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Ginny? DGMacphee? GarageGothic? Goldmund? Anyone?

Just finished work, now I'm at moms work, and I can't load mirc on her computer, but I AM WISHING I WAS THERE!

Well with my live report, it's just like being there! In fact, you don't have to suffer from that dreadful smell!

[Best Game Created with AGS for 2003]

In this thread, we will follow the AGS Awards and report the winners as they are announced, for all poor folk who couldn't be on IRC today. I will update this post regulary, so be sure to refresh open.

Here is a list of categories:

Best Game Created with AGS for 2003
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· The Adventures of Fatman
· Apprentice
· Bestowers of Eternity
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: 5 Days A Stranger

Best Gameplay in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· Apprentice
· Conspiracy of Songo
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: 5 Days A Stranger

Best Story in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· Apprentice
· Bestowers of Eternity
· Conspiracy of Songo
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: Bestowers of Eternity

Best Dialogue Scripting in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· Apprentice
· Bestowers of Eternity
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: 5 Days a Stranger

Best Puzzles in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· Apprentice
· Conspiracy of Songo
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: 5 Days a Stranger

Best Player Character in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· "Trilby" from 5 Days a Stranger
· "Fatman" from The Adventures of Fatman
· "Pib" from Apprentice
· "Dan" from Grr! Bearly Sane
· "Rosa" from Bestowers of Eternity

Winner: "Fatman" from The Adventures of Fatman

Best Supporting Character in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· "Toxicman" from The Adventures of Fatman
· "The Master" from Apprentice
· "The Highway Woman" from Apprentice
· "Joey" from Bestowers of Eternity
· "Chokey The Magical Seagull" from Grr! Bearly Sane

Winner: "Joey" from Bestowers of Eternity

Best Room Art in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· Apprentice
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· Spellbound: A Clive Mandrake Adventure
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: Apprentice

Best Character Art in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· The Adventures of Fatman
· Apprentice
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: Apprentice

Best Animation in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· Apprentice
· Flashbax
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· Spellbound: A Clive Mandrake Adventure

Winner: Apprentice

Best Scripting in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days A Stranger
· Apprentice
· Bestowers of Eternity
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· The Uncertainty Machine

Winner: 5 Days a Stranger

Best Sound Effects in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· 5 Days a Stranger
· The Adventures of Fatman
· Apprentice

Winner: The Adventures of Fatman

Best Music in an AGS Game
Nominations:
· The Adventures of Fatman
· Apprentice
· Who Wants To Live Forever?

Winner: Apprentice

Best AGS Documentation
Nominations:
· The Adventures of Fatman
· Grr! Bearly Sane
· Spellbound: A Clive Mandrake Adventure

Winner: Spellbound: A Clive Mandrake Adventure

Best Utility/Application
Nominations:
· Snow Plug-in
· Credits Plug-in
· TCP/IP Plug-in

Winner: Snow Plug-in

Best Demo created in AGS
Nominations:
· By The Sword: Conspiracy New Demo
· Byzantine
· The Case
· Jon Stickman
· RON: Time Out

Winner: Byzantine

Best Non-Adventure Games created in AGS
Nominations:
· AGS Mittens Shooter Game
· Vegetable Patch Extreem Turbo 1
· Vegetable Patch Extreem Turbo 2

Winner: AGS Mittens Shooter

The P3N1S Award (Booby Prize)
Nominations:
· FLASHBAX
· RON: Mika's Surreal Dream 2
· Smokin' Weed

Winner: Smokin' Weed

The Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Chris Jones


Summary[/u]
Yahtzee's 5 Days a Straner is the big winner of today, with 5 awards. Apprentice follows it, with 4. Bestowers of Eternity and The Adventures of Fatman finish with 2 both. The big loser of today is The Uncertainty Machine, which sadly suffered due to its early release.



