MAGS August "Censorship" (CLOSED)

Started by Stupot, Wed 01/08/2018 10:19:48

Previous topic - Next topic

What is your favourite game of MAGS August?

Cola Skunkette: A Bit of Cleanup
0 (0%)
The Campaign Of Daphne White
2 (16.7%)
Cyborg Seppuku
9 (75%)
The Man Who Liked Cats
0 (0%)
Vacant Bodies
1 (8.3%)
Fists of Murder
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 12

Voting closed: Mon 17/09/2018 05:06:38

Stupot

The voting is over and the people have spoken.
The winner of MAGS August, with a whopping 9 points is Mr Outer-the-blue himself, The Outer Zone for Cyborg Seppuku.

Congratulations on the impressive win. You will be contacted by PM soon about choosing a topic for MAGS October.









Cola Skunkette: A Bit of Cleanup by DBoyWheeler
The Campaign Of Daphne White by Slasher
Cyborg Seppuku by The Outer Zone
The Man Who Liked Cats by Mandle
Vacant Bodies by VampireWombat
Fists of Murder by Jack

Vote using the poll at the top of the page.

Topic: Censorship
This month's guidelines were set by Hobo

Feel free to interpret the theme any way you want. As a guidline I suggest pushing a pro- or anti-censorship agenda, creating a world where someone or something is suffering from or forcing a censorship or simply censor some parts of your own game (which is also a good way to excuse any missing assets and unfinished work :))

PS! I totally added an awesome image to inspire and motivate you all, but sadly it was censored :(


Pre-made and public domain assets are allowed.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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. For more information, please visit the Official MAGS website.

The Outer Zone

Hello AGS people ;-D

I joined AGS today and will be making my first AGS game entering MAGS August.
Must say I am pretty excited for this month!
You will probably find me stumbling around in the tech forum :-D

Great theme by the way, @Hobo.
"Censorship" could potentially spawn some strong game ideas.
Looking forward to see what you guys come up with.

Cheers from Denmark!
-Malte
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Cassiebsg

Hi and welcome to the forum and MAGS :)
Enjoy and if you need help of any kind, just ask! There's always some souls in here ready to give a helping hand. (nod)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

VampireWombat

Well, this theme could certainly work well for making a cyberpunk game. Or at least set in a dystopian world.
Now to find my copy of Dark City...

Cassiebsg

VW, finish your other game first! 8-0
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

VampireWombat

What? It doesn't hurt to compile a list of movies to watch for ideas. But fine, I'll go work on a new inventory gui...
After putting Akira on my list.

TheFrighter

Quote from: Stupot on Wed 01/08/2018 10:19:48

Topic: Censorship

PS! I totally added an awesome image to inspire and motivate you all, but sadly it was censored :(


Could be a chance to discuss about the policy of censorship in AGS games?

_

DBoyWheeler

#7
Maybe for my case, maybe someone had spraypainted profane words on the main character's shop, and she (the main character is female) needs to find some way to wash it off to keep her store family friendly.  Just a thought... for now.

[Add-on] For the spraypainted swearwords, I plan to convert the characters into Wingdings characters, and then make them "objects".  That'd be the "censorship" part--a "creative censoring", if you will. ;)

Blondbraid

Quote from: DBoyWheeler on Wed 01/08/2018 13:31:47
Maybe for my case, maybe someone had spraypainted profane words on the main character's shop, and she (the main character is female) needs to find some way to wash it off to keep her store family friendly.  Just a thought... for now.

[Add-on] For the spraypainted swearwords, I plan to convert the characters into Wingdings characters, and then make them "objects".  That'd be the "censorship" part--a "creative censoring", if you will. ;)
I like your idea!
I don't have any good MAGS idea myself, and I'd be happy to lend a hand doing graphics or similar if you'd want to collaborate.


Slasher

So, it's about 'Censorship'... Censorship's have changed over the years.

Already I have a unique idea... Hope no one cottons on to the biggest censorship of them all ;)

I'll see what I can muster up (laugh)

The Outer Zone

#10
@VampireWombat: My immediate thought was also Cyberpunk...
it could still go in many directions though. Cyberpunk is endless.

And thank you @Cassiebsg - I will definitely ask :)

Btw. Where can I vote for the games from MAGS July?
Latest update on the MAGS page is from 2017.
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

The Outer Zone - Cyberpunk makes sense because usually its a dystopian setting. And a lot of dystopians involve major censorship.
But yeah, cyberpunk has lots of possibilities as long as it's not trying to copy Bladerunner.

And you can't vote for the July MAGS yet. We still have 6 1/2 hours to finalize our entries. Then the thread will be open for voting.

DBoyWheeler

Quote from: Blondbraid on Wed 01/08/2018 14:05:24
I like your idea!
I don't have any good MAGS idea myself, and I'd be happy to lend a hand doing graphics or similar if you'd want to collaborate.

Okay... er, it does have anthro animal characters, so if you're uncomfortable with those, maybe you could make up the rooms, and I (and/or another person) could handle the characters and inventory.

Blondbraid

Quote from: DBoyWheeler on Wed 01/08/2018 15:54:37
Quote from: Blondbraid on Wed 01/08/2018 14:05:24
I like your idea!
I don't have any good MAGS idea myself, and I'd be happy to lend a hand doing graphics or similar if you'd want to collaborate.

Okay... er, it does have anthro animal characters, so if you're uncomfortable with those, maybe you could make up the rooms, and I (and/or another person) could handle the characters and inventory.
I usually don't have a problem with anthropomorphic animals as long as it's safe for work, though I can stick to drawing backgrounds and inventory if you'd prefer drawing the characters yourself.

You could probably do some interesting social commentary using different animals in the same vein as Zootopia or classic fables.


DBoyWheeler

Quote from: Blondbraid on Wed 01/08/2018 16:04:01
I usually don't have a problem with anthropomorphic animals as long as it's safe for work, though I can stick to drawing backgrounds and inventory if you'd prefer drawing the characters yourself.

You could probably do some interesting social commentary using different animals in the same vein as Zootopia or classic fables.

Don't worry, it IS safe for work.

I'll discuss more of the ideas in a private message.

Cassiebsg

@The Outer Zone
Like VW said you can't vote on the games yet, but voting occurs on the MAGS thread here on the forum, not on the MAGS site.
Here's July's thread: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=56211.0

Once Stupot closes and presents all the entries he will also create a poll on the thread (scroll to the top of the page) where you will be able to then vote for your favorite (remember to play all games before deciding and giving feedback is very appreciated by all, though not required for voting). Voting usually lasts for about 2 weeks at least, so plenty of time to play all entries. ;)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

TheFrighter

Quote from: Slasher on Wed 01/08/2018 14:25:45

Hope no one cottons on to the biggest censorship of them all ;)


"Cottons"? ??? What means?

_

Slasher

TheFrighther: 'Cottons': Gets the idea as to what I'm up to..

The Outer Zone

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Wed 01/08/2018 16:14:23
@The Outer Zone
Like VW said you can't vote on the games yet, but voting occurs on the MAGS thread here on the forum, not on the MAGS site.
Here's July's thread: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=56211.0

Once Stupot closes and presents all the entries he will also create a poll on the thread (scroll to the top of the page) where you will be able to then vote for your favorite (remember to play all games before deciding and giving feedback is very appreciated by all, though not required for voting). Voting usually lasts for about 2 weeks at least, so plenty of time to play all entries. ;)

Ah I see.. thought it had ended. Thanks for the link!
And yeah - trying to come up with an original take on cyberpunk.
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

#19
The Outer Zone - Yeah, there's lots of ways you can vary it. You could add biopunk elements like XiStenZ did. Or you could make things more along the lines of solarpunk. Or make something that mixes elements of Total Recall and Inception. There are so many possibilities.
Good luck with figuring out what works best for you.
As for me, I think I'm going to try something along the lines of mixing Surrogates, The Final Cut, Dark City, The Sixth Day, and dreaded live action Aeon Flux.

The Outer Zone

Quote from: VampireWombat on Wed 01/08/2018 21:50:51
You could add biopunk elements like XiStenZ did. Or you could make things more along the lines of solarpunk. Or make something that mixes elements of Total Recall and Inception.
As for me, I think I'm going to try something along the lines of mixing Surrogates, The Final Cut, Dark City, The Sixth Day, and dreaded live action Aeon Flux.

All good stuff. eXistenZ and Total Recall are some of my favorites.
Could also go sci-fi without going "futuristic". Hmm.. lots of choices :)
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

Yes, retro futuristic/zeerust could work. The Fallout games made good use of such. An Urban Fantasy spin could work. Or even somehow flat out doing fantasy. With enough thought, some form of cyberpunk/biopunk/whatever punk could work in any setting. Like, what if The Wizard of Oz was cyberpunk.

Stupot

Nice to see lots of buzzing in here already.

Welcome on board, The Outer Zone. Voting is now open for July's contest. Just visit any page in that thread and look for the poll near the top of the screen.

Slasher

#23
Welcome to ags 'The Outer Zone'..

Meanwhile, I have a list of 18 censorship's....

That gives me a choice of 1 or more (nod)

Hope to see a few ******* entries this month.. (laugh)

EDIT: Whilst most of you will no doubt be the oppressed my game will be the oppressor (laugh)

I claim the title: "The campaign of Daphne White (aka Mrs Whitehouse.)"... Subjected...

Now the hardest part: making the game....(laugh)


VampireWombat

The game itself going to be the oppressor?
Careful it doesn't become an AI and take over the world...

The Outer Zone

Thanks a lot you guys. What a nice welcome ;-D
Monday will be my first day of diving into the engine. Can't wait!
Now let's make some games!
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

This game is going to get the love and attention my previous games didn't. The last game taught me 2 things. Work on the game every day, even if it's just a single piece of dialog. And never ever import graphics into AGS directly from Spriter or Inkscape.
I have enough of an idea where to take the game that I can do some coding today and at least start work on designing the player character.
Unless something changes, the game will be called Vacant Bodies.

The Outer Zone - First time ever? Good luck. Hopefully you have some experience with other engines or at least have discovered tutorial videos.

Slasher

#27
Hi,

I've change to the oppressed rebellion (laugh)

VampireWombat

For some reason that made me think of Punk rock.

