MAGS JUNE "Little-known traditions" (RESULT)

[Stupot]

	Mamma Mia by fernewelten
	Goat Burn by VampireWombat

Theme: "Little unknown traditions"
Theme provided by: LostTrainDude

Description:
Even though I don't think it's much unknown, these days, where I come from (Naples, Italy) there is a custom: when you order an espresso, you can decide to pay for an additional one so to leave it paid in advance for someone who may not be able to afford it. It's called "caffè sospeso" (translated as "pending coffee") and it basically is an anonymous act of kindness.

For this month's MAGS I'd love to see entries including some little-known traditions or customs from your birthplace, culture, religion, folklore or whatever else you think would be nice to share.
Your entry doesn't have to be built around it, but you can do it if you so wish!

We AGSers come from all over the world, and I thought it could be a nice way to share and explain little - maybe otherwise inexplicable - bits of culture!

If you can, point out - either here in the thread or in the game, if you find a clever way to do so - which tradition\custom you have included!

Images:





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.

[HandsFree]

Nice theme.
It's been a while since I did scripting for an AGS game and I like to stay in practice a bit.
So if anyone likes to focus on other things, maybe we can join efforts?

Thanks

[VampireWombat]

I'm having trouble thinking of any kind of traditions here. I'm sure there are some that I'm not aware of.
The closest I can think to anything is stuff during the time I lived in Oklahoma, maybe 3 hours or so from where I live. Here, the lottery is legal and there are even vending machines that sell lottery tickets, but no casinos. But Oklahoma has(or at least had) casinos and no lottery and you couldn't even legally get a tattoo. So I heard about people coming all the way here to get a tattoo. And also some people would come to Texas to buy alcohol because the alcohol content was higher.
And since moving back to Texas I've seen lots of commercials for the casino about 30 miles from where I lived in Oklahoma even though I don't remember seeing a single one before I moved there.
Maybe I can come up with something based on that stuff. Or maybe I can think of something that common here, but not in other places...

Oh, right. I forgot one truly unique thing here since it's mostly just a tourist thing. The 72 oz steak at The Big Texan. But I'm not sure if that counts as little known since it's been mentioned on multiple tv shows.

[LostTrainDude]

Here, the lottery is legal and there are even vending machines that sell lottery tickets, but no casinos. But Oklahoma has(or at least had) casinos and no lottery and you couldn't even legally get a tattoo.

Actually this is interesting in the same way it was interesting to read Tom Waits say that St. Louis is the place where the most people wear red pants - although this one may be an entirely made up assumption.
It is nothing majestic, but it's indeed unknown and peculiar (if it were true) .

That said, though, the "tradition" or "custom" doesn't have to be "spectacular". Also, definitely can move away from your birthplace and be part of something you feel you belong to: a religion, a video game "club", an actual club, a workplace. I suppose the "mandatory" thing here is that it's something you think it's worth sharing



Another example comes to mind, although I can't guarantee it's "unique" at all.

Here in Italy, whether they are superstitious or not, it is customary to say "merda" (=shit) to live performers, instead of the more traditional and polite "good luck"\"break a leg" alternative.
Most theater companies I met\worked with (amateur ones at least), have this "ritual" where, right before going on stage, they all gather in a circle putting a hand on top of each other's, then shout "MERDA!" out loud

This is because back in the day when people used horse-driven chariots, to see a lot of horse poop outside of a theater meant that a lot of people came to see the performance!



EDIT: Yet another example! This has been told me some time ago by a friend of mine, and may just be his own experience.

In a place in Sicily, Saponara, there is a religious procession - "Quadrittu" (="little painting", in Sicilian dialect) - where the devotees follow the image of the Virgin Mary carrying long, lit torches/candles held up against it.
The peculiar thing, according to what my friend told me, is that often the devotees wear no gloves or similar protection so, when the wax melts and drips all over their hands, alongside all the prayers apparently there are often people who engage in blasphemy by cursing .

Searching a bit, it seems that this procession comes from a time where charcoal burners were not able to take part to a specific religious event, because of their job being out of the city walls and their employers won't allow them to. Apparently one night, in the XVII century, these charcoal burners came down the mountains (carrying long torches), entered the church, and decided to take the image to celebrate their own way.

