MAGS August “Healing” (VOTING)

[lapsking]

I enjoyed both games, they are both good. Cutman is innovative and it has a creative theme and puzzles and State of Mind is a short but a complete adventure game with a meaningful story. Waiting for the 3rd.

[ddavey1983]

Thanks heltenjohn, glad you enjoyed it!

Great game, Slasher. Just completed it. Innovative and funny!

[Slasher]

I played Cutman....

First time the screen went black and it froze my computer and I had to do a hard shutdown and restart.. I then ran it Windowed from setup and the game opened ok....

The graphics and animations were really good... I liked the idea of the notepad hints etc.... I feel this should be a demo because it has the potential to be so much more...

Being an ex boxer (1966-1973) I could feel the pain 

All in all not a bad entry...and made in 2 weeks!

[Slasher]

Come on guys, is it just me and ddavey1983?

Where's the Capt?

[CaptainD]

We're here, Katschey is working hard and I'm cheerleading (plus doing one or two useful things  ).

[Kastchey]

You're the brand On top of other things.

[Slasher]

Come on guys...It's time to pull your fingers out 

Meanwhile V2 X Null inventory tweaked...

[Kitty Trouble]

A couple good entries for the MAGS. I played them today and I'll give my opinions on them during voting.

[Kastchey]

Come on guys...It's time to pull your fingers out 

Fret not my friend, we'll make it The game is very close to fully playable already and I reckon that version 1.0 will be ready tomorrow.
We will probably take all the time we are given to spruce up whatever we can, but I pinky promise we will submit the entry

[Slasher]

I have made a few tweaks...

Vase color and chosen record playing on re enter...

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2627-state-of-mind/

[Kastchey]

Just a quick update - we're still on track, the game is fully playable now in its bare minimum version. I have a two pages long to-do list of enhancements and improvements , so I'll try to get a few in before tomorrow evening.

[adanior]

Hey. It's been a while. Some very good looking entries here. Slasher, your game looks particularly interesting and I can't wait to try it. I'm just sorry I couldn't pull off any backdrops for it.

For what it's worth, I've been practicing my pixel art all month and getting noticeably better. In particular, based on what Heltonjon advised, I've been practicing a style of pixel art that works for me (ie, high-resolution, but a bit sketchy). I should hopefully be ready to do something on my own for the next jam. Til then, I'll play what you guys have done.

----

This will be a hard vote. Both games were pretty innovative in their concepts. Though I finished both games in around 10 minutes, I found them to be vastly different experiences to play though. Cutman was challenging, but in a very good way. State of Mind intimidated me a little at first with the meter in the top right, but turned out be a series of relaxing, easy and logical inventory puzzles. If I had to say which game personally resonated with me more, definitely State of Mind as I'm suffering from depression myself and over the past month have been doing similar things to try and "heal". Of course, there's still CaptainD's game, which looks very promising. Hope there's enough time.

[Kastchey]

CaptainD proudly presents:
The Potion Master
Download here

[imgzoom]https://i.ibb.co/HVWTLnk/Layer-3.png[/imgzoom]

Markus, the young apprentice of a local potion master, has barely started his apprenticeship when trouble began - his master, Zabella, was found lifeless (but not quite dead) on the floor of her own underground lab. The local doctor can only do so much, leaving it up to Markus to investigate his master's mysterious collapse and -hopefully- find a way to cure her.

[imgzoom]https://i.ibb.co/4YR3VW3/Layer-2.png[/imgzoom]
[imgzoom]https://i.ibb.co/KjZ941j/Layer-1.png[/imgzoom]

Made in three weeks for the MAGS competition: Healing. Boldly untested. Save often

[CaptainD]

STOP USING ME AS A BRAND!!  You'll put people off 

Game page is up: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2629-the-potion-master-mags-version-
Main download now on Itch: https://captaind.itch.io/the-potion-master-mags-version

I feel like someone who created a basic cake recipe, someone else collated all the ingredients, mixed them, baked and decorated the care, and is now trying to give me credit for that cake.

It's Kastchey's cake, people. Eat it. It's good.

Also, don't experiment with potions in real life, it's almost definitely bad for you.

[Stupot]

Hooray! Three entries!

Now it's time to play the games and vote for your favourite one. Please vote using the poll above.

	Cutman by GOC Games (ddavey1983)
	State of Mind by Slasher
	The Potion Master by CaptainD and Kastchey

[Kastchey]

I feel like someone who created a basic cake recipe, someone else collated all the ingredients, mixed them, baked and decorated the care, and is now trying to give me credit for that cake.

You should really give yourself more credit sir. The original idea was yours, the character design is also yours, you made the high level puzzle flow, did part of the writing and most importantly, kicked the entire thing off. It's as much your game as it is mine.

Cutman by ddavey1983

Spoiler

A really nice and well polished entry. I loved the 90s style vibes The puzzles were original and entertaining. The time limit was a great idea, it added a significant degree of challenge. I only wish I could skip the cutscenes after a failed attempt (though I learned to save in the middle of a face-fixing round once I noticed I could). Overall, great job!

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State of Mind by Slasher

Spoiler

A great interpretation of this month's theme, possibly the best of all entries. I had no difficulty solving the puzzles, so I could just sit back and enjoy the writing and the story flow. Overall a short but enjoyable little game. The fact that the vibration level was basically a points system in disguise did not take away any of its charm

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My vote:

Spoiler

It was a really tough choice between this game and State of Mind, but I decided to vote for Cutman.

