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Holy crap, that's impressive! 
And here I thought MY game was big. Just how long have you been developing this game?



Ok, moving on from that. Here's the things that I've been doing in developing my game (which is pretty much what I do for all of my games).

I've had a bunch of different starting points selectable from the main menu. Basically start from Act 2 and start from Act 3. Which set up the necessary variables. If all of the parts work individually, then presumably they'll work together. (I've also tied their visibility to the debug mode, so I don't even have to remove them when I'm finished with the game.)

Another thing I've been doing is quickly going through the part of the game I've just made (basically speedrunning it) to make sure it's completable. Then playing through it slowly, trying to interact with everything while taking notes. Fixing those problems I encountered. And Then getting a family member to play through it while I watch and take notes (it's nice to have a laptop handy, since it's quicker and easier to type, but you might prefer pen and paper).

Next up I'm planning on doing that exact thing, but to the entire game from start to finish, rather than each individual part. So that's a quick run through, a slow playthrough, then alpha testing. Making notes, and then fixing those problems between each playthrough.

After that I plan to get a friend to playthrough the entire game without my oversight, with them giving me any feedback that they might have at the end. I have to ensure the game is as bugfree as possible for this beta testing phase, to ensure they can complete it. (If they meet a game breaking bug or simply get stuck, it might put them off, and they might never finish it.)



But that's just my process. Naturally it's different strokes for different people. That being said, looking through the other responses, it looks like I'm not alone in this approach to development.

That being said, the bug fixing phase really is the part that kills my enthusiasm. I just detest testing!
Thankfully my brother loves testing. And having that source of feedback, critique, helpfulness, as well as someone that is always excited to see what you're making, is by far the most useful thing you can have when developing a game. 
I'm quite lucky in that regard. 

Let's see how quickly someone can figure this one

Hey Dan. 

Is it some variation on Solomon's Key? 

The game is basically a blatant copy of Solomon's Key, but with selectable characters, multiplayer and a level editor. It isn't called Solomon's Key though.

Here's some more screenshots to help:

I remember hearing about the 7DRL ages ago. I didn't realize it was a yearly event. I just thought it was a challenge people did of their own accord.

Good luck! 

Today marks the day when the game officially became playable from start to finish. That's right, not only have I finally finished the last third of the game since my previous update, but I've also just finished implementing the credit sequence. 

Next up is a whole lot of testing and bug fixing, improving the artwork, and implementing the easter eggs, followed by even more testing of course.

In a walkcycle, using the same frame twice in a row simply means that AGS will move the character without animating it.

Finally, the "MovementSpeed" is actually the number of pixels that the character moves in between frame changes.

It's worth adding, that these statements only apply when you have MovementSpeedLinkedToAnimation set to true. Which is something that's on by default because it helps to avoid gliding and moonwalking in exchange for jerky movement (which for me, induces motion-sickness when walking in scrolling rooms).

If you're wanting a character with a limp, I'd highly recommend keeping that option set to true and following Khris's advice.

[depends]

My main gripe is, what's the point of using the ID card on the receptionist? Nothing depends on the "Free Access to Kitchen" node, so in theory, it should be completely optional. I get that it's a sub goal, but it's not linked to anything, so it shouldn't be blocking you from your end goal.

Also, it's a little hard to follow in a couple of places. Particularly on the "Use ID on Maid" node, "Get ID Card" node, and the "Get Porn Mag" node. Personally I would bend the arrows around to make them connect from the left side. That way all dependents connect to the left of a node, and all dependees connect to the right of a node. (I know the arrows are there, but it makes it easier to tell from a glance.)

Other than those minor nitpicks, it's good, it's quite easy to both follow and understand. And at the end of the day, it's whatever you prefer, since it's for your eyes only.
Just remember that it's a called a puzzle dependency chart, because each node depends on all of the previous nodes that are all connected to it, to be fulfilled before itself can be fulfilled. That means if there's anything, and I mean ANYTHING that needs to be done before you can fulfill a node, that means it needs to be added to the chart and linked up. (Exceptions are obvious tasks, such as opening an already unlocked door before you can walk through it.)

I need some help with some ideas for a premise. I'm looking for something simple but fun and absurd I'm open to suggestions.

A guy has to buy a tin of beans from the supermarket, but there's only one tin left. It's not only on a really high shelf, but a vicious old lady also wants it.

You could add more to it as well, such as it only being at the back of the store, so you have to find a way into the employee only area. You don't have enough money for it, so you need to find a coupon. The cashier will only accept exact change, so you need to buy an item that's worth one penny, so you will have the exact amount of money.

