MAGS January "Black Death" (RESULTS)

Started by Stupot, Sat 02/01/2016 05:49:30

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Mandle

#80
Just finished all entries:

Luther in the Hood: Hahaha!!! Very non-PC game with inspired racial commentary. LOVED the opening intro screen: I haven't seen that done before. The game had me laughing a LOT and with sound-effects, music etc. added as well as expanding on the story, could be something really special...SUCKA!!!

Among Thorns: I'm stunned...I don't know what to say...Except that I suspect Matt Frith IS actually a post-physical AI entity to be able to pull off this incredible amount of world-building, graphics, story, charcter-development, GUI dev, etc etc. within a month...I suspect he also appreciated the movie "Transcendence" as much as I did as the best line from the movie appears in the game: "Better."...I'm pretty certain that this game is going to win this MAGS but:


I still must cast my vote for "The Farm" if I'm to be honest about which entry gave me the most amazing game experience personally.

It was a hard choice as "The Farm" is quite incomplete with a lot of placeholder graphics and animations, whereas "Among Thorns" is totally (and almost frightningly) complete and perfect in every way...I guess "intimidating" is a good word...

Also: "Oh du lieber Augustin" is incredible for its charm of setting, story, characters, and animations...

"Your Grace" was so much fun and also funny as hell...With great replay value as well!

And "The Dark Plague", with its retro dithered shading, hallucinogenic imagery, and multiple endings is also an instant MAGS gem...

I feel so horrible to choose but one, but for me it must be "The Farm". It brought me close to tears even without all the polish that I'm sure is to come...

Cheers to all entrants! A true crop of gold and an awesome way to kick off MAGS for 2016!!!

CatPunter

Quote from: Myinah on Tue 02/02/2016 14:41:34
It's a hard one this month. I feel almost unable to vote because of being in the IRC and knowing how hard everyone worked and seeing the quality of the titles. It's like Sophie's choice :~( I've played them all and there are some real gems this month.

Don't feel bad! Everyone submitted such great work and at the end of the month, regardless of who wins, we have a whopping 6 games to play through with some really cool themes. We've all already won this competition :D
Art Director and Lead Artist for "Kate and Shelly Stick Together"

Funkpanzer

Wow, thank you, Mandle. I am so happy that came across in this version as I was really apprehensive about even submitting it in this state. I have already started implementing the things that were missing and will eventually make a production thread once things are far enough along to get a discussion going. :)

Thanks for mentioning the bug and the suggested fix!

Cassiebsg

As long as you're fixing it, could you increase the speed of the walk slightly? It's a pain to go so long at so slow pace...

And I'm stuck... can't seem to get pass the next stage.
Spoiler

Need to help the kid that is bored after his mom took his sword. But can't seem find anything to help him. :-\
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There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Funkpanzer

#84
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Wed 03/02/2016 18:51:15
As long as you're fixing it, could you increase the speed of the walk slightly? It's a pain to go so long at so slow pace...

And I'm stuck... can't seem to get pass the next stage.
Spoiler

Need to help the kid that is bored after his mom took his sword. But can't seem find anything to help him. :-\
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Spoiler
That is an optional task that plays into your morality.
Spoiler
There is a toy in your house that you can give him, if you've already given it to him then I need to fix that :) If you don't have the toy with you on the third day it's impossible to do anything.
Spoiler
If you've already given him the toy you can go one (very optional) step further.
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The walk speed got really annoying for me as well and I'm going to figure out a happy medium eventually, most likely a walkspeed option.

e. I should have mentioned, if you hit ESC while playing there is a menu with Save and Load options, etc.

Cassiebsg

Ah crap!
I was afraid of that. :(
Guess I need to restart.

Spoiler

And that step further was rather unexpected. Then I figured it must cause I need the little ball for something...
can't I just collect some pees and teach him to play marbles? :P
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There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Creamy

#86
QuoteI've played them all and there are some real gems this month.

You're right. All these games are worthy of my time.

Luther in the Hood :
Spoiler
Nice first game. The backstory is a nice touch. No real puzzles here but it's an original take on the theme and the dialogs are funny.
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Your Grace :
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Thanks to the distinctive personnality of each each minister, I was entertained for several games. Many different people have fought for me and many swords have been driven through my stomach.
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The Dark Plague :
Spoiler
The austerity of the black and white backgrounds suits the plot very well. I especially enjoyed the first part with the changing backgrounds and weird symbols reminiscent of ancient books. It was very oppressive and for a while I was convinced that I could be killed any moment.
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Among Thorns :
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It's astounding that this game was made in one month - so many things happen in the backgrounds. The plot is complex too. Despite relying a lot on futuristic technology, the puzzles remain understandable.
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The Farm :
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I like the melancholic atmosphere that oozes from the landscapes and the characters (especially Cecille). It's an ambitious game. Despite its roughness, it's fully playable. I'll probably replay it when it's finished to try to get a better ending.
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jwalt

I took a look at all of these, and I am impressed with all of them.