As for me, today I plan to at least make a sketch version of the first background and at least partially script for the first room. I also plan to have some version of the player character drawn and to test a hybrid interface based on what I did last month, but with an option of a regular verb list at the bottom.

Slasher

#29
Daphne White is an nieve political jobsworth who has presented the 'House' with various censorship laws and these include the recycling of nudie books and other censorship laws that cause her constituency to protest in the 'House'.

A series of individual quests...

I have 3 rooms almost completed..

Adding more puzzles to this game...

VampireWombat

Wow, you're really burning the midnight oil.

All I've managed to do is test to make sure that I can easily use the verb coin and verb list. It'll requite some tweaking, of course.

Slasher

Quote from: VampireWombat on Sat 04/08/2018 13:23:58
All I've managed to do is test to make sure that I can easily use the verb coin and verb list. It'll requite some tweaking, of course.

Is it really worth the time-consuming effort with the time restriction of a MAG competition?

But I wish you luck whatever you choose... (nod)


VampireWombat

Maybe, maybe not. It's not like I'd spend more than 2-4 hours on tweaking it anyway. The main thing I need to figure out is which things should happen with mouse over the hotspot and which should happen with clicking.
At the least a verb list that I can easily change for the room/hotspot will be useful with the nature of the game.
And it's possible I might just completely drop the verb coin part. But it's easier if I start with the possibility than to decide to go back and add it. Changing interface midway through making a game is what caused me to make a total mess of May's game and unable to finish it.

But thanks for the luck.

Slasher

VampireWombat,
QuoteAnd it's possible I might just completely drop the verb coin part. But it's easier if I start with the possibility than to decide to go back and add it. Changing interface midway through making a game is what caused me to make a total mess of May's game and unable to finish it.
I understand...

This sort of thing really should be fully planned at the start of creation... As you say, changing half way can cause you a total mess...

Slasher

#34
Screenshot in production:



Be aware that this is an adult xxx  game.. (laugh)



VampireWombat

Well, that certainly should be interesting.
You certainly have more done than I do.
I did create a template for making main verb gui at least. And I have enough of a background to do some programming.
So now to design a version of the player character. At least I don't have to worry about a standard walk cycle...

Slasher

#36
In production Video of the first scene to: The campaign of Daphne White


VampireWombat

Nice. I'll watch the video later. If I remember.
No specific goals today. Going to try to figure out the art style some and do a bit of coding.
Will be days before I'll have anything to show since I want to avoid screenshots of the starting area.

Slasher

#38
Emergency.... I have the back screen of death...monitor black and windows not booting up....

Can anybody help!!!!!

I am on sons computer.

Thank you.

Mandle

Maybe a stupid question, Slasher, but have you tried booting up in safe-mode?

Slasher

Mandle:

The laptop powers up and I can hear the hard disk and the blue light flashes on very occasionally but it does not go into startup...screen black and no signs of life in the monitor and pressing F5/F8 results in nothing.. I'm taking it into a shop today and hope to god there is something they can do or very least run the data onto a disk storage so I can copy setups and files to another computer...Otherwise I'm down the swanie without a paddle :(

Unless it gets fixed / get new computer you won't be seeing very much of me...

Cheers

Les


VampireWombat

Good luck. Hopefully it's something fairly easily fixed.

Kastchey

If it powers up and flashes normally then the first thing I'd do is connect an external display (even a TV would do if you have a matching socket) to see if it's not any part of the built-in display that died, but if you're taking it to a repair shop they will check it for you.

Best of luck getting it sorted!

Slasher

Hi guy,


a bit of good news for a change (laugh)

A man came and diagnosed that my laptop was dead.... But he was able to use the HD to enable the transfer of data to another computer via leads.. At the same time he saw my old Desktop computer. Installed win 7 (from XP) ang got the internet working... Main thing now is allowing permissions by sharing and then its good to go..

Naturally the specs are lower than my laptop and its quite slower, what the hell, it works (nod)

I just need to grab stuff from my old hard drive like ags and we're good to go.. well in theory...

Better still when I get a higher spec laptop..

I may still be in this months MAG competition... sorry guys ;)

Slasher returnsnn(laugh)





VampireWombat

Well, that's some good news at least.
Shame about the death of the laptop, though...
But on the bright side, you can advertise your game as being so controversial that even your own laptop tried censoring it.

Mandle

Quote from: VampireWombat on Mon 06/08/2018 17:20:59
But on the bright side, you can advertise your game as being so controversial that even your own laptop tried censoring it.

This is over 9000 level awesomeness!!!

Slasher

Found drivers for graphics card and can now run 3d9.....

I'm 3 days behind and need to re-import some missing images and re-add some scripting so i'll lose another day...

Oh well, such is life (laugh)

The Outer Zone

Wow. A lot has happened in here already. Good to hear your tools are working again Slasher.
I am slowly getting into the engine, so you won't be seeing any in-game screens from me anytime soon..

But my game will probably contain a cyborg who has to censor himself. In graphic ways.

The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

Mandle - Alas, I can't think of any witty response. I just never could get into Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z.

Slasher - Well, at least you didn't lose everything. Hopefully you didn't lose anything too important.

The Outer Zone - That's okay. I'm not sure when there will be any screenshots from mine either.
And a self censoring cyborg? That's definitely not something I've heard of before.

Mandle

Quote from: VampireWombat on Tue 07/08/2018 12:22:27
Mandle - Alas, I can't think of any witty response. I just never could get into Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z.

Oh, neither could I. I pretty much dislike all anime that has a bunch of dialog screaming followed by characters throwing insane attacks at each other followed by more dialog screaming. I only know that reference from internet memes.

VampireWombat

Quote from: Mandle on Tue 07/08/2018 13:51:14
Oh, neither could I. I pretty much dislike all anime that has a bunch of dialog screaming followed by characters throwing insane attacks at each other followed by more dialog screaming. I only know that reference from internet memes.
I don't feel so bad then.
Alas, I can't think of anything else witty from any other anime. Though it is making me wonder what anime I could watch/re-watch to give me more ideas for my game. Chobits is possible, but most of it is kind of fluff. Guess I'll just stick with Armitage III and Murder Princess for now.

DBoyWheeler

Blondbeard and I are working on our entry.  Got the rooms mostly ready (just need to eventually work on some of the objects therein--but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it).  Right now we're taking care of character sprites.

Mandle

Actually the whole thing about not liking anime and living in Japan sometimes gets a bit of a pain when I'm back home in Australia.

Sometimes random people ask me where I'm from, as I have mostly lost my Australian accent (I can still do it on purpose like when talking to family so they don't think I'm too weird but mostly don't bother). I tell them I'm from here but have been living in Japan for a long time.

Often that person turns out to be an anime fan (anime is big in Australia) and asks me "Oh! What's happening in One Piece over there?!", knowing that Japan is several seasons ahead. When I answer "Sorry, I don't really watch anime much." they often look at me like I'm crazy or have just insulted them or something.

(laugh)

Slasher

#53
Hari-kari (laugh)

Meanwhile, whilst I have my game up and running on my Desktop computer I'm going to have to transfer it all to my new laptop, when I get it today. I just hope that that is successful (nod)

VampireWombat

Mandle - Yeah, I can see how that would be a pain...
I never had to worry about anime one way or another. I don't think I ever even heard the term until high school. And up until then the only thing I had heard it called was Japanimation. And I didn't know anyone locally who even liked anime until the first con here in 2012. But I've always been a scifi nerd first.

Slasher- Glad to hear things are working. That means you're going ahead and getting the laptop you mentioned?

As for me, I'm hoping to have a generic walk cycle finished in the next couple of days. This time I'm going to do at least half the work in Gimp.

Mandle

Quote from: Slasher on Wed 08/08/2018 06:09:16
Hari-kari (laugh)

Hara-kiri actually. :P (direct translation: "Stomach-Cut")

The Outer Zone

#56
It's funny you guys mentioning Hara-kiri..

My game is named Cyborg Seppuku 8-0
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Slasher

#57
Hi,

so far I have completed quest one:

Pensioners Jim and Bert have to infiltrate the paper recycling plant and take back banned nudie mags that were part of politician Daphne White's censorship policies....

Quest two underway....

VampireWombat

Nice.

I'm starting the general walkcycle today. Got distracted with other stuff...
I figured out more things to do in game, and I didn't know what information to use to get the character past the starting area until I started writing this sentence.

Slasher

Quote from: VampireWombat on Fri 10/08/2018 13:57:59
Nice.

I'm starting the general walkcycle today. Got distracted with other stuff...
I figured out more things to do in game, and I didn't know what information to use to get the character past the starting area until I started writing this sentence.
Just think what you would like to happen in the scene and what you need to achieve and how to achieve it..... Bingo (laugh)

VampireWombat


Slasher

Got new laptop arriving by Wednesday so I hope to catch up after that...

I've lost quite a few days but I will endeavor to meet the deadline...

VampireWombat

Today's only the 11th. I have no doubt you'll be able to do it.

As for me, today I start designing the first NPC. And maybe even attempt designing a 3d food printer...

The Outer Zone

#63
Finally started working on the actual game. Been toying around in AGS for the past week.
Currently making placeholders and setting up the main systems. Hope I will be done with the first full prototype this week.

Here is the sketch for my main scene:



So.. we have three weeks left. Hope you guys are having a good time making your adventures :)

The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Stupot

It's better if you round down. Tell yourself you have two weeks left, not three. That way you can scale accordingly and make sure you have a finished product. Those extra couple of days can be for the testing and the last minute bug fixes that no one ever leaves time for.

imsomnia212

Well since the last MAGS I didn't have time to finished my game I will join on this. I started to work on the game since the competition was posted.
Are u a tuna?

VampireWombat

#66
Ugh. Still so much to do...
I have no finished graphics yet because I'm still trying to figure out the graphics style. Looking at non-adventure games for reference has helped, but I'm still not quite there. I'm happy with the ideas I'm getting from not forcing them. It's just going slowly.
But I do plan to at least plan out the vending machine area today.

Edit: And... Apparently I'm now going to throw a troll doll in.

Slasher

Got my new laptop.. Lot of fluffing around but it's working.

Just need to learn more about windows 10 now..

So, back again...

Quest 2 almost completed...

Slasher

#68
I've realised that my laptop does not have the F keys (like F5 and F7)..

