MAGS October "Darkness" (RESULT)

Started by Stupot, Thu 01/10/2020 08:59:17

Previous topic - Next topic

Which is your favourite MAGS game of October?

Taste the Blood of Darkness by Slasher
2 (15.4%)
The Last Light Post by JackPutter
3 (23.1%)
Lygophilous by VampireWombat
1 (7.7%)
Lord of Light by PlayPretend
7 (53.8%)

Total Members Voted: 13

Voting closed: Sun 15/11/2020 02:31:46

Stupot

The winner of MAGS October was Lord of Light by PlayPretend.






Taste the Blood of Darkness
by Slasher
The Last Light Post
by JackPutter
Lygophilous
by VampireWombat
Lord of Light
by PlayPretend

Please remember to rate and comment on the games' page if possible.


The fall is here and the long dark nights are slowly starting to creep in (well, at least in my geographical location). For some, it means a time of depression and sadness, for others it can be a cozy and comforting blanket.

For this months MAGS, I'd like you to make a game that is inspired by darkness. For example, it can take place during the night or in locations where the sun don't shine or maybe dark times have fallen upon the world or perhaps you want to peer into the darkness of the human soul, explore the vastness of outer space, confront demons or embrace the evil. Although this theme is probably more suitable for halloweenish horror projects, it doesn't really have to be all spooky and grim and I'd be very happy to see some positive or funny depictions of darkness.

And for inspiration, here's some images from past MAGS games that in my opinion would fit the theme:



Good luck with your games and don't be shy to share and discuss your ideas and progress.

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 guidelines 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, conceptualize 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.

Remember that this is a challenge to see what you can do in a month, so any tinkering you do after that, including fixing minor glitches, is against the spirit of the competition. The exception to this is that you may go in and fix major, game-breaking bugs only during voting. We want you to have a game that voters can actually play and that runs on their machines.

So to reiterate, during the voting period fixing major, game-breaking bugs is okay, fixing minor glitches or making cosmetic changes is cheating.

Tips
Here are some ways to make sure you have a game to submit at the end of the month:
* Make a tiny game. Plan small, then cut it in half. Find shortcuts (e.g. if making walkcycles is time-consuming, make the characters static or have it in the first person).
* Plan to have your game playable and submittable with a week to spare. This way you have a week to fix bugs, add some flourishes and maybe even get someone to test it.
* Plan to submit it a day or so early. This way, if there are any technical issues with uploading, they can be sorted out in time.



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a little help with graphics? Perhaps The AGS Trove has something you can use.
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Slasher

Awwww I spot one of my games: Frightfest  (laugh)

Who does not love the darkness? (laugh)

OK... Count me in ;)

VampireWombat

Hmm. I think I have an idea that will work. I'll at least make an attempt.

Olleh19

Maybe i should enter this contest so i can finish a game that looks like intended..Hmm.Sounds interesting, i may actually!

WHAM



Toying around with a possible concept. Been a long time I've done a MAGS, so it would be nice to make something for a change.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

Olleh19

Quote from: WHAM on Thu 01/10/2020 22:22:13


Toying around with a possible concept. Been a long time I've done a MAGS, so it would be nice to make something for a change.

I love those, then in dark places have their eyes lit up with bright reds or pink/purple, that would be awesome!

Mandle

What a perfect theme for Halloween month! I'm probably in!

Olleh19

May i add that if you use mediafire you can upload the game, and go in and fix bugs that you happen to come across at a later stage, and just overwrite the zipfile when it's improved, that way you somewhat met the deadline. That was my "mistake" this past month. I did have a game ready by the 30th, it's just had some really strange bugs, cutscene in the ending freeze from time to time, or it's timing where annoying and that takes so long to "get right", i dont consider that "making the game", that's just small fixes sorta like a bug in my mind. So what i'm trying to say is. I could have easily uploaded the game and then go "overwrite" on mediafire when i find out bugs, or someone says "you better check donnie out, he is acting funny".

So you don't have to think about going into the games category and edit the original post and past a new link everytime (i did that at first!) Everytime you make a build change, but i was very strict with what i did. I didn't "add" anything new apart from making it work better with less bugs. No new graphics, walkcycles, objects, or improved bakgrounds, nothing of that kind, they look like what i managed to produce until the 30th.

I think MAGS is a really great way to get us newbies going! I had a lot of fun (not much sleep last days tho, god i was so stressed, ha ha!). Even tho i started with my game a little more then a week left of the month (Didn't find out about it before it was "kinda late"). So this month i will be more prepared for what is to come! (nod) :)

selmiak

cool, a screenshot from eternal chrysalis... and the theme is also cool :)

Stupot

Quote from: selmiak on Fri 02/10/2020 22:38:13
cool, a screenshot from eternal chrysalis... and the theme is also cool :)
Are you in, Sel? Get a team together.

milkanannan


KyriakosCH

I might take part, not sure if I will find the time due to work deadlines this month.
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Mandle

If I don't get anything done for this I will just make a game in 3 hours at the last moment where you have to play the chords for "Hello darkness my old friend" (or whatever the title of the song is) Guitar Hero style.

Stupot

Quote from: Mandle on Sat 03/10/2020 22:58:48
“Hello darkness my old friend”
Oddly this song has been looping in my head this morning. Or should I say just the first two lines. And then I saw this post.

heltenjon

Quote from: Mandle on Sat 03/10/2020 22:58:48
If I don't get anything done for this I will just make a game in 3 hours at the last moment where you have to play the chords for "Hello darkness my old friend" (or whatever the title of the song is) Guitar Hero style.

(laugh) Now I want you to take those three hours at the beginning of the month instead. I think we need AGS Guitar Hero.  (laugh)

Slasher

Sounds good (laugh)

Meanwhile, I have most of my game mapped out.. Most of the mechanics are done...  Story outline done...

Still a long way to go  ;)

Olleh19

#16
Ok guys, i've changed my mind. My aunt, my whole family wants to try my game, and then the pressure is immense on me. The animations everything must look good. So i am working on my original MAGS entry and will update it regularly on the page. So please follow the journey if you want, and once that's done Episode 2 or whatever you wanna call it will be worked on.

Good luck to all you other guys that try, i hope you understand. I really want to make the game as "Thumbleweed" as possible, and that does take a long time, both the programming and the animations, i dont feel like doing another "attempt" when i know i will most likely fail. It's hard work, but i love doing it. I will just take the time it takes instead. It was a good experience with MAGS for sure, maybe i will join in later at another time, when i've got my workflow up more, more used to the engine, and so on.

Edit: Actually NO, let's keep the mags entry on my page as it is, and i will release it when it's done as a new game entry instead.


cat

What a great topic! Since more than half a year (in other words, since I finally used up all that cotton wool I bought for making the previous game) I am thinking about making a new game, titled "Cornelius Cat in: All Cats are Grey at Night". I have nothing but a few vague story and puzzle ideas so far, but the topic would be perfect.

Alas, my current family situation and private commitments make it impossible to make a game at the moment. However, I will take the topic as inspiration to finish the script and puzzles and maybe figure out how to solve a few technical issues.

Slasher

#18
Cat: Awww.. we would have loved a game from you...  Long live Cornelius  (laugh)

Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️

Meanwhile, here is a game screenshot that tells it all really (well, not all)  ;)



WHAM



The little imp thinks it's still too light outside. We'll see if we can help the poor little bugger out!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

Mandle

Slasher, "hypnotize" not "hypnotice"... (From your old game-tester/spell checker)

Slasher

#21
Quote from: Mandle on Wed 07/10/2020 09:16:35
Slasher, "hypnotize" not "hypnotice"... (From your old game-tester/spell checker)
Well caught old boy...  (laugh)

Regarding my game entry: The first chapter is complete.... Now the second chapter to complete ;)

VampireWombat

Oops, I got distracted by other stuff. I really need to figure out the location and characters for my game soon...

Slasher

Wham.... fighting the light?  (laugh)

I've made quite a bit of progress on Chapter 2...

Display("The locket shows a picture of a young girl. The photo has a bloodstain on it. There is also an inscription that reads: 'To Myra. Love from Gypsy Rose.'");
"Perhaps Gypsy Rose can shed some light on this matter?  After all, gypsy's are quite mystic."