Among Thorns
Spoiler
The clear winner for me, and the one I'd likely return to play when complete. Awesome.
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The Farm
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Funkpanzer has an impressive game, here. Please continue working on it. I thought the simplistic backgrounds were an excellent fit with the overall melancholy that seems to drive the game.
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Your Grace
Spoiler
Fun to play. Fun to try to figure out what opened which ending.
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Oh du lieber Augustin
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Another fun to play game. Impressive artwork in the tavern. Might have been my winner if not for Thorns.
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The Dark Plague
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Thoughtful piece. Impressed with artwork using the limited colors. Enjoyed it, but not sure of what, exactly, was happening.
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Shadow1000

I don't see a completed game announcement for Among Thorns so I just want to make my comments here.

I just played the game and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. The story is exciting. The environment is very, very impressive. It fits the contest theme but in a novel way. Most of all, the puzzles were AWESOME. My only small concerns are:

- The backgrounds are a bit busy. It would be a bit more pleasing to have less crowding on the screens.
- The interface for using inventory items is a bit cumbersome. If you polish up the game then it would be nice to see an icon with the selected inventory item move on the screen so you can use it on whatever you want to use it. That way the player knows that it is selected and what item is selected, AND one used, it should continue to be selected until the player releases it. Playing a game with great puzzles like this requires a fair amount of trial and error and having to reselect an inventory item is awkward.

Other than that, great job!

SHADOW

Gurok

#89
With so much to play, it took me a while to complete them all. Every game was charming and fun. Talk about a tough decision!

Among Thorns

Spoiler
I liked where the Necronite plague was going, especially the exposition at the end. Felt a little bit like an introduction to a larger game. A little bit of pixel hunting, but overall really solid puzzles.
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Oh du lieber Augustin

Spoiler
Beautiful animations. I appreciated all the work that went into them and I really liked the way the waitress whizzed around the room. I was very impressed with how the thread and puzzle managed to capture a sense of fanciful embellishment that would normally be part of a retelling.
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Luther in the Hood

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Had some good world building (and references to it!) but felt a little jumpy and sudden towards the end. The colonel's reveal sequence was nice. I would've liked maybe another puzzle. Good interpretation of the theme.
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The Farm

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By far the most ambitious in scope. I think the constant trekking back and forth really helped to add weight to the story as it unfolded. The mood was really well done. The writing had great characterisation. I got the intentional poisoning of the father ending. :D
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Your Grace

Spoiler
I loved the refreshing, light tone of this game. Lots of character in the dialogue. I found it fun to ignore the pleas of the various ministers and just side with ministers unrelated to the issue at hand. Adeel's cousin? Oh my.
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[img]http://7d4iqnx.gif;rWRLUuw.gi

Stupot

48 hours left to vote, guys.
I can say that it's a close run between two titles. That said, no game has gone without a vote, so you can all breathe :-D

cat

Great games all around, was hard to decide.

Luther in the Hood :
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Good first game! The introduction with walking along the description and the chicken was innovative and hillarious. Too bad there were actually no puzzles and the game was over as soon as the story was about to take off.
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Your Grace :
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Fun game with high replay value. I thoroughly enjoyed the weird outcomes. I only couldn't figure out how to tell the spy on whom to spy.
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The Dark Plague :
Spoiler
Interesting concept, I managed to escape through the window. Changing the background when returning to a room made me freak out. The game could need more polish regarding interactions with items and a few bugs.
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Among Thorns :
Spoiler
Interesting setting with what feels like a whole world created just for a short game. Great animations and graphics. The inventory menu was a bit hard to use for me.
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The Farm :
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Another interesting setting and I like the idea of branching paths and decisions. The part of the graphics that was finished provided a very good atmosphere. What bothered be more than the incomplete graphics, though, was the incomplete gameplay. I'd love to have much more dialog and interactions with the people around and the puzzles where also not very engaging.
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Retro Wolf

Quote from: cat on Sun 14/02/2016 11:11:59
I only couldn't figure out how to tell the spy on whom to spy.

You press the enter key when the spy is selected to cycle through the ministers. That was a bit of laziness on my part, if I get a chance to update the project I'll make it easier.

I've been really impressed with the projects this month, and I've voted for Among Thorns!

Billbis

I played all the entries and voted. Many thanks to all of you for your games!

Atavismus

I played all entries and voted.
What a month!
Among Thorns is such a top quality game that it could eclipse all those other strong entries.
They are all different, all interesting and each with some strong points.
You can all be proud.
Thank you all! :)

Stupot

Voting has finished and the results are as follows:

• Luther in the Hood by Jwalt - 1 vote
• Your Grace by Retro Wolf - 1 vote
• The Dark Plague by CatPunter and Gurok - 1 vote
• Oh du lieber Augustin by Cat and Creamy - 2 votes
• The Farm by Funkpanzer - 5 votes
• Among Thorns by Matt Frith - 8 votes

Well done Matt. You will be contacted soon about choosing a topic for March.
Thanks to all the participants and voters.

Gurok

Congratulations, Matt! A worthy winner!
[img]http://7d4iqnx.gif;rWRLUuw.gi

Creamy

 

cat

Congrats, Matt!

Great entries all around this month!

Mandle

Congrats to the winner, and a huge thanks to everyone who entered one of the most exciting MAGS in quite some time! Also a big thanks to the theme-chooser for such a great theme that everyone could really sink their creative teeth into!

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