Adventure Game Studio

Okay, voting is now CLOSED and the results are as follows:

In third place... Fanbots with 3 votes.
In second place... Wrong Channel with 6 votes.
In first place... Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception with 7 votes.

Well done to Mandle. Nice job, mate. FSATAOTVR was a fun and clever game indeed.



Atelier sends his regards.

Topic: 'Television'

This month's guidelines were set by Stupot and Eggie:

Ends: July 3rd

If the revolution will be televised, then television will be revolutionized. And you, AGSers, are the revolting ones.

The theme for this month is 'Television'. How you interpret that is up to you. Maybe your protagonist is an actual TV set. Maybe you choose to provide a satirical critique of the televisual arts. Or maybe your gameplay is inspired by your favourite show: Interactive TV shows; sitcom adventure game with it's own laugh track; 60s Batman with Telltale style moral choices; 24 with interaction in every split screen; Too Many Cooks: The Survival Horror... The possibilities are endless.

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51087000/jpg/_51087150_poltergeist.jpg)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

What is MAGS?

MAGS is a monthly 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, or 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.

You may get help for the competition, although you must end up doing something yourself. You should however be warned that it proves difficult to organize a big team within thirty days. You are not allowed to use material already created before this competition. Your game must be completely new! Music and sound is an exception; you can use free material that is available to the public, if you wish. Modules and templates are also allowed.

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:


âÅ"“ A working download link

âÅ"“ The title of your game

âÅ"“ A suitable in-game screenshot


At the end of the month, voting will begin, usually lasting for fifteen days. The winner chooses the next month's theme, and their name and game is immortalised in the MAGS Archive (http://www.mags-competition.info/?page=games). For more information, please visit the Official MAGS website. (http://www.mags-competition.info/)

Okay, I've got my concept down but I have a quick question: are MIDI files of pop songs allowed as background music?

I can't wait for some Cronenberg-esque games.

I apologize for off-topic, I wanted to ask about MAGS website I knew: http://www.mags-competition.info/?page=history
It was last updated in mid 2014. Is there a new site, or it was abandoned completely?

Quote from: Stupot+ on Fri 05/06/2015 01:22:48
And you, AGSers, are the revolting ones.

Hey! I resemble that remark!!!

However...

I'm in!

My entry is not going to be so much about what happens in the TV shows as trying to get the TV reception just right.

All those little superstitions we had back in the day about how to get the TV reception right might turn out to be actually true! (But taken to the nth degree... (laugh) )

The concept is admittedly inspired by an episode of Mr. Bean, but the game should have enough twists and surprises along the way to become its own unique entity...

Now, to get to work!

(I have actually been thinking on a game based on M*A*S*H for some time, like a lost episode of the series but in adventure game form...But waaaaaaaaaay too much work for a MAGS....Maybe in a few years...)

Quote from: Mandle on Fri 05/06/2015 13:20:51
(I have actually been thinking on a game based on M*A*S*H for some time, like a lost episode of the series but in adventure game form...But waaaaaaaaaay too much work for a MAGS....Maybe in a few years...)

Okay, that's a game I'd definitely play! Even if I'm now going to spend the rest of the evening with that opening song stuck in my head... ;)

Quote from: JudasFm on Fri 05/06/2015 14:18:46

Quote from: Mandle on Fri 05/06/2015 13:20:51
(I have actually been thinking on a game based on M*A*S*H for some time, like a lost episode of the series but in adventure game form...But waaaaaaaaaay too much work for a MAGS....Maybe in a few years...)

Okay, that's a game I'd definitely play! Even if I'm now going to spend the rest of the evening with that opening song stuck in my head... ;)

What follows it too off-topic to post but too awesome to not post, so I hid it where the mods could never find it:

Spoiler

Yeah....the game would have to reproduce the opening credits sequence in a cutscene and animation-wise this would be incredible in itself with the medics running up to the heli-pad and all...Also I'm guessing that purchasing the rights to use "Suicide is painless" might cost quite a bit so the game might have to be freeware...

