Adventure Game Studio

Voting is over and we have a tie!
Congrats to Kastchey and Slasher. You'll be contacted soon about choosing a topic for November.
Commiserations VampireWombat.
Thanks to all entrants and voters.

(http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2293_1.png)	Jason and the Golden Apple (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2293/) by Slasher
(http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2295_1.png)	Here Be No Sirens (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2295/) by Kastchey
(http://ags.pics/images/O5SG.png)	Sweet Mythery (https://vampirewombat.itch.io/sweetmythery) by Vampire Wombat

Topic: Mermaids and Sirens
Chosen by Kastchey

(https://s15.postimg.cc/4lse4x3cb/mermaids_sirens.png)

A mermaid is a half-human, half-fish. A male version of this creature is called a merman, but its appearance in tales and popular culture is significantly less common. The mermaid steals the spotlight!
A siren is a human-bird hybrid, most commonly depicted as a large bird with a head of a human female. They would lure the sailors to their dwellings with their singing and crash their ships for the rare delicacy that is mariner meat!

Since these two entirely different mythological creatures are often confused with each other, why not use both for a MAGS theme?

For this month's competition, your challenge is to create a game featuring a mermaid, a merman or a siren.
It can, but does not have to feature the actual living creature. It can be a person disguised as one, it can be a painting, it can even be a homonym (e.g., siren as a warning sound device is also acceptable).

Some ideas to get you started:

1. A merman boy sets out to find his dolphin friend who has gone missing, and rumor has it that there are sharks around! Well only one shark who is old, half blind and missing most of his teeth but to a small merman boy he sure looks scary.

2. A crackpot journalist needs to get footage of a real mermaid to pay the bills, but they just wouldn't show up. Out of better options, she decides to fabricate one.

3. A mermaid gets entangled in a fisherman's net. She needs to free herself and get her tail out of there before anyone spots her.

4. A prankster or an activist wants to hijack the emergency siren system to play a custom sound.

5. A brave adventurer has been tasked with obtaining the priceless plume of a siren.


There is no restriction on the use of pre-made assets.
Don't know where to find free assets? Try AGS Trove (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=55998.0)!

Ending: September 30th

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 (http://www.mags-competition.info/?page=games). For more information, please visit the Official MAGS website. (http://www.mags-competition.info/)
[/quote]

I like sirens.
Mermaids/Mermen are somewhat... not interesting imo :=

One could make a good horror game using sirens, though; even in the Odyssey they are the stuff of nightmares.

I personally prefer psirens.
But my mind has wandered to Bruce Campbell saying "You've got harpies." instead. Which then makes me think of space herpes from Ice Pirates...

Now I really wish I actually played more than a few minutes of a King's Quest game.

Quote from: KyriakosCH on Sat 01/09/2018 11:24:56
I like sirens.
Mermaids/Mermen are somewhat... not interesting imo :=

Which is totally fine (and so are psirens, VW ;)).

I aimed to choose a theme that would easily fit any type of setting, from a kiddie game to a dark horror. Hope to see your flesh-eating, murderous, merciless sirens in action this month, Kyriakos!

Quote from: Kastchey on Sat 01/09/2018 12:53:34
Which is totally fine (and so are psirens, VW ;)).

Well, psirens could work in the right game, yes.
But the sirens/siren... thing... from Ducktales would be more fitting given the ideas I've come up with the last hour. Though I have a feeling I will end up with something closer to the herpes harpies from Hercules.

"Block up your ears, men!"    "Block up your ears!" (laugh)

I feel a seafaring journey overseas as ideas are brewing...(nod)

Perhaps my game will then have fee searing or see fearing.
Okay, okay. I promise, I won't have Xanth level of puns.

Quote from: Kastchey on Sat 01/09/2018 12:53:34

Quote from: KyriakosCH on Sat 01/09/2018 11:24:56
I like sirens.
Mermaids/Mermen are somewhat... not interesting imo :=

Which is totally fine (and so are psirens, VW ;)).

I aimed to choose a theme that would easily fit any type of setting, from a kiddie game to a dark horror. Hope to see your flesh-eating, murderous, merciless sirens in action this month, Kyriakos!

