MAGS February "Dressing Up" (RESULT)

Started by Stupot, Fri 01/02/2019 01:47:12

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What was your favourite game of MAGS February

New Kid Gotta Steal Somethin' by Durq and VampireWombat
5 (41.7%)
Thrymly Disguised by Blondbraid & Cassiebsg
7 (58.3%)

Total Members Voted: 12

Voting closed: Fri 15/03/2019 13:26:58

Stupot

The winners of MAGS February are Blondbraid and Cassiebsg. Well done, team.






New Kid Gotta Steal Somethin
by Durq and VampireWombat


Thrymly Disguised
by Blondbraid & Cassiebsg


Dressing up
This month's topic was chosen by cat.

February is carnival time, so let's put on some costumes! Some ideas to get you started:

  • A cosplayer assembles his outfit for a comic convention
  • A teenage girl searches for the perfect prom night dress
  • Kids need to find hat and scarf for their snowman


In the end someone or something should be dressed up wearing something fancy (or fail miserably trying).

Feel free to use any existing material but let us know which parts you reused and what was originally created for this competition.



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 "favourite" 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 above). Second, create your game fuelled 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 and the winner chooses the next month's theme.

DBoyWheeler

I might be able to enter this one.  Another of my anthro character sets could be this.

In my mind, I could imagine a skunk lady looking for some fancy clothes to get ready for a nice night with her husband.  (Adding in romance to go with the February/Valentine's motif too.)

I'll be sure to post in the Recruitment thread if anyone would like to join as well.

But in any case...

Challenge Accepted!  (I can't seem to find a good image of the meme, so a text will do.)

Stupot


VampireWombat

Of course I'm going to give it a try.
If I can't think of anything better, I can do something based on Chewy: Escape from F5 and E.T.

Blondbraid

I'd like to see an attempt to make an adaption of the ancient legend of Thor stealing back his hammer from the evil giant Trym.
The story goes that Trym steals Thor's hammer and demands to be married to the goddess Freja in exchange for giving the hammer back,
and when Freja refuses, Thor decides to get the hammer back by going to Trym's castle himself whilst disguised as Freja...
(Here's a link to the full story)

Anyone interested in a collaboration?


VampireWombat

With the upcoming Super Bowl, I've decided to go with my alien idea and use it to explore the viewpoint of sports through the eyes of someone who has 0 interest in sports.

Mandle

#6
Quote from: Blondbraid on Fri 01/02/2019 13:41:23
I'd like to see an attempt to make an adaption of the ancient legend of Thor stealing back his hammer from the evil giant Trym.
The story goes that Trym steals Thor's hammer and demands to be married to the goddess Freja in exchange for giving the hammer back,
and when Freja refuses, Thor decides to get the hammer back by going to Trym's castle himself whilst disguised as Freja...
(Here's a link to the full story)

Anyone interested in a collaboration?

Having voice-acted Thrym myself I can't help but link this:

Spoiler


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn5dW-6nnwM (watch from about the 3 minute mark)

and the continuation is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oPEI7cL4hk
[close]

This is one take on the legend you mentioned from the game "Tales" (made in AGS) by AprilSkies. I wrote the English text for the game and also lent my voice to the Thrym character.

SPOILER ALERT: If you plan to play Tales these videos contain spoilers for the puzzles etc.

Blondbraid

#7
I'll definitively have to put Tales on my To-Play list, it seems like an awesome game from those videos, and good voice acting too!

I'll have to think up a different idea for a MAGS entry though...
I have toyed with the idea of making another game about Roderick Downes, where he
Spoiler
after hearing of the popularity of Pocahontas decides to scam noblemen by dressing up a romani woman and passing her off as an indian princess
[close]
and it'd be a parody on stories like "My fair lady" as well as the often inept and inaccurate stories floating around about the new world.

Anyone thinking this might sound good and willing to join in?


Mandle

Blondbraid, I didn't mean t suggest that you shouldn't do the game because the theme had been used in a different game,

I would have liked to see what you did with it and would even like to voice-act Thyrm again if you went with it.

A different take on something is always interesting.

cat

I'm glad the topic has already inspired a few people!