But...I can't get the image of Hawkeye and MacIntire done as low-res sprites, and "The Swamp" as a 320x240 background out of my head for some reason, with "The Still" on the left and Weasel-Face's bed on the right...

Henry, kicking back at his desk with his fly-fishing lure hat on also and Radar with his teddy-bear and...well...radar....offer so many possibilities for an adventure game...

Klinger having to assemble a specific outfit to fool some idiot general (In very particular lighting I'd imagine)...There is just too much to work with!

I won't even get started on 5 O'Clock Charlie...Or how to sneak Radar into the "Officer's Club" to drink his Grape Knee-highs...

(Yeah, I would for sure choose the early seasons over the later ones....Maybe with a cameo from Charles Emerson Winchester (the Third) because he was just sooooo awesome...)

And if anyone thought I had overlooked Hot-Lips Houlihan... There would be a shower-scene for sure!!! With the lads trying to fool her into thinking the camera flashes were just the normal distant shelling going off, to blackmail her into going against Frank Burns' usually insane descisions...

OMG...What a game it could be!!!

[close]

Can't wait to see what everyone does! Should be ace!

I have the one and only background done for my game and have it up and running in AGS: Testing some lighting effects at the moment as the room will go through several lighting changes.

Oh, and I even have a game title:

"Feng Shui And The Art Of TV Reception"

Quote from: JudasFm on Fri 05/06/2015 08:11:20
are MIDI files of pop songs allowed as background music?

The rules say you can use music that is freely available to the public. I assume that goes for MIDI versions, too.  It's doubtful that most pop songs fall into that category. Is there a specific reason you need to use a particular song?

Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Fri 05/06/2015 12:38:44
I wanted to ask about MAGS website [that] was last updated in 2014.

i think it's been neglected recently. If someone can give me the login details and appropriate instructions, I'd happily have a go at bringing it up-to-date.

Quote from: Mandle on Sun 07/06/2015 01:39:16
"Feng Shui And The Art Of TV Reception"

Sounds fun, mate.

Well...I got a lot of work done today:

I managed to make a unique, confusing, and broken, user-interface...

I have a puzzle half-way done but the second half is probably broken due to above said interface...

On the upside: The mood of the game is exactly as I had wished so far, and also if I can fix the damn interface then puzzles can just come pouring out of my....erm....imagination...

So yeah....anyone else entering this MAGs???

I might have something... Not sure, but I might...
You know what? I'll do what I did for the December MAGS and post something here, quoting myself, "just to convince myself I'll make it in time" (laugh)
Last time it worked!

(http://i.imgur.com/l5oB9ua.png)

I've got also an idea I'm working on it... All I can say is that I'll do my best to try to finish it in time!

Got some work done today after a very confusing time messing around with plugins, which AprilSkies helped me out with being the huge-hearted dude that he is...

I still have a lot of issues with the game though...The main one being at the moment that I can play it fine in run-time in AGS but the compiled version crashes, which is really messing with my head...

Probably some issues with the plugins that I don't fully understand enough about yet...

Any advice appreciated...Or just call me a NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOB!!!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

It's just so easy to waste 4-5 hours of valuable time trying to sort out a single issue and not get f*cking ANYWHERE!!!

Oh....The issue I'm talking about is not the same one as in the above post: I figured that one out after a few well-spent hours...

All I'm trying to do at the moment is crop a video down to a smaller size, but it seems the Japanese OS version of MovieMaker won't let me import the video because it breaks some copyright laws or some such bullshit...

UHHGG! If this was before I made Dexter Morning Routine I would have participated! :~(

Mandle, try VirtualDub to edit the video. ;)

Thanks for the advice Cassie...I will remember that for the future...

I found a workaround for my problems and actually managed to get a playable version finished today...

Gotta love it in a MAGs when you have start to finish done and only have to add as much middle content as possible before the deadline, and can add as much afterwards as you like to polish it up...