[VampireWombat]

There could be some kind of tradition in my area, Texas in general, or even the general US south that might seem interesting to others, but is mundane to me. Or something that's part of different culture.
But I think the best I can come up with is the tradition of some tourists going to stuff like the Big Texan and the Cadillac Ranch.
So, wish me luck as I'm going to attempt to make a game using a scavenger hunt similar to one I did as a teenager, but with tourist attractions and such.

[ZapZap]

I have sth in mind, I hope I'll have enough time 

[Laura Hunt]

Another example comes to mind, although I can't guarantee it's "unique" at all.

Here in Italy, whether they are superstitious or not, it is customary to say "merda" (=shit) to live performers, instead of the more traditional and polite "good luck"\"break a leg" alternative.
Most theater companies I met\worked with (amateur ones at least), have this "ritual" where, right before going on stage, they all gather in a circle putting a hand on top of each other's, then shout "MERDA!" out loud

This is done in Spain too! ("Mucha mierda") 

[Blondbraid]

I can't make anything this month, but I really hope someone try their take on the Gävle goat!

For those unfamiliar with it, the Swedish town of Gävle has a decades-old tradition of building a giant hay goat to decorate the town square during Christmas.
Not officially part of the tradition is a random arsonist trying to burn the goat down every winter, with varying success...

[VampireWombat]

I can't make anything this month, but I really hope someone try their take on the Gävle goat!

For those unfamiliar with it, the Swedish town of Gävle has a decades-old tradition of building a giant hay goat to decorate the town square during Christmas.
Not officially part of the tradition is a random arsonist trying to burn the goat down every winter, with varying success...

That definitely sounds more fun than my ideas.
But I'd be afraid of making a game based on something I know absolutely nothing about.

[Blondbraid]

I can't make anything this month, but I really hope someone try their take on the Gävle goat!

For those unfamiliar with it, the Swedish town of Gävle has a decades-old tradition of building a giant hay goat to decorate the town square during Christmas.
Not officially part of the tradition is a random arsonist trying to burn the goat down every winter, with varying success...

That definitely sounds more fun than my ideas.
But I'd be afraid of making a game based on something I know absolutely nothing about.

Don't be, if thousands of game developers manage to make great games about elves, aliens, zombies or tons of other things that literally doesn't exist,
I'm sure you can make an awesome MAGS entry of a well-documented tradition (plus I linked to a full Wikipedia article on it in my previous comment!)! 

[KyriakosCH]

Well, this certainly is another awesome theme

[CaptainD]

I feel like it should be possible to make a game about cheese rolling...

[LostTrainDude]

This is done in Spain too! ("Mucha mierda") 

Ha! That's great I think it may also be because Naples had a Spanish domination in 16th-17th century (also a reason why the dialect contains also Spanish words)!

That definitely sounds more fun than my ideas.
But I'd be afraid of making a game based on something I know absolutely nothing about.

I agree with what Blondbraid said (Thanks for sharing Blondbraid!)

Also, one of the "hidden" purposes of this MAGS is to learn more about the world and the people who live in it so, even if you ended up using something that doesn't actually belong to you or your culture, you still would have learned something (and the same goes for us, when playing).

If it is cheese that needs to roll, then so be it!

[Ponch]

...some people would come to Texas to buy alcohol because the alcohol content was higher...

Back in the 90s when i was stationed in OKC, I remember being less than thrilled with Okie beer. Only slightly more alcohol content than tap water as I recall. 

I do miss Braum's though. Damn, that was the best ice cream!

Also, really interesting theme this month. I'd say I'm trying to make a game, but that always seems to jinx things for me.

[VampireWombat]

Don't be, if thousands of game developers manage to make great games about elves, aliens, zombies or tons of other things that literally doesn't exist,
I'm sure you can make an awesome MAGS entry of a well-documented tradition (plus I linked to a full Wikipedia article on it in my previous comment!)! 

But that's easier. Those things don't have any set rules, just guidelines at best.
But I'll look further into it. I did find a few Youtube videos.
It would certainly be easier than my idea since it would only need 1-4 backgrounds.

[VampireWombat]

I do miss Braum's though. Damn, that was the best ice cream!

Also, really interesting theme this month. I'd say I'm trying to make a game, but that always seems to jinx things for me.

Can't say I've ever found Braum's ice cream any better than Blue Bunny or other brands available around here, but I guess it could also depend on the flavor. Their soft serve frozen yogurt on the other hand is definitely the best I've had.