So I've made S for Save and L for Load instead...

I'm using the Phylactere module for this one.

Meanwhile I am into Quest 3 of 4...

"I mean, what woman wants to buy a see-through nightie that is not see-through?!"   (laugh)

MP Daphne White rules (laugh)



VampireWombat

No Function keys? That doesn't seem right. I did a search about laptops without function keys and found nothing, except for mention of the Fn key which used to be required to be able to use function keys. Maybe the keys are in an odd spot or combined with other keys?

But congratulations on being more or less 3/4 finished.

I'm still struggling with graphics style for sprites. But I decided that if I haven't gotten it figured out by noon on Saturday that I'll just use ultra low resolution graphics...

Cassiebsg

@Slasher, please don't replace them, just add the new keys as alternates but leave the "default" ones that we're so used to. ;)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Slasher

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Wed 15/08/2018 18:29:54
@Slasher, please don't replace them, just add the new keys as alternates but leave the "default" ones that we're so used to. ;)
I intend to, don't worry ;)

Mandle

Quote from: VampireWombat on Wed 15/08/2018 18:21:55
No Function keys? That doesn't seem right.

He bought a Sinclair ZX80. ;)

VampireWombat

Quote from: Mandle on Thu 16/08/2018 02:21:49
He bought a Sinclair ZX80. ;)
Then I'm impressed he was able to somehow get it to run Windows 10.

Slasher

Quote from: Mandle on Thu 16/08/2018 02:21:49
Quote from: VampireWombat on Wed 15/08/2018 18:21:55
No Function keys? That doesn't seem right.

He bought a Sinclair ZX80. ;)
That's a bit modern for me (laugh)

Meanwhile I am putting the final touches to quest 3 and then it's on to quest 4.

For the amount of time iv'e lost it's surprising i'm where i am (nod)




Cassiebsg

It's not a surprise for us, you normally have already finished and uploaded the game... (roll) (laugh)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

VampireWombat

It's not at all surprising where I'm at in my game...
But I have almost 5 hours to meet my deadline for figuring out an art style. I'm fairly close. It's getting the face right that's the biggest problem...
There are a few more things I have to figure out for the story to keep it from being too close to other stuff. But worst case scenerio, I keep those things for the MAGS version and change them for a later version...

The Outer Zone

Yeah I'm also beginning to plan some things for a post MAGS release.. voice acting for example :-D

But my prototype is nearly done. I just need to finish writing all the comments for all the non-progressive "look" and "interact" actions.

Do you guys usually share the prototype during MAGS?
Would be awesome to get some feedback!
If that is the case, how should I upload it? Just send a link to google drive or something?
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

Voice acting? Nice...

It's rare, but I don't think there's anything against sharing a prototype.
At the least I'd be willing to play it and give feedback. Though from what I read from another thread, you have much more experience with game making in general...
And different people use different places. I use Itch.io. But Google drive should be fine.

Now if only I can actually get my graphics done...

Cassiebsg

@The Outer Zone, sure, just ask for beta testers, plenty of ppl in the forum will gladly beta test. (nod) It's encouraged to test any game before release... though sometimes with such a short time frame sometimes there's just no time for it.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

VampireWombat

So, hopefully a game size of 426x240/240p won't be too weird. It seemed a good compromise and puts human game sprites at about the same size as a lot of arcade game sprites. I'm not 100% happy with what I have, but it's time to move on. My plan is now to create 1 background and do some programming for that room every day. Then this weekend I plan to add details and fill in whatever gaps may be missing. And the following days I plan to add any refinements left. Animations, music, etc.
No leaving things last minute this time...

Slasher

VampireWombat:  I like a man with a plan.. (nod)

DBoyWheeler

The collab project between me and Blondbeard is going well.

Right now it's the coding phase.  Once I'm done with coding, I'll test it out at my end, and then show it to Blondbeard to see if there's any debugging needed.  We can probably worry about music and sound effects after that.

The Outer Zone

Okay then. Here goes:

My game in it's current state: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1J-dylqMbif2vgzauEqofjQZ9UMVHEA-X?usp=sharing

I would love to get any kind of feedback. Probably can't correct all mistakes / make all ideas you come up with, but I can try!
The important thing is to see what works and what doesn't - and if it runs at all :)

There is no sound yet and all graphics are placeholder.
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Slasher

Quote from: The Outer Zone on Tue 21/08/2018 00:34:25
Okay then. Here goes:

My game in it's current state: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1J-dylqMbif2vgzauEqofjQZ9UMVHEA-X?usp=sharing

I would love to get any kind of feedback. Probably can't correct all mistakes / make all ideas you come up with, but I can try!
The important thing is to see what works and what doesn't - and if it runs at all :)

There is no sound yet and all graphics are placeholder.
Spoiler

Well, the graphics are different... I like (nod)
[close]



VampireWombat

#85
Quote from: The Outer Zone on Tue 21/08/2018 00:34:25
I would love to get any kind of feedback. Probably can't correct all mistakes / make all ideas you come up with, but I can try!
The important thing is to see what works and what doesn't - and if it runs at all :)
I haven't played much yet, but so far it's looking like a well made game. Not much other feedback I can give at the moment, sorry.

Edit: After going back to the game, I have one piece of feedback. You need to create a screen for choosing to create a new game or load a game. Not an issue for most MAGS games, but since yours immediately starts with dialog and doesn't have a break for quite awhile, it requires holding the esc down for a minute or two.
Either using a room or a GUI should work.

Also, it's kind of funny that your version of Alexa shares a name with an allergy medication.

Creamy

QuoteThe collab project between me and Blondbeard is going well.

Right now it's the coding phase.  Once I'm done with coding, I'll test it out at my end, and then show it to Blondbeard to see if there's any debugging needed.  We can probably worry about music and sound effects after that.

So, you're making a game with Anas Abdin :P
 

DBoyWheeler

Yeah, I mistakenly called Blondbraid "Blondbeard".  In game even!  Oops! :-[

Anyway, our entry is completed:


http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2277/

Mandle

I just played and left a comment in the release thread. What a charming little game!!!

Slasher

I'm glad to see a couple of entries released and in good time (nod)

Of course, I'v fallen behind and trying to catch up before the deadline (laugh)

Meanwhile, I am into quest 4......

It's been a struggle to say the least, but I hope that what I have done is enough to keep players playing through all quests.

Quests can be side-tracked at any time by going to another quest and returning later...

Cassiebsg is helping with some of the backgrounds.

Can you successfully defy MP Daphne White's censorship policy laws?



The Outer Zone

Quote from: VampireWombat on Tue 21/08/2018 12:29:12
Edit: After going back to the game, I have one piece of feedback. You need to create a screen for choosing to create a new game or load a game. Not an issue for most MAGS games, but since yours immediately starts with dialog and doesn't have a break for quite awhile, it requires holding the esc down for a minute or two.
Either using a room or a GUI should work.

Also, it's kind of funny that your version of Alexa shares a name with an allergy medication.

Thanks a lot for the feedback VampireWombat - and also Slasher :)

I took the name Allegra from eXistenZ - dont know about the allergy medication as I'm from Denmark :-D

Good idea with the menu. I guess it's a bit annoying when taking a break from the game to sit through that intro again. Thank you!
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Slasher

Oh, DBoyWheeler...please please make your speech fonts bigger, I find them difficult to read (nod)

VampireWombat

#92
Quote from: The Outer Zone on Wed 22/08/2018 09:42:33
Thanks a lot for the feedback VampireWombat - and also Slasher :)

I took the name Allegra from eXistenZ - dont know about the allergy medication as I'm from Denmark :-D

Good idea with the menu. I guess it's a bit annoying when taking a break from the game to sit through that intro again. Thank you!
Welcome.

Ah, okay. Funny how the only name I can remember from that despite watching it last month is Gas...
I didn't think you had chosen it for being an allergy medication name. But my first thought was Alexa and then at one point I remembered the medication.

And yeah, you probably didn't even think about the menu because in play testing you know exactly what to do. Of course having a pause before everything starts could work too. But a starting menu also adds a bit more professional look.

Edit: Just finished it. Good job. Definitely better than any of my games so far.

DBoyWheeler

Quote from: Slasher on Wed 22/08/2018 11:03:45
Oh, DBoyWheeler...please please make your speech fonts bigger, I find them difficult to read (nod)

Not sure how.  I was using the default fonts.  Don't know how to make them bigger without effing them up.

Slasher

#94
Quote from: DBoyWheeler on Wed 22/08/2018 13:25:52
Quote from: Slasher on Wed 22/08/2018 11:03:45
Oh, DBoyWheeler...please please make your speech fonts bigger, I find them difficult to read (nod)

Not sure how.  I was using the default fonts.  Don't know how to make them bigger without effing them up.
You can simply re-import an existing font or import a new one and set it's size as you do so.

You can import over speech font and set its size to say 12/14 whatever.

It's quite easy...

I have a folder of fonts I can use for just such purpose.


Cassiebsg

@The Outer Zone: Just played it and finished. Good job. (nod)

A few minor bugs/sugestions:
Spoiler

1) Like VW mentioned the intro is rather long, just add a StarCutscene(ESC Only); (or any key, or something) at the start, and EndCutscene(); once you are done with it.

2) You text if running waayyy too fast. Please either set it to a slower pace (AGS default is too fast), or add an option in the settings.

3) Ask for some help with proofreading. I noticed several spelling errors.
Spoiler alert:
Spoiler

4) When you go in to the elevator a second time, the door closes and only then you remove the player character, leaving the character visible above the door. You can play with the door baseline so the character is behind the door, or just turn the character invisible once he enters, close the door, change room and turn him visible before fade-in.

5) I broke the pipe before I knew which pipe to break (I only noticed the plaque after I broke it). Guess I was lucky to hit the right one at first click? (laugh) (roll) You might want to check that the player knows which one to break before he does it. ;)
[close]
[close]

Those are the ones I caught.
I love the sketch art! (nod) That is definitely different. (laugh) And I loved the puzzles. Hope to play the finished version soon. :-D
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Slasher

Final quest is well underway..

A bit of reverse-engineering was needed on this quest... the second half is like 80% done and the first half like 30% done....

Will I make it on time (roll)

Waiting for you S (laugh)


VampireWombat

#97
I have faith in you Slasher.