"I feel very ill, Willis!"
"Let me take a look at you."
"Good grief, Edward! You have a bad case of bad blood poisoning!"
"You look like you've been in a fight!"
"You have some bite marks!"
"Good job I have some blood cleaning medication and flesh ointment."
"There were some ghouls near the crypts that seemed to take a fancy to me."    (laugh)



VampireWombat

I've learned that the game I was going to make would basically be a lesser version of Phasmophobia, so I'm going to have to figure out another idea that will work.

heltenjon

Quote from: VampireWombat on Thu 08/10/2020 21:25:42
I've learned that the game I was going to make would basically be a lesser version of Phasmophobia, so I'm going to have to figure out another idea that will work.

If you want story help/ideas, send out some PMs. I'm sure we could get you back on track.  ;) 8-)

Stupot

Quote from: VampireWombat on Thu 08/10/2020 21:25:42
I've learned that the game I was going to make would basically be a lesser version of Phasmophobia...
Nothing wrong with that.

VampireWombat

Quote from: Stupot on Fri 09/10/2020 04:19:00
Nothing wrong with that.
It would feel tainted now.

But I am fleshing out a newer idea.

heltenjon

From the opening post, Frightfest and Eternal Chrysalis has been mentioned. I also recognize The Dark Plague (duh) and The Terrible Old Man. But what is the last game pictured?

Slasher

#29
Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️

I am well into Chapter 2.... I have completed the start and end parts and now I am doing the middle..

Going good.....so far ;)

FormosaFalanster

You know what, I'm doing one  :) This is the first time I try to make a presentable game so wish me good luck. Hopefully by 31 October I will have something to show.

I had a concept around darkness, not what you may expect, but I thought it's a good occasion for me to finally try something serious so let's see if I can actually participate. Wish me luck!

Slasher

#31
Good luck with a game FormosaFalanster  (nod)

Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️

Meanwhile,  my game is done all bar the shouting  (laugh)

This is where the headaches and heartaches begin  (roll)

Slasher

Hi,

whilst I'm testing my entry I have some spare time if anyone needs an assistant helper for their game...

JackPutter

I've got most of the modeling done for my game, plus I've worked out a key GUI and some other technical bits and bobs. I just need to get writing now! Here's a taste of the style I'm going for...

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/l6XNCd3h.png[/imgzoom]

I'm also looking for someone female to provide a short piece of narration for the opening cinematic. Should I post on the recruitment board? I don't see too many MAGS games there, I'm not sure if it's the done thing...

Slasher

#34
Jack... you could ask DuckLady or Hannaindiana..

Slasher

#35
Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️

Confronting flesh eating ghouls roaming in the graveyard whilst pursuing a vampire!


milkanannan

Love the colour scheme in that pic.  (nod)

milkanannan

That looks great too, Jack! Looks like a mix of Little Big Adventure and Alone in the Dark.

Slasher

Quote from: milkanannan on Tue 13/10/2020 16:39:44
Love the colour scheme in that pic.  (nod)
Thanks..... The scene is overlayed with moving fog... which now has a reddish tint ;)

Testing/Tweaking continues....

The Great Underground Empire

#39
I'm bashing away hard at my own game, wanted to make good progress before I popped up. :)

"Lord of Darkness Light" - You're an evil wizard, and those bastardy bastard heroes have chased you to the top of your tower.  And just before you locked yourself in your laboratory, their stupid spellhacking cheating bastard of a good wizard cast Continual Light on your eyeballs.

You are blind.

Before they bash the door in, you must touch, talk, taste, smell and listen your way around your lab to concoct a Continual Darkness spell to restore your sight.  Hurry!

Gameplay: Like it says, you're feeling and sensing your way around through magical ingredients, implements and creatures.  As you figure things out, a "memory" of what they look like will appear.  Short, one room game, hopefully will be fully voice acted if I have time.

I don't want to release more than the title and a simple screenshot, anything more is spoilers. :)  Haven't even worked on the GUI's and menus yet, so this isn't the final look.




Slasher

#40
Your entry sounds fascinating, PlayPretend  (nod)

Hope you get to finish it....

Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️
Meanwhile, my entry is almost ready... a real horror show (laugh)

Face:

  • Vacula the vampire
  • Vampire bats
  • Ghouls
  • Blood monster
Why are blood red clouds blocking out the sunlight leaving the world in darkness?

You're going to need a book on vampires and ghouls ;)

Good luck everyone  (nod)

Slasher

#41
Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️


Game almost ready to suck the life out of you  (laugh)



Slasher

#42
Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️

Blood red clouds are moving across the sky, blocking out the sun and bringing darkness. What's more, many people have been found dead and they were all found to have puncture marks on their necks and all their blood had been drained!

What is causing such devastation? Could there be a simple explanation or are vampires at work?

Your good friend, Doctor Willis is on hand should you get 'vamped' too many times (Vamped meter included)....

Uses my Slasher Template that includes Left Click Interact and Right Click Look and a Disable active inventory red X button.....

Please report of any issues found... thanks...

Build 3 uploaded.




FormosaFalanster

Just a reminder, it is okay to use open source sprites, right? My main character I designed myself but for the rest I used a tileset I found on a resource website.

Slasher

#44
If they are open and licensed for non commercial or any use you are ok..

Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️

Build 2 uploaded.

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2479-taste-the-blood-of-darkness/

milkanannan

Slasher, really enjoyed the game. I think I found a bug:

Spoiler
If you dip the cross into the right-most cauldron first, it extinguishes the wrong cauldron, which makes it impossible to progress to the next screen.
[close]

The Great Underground Empire

Formosa: I stole and modified every bit of my graphics for my game from vecteezy.com and personal license use clipart sites. It's a major help in hitting the deadline.

Slasher

Quote from: milkanannan on Thu 15/10/2020 19:13:50
Slasher, really enjoyed the game. I think I found a bug:

Spoiler
If you dip the cross into the right-most cauldron first, it extinguishes the wrong cauldron, which makes it impossible to progress to the next screen.
[close]
Hi, thanks for finding that bug... I have now fixed it. I also did walkable area issue in the Woodroom.... Saves should still work but best start last room from beginning.. Sorry about that to the guys that came across this.

Build 3 now uploaded.

Taste the blood of darkness ✟ ⚰️

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2479-taste-the-blood-of-darkness/



Mandle

Working on my backup game: Dark Guitar...

A really dumbed-down attempt at a Guitar Hero type game for AGS... Only four finger positions and only one song so far... But it's kinda fun and at least you get to listen to unlicensed music while you play.

milkanannan

Jack, Formosa, Mandle: work faster please. :=

cipberbloom

Welp, I've been in since the 4th... didn't want to say anything until I felt I'd made significant progress (and I say I'm not superstitious  ;)).

I love the theme and it's perfect for a character and concept I've had bouncing around in my skull for years.

Thank you for the advice, @stupot, 'make a tiny game and cut it in half!'. Scope creep is my nemesis.

All the best of 'luck', everyone!  ;-D

Slasher

Quote from: Skeevy Wonder on Sat 17/10/2020 03:24:02
Welp, I've been in since the 4th... didn't want to say anything until I felt I'd made significant progress (and I say I'm not superstitious  ;)).

I love the theme and it's perfect for a character and concept I've had bouncing around in my skull for years.

Thank you for the advice, @stupot, 'make a tiny game and cut it in half!'. Scope creep is my nemesis.

All the best of 'luck', everyone!  ;-D
Wise words.... I am looking forward to a game from you  (nod)


FormosaFalanster

Quote from: milkanannan on Fri 16/10/2020 13:51:26
Jack, Formosa, Mandle: work faster please. :=

I still think I can do it before 30 October.

milkanannan


The Great Underground Empire

Welp, still working hard, fortunately backing up multiple times a day on Drive, and really think I'll still make it by the 31st.

But just now in the middle of testing a custom inventory GUI, AGS froze, then my desktop froze, and now it won't turn on again no matter what I do.  :tongue:.

Fortunately I have a laptop to keep working and didn't lose too much code, but ugh.  Just rotten timing to lose a workhorse computer, hopefully the power switch just died. Pretty sure I have a hard drive USB adapter somewhere for recovery, too.

Anyways.  On with the game!

Slasher

That's crap news PlayPretend.... I have had it myself... Here's hoping you can get everything up and running..  (nod)

KyriakosCH

Doubt I will make it on time, but I have some art ideas:

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

milkanannan

Looks great, Kyriacos  8-) another Kafka-esque entry?

KyriakosCH

Well, yes. :)
Just with more violence.
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

VampireWombat

I still haven't done much on my game yet. Other projects have taken priority. So, it all comes down to next week...