8-) 8-) 8-)

Sorry, guys I am going the route of Jason (Argo)/Sinbad...hybrid........

First scene being developed....

Why sorry? That's a perfectly reasonable route to go.

I'm going to be trying to do a game that's kind of The Secret of Monkey Island in a fantasy setting instead of with pirates. But the character is probably going to be a little younger and be influenced by main characters of The Sword in the Stone, The Black Cauldron, and maybe a little bit of Star Wars.

Intro screenshot:

(https://i.imgur.com/XX7Bw1F.png)

I always wanted to see an adventure game starring Jason Priestley.

I have no name for my game. Or the main character. But I am considering having chapters and naming one something like "You've got harpies." Thanks to some friends elsewhere, I do have 3 creatures to put in the game. Which brings the count up to 6.

Could be Jason Donovan (laugh)

Quote from: Slasher on Tue 04/09/2018 20:23:19
Could be Jason Donovan (laugh)

Or Jason Voorhees?

Quote from: Mandle on Wed 05/09/2018 01:28:20
Or Jason Voorhees?

Wouldn't that be taking Slasher's name too literally?

Video in production:

The Island of Hesus almost complete...

Game progress: 10%

Nice.

I have nothing complete. But I have 1/3 or so of the scripting for character selection complete. And I am working on an item creation gui. Sure, I could just use the normal inventory, but I want to have recipes.

And the current name is... Sweet Mythery. I'm sorry.

QuoteVampireWombat:  Sweet Mythery

And why not indeed... At least you have an idea brewing...

Any other show of hands?

Mag's needs you (nod)

So far my game entry is around 60% complete.. Still tons more to do...

Hmm, brewing is a good idea. I wonder what useful things could be brewed. But yes, I do have an item crafting system in place, one background mostly finished, and ideas for finishing each quest 3 or 4 different ways. I'm taking shortcuts this time and using the open pixel project as a base. But I've modified all of the character sprites I'm using and created quite a few additional items.
But direct work on the game is going to be halted so I can work on a game for the 2nd annual thing on Itch.io. But since I'm going to also use the open pixel project for that I'll at least make some npc heads and some items I can use for both.

So far with Jason and The Golden Apple:

I am doing the final dramatic scenes for the island of Ghoul part of the game....

Can Jason and his crew defeat the Sirens wail, find the Golden Apple and obtain it?

What secrets will they find out about the Golden Apple?

There are sure to be some obstacles in the way (nod)

Will one of the crew turn 'Bad apple' :shocked:

You will have to play it to find out (laugh)

Game progress: 80%

Just keep brewing those ideas VampireWombat (nod)

I'm enjoying the game that i'm creating and that's got to be good...

I really hope it does not turn out buggy :-X

The game mechanics are like 95% complete and I am onto the 4th scene of Ghoul island....

The game itself is on schedule and I expect another 8/11 days work before testing...

It's all hands to the deck on the Argonal (laugh)

Yes, I plan to watch some stuff to hopefully get more ideas. And I have a notebook near my tv. I've determined over the past day or so that each "quest" will be able to be solved by the power of puns. But there will be more straightforward methods as well.

Good luck on your game not being buggy.

I've solved problems with food so why not puns? (laugh)

At the moment I am doing the first Bob Bones and his crew scene...

Game progress 80%..........

Making food is one of my solutions. If I can think of something, I will even have at least one food pun.

My Entry is finished, but that is only half of the matter, It's testing time  (laugh)

Congratulations on finishing. Good luck catching bugs.

It's a shame no one else is even posting. This theme has so much possibility. Maybe at least one person is silently working on a game and biding their time.

I sure hope so... cmon guys, I made such a nice picture for you! ;)

Slasher the Gamemaking Machine, congratulations on finishing your entry.

Quote from: Kastchey on Thu 20/09/2018 23:09:05
I sure hope so... cmon guys, I made such a nice picture for you! ;)

Slasher the Gamemaking Machine, congratulations on finishing your entry.

I sure hope more guys come out of their closets and hit us flash bang wallop with great games (nod)

Congratulations on finishing. Hopefully someone will be able to help you with proofreading. I should be getting back to work on my game Monday.