But I'm having doubts about myself now. I'm wondering if it would be better to cut the game shorter and focus more on animations and making the art look as good as possible. Or do I go with the full story I currently have, which will be underwhelming past a certain point since I don't have the time to do it full justice?
I'm also wondering if I should go ahead with using verbs or just simplify to use and look.


Yeah, I'm just going to simplify things. The ending will be open ended to be continued and I'll wait on using the verbs until then too. Luckily it's built on the BASS template, so all I have to do to remove the verb part is dummy out a few lines.

Slasher

#98
Quote
VampireWombat: But I'm having doubts about myself now.
Never doubt yourself or your abilities..... just fine tune what you have and get rid of all the rough edges.

Planning is a key element that is vital for whatever you create.

I really wish you lots of luck with your decisions and hope to see you at the finishing line.

Meanwhile: second half of quest 4 is like 82% done and the first half is like 80% done.

There is still hope (nod)




Cassiebsg

@Slasher: I should have that machine ready for you, just adding the hoist and then I'll start the other one you sent me... but I'm losing track of what is done and what is missing and what is "waiting" for final version.
Could PM me with the name of each room and current state please? ;)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

VampireWombat

Well, okay. I guess it's less doubts and more accepting the limitations I have (mostly time at this point). I believe it would be better to end it at the point I currently have in mind than to have it continue into mediocrity. And after playing a Tex Murphy game for a few minutes yesterday made me decide simplification of the interactions is best until/unless there's need for more. The extra verbs make sense with a longer game and the interactions evolving over time, but not with a shorter game where there'd only be maybe 2 extra interactions added.

And thanks for the luck. Assuming nothing horrific happens, it should be no problem finishing up in time since I have most things planned out to a large extent.

Slasher

#101
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Thu 23/08/2018 17:36:09
@Slasher: I should have that machine ready for you, just adding the hoist and then I'll start the other one you sent me... but I'm losing track of what is done and what is missing and what is "waiting" for final version.
Could PM me with the name of each room and current state please? ;)
The hoist is an OBJECT I have.....because i may need to fine line it up...

Slasher

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Thu 23/08/2018 17:36:09
@Slasher: I should have that machine ready for you, just adding the hoist and then I'll start the other one you sent me... but I'm losing track of what is done and what is missing and what is "waiting" for final version.
Could PM me with the name of each room and current state please? ;)

Once the recycle machine is in place we go on to to quest 2.... Out side TV Centre and in control room....will send...
Quest 3: nothing needed.....Quest 4: just need to tart up inside a video game stockroom... will send..

Only 7 days to go..



Cassiebsg

Uhm, too late I already modelled it. :P
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Slasher

(laugh)

Well send it and i'll see what i can do...


The Outer Zone

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Wed 22/08/2018 18:58:00
@The Outer Zone: Just played it and finished. Good job. (nod)

A few minor bugs/sugestions:
Spoiler

1) Like VW mentioned the intro is rather long, just add a StarCutscene(ESC Only); (or any key, or something) at the start, and EndCutscene(); once you are done with it.

2) You text if running waayyy too fast. Please either set it to a slower pace (AGS default is too fast), or add an option in the settings.

3) Ask for some help with proofreading. I noticed several spelling errors.
Spoiler alert:
Spoiler

4) When you go in to the elevator a second time, the door closes and only then you remove the player character, leaving the character visible above the door. You can play with the door baseline so the character is behind the door, or just turn the character invisible once he enters, close the door, change room and turn him visible before fade-in.

5) I broke the pipe before I knew which pipe to break (I only noticed the plaque after I broke it). Guess I was lucky to hit the right one at first click? (laugh) (roll) You might want to check that the player knows which one to break before he does it. ;)
[close]
[close]

Those are the ones I caught.
I love the sketch art! (nod) That is definitely different. (laugh) And I loved the puzzles. Hope to play the finished version soon. :-D

Thanks  a lot!!
Really good points. It helps a lot thank you :)

Quote from: VampireWombat on Wed 22/08/2018 12:38:48

And yeah, you probably didn't even think about the menu because in play testing you know exactly what to do. Of course having a pause before everything starts could work too. But a starting menu also adds a bit more professional look.

Edit: Just finished it. Good job. Definitely better than any of my games so far.

Thank you :) Hope to implement everything that is planned. Doing GUI atm..
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

#106
Quote from: The Outer Zone on Fri 24/08/2018 12:23:31
Thank you :) Hope to implement everything that is planned. Doing GUI atm..
Welcome and good luck.
Also, make sure to add a T to the code Cassie gave you to make it StartCutscene instead of StarCutscene.

Edit to no one specific:
With the release of S.A.M. today, I want to clarify that having my main character as a robot is something I've had planned for weeks.

Slasher

#107
Hi

'The campaign of Daphne White' seems to be on course for finishing, although testing is another story.

It's going to be a close call (laugh)

Edit: Quest 4:  Second half is now 98% done and the first half is now 96% done.

VampireWombat

So, I'm a little behind. I have come up with a few more changes that should make the game better at least. My current goal is to have the game fully playable, but with no music and with limited animation sometime tomorrow.

Slasher

 VampireWombat: Sometimes a full animation is not necessary and you may get away with what you have.... Music can be done on the final day as it's a really easy part to add once you have the music imported.

Keep chugging along mate ;)

Meanwhile, I'm doing gui and icon cosmetics..

VampireWombat

Yeah, that's why I'm only having the minimal animations done this weekend. But I'll most likely add music before the final day. I want to leave the final day for only minor touch ups of things I missed if at all possible.

KyriakosCH

#111
I am actually working on something. Using a plot I am thinking of for a new story :)



Won't be a long game (15 min, maybe), but it will be quite bleak.

This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Slasher

#112
The Campaign Of Daphne White
It's self-testing time.


Storyline:
MP Daphne White is enforcing her censorship policies on her constituent public. The public are outraged that their freedom to choose is being taken away so they march to the 'House' to protest against Daphne White's censorship policies. The 'House' turns down their protests. The constituent public decide to take matters into their own hands by defying Daphne White and going about breaking her censorship policies.

"You all know about the censorship policies I have presented to the House."
"There is far too much sordidness going on within my constituency."

There are four censorship quests (different people) that can be done in any order and you can change quests at any time.

Meet Sally, a friendly Labrador and drive a pink convertible... 

This game presents adult themes.

Gameplay: about an hour.


Some Screenshots:
Jim and Bert need to get into the paper recycling plant and retrieve nudie mags.

Brian needs to get into the tv center and enable adult tv programs.


Specs:
1280 X 1024
32 Bit color
Direct3D 9 hardware acceleration



VampireWombat

Congratulations Slasher. An hour? Impressive.

I'm a little bit behind, but I still should be able to at least come close to my goal for the day.

Slasher

#114
The Campaign Of Daphne White
Download here   

Storyline:
MP Daphne White is enforcing her censorship policies on her constituent public. The public are outraged that their freedom to choose is being taken away so they march to the 'House' to protest against Daphne White's censorship policies. The 'House' turns down their protests. The constituent public decide to take matters into their own hands by defying Daphne White and going about breaking her censorship policies.

"You all know about the censorship policies I have presented to the House."
"There is far too much sordidness going on within my constituency."

There are four censorship quests (different characters) that can be done in any order and you can change quests at any time.

Meet Sally, a friendly Labrador and drive a pink convertible... You may even come across a smelly skunk (laugh)

This game presents adult themes.

Gameplay: about an hour.

Only tested by yours truly....


Some Screenshots:
Jim and Bert need to get into the paper recycling plant and retrieve nudie mags.

Brian needs to get into the tv center and enable adult tv programs.


Specs:
1280 X 1024
32 Bit color
Direct3D 9 hardware acceleration

Download here








Slasher

#115
Few typos corrected...

Debug now off..

Talk to button: new re-scripting... and a new build uploaded....

Download here....

Kastchey

Slasher, sorry I didn't manage to report a couple more bugs yesterday before you re-posted the link:
Spoiler
In quest 1, it is possible to get stuck by going to the far right of the recycling machine screen. I can get you a screenshot if it helps.
In quest 3, the TV job ad has no mouseover description.
[close]

If you have fixed these already then please ignore :)

Slasher

#117
Quote from: Kastchey on Mon 27/08/2018 07:28:52
Slasher, sorry I didn't manage to report a couple more bugs yesterday before you re-posted the link:
Spoiler
In quest 1, it is possible to get stuck by going to the far right of the recycling machine screen. I can get you a screenshot if it helps.
In quest 3, the TV job ad has no mouseover description.
[close]
:-\

If you have fixed these already then please ignore :)
1: I'll look into that...  DONE
2: I'll look into that...  DONE

New build uploaded.......

cheers ;)


VampireWombat

And I feel so behind now. Yesterday's heat just made me lose most motivation and energy in the afternoon. And today and tomorrow are going to be hotter...
So, yeah. Graphics won't be as nice and polished as I wanted. But I should have a fully playable version Wednesday.

Slasher

You should like in the UK... much lower (laugh)

Slasher

New Pub image added. Will upload tomorrow.

The Outer Zone

Hi everyone

I'm sorry I don't have time to playtest your games before deadline.
I will try them out and give feedback as soon as this month is over :)
It's looking good.

happy game making!
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

DBoyWheeler

Spoiler
Well, the reason for the lackluster ending in my entry is because since I have a LOT of things going on in RL (especially an RL job), there really wasn't much time to plan a sufficient one.  Even WITH help, I'd just barely make it.
[close]

Anyway, after this MAGS is done (regardless of who wins), I think I might be done with MAGS for the year (I'll probably start MAGS stuff again sometimes next year).  Reason I say that is I want to focus game-making energy on an AGS thing I'm WAY behind on.

KyriakosCH

Alas, once again I won't be able to complete this on time :/ Likely will reform this to something else too...

Good luck to all contestants (nod)
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Slasher

Dropping out like flies....what is the world coming to?

I hope we get more entries before the deadline?

VampireWombat

#125
Idunno if one person is enough to be dropping like flies...

I'm still planning to have mine in by the deadline. And I still plan to have a fully playable version sometime today. There's not too much left as far as programming and such. A bit of dialog and all the stuff for two rooms.
But I am going to try one more major change. I'm simply not happy with any of the graphics. So I'm going to try high definition instead. If that doesn't work, then I'm going to go down to Monkey Island/Loom size...