Quote from: milkanannan on Sat 17/10/2020 13:53:35
Your video still shows unavailable for me.

WHAM

I think I can safely say I'm not finishing my game idea anywhere close to a deadline.

The concept I had in mind was a slow-paced game where the player enters the game, gives their little demon minions orders and then exits the game. The game calculates time passed between sessions and generates progress when the player comes back, so that the game can be played by "logging in" every other day to check up on progress, discover new things and to hand out new orders.

Basically, Cookie Clicker but without clicking and cookies.

I've got the core mechanic working, but basically none of the graphics or most of the actual content.

I blame Spelunky 2.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Pending removal to memory hole. | WHAMGAMES proudly presents: The Night Falls, a community roleplaying game

arj0n


VampireWombat

By copying and clicking I did at least get a title for the video, so I know it's not game footage or anything. Maybe it's restricted to not allow US viewers.

arj0n

Quote from: VampireWombat on Mon 19/10/2020 13:14:07
By copying and clicking I did at least get a title for the video, so I know it's not game footage or anything. Maybe it's restricted to not allow US viewers.
That might be the case.

milkanannan

Quote from: VampireWombat on Mon 19/10/2020 12:54:17
I still haven't done much on my game yet. Other projects have taken priority. So, it all comes down to next week...

Quote from: milkanannan on Sat 17/10/2020 13:53:35
Your video still shows unavailable for me.

Oh it’s just Kylie Minogue ‘I believe in you’  (laugh) trying to express some encouragement to those finishing titles

The Great Underground Empire

Ha ha! It was the switch!

I didn't lose any work, just wasted my coding time tonight taking the side off my desktop and pulling out the power button wire until I can find a better workaround.  :-D  And backing everything up!

On with the game!


FormosaFalanster

I still believe I can finish it on time. If I don't it's okay I will still show it at some point.
I have fun doing it and learn a lot.

cipberbloom

Quote from: Slasher on Sat 17/10/2020 05:25:02
Quote from: Skeevy Wonder on Sat 17/10/2020 03:24:02
Welp, I've been in since the 4th... didn't want to say anything until I felt I'd made significant progress (and I say I'm not superstitious  ;)).

I love the theme and it's perfect for a character and concept I've had bouncing around in my skull for years.

Thank you for the advice, @stupot, 'make a tiny game and cut it in half!'. Scope creep is my nemesis.

All the best of 'luck', everyone!  ;-D
Wise words.... I am looking forward to a game from you  (nod)



Heya Slasher! Thank you a million times over!  ;-D ;-D ;-D

This is such a lovely, broad theme. I encourage anyone who's dipped their toes in to keep going, whether they want to participate in MAGS or not.

It's super nice that the AGS community remains so active. I've been lurking and 'failing' here since 2014 at least.

Very excited to actually put something out there! All the best, everyone!  ;-D

KyriakosCH

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

VampireWombat

And here's a screenshot of what I have accomplished.



But I do plan to work on it a fair amount Monday through Thursday. I might even work on it some today.

The Great Underground Empire

Bashing away in a weekend long coding frenzy! Can't believe I thought "barely any graphics" would make this simple...it just made all the descriptive responses and inventory interactions all the more important, lol.

But I'm gonna make it no matter what, even if it's the last day! Good luck everybody, I believe in you!

milkanannan

Do we need some motivation? (laugh)



Looking forward to playing these titles...by the 31st! Good luck, guys~

VampireWombat

It's more that I need to focus on this game than on other projects...
But planning out 3 days to work on it should work. Hopefully. In fact, I'm going to make myself work on it a bit in a few minutes.


JackPutter

I'm still in, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to cut some corners on my project in order to squeeze it out by the deadline. I made some mistakes that will take a VERY long time to fix (rendering 3D graphics is a tough job for my trusty little laptop) so there will be some missing animations and other elements. I've got the major pieces at least though, so I'll have something to show by 31st, even if it is just a work-in-progress!

Features intense computer hacking!


...and a working map screen!

The Great Underground Empire

I've got a couple complicated coding puzzles I may cut too... they'd be cool but not sure I know how to execute them correctly. But I got a ton done today and it's nearly playable, I think.  Then I'll go back and add the music, sound effects, voice acting, polishing, etc.

VampireWombat

Sound effects and voice acting? Nice. I feel ashamed that I ended up playing Borderlands 2 a bit before a session of Among Us yesterday instead of working on my game...
Okay, opening up Gimp now to work on the main character's sprites.

The Great Underground Empire

Wow, so much shoulder/neck pain from hunching over a computer all weekend.  :-D

Got a ton done, all my GUIs and graphics in place, all major puzzles intact. I am gonna have to cut the other couple puzzles I mentioned, way too complex for the time remaining, but it'll still work.

Do we have up til the end of the night on 10/31?  I'll definitely finish but it'll be a last minute release.

Mandle

Quote from: PlayPretend on Mon 26/10/2020 10:33:06
Do we have up til the end of the night on 10/31?

The deadline is until November 1st crosses over, AGS server time, usually.


KyriakosCH

#80
No feedback? ;_;

Anyway, I am continuing and have finished the first quest. I'd like the game to run at least for 20 minutes and have escalating difficulty in the puzzles.
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

milkanannan

I watched the vid yesterday and thought it looked cool, Kyriacos.  8-) Looking forward to playing it!


cipberbloom

Wow, KyriakosCH--I like the feel of the graphics, can't wait to see the video.

Slasher

I hope that at this short time you will have your game wrapped up KyriakosCH  (nod)

Looking forward to games entered this month ;)

cipberbloom

*scrolling back through posts* Loads of good looking entries (I loved the video, btw, it's got lovely, creepy atmosphere and a unique look. And it gave me some insight into the way my character has been moving!).  ;-D

Vampirewombat--I feel for you. You and I have both had a go at a few of the same MAGS (February 'Frozen', which is a project I expanded and definitely plan to finish, and then September or August, just did a couple of backgrounds and had a concept).

Talking of vampires: looking forward to your entry Slasher.  (nod)

Stupot

Quote from: Mandle on Mon 26/10/2020 10:39:21
Quote from: PlayPretend on Mon 26/10/2020 10:33:06
Do we have up til the end of the night on 10/31?

The deadline is until November 1st crosses over, AGS server time, usually.
The deadline is officially 23:59 UK time, whether that be BST or GMT. But you can upload later than that as long as I haven’t officially closed the contest and drawn up the polls.

I’ll say it now. This Sunday morning is the best window for me to rig up the voting etc. so I’ll be reluctant to grant an extension (in case anyone was counting on one). So now you should be thinking about tying things up.

KyriakosCH

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

VampireWombat

Due to weather issues and a few other things, I ended up switching to a different game yesterday using purchased assets. So, no more Subspecies parody. Instead something more Lovecraftian. Hopefully I can have it mostly finished tomorrow so that I can watch my traditional movie marathon on Saturday.

KyriakosCH

Door/lock puzzles are not the most innovative ever, but at the moment I can't think of something different for the non-scary part of the game.





At any rate, this is a lock with (greek) letters, which is useful for me given I can force the player to not try random stuff, having the protagonist make some snarky remark about how it is ridiculous to randomly choose the one of a possible 24^5 options.
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

The Great Underground Empire

Thanks Mandle and Stupot!  I'll definitely be ready in time...just struck me I didn't know if Saturday ended much sooner in EST than it did from AGS's time zone. :)

My gameplay's all intact, did the last heavy lifting this morning.  Now I'm just polishing up and making it pretty.  I'm going to try to rush out the voice acting before Saturday night, but if I run out of time I'll just submit the game as-is, then release the voice pack after the contest with the understanding it doesn't count toward the vote. :)

Good luck everybody!

KyriakosCH

I don't want to rush the game so more than likely it won't be released for the mags. I'll instead create a thread about it in that case.
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Mandle

I'm out... Too busy with Halloween stuff... I will show some of the fruits of our labor tomorrow, hopefully, in the form of a 5 minute short movie we filmed and put together over the past few weeks.

JackPutter

THE LAST LIGHT POST (WORK IN PROGRESS)

In a land of unending darkness, you travel to a remote and mysterious facility in an attempt to restore the light to the world.

Game link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/e7eaqlwtnp5szo2/The_Last_Light_Post_%2528WIP%2529.zip/file

Screenshots:










Boy, did this one take it out of me! I don't have any free time tomorrow so uploading it now is my only option. I'm happy with it as it stands though! As long as there's no game-breaking bugs that I missed... I was tearing my hair out more than once while I made this game, and nine times out of ten it was because of some silly mistake on my part. I hope you enjoy playing what I have managed to put together!