How's that for a suggestion. 

What's wrong with just using the built in dialog editor? 

I find it both neat and easy to keep track of. Although it can be a little cumbersome to move dialog options around, it's not something that's difficult to do.
It'd be nice if it had a spellchecker I suppose. 

This is unless of course you're making a dialog where each option leads to another independent set of options, and each of those options can lead to their own set of options, and so on and so on (perhaps with some overlaps to really mix things up). Which if you're doing that, I'd recommend changing your approach and writing less. Even the most dialog heavy cinematic adventure games like Detroit: Become Human, don't even do that. Nor do Visual Novels, RPGs, and Immersive Sims. Probably because it'd be a nightmare to make and play. 

You'll want one or two options that might lead to their own set of options, and then that should usually be enough. And if you're doing that, then like I said, the built in editor should be good enough.

(On the other hand, perhaps I'm just a genius who is incapable of comprehending how normal people aren't able to visualize dialog trees. But I very much doubt it.  )

The blink view is used for the Serria portrait style of talking, to make the characters blink while talking. I presume you have it set to the default LucasArts style (aka, the dialog appears above the character's heads).

If you want the character to continue to face the same direction when they enter their idle view, you'll need to setup the other loops. Although judging by what you've written, it sounds like you wanted him to face downwards whenever the idle animation plays. I'm just telling you, in case I've misunderstood.

As for the error message, it sounds like something else in your code is causing an issue. You should probably look at your code, specifically anything that you've added or changed recently related to animations. You seem to be referencing a frame number that doesn't exist (you've probably written a 1 in, without realizing that frames start at 0).

I hope this helps.

• Licensing - there are no fees to using AGS. As for required credits, I think the manual says something about that. But I think everyone is usually ok if you just credit the AGS Team for making AGS. Someone else here can probably verify that though.
• Pricing - it's perfectly fine to charge money for anything made with AGS.
• Royalties - there are no royalties for using AGS.

I'm fairly confident about all of these things. Because if I'm wrong about any of them, then I'm going to be in some trouble. 

Congratulations to everyone who was nominated. 

As far as I know, Danvzare, the Hero Quest game I ordered, should be sent from the UK. I have no idea who the courier actually is
because it doesn't say.  I ordered from Zavvi because the price was half the recommended amount. 

I have not heard of AliExpress, but will check it out.

Hmm, in that case it's likely Zavvi that's to blame (unless their chosen courier is Hermes, in which case it's probably Hermes). They've probably done something utterly stupid, like sent it to the wrong address or not sent it at all. Good luck. 



As for AliExpress, basically it's like Chinese bootleg eBay. There's a lot of garbage on there. But there's a surprising amount of decent stuff on there, so long as you're careful. It's always a good idea to check the reviews and to see if the seller is using pictures they actually took themselves.
I got a brilliant Kotobukiya figurine from there for a fraction of the usual cost, and it's absolutely perfect. I even having it sitting on the desk in front of me now.

Everything from AliExpress usually takes a minimum of one month to arrive though, usually longer. Also, sometimes you can apparently be expected to pay import taxes. (So far I haven't, but my sister has warned me several times that it's a possibility.)

I've never bought anything from Zavvi, but either they screwed up with the delivery or it's coming from China. Stuff from China almost always takes several months for some reason. (I'm speaking from experience as someone who has bought stuff from AliExpress. Speaking of which AliExpress is surprisingly not that bad.)

It looks interesting. I hope you finish it. 

It definitely wasn't easy trying to look up old RTS games. I wasn't even sure if it was in fact Empire, since it was Empire Deluxe that I initially found, and those extra colours nearly made me overlook it.   

Let's see how quickly someone can figure this one out. 

[Empire]

Is it Empire?

Fixed.

Wow, you really are being speedy this year. Thank you everyone on the Awards Team for all of your hard work so far. 

and all of a sudden I'm forced to fast press buttons and crap... and die, and try again, and die, and .... multiply this by 10 or so, and then the game saves right before I die again...

That perfectly describes most games from 2005 to 2013, where every game had to have quick time events. I'd love to say that was an annoying period in gaming, but every period has its annoying bits. 

Speaking of The Living Tombstone. I still don't understand why his version of the Discord song was more popular than the original version. What's worse is that it happened twice! 

But yeah, The Living Tombstone has some pretty good tunes. 
I can definitely imagine his music being used in an intro sequence for an AGS adventure game.