I suppose that's why there are people who make their game in secret, not to be mentioned until it's complete.

[Creamy]

I feel like it should be possible to make a game about cheese rolling...

The first time I heard about it, I thought it was a joke.

There are suspended fries near my place. I only discovered it recently.

Another one : the Ma'nene ritual of cleaning corpses in Indonesia.

[Laura Hunt]

Edited because I'm an idiot 

[VampireWombat]

Now I'm kind of interested in what was said...

Hopefully someone is making the Cheese Rolling game.

I am going forward with the Gävle goat game, though the programming is probably going to end up more complex than my original game. I almost have the sprite style figured out and I started a character creation GUI a couple of days ago. And I have a crude version of the goat itself. I'm not sure what genre the game will fall into. Probably some kind of hybrid.

[LostTrainDude]

And we're halfway through the month!
Coincidentally it's also a "Screenshot Saturday", one of those online weekly events that all the cool kids participate in!

If any of you has something to show, this is a perfect time! Boost our morale! Help us fight the H E A T!

There are suspended fries near my place.

This genuinely made me chuckle!

[VampireWombat]

It's not technically a screenshot, but close enough.
The goat is still in a very rough stage, but at least it's no longer made up of barrels, a pinball machine, etc.
And the character sprite needs a little more tweaking...

[Blondbraid]

It's not technically a screenshot, but close enough.
The goat is still in a very rough stage, but at least it's no longer made up of barrels, a pinball machine, etc.
And the character sprite needs a little more tweaking...

You did a good job capturing the likeness of a Swedish police uniform!

[VampireWombat]

You did a good job capturing the likeness of a Swedish police uniform!

Thanks. I made sure to do plenty of research for clothes and such. Some versions will include the hats and/or neon vests.

[VampireWombat]

So... Am I the only one making a game this month? Or is everyone just lurking and waiting until the last day to say anything?

Due to heat and other things, it looks like my game won't be as complex as planned. It looks like it's just going to be a one room adventure game.

[fernewelten]

So... Am I the only one making a game this month?

Nope: I'm busy with a game, too.

Due to heat and other things, it looks like my game won't be as complex as planned.

Nearly the same. My game will just have two rooms of which one is a street. And it'll have to make do without any inventory puzzles, or any inventory at all for that matter.

I hope I'll have enough time until Sunday. I'm only now finding the time to draw my protagonist at last. He's only been a stick figure so far.

[Slasher]

So... Am I the only one making a game this month?

Nope: I'm busy with a game, too.

Due to heat and other things, it looks like my game won't be as complex as planned.

Nearly the same. My game will just have two rooms of which one is a street. And it'll have to make do without any inventory puzzles, or any inventory at all for that matter.

I hope I'll have enough time until Sunday. I'm only now finding the time to draw my protagonist at last. He's only been a stick figure so far.

People have made whole games with Stick figures....

[Slasher]

Opps... mistake 

[LostTrainDude]

No matter how long or short your entry is
There are memorable games out there that happen only inside one room and also games that have no inventory whatsoever, Lamplight City being a quite recent example!

As we're approaching the finish line I'd like to thank all of you who joined or expressed interest or simply took part in the discussion.

[VampireWombat]

Nearly the same. My game will just have two rooms of which one is a street. And it'll have to make do without any inventory puzzles, or any inventory at all for that matter.

I hope I'll have enough time until Sunday. I'm only now finding the time to draw my protagonist at last. He's only been a stick figure so far.

Ah. I think my game is going to more or less be like that. It'll be borderline if it'll have anything that can be called puzzles either.

Unless the rules changed this month, you can use previous graphics. Or you could just simplify your character enough to ensure you can finish it in time. Maybe even keep it as a stick figure until you have everything else done.

[fernewelten]

Unless the rules changed this month, you can use previous graphics.

Trouble is, I've only got rats yet.  Or a cat or a puppy. Using those would change the script too much.

Or you could just simplify your character enough to ensure you can finish it in time.

So that's the way it'll go. I've managed to make just enough graphics to scrape by. The rest will remain a todo for Version 2 -- if there'll ever be a Version 2.

On to finishing Room 2 now! 

[fernewelten]

Hello everyone,

Now I can proudly present an entry to the current competition.