Got some work done today on the ending that is not quite polished but I'm pretty happy with it...

Now to concentrate more on the actual gameplay...

Quote from: Stupot+ on Sun 07/06/2015 03:09:13

Quote from: Crimson Wizard on Fri 05/06/2015 12:38:44
I wanted to ask about MAGS website [that] was last updated in 2014.

i think it's been neglected recently. If someone can give me the login details and appropriate instructions, I'd happily have a go at bringing it up-to-date.

I was given the keys to the kingdom and have brought the contest guidelines and game entries bang up-to-date (http://www.mags-competition.info/?page=history)

@Mandle - I'm sure it ends very well :-)

Is anyone else in?

Not sure that I can finish it in time. I've done most of the art but I just start programing yesterday. Still a lot to pulish :(

As usual for me I made a lot of progress on the game, and then broke most of it without a backup before the breakage...

But I did learn a thing or two along the way...

The game is about 90% finished provided I can figure out where one last set of braces needs to be...

I'm still working on my May MAGS entry, but I had a nice little idea for June's so here it is! It's pretty short (10 mins?) and although it's a horror game it's not going to give anyone nightmares :)

Wrong Channel - Completed Game Thread (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52340.0)

(http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/wrongchannel1.png)

Its quite late in the middle of the month, hopefully i can work on something real quick for this!

Great to see more potential entrants! My own entry is coming along well finally. I fixed everything I broke without breaking anything else for once: I found that actually concentrating on what I'm doing while coding works wonders!

Even managed to sneak in another couple of puzzles. Not finished yet, so back to it!!!

Stupot - thank you for hosting this month and for updating the MAGS database! It was very out of date so I imagine it was no mean feat. Three cheers for Stupot! ;-D

I'm working on the MAGS July thread now.

Unfortunately, me, it's now sure that I wont finish the game in time. I'll need at least one more week, so I would try to share it when it's done.

I was wondering if anyone would object to an extension on the deadline until Sunday (July 5th)...I was going to try to wrap it up tonight, but I'm just too tired after work for anything except bed, and too burnt-out from working on the game all day yesterday.

So yeah, it would be awesome to have the weekend to finish if nobody minds...?

Quote from: Mandle on Thu 02/07/2015 11:07:23
I was wondering if anyone would object to an extension on the deadline until Sunday (July 5th)...I was going to try to wrap it up tonight, but I'm just too tired after work for anything except bed, and too burnt-out from working on the game all day yesterday.

So yeah, it would be awesome to have the weekend to finish if nobody minds...?

Sound fine to me, I know the feeling!

Quote from: Mokho on Wed 01/07/2015 17:44:31
Unfortunately, me, it's now sure that I wont finish the game in time. I'll need at least one more week, so I would try to share it when it's done.

same here.. barely finished the sprites and BG, but im going to finish it anyway just for the laughs :) GL to all, and mandle... go finish it! *cheers*

A week is a bit too long I think, but it seems fair to allow a few more days so people can work on it over the weekend.

So you have until Monday the 6th. Mokho and Priabudman, do your best over the weekend. Maybe you'll have something releasable by then which you can polish up afterwards.

Cheers Stu! The extra time will not go to waste!

Thanks Stupot! As Mandle said: none of this time will go to waste! :D
We're still working on an entry and, hopefully, things will be final by then!

Glad to know you're still in, LTD. I was going to ask. Good luck everyone x

Well, I made it through for better or for worse:


Game Features:

* A weird interface
* Atmosphere
* Feng Shui
* Animation
* Sound Effects
* A TV
* Voice acting of an excellent quality!!!
* Reception
* Art

So....erm...yeah...I hope the reception of my MAGS entry will be better than the one on the telly...

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1937/)

Sorry, I didn't have to much time this weekend and it was imposible to finish in time. I prefered spend a few hours in the coloring ball competition. Mi MAGS game will be announced out of competition in one or two weeks. It's my first attempt with MAGS competition and i have been to much ambicious. One of my mistake is the art style choice (I would have chose a simpler one).