I won't be making an entry in the AGS database for this one yet, as even though you can play through it from start to finish, it's not "complete" in my eyes yet. I am hoping to release this as a standalone game, however this version includes some copyrighted music, images, and other bits and pieces to fill in some gaps. I'll replace those, add the missing animations, customise the GUIs instead of using the defaults, and release a full version before the end of the year.

Please let me know what you all think!

Slasher

Hi JackPutter,

As with your last game this game shows promise and again a nice 3D environment...

A few tweaks would not go amiss.

Well done  (nod)

VampireWombat

It'll be a surprise for all how much content ends up in my game. Especially for me.

But I do at least have enough backgrounds to make a playable game.

FormosaFalanster

Ah I will not be able to meet the deadline. I had a trouble happening this week so no way I would finish it.
But it is not important. The competition gave me an impetus to finish a game, it is almost done so soon I should have a little game to give  :)

I will still show you a little screen shot. I think before the end of November I would have finished it, unless I run into more troubles  :-D

Slasher

The lesson here is: Don't start something you can't finish because you included too much that you can't achieve within the time frame....

Start simple and small and build up with whatever time you have left,  after it becomes fully playable... That's what I do...

But, I wish everyone fun in making your games and try to keep within the time frame  (nod)

VampireWombat

Wait. There was supposed to be a lesson to learned?

And I see no problem with starting out too large as long as you're willing and able to cut back as needed.

That's what I'm doing with my game. I'm probably not even going to have a way to "win".

milkanannan

Guys, I encourage you to submit your titles even if unfinished. Just tack on a 'to be continued...' and give the community whatever you have. Don't let these titles gather dust on some corner of your hard drive for the next ten years.

If it helps: Nothing (I repeat: nothing!) could be as unfinished as my 'white elephant' title from September. (laugh) Let that be a motivator for you to just get your title out there and add to a competition around a great theme.

VampireWombat

Due to time change, I have no idea when the deadline is. I hope it's in about 1 hour 45 minutes since that seems to be when it'll be midnight in England.

But here's my entry, even though it's not done at this moment. I will upload whatever I have finished once it's time.

Lygophilous




https://vampirewombat.itch.io/lygophilous

FormosaFalanster

I am perfectly fine with not finishing it for the competition, I am not a competitive person and not care for awards, I just saw it as a fun way to be motivated  :) I would have finished it if I had not crashed my car in the middle of the month :P but I will have finish it soon and put it in the completed games section.

The Great Underground Empire

I will be releasing before deadline!  I'm just adding sound effects, ran out of time do the voice pack, I think.  Have a link up shortly! :)

VampireWombat

Game is uploading to itch now. Hopefully it's fully playable. I didn't have a chance to test it yet.

Stupot

Thanks for the entries, folks. How are you getting on PlayPretend? I’ll be putting up The voting shortly.

Olleh19

#105
This is not an entry, It's just a drawing i did today for a little cutscene/birthday game scene. And it fits the theme Darkness.  :)

Edit: Perhaps i should say good luck to you guys whom entered the darkness. I should try to play some tomorrow.

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/6JGJuXD.png[/imgzoom]

The Great Underground Empire

#106
Lord of Darkness Light

MAGS October 2020

You're an evil wizard, and those bastardy bastard heroes have chased you to the top of your tower.  And just before you locked yourself in your laboratory, their stupid spellhacking cheating bastard of a good wizard cast Continual Light on your EYEBALLS.

You are blind.

Before they bash the door in, you must touch, talk, taste, smell and listen your way around your lab to concoct a Continual Darkness spell to restore your sight.  Hurry!

Gameplay: Sense your way through magical ingredients, implements and creatures.  Hovering over an unseen item makes a ? ? ? appear until you identify it.  And fortunately, you had a couple spells still memorized after your battle that may help.

As you identify things, a "memory" of what they look like will appear.  Nothing should be too pixel-hunt-y, and the game tells you when you've found everything in the room.

Short, one room game, 15+ minutes playtime.  I'm going to voice act it over the next week or so, but didn't have time to submit voice for MAGS.

70 MB download, 208 MB unzipped.  Recommend windowed play, DEFINITELY RECOMMEND SOUND ON.  You can play without sound, but it's way more fun and atmospheric with it.

Mild Content Warning: Comedic violence, suggestions of violence, adult humor, one swear word.

Thanks for playing!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ebrjx7b85126qip/Lord_of_Light.rar/file

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=58533.0




Stupot

#107
Thank you to everyone who entered. Unlucky to those who didn't finish. I hope you keep working on them.

Here are the games for October on the theme of Darkness.

Please vote using the poll above.






Taste the Blood of Darkness
by Slasher
The Last Light Post
by JackPutter
Lygophilous
by VampireWombat
Lord of Light
by PlayPretend

Please remember to rate and comment on the games' page if possible.

As always, please let me know if I've missed anything or made any mistakes.

cheers

Slasher

#108
Lord of Light by PlayPretend

Any chance you can change green font colour as I really have a hard time reading it? This is mainly at the beginning.

Graphics look superb  (nod)

Slasher

 Lygophilous by VampireWombat

Got outside with the cars.... Click on right car and buttons morgue, graveyard etc came up... no response... crashed....

I am enjoying the graphics  (nod)

Shadow1000

Regarding the Last Light Post:

Spoiler
does anyone know where the hint is for William's computer? I got the other passwords and the component as well as the sequence.
[close]

The Great Underground Empire

Slasher: Thanks! Every piece of art was stolen, although I did have to mod everything in AI and Deep Art Effects. :)

I'll work some more on the font after voting, it drove me nuts too. I hoped a voice pack would compensate, then ran out of time. :) Was it hard to read in the lab too? Or just the intro?

Slasher

Quote from: PlayPretend on Sun 01/11/2020 09:13:54
Slasher: Thanks! Every piece of art was stolen, although I did have to mod everything in AI and Deep Art Effects. :)

I'll work some more on the font after voting, it drove me nuts too. I hoped a voice pack would compensate, then ran out of time. :) Was it hard to read in the lab too? Or just the intro?
It was mainly at the first part... intro ;)

Cassiebsg

@PlayPretend, awesome, you made the game mechanics I also had in mind!  (laugh) I just couldn't come out with a story.  :-[ So I'm very looking forward to play it!  (nod) Just a comment, you can cut the game size in half, if you delete the data folder from the zip file. All you need is the Window's folder.  ;)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

cipberbloom

Olleh19--wow, beautiful (I trust the nuke is used only for food)! Super impressive!  ;-D

Looking forward to playing these titles tonight and tomorrow. Congrats, everyone.

Happily, I got further than I ever have with an AGS game. Committed the unforgivable sin 'visuals before gameplay'. But even in its incomplete state the game is uploaded; if anyone wants the mediafire link let me know.  :-D

JackPutter

Congratulations everyone! I look forward to playing all of your games! And to everyone who didn't manage to finish by the deadline, please keep working on your entries! You all have great ideas that should definitely be seen through to the end, no matter how long it takes!

Shadow1000 - With regards to my game...

Spoiler
... the hint for William's password can be found in the notes on the workbench in the lab. William mentions he has had a particularly unpleasant day... (My key playtester, AKA my significant other, also got stuck on the same part so perhaps the clue is too oblique!)
[close]

Olleh19

Quote from: Skeevy Wonder on Sun 01/11/2020 12:58:39
Olleh19--wow, beautiful (I trust the nuke is used only for food)! Super impressive!  ;-D

Looking forward to playing these titles tonight and tomorrow. Congrats, everyone.

Happily, I got further than I ever have with an AGS game. Committed the unforgivable sin 'visuals before gameplay'. But even in its incomplete state the game is uploaded; if anyone wants the mediafire link let me know.  :-D

Haha, yeah that was just that i was lazy  (laugh) I had to save time to be able to finish the "little game" for my friends.  (laugh)

I'm gonna start playing some games now!

Olleh19

#117
Quote from: Slasher on Sun 01/11/2020 04:08:42
Lygophilous by VampireWombat

Got outside with the cars.... Click on right car and buttons morgue, graveyard etc came up... no response... crashed....