One of the strange quirks that Germans seem to have is their craving for ice cream whenever the sun shines brightly. This in itself isn't unusual, but you can see Germans even buy at the ice cream parlour in cold winter time when snow is lying in the streets (provided the sun is shining brightly).

This is more of an urban thing because traditionally, in rural areas the ice cream parlours close for the winter season. Those parlours are usually run by Italians in Germany, and Italians seemingly like to go visit their family for the Winter months. In big towns, the parlours are open all year.

This facet might also turn out to be the prejudiced view of some vocal foreigners that claim to have noticed it in Germany. Anyway, I thought this could be an inspiration for the current MAGS contest.

My game features a classic BASS interface, DIY voice-acting (if you want to hear what is said, then read the captions aloud ) and some music, but unfortunately no inventory puzzles, nor an inventory at all for that matter.

Starring some Germans as well as an Italian.

Have fun playing.

I've found the deadline tight this time, so there are probably some bugs that haven't been squashed yet. Sorry about that.


Download:
Game entry in the AGS game directory

Thread  with hints and tips for the puzzles

screenshot:


Spoilers moved here

[VampireWombat]

Based on the tradition suggested by Blondbraid. Gävle goat

Using the Sierra Template at a resolution much larger than it's meant for. Play as Roger trying to burn the Yule Goat, because I didn't get graphics for the player made.
Only barely tested. Probably has bugs.
Sneak and run have no practical usage in this version, just changing the movement speed.

Goat Burn

[LostTrainDude]

Awesome! Two entries and it's not even midnight! 
Congrats fernewelten and VampireWombat!

Are there any other last minute surprises in store from fellow AGSers?

[Stupot]

Thanks for the entries folks. Good work.  I need a bit of time to set up the voting and stuff but I haven't forgotten :-)

[Stupot]

Voting is open.
Please vote using the poll above.

It really is s pain to do this on my crappy phone so I'll set up the nice tables in the next day when I can get to a computer. Until then you can see the poll at the top of the page. Get voting!

[Shadow1000]

I voted for

Spoiler

Mama Mia. Lots of laughs, great idea and fun puzzles

[close]

[cat]

The goat game crashed

Spoiler

after distracting the guard with pizza, setting the goat on fire and walking around (what am I supposed to do now anyway?)

---------------------------
Adventure Game Studio
---------------------------
An error has occurred. Please contact the game author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in AGS.
(ACI version 3.4.1.15)

in "room2.asc", line 84

Error: MoveCharacterStraight: specified character not in current room

---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------

[close]

[VampireWombat]

The goat game crashed

Spoiler

That's pretty much all you do. At that point after a few seconds display messages should pop up and then have the quit gui pop up.
The crash probably came from some code I didn't fully dummy out from when there were going to be stealth elements in the game.

[close]

[cat]

Regarding ice cream

Spoiler

I found the keypad puzzle quite fun (although I didn't understand at first I could switch all keys, I thought I could only move neighbouring ones.)
But the machine puzzle - I figured out the order of 5 which is ok, it gets easier with every machine you find. But I don't enjoy playing this over again to find the 6th one that now could be practically any of them. More so, that I couldn't find any hints around, the order seems to be very random. Can someone give me a hint what the last one is?

[close]

[Shadow1000]

I had the same experience as Cat. I assumed it was pretty much game over so I didn't say anything.

[VampireWombat]

Guess that's what happens without having the time to have someone else test it...
I'll have a fixed version ready within an hour.

[fernewelten]

Regarding ice cream

Spoiler

… the order seems to be very random. Can someone give me a hint what the last one is?

[close]

Sorry about that â€"

Spoiler

the order IS random. There are five "buttons" and the solution has length six (not including the start button on the right wall). Exactly one of the "buttons" is repeated. So if you know the first five steps and one "button" has been repeated, then you also know the last button. Otherwise, there's no way around trying all of them.

[close]

.

For reference: Here are the "buttons":

Spoiler

1. The hammer dangling from the box on the right hand side of the room.
2. The grey field in the puddle
3. The button on the window sill
4a. The "on" button on the back wall; 4b. the "off" button beside it.
5. The chain with the purple handle on the right side of the room.

[close]

[fernewelten]

Guess that's what happens if you don't have enough time to do proper playtesting. I did playtest the keypad and that's why I put in the

Spoiler

sticky keys

[close]

: I found that otherwise it takes too long to find the right combination. But I didn't have the time to playtest the ice cream room properly.

