Topics

[Project:]

Project:
Magenta IN SPACE is a sci-fi adventure game about accidentally unleashing an eldritch creature from the sun and then having to go to five different planets to undo your mistake. AGS Games in Production thead here
Currently, the first two chapters are in a playable state (although they need some additional sound effects and animations). I am thinking about releasing them on their own as an early preview because the next chapter of the game will require me to finalize all three of the remaining planets and that will probably take a while, and I want to show off what I've done so far.

What I need help with:
- I am looking for: a few playtesters to go through and check for bugs and softlocks, the usual stuff.

Deadline: No strict deadline but the end of July would be a good goal to set.


Comment below or PM me if you are interested. I'm also on the AGS discord.

[Story:]

AGS Database entry
MAGS thread

Story: You are Skrexeval of Banmarist,  a yeoman of the (space) middle ages who dreams of the chance to become a knight and kiss a maiden fair. Luckily, the King has announced a tourney in which any one who can prove himself will have the chance to ascend to knighthood!



This game was made in ONE WEEK for MAGS January 2025, with the theme "Break Some Rules", AKA "Break one (or several) of the various rules/axioms/taboos of adventure gaming."

That means this game is designed according to what I personally think are bad adventure game design principles: there are several points where you can softlock yourself, while on the other end of the spectrum there are puzzles that don't feel like puzzles at all, you just go from point A to B and maybe carry item C. And, of course there are random deaths from seemingly innocuous sources.

But that's not all! The game is also designed to have unintuitive controls, mechanics and ui.

• Use the arrow keys to move, space to interact,  and the mouse to activate inventory items! Sometimes there's also a parser.
• There's no way to scroll through your inventory, so don't pick up too much random junk!
• You can use f5 to save the game (and f7) to restore it, but there is only ONE save slot, so if you lock yourself out of a puzzle you'll have to restart.
• ...and more!

Credits:

Programming, Art, Musical arrangement, Sound Design:
- Emma Gundersen

Playtesting (so far):
- Ted Gundersen
- VampireWombat

The song used in the intro is a Swedish medieval ballad called 'Varulven'. I got the notes for it from this source

[Story:]

Magenta IN SPACE!

Genre: Sci-fi

Story:
You are the test pilot for an experimental Faster-Than-Light space ship. You are stranded on an alien planet after the ship's power source malfunctions, and in order to return home, you are forced to steal a mystical orb from an ancient temple, as it is capable of generating more than enough power for your ship.
There's just one problem: when you remove the orb, a lovecraftian eyeball Star-Creature is released from the sun, where it was apparently being held captive! 
It is up to you to save the solar system by visiting each of its five planets and putting their temples back into alignment so that the Star-Creature can be sealed away again - before it consumes the planets and destroys your home!

Structure:
Chapter 1 - centers around being stranded on Planet 1 and stealing the orb.
Chapter 2 - Magenta returns to her home planet (Planet 2)

Spoiler

but is forced to steal her space ship and escape the planet when the Elder Council refuses to commit to stopping the Star Creature

[close]

Chapter 3 - Non-linear: Magenta travels around Planets 3-5 in order to restore the balance in those temples. Each planets puzzle chain is intended to intersect with the other two, similar to the Tri-Island area from MI2. After achieving a certain level of progress on a planet, however, you enter a planet "finale" state meaning you cannot leave until the temple is restored.
Chapter 4 -

Spoiler

Magenta returns to her home planet to knock some sense into the Elder Council after they have been corrupted by the Star Creature's influence / restoring the Planet 2 temple

[close]

Chapter 5 -

Spoiler

Magenta returns the orb to Planet 1. Some sort of climax occurs.

[close]

Background:
I collaborated with a friend of mine to create an early version of Chapter 1 for AdvJam2023. This version can be played here. For the completed game, Chapter 1 will be somewhat expanded with extra rooms + updated art and new animations.
I took a break from working on Magenta after the summer of 2023, but having completed my other game Skrex Banmarist and the Kasalowan Conspiracy
I have recently (winter 2024-25) returned to it, now working on it solo in my free time.

Screenshots:

Magenta on the jungle planet Teccailiv (Planet 1)

One of the new Teccailiv rooms

Nothing bad could come of removing the glowing green orb!

The sun is now an eyeball

The Temple on Armillaria (Planet 2)

Planet 2 Temple, Atrium

Elder Muscaria's cottage

Development Progress: (2025-01-21)
Story: 90%
Puzzles: 50%
Scripting: 30%
Graphics: 40% (Planet 1 and 2 almost fully complete)
Sound/Music: 5%

Expected completion date: TBA

I made a prototype combat system, and after the combat is complete, the game is supposed to restart. There is a "win condition" and a "lose" condition in the restart function, and while the game restarts in the "lose" condition, if you win it plays out all the code except for RestartGame() and then just freezes, preventing any further player input (including using f9 to restart) and you manually have to close and relaunch it.

This is the code in the function:

Code: ags

function EndCombat(int winCondition)
{
  //1=win 2=lose
  combatOngoing=false;
  gCombat.Visible=false;
  character[enemyNum].UnlockView();
  player.UnlockView();
  
  if (winCondition==1){
    
    character[enemyNum].LockView(character[enemyNum].GetProperty("DeathView"));
    character[enemyNum].Animate(0, 10, eOnce, eBlock);
    character[enemyNum].LockViewFrame(character[enemyNum].GetProperty("AttackView"), 0, 0);
    
    Wait(20);
    character[enemyNum].ChangeRoom(0);
    
    player.LockView(TESTVICTORY);
    player.Animate(0, 5, eOnce, eBlock);
    Display("You won!");
    RestartGame();
  }else {
    Wait(10);
    aEnemy_Win.Play(eAudioPriorityHigh, eOnce);
    player.LockView(3);
    player.Animate(0, 10, eOnce, eBlock);
    Display("You died!");
    RestartGame();
  }
}

Now as far as I can tell, I'm not doing anything different between winCondition 1 and 2, but only one of them works. So if anyone can figure it out/knows what's happening inside the engine, please let me know. Potentially this is a bug with the engine rather than an error on my end?

[Plot]

Itch.io page
AGS Database

Plot: Skrex Banmarist - bounty hunter extraordinaire - is faced with a perilous new mission: travel to the prison planet Lorcral and capture the mysterious Queen Locust!
PLAY through a stunningly crafted world of complex character and deep intrigue!
DELVE into the perils of the planet Lorcral!
UNCOVER the mysteries of the Kasalowan Caves, and the planet's true past!
VISIT beautiful Kasalowa Star City!
PREVENT the Queen Locust's plans of conquest and eradication!

This is a sci-fi comedy Point-and-Click using the Verb Coin interface.