I am enjoying the graphics  (nod)

Same here, or wouldn't say crash. It's just not letting me get out of there! (laugh)
I clicked the same place i were at perhaps that "crashed" it? I'm not sure.
Edit: Nope, Clicked Graveyard. Same, it won't transfer me to the Graveyard (as i suppose is the original thought) ???
Also

Spoiler
I talked with the guy in the startup room and he said "it's in my desk". I went to desk, and i get a comment about "i shouldn't look thru his desk" or something like that. The hell? The guy just told me i could!  (laugh)
[close]

VampireWombat

I forgot to add a line of code to make the map GUI disappear. And there was a minor issue with getting items because the code had an ! where it shouldn't have. Those bugs have been fixed and from what I call tell the game is now fully playable. Or will be if the upload ever finishes.

Olleh19

Quote from: VampireWombat on Sun 01/11/2020 13:40:20
I forgot to add a line of code to make the map GUI disappear. And there was a minor issue with getting items because the code had an ! where it shouldn't have. Those bugs have been fixed and from what I call tell the game is now fully playable. Or will be if the upload ever finishes.

I'll download it again, tell in the thread when it's done. Did you see my spoiler? Was that a bug or am i just misunderstanding (the desk to the right).

VampireWombat

Upload is complete. And yes, it was one of the bugs I mentioned due to the ! where it shouldn't have been.

Shadow1000

Quote from: JackPutter on Sun 01/11/2020 13:05:31
Congratulations everyone! I look forward to playing all of your games! And to everyone who didn't manage to finish by the deadline, please keep working on your entries! You all have great ideas that should definitely be seen through to the end, no matter how long it takes!

Shadow1000 - With regards to my game...

Spoiler
... the hint for William's password can be found in the notes on the workbench in the lab. William mentions he has had a particularly unpleasant day... (My key playtester, AKA my significant other, also got stuck on the same part so perhaps the clue is too oblique!)
[close]

Ok, I finished the game! Thanks for the hint, and thanks for not giving it away completely. Some thoughts on how I got stuck (seeing that the game is being developed still):

Spoiler
First, I did NOT know that the notes on this table or the earlier had more than one page
Second, there are so many dates throughout the game, there's nothing about that date that would have made me think it's the password, even had I seen it in the hour or so that I spent looking for the password last night
Third, I had a bit of trouble entering it because the format is different than what's on the page
[close]

Cheers

JackPutter

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Sun 01/11/2020 14:41:06

Ok, I finished the game! Thanks for the hint, and thanks for not giving it away completely. Some thoughts on how I got stuck (seeing that the game is being developed still):


Thank you very much for your feedback! This is the value of having people play test things! What you said was very constructive, I'll definitely be taking your experiences on board to refine that puzzle and clarify how the relevant GUI works so it's a little more clear. I'm very glad you were able to make it to the end of the game, and apologies for any annoyances caused!

Olleh19

Quote from: VampireWombat on Sun 01/11/2020 13:45:01
Upload is complete. And yes, it was one of the bugs I mentioned due to the ! where it shouldn't have been.

I'm stuck.

Spoiler
I'm in a dungeon or cave or something. And i cant seem to click on anything. I'm guessing this is the slaughters mansion/house, since there appears to be pigs hanging up and down. Can't seem to click on anything. Completely stuck now! Hint?   :)
[close]

VampireWombat

Quote from: Olleh19 on Sun 01/11/2020 18:11:30
Spoiler
I'm in a dungeon or cave or something. And i cant seem to click on anything. I'm guessing this is the slaughters mansion/house, since there appears to be pigs hanging up and down. Can't seem to click on anything. Completely stuck now! Hint?   :)
[close]
Spoiler
There's an area of the room that if you step on, it triggers the end.
[close]

Olleh19

HAHA! What an unexpected ending  (laugh) (laugh) (laugh) (laugh) I swear i had clicked there, but apparently not.

Your game reminded me of my attempt last month. It was short but still feelt pretty good to finally be able to beat it :)


Shadow1000

Quote from: VampireWombat on Sun 01/11/2020 18:19:22
Quote from: Olleh19 on Sun 01/11/2020 18:11:30
Spoiler
I'm in a dungeon or cave or something. And i cant seem to click on anything. I'm guessing this is the slaughters mansion/house, since there appears to be pigs hanging up and down. Can't seem to click on anything. Completely stuck now! Hint?   :)
[close]
Spoiler
There's an area of the room that if you step on, it triggers the end.
[close]

Is that the only ending? if so
Spoiler
there doesn't seem to be much to do at the graveyard? or need for the badge and gun or flashlight
[close]

VampireWombat

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Sun 01/11/2020 21:51:36
Is that the only ending? if so
Spoiler
there doesn't seem to be much to do at the graveyard? or need for the badge and gun or flashlight
[close]
Spoiler
There was going to be more, but I ran out of time. The flashlight was supposed to be more useful, but the gui didn't work right and I didn't have time to fix it.
[close]

Cassiebsg

The Last Light Post

I seem to be a bit stuck, can't seem to finish it.  :-\

Spoiler

I've got the container and placed it in the right slot, I hope, but when I try to enter the sequence, nothing really happens. Unless I have the wrong sequence, since I haven't figured out the clue about 2 reactions, divide by 2 and use only the even numbers.  (roll)

On the other note, I had no problem finding all passwords. And as soon as I read that it was a lousy bday, I figured that was the password... The one that was took me a bit longer was Simons password, because I was looking for a clue around his computer. But once I stopped to think about it, it was obvious.  (laugh)
[close]
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sun 01/11/2020 22:04:43
The Last Light Post

I seem to be a bit stuck, can't seem to finish it.  :-\

Spoiler

I've got the container and placed it in the right slot, I hope, but when I try to enter the sequence, nothing really happens. Unless I have the wrong sequence, since I haven't figured out the clue about 2 reactions, divide by 2 and use only the even numbers.  (roll)

On the other note, I had no problem finding all passwords. And as soon as I read that it was a lousy bday, I figured that was the password... The one that was took me a bit longer was Simons password, because I was looking for a clue around his computer. But once I stopped to think about it, it was obvious.  (laugh)
[close]

The answer is
Spoiler
on William's computer. There's more to the instructions about the sequence there
[close]

Cassiebsg

Spoiler

I've read all the 3 posts, and I'm still clueless.

Can the game be saved, btw? EDIT: Found it... F5. Wish there was a button for it, instead of just a keyboard key.  (roll)
[close]
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Sun 01/11/2020 22:19:10
Spoiler

I've read all the 3 posts, and I'm still clueless.

Can the game be saved, btw? EDIT: Found it... F5. Wish there was a button for it, instead of just a keyboard key.  (roll)
[close]

ok here's the answer:

Spoiler
apenas números pares.
[close]

The Great Underground Empire

Played all the games, good stuff!  Here are my individual takes on everyone else's games, spoiler warnings!

Taste the Blood of Darkness:
Spoiler
Definitely the best and most complete for gameplay of the three.  The combat system was fun, I was about to get frustrated by the bats killing me in the crypt until I found out about the hospital and instant return to my last combat room, lol.  I liked the axe coming back to me like Thor. :)  The blood monster was neat, too.
[close]

Last Light Post:
Spoiler
Holy carp, nice motion graphics on this one!  I'm guessing you did still frames for stop points like the desks and doors, then swapped seamlessly to videos for the 3D movement?  Nice technique!  I had no problem with the passwords because I'm a sneaky bastard and saw what you were going for. :)  At the end with the component, I circled the pillar twice punching in the full code, then the evens, and got it right on the 8th try, lol.  Quick gameplay with impressive visuals, and I liked the character touches of the worker's notes.
[close]

Lygophilous:
Spoiler
I was honestly lost in this one, sorry...I had no idea why I was there, and had to pick up from context that I was investigating some kind of murder.  When I needed the flashlight, I had no clue it was in the trunk...started to drive away to look for it, then just tried the trunk for the heck of it.  When I found the evil lair, I looked away for a half second, looked back, and I'd been eaten, game over, no warning.  The graphics and atmosphere were good and spooky, and the monster would definitely be a good frightening end boss.
[close]

Olleh19

Quote from: PlayPretend on Mon 02/11/2020 00:42:05
Played all the games, good stuff!  Here are my individual takes on everyone else's games, spoiler warnings!