Would it be okay to publish a revised version that cuts down the solution length in the ice cream room? Say,

Spoiler

make it 5 steps instead of 6 steps

[close]

? It would only alter one integer in the source code.

[fernewelten]

I had the same experience as Cat. I assumed it was pretty much game over so I didn't say anything.

(Edit:) Concerning the ice cream room puzzle:

Spoiler

Yes, the puzzle is RIGHT at the end of the game -- when you solve it you see the end screen immediately afterwards, click on it anywhere and the game terminates without further ado.

[close]

[VampireWombat]

Spoiler

Yes, the puzzle is RIGHT at the end of the game -- when you solve it you see the end screen immediately afterwards, click on it anywhere and the game terminates without further ado.

[close]

Spoiler

That shouldn't happen. The code linked to what Cat said only affects one region and only if the player steps on the area once the guard is gone. If it happens anywhere other than between the Yule Goat and the building then it's an entirely different issue.

[close]

[Cassiebsg]

Nice games. 
My vote goes to

Spoiler

same as Shadow1000 and for the same reasons... 
Although, I'm not sure I would have gotten the machine, if I hadn't read the hints. 
the cone cursor was a neat idea, but very impractical, as I wasn't sure where I was clicking. A clear pointer/marker would have been preferably, ans maybe that would have helped with the last puzzle.

[close]

[fernewelten]

Spoiler

Yes, the puzzle is RIGHT at the end of the game -- when you solve it you see the end screen immediately afterwards, click on it anywhere and the game terminates without further ado.

[close]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I wasn't referring to your game at all; I was referring to my game and the ice cream room puzzle. I've modified my post to clarify that.

[cat]

Would it be okay to publish a revised version that cuts down the solution length in the ice cream room? Say,

Spoiler

make it 5 steps instead of 6 steps

[close]

?

Could you instead just tell us the order in which the machines have to be activated? Or do you mean by random that this is randomly generated for every game? In this case: please stop doing this. The randomness is what stopped me from finishing your rat game because I couldn't get a hint where to find what and I got bored with exploring and drawing maps.

In case you want to randomly generate something because it's easier to code, why not make use of this handy module https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=40952.0?

[fernewelten]

Or do you mean by random that this is randomly generated for every game?

Yes, in the current code, both puzzles have solutions that are randomly generated for each game, I'm afraid.
Re-starting the game will give a different solution to find., for the keypad and for the ice cream room.

[Shadow1000]

Would it be okay to publish a revised version that cuts down the solution length in the ice cream room? Say,

Spoiler

make it 5 steps instead of 6 steps

[close]

?

Could you instead just tell us the order in which the machines have to be activated? Or do you mean by random that this is randomly generated for every game? In this case: please stop doing this. The randomness is what stopped me from finishing your rat game because I couldn't get a hint where to find what and I got bored with exploring and drawing maps.

In case you want to randomly generate something because it's easier to code, why not make use of this handy module https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=40952.0?

The way I solved it was by writing down each of the possible switches and then by trial and error crossing one out as it was wrong or writing it on a list on the right side of my page when it was right. As you go along, the list gets shorter so it's not AS bad as it sounds

We can debate later whether this is a "good" puzzle but it really shouldn't take more than 10 minutes or so.

Sorry I couldn't give a more specific solution but that's the nature of the puzzle!

[fernewelten]

I'll set up the nice tables in the next day when I can get to a computer.

Would you please? Because the download links are getting increasingly hard to find; by now there are around 20 postings beween the entry posts and the end of the discussion thread.

[Slasher]

What a poor turn out 

[lanchong]

I've voted for

Spoiler

Mamma mia because it's a complete game with a funny story and some interesting puzzles... except the machine puzzle which I couldn't finish. I'm very slow and I find it hard to complete a tightly timed puzzle.

Goat burn looked promising... even though I personally don't have much sympathy for arsonists.

[close]

I look forward to next month games 

[Stupot]

I'll set up the nice tables in the next day when I can get to a computer.

Would you please? Because the download links are getting increasingly hard to find; by now there are around 20 postings beween the entry posts and the end of the discussion thread.

	Mamma Mia by fernewelten
	Goat Burn by VampireWombat

Done. Sorry it took so long. Ive updated the first post, too.

