Topic: MAGS November: "Novel" (CLOSED)

[Atelier]

There's just over a week left guys.

[Ghost]

There's just over a week left guys.

Cloudy with a chance of Wilhelm Busch here. Should have screenies end of weekend!

[Ponch]

There's just over a week left guys.

Very sick. Work progressing slowly. 

[pharlap]

I can't finish this adaptation of an erotic masterpiece unless I feel other AGSers are also in it to win it!

Mwahhaha!! I really must enter one of these competitions at some point when I find the time

[BunnyShoggoth]

Ok, not really an entry, but... I've used a bit of my imagination and a lot of Photoshop to imagine what a game based on Burroughs' "Naked Lunch" could have looked like. More movie based, though...

[Radiant]

There's just over a week left guys.

I have a question about that. Would it be possible, starting with the december MAGS, to have MAGS contests end at the end of the month? It strikes me that the december MAGS should take place in december, ending on december 31st, and not continuing into the first week or so of january. Of course the occasional extension can be granted if people need it, but normally I think aligning it to the month would be more appropriate. I see that the december thread already lists the 31st, I hope this is a planned change that is there to stay

[Atelier]

Of course, there was no official change in the first instance, it's only been that way for the past 3/4 months as I've posted the contests late, and I still want people to have at least 30 days. I'm genuinely annoyed with myself whenever I don't keep to the established deadlines. I know it doesn't take long, but most of the time things get in the way.

Sort of impromptu but a good opportunity: there was no Maggies for 2011. The thread has been written since the summer and the entries collected together (there are a couple missing - the authors having gone AWOL) so everything is all ready to go. But in people's opinion, is it worth posting it when there is about a month until 2013? Of course, voting would be open for a couple of months as usual.

The thing is, I don't want to break the tradition! Also, Maggies 2010 was posted in May(?) last year and it seemed to do ok.

I just thought it better to ask instead of being lambasted after posting it.

[Ghost]

I'd say an early/earlier announcement is a good thing- maybe you can get the "headline space" to raise awareness? I always felt the Maggies are a bit too easy to miss.

[Perspicacity1]

My MAGS entry based on House of Leaves. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but I'm just glad that I managed to complete MAGS (on time) two months in row. Plus, I learned a few things.



Exploration A

[Ponch]

I lost a week and a half to the flu, so this game isn't nearly as interactive as I wanted it to be. Sadly, I ran out of time before i could finish the new battle system from scratch. It's only barely a game, really, but so many AGSers pitched in with voice acting before I got sick, I just couldn't let the deadline pass without getting this game out there -- what I could salvage of it, anyway.


AGS Community Theater Presents:
From Hell's Hart, I Is Stabbings
(An Oceanspirit Dennis Tale)

http://www.barnrunner.com/OSD/MAGS_Nov_2012.rar

Thanks to Baron, Frodo, Ghost, Kconan, Tabata, and ThreeOhFour for their fantastic voice work. They added so much to this game. 

[CaptainD]

Just a quick note - The Bit Priest did have his entry up and running in time for the entry but has had trouble getting the game added to the database and also now is having trouble with the forums - I can vouch for the fact that he's made the game, I helped a little with testing. If he still can't get the game added I'll see if I can put it up myself (if he's happy with this - but hopefully he'll get things working soon).

His game was based on The Old Man and the Sea.

[TheBitPriest]

The Old Man and the Sea

It's a story about a Cuban fisherman named Santiago and his agonizing battle fishing in the Gulf Stream.   It was the last novel that Hemingway saw published.  There are many interpretations of this fable-style story.  Is it a parable?  Who is Santiago?  Who is Manolin, his devoted apprentice?  The book seems to drip with symbolism, but as far as I know, Hemingway denied many of the interpretations. 



Database Entry

Ok, so I'm a noob.   In my noobified attempt to post this game yesterday afternoon, I was locked out of my account.  After spending almost of month of consuming coffee, scribbling on a Wacom tablet, reading The Old Man and the Sea until my eyes bled, and learning the ins and outs of AGS scripting, I was ready to shoot my computer -- you know the drill.  But then!  This morning I discovered that I was logged in on my Linux box.  God save the Penguin.

It felt like I was an old man, out to sea, and then...  Well, you'll have to play the game.

If you know the book, then it's not too hard.  Some of the puzzles are unique to the game but in the spirit of the book.  Some of them are easy with a passing knowledge of the book.  At least one requires a more intimate knowledge of the book.  Despite my provocative handle, I am not a Catholic priest.  All such references in the game are true to interpretations of the story.   Special thanks to Spark's Notes (which, by the way, makes a good hint book).

I wanted to use the MAGS to complete a project from start to finish on my own.  I learned a lot, and am hoping to improve with future AGS projects.

The broken English and strange idioms are true to the characters.

I was inspired by this amazing animated rendition.  The interior of the cabana is almost identical.  The music is a Creative Commons piece by Redmajik.  Other references are cited in the readme.





 

[TheBitPriest]

One more thing:   Despite the appropriately labeled and tantalizingly named "Load" button, there is no save/load mechanism.  Sorry...  The good news is that the game can be completed in well under an hour.

[Radiant]

Wow, good participation here. I've got all three entries on my hard drive, despite not having read any of the novels

[miguel]

The database for the old man and the sea doesn't look right. 0,0MB...
Played the other 2, it's great to see Ocean Spirit Dennis!

[CaptainD]

The database for the old man and the sea doesn't look right. 0,0MB...

It links to the files on Google Docs.  If you have a Google account, you should be able to just click the Download button (not sure if you don't have a Google account thought).  Right-clicking and Save As won't work in this instance.

[miguel]

Got it, CptnD, thanks!

[Ponch]

it's great to see Ocean Spirit Dennis!

Thanks. It was nice to dust him off and get him involved in a little community theater. I only wish I'd had time to finish the game properly. 

[MAGS Host]

The MAGS site doesn't seem to be working right now - it won't let me upload screenshots or add anything to any databases. As a result, voting this month will have to be done via PM.

• Please play all three entries before making your decision.
• PM this account with your vote, before Mon 17th December.

Click on the titles to download.

Exploration A by Perspicacity1
From Hell's Hart, I Is Stabbings by Ponch
The Old Man and the Sea by TheBitPriest

Good luck everybody and thanks for the great entries.

[TheBitPriest]

The database for the old man and the sea doesn't look right. 0,0MB...
Played the other 2, it's great to see Ocean Spirit Dennis!

The site reported an error in a PHP file both yesterday and this morning.  I don't know if I posted in an incorrect way, or if there really is a back-end problem with the database.  In either case, the details are corrupted, and there isn't any link to correct them.  Nevertheless, it would seem that the download link works.  It takes you to another page from which you can download the game.