Game Features:
- Custom Resolution (595x385) just because!
- Isometric Graphics because why not!
- Robot lingo!
- References!
- NO COMMON INVENTORY!
- A song performed by CaptainD!

---
"Androids" is a fictional/parody TV series appearing for few brief moments in the series Red Dwarf

OMG this looks so cool how could anybody possibly stay away. You gotta put this in the completed games thread!

edit: Was fun guys. Was that really CaptainD at the end? Don't quit your day job. ;)

Quote from: MyEakinBack on Mon 06/07/2015 05:44:49
edit: Was fun guys. Was that really CaptainD at the end? Don't quit your day job. ;)

With the benefit of modern pop song over-production techniques, I'm sure I could sound almost as good as one of those terrible, bland singers who lose talent shows... :-D

Thanks MyEakinBack! :D I will post it it there soon!
About CaptainD's performance: when he suggested it I couldn't simply say no! (laugh)

Also can't wait to play the other 2 entries (and the upcoming release of Mokho's game)!

Wow! Just Wow, LTD!!!
(So I guess I have to reach the end to hear Dave's song :D)

EDIT: Err.. it seems the download doesn't work...

Thanks AprilSkies! Yes that's the ultimate reward for completing the game 8-)
The link should be working now! :D

Yep, it's ok now! Thanks dude!

Quote from: AprilSkies on Mon 06/07/2015 14:49:05
(So I guess I have to reach the end to hear Dave's song :D)

Quote from: LostTrainDude on Mon 06/07/2015 15:17:06
Yes that's the ultimate reward for completing the game 8-)

I fear you are setting people up for major disappointment.... :grin:

I had to vote for Fanbots....being a major Red Dwarf fan, and the game and puzzles were just so awesome!!!

It was a very hard toss-up however as I also loved the dark mood of Wrong Channel and the puzzles there were great too...

But, the inner Fanbot in myself won out and the closing "Neighbors" "Androids" theme song just won me over...

Amazing entry!!!

I'm struggling a bit to find games to LP, so I decided to LP all these games. The playlist is here if you're interested: https://youtu.be/VwHe2U3bJ0A?list=PLEem6SKeUgpUTdSg7d7oRYNsiAD7NyGrD

Some comments:
I absolutely loved all these games, they were very different and it's super difficult to judge them against each other.
Wrong channel: Loved it, the puzzles were really clever and it was a really cool concept.
Feng shui: A really, really interesting game. At first I was a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities, but it just started to flow naturally after playing a bit. Excellent design.
Fanbots: This was a more standard approach. I think I would enjoy this more if I had actually watched red dwarf, but nevertheless I loved the enourmous amount of bad puns xD

In the end I had to go for Wrong Channel, everyting just clicked in that game and I loved it. Excellent competition!

I also have a few comments on the games.
First I think everyone did an awesome work! (nod)

Wrong Channel
This game is pass my intelligence! (laugh)
I haven't yet finished it, mostly cause 2 reasons: I hate death and start again games; and I've seen the the solution. I can feel that game story and execution are tip top! (nod)

Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception
I have a bit hard to distance my from the first version and the last version, but in a hole I enjoyed the well thought out puzzles. Even though I'm not much for 1st person adventure games.

Fanbots
I just LOVE Red Dwarf! (first seasons of it anyway, before it started going downhill), love the isometric and the game theme. In fact I love everything in this game, but felt cheated with too easy puzzles. And when I finally got to a puzzle that involved thinking a bit...

Spoiler

...it got ruined (IMHO) by red/green coloring and no way to deselected a wrong option... Not that it mattered much, since you could just start over.

[close]

For this reason, and because we asked to vote for "the most enjoyable", I voted for...

Spoiler

...Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception

[close]

.