MINUTE BY MINUTE:[/u]
* Five minutes to go!
* It has begun!!!
* DGMacphee will present the Best Supporting Character award.
* It's Joey, from Bestowers of Eternity!
* <_Joey_> Thanks everybody!
* Ghormak presents the award for Best Puzzles.
* It's 5 Days a Stranger!!!!
* But Yahtzee isn't there!
* LGM will present the award for Best Animation.
* Apprentice nails it!
* DGMacphee shows the first symptoms of insomnia.
* ...And presents the awards for best demo.
* Byzantine it is!!!!!!!! Go DarkStalkey!
* DarkStalkey thanks Pessi, Scotch, Eric and Grundislav.
* Alky to present Best Dialogue.
* Yahtzee again! 5 Days a Stranger!!
* Mills will present the award for... he hasn't told us yet. He does pimp Ace Quest, though.
* It's a hostage situation! * MillsJROSS pulls out a gun     <MillsJROSS> Nobody move!      <MillsJROSS> Ace Quest stands as an symbol of greatness and here it lies unnominated!
* It's Best Documentation.
* Spellbound wins it! Mills is finally off the stage... maybe.
* Unfortunately, Eric isn't there.
* The Plug-In award is next. Presnted by DGMacphee.
* It's the Snow Plug-In!
* <Scorpiorus> thanks people   <Scorpiorus> I promise to make it better
* I present the award for Best Room Art!
* And the winner is... Apprentice!!!!
* Fuzzpilz will present the award for Best Story.
* Despite being incomplete, Bestowers of Eternity wins it.
* <DaveGilbert> Thanks everyone!
* Def is on the stage. <def^>    DisplaySpeech (DEF,"Scripting is where the game comes together, and is a crucial part of the game-making process");
* 5 Days a Stranger again!!!!
* The P3n1sh award! <DGMacphee> Remember this category is just a bit of fun
* Smokin' Weed justifies its name!!!!
* The next presenter is Best Demo winner - DarkStalkey.
* The award is the one for Best Character Art.
* Apprentice again!
* DGMacphee will present the Best Non-Adventure Game Award.
* Squinky snatched the surprise winner with AGS Mittens Shooter.
* <DGMacphee> And no here's Esseb to bring you a public service announcement on how to stalk CJ
* Best Sound Effects is next.
* It's the fist award for The Adventures of Fatman!
<Ionias> WooHoo, thanks m0ds couldn't have done this without you.
* DGMacphee will present the Lifetime Acheivement Award, or as he calls it: "The Lifetime Schievement award".
* The man and the legend, Chris Jones!!!!!!! You deserve it, man!
* <CJ> I just want to thank my doctor, my dentist, and all the judges!
* Magintz, the final presenter for the evening arrives! The Music award is next.
* Apprentice takes the lead with its fourth award of the evening!!!!
* DGMacphee will present the award for Best Player Character.
* It's the second award for Ionias! Fatman!!!
* Best Gameplay is next!
* 5 Days a Stranger again!
* Best Game, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!
* It's 5 Days A Stranger!!!!!!!! Yahtzee wins Best Game!!!!!!!!!

I don't think you need to use a GUI. Use just a room, with hotspots for buttons.

Didn't Butcher use Flash for the intro of Robert Redford 3?

This is very weird. Maybe there is something wrong with your character sprites?

Seriously, folks. It's no more than a minute's work. So vote!!!

* Barcik will soon enter IM messages phase.

Ha! Can you believe this bastard? When I try to anonimyze the pics it says the message is too long. Heh.
I'll think of something.

Edit: A bit of help from tinyurl, and it's fine.

[What is atmosphere?]

With little competition, this is probably the biggest mystery of game crafting. How to create the atmosphere to a game? Is there a set of rules to follow, or a formula? Is it a conscious effort, or is it driven by forces just beyond the designer's awareness? Does atmosphere lie in technical details alone, or do the plot, dialogs and puzzles effect it as well? In this Game Theory Discussion we shall try to pinpoint the elements that create atmosphere.

What is atmosphere?[/u]
Firstly, what is atmosphere? dictionary.com defines atmosphere as "The dominant tone or mood of a work of art.". This definition fits computer games like a glove. What the player 'feels' is the atmosphere. For example, in "Clive Barker's Undying" (yes, it is the only horror game I played. So what if I'm a wuss?!) the atmosphere is scary and creepy, creating a 'virtual paranoia' in the player. Or, "Planescape: Torment" set up an emotional tone to stress the message of the game ("What can change the nature of a man?").

Why do we need atmosphere?
Computer games, as a relatevly new medium, are constantly evolving. Gone are the days when all the player wanted was mindless fun. Now, the gamers are searching for content and style. Good atmosphere can absorb the player in the game, and make him feel much closer to the occurances on his screen. With good atmosphere, it's not just the player character that is running, and shooting, and solving puzzles and being scared - it's the player as well.
There are other things atmosphere can do. For example, it can add new and more sublte meaning, or a new level of connection to the character. For example, in "Grim Fandango" the film noir elements helped us feel better related to Manny, like in the movies of old. Another thing atmosphere can do is present a new perspective. For example, in "Max Payne" the dream sequences are murky and blurry, so that we can play it from Max's point of view.

The basic division[/u]
Traditionaly, adventure games are divided into two main schools: humoristic and serious. This division is of course based on atmosphere. Despite the ability most adventure games have to easily categorize the games into both these schools, the difference is not that easy to define, as the line between both is quite gray. There is no checklist to fill to belong to one of these styles. Instead, it's a collaboration of various parts and techniques of the game. Here are the main things to look for:
1. Art. Graphics are the first thing we witness in a game, and is therefore the initial defining object of a game's atmosphere. Much like adventure games, art styles fall into two main categories: realistic and cartoony. Here is an example of cartoony art, from "Day of the Tentacle".