Kastchey

The Outer Zone:
Spoiler
I LOVED your game. Really. It was awesome. The detailed, well thought out world is the reason enough to give it a go, and the cruel, oppressive, dystopian atmosphere immediately reminded me of BASS. Very, very impressive. If a game makes your player want to explore its world just for the sake of it, then you couldn't have done a better worldbuilding job.

In its current state, the game doesn't offer too much gameplay (it took me about 10 minutes to finish) but you had some interesting and original puzzle ideas, so I'm pretty sure that if you put some effort into expanding them so that it takes more than 2-3 actions per implant, the gameplay alone has a chance to turn into a really enjoyable experience. The dialogues were brilliant, too.

I only have one complaint... sort of.  It may be subjective, so if you are convinced to this idea feel free to ignore me.
So, have you considered revealing less of the player character's personal background at the very beginning? Because you see, if the first thing I learn about the character is that he has a wife named Helen who has decided to run off with another guy, then it makes me wonder just why on earth would I want to help that abusive stalker chase a woman who clearly doesn't want to see him anymore?
Of course, perhaps it's just me being too judgemental but I feel that for the first stage of the story, it would be more than enough to know that he wants to find someone he cares for who recklessly ventured into a dangerous wasteland.
[close]
I will leave comments for Slasher in the completed games thread :)

VampireWombat, fingers crossed for your game, hope you will manage to finish it.

VampireWombat

Quote from: Kastchey on Wed 29/08/2018 22:49:37
VampireWombat, fingers crossed for your game, hope you will manage to finish it.
Thanks. I should be able to. I didn't get as far as I hoped, but I do have enough that I can have a workable version tomorrow, even if I have to recolor sprites from Monkey Island...

Mandle

Any chance of an extension over the weekend? 8-0

Slasher

Didn't know you were in the running, Mandle..

Lock up your daughters (laugh)

VampireWombat

Ah, an extension would be nice. But I'm going to work on my game today with the assumption of not getting one.

Good luck Mandle if you are indeed making a game.

Now to figure out what Rhoda should look like...

The Outer Zone

Quote from: Kastchey on Wed 29/08/2018 22:49:37
The Outer Zone:
Spoiler
I LOVED your game. Really. It was awesome. The detailed, well thought out world is the reason enough to give it a go, and the cruel, oppressive, dystopian atmosphere immediately reminded me of BASS. Very, very impressive. If a game makes your player want to explore its world just for the sake of it, then you couldn't have done a better worldbuilding job.

In its current state, the game doesn't offer too much gameplay (it took me about 10 minutes to finish) but you had some interesting and original puzzle ideas, so I'm pretty sure that if you put some effort into expanding them so that it takes more than 2-3 actions per implant, the gameplay alone has a chance to turn into a really enjoyable experience. The dialogues were brilliant, too.

I only have one complaint... sort of.  It may be subjective, so if you are convinced to this idea feel free to ignore me.
So, have you considered revealing less of the player character's personal background at the very beginning? Because you see, if the first thing I learn about the character is that he has a wife named Helen who has decided to run off with another guy, then it makes me wonder just why on earth would I want to help that abusive stalker chase a woman who clearly doesn't want to see him anymore?
Of course, perhaps it's just me being too judgemental but I feel that for the first stage of the story, it would be more than enough to know that he wants to find someone he cares for who recklessly ventured into a dangerous wasteland.
[close]
I will leave comments for Slasher in the completed games thread :)

VampireWombat, fingers crossed for your game, hope you will manage to finish it.

Thank's a lot for the kind words and the feedback! I see your point. Never thought of it that way :D
Spoiler
If there is time, I'll try to make the player have more sympathy with the character. As you should have from the start. Her reason for leaving should still be a secret though..
[close]

So, deadline is tomorrow. I still have to design and implement sound 8-0

Here is how my game looks now:




The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

Design and implement sound? Wow.
And the updated graphics are interesting. I never would have expected the player character to be a young cyborg Papa Smurf.

Mandle

Quote from: Slasher on Thu 30/08/2018 11:21:56
Didn't know you were in the running, Mandle..

Lock up your daughters (laugh)

Hehehe... Yeah, something I started only about 10 days ago though and even then haven't had a ton of alone time to work on it.

I had something much more ambitious planned as I had 3 weeks off from work for summer vacation but my wife threw out her back and was off work that entire time and I had to care for her so impossible to concentrate on something like making a game.

A weekend extension will probably make or break whether I make it into this MAGS or not. I'm not even up to the part that involves censorship yet. Well, I guess I could always claim that part was censored... (laugh)

VampireWombat

Today's goals: Make the remaining graphics with minimal detail and finish up the main coding/dialog trees.
Tomorrow's goals: Add whatever finishing touches I have time and energy for, and test game several times.

And if we get the extension, I will add more detail to the backgrounds and at least make a special animation for the ending scene.

Stupot

An extension suits me. It's always more difficult for me when the 1st of the month falls on a weekend.
New Deadline is SUNDAY NIGHT 23:59 BST.

Mandle

Cheers Stu!!!

Maybe we should just make it an automatic extension until the end of Sunday if the end of the month is a Friday or Saturday?

Easier for you and everyone appreciates the extra weekend.

Slasher

Quote from: Mandle on Fri 31/08/2018 08:37:22
Cheers Stu!!!

Maybe we should just make it an automatic extension until the end of Sunday if the end of the month is a Friday or Saturday?

Easier for you and everyone appreciates the extra weekend.
Good excuse if I ever heard one (laugh)

Mandle

Quote from: Slasher on Fri 31/08/2018 08:56:14
Quote from: Mandle on Fri 31/08/2018 08:37:22
Cheers Stu!!!

Maybe we should just make it an automatic extension until the end of Sunday if the end of the month is a Friday or Saturday?

Easier for you and everyone appreciates the extra weekend.
Good excuse if I ever heard one (laugh)

Hahaha! Well, in reality, an extension is usually asked for anyway when the month ends at the start of a weekend (usually by me, granted)...

VampireWombat

This is great news.
This weekend is supposed to actually be the start of reasonable temperatures. Now I can actually have a title screen and some random npcs.

The Outer Zone

Quote from: VampireWombat on Thu 30/08/2018 12:31:04
Design and implement sound? Wow.
And the updated graphics are interesting. I never would have expected the player character to be a young cyborg Papa Smurf.

Haha! Didn't see that coming did you? It's been a smurf story all along.. muahahaa!

Thanks for the new deadline, though I think I'm going to submit tonight anyways.
But something might go wrong, so it's nice with some extra time :)
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

The Outer Zone

It has been great working on my first AGS game!

Here it is:


CYBORG SEPPUKU








Feedback is more than welcome.
I will probably make a version 2.0.

Enjoy :)
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Slasher

Can people please play or replay games once the voting starts as some games get updated by that date..(nod)

VampireWombat

#143
I have all plans of playing both of your games after the voting starts.

Title screen is complete and I've now added save and load. I also have quicksave and quickload, which I won't be testing tomorrow.
Due to Slasher's missing function keys, I have quicksave set as both f5 and ctrl s and quickload as f7 and ctrl l.

Music has been added along with a volume slider.

Mandle

I got about 12 hours work done yesterday and have 3 rooms and 2 and a half puzzles done.

I'll release the game no matter what at this point but it's unlikely to be finished.

And, yeah, the censorship part will most likely end up censored.

VampireWombat

#145
12 hours yesterday? Nice.
I think the longest I worked in one sitting was like 10 minutes...
Unfortunately I don't really have puzzles since I had to cut the game short.
I have a little dialog and programming related to which dialog comes when and then I think all that will be left is animation and the programming related to it.

edit: And the longer I'm awake, the more I think I may actually be sick...
So there goes any unneeded npcs or animations.

Mandle

#146
Well, I felt so burnt out today after yesterday that I didn't do anything further. So the game still only has 2-and-a-half puzzles. I decided, probably wisely, to not work on the game while I didn't feel like doing so. That usually ends with bad work that adds nothing and has to be redone later.

But I'm quite invested in this story, the inspiration for which came to me from something that happened to me in real life and then became a full-blown story in my head during the next 10 minutes while I rode my bicycle to the local 7-11.

There's only a couple of scenes left to do so I will continue at my own pace later.

This "demo version" ends rather abruptly with a cliff-hanger... Well, not a cliff-hanger but with someone hanging onto something.

And please keep in mind that a lot of the graphics/puzzle-design/game mechanics/etc. are only half-done and/or placeholders (especially the main character's walkcycle. Roger will not be appearing in the finished game, not even in glorious B&W).

Anyway, I semi-present:

THE MAN WHO LIKED CATS



A man flees his war-torn country with the only family he has left, his beloved cat, Kitty.

What does fate, and the kindness or cruelty of other people, have in store for them both?


CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

(Oh, and, yeah, the Censorship part got censored for now... But is the main point of the full game. Trust me on this.)

Mandle

#147
As usual I will play all games and update comments in this post:

Cola Skunkette
Spoiler
A charming and simple game suitable especially for kids. I loved the plucky body-language of the kid. He really looked like a child proud to be helping out on an important mission for an adult. A great example of how a walkcycle isn't only a means to get the character from A to B but can also tell us a lot about their personality and current mood. A lot of professional games forget this and have only a very generic walkcycle that seems identical for each character. The story, while simple, provides clear motivation at every point. I always knew what I was supposed to be doing. Something professional games also fail at sometimes. The graphics and musical choices set a nice, calm mood throughout. There is no "enemy" to conquer except for the grafitti itself which makes for stress-free gameplay suitable, like I mentioned, especially for kids. Wonderful!
[close]

Cyborg Seppuku
Spoiler
Well, what can I say? It's beyond amazing! From the Moebius-style graphics, the social commentary subtext of unplugging from our devices, to the actual fun puzzles and characters, this game just had me drooling for more, even though I suspected that I wouldn't get to see The Outer Zone. But I really wanted to! Silverspook, have you played this yet? You would LOVE it!!! Gonna be a hard contender to beat for the other games!

A bit of pixel-hunting is totally forgivable as the backgrounds are just so rich in detail that the player naturally wants to explore every nook and cranny anyway.