Taste the Blood of Darkness:
Spoiler
Definitely the best and most complete for gameplay of the three.  The combat system was fun, I was about to get frustrated by the bats killing me in the crypt until I found out about the hospital and instant return to my last combat room, lol.  I liked the axe coming back to me like Thor. :)  The blood monster was neat, too.
[close]

Last Light Post:
Spoiler
Holy carp, nice motion graphics on this one!  I'm guessing you did still frames for stop points like the desks and doors, then swapped seamlessly to videos for the 3D movement?  Nice technique!  I had no problem with the passwords because I'm a sneaky bastard and saw what you were going for. :)  At the end with the component, I circled the pillar twice punching in the full code, then the evens, and got it right on the 8th try, lol.  Quick gameplay with impressive visuals, and I liked the character touches of the worker's notes.
[close]

Lygophilous:
Spoiler
I was honestly lost in this one, sorry...I had no idea why I was there, and had to pick up from context that I was investigating some kind of murder.  When I needed the flashlight, I had no clue it was in the trunk...started to drive away to look for it, then just tried the trunk for the heck of it.  When I found the evil lair, I looked away for a half second, looked back, and I'd been eaten, game over, no warning.  The graphics and atmosphere were good and spooky, and the monster would definitely be a good frightening end boss.
[close]

I'm playing the blind wizard game, and i'm not getting the got damn onion!!! Why the hell doesnt it want the onion as it is  :~(
It says 15minutes play time, i've passed that time long ago. Got stuck on this i don't even wanna know for how long! (laugh)
I think i have that left, and the worm box, but i'm not sure.


The Great Underground Empire

Quote from: Olleh19 on Mon 02/11/2020 01:06:41
I'm playing the blind wizard game, and i'm not getting the got damn onion!!! Why the hell doesnt it want the onion as it is  :~(
It says 15minutes play time, i've passed that time long ago. Got stuck on this i don't even wanna know for how long! (laugh)
I think i have that left, and the worm box, but i'm not sure.

Hint:
Spoiler
Do you know which bottle has the red basilisk?  You need Red Basilisk Tears, so you have to find a way to identify which one is red.
[close]

Solution:
Spoiler
The Minitaur is object-blind and can only see the color red.  Use him on all three bottles.  Use the onion on the red basilisk.
[close]

Hope you enjoy the rest! :)

Olleh19

Quote from: PlayPretend on Mon 02/11/2020 01:20:04
Quote from: Olleh19 on Mon 02/11/2020 01:06:41
I'm playing the blind wizard game, and i'm not getting the got damn onion!!! Why the hell doesnt it want the onion as it is  :~(
It says 15minutes play time, i've passed that time long ago. Got stuck on this i don't even wanna know for how long! (laugh)
I think i have that left, and the worm box, but i'm not sure.

Hint:
Spoiler
Do you know which bottle has the red basilisk?  You need Red Basilisk Tears, so you have to find a way to identify which one is red.
[close]

Solution:
Spoiler
The Minitaur is object-blind and can only see the color red.  Use him on all three bottles.  Use the onion on the red basilisk.
[close]

Hope you enjoy the rest! :)

Thanks, i enjoyed it. It got me stuck ofc, but it wasn't that frustrating. Also i bruteforced a bit, but once i found the solution i hit my head almost "how dumb am i, why didn't i think of that?!".
Which is a good thing. It's worse when you really dont know why something works and it does (like it was in my mags game last month, most people got frustrated cause they did not get why it "worked").

Cassiebsg

Quoteok here's the answer:

Spoiler
apenas números pares.
[close]

I've tried that already before I posted, with no result.
I'm missing something in the logic you all seem to have found, unless I made a mistake somewhere.
Spoiler

Do I need to take the sequence, divide it by 2 and only use the even numbers? (I have not tried this yet) or is there something else?
[close]
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

JackPutter

PlayPretend - Thank you very much for playing through my game! I'm glad you liked the graphics, and you are correct about the method I used to move the viewpoint from spot to spot. There's a couple of not-quite-seamless transitions from the stills to the videos though, which is something I am still working on for the full release. I'm glad you liked the character stuff too! I've always liked games where you root through documents to piece things together, so I decided to make one that revolved around that.

Spoiler
I'm glad that the passwords weren't too tricky for you. I'm sorry you had to essentially brute force your way through the last puzzle, though I sometimes do the same thing when the number of available options has a definite limit! (Just so you know, I did leave a clue about where to put the component. William's notes mention putting it in the east port and you can pick up a map which tells you which way is north.)
[close]

Cassiebsg - Sorry about not having a save function in a more obvious place, to be honest I've never put a save function in any of my games since I have no idea how to do that and figured my games would be short enough to be completed in a few minutes. (The glitchless 100% speedrun of The Last Light Post is under 30 seconds, but since I am the developer I won't be submitting my times...) I was frankly surprised to see that you found a save function in there, it must be built-in with the BASS template! With regards to the final puzzle...

Spoiler
... I'm afraid I may have made the nonsense technobabble too confusing! The talk about dividing things by two is just how William worked out what might be wrong. The trick is to take the ORIGINAL sequence and only use the even numbers. I hope that helps!
[close]

Olleh19

#138
Haha, i gave up on Jack's entry. It wasn't that it was bad, it's just my brain is not working right now. (wrong)
Spoiler
How can i not understand the password, or that it looks like you could put the component(i think it was called) in different places? i figured that out just before i turned off the game, then i feelt omg it's even more complicated then originally thought!
I thought i was going to put it in to the socket and then maybe know a password to turn the component function on, or something like that!

Also i was stuck for 10minutes going around i tried the password for the first computer, but it turns out it was case sensitive and that had me stuck longer then neccessary.
[close]

Jack, you went into the trap i did with my MAGS entry last month.It really was quite difficult! (laugh)

But i still enjoyed it, if i've had a friend over and we've played it together, i'd probably would have had a nice co-op experience, but once you get stuck with "one brain". It's hard... ;-D

JackPutter

Olleh19 - I'm sorry you had so much trouble with my entry! So far I have consistently gotten comments about every single one of my previous games that the puzzles were too straighforward, so I made a deliberate effort this time to make a multi-step puzzle that required a bit of exploring and deducing to figure out. I tried to make sure that there was at least one clear clue for every step, but since pretty much everyone who has replied here has gotten stuck at one point or another I guess I just made it too confusing. I'll be sure to refine and clarify things as much as I can before I release the game fully. I'm very happy to hear you say that you enjoyed it, even if you got stumped in the end!

Shadow1000

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 02/11/2020 06:38:57
Quoteok here's the answer:

Spoiler
apenas números pares.
[close]

I've tried that already before I posted, with no result.
I'm missing something in the logic you all seem to have found, unless I made a mistake somewhere.
Spoiler

Do I need to take the sequence, divide it by 2 and only use the even numbers? (I have not tried this yet) or is there something else?
[close]

Complete solution:
Spoiler

The numbers are 7216354. So just ignore the odds and you get 264.
[close]

Entende?

Cassiebsg

#141
Yes, I get that, and I've tried that as well.  :-X
Spoiler

I'm likely entering the code wrong... so exactly which buttons do I need to press?

I've tried to press first the 2nd, then the 6th and lastly the 4th, but nothing happened! And the item is on the east slot, as far as I can see.

[close]

EDIT: I just run the game again, and now it worked.  ;-D I'm not sure what I was doing wrong, cause that was exactly what I had tried before... thank god the save worked, would have hated to have to restart!  (nod)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 02/11/2020 16:21:11
Yes, I get that, and I've tried that as well.  :-X
Spoiler

I'm likely entering the code wrong... so exactly which buttons do I need to press?

I've tried to press first the 2nd, then the 6th and lastly the 4th, but nothing happened! And the item is on the east slot, as far as I can see.

[close]

You got it right for the entry

Spoiler
I would get out the map and double check it's in the east side
[close]

Cassiebsg

Read edit above. Thanks for the help.  :)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 02/11/2020 16:27:54
Read edit above. Thanks for the help.  :)

I'm glad it worked out! Now you can play some more entries :D

Olleh19

Quote
Olleh19 - I'm sorry you had so much trouble with my entry! So far I have consistently gotten comments about every single one of my previous games that the puzzles were too straighforward, so I made a deliberate effort this time to make a multi-step puzzle that required a bit of exploring and deducing to figure out. I tried to make sure that there was at least one clear clue for every step, but since pretty much everyone who has replied here has gotten stuck at one point or another I guess I just made it too confusing. I'll be sure to refine and clarify things as much as I can before I release the game fully. I'm very happy to hear you say that you enjoyed it, even if you got stumped in the end!