What a poor turn out 

Two entries is better than one (or none), and is the minimum needed to actually call it a "contest". Would be nice to have a few more, but there are always quiet months and more active months.

[LostTrainDude]

Phew, at last I managed to play the two entries!

Goat Burn

Spoiler

This may be a tiny little entry, but the tune in the background (even though it's a placeholder) and the "low visibility" mixed with a somewhat Ultima VII-like top down view give the whole thing a mysterious and superinteresting vibe. I would love to see a whole game with similar characteristics! Not talking specifically about an extension to this one.

[close]

Mamma mia

Spoiler

A full-fledged entry! Congratulations! I admit I got through the keypad puzzle without really having a clue about what I was doing. I also agree with the the general opinion about the timed, random sequence puzzle, but I think that it's maybe a couple of iterations short of being well done But this is MAGS! Things don't have to be perfect! If you revisit it some time down the road let me (or all of us) know! I appreciated the Italian swearing! Not 100% accurate, but loved it nonetheless

[close]

After some thought, my vote went to

Spoiler

Goat Burn! Even if it's just as an encouragement to work on something similar in the future

[close]

Thanks for taking part, folks! This was nice. I especially enjoyed all the discussion this thread has generated!

[VampireWombat]

Goat Burn

Spoiler

This may be a tiny little entry, but the tune in the background (even though it's a placeholder) and the "low visibility" mixed with a somewhat Ultima VII-like top down view give the whole thing a mysterious and superinteresting vibe. I would love to see a whole game with similar characteristics! Not talking specifically about an extension to this one.

Goat Burn! Even if it's just as an encouragement to work on something similar in the future

[close]

Spoiler

Thanks. I'm not sure if I'll ever make a game with the elements again, but it's possible. But I do hope to re-make it to be more like my original plans.
I honestly can't say I was in any way influenced by any Ultima game.  Graveyard Keeper and Punch Club were more responsible for the angle I chose. 

[close]

[fernewelten]

Thanks for the feedback!

Spoiler

I appreciated the Italian swearing! Not 100% accurate, but loved it nonetheless

[close]

Thank you! Turns out that this was one of the harder parts that I had to put some work into.

Spoiler

I don't know any Italian at all (apart from “si” and “prego” and stuff), and i don't have any Italian acquaintances. So first off I spent some time doing research into Italian swearing. For instance, one of the first phrases that Germans think of when they think of swearing Italians is “Mamma mia”. I mistrusted that stereotype a lot and looked it up and made up my mind that Italians probably wouldn't want to say that in such a situation.

Then, armed with some dictionaries, online translators and very faded memories of Latin lessons in high school and with a lot of cross-checks, I tried to cobble together some fairly authentic Italian flair. Or swear. 

Some of the things I remained suspicious of:
* I feared  that “macchina” might be mis-interpreted as “car”, but I hoped that the word would be clear in context.
* One source would make me believe that Italians swear in groups of three, but that might just as well be an artifact of the translating algorithm. Do Italians really prefer “Merda! Merda! Merda!” over “Merda!”? In the end, I concluded that my safer bet would probably be to go with single swears.

[close]

Speaking of which and seeing that I'm talking to an Italian, would you mind helping me out and proofread the passage?
Here's the game code:

Spoiler

switch(current_swear)
    {
        case  1: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Cazzo!"); break;
        case  2: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Merda!"); break;
        case  3: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Morte e demonio!"); break;
        case  4: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Cavolo!"); break;
        case  5: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Per l'amor di Dio!"); break;
        case  6: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Non puo' essere vero!"); break;
        case  7: cVendorWin.SayBackground("La mia bella macchina!"); break;
        case  8: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Gesu', culo e filo spinato!"); break;
        case  9: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta rotta."); break;
        case 10: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta cannata."); break;
        case 11: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta incasinata."); break;
        case 12: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Terribile!"); break;
        case 13: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta fritta."); break;
        case 14: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta fregata."); break;
        case 15: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Voglio morire!"); break;
        case 16: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Agghiacciante."); break;
        case 17: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Completamente fot-tu-ta."); break;
        case 18: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Aiuto! Aiuto! Aiuto!"); break;
        case 19: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Questa è la fine."); break;
        case 20: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Al Diavolo!"); break;
        case 21: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Ora sono arrabbiato."); break;
        case 22: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Ne ho avuto abbastanza."); break;
        case 23: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Crocifere turche!"); break;
        case 24: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Ho finito."); break;
        case 25: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Oh caro."); break;
        case 26: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Sono spacciato."); break;
        case 27: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Oh, no, no, no!"); break;
        case 28: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Mi ucciderò."); break;
        case 29: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Maledetto! "); break;
        case 30: cVendorWin.SayBackground("E' sparito tutto."); break;
    }

[close]

Again, thanks for playing and thanks for the feedback!