Quote from: DBoyWheeler on Fri 01/02/2019 11:32:01
Challenge Accepted!
That's the right spirit!

Quote from: VampireWombat on Fri 01/02/2019 14:20:11
With the upcoming Super Bowl, I've decided to go with my alien idea and use it to explore the viewpoint of sports through the eyes of someone who has 0 interest in sports.
Sounds hilarious :-D

@Blondbraid:
I fully agree with Mandle - you and AprilSkies are both great game makers, but each of you with an individual style. I'd like to see your take on the topic.
Of course, if you feel more comfortable with the "My fair lady" theme, that's fine as well  :)

VampireWombat

Quote from: cat on Sat 02/02/2019 14:06:42
Sounds hilarious :-D
Well, I can't promise that. But I did re-watch the first episode of Invader Zim this morning and I'm sure watching more of the series will in some way influence the game.

JudasFm

I'm finding myself with a lot more time on my hands recently, so I might try this. I have my idea sorted ;)

Blondbraid

Quote from: Mandle on Sat 02/02/2019 13:56:49
Blondbraid, I didn't mean t suggest that you shouldn't do the game because the theme had been used in a different game,

I would have liked to see what you did with it and would even like to voice-act Thyrm again if you went with it.

A different take on something is always interesting.
Quote from: cat on Sat 02/02/2019 14:06:42

@Blondbraid:
I fully agree with Mandle - you and AprilSkies are both great game makers, but each of you with an individual style. I'd like to see your take on the topic.
Of course, if you feel more comfortable with the "My fair lady" theme, that's fine as well  :)

It'd great to hear that you'd want to see my take on the tale, and I guess my idea would be different enough,
with more focus on Thor and Loki and you'd mostly play as Loki helping Thor keep up the disguise.

Would anyone be up for a collaboration on this entry? Because while I'd want to do a game, February's a short month and I have some other stuff to deal with, so I'm not sure I have the time and energy to do it all myself.


Durq

I might try to do a four-room game in which a kid has to break into an old man's house and steal a costume and wear it to entertain other neighborhood kids. The old man was once a local-theater actor, so that's why he has a bunch of costumes.

Slasher

Quote from: Durq on Mon 04/02/2019 18:59:39
I might try to do a four-room game in which a kid has to break into an old man's house and steal a costume and wear it to entertain other neighborhood kids. The old man was once a local-theater actor, so that's why he has a bunch of costumes.
Sounds fun ;)


VampireWombat

I noticed that the wording in the rules is different this month than previous months. Are we still allowed to use public domain assets? In making one of my backgrounds I used https://pixabay.com/en/map-of-the-world-earth-world-map-862718/ to make



I figure it's alright, but I want to be 100% sure.

cat

Sure, you can use any material, there is nothing wrong with it. And you don't have to give credit to source material and reference pics you use.
But, if you, for example, use two complete characters from a previous game and three backgrounds from RON or Maniac Mansion Mania, you should tell us, so people can take this into consideration when voting.

selmiak

as the world did exist before this contest you are so out. The right thing to do would have been to create a new world and map this out of course!

just kidding, it looks good and I just want to play this game...

VampireWombat

Alright, thanks for the answers. Now I can make the alien's ship without worry.

DBoyWheeler

I'm afraid I'm going to have to bow out of this--since real life is getting in the way at my end, and it's causing stress to my work partner.  I'll have to try again another time.  Or, if nothing else, try out RotN as a substitute for a MAGS competition.

VampireWombat

Well, I guess that means that all the work I put in was for nothing.
Enjoy a sprite I made for the game.


Guess I can put all of my focus into my own game now...




cat

How sad - that sprite looks beautiful!

DBoyWheeler

Yeah, I'll try again in a future MAGS--next time I'll have to do it myself so I don't unintentionally stress out possible teammates.

Kastchey

I don't think you necessarily *have to* do the thing all by yourself next time, DBoy. If you're worried that your potential team member might be disappointed, it should be fine just to ask them in advance if they'd be ok with you dropping out in case you couldn't finish.

30 days is a demanding deadline, it's not uncommon that people give up on their MAGS attempts.

VampireWombat

#24
Or at least give the person you're working with a chance to suggest a compromise before you publicly drop out.