;)

Another really top quality MAGS month! (Even if I do say so with one of my own games in there :P)

Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception: I agree with Bulbapuck, at first I was a bit lost but once I realised the hotspots were quite specific I managed to get through to the end without too many issues! I thought the controls were a fantastic experiment and with a little tweaking would create a unique interface you could perhaps even use as a template for other games. I enjoyed the style which to me felt like an interactive version of the browser based escape the room style games and without going anywhere near a spoiler, I thought the game story and ending were great!

Fanbots: What a great choice for a theme! The graphics were fantastic, I love the pixel art style and it worked well in isometric! The game did end up being more of an interactive story but I felt that it was a good fit for the theme. You could also easily expand on the idea an have each of the robots with a different skill and the ability to switch to play each one even. Again, without spoilers, the ending was genius! :D

Really tough to choose between them but my vote goes to...

Spoiler

Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception - I felt the hard work put into the unique interface just pushed it ahead of my love for Red Dwarf ;)

[close]

Quote from: Bulbapuck on Sun 12/07/2015 14:30:47
I'm struggling a bit to find games to LP, so I decided to LP all these games. The playlist is here if you're interested: https://youtu.be/VwHe2U3bJ0A?list=PLEem6SKeUgpUTdSg7d7oRYNsiAD7NyGrD

DUDE!!!

I must thank you so much for giving me a first-time experience as a game developer:

I have never actually seen a player play through one of my games from beginning to end as a blind playthrough trying to work everything out in real-time...

I don't have any friends in real-life who want to play these kinds of games, and they would only be humouring me if I made them try so it wouldn't be interesting on both ends...

The fact that you were F-bombing when frustrated and excited when you discovered new stuff got my heart racing while watching your videos: This is exactly what a developer wants their players to go through while playing their game!!! I loved seeing those reactions!!!

I loved seeing the deductive leaps you made both correct and incorrect and it was a very important study for me in where my games connect with the player logically and also where the logical disconnects might lie...

Slight spoiler:

Spoiler

I also LOVED that you cut the second part in mid-scream instead of showing how the game quits itself lamely and just returns to the desktop...

[close]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT AWESOME ENDING!!! It had me laughing my ass off and now I must go back and watch it again for some more chuckles!!!

Thanks again mate!

Slight spoiler:

Spoiler

(Oh, I also tripped out when every time I said "I shut that infernal machine away in there for a reason..." you told me "Good for you!"...It was hilarious to hear someone answering back my own voice inside my own game: But still a bunch trippy...(laugh) )

[close]

I've finally managed to play this month's entries :D

Wrong Channel
I loved the exceptional work put together by xil, his style (not just the aesthetics of it, but the whole experience) seems to get more and more of a unique trademark :) (I think I have said that already somewhere, but who cares!).
I've enjoyed the mood and the concept, also the way in which the main puzzle is designed makes you keep your fingers crossed all the time hoping you are right (which is perfectly fine for me, considering that it's an horror game)!

Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception
Usually I'm not really able to enjoy this kind of "Escape games", but the amount of effort put in this and the unexpected polish made it a really nice experience. Some interactions could need some little more tweaking

Spoiler

I missed the right bunch of pixels when useing the hook-powered wooden stick on the trapdoor on the top a few times, so I initially thought that was not the solution

[close]

but none of this felt too frustrating :D

So yes, IT WAS a difficult choice indeed... But I think I'll give my vote to Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception, because it was more of a surprise for me to enjoy that :) So there's actually nothing against xil's entry!

It has been a great MAGS, folks :D Thank you all for your feedback, appreciation and votes!

---

On a side note: Bulbapuck thanks A LOT for what you did with your Let's Play videos :D
I had great fun watching you play Fanbots and you actually made me aware of some bugs we couldn't reproduce ourselves once we found them the first time (laugh)

Are people using the link above to vote?
When I said 'Vote for your favourite here' above I meant click on the link to go to the voting page.

If you have mentioned your favourite in this thread but not voted on the mags website, please go to this link:
http://www.mags-competition.info/index.php?page=voting and click on your favourite. If you have already done that, please ignore this message.