New Video Intro

Into the last week folks. Any more for any more? We've had some good momentum recently.

I just spotted an error in your description. You used decease instead of disease. Of course if the disease is bad enough it would make the person deceased...
I also find it kind of funny that you put the genre as a historical game.
Is this the game that's been giving you video issues?

Not much news on my game. I started work on it again Sunday once I gave up on trying to finish the game for the itch jam. I have a walkcycle for the main character and I have a harpy about 2/3 finished. And I'm going to start the intro today.

Nice spotting of the type VampireWombat...

Also changed Historical to Fantasy...

cheers ;)

Quote from: Stupot on Mon 24/09/2018 23:23:13
Into the last week folks. Any more for any more? We've had some good momentum recently.

We've had a couple other, non-AGS game making competitions overlapping with MAGS which may have absorbed people's creativeness this month.
Either this or the theme sucks ;)

Kastchey: The theme does not suck, as you say..

It's a perfectly fine theme...

Being creative is all about venturing into the ad lib zone..... Being able to tackle any topic....to some success at least...

People are either too busy or can't get their creative juices flowing.

Personally I like the challenge and this is my 14th consecutive mag competition entry....

Anyhow, don't blame yourself for lack of entries.. It's not over until the fat lady sings... ;)

I agree that the theme doesn't suck. I'm sure various things have kept people from doing a game this month. I know that trying and failing to make a game for the itch jam hurt progress on my game.

We still have a week for some surprise entries, anyway ;)

By the way, what is the current policy on entering our own competitions? It used to be frowned upon some time back but as I understand it, that was mainly because of the no pre-made assets rule. Or was it?

Even the topic-setter may enter...

Yeah there's no rule against the topic-setter entering. It is just assumed that you haven't done any secret planning and designing (or preferably even thinking about it) until everybody else also knows the topic at the start of the month.

I can't be the only entrant?

Come on guys... one day to go!

I'm trying to put something together to get you some competition, Slasher, but as I started late I'm not sure if I'll make it.
Or maybe I'll submit it this way or another, worst case the competition I get you will be VERY lousy ;-D

I'm still working on mine. I'm working on dialog trees this morning, backgrounds this afternoon, and some programming this evening/tonight.
Tomorrow will be inventory items, music, and finishing up whatever else needs done.

Awesome! I'm counting on you, doctor ;)

Don't count on me too much. I still haven't figured out how to properly implement the mermaid(s). All I can promise is 11 people in the inn to talk to and at least one horrible pun.

Well, two maybe's is better that no maybe's (nod)

Good luck guys...

Oh, I have all plans of having a version completed tomorrow. Even if it ends up just people talking about the siren(s) and mermaid(s)...

Toss a dialogue puzzle in and you're good :>

I have no idea how I'd accomplish that at the moment. Especially with the dialog trees I already have.
I believe I have it more or less figured out, at least well enough for the mags version. I just have to decide which character to use for giving the quest.

Only a few hours to go...

Top gear and nose to the grind stone guys.. If you don't hurt you're not working hard enough (nod)

I am working. And it is hurting.
And there's absolutely no way I'm going to be able to implement everything. I found that I have 33 items. I'll probably have to cut music out at the least. And most likely that won't be the only thing cut...

I have just tested my game from the beginning through the end so it *should* be more or less playable.
I have a few more things to do but I'll submit it before the deadline today.

That's definitely more than I have. Currently I'm not even sure who has dialog and who doesn't. I definitely won't have time to test it. But I will submit something by the deadline, even if it winds up being a buggy mess...

And looks like item creation is going to be phased out for this version.

So, here it is and again, I didn't really manage to spare much time for testing so.... let the bugfest begin!

Sweet Mythery

I'm sure there are bugs.
And not all is implemented.

Sweet Mythery (https://vampirewombat.itch.io/sweetmythery)

(http://ags.pics/images/O5SG.png)
(http://ags.pics/images/OfBF.png)

Thanks for all your entries so far. It's a bit hectiv here at the moment. But I'll get the voting up and running as soon as I can.