Yeah, i hear you. That's how i thought about my puzzle too that "this is too easy, i need to make it more complicated" and what happened? Almost everyone got stuck! Haha.

Shadow1000

Quote from: JackPutter on Mon 02/11/2020 13:59:19
I made a deliberate effort this time to make a multi-step puzzle that required a bit of exploring and deducing to figure out. I tried to make sure that there was at least one clear clue for every step, but since pretty much everyone who has replied here has gotten stuck at one point or another I guess I just made it too confusing. I'll be sure to refine and clarify things as much as I can before I release the game fully. I'm very happy to hear you say that you enjoyed it, even if you got stumped in the end!

My opinion is that the difficulty level was right on. I did get stuck on something and I explained what I missed. But overall the level was right for me.

The Great Underground Empire

Same here...I read the clues and remembered what I was supposed to do, it was more my own personal laziness at the end to not go back and check something instead of just brute forcing my way through every possibility.

Olleh19

Quote from: Shadow1000 on Mon 02/11/2020 18:12:06
Quote from: JackPutter on Mon 02/11/2020 13:59:19
I made a deliberate effort this time to make a multi-step puzzle that required a bit of exploring and deducing to figure out. I tried to make sure that there was at least one clear clue for every step, but since pretty much everyone who has replied here has gotten stuck at one point or another I guess I just made it too confusing. I'll be sure to refine and clarify things as much as I can before I release the game fully. I'm very happy to hear you say that you enjoyed it, even if you got stumped in the end!

My opinion is that the difficulty level was right on. I did get stuck on something and I explained what I missed. But overall the level was right for me.

Good Point, i think it's dangerous to believe there is something wrong with your game just because of a couple of guys or girls on a forum, get's stuck. I was being dumb on a lot of things. Forexample the case sensitive. Maybe other players tries that instantly. I didn't, so i got stuck for 10minutes, or more, i don't know! Does that mean all players are as dumb? ofc not. Same with my little game, not saying the players of my game are dumb, but they do not represent the entire world either. Some puzzle are easy for others, while incredible hard for other individuals. Alltho i'll be humble enough to admit my puzzle was pure evil.  (laugh) (nod)

cipberbloom

I loved playing as an evil wizard (the psychedelic sequence was priceless) and collecting ghoul heads (would like to replay that one to see if the game changes if you are 'turned').

JackPutter: what are you using to do the 3D sequences?

Anyway, awesome stuff.  ;-D Looking forward to November, named for my favourite weather.

The Great Underground Empire

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! :)  The sequence was the most fun part to program.

Slasher

I think people have produced some great graphics this month.... My hat is off chaps..  (nod)

cipberbloom

Slasher: We're playing again to see if Edward is able to
Spoiler
turn completely leading to a different path
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. Loved the action element, it seemed to be just right.  ;-D

JackPutter

Skeevy Wonder - I used Blender to do all the 3D work on my game. I only started learning how to use the software about two months ago, and I've found it pretty straightforward to pick up! I'd definitely recommend it, though I'm still only capable of doing basic modelling and lighting at this stage.

heltenjon

It's another great MAGS month!

Here are my comments:

Taste the Blood of Darkness by Slasher:
Spoiler
I think this game is even better than the one last month. Huge, and lots to do. I really liked how the locations became available as clickable banners during the investigation. I also liked that the protagonist and his conversation partners have some personalities that shine through. While the puzzles aren't too difficult, i had lots of trips back to the doctor because of the action sequences. It was fun that the option to attack with the wrong weapons was included.

I found two bugs. I spent so much time in the garden that the red mist turned and started to scroll the other way. Then for a moment, the leftmost part of the garden was lit up, as the "curtain" moved to the right and then back left again. I doubt this was intentional, but maybe it's not a bug, but rather a necessary effect of having the curtain of fog moving on top of the landscape. The other bug occurred when I killed Vascula but then was taken out by another bat right afterwards. When sent back to the crypts, the last bat had disappeared, and the endgame couldn't be triggered because I hadn't killed all the vampires.
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The Last Light Post by JackPutter:
Spoiler
Awesome graphics. Jack is really getting the hang of the 3d environment. Even though the player is alone, the other characters take on personalities through the notes and diaries they have left behind. I think Jack really shines here as a writer. The difficulty level was just right for this player. I wasn't stuck, but had to think a bit to come up with the answers to the clever puzzles, which all was integrated into the plot in an admirable manner. I also quite liked the originality of the story and setting.
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Lygophilous by VampireWombat:
Spoiler
Unfinished game, so it's not fair to compare it to the others. But I'm impressed that this was made in a couple of days. The graphics are very good and moody, and the same idea as in Slasher's game can be found here as well - the locations appears as clickable squares after breakthroughs in the case. Unfortunately, there are few things to do, leaving whole locations basically unnecessary or too large for this bare-bones version. If the game is updated with more material later, I'd also wish for an alternate ending, as the ending now felt a bit unsatisfactory (but great to look at!).
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Lord of Light by PlayPretend:
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This game is completely original in premise, wonderfully written with great characters and puzzles - all in one location. I kept trying everything just to read the funny feedback. Brilliant design and execution.
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I voted for:
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Lord of Light. I'm torn, as the games are very good this month, and very different as well. You should all pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
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The Great Underground Empire

Heltenjon:
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Aw, thank you so much, your compliments mean a lot!  Everyone did a great job this month.
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Olleh19

Quote from: PlayPretend on Tue 03/11/2020 14:13:38
Heltenjon:
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Aw, thank you so much, your compliments mean a lot!  Everyone did a great job this month.
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Spoiler
I share his thoughts. Great game! It's a winner for me. I'm voting for it too.
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The Great Underground Empire

Olleh19:
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Thank you very much too!  You all are making my day!  :)
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heltenjon

Quote from: JackPutter on Mon 02/11/2020 13:59:19
So far I have consistently gotten comments about every single one of my previous games that the puzzles were too straighforward, so I made a deliberate effort this time to make a multi-step puzzle that required a bit of exploring and deducing to figure out. I tried to make sure that there was at least one clear clue for every step, but since pretty much everyone who has replied here has gotten stuck at one point or another I guess I just made it too confusing. I'll be sure to refine and clarify things as much as I can before I release the game fully.

I'd like to compliment you on the way the puzzles were designed, actually. The one thing that may have been confusing (or not) to my fellow players, I imagine could be if they
Spoiler
read the diaries out of order. I started with the one in the first room, then read the one in the room to the left, went back and to the room to the right before going to the room diagonally across from the first one. I already had an image of the crew's personalities after reading the security officer's notes. This was of great help when guessing their passwords. To solve the final puzzle, the player needs to have gathered information or objects from four sources, if I recall correctly. I think this would be harder to solve if the player doesn't play it all in one go. Or takes notes.
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Cassiebsg

#159
Here's my take on this months games, in play order.  ;)

Lord of Light by PlayPretend:
Spoiler

I was looking forward to play this one and see how the idea of playing the blind was done. Loved it! Though, if I had done mine, it would have been black with white objects outlines.  (laugh)
It was fun to not only touch, but taste, smell...  (laugh) Although it took me a long while to figure out why the vases didn't show when I touched them... maybe given an empty outline of the vase would have been less confusing... but then maybe it would still be as mysterious to figure out what was inside.  8-0

I enjoyed the story, graphics and puzzles. But the "bro" talk, kind of ruined immersion for me.  :-\
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Lygophilous by VampireWombat:
Spoiler

Unfortunately there wasn't much to do in this game, it started promising and then it ended.  :~(
One thing that drove me nuts was the graveyard, please add a car to exit the premises, instead of an edge that you can't see.
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The Last Light Post by JackPutter:
Spoiler

Usually I prefer 3rd person games, but this one sucked me right in! The 3D graphics, even though basic and simple, fit well with the story/mood of the game, and they didn't bother me one bit. Loved the "walking/sliding" animations which gave me a "Myst" feeling.  ;) Discovering the clues through exploration & investigation was great. It's not new or innovative, but was quite effective. But I don't think I got the answer to "where did everybody go".... except Tara that is. It's like they just vanished.  ???

The Intro text run a bit too fast to read, I had to speed read and that's not nice. Also it would have been a good idea to wrap it in a cutscene function. Starting the game again forces you watch the intro again.

What drove me nuts: Not being able to turn around on some occasions, like at Tara's computer. No indication of the exit hotspots (turn around, go left, go right...) A little rotation arrow in the lower corners to turn around, or a strait arrow to show when one can go left/right, like at the machine, would have made the game much less frustrating to navigate (at least for me).