:-)

Quote from: Stupot+ on Wed 15/07/2015 15:29:41
Are people using the link above to vote?
When I said 'Vote for your favourite here' above I meant click on the link to go to the voting page.

If you have mentioned your favourite in this thread but not voted on the mags website, please go to this link:
http://www.mags-competition.info/index.php?page=voting and click on your favourite. If you have already done that, please ignore this message.

:-)

Oops :P (have now voted officially!)

Congrats! They are all excellent games, each one in his own style! It has been hard to choose but finally I had vote for Mandle's game.

P.S. I'm still working on mine. It will be soon available  :)

Quote from: Stupot+ on Wed 15/07/2015 15:29:41
Are people using the link above to vote?
When I said 'Vote for your favourite here' above I meant click on the link to go to the voting page.

If you have mentioned your favourite in this thread but not voted on the mags website, please go to this link:
http://www.mags-competition.info/index.php?page=voting and click on your favourite. If you have already done that, please ignore this message.

:-)

Thanks mate for the clarification...I voted in the link and then posted my opinions here which might have caused the confusion so I PM'd everyone who had voted in the thread so far reminding them to vote in your link as well...

Probably spam, but....yeah...

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM!!!

Quote from: Mandle on Thu 16/07/2015 12:53:25
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM!!!

I think we may have found next month's theme? :grin:

I must say, voting turn-out for this month has been phenomenal, assuming (as I do) that you are all honest, lovely folk who only voted once. There's still about a day left, so get voting if you haven't already and watch this space for the final result.

It's been fun playing at host for the June comp and I hope I didn't take too many liberties. I think Atelier has things under control so I'll step aside, but I'm happy to help out if ever the need arises :-)

Okay, voting is now CLOSED.
And the results are as follows:

In third place... Fanbots with 3 votes.
In second place... Wrong Channel with 6 votes.
In first place... Feng Shui and the Art of TV Reception with 7 votes.

Well done to Mandle. Nice job, mate. FSATAOTVR was a fun and clever game indeed. I guess Atelier will soon ask you for August's theme.

Congrats Mandle! If I didn't get totally stuck on wrong channel I would have played FanBots and voted  :-\
Great games all around none-the-less  ;-D

Woah...close votes, as it should be.

I'm SO STOKED that I actually won a MAGS!!! And against such worthy competition!

I can't wait to tell my older students who tried out the game that I won. They have bugging me for weeks about it...

Thanks to Stupot+ for an inspiring round, to the other entrants for the stiff competition, and to all those who voted, whether for my entry or not!

CONGRATS MANDLE! :D A great game indeed!
Glad to have taken part in this great MAGS!

Also, three cheers to xil for the second place and a round of applause for Stupot for hosting this one :D

Congrats M8!!!! ^_^
Very well deserved!

Also cheers the other entrants for the magnificent work. You guys made a great work!

All 3 games deserved to win honest.

Congrats Mandle, a worthy winner!

Thanks Stupot for hosting and three cheers back to the Fanbots team - a very high quality MAGS month indeed!

Quote from: Dualnames on Wed 22/07/2015 13:50:17
All 3 games deserved to win honest.

Totally agree, because of this thing said better than I could have:

Quote from: xil on Wed 22/07/2015 14:32:10
a very high quality MAGS month indeed!

I just actually replayed all the games including my own and they were all equally entertaining...Well, except for mine which I'm bored of playing because I made it and played it literally a million times during development...

well done mandle... looks like i have competition (laugh)

i think i'll have to do a mags... well, at least try :-D

let's see what you come up with for the next one (roll)

Quote from: slasher on Thu 23/07/2015 19:56:35
well done mandle... looks like i have competition (laugh)

i think i'll have to do a mags... well, at least try :-D

let's see what you come up with for the next one (roll)

Cheers mate! I always wondered why you didn't do a MAGS seeing as you make games at such a pace anyway... (laugh)

I think you may like the theme I've proposed for the August round ;)