MAGS July “Animal Protagonists” (CLOSED)

Started by Stupot, Mon 01/07/2019 06:50:42

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What was your favourite game of MAGS July?

Hopping Homeward
5 (41.7%)
Research Reservations
3 (25%)
Birdy Birdy
4 (33.3%)

Total Members Voted: 12

Voting closed: Fri 23/08/2019 03:24:52

lanchong

Sometimes the winner is obvious but it took me a while to decide this month.

Hopping Homeward
Spoiler
It's cute game that would be awesome if you could remove the confirmation messages between screens. I like the large graphics. I think that young kids will love this.
[close]

Research Reservations
Spoiler
It's good short game. The introduction is brief but it's easy to understand the situation. I'm usually not a big fan of multiple verbs (Push, Pull, etc) but here it makes the puzzles more interesting. I think it's the best game you've produced so far.
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Birdy Birdy
Spoiler
I'm always excited by games produced by cassiebsg and this one doesn't disappoint. It took me a while to get used to the various buttons but I've found this interface very innovative so I gave you my vote.
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cat

Hopping Homeward
Spoiler

Very cute graphics, lots of screens.
The screen change confirmation was annoying and I found the cursor a bit difficult to use. Gameplay is overall a bit clunky. Why can't I use the mushrooms on the cauldron but have to use the cauldron and then pick mushrooms?
I didn't figure out how save works which almost made me give up this game where you can die, but then I completed it in the end.
The game doesn't stick too close to the topic, since the animals were talking to each other, making potions and and having inventory.
The most polished entry.
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Research Reservations
Spoiler
Very cute idea, the introduction, objective and GUI were easy to understand. Having two characters that have to work together was fun. It was missing a nice ending and there were a few bugs (I got the hamster stuck in the left wall when leaving the vent to the left and the ID card should disappear). Spot on regarding the topic.
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Birdy Birdy
Spoiler
Very creative setting. I like that the bird cannot talk but only sing. It took me some time to figure out the GUI. What was the worm supposed to do? Did singing the songs actually achieve something? The graphics were a bit of a patchwork and the game was missing some polish.
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I voted for
Spoiler
Research Reservations, because it was fun fit the topic perfectly.
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Mandle


Shadow1000

I agree that it was not an easy decision this month.

Hopping Homeward
Spoiler
I liked the game. I have to agree with what others have said: confirming everything took away from the game. Otherwise, a nice set of puzzles and pretty graphics
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Research Reservations
Spoiler
I have to make specific mention that I think that this is the first full entry from Vampire Wombat. Unless I'm forgetting something, most previous entries were just some characters and some dialogue, so congrats on the entry. Two characters working together was a nice touch, and the idea was a good application of the theme.
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Birdy Birdy
Spoiler
It took me a while to get a hang of the interface and to get the aim right. I had trouble seeing the item in the fountain. Graphics a bit inconsistent. But overall, a good experience and story, with a beginning, middle and end. And as I said, we all love a "redemption" story :)
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My vote did go to
Spoiler
Birdy Birdy because I did feel that it was most complete, including a bird-controlling interface!
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Great entries, everyone!

Cassiebsg

@cat
Spoiler

Yes, the singing did accomplish something. You had to sing two songs: Happy birthday and Twinkle, Twinkle to be able to poop on the boy...  (roll) But I couldn't think of a way how to convey this message to the player (so I guess the player just ends playing them all)... maybe a bubble with "why?" on the boy when trying to hit him? . But I agree this puzzle needed a bit more polish to work, rather than feeling random...

The worm is bird food, which is needed to poop...  (laugh)
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There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Mandle

It WAS a hard choice indeed...

Spoiler
I had to go with Research Reservations in the end just because it had the cleverest puzzles and was the purest interpretation of the theme. I also like to think that I gave that janitor either a infectious rage virus that will kickstart a zombie apocalypse and/or superpowers... Maybe an after-credits cutscene in a more polished version might be the go?
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All great games though. Well done to all!!!

VampireWombat

Quote from: Mandle on Tue 20/08/2019 00:51:20
It WAS a hard choice indeed...

Spoiler
I had to go with Research Reservations in the end just because it had the cleverest puzzles and was the purest interpretation of the theme. I also like to think that I gave that janitor either a infectious rage virus that will kickstart a zombie apocalypse and/or superpowers... Maybe an after-credits cutscene in a more polished version might be the go?
[close]

All great games though. Well done to all!!!
Spoiler
I'm not much for rage virus zombies, but the birth of CavyMan is possible.
But yeah, a higher definition remake with more locations and possibly a 3rd animal is quite possible.
Thanks.
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Stupot

Still two days left to vote if you haven't yet.
I'll give you a clue. It's tight.