As for the future, I'd be willing to convert the sprites I made to be able to be used with other backgrounds.

cat

How is everyone doing so far? Remember, February is a short month  ;)

Cassiebsg

Yes, very short... not done yet, but getting there.  ;)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

VampireWombat

Look! A three headed lemur!

Yeah, I agreed to help someone else with graphics and haven't actually progressed with my game at all. The good news is that I've learned enough this month to know I have enough time to make all the graphics needed. The bad news is that I still haven't figured out the design for the alien...

Stupot

Three days left, folks.
You can do it!

Durq

I'm close to being finished. I'm really appreciating VampireWombat's graphics work.

VampireWombat

Well, I just created a title screen and difficulty screen, both in an attractive default gray.
Today is the day I begin actual work for my game.

Cassiebsg

We're on track.  (nod)
Only some few minor details (and proofreading) is now missing.  :-D
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Durq

In New Kid Gotta Steal Somethin', Logan gets bullied into stealing a costume from a theater-actor's house.

Art and animation by VampireWombat.

Download at https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2331/



Feedback and bug reports are welcome.

VampireWombat

I fear I am simply too exhausted to finish my game by the deadline. My legacy must live on through Durq's game.

Cassiebsg

#34
Posting now, I'll let BlondBraid post a formal entry later... just want to make sure we meet the deadline.  (nod)

Thrymly Disguised by Blondbraid & Cassiebsg



Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/6ohiha72azgrg39/Thrymly_Disguised_v1.01.zip/file


EDIT: Small BUG, fixing it. don't download now please Fixed. If you have downloaded the file before 0:30 GMT, please re-download!
Sorry about it, I should have tested it before uploading...  :-[

EDIT 2: Letter bug fixed. Replaced link with version 1.01
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Stupot

Just the two this month. Oh well, that still counts as a competition. Thanks to everyone who took part, even if you didn't manage to finish your entry. Look out for the voting poll very soon.

Cassiebsg

#36
Mandle just found a small bug in the game. So I'll be fixing it with v1.01 after lunch.
Make sure you read the letter before doing anything else...  (laugh) ;)

Edit: version 1.01 is now up.  :)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Stupot

Time to vote.
Please use the poll above.






New Kid Gotta Steal Somethin
by Durq and VampireWombat


Thrymly Disguised
by Blondbraid & Cassiebsg

Please let me know if I've missed anything. Cheers.

cat

Played and voted! I like how you both interpreted the theme differently but really funny.

New Kid Gotta Steal Somethin
Spoiler
The character sprites are great and the costume hilarious but the backgrounds felt a bit empty. The puzzles were mostly trial and error for me. It felt a bit unfinished.
[close]

Thrymly Disguised
Spoiler
Great graphics and hilarious costume. The puzzle with the lock was actually quite difficult but I liked that. In the carriage scene I was not sure if I should collect the small birds or not. It was clever that I had to use my weapon to slay the dragon. It's a pity that it was a bit rough around the edges with missing interaction responses. The voice acting added to the fun. The screen with the hammer that was shown between scenes was great.
[close]

Regarding both games:
Spoiler
I thought it was a funny coincidence that both games had scenes where you could die with auto-save.
[close]

I voted for
Spoiler
Thrymly Disguised
[close]

Durq

Quote from: cat on Fri 08/03/2019 21:09:44
Played and voted! I like how you both interpreted the theme differently but really funny.

New Kid Gotta Steal Somethin
Spoiler
The character sprites are great and the costume hilarious but the backgrounds felt a bit empty. The puzzles were mostly trial and error for me. It felt a bit unfinished.
[close]

Thrymly Disguised
Spoiler
Great graphics and hilarious costume. The puzzle with the lock was actually quite difficult but I liked that. In the carriage scene I was not sure if I should collect the small birds or not. It was clever that I had to use my weapon to slay the dragon. It's a pity that it was a bit rough around the edges with missing interaction responses. The voice acting added to the fun. The screen with the hammer that was shown between scenes was great.
[close]

Regarding both games:
Spoiler
I thought it was a funny coincidence that both games had scenes where you could die with auto-save.
[close]