We can see that the room and characters are not drawn realistically. The heads on the characters are too big (caricature style), the angles of the stright are seemingly random, even the verb coin GUI buttons use a goofy fonts. The animations are also far from authentic-looking, with various stretchable body organs and impossible to pull of facial expressions, as is seen in the following screenshot from the same game.

Now, let's take a look at a realistically drawn room. This one is from "Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers".

As you can see, this one looks much more 'correct' - the angles are fine, the lightning falls as it should. Also notice the attention to detail.
These screenshots show the contrast betweent the two styles perfectly - one is surrealstic and bizzare, the other is organized and realstic.
A serious game will almost surely use realisic graphics (I cannot recall one that didn't), because choosing otherwise will 'lower' it's theme to a joke level (Note: "Grim Fandango" graphics are not cartoony - it's about how you draw, not about what you draw). However, this is not necessarily true the other way around. For example, the first two "Monkey Island" games used realistic graphics.
2. Music. The music is always there, but the player rarely gives it his full attention. This makes it perhaps the most powerful tool in creating atmosphere - it can set the mood like nothing else. Anyway, the same rule as before persists. If the music is goofy, jumpy, happy and bizzare then it most likely belongs to a humoristic game (Mark's "Fatman" soundtrack jumps to mind). On the other hand, if it is moody, deep, creepy, mysterious etc., then it probably is part of a serious game's soundtrack (such as the entire "Grim Fandango" soundtrack).
3. Puzzles. In serious game, the puzzles must be fully logical and not too far-fetched. In humoristic games, the puzzles can use "backwards" logic. The monkey wrench puzzle in "Monkey Island" is a perfect example.
4. Dialogs & Messages. If each and every line of dialog in the game, or every comment tries to contain a joke then the game is probably humoristic. That is not to say that serious games can't have humour - they can, and in fact they should. But serious games should know where to put the line, to know when the jokes become forced.
These are, in a nutshell, the four objects to look at if you wish to make the most basic distinction between various styles of atmosphere.

How to create atmosphere?
After this introduction, we arrive to the one million dollar question - How?
As I said earlier, it is hard to do some sort of formula - there is none. Atmosphere is formed differently in every game, and each game's atmosphere is unique in its own right. This is so because everything in the game influences it - from music, art and plot to the colour the GUI, the mouse cursor and the footstep sound. In fact, each and every gamer grasps the atmosphere of a game a little bit differntly from another.
Nevertheless, I think there are some elements, except the one stated above, the are more dominant in setting the tone of the game. Here are some tips:
1. Equip yourself with a vision. Most great film directors (*cough*stanleykubrick*cough*) have a vision of what they want to do before they begin working on it (*cough*2001clockworkorange*cough*). For a long time, they visualize in their minds what they wish to see in their finished product. This way, when the filiming begins the director has a general feeling of the atmosphere he wishes, and it is much more easier for him to channel it the right way. Many adventure game designers, mostly independant, tend to overlook this. Yes, they do have an idea. But an idea is no vision. An idea is about a concept; vision is about presentation - how the game will look, how it will sound, how it will feel. If you already have a vision of what you wish to accomplish before commencing work, you will find it much easier to set the tone of the game right.
2. Add artistic touches. In DGMacphee's GTD: Backgrounds and "mise en scene" we discussed the diverse artistics devices that can be added to games, but which are, sadly, usually ignored. Things such as light tinting and perspective can add plenty of life and character to a game. Remember that most of these touches are unusual, and thus have a stronger effect then something casual and typical. An example of this would be Vel's "Who Wants to Live Forever?". The death scene light changes were a truly brilliant, and added so much to the atmosphere.
3. Use your cutscenes. In cutscnes, the creator has freedom to do what he wishes without the limitations of gameplay. With more space to manuever, the designer can some very atmospheric scenes. Take Chirlle's "Pleurghburg: Dark Ages" for example. The dream sequence after the first day makes such a strong impression that the player just can't look at the game in the same light anymore.
4. Have non-linearity to stress importance. If during the game the character faces a choice of great importance, the player may feel that his actions are more significance. Las Naranjas' Uber-Protagonist phenomenon enables for this to happen - the player has difficulties with making the distinction between the game and himself, and thus gives in his mind an added touch of importance to the occassion. This way, there is more meaning to the game, effecting the atmosphere strongly. An excellent example would be the ending of "The Uncertainty Machine" (Beware, spoiler ahead) where the fate of the world lies in the character's/player's hands.
5. Use your supporting characters as a tool to define atmosphere. A supporting character is something controlled and programmed by the creator of the game. Through it, he can transfer his subtle messages to convey feelings, themes and messages. It can be an excellent tool in the designer's hand to form atmosphere. The perfect example if Glottis, Manny's sidekick from "Grim Fandango", who formed the light side of that excellent game.
6. Keep a consistent atmosphere. If you try to suddenly change from a surrealistic to a realistic atmosphere, the only thing that will be formed is a mess. Be consistent - do not try to have several contradictory styles and patterns at the same time. This doesn't mean you can't vary your atmosphere - you can. But if you do, then make it subtly and slowly, and always keep close to the game's general tone and mood.