One thing I might suggest though is to remove the "self-censorship" comment in the game. I think most players will get this without having it pointed out to them to so bluntly. Also, perhaps the C.Jones comment about the coffee cup. I think this game is great enough to deserve no in-jokes/tributes.

Also: one of the coolest game titles of all time which the game lives up to! Sometimes bad games have really cool titles as clickbait. This ain't one of those!
[close]

Vacant Bodies
Spoiler
This looks like it could be a really interesting start to a story. It left me really wanting to know more about what was going on in this particular world in general and with my own character's predicament. No real gameplay though so it's still just that at this point, but I do want to see and learn more! So, great job on an effective game intro!
[close]

Fists Of Murder
Spoiler
Hmmmm... Beautiful graphics and animations! Especially during the flashback scene, but... Very slow and repetetive gameplay... Also, I couldn't really figure out any fighting strategy except for hit as many times as I could and then back away until my energy regrew. And even then I couldn't really notice any impact that my energy was having on the damage I was dealing. It always seemed pretty random despite my energy level. So I'm now guessing that maybe energy is just a measure of how many times I can hit in a row? Didn't matter really though as the enemies were all very easy to beat up. Just time obstacles. Maybe the game could use a "You beat the game in XX time." message at the end?

I did really like some of the humour in dialogs and the name of the evil organisation was genius.

In the end it was no sound effects that really killed it for me though. I need to hear even just one "smack" of my punch to want to play a beat-em-up. That's a huge part of the vicarious pleasure and stress-relief of fighting games.
[close]

VampireWombat

I'm actually hours before the deadline. Of course I did take a few shortcuts...

Hopefully it's fully playable and not missing anything.
Vacant Bodies
[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/images/XXGE.png[/imgzoom]
[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/images/X9Qt.png[/imgzoom]
[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/images/Sh8o.png[/imgzoom]

Download here.



Jack

#149
I am currently not able to upload because Dreamhost is in over their heads.

EDIT: Anyone else getting the "You don't have permission to access /site/games/add/ on this server." when trying to add a game?

Edit more: It seems my screenshots are too amazing to be parsed by a mere earthbound site.

The Outer Zone

Quote from: Mandle on Sun 02/09/2018 15:56:54
As usual I will play all games and update comments in this post:

Cyborg Seppuku
Spoiler
Well, what can I say? It's beyond amazing! From the Moebius-style graphics, the social commentary subtext of unplugging from our devices, to the actual fun puzzles and characters, this game just had me drooling for more, even though I suspected that I wouldn't get to see The Outer Zone. But I really wanted to! Silverspook, have you played this yet? You would LOVE it!!! Gonna be a hard contender to beat for the other games!

A bit of pixel-hunting is totally forgivable as the backgrounds are just so rich in detail that the player naturally wants to explore every nook and cranny anyway.

One thing I might suggest though is to remove the "self-censorship" comment in the game. I think most players will get this without having it pointed out to them to so bluntly. Also, perhaps the C.Jones comment about the coffee cup. I think this game is great enough to deserve no in-jokes/tributes.

Also: one of the coolest game titles of all time which the game lives up to! Sometimes bad games have really cool titles as clickbait. This ain't one of those!
[close]

Thank you so much - I am glad you liked the game :)
And thanks for the feedback. I think you're right about the in-jokes, I got a little carried away with my first AGS game :-D And the self-censorship line is a bit out of place. I wanted to make the "censorship" theme clear - but I'm glad it communicates without that line.
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Jack

#151
Fists of Murder

A fighting/adventure game hybrid.

Homeless man Joe witnesses a murder and must work with a friend to undo the cover-up and get the truth out.



Download (Windows)

Download (Linux)

Stupot

Thanks for the entries, folks. Voting will be sorted out as soon as I have a spare half an hour at a computer, which should be soon but could be never.

Stupot

The contest is over and voting us underway. Six fine-looking entries. Thank you everyone.

I checked and double-checked but I'm paranoid that I've forgotten somebody, so please let me know if I have.

Vote using the poll at the top of the page.









Cola Skunkette: A Bit of Cleanup by DBoyWheeler
The Campaign Of Daphne White by Slasher
Cyborg Seppuku by The Outer Zone
The Man Who Liked Cats by Mandle
Vacant Bodies by VampireWombat
Fists of Murder by Jack

Mandle

Can't wait to play through the remaining bunch tonight!

Especially Fists Of Murder!

Slasher

OK...

I have re-built the game and made a new download link....

Please try again..

I'm not sure why some people have trouble.

Please inform me if this happens again.

Thanks...


The Outer Zone

Good job on finishing your games :)
Can't wait to play them!
...so I'll play them today :-D

I'll make sure to leave a comment on each of the entries.
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Mandle

#157
Quote from: Slasher on Mon 03/09/2018 05:46:22
OK...

I have re-built the game and made a new download link....

Please try again..

I'm not sure why some people have trouble.

Please inform me if this happens again.

Thanks...

For me, the download size has increased by x3...

Last night it was about 50MB. That was the broken one.

Now it's about 150MB. Still downloading though, but I'd say the old link led to an incomplete upload.

EDIT: NOPE! I guess not. I still get an "empty" folder in BitZipper, and 7zip refuses to open it at all.

Can you maybe try making it just .zip format instead of .rar?

If you are compressing and uncompressing with the same version of 7zip then the problem probably lies within that program.

It must have something to do with you getting a new computer and reinstalling 7zip as I've never had a problem unzipping any of your games before this.

VampireWombat

#158
Quote from: Mandle on Sun 02/09/2018 15:56:54
Vacant Bodies
Spoiler
This looks like it could be a really interesting start to a story. It left me really wanting to know more about what was going on in this particular world in general and with my own character's predicament. No real gameplay though so it's still just that at this point, but I do want to see and learn more! So, great job on an effective game intro!
[close]
Spoiler
I'm glad it made you want more. I really did want to do more, but the end of the month ended up being as hot as Satan's balzac(sic), which kind of killed my motivation.
[close]

Slasher

Slight cock up with game name :-[

I don't believe it!  How did I let that slip through the net? :-[

Anyhow, I have made a new build and have uploaded it with a new link.

Really sorry guys, please excuse this old dog and download it again....

Cheers

Slasher

OK

Rebuilt game with new template and titled it correctly and have uploaded new link..

This is my first under Windows 10..

Hopefully fixed...

Slasher

#161
I've just downloaded the game, unzipped it and it runs fine though it takes a little longer to run the first time on my new laptop with Windows 10.

So don't know why you guys are having problems..

Cassiebsg

Also why are you unziping a rar file? you unzip a zip file and unrar a rar file... :P
And no, it still not working here.

Could you try and ZIP the file instead of RARing it please?
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Slasher

I'm trying WinZip... uploading now...

Hobo

What a cunning scheme to get more downloads and attention to your game, Slasher :-D
Just kidding, and the latest version seems to unpack and start up fine for me.

Slasher

#165
Quote from: Hobo on Tue 04/09/2018 00:16:31
What a cunning scheme to get more downloads and attention to your game, Slasher :-D
Just kidding, and the latest version seems to unpack and start up fine for me.
That's a bit of a relief..

In over 50 games I've never had such grief.... I've always used Winrar previously and it's been OK.

Anyhow, it's really great to see so many entries make the competition (nod)

Good luck to all (nod)









Shadow1000

Great turnout for this month's competition.

Here are my thoughts:

Cola Skunkette: A Bit of Cleanup
Spoiler
What a vast improvement in graphics and animation compared to past releases! Teaming up with Blondbraid - a master of graphics and animation - was an excellent idea. It was a real pleasure to play this game because of the visuals. The connection to the theme was understandable, but the connection that I made was the fact that it was about cleaning up some foul language. However, there was a lack of puzzles in the sense that with one exception, everything was right there and the actions to be taken were quite set out. The exception was that to receive something from someone, you had to give them something. I didn't find this to be that logical and I only solved it by doing the old "try everything" approach.
[close]

The Campaign Of Daphne White
Spoiler
This one has Slasher's style all over it! This game stood out in the sense that it doesn't just make reference to the theme, it is COMPLETELY about the theme and I want to credit that. A great mix of puzzles ranging from puzzles that combine inventory with dialogue, a small maze and a word puzzle. Even some money management in there. Four unrelated quests to complete was a great idea. Puzzles are generally on the simple side but I did get stuck at one point and I needed a hand from Slasher for the password puzzle. I'm curious if others will share my experience. I have to conclude my remarks with the fact that I had several good laughs and overall enjoyed playing this one
[close]

Cyborg Seppuku
Spoiler
I played the first release and this game is AWESOME. The story and environment are very creative; the puzzles are very well-designed. I see the connection to the theme as being the fact that you are in a society that is monitoring you and has a point system to punish wrongdoing, including foul language. The connection is not as essential to the game as other entries but it still adequate. Once the game was re-released with the upgraded graphics, I was BLOWN AWAY! It now has everything the first game was missing and considering this is a first game, I want to really commend this title.
[close]

The Man Who Liked Cats
Spoiler
There is not enough here to really comment. I think that the story from the description is intriguing. The graphics look attractive. As Mandle said, there is no connection yet to the theme. I look forward to the full release in due time
[close]

Vacant Bodies
Spoiler
As others have commented, it looks like the beginning of a good game. There are no puzzles yet and I don't see a connection to the theme. Maybe the game will be fleshed out in the future into a full release
[close]

Fists of Murder
Spoiler
Stunning presentation and immersive world! It looks like a bit of an segment from a story. The game mechanics look like they are in the preliminary stages of a full release, including map navigation and some fighting. I didn't quite get the story enough to really follow what was going on and I didn't get the connection to the MAGS theme. That said, there is a lot of talent and polish in this one
[close]

And my vote goes to:
Spoiler
Cyborg Seppuku. Mainly because of the puzzles. I usually judge games by how much I enjoyed them overall and this one stands out. The puzzles are in "complete the list" style where completing a task opens the door to the next task and everything just fits together brilliantly. As I said, the story is clear and easy to follow and looks like the beginning of a real masterpiece. I'd love to follow the character as he tracks down his wife and attempts to woo her back. Perhaps he will succeed and we get a happy ending and perhaps he won't...I can't wait to find out
[close]

Well done!

