MAGS August "Censorship" (CLOSED)

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

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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

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
[close]


@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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