[Stupot]

Last chance to get your votes in.

[Mandle]

Last chance to get your votes in.

Dammit. I haven't had time yet to play. 24 extra hours?

[Stupot]

Last chance to get your votes in.

Dammit. I haven't had time yet to play. 24 extra hours?

I'll be honest. I don't think it would have changed the result much. But still feel free to play and leave your feedback when you get a chance :-)


Well done to Fernewelten. An emphatic win. You'll be contacted soon about setting a topic for August.
Commiserations to VampWomb. A worthy runner-up.

[fernewelten]

Note changed download address: I'm moving my game from my personal (limited) webspace, so the download link for the competition will cease to function.
Get the game via the AGS game directory; I'll see to it that its link remains current.
Entry in the AGS Game Database

[Stupot]

@Fernewelten I've updated the link in the first post accordingly :-)

[LostTrainDude]

Congratulations fernewelten! And sorry for the late reply!

About the barks:

Spoiler

You are right that "macchina" may be confusing, we use it for a lot of different things but you can always sort out its actual meaning by looking at the context. So I guess you are ok with using it
There isn't - as far as I know - a better word to describe an "ice cream machine", and "macchina per fare i gelati" is quite a mouthful .

case  8: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Gesu', culo e filo spinato!"); break;

I'm not sure what the English equivalent you had in mind was, but this is probably too much of a makeshift curse (plus some may find it offensive)

case 10: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta cannata."); break;

It may be different between each dialect but, as far as I can tell, "cannato" is an informal way to describe getting something wrong, rather than something broken (e.g. "Ho cannato l'esame", "I failed the exam")

case 13: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta fritta."); break;
case 14: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Tutta fregata."); break;

They are quite similar in their meaning so I would probably choose just one and, among the two, I'd go with the first one

case 16: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Agghiacciante."); break;

Even though it's one of those words that is starting to get used over and over just to emphasize something, we "officially" say this when some event with "a scary flavour" happened. A murder can be "agghiacciante", for instance.

case 19: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Questa è la fine."); break;

You can go just with "àˆ la fine" right away

case 21: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Ora sono arrabbiato."); break;

Since you used "Cazzo!" before you can use "incazzato" which is more consistent

case 23: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Crocifere turche!"); break;

I think I need the English equivalent, for I have no idea what you actually meant with this

case 25: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Oh caro."); break;

I don't think we really say "oh dear", here.

case 29: cVendorWin.SayBackground("Maledetto! "); break;

If you are referring to the machine itself I'd probably say "maledetta macchina!", if this is more of a "Damn!" situation, then I'd probably use "maledizione!"

case 30: cVendorWin.SayBackground("E' sparito tutto."); break;

Sparito is, probably, as "flexible" as "gone". If I heard "è sparito tutto" without seeing what is actually happening, I'd probably either think that someone robbed a place or that everything disappeared from a screen (but that may just be because I'm around computers most of the time ).

So if by "sparito" you mean something more like "it's over", I probably won't use it.

[close]

Phew! I hope this is useful!

[fernewelten]

Phew! I hope this is useful!

Wow! Big thanks for the detailed reply!
That really helps a lot!

[fernewelten]

About the barks: …

So would the following list be okay (apart from the fact that swearing isn't okay)?
01 "Cazzo!"
02 "Merda!"
03 "Morte e demonio!"
04 "Cavolo"
05 "Per l'amor di Dio!"
06 "Non puo' essere vero!"
07 "La mia bella macchina!"
08 "Porca puttana!"
09 "Tutta rotta."
10 "Tutta fregata."
11 "Tutta incasinata."
12 "Terribile!"
13 "Tutta fritta."
14 "Voglio morire!"
15 "Terrificante."
16 "Completamente fot-tu-ta."
17 "Aiuto! Aiuto! Aiuto!"
18 "E' la fine."
19 "Al Diavolo!"
20 "Ora sono incazzato."
21 "Ne ho avuto abbastanza."
22 "Maledizione!"
23 "Ho finito."
24 "Sono spacciato."
25 "Oh, no, no, no!"
26 "Mi ucciderò."
27 "E' andato tutto a puttane."