Twirlly

I could just vote with no comment, but I feel like leaving notes about a game helps people grow as game makers and I would want them so here are my thoughts:

Hopping Homeward
Spoiler
I felt like I was in a coloring book choose your own adventure type story, which was nice. I enjoyed meeting the forest creatures and was glad I could easily save since you can "die". As others have already stated, the room change confirmation seemed unnecessary and took away from the flow of the game. Also some of the game play was unnatural. For example, I couldn't just use the mushrooms on the badger or cauldron as would be expected.
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Research Reservations
Spoiler
I loved the two player gaming. However, there were some game play moments that seemed rushed(likely do to the time constraints of MAGS). These include the hamster/gerbil? simply going into the vent even though it's way too high, and the key card just appearing under the door without player action.
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Birdy Birdy
Spoiler
It had a thought out story line and quite a few nice animations. I loved being able to play as a human and a bird. You had bird songs, which were unique and sounded lovely. I thought the idea of having to eat a worm to poop was genius(once I figured it out), but there could have been a more direct way for players to know. The thought bubble was just confusing at first, and it seemed like I had to put the worm back to eat it again, which seemed kind of weird. I did find a bug where the worm hole would keep moving around the screen(unless this was intended). Also I just got lucky and sang the two songs needed on first attempt, although there was no clue as to which were required.
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My vote went to
Spoiler
Birdy Birdy
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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Cassiebsg

Thanks for the comments and to answer your questions:
Spoiler

Yes, the eating part is something I would have liked to do better. It's not clear that when you click on it you are actually eating it. The thought bubble was my way to clue the need of the worm in order to poop. If you have a better suggestion (without actually using words, I'm all hears.  ;) ).

As for the "bug" it's not actually a bug (unless the following was not what you were doing)... thing is that the bird can only carry one item, so if you pick up a second item it will drop the first. I thought it looked a bit weird with the worm too... but think of it as: you dropped the worm and it instantly dig a new hole...  (roll)  (laugh)

Yes, I probably should revise a few things about how things are working and how they would work better some other way for the pos-MAGS version.  ;)
Thanks all for the valuable feedback.  (nod)
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There are those who believe that life here began out there...

VampireWombat

Quote from: Twirlly on Wed 21/08/2019 21:11:25

Research Reservations
Spoiler
I loved the two player gaming. However, there were some game play moments that seemed rushed(likely do to the time constraints of MAGS). These include the hamster/gerbil? simply going into the vent even though it's way too high, and the key card just appearing under the door without player action.
[close]

Spoiler
Actually, it's a guinea pig. And the key card ends up under the door on its own? I guess I missed something in the coding. It was only supposed to show up if the guinea pig used it with the door.
And yeah, I should have made the monkey move up or something to put the guinea pig in the vent. But I ran out of time.
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Kastchey

Hopping Homeward
Spoiler
I can tell that an amazing amount of effort went into making of this game. I agree with what other said about the interface being a little awkward, but it's your first game so that's something that comes with experience I guess. The storyline was cute, the graphics even cuter and the game was surprisingly long and complex for any average MAGS entry, let alone a first game. I do agree that animals doing human things might seem like a loose interpretation of the theme but as they do a lot of animal things too, the game fits well enough in my view. Plus, I love the title :)
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Research Reservations
Spoiler
Definitely your best game so far, VW. It has a clearly defined storyline that has a beginning and an end, a sequence of puzzles and a fairly unique gameplay idea on top of that. The interpretation of the theme was spot on, too. Overall the entry seemed somewhat rushed, but played like a full game that just needs a bit of post-MAGS polish rather than an intro. Well done!
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It wasn't an easy choice but I finally decided to vote for
Spoiler
Hopping Homeward because despite some missing interactions, it was the most polished entry. And too cute to resist.
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Blondbraid

Hopping Homeward
Spoiler
It's a lovely game with great graphics and decent puzzles, my only complaint is, as others have already pointed out,  that it doesn't really fit the theme with animals brewing potions or trading goods. But if it wasn't for that, it'd be a great entry.
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Research Reservations
Spoiler
I liked the puzzles but the lack of animations was a bit jarring. I'd say it's a good idea that would be fun to see expanded upon.
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Birdy Birdy
Spoiler
The inconsistency in artstyle for the characters (a realistic protagonist but cartoon npc's) was rather distracting, but the gameplay was good and the simple moral tale of the story made it feel the most like an complete experience out of this month's entries.
[close]

I voted for:
Spoiler
Birdy Birdy, since it did the most with animal interactions and had the most complete story.
[close]


Shadow1000


VampireWombat

Congratulations NuggetSeb.

And thank you to everyone who played, and commented on my game. I do plan to make a higher resolution version with more content at some point, but can't promise when.

Cassiebsg

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

cat

Congratulations - first game and already a deserved MAGS winner! I hope you will now release a version of the game without the change room confirmation.

As shadow said: all really good entries!

Kastchey

Congrats NuggetSeb! Fantastic work.

(By the way, I was close to voting for Research Reservations instead. The result would have been funny if I had voted for it :))


Stupot

Close one this month. Well done everybody.
But the winner of MAGS July is Hopping Homeward by NuggetSeb.

Congratulations Nugget. You'll be contacted soon about choosing a topic for September.

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