Well, these were my thoughts on the subject. Over to you.

Bah, and I wanted to start a predictions thread after the nominations end. Well, so be it! I'll be there!

VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OR THE ERGOS WILL DIE! Don't you want to find out who has the best avatar?

Scene 2:

Notice how the smallest figure (Kane) seems to look the most powerful in this scene -- We get a clear sense of relationships in this scene i.e. Kane is the boss.

Such arrangement of scenes is particularly used in film noir, which bring me to adventure games.

Here's a bit by Ebert on this scene.

There is a master image in ``Citizen Kane'' you might easily miss. The tycoon has overextended himself and is losing control of his empire. After he signs the papers of his surrender, he turns and walks into the back of the shot. Deep focus allows Welles to play a trick of perspective. Behind Kane on the wall is a window that seems to be of average size. But as he walks toward it, we see it is further away and much higher than we thought. Eventually he stands beneath its lower sill, shrunken and diminished. Then as he walks toward us, his stature grows again. A man always seems the same size to himself, because he does not stand where we stand to look at him.

By the way, I've seen Citizen Kane yesterday for the first time. Bloody amazing.


Anyway.... DG, care if I kick off a new GTD?

If you don't do this, you will suffer the same fate as this little girl.

You'll befriend a giant monster? THAT WOULD BE COOL!

It is a terrible menacing monster frightening her to death! IT WANTS TO EAT HER!!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!

You people are so clueless.

Now vote, or else...

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

...

Al Pacino / GIGLI

Argh! That's it, the world is coming to an end.

[Best picture]

Here are the Oscars Nominations:

Best picture

The Return of the King
Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Lost in Translation
Seabiscuit
Mystic River

Best director

Fernando Meirelles, City of God
Peter Jackson, The Return of the King
Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River

Best actor

Jonny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Sean Penn, Mystic River
Jude Law, Cold Mountain
Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog

Best supporting actor

Tim Robbins, Mystic River
William H Macy, Seabiscuit
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou, In America
Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai

Best actress

Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton, In America
Charlize Theron, Monster
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams

Best supporting actress

Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River

Best adapted screenplay

American Splendor
City of God
Return of the King
Mystic River
Seabiscuit

Best animation

Brother Bear
Finding Nemo
Belleville Rendez-Vous

Art direction

Girl With A Pearl Earring
The Last Samurai
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Seabiscuit

Cinematography

City Of God
Cold Mountain
Girl With A Pearl Earring
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Seabiscuit

Costume design

Girl With A Pearl Earring
The Last Samurai
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Seabiscuit

-----------------------------------

Hoorah! The Academy proved not to be an old conservative whore by nominating Johny Depp.
Boo! The Academy proved to be an old conservative whore by ignoring Scarlett Johansson and Kill Bill.

I can think of no better game to kick off your adventuring with than Grim Fandango. This is so much more than mere ineractive-fiction - this is art. Manny is the greatest character to ever walk the screen, and Grim Fandango is so masterfully crafted.

About the puzzles, I don't think they were so hard. It's one of the few adventure games I managed to pass without any hints, in fact. I can see how the interface can cause some problems with the puzzles, but generally they were smart, diverse and nicely spread.

Expect Yufster preaching about the great-ness of Tim Scafer any second now.

If SSH can pimp his awards shamelessly, then so can I.

Yes, Andail did this before. Yes, Andail is gone somewhere. Yes, I took over. Now re-send those damned nominations to my private message box or email (Boris@Barca.co.il).

Info

If you don't do this, you will suffer the same fate as this little girl.

For me, the most important thing is to avoid cliches. I don't want no stupid blone cheerleaders, or small geeks with huge glasses. That's why I fond DOTT's characters quite annoying. I want a someone who has a complex personality, like Manny.

And I'm all with you about imperfection.

I had many relatives who fought in WWII (the Soviet front). Some of them were high-ranked officers. Luckily, I know (unlike my friends) of no relative of mine to perish during the Holocaust.

I just saw Lost in Translation yesterday (finally) and it was absolutely gorgous.  Bill Murray deserved his award, for sure, as did Sofia Coppola.  Man, I was pleased with that film.

It's a pity Scarlett Johansson missed on the award, she really deserved it. And with all due respect to Bill Murray (who really was excellent), Johny Depp should have taken that award.