Cassiebsg

I can confirm that it now unpacks just fine. (nod) :-D
Also you might want to update the AGS Game page and change the file size from 76Mb to 178Mb. ;)

I don't know, maybe that WinRar doesn't like Win10?
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

I just want to mention (I should have said this as part of my remarks) that I had no problem downloading and playing Daphne White right after the release.

Jack

Thanks for the review, Shadow.

Spoiler
The connection was supposed to explained later in the story, which there wasn't time for, but basically it turned out that the company responsible also published the newspaper that suggested the murder was actually a mugging. There was supposed to be more articles from them as the "investigation" went on, trying to maintain the cover-up.
[close]

The Outer Zone

@Shadow1000: thanks a lot for your kind words :) I will definitely make more Tales From The Outer Zone. I don't know when I have time again though..

I'm only halfway through the list of games. I will comment on all in one thread once I'm done tomorrow.
Good stuff so far ;-D
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Shadow1000

@ Jack
Quote from: Jack on Tue 04/09/2018 20:51:22
Thanks for the review, Shadow.

Spoiler
The connection was supposed to explained later in the story, which there wasn't time for, but basically it turned out that the company responsible also published the newspaper that suggested the murder was actually a mugging. There was supposed to be more articles from them as the "investigation" went on, trying to maintain the cover-up.
[close]

Understood. MAGS games are made with time constraints and a game author has to be selective on whether to have something fairly complete and self-contained or something that would fit in as part of a longer game, assess how much time to spend on graphics and a cool game environment and so on. It's almost impossible to get it all so you have to decide where to cut. I'd love to see this one developed into a medium or full length game. The potential is there.

@ The Outer Zone

I am looking forward to more games. BUT don't forget that this really has the potential to be developed into a full-lengther.


Jack

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Wed 05/09/2018 00:41:05
MAGS games are made with time constraints and a game author has to be selective on whether to have something fairly complete and self-contained or something that would fit in as part of a longer game, assess how much time to spend on graphics and a cool game environment and so on.

You make it sound so professional. ;)

What I actually did was bad planning and assessment of how long things would take. I am getting better at it though.

Mandle

#173
I'm just going to repost my feedback here again as it most likely got lost because I posted it originally before voting opened:

Cola Skunkette
Spoiler
A charming and simple game suitable especially for kids. I loved the plucky body-language of the kid. He really looked like a child proud to be helping out on an important mission for an adult. A great example of how a walkcycle isn't only a means to get the character from A to B but can also tell us a lot about their personality and current mood. A lot of professional games forget this and have only a very generic walkcycle that seems identical for each character. The story, while simple, provides clear motivation at every point. I always knew what I was supposed to be doing. Something professional games also fail at sometimes. The graphics and musical choices set a nice, calm mood throughout. There is no "enemy" to conquer except for the grafitti itself which makes for stress-free gameplay suitable, like I mentioned, especially for kids. Wonderful!
[close]

Cyborg Seppuku
Spoiler
Well, what can I say? It's beyond amazing! From the Moebius-style graphics, the social commentary subtext of unplugging from our devices, to the actual fun puzzles and characters, this game just had me drooling for more, even though I suspected that I wouldn't get to see The Outer Zone. But I really wanted to! Silverspook, have you played this yet? You would LOVE it!!! Gonna be a hard contender to beat for the other games!

A bit of pixel-hunting is totally forgivable as the backgrounds are just so rich in detail that the player naturally wants to explore every nook and cranny anyway.

One thing I might suggest though is to remove the "self-censorship" comment in the game. I think most players will get this without having it pointed out to them to so bluntly. Also, perhaps the C.Jones comment about the coffee cup. I think this game is great enough to deserve no in-jokes/tributes.

Also: one of the coolest game titles of all time which the game lives up to! Sometimes bad games have really cool titles as clickbait. This ain't one of those!
[close]

Vacant Bodies
Spoiler
This looks like it could be a really interesting start to a story. It left me really wanting to know more about what was going on in this particular world in general and with my own character's predicament. No real gameplay though so it's still just that at this point, but I do want to see and learn more! So, great job on an effective game intro!
[close]

Fists Of Murder
Spoiler
Hmmmm... Beautiful graphics and animations! Especially during the flashback scene, but... Very slow and repetetive gameplay... Also, I couldn't really figure out any fighting strategy except for hit as many times as I could and then back away until my energy regrew. And even then I couldn't really notice any impact that my energy was having on the damage I was dealing. It always seemed pretty random despite my energy level. So I'm now guessing that maybe energy is just a measure of how many times I can hit in a row? Didn't matter really though as the enemies were all very easy to beat up. Just time obstacles. Maybe the game could use a "You beat the game in XX time." message at the end?

I did really like some of the humour in dialogs and the name of the evil organisation was genius.

In the end it was no sound effects that really killed it for me though. I need to hear even just one "smack" of my punch to want to play a beat-em-up. That's a huge part of the vicarious pleasure and stress-relief of fighting games.
[close]

The Campaign Of Daphne White
Spoiler
Tons of good old Slasher fun to be had here!!! I always feel like I'm reading old issues of Beano when I play a game by this master of low-brow humour. And, in this game, we are fighting against the very forces that could get such "debased" humour banned.

Speaking of "banned":

The Life Of Brian was banned in most parts of Wales partly because of the full-frontal nudity of Graham Chapman and Sue Jones-Davies (Brian's girlfriend in the film). Many years later Sue Jones-Davies became the Mayor of a town in Wales where the film had been banned, and still was, and one of her first political actions was to unban the movie and organise the "premiere" of The Life Of Brian in the town, where she showed up to walk the red carpet and attend with everyone else who was just about to see her pubic hair on the silver screen.

What a legendary person!!!

Other films like "No Sex Please! We're British!", in which a box of illegal "nudie mags" is delivered by mistake to a very upstanding citizen who goes off on an eye-opening adventure to dispose of them, were reactions against archaic views and laws holding over from Victorian times and, much like the Python film, were made (and loved) by people who actually had a sense of humour about human sexuality and the entire farce about trying to regulate it.

Slasher, having experienced these times, and maybe also sensing the reemergence of them in a repeating cycle, has made a great farcical adventure game on this theme.

I feel I don't even need to worry about some clunky gameplay, sprites, typos, and whatever. These are kind of to be expected in a Slasher MAGS game. He gets the game done no matter what.

This game has my vote as the most important comment about the theme of this MAGS round:

Censorship!

Oh, and I really enjoyed the computer password puzzle! That was an unexpected bonus! Pretty tough to solve but made sense in its context.
[close]

The Outer Zone

I finally got through all the games. Took me a little more time than expected :)

Here are my comments:



Cola Skunkette by DBoyWheeler:

Spoiler
A charming little game. Cool to see some animations when interacting.
Would be nice to let the player find the gum and combine the items.
[close]

Vacant Bodies by VampireWombat:

Spoiler
I love the surrealistic feel in this one. It's really eerie and "off".
Too bad the ending is so abrupt. And I miss some puzzles - but that might
not be your thing VampireWombat? I guess walking through this world is enough
of an experience. I was entertained :)
[close]

The man who liked cats by Mandle:

Spoiler
Too bad this is not the full game! I loved the mood of the beginning, but after the cat runs off, the quality drops.
Running through the mines took me out of that experience unfortunately.. its hardmixing other genres into an adventure game..
And the final scene was okay, but incomplete. I will look forward to the finished game if you manage to have the quality of the beginning
throughout the whole game.
[close]

The Campaigne of Daphne White by Slasher:

Spoiler
Four episodes in one game. That's a lot of content. I liked the overall idea
of having different quests to get around Daphne's censorship. It was nice going from one character to the next.
There are some bugs here and there that kept me from proceeding and much of the design felt a bit rushed.
Which makes sense seeing that there is so much content. I would really like to
see a game by you Slasher, with 1/10 of the content but thoroughly designed and polished.
My favorite quest was Martha's. Going from the bar to the country side was a nice shift of scenary and
finding the spot was nicely silly.
[close]

Fists of Murder by Jack:

Spoiler
Interesting combo of fighting game and point-and-click, though I never found out how to punch..
Did you make the graphics yourself? I like the flat 3D backgrounds - there is a dollhouse like quality to the whole thing.
I think its the depth of field. A little too repetitive doing the "same" mission again and again. All in all a nice little snippet of an underground world.
[close]


My vote goes to:

Spoiler
Vacant Bodies by VampireWombat. This strange little walkie leaves me with wanting more. The sound and visuals go well together and creates a nightmarish and surreal world. I want more eerie robot motel stories.
[close]
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

Quote from: The Outer Zone on Wed 05/09/2018 12:41:49
Vacant Bodies by VampireWombat:

Spoiler
I love the surrealistic feel in this one. It's really eerie and "off".
Too bad the ending is so abrupt. And I miss some puzzles - but that might
not be your thing VampireWombat? I guess walking through this world is enough
of an experience. I was entertained :)

Vacant Bodies by VampireWombat. This strange little walkie leaves me with wanting more. The sound and visuals go well together and creates a nightmarish and surreal world. I want more eerie robot motel stories.
[close]
Spoiler
I'm glad I was able to accomplish any sort of feeling for you. I did want to have puzzles, but I couldn't think of any for that part of the game.
My plan was to have an evolving verb list and more, but all of that would take place after where this version ended. I'm glad it entertained you. Thank you very much for voting for me.
[close]

Jack


Slasher

Please, don't forget to add some feedback on games you play on the database page  (nod)

Stupot

One week left to vote. The vote count is quite low still so a few more would be nice.

Quote from: Slasher on Sun 09/09/2018 17:34:43
Please, don't forget to add some feedback on games you play on the database page  (nod)
+1

Not all MAGS entries have an AGS page but if they do, comments and ratings are always a nice touch to complement your NAGS votes.

Mandle

Geez, only 7 votes so far on such an active round of MAGS?!

VampireWombat

Yeah, I'm behind on stuff. I plan to play/re-play the games this weekend and then vote.

Cassiebsg

Haven't had the time. I'm still one and a half game behind... :-[
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Kastchey

I've been trying to put a feedback post together for the past four days, but I'm determined to post and vote before the deadline!

VampireWombat

#183
Still working on Slasher's game, but going to start my post now.