I voted for
Spoiler
Thrymly Disguised
[close]

Thanks so much for the feedback, cat. Which puzzles did you need to use trial and error to pass?

cat

@Durq
Spoiler
I tried to hide behind the wrong bush at the beginning. And then I needed several tries when escaping the house.
[close]

VampireWombat

Quote from: cat on Fri 08/03/2019 21:09:44
Spoiler
The character sprites are great and the costume hilarious but the backgrounds felt a bit empty. The puzzles were mostly trial and error for me. It felt a bit unfinished.
[close]

I just played the game instead of just watching the playthrough videos provided by Durq. Could you please be more specific?
Spoiler
Is it mostly the outside backgrounds or the inside rooms too? And is part of the issue because the game should have been half the resolution with sprites that size?
[close]

cat

@VampireWombat:
Spoiler

Are you referring to the backgrounds?
It's about the inside. AFAIR the rooms were huge compared to the amount of furniture.
[close]

VampireWombat

Quote from: cat on Sun 10/03/2019 19:03:45
@VampireWombat:
Spoiler

Are you referring to the backgrounds?
It's about the inside. AFAIR the rooms were huge compared to the amount of furniture.
[close]
Spoiler
Yes, that's one of the things I feared was a problem due to the resolution compared to character size.  Would something more like this have been better?

[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/YMso.png[/imgzoom]
[close]

Cassiebsg

There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Ponch

Good games this month. Fun to play and made good use of the theme. Voted, but it was a tough decision.

I loved this theme and gave my best effort in ages at actually finishing a game in time. I didn't announce it because my track record is so terrible lately. Ultimately, I ended up with about 5/6 of a game when the deadline caught me. No surprise there, I suppose, but it was fun to try my hand at AGS again after a long time away from it.

Nice work by both teams. No matter who wins, it will be well deserved.  :smiley:

Cassiebsg

Hopefully you'll finished soon and we can enjoy it?  (nod)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Durq

Quote from: Ponch on Sun 10/03/2019 23:03:01
Good games this month. Fun to play and made good use of the theme. Voted, but it was a tough decision.

I loved this theme and gave my best effort in ages at actually finishing a game in time. I didn't announce it because my track record is so terrible lately. Ultimately, I ended up with about 5/6 of a game when the deadline caught me. No surprise there, I suppose, but it was fun to try my hand at AGS again after a long time away from it.

Nice work by both teams. No matter who wins, it will be well deserved.  :smiley:

Thanks for voting, Ponch.

Maybe insert the phrase "glass of water" somewhere in your almost-finished game and submit it for March MAGS?

Ponch

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sun 10/03/2019 23:34:39
Hopefully you'll finished soon and we can enjoy it?  (nod)
I'd like to, but I missed the part about being able to use existing assets, so I was trying to make it all from scratch, old-school MAGS style. The first room is nice, but it gets very crude very quickly as you progress from the starting point. It's practically an MS Paint game by the end. It would need a lot of work to make it presentable outside of a non-MAGS environment.  :embarrassed:

I might rework it at some point in the future when I have the time.

Quote from: Durq on Mon 11/03/2019 00:53:51
Thanks for voting, Ponch.

Maybe insert the phrase "glass of water" somewhere in your almost-finished game and submit it for March MAGS?
You're welcome. I have an idea in my mind that would fit that theme well enough, and now that I know that I can reuse old assets, I think I might be able to make the deadline for that one.  :cheesy:

Mandle

Quote from: Durq on Mon 11/03/2019 00:53:51
Maybe insert the phrase "glass of water" somewhere in your almost-finished game and submit it for March MAGS?

I don't think that's what "using premade assets" means. People can't just enter a game on which 90% of the in-engine work was already done. It refers to stuff like reusing character sprites from another game if your game is a parody/sequel. Or perhaps using stock images from the internet for item/background graphics.

I don't think it applies (or should apply) to things like code for puzzles, rooms in which walkable areas, walkbehinds, object placement, hotspot interaction, and the like, are already completed.

Cassiebsg

Mandle's right, game self needs to be new, reusing assets is just an attempt by our part to make people create more games and not go "oh, I can't draw" or some excuse like that. Also allows for creating sequels, and easily re-use your pre-made main character, something that wasn't possible before.