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[Kitty Trouble]

All right, this is really a tough choice. All 3 games had certain parts of them that were better than others and it's hard to pick an overall winner.

State of Mind

Spoiler

When I first played this game I thought it needed a bit of polish as I got stuck trying to find the vase due to its black color matching the TV, so it looked like a TV stand. Also some text was skipping when I tried to click through it, and minor things like that. Though the vase issue was fixed before the final release, as well as another bug which I reported. But we're voting on the final version... which I admit would have gone a lot more smoothly without the vase issue. The thing that this game has going for it that the others don't is that it fits the theme recommendation of making a feel-good game. The others do focus on healing, but not in a feel-good way. Overall I found this game to be decent, but easy.

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Cutman

Spoiler

I played this game second and I have to say I probably thought that the game was the most fun out of the three. The fighting scenes were pretty polished as were the graphics of the fighting/recovery screens, and it definitely gave me retro vibes. The fighting reminded me of the old Indy games. I kinda wished this game had an auto-reload to last part rather than having a manual save and load but that's just a minor thing. Although in my opinion not quite an adventure game, I had a lot of fun with this and could see where this game could be expanded to be more.

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The Potion Master (Gameplay spoilers)

Spoiler

I feel like this was the most polished adventure game out of the 3. Although there were some minor things (the descriptions for the green stone made it seem like it was glued in and meant to be there but the red stone seemed out of place, leaving me to take only the red stone and it not staying in place when I tried it on the bookcase. This led me to pixel hunt for a while for things to do and looking for glue for the red gem when I remembered later that the green gem already had glue on it and maybe that was supposed to hold it in place better somehow? Other thing was the large amounts of herb hunting felt tedious and thought could have been made smoother. Overall, this game's story left me intrigued and the abrupt ending made me wanting so much more. Of the 3 games if a game were to be expanded I'd want it to be this one. I want to know so much more about what happened and what is going to happen. This game in my opinion had the best graphics and polish.

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My choice

Spoiler

Cutman

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Spoiler

Though the other 2 games were good and I enjoyed their stories, and appreciate the theme of State of Mind being the most accurately represented, I enjoyed the actual gameplay of Cutman the most and for that I'm giving it my vote.

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[Shadow1000]

It's good to see three great entries. Here are my thoughts:

Cutman

Spoiler

Really creative and original. I don't think I've seen anything like this made with AGS before. Not a fighting game per se, as you don't control the movements of the fighter, but the fighting is a great way to set a context for the healing and fun to watch. Putting a timer on following the steps was a great idea so it's not just a guessing game. I enjoyed playing playing this.

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State of Mind

Spoiler

Slasher is baaaaaaaaaaaaack!!! And out with another Slasher style game. Multiple locations, vibration bar, numerous NPCs and puzzles, overall an easy to solve, but entertaining entry!

[close]

The Potion Master

Spoiler

Quality pixel art that makes you feel like you're right there. Great story and perfect adaptation of the theme. Great combination of inventory puzzles, closeup puzzles, identify items using reference books, dialogue puzzles and everything that makes a complete adventure game. What really stood out to me was the pacing of the game and puzzle design. In my opinion, these are the hardest to get just right because everyone is going to experience the same game differently. But MY experience was that I had to work to solve the puzzles and the story unfolded in perfect sync with the progress.

Of course this game has a LOT of room for expansion: more places to visit, more potions to use, more people to talk to and so on. But for a MAGS entry made under time constraints, this is an outstanding work.

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My Vote

Spoiler

Potion Master gets it this month. Aside from the features I mentioned, the overall polish and extensive interface is so outstanding that this is my vote.

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[heltenjon]

A great month with three really entertaining and totally different games! Hats off and applause all around!

Cutman:

Spoiler

Very innovative, and good use of a time restraint. Gave me retro feelings back to boxing games I've played, but it was cool to see it from another angle. The boxing match animations and all the other 'filler' stuff makes it atmospheric and a real treat.

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State of Mind:

Spoiler

Totally feel-good game with the trademark Slasher humour. I enjoyed it a lot, and it hits the spot with the theme recommendation. As usual, I keep wondering how he made a game out of a plot like this. Great stuff.

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Potion Master

Spoiler

Oh my. The world this is set in feels so alive! Kastchey's mix of detailed portraits and blurrier pixel art for the main game play is a real treat for the eye. Basically, you're sold when you see the first screen shot. The story is built around herb collection and recipes, and it could have been dull, but it is not. The recipes and the dialogue hint of a world beyond the game and makes it seem much more than it is. Like Shadow1000, I liked the variation of puzzle types, and I felt all the puzzles were a part of the story in a natural manner. And it was a challenge, too. The game is "boldly untested" and sports some bugs, like the owl getting his eyes back and Markus stating that he's in the mountains when he's not, but it wasn't enough to take away my enjoyment.

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My vote:

Spoiler

All three games are good and could have been winners, but when they turn up in the same month, I have to pick one. Potion Master takes it for me, with its complex world and varied puzzles.

[close]

[Wiggy]

Congrats to all who participated, I played all 3 games and was most impressed. I could not vote for a winner, because a fag paper (showing my age now) separated them, and depending on the mood of the day any of the 3 could be my favorites.  However I would like to plea to Captain D and Kastchey to develop their world more. It is engrossing and so expandable - there is a saga here.