Time to vote!
Please use the poll at the top of the page. You have 2 weeks :-)

(http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2293_1.png)	Jason and the Golden Apple (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2293/) by Slasher
(http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/images/games/2295_1.png)	Here Be No Sirens (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2295/) by Kastchey
(http://ags.pics/images/O5SG.png)	Sweet Mythery (https://vampirewombat.itch.io/sweetmythery) by Vampire Wombat

Looks interesting - hope I will get to play/vote/comment on these before time runs out.

Good luck to all who play mine. Warning: You can't actually see the mermaid(s) or siren(s) at this point. But hopefully they can at least be talked about.
I can also guarantee there will be bugs and some dialog meant to hint at what to do is missing.

I'm yet to play Slasher's game through to the end but I can certainly say that if this month's theme was "Mermaids, Sirens and Potion Making" all our three entries would still match the requirements ;)

I've played all the entries and here are my thoughts:
Jason and the Golden Apple by Slasher

Spoiler

The puzzles are alright, but the story wasn't that funny and mostly just random stuff happening. The different art assets were all poorly fitted together with bits missing, though reinterpreting Jason as an Orc was an interesting choice.

[close]

Sweet Mythery by Vampire Wombat

Spoiler

There was some good art and potentially fun story, but it was too short and unfinished to make much of an impression.

[close]

Here Be No Sirens by Kastchey

Spoiler

I liked the art and story and the one item puzzling was fun. It's the entry I ended up voting for.

[close]

This one was hard - all three games are quite good entries.

Here are my notes and vote:

Sweet Mythery by VampireWombat

Spoiler

A nice little medieval tale of an errandboy. I would cut the forest down to one screen - it's not that interesting to
walk back and forth through repeating backgrounds. If you want to make the forest "bigger" then perhaps put more background elements in?
I like the thought of a fully fleshed out game of running errands in a small village :)

[close]

Jason and the Golden Apple by Slasher

Spoiler

An adventurous and mythical journey. I see the point of using pre-made assets if you're not
an artist, but mixing pre-made assets with a classic "pre-made" story might be too much? I am not sure, as
the result is actually very much a Slasher game :) But I would prefer something more personal perhaps..
The game has got a nice length and pace, and the sense of adventure is there for sure!
I love the shot of Hera and Zeus overlooking the seas!!

[close]

Here be NO Sirens by Kastchey

Spoiler

I like the story of the washed up sailors - that's great :)
The game is sort of divided into two parts: first you talk a lot and then you fly around and make the potion.
Perhaps it would be better to spread out the dialogue? (I'm guilty of doing this myself). A bit annoying waiting
for the siren to fly to the same spot each time she picks up an item. Though it's nice with the "one item at a time" thing.
A fresh little adventure. Good length for what it is. And really nice water lapping animation :)

[close]

My vote goes to..

Spoiler

Here be NO Sirens by Kastchey.

[close]

Sweet Mythery by VampireWombat

Spoiler

I liked the graphics, but I couldn't get into the game and the background music was a bit repetitive and annoying

[close]

Jason and the Golden Apple by Slasher

Spoiler

I couldn't get this to work; the opening screen popped up and then none of the buttons worked

[close]

Here be NO Sirens by Kastchey

Spoiler

The best graphics, and I did get some way into the game before getting bored

[close]

My vote goes to:

Spoiler

Here be NO Sirens by Kastchey

[close]

I think this one is going to be close.

My thoughts:

Jason and the Golden Apple by Slasher

Spoiler

This game is based on a number of quests contributing to a mission. I agree about the mixed assets but I also realize that when it comes to working with time constraints, the focus has to be either the graphics, or the story, or the puzzles, or the length and so on. The ingame hint section was a nice touch, especially for a MAGS entry. The idea was good and overall fun to play. There is a nice variety of things to do. The ending could have been a bit more elaborate.

[close]

Here be NO Sirens by Kastchey

Spoiler

I liked how this game had a beginning, middle and end. There were some decent puzzles and even one that had me stumped for a bit (getting the figurine). A classic "complete the list" game. I think that for the time given as a MAGS entry this was a great shot, despite being short.

