state of AGS Colosseum then let me know cause I think it would be a good idea for me to open up a thread in the adventure-related section.

This thread has mutated.

If people want to talk about AGS Colosseum, it has it's own thread (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=44837.0). Please us it. Discussions about the what constitutes a "game" should also be taken to an appropriate thread, or taken to PM.

If nobody has anything else to say about "Dreams - Pub Master Quest", I'm locking this thread.