In all, you got me both engaged and immersed all the way.  (nod)

Note: Save/load function is indeed hard coded on the BASS template, check the code under on_key_press F5 and F7.  ;) But basically all you need to make one save slot is: SaveGameSlot(99) on a button and then LoadGameSlot(99) on another button... where 99 is a slot you assign (don't use 999 as this one is reserved for restart point).
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Taste the Blood of Darkness by Slasher:
Spoiler

Great story and setting. Graphics are okay, though you could have made him smaller so the library looked bigger (and made him actually not able to reach the book and thus the need of the ladder). Puzzles were good.
"Battle" scene weren't my favorite and I would have been happier without them.
Finding the garlic was pixel hunt, I knew it had to be there, but I couldn't find it, only at my 4th visit I managed to find it. One would think he knows where his own vegetables grow...
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My vote went to:
Spoiler
The Last Light Post by JackPutter! It was just great exploring the compound and solving the puzzles!  (nod) I think they were well balanced and very fair.
Lord of Light by PlayPretend takes a very close second place. If only my immersion hadn't been broken...  ;) But we're all different and enjoy different stuff... thank God for that or the world be very boring!  (laugh)
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There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Shadow1000

Lots of good entries this month!

Taste the Blood of Darkness by Slasher
Spoiler

-Lots of monsters!
- Spooky music! I loved the fog effect in the graveyard.
- I am amazed by the number of inventory items, locations, characters and things to do. Very unusual and impressive for a MAGS entry
- I can see how Slasher's puzzles are really progressing in complexity every month.

Good job
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The Last Light Post by JackPutter
Spoiler
No matter what anyone says about the unique graphics style, I LOVE IT! Makes you feel like you're really there. But the strength of this game is how it checks all the boxes in what makes a game good: puzzles, great backstory, clue-finding, scripting, discovering what happened gives such a feel of unraveling a mystery.
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Lygophilous by VampireWombat
Spoiler
It started off looking like a promising idea but never really went anywhere.
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Lord of Light by PlayPretend
Spoiler
This game stands out in it's creativity. I don't think I've EVER enjoyed a pixel-hunt before, but that's really one of the strong points of the game! The story part itself can be presented in about 3 sentences, so the real strength is in the puzzles. I found myself so engrossed in trying to discover more and more, and I enjoyed some good and frequent laughs. The only thing I did not enjoy is the toad sequence. I got the general idea but at one point it got annoying and I thought "ok, just get me back to my game, dammit!"
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Voting was NOT easy!
Spoiler
I actually spent since Sunday weighing the strengths between The Last Light Post and Lord of Light, vacillating between the 2 and then I decided to go for which one gave me the most overall enjoyment while playing and I went for Lord of Light! Even though the whole game is one room, I found myself saying "Oh YEAH!!" with every item crossed off the checklist until I finished. I still think that Last Light Post hits a wider spectrum of aspects of creating a great game, but I did find myself wandering around a bit too much, reading and rereading, checking the map and so on that I have to give it a very close second place
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Well done!

The Great Underground Empire

Cassiebsg:
Spoiler
Thanks for the compliments and critiques, Last Light Post was a great game too!  I wish I'd thought of showing just the vases first... although if you could see the spaghetti code for the bottles, oy!  It's rigged so the last bottle clicked is always the right one, and even the end scene changes to reflect that.  I'd probably have exploded to throw in one more global variable, lol.
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Shadow1000:
Spoiler
Thank you so much for voting, I'm so glad you liked it!  And no worries, I felt the same about the sudden side puzzle making the game unbalanced.  I had other offshoot puzzles planned but ended up having to scrap them for time (like tracking the fly around the room by sound, the parrot was originally an imp that would trick you and possess your body, etc.) Thanks again, it means a lot!
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JackPutter

Wow, thanks everyone for your lovely comments and very helpful feedback!

heltenjon
Spoiler
I am extremely flattered by everything you had to say. I'm glad you thought the writing was good, I really tried to give each character a unique "voice" even though no-one was actually speaking... I'm also very glad that you thought the difficulty was balanced correctly for you, as I said before it is something I have been concerned about. It's interesting that you mention that reading the notes "out of order" may have caused some difficulty, as you yourself read the notes "out of order" in a way! When I was planning the game I arranged the documents so that going clockwise through the rooms would mean that each question raised would have its solution in the next room, with the last piece of information one gathered being the numbered sequence on Simon's computer. I did my best to make sure that reading the various documents in any order wouldn't be too confusing, and I made sure backtracking was as easy as possible. Evidently I didn't do too bad of a job, since you took a different route and still put the pieces together! I'm extremely glad you enjoyed it and I can't thank you enough for your valuable feedback.
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Cassiebsg
Spoiler
I take the comparison to Myst as a high compliment, thank you very much for saying that and I am glad I managed to spark those happy thoughts in your head! I agree that it seems like the men all just suddenly vanished, I decided not to spell out what happened exactly so as to leave a little mystery. If you want to know what I think happened though... I think Simon tried the incorrect sequence one too many times and vaporised everyone left at the facility. Apologies about the intro text being too fast to read, I had originally intended it to be a voiceover but didn't have time to arrange a voice actor and the text scroll was my last-minute solution. I am unfamiliar with cutscene functions so I will definitely look into that! I also entirely sympathise with you getting annoyed at the navigation, it's the thing I struggled with most while I was making the game and I don't think it came out too well. I will definitely consider your suggestions on how to clarify things for the player! Thanks also for the tips on making a save function, I'll be putting that in place for my next project for sure! I am very flattered that you would vote for my game, I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed it so much!
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Shadow1000
Spoiler
Thank you very much for complimenting the graphics! I have been putting a lot of work into learning the 3D modelling software and while I'm still only capable of primitive things I think I progressed a lot compared to my last game. I'm glad you enjoy the aesthetic! Thank you also for saying nice things about so many aspects of the story and puzzles, I'm dead chuffed that you felt like you were unravelling a mystery, it has put a big smile on my face to see that's how you felt about it!
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I'm hoping to get the chance to play through everyone else's entries this weekend, I am really looking forward to it!

Creamy

#163
I finished them all.

Lord of Light
Spoiler
Hilarious and thorough. I love the specific answers for every action. Our evil protagonist can be considerate towards some animals and cruel towards others. It's very living despite the lack of animation. And that dream sequence... (laugh)
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The Last Light Post
Spoiler
Well thought-out and executed - another achievement. It's longer than Father's secret and solvable if you pay attention. I appreciate the lack of pixel hunt. As a side note, I wonder what happened to the four characters in the facility. I guess they suffered a tragic fate when Simon entered the wrong sequence. Yet, nothing happens to us when we do so.
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Taste the Blood of Darkness
Spoiler
It was okay but predictable. I expected something more subversive.
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Lygophilous
Spoiler
Like other VampireWombat MAGS games that I've played, it's just an intro. I'd like to see one of these finished properly, regardless of MAGS deadlines. It'd be more satisfying for the player and the creator.
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milkanannan

Ugh so hard to choose when every entry has a unique strength:

Lord of Light
Spoiler
Definitely the most original entry. I personally found the game devolves into a bit of just clicking around, but I guess that is sort of what someone would be doing if they couldn't see. (laugh)
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Taste the Blood of Darkness
Spoiler
The most complete of the entries. Some of the puzzles are a bit obvious, and this game confirms my complete detest for action game sequences in AGS, but this is clearly the most thorough and varied entry of the month.
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Lygophilous
Spoiler
This story drew me in the most. I won't vote this entry though, as the project feels unfinished compared to the other games.
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The Last Light Post
Spoiler
The game I enjoyed the most. The puzzles are a bit repetitive, but piecing the story between the four rooms was very cool. For me, this game and Taste the Blood are tied for best game this month. I prefer The Last Light Post, so it wins my vote.
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The Great Underground Empire

Oh wow, thanks so much!  Everybody did a great job this month!  See y'all in the November competition!  :)

Shadow1000

Congrats, PlayPretend! You got more votes than the other entries combined! Way to go!!!

Slasher

Well done PlayPretend.. You smashed it this month  (nod)

Keep up the great work ;)

Stupot

Congratulations PlayPretend. A very convincing win for Lord of Light.

Thanks to all participants and voters. Don’t forget to rate and comment on the game pages if you haven’t already.

VampireWombat


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