[close]

Sweet Mythery by VampireWombat

Spoiler

While playing this, I actually was thinking "WOW! This one is going to have my vote!"...and then it ended :( The graphics are great, the story works, dialogues, NPCs to interact with, quests, mystery man in the corner, rooms to explore, there is so much going for the game.

Except that it's over just as it was getting good.

[close]

My vote goes to

Spoiler

Jason and the Golden Apple. I just enjoyed it the most because there was just so much to do to complete the mission.

[close]

Cheers!

The Outer Zone - Yeah, I didn't realize the forest would take as long to walk through until it was too late to change. I plan to add more to it at some point and actually use more than one tree.

jahnocli - Unfortunately I didn't have time to make the intro I wanted which would hopefully get the player more into the game. Sorry about the music. I'll try to have more selections in the future to round it out better.

Shadow1000 - Thank you very much. Unfortunately it really did end abruptly since I was working on it up until 15 minutes before the deadline. I already have added dialog to all of the characters and plan to work on it a little bit at a time. Hopefully in a month or two I'll have a version completed which actually shows the mermaid(s), siren(s), and harpies.

Quote from: VampireWombat on Tue 09/10/2018 15:00:12

Shadow1000 - Thank you very much. Unfortunately it really did end abruptly since I was working on it up until 15 minutes before the deadline. I already have added dialog to all of the characters and plan to work on it a little bit at a time. Hopefully in a month or two I'll have a version completed which actually shows the mermaid(s), siren(s), and harpies.

I can't comment on your schedule but I really believe this game is worth extending!

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Tue 09/10/2018 15:08:01
I can't comment on your schedule but I really believe this game is worth extending!

Thanks. Actually, I might make an update this weekend with the extended dialog, changing of the forest, and opening up to the left of the town. That much is definitely doable.

Jason and the Golden Apple by Slasher

Spoiler

It feels less coherent in terms of storyline than the entry you made last month for example, but I liked the swashbuckler adventure feel and the plot twist with the sirens' boss was fun. It would have been nice if there had been an actual choice of whether or not bring the apple back.
An enjoyable game overall, not one of your best productions perhaps but still, I had fun playing it.
Side note: typos on the loose! :) Especially near the end of the game.

[close]

Sweet Mythery by Vampire Wombat

Spoiler

Looks like a good start of an adventure/RPG mix. I like the idea of a quest system for an adventure game, might be an interesting way to combat the linearity that characterizes so many classic adventure games.
I haven't found any real bugs other than doors that all lead to the same place, but that's probably an intended move due to the game being in an early stage rather than an actual bug.
I feel this could have been a solid win had there been any substantial gameplay. A really good attempt, VW.

[close]

I voted for

Spoiler

Jason and the Golden Apple.

[close]

Quote from: Kastchey on Wed 10/10/2018 22:23:55
Sweet Mythery by Vampire Wombat

Spoiler

Looks like a good start of an adventure/RPG mix. I like the idea of a quest system for an adventure game, might be an interesting way to combat the linearity that characterizes so many classic adventure games.
I haven't found any real bugs other than doors that all lead to the same place, but that's probably an intended move due to the game being in an early stage rather than an actual bug.
I feel this could have been a solid win had there been any substantial gameplay. A really good attempt, VW.

[close]

Spoiler

An actual quest system is something I should probably add at some point. Thanks for using that wording. I'm glad there weren't any real bugs. And yeah, the doors were intentional since I had to cut the blacksmith shop and inn for this version.

[close]

Voting is over and we have a tie!
Congrats to Kastchey and Slasher. You'll be contacted soon about choosing a topic for November.
Commiserations VampireWombat.
Thanks to all entrants and voters.

Phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww  they don't come any closer than this (laugh)

Well done Kastchey (nod)

It's not often that we have a tie! Congrats to all entries.

Congrats Slasher!

And kudos to VW as well, I'm pretty certain the game's unfinished state was the only thing that hindered the chances for this to be the winning entry.

Maybe, who knows. Unfortunately the voting deadline crept up on me before I had time to play your game yet or play more than a few minutes of Slasher's. So I honestly have no idea how mine compares to either.