Then again, all this is on "honour" base, meaning that we really can't "see" that you started your game a month or more ago (unless it's obviously fitting a previous MAGS theme).
Most of us are still creating new art and assets for our games anyway.
I reused and downloaded some assets  on last MAGS since it was sort of a sequel  and it made sense to not use time redoing stuff someone already had made. But game, story and code was all new. If the rules hadn't allowed for that, that game would not exist.
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

I actually played the games as soon as they came out. The reason I haven't posted my comments until now is that I am STILL undecided as to the vote! I'll explain why.

Spoiler
Both games had decent graphics. Both games had voice acting. Both games hit the theme spot-on rather than as a forced element in the game just to meet the requirements. However, New Kid had more puzzles and things to do whereas Thyrmly Disguised had one really good puzzle and one arcade sequence and the rest basically watching.

As much as I said that the graphics were decent, Thyrmly disguised has graphics that are so superior that I have to give it extra points. To be sure, we all know that anything designed by Blondbraid is going to crush anything else graphically! In addition, I absolutely LOVED the cat lock puzzle! I loved how at first I was thinking WTF! and as soon as I picked up what was going on, I was able to solve it. Really well done. As I said, New Kid had a lot of decent puzzles. I did not find them difficult or unreasonable but nothing as outstanding as the cat puzzle.

I am still undecided because as I said, I usually go by which game I enjoyed most overall. In this case, it is SO close that I may or may not even arrive at a conclusion by the voting deadline!

[close]

Mandle

I agree pretty much with everything Shadow1000 just said above but I have placed my vote fairly I think despite having been a voice actor in one of the games:

Spoiler
I had to vote for Thrymly Disguised as it just had too many polished touches like the intermediate "Hammer-Time" cuts between each scene, an awesome puzzle that was not just clicking AGS hardwired interactions, and a more charming overall feel...errrr...overall.

New Kid Gotta Steal Something was a great MAGS entry, and would have won out in most fields, and the choice was tough... But yeah...
[close]

Durq

Quote from: Mandle on Mon 11/03/2019 06:16:06
Quote from: Durq on Mon 11/03/2019 00:53:51
Maybe insert the phrase "glass of water" somewhere in your almost-finished game and submit it for March MAGS?

I don't think that's what "using premade assets" means. People can't just enter a game on which 90% of the in-engine work was already done. It refers to stuff like reusing character sprites from another game if your game is a parody/sequel. Or perhaps using stock images from the internet for item/background graphics.

I don't think it applies (or should apply) to things like code for puzzles, rooms in which walkable areas, walkbehinds, object placement, hotspot interaction, and the like, are already completed.

Oh, I see. Sorry about suggesting that.

Thank you very much for the feedback on the game, Shadow1000 and Mandle. 

Ponch

To be fair to Durq, I took his comment as a bit tongue in cheek. Clearly no one should take a partially complete MAGS game and put the final touches on it and release it for a different MAGS (unless completing an abandoned game is part of the theme, which we've done before here, if memory serves). If we were allowed to do that, then I'd have released a LOT more MAGS games over the years.  :=

Stupot

Thanks for the votes so far, folks. Keep them coming. It's still pretty close so it could go either way.

Durq

Thanks to everyone who played the games and voted.


Voting results:

Thrymly Disguised: 7
New Kid Gotta Steal Somethin': 5

Kastchey

Congratulations Blondbraid and Cassie for winning! But also big congrats to Durq and VampireWombat but being such a close runner up.
Great effort everyone.

Blondbraid

This is the first time a game I've worked on has won a MAGS! Thank you to everyone who voted, but Durq and VampireWombat weren't bad either and I voted for you guys!  :)


Stupot

As some of you have already noticed, the votes are in and Blondbraid and Cassiebsg are the winners. Well done, ladies. I'll PM you soon regarding choosing a topic for April.

Unlucky to Durq and VampireWombat. It was a relatively narrow margin, so don't be disheartened.

cat

Congratulations! I like what both games made of the theme  :)

Cassiebsg

Thanks guys and gals, and great with feedback too!  :-D

There are those who believe that life here began out there...

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