[LostTrainDude]

I completely missed 03! And maybe some others

The way 03 is structured it does make little sense, especially as a way to swear.
If you were directly translating from English I *may* be able to give you a better equivalent for it?

Then, I still look at 09, 10, 11 and 13 and can't make up my mind.

You could do some variations like:
10 "Sono fregato" (I'm screwed)
11 "Che casino!" (What a mess!)
13 "Non funziona più niente!" (Nothing - referred to the machine - is working anymore!)

Reading now both 12 and 15, I think you could probably go with just one (my choice being the 12th)

Then 23, "Ho finito" means more "I have finished doing a task" rather than "I'm done for good", assuming that was your intention. If that's the case you could say "Sono finito" (which is very very similar to "Sono spacciato").

That should be all (or at least I hope) So... Ok, ho finito!

[lorenzo]

I didn't expect to find a discussion on Italian swearwords in the MAGS thread!

I agree with LostTrainDude on number 3, 11, 13 and 23.

10: if the sentence is supposed to say "(the machine) is all broken", then "fregata" is not the right word. At least in Standard Italian, maybe it could be in some dialects. I would just use number 9, if that's the meaning you wanted to convey.

15: I hate the expression because it's overused (mostly because of the hyperbolic language used by the media) -- but it's not incorrect. Although a bit redundant, when you already have number 12.

19: "diavolo" doesn't need the capital letter.

[fernewelten]

The way 03 is structured it does make little sense, especially as a way to swear.
If you were directly translating from English I *may* be able to give you a better equivalent for it?

Trouble is, the English speakers aren't particularly good at swearing creatively. The most common swear words by far are "f*ck" / "f*cking", “hell”, "bl**dy", "b*st*rd" and "b*tch". Even "d*mn" seems to be an order of magnitude less common than those.

I should have learned a lot of different swears because I was on a British boys'  boarding school at the age of fourteen. But as it turns out, no.
Alas! 🙁

So I've mostly been working from the German language. Creative swearing has fallen out of favour in Germany, too, by now, so in the end I even had to resort to sailor's speak. I reasoned that even though you'd probably only come by those swears in comic books, those swears would at least be commonly known.

So, the original was:
03 â€" “Death and damnation!” â€" „Tod und Teufel!“

What do you think? We could put another “porca” variation in -- “porca miseria!” perhaps?
“Manache!”?

01 "Cazzo!"
02 "Merda!"
03 "Porca miseria!"
04 "Cavolo"
05 "Per l'amor di Dio!"
06 "Non puo' essere vero!"
07 "La mia bella macchina!"
08 "Manache!"
09 "Tutta rotta."
10 "Sono fregato."
11 "Tutta incasinata."
12 "Terribile!"
13 "Non funziona più niente!"
14 "Voglio morire!"
15 "Che casino!"
16 "Completamente fot-tu-ta."
16a "Porca puttana!"
17 "Aiuto! Aiuto! Aiuto!"
18 "E' la fine."
19 "Al diavolo!"
20 "Ora sono incazzato."
21 "Ne ho avuto abbastanza."
22 "Maledizione!"
23 "Sono finito."
24 "Sono spacciato."
25 "Oh, no, no, no!"
26 "Mi ucciderò."
27 "E' andato tutto a puttane."

Well, well, well! You'd think that this is something we'd be able to do in a minute or so. Turns out to be much harder than it looks.

[LostTrainDude]

Thanks lorenzo for contributing

"manache" is actually "mannaggia", which is a variation on "damn"! Maybe a tad more "direct".

So yes, you could indeed use it in lieu of "porca" if you wish! The only difference is that it needs an article to specify who or what it is that you're targeting .
So "Mannaggia (al)la miseria!", "Mannaggia al diavolo" or even "Mannaggia a te", if you want to address it to a person you are talking with (e.g. "Ho fatto tardi, mannaggia a te!", "I'm late, damn you!")

About "Death and damnation!", I suppose it sounds different in German but both in English and Italian sounds too "grandiose" and dramatic to be considered seriously, I think