Cola Skunkette by DBoyWheeler:
Spoiler
An improvement over previous games. The walkcycle and backgrounds helped. But I have to admit that having to get the key made me cringe.
[close]

The Man Who Liked Cats by Mandle
Spoiler
I have no idea what was even going on. Did I miss something? Was the cat falling into quicksand? I couldn't figure out a way to get the cat to safety.
[close]

The Campaigne of Daphne White by Slasher:
Spoiler
Only finished two campaigns so far. Once I went back to the store, I found that the puzzles were too easy. Still humorous. But I did find it a bit odd navigating a car using feet.
I currently have no idea how to get the password. I'm guessing the last number is 12 since a baker's dozen is 13. But I have no clue about a headless crow.
I went to Beryl's section after leaving poor Bert next to the nudie magazines. When I returned to them, Burt somehow merged with the magazines. Congratulations on accidentally making a horror game.
[close]

Fists of Murder by Jack:
Spoiler
Some of the dialog was humorous, some made me groan. The combat was fun for a few seconds, but I went without it when going back out. The ending was a bit too abrupt,
but still good job.
[close]


Cyborg Seppuku by The Outer Zone:
Spoiler
I think I already commented earlier when I played it before. I don't have much more to add other than I couldn't finish the updated version. The colors were a nice change, but the flashing triggered a headache.
[close]

And my vote went to:
Spoiler
Cyborg Seppuku. Best overall plus it is cyberpunk...
[close]


Kastchey

#184
I've finally found time to play all the entries so here's my feedback (I'll repeat what I said about two entries I have already commented on before):
Cola Skunkette
Spoiler
It was very short, but entertaining and the collaboration you did this month was an excellent idea. Well done DBoy & Blondbraid! I loved the title screen artwork, very pretty. I had mixed feelings about the music which sounded somewhat J-RPGish to me, but that's probably just the matter of preference. My only complaint is that the ending was somewhat unrewarding. An ending scene may not look like much but it tends to have a considerable impact on the overall reception of your game.
Regarding the puzzles:
Spoiler
* I'd suggest adding some hint that would help the player figure out how to glue the magnet to the wire, rather than do it via trial and error. Perhaps a mention of the chewing gum in the dialogue or 'look' action?
* When you give the magnet to the boy, the game automatically creates a combination of magnet, gum and wire for you. Similarly later when you use any cleaning agent component on another one, the game auto combines all three into the final product. That made me feel majorly deprived of inventory puzzles :D
* I didn't feel it was necessary to restrict the player from picking up the soda and the seltzer bottle until the closet door was open, but if you aimed to make a kids game, then this and the inventory puzzle thing can actually be a good move as it simplifies the gameplay a lot.
[close]
[close]
The Man Who Liked Cats
Spoiler
As a cat person I could so relate to this one! And I was 100% sure that the paper towel was going down the moment I entered the room.
There was a sort of a weird dissonance in the atmosphere between the first and the last part but hey, I got to run around as a cat so I didn't mind :)
On a side note, I'm not sure if it's a bug or not but I managed to somehow get through the barbed fence in the first room without doing anything with it. I bumped into it, then I restarted the game because I had missed some lines and then I managed to go straight through the spot I would bump off of before.
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Cyborg Seppuku
Spoiler
I LOVED your game. Really. It was awesome. The detailed, well thought out world is the reason enough to give it a go, and the cruel, oppressive, dystopian atmosphere immediately reminded me of BASS. Very, very impressive. If a game makes your player want to explore its world just for the sake of it, then you couldn't have done a better worldbuilding job.

In its current state, the game doesn't offer too much gameplay (it took me about 10 minutes to finish) but you had some interesting and original puzzle ideas, so I'm pretty sure that if you put some effort into expanding them so that it takes more than 2-3 actions per implant, the gameplay alone has a chance to turn into a really enjoyable experience. The dialogues were brilliant, too.

I only have one complaint... sort of.  It may be subjective, so if you are convinced to this idea feel free to ignore me.
So, have you considered revealing less of the player character's personal background at the very beginning? Because you see, if the first thing I learn about the character is that he has a wife named Helen who has decided to run off with another guy, then it makes me wonder just why on earth would I want to help that abusive stalker chase a woman who clearly doesn't want to see him anymore?
Of course, perhaps it's just me being too judgemental but I feel that for the first stage of the story, it would be more than enough to know that he wants to find someone he cares for who recklessly ventured into a dangerous wasteland.
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Vacant Bodies
Spoiler
It was a huge step forward from your previous game both in terms of overall design and completeness. It still felt more like an interactive intro than an actual game, but the storyline felt consistent, like a beginning of a larger story. And just like the previous game, it felt very dreamlike and surreal which is awesome. The connection to this month's theme was subtle, but it was there - removing someone's ability to speak can be a definition of censorship.
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Fists Of Murder
Spoiler
Great graphics and animation, and kudos to you for being able to script a mix of adventure and fighting game within less than a month and, as far as I could see, completely bugless.

The story felt a little rushed, a bit as if each quest was a brief summary of a longer and more complex chapter, if that makes sense. I felt more could have been revealed about the protagonists too, because I wasn't sure who they were - investigative journalists, activists of some sort, conspiracy hunters? But I'm sure all this was only due to the time constraint.
I didn't see any direct connection to this month's theme, but I guess cover-up and censorship are close enough for the game to qualify as a censorship-themed entry.

I would love to see more moves available in the combat sequence, e.g. blocking, dodging or stronger punches. And faster enemies to go with these, so that you cannot endlessly backpedal to avoid taking any damage.

Very nice entry overall, I'd love to see it expanded.
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The Campaign Of Daphne White
Spoiler
What a great game! I loved the concept of four simultaneous storylines I could switch between any moment. This move perfectly dispersed the linearity of each individual chapter and made the game really fun to play. As with any other Slasher game I've played, the witty dialogues and the brilliant sense of humour make this entry worth every minute of the time you spend playing it.
The puzzles were pretty easy to solve except for the password puzzle, which got me seriously stuck. Does it refer to some very obscure in-game information, or is it something I'm supposed to figure out based on common knowledge?
Also, I'm curious if I can finish the lingerie chapter if I spend all the money on sandwitches? I replayed this chapter just to see if the game would stop me from going below the amount needed to buy any of the items needed to progress, and it didn't. Would I be stuck then, or is there a way to "refill" the money pool?
Spoiler
Edit: Ok, I've figured out the password... two out of three parts, at least - I didn't know about baker's dozen, got the hint from VampireWombat's post :) Crow's head and half a dollar were pretty clever riddles, congrats!
One thing though - the password is case sensitive, which can be a little misleading since the hint is worded "Half a dollar" (non-capital d)
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I ended up voting for
Spoiler
Cyborg Seppuku.
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The Outer Zone

Quote from: VampireWombat on Sun 16/09/2018 18:47:47

Cyborg Seppuku by The Outer Zone:
Spoiler
I think I already commented earlier when I played it before. I don't have much more to add other than I couldn't finish the updated version. The colors were a nice change, but the flashing triggered a headache.
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@VampireWombat - sorry about that. Do you mean the background fx? All the people, cars and adds?
I should really make these less noisy in the next version.
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

Slasher

The Outer Zone: You have done a great game, especially as you say it is your first...

Keep it up (nod)

Stupot

The voting is over and the people have spoken.
The winner of MAGS August, with a whopping 9 points is Mr Outer-the-blue himself, The Outer Zone for Cyborg Seppuku.

Congratulations on the impressive win. You will be contacted by PM soon about choosing a topic for MAGS October.

VampireWombat

Quote from: The Outer Zone on Mon 17/09/2018 08:32:51
@VampireWombat - sorry about that. Do you mean the background fx? All the people, cars and adds?
I should really make these less noisy in the next version.
I didn't even notice people... But yeah, the background stuff. I'm sure it's fine for most people, but I'm prone to headaches and some photosensitivity. It may even be fine on another day.
Congratulations on your win.

Kastchey

Congratulations, The Outer Zone. "Well deserved" would be an understatement.

Cassiebsg

Maybe you could add a setting for people that have problems with flashing items? That way those that are sensitive to that could turn off the blinking.

And congrats on the win, btw. :)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

The Outer Zone

Thank you everyone for the nice words and also thanks to those of you who voted on my game.
It feels nice to be so well received in the AGS community. I really appreciate it :)

I will try to come up with a good theme for MAGS October.

And I will probably join you again in another MAGS. I'm thinking of doing the whole "Tales from The Outer Zone" series in various MAGS.
Creating a game in this "spontaneous" way is a great tool. And I like that I don't know the story/theme before designing the games.
But I am unsure if it's ok to continue a series in a game jam.. even though my chapters will be very different from eachother, they still exist
in the same world.. Do you have a rule against that? I totally respect it if you do :)

Either way, the series will hopefully continue some day.

Cheers!
-Malte
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

VampireWombat

Quote from: The Outer Zone on Tue 18/09/2018 12:29:50
I will try to come up with a good theme for MAGS October.

And I will probably join you again in another MAGS. I'm thinking of doing the whole "Tales from The Outer Zone" series in various MAGS.
Creating a game in this "spontaneous" way is a great tool. And I like that I don't know the story/theme before designing the games.
But I am unsure if it's ok to continue a series in a game jam.. even though my chapters will be very different from eachother, they still exist
in the same world.. Do you have a rule against that? I totally respect it if you do :)

Good luck with coming up with a theme. Hopefully it'll be something that lends itself well to Halloween themed games.

Unless there's a specific rule about it in a given month, I'm pretty sure using previous characters and such is okay. And since the rule has been added for the last few months that you can use any pre-made assets, you could technically do another story using everything you used to make the last game.

Mandle

An attempt at a series has been done before in MAGS, with the same character. I forget the name now, but it was about a very antisocial female "hit-man". The first chapter was awesome, but the second chapter was pretty incomprehendable, got no votes, and I don't think we ever saw the author again.

Sequels can be a curse I guess. But, from what I understood of your aim, from other posts, was an unconnected aeries of episodes, something like the two TV shows your name is a combination of?

The Outer Zone

Okay - great!
Yes, I am going for very different episodes. Characters might return, but maybe much later in the series :)
And I will not re-use assets - other than characters when that time comes.
The Outer Zone - Strange narrative games and illustrated books.
http://the-outer-zone.blogspot.com/

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