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I am not that much of an artist, but for what it's worth, everything I did involving graphics was made with Aseprite.

I see it as the AGS of graphics: simple in the beginning but once you get better you can do awesome things with it. It's easy to start and can actually take you far. At least for what I could see. As a total beginner I was able to design stuff easily, yet it was advanced enough to use palettes and frames etc. From what I saw it's a good introduction to pixel art.

It has some really cool tool as well such as the symetrical axes. Maybe other softwares have that but in Aseprite I found it very convenient.

Why is there not an AGS award for Best First Game?

I'm not only saying this because it's the only one I could reasonably compete so far, I think it would be a great boost for people who got started, raise visibility and encourage them.

Thanks Lanchong I am blocked exactly at the same place 

I seriously love it and I loved how it progresses, how you discover more and more possibilities, the game is actually very rich, and there's kind of a story behind it! It's really a good game.

The vibe was a bit similar than old games like Carmen Sandiego.

Careful when the mermaid gives you a kiss it freezes the game maybe a glitch to fix?

What a lovely game! I really liked the simple palette and art style; I am very fond of the idea of blending past genres, and your game graphically looks like a Gameboy JRPG but plays like a point and click, this is a lovely  blend. I also have a lot of respect for people who use a game as a medium to communicate their culture!

I stayed with a friend in Warsaw in January 2002 in such a unit and I could almost feel back there except the cold! What is even more admirable is that you take the grim environment of Jaruzelski era buildings and turn them into a cute Secret of Mana-ish world, I really love that a lot!

It was simple and finished in a very short time but I can tell the goal was to make a short game so no problem with that. The puzzles were actually quite original. I would advise you make a longer game using that kind of art style and maybe even the premise of turning a grim Polish suburb into a magical land! I believe there is a story to write there!

PS I used to live in LIthuania where I was introduced to the Romuva gods of the Balts, the thunder god is there called Perkunas so it is almost the same name, interesting right?

For those who are interested, Laura answered my questions for an interview for my blog, here's what is inside the head of the creator of this game https://formosafalanster.wordpress.com/2021/03/08/one-of-the-best-parts-of-making-videogames-is-being-able-to-lose-yourself-for-a-while-in-that-world-youve-created-an-interview-with-laura-hunt/

Am I the only one who doesn't relate?

Granted I am only working on my second game but I never thought about it as a painful. It is only a fun thing for me so far. I enjoy working on a personal project instead of working for someone else, for a start!

I think the problem you have here is the reluctance to delegate, like Laura Hunt said, and itt is not even necessary to find someone else. So far I decided to use open source art and it was probably a great idea, it was very liberating and made it fun to work on. There should not be any problem with using open art when it is readily available for a reason: for you to enjoy it and turn it into something great!

There are plenty of free resources online waiting for you to mix them up into a game. This is the way of the world today, you do not have to stick to the past when everyone was doing everything from scratch. Embrace it, indie dev in the 2020's include a lot of things that you did not make yourself and it is a good thing!

Edit: it reminds me of an interesting concept I read about recently: the "Not Invented Here" bias. Read about it here. Basically the idea is that you prefer something that has been made in-house and not externally. There is also a reversed bias, it is very interesting. It has been an obstacle in a lot of projects. You should take a look!

I wasn't sure where to put it so here it is: I made a walkthrough for "The House of Mr Chocolate". I hope it helps!

1. Beginning

Spoiler

- See Mr Chocolate react to a noise downstairs.
- Walk until you reach the kitchen door, talk to it to open it.
- Talk to the gallery door to open it as well.
- The library door simply opens by using hands on it.

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2. Opening the staircase door

Spoiler

- Go in the kitchen and use hands on the butter to pick it up.
- In the inventory (pockets) look at the butter. Mr Chocolate will see a key frozen inside it.
- Use the butter on the tap. The hot water will melt it and you have a key.
- Use this key on the door of the desk in the library.
- Pick up the brown note inside the desk.
- Read the brown note in your inventory. Mr Chocolate will suddenly remember how to open the staircase door.
- Use hands on the door to open it, now you can do it.

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3. Fixing the hole in the staircase

Spoiler

- You need to collect a hammer, nails, and planks. Once you have them all, use the hammer on the hole to fix it.

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3.1 How to find the hammer

Spoiler

- Go down in the corridor, open the first door to enter the pink bedroom
- Use hands on the bedside table. Mr Chocolate will take a blank sheet of paper from it.
- In the corridor, open the second door to enter the master bedroom
- Use hands on the bedside table. Mr Chocolate will pick up a pen.
- Go down the other stairs to reach the basement. Look at the bathroom door. Mr Chocolate will know he needs to write a note.
- In your inventory, use the pen on the blank sheet of paper. Mr Chocolate will write a note.
- Use this note on the bathroom door. Mr Chocolate will pass it under the door and receive a green note in return.
- In your inventory, read the green note. The bathroom door will open.
- Enter the bathroom and pick up the hammer from the floor.

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3.2 How to find the nails

Spoiler

- Go in the kitchen and pick up the knife near the sink.
- In the corridor downstairs, go open the last door to enter the guest room.
- Use the knife on the metallic bed. Mr Chocolate will unscrew a few screws. They will act as nails.

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3.3 How to find the planks

Spoiler

- Go to the basement and pick them up.

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4. How to open the calligraphy room door

Spoiler

- Go in the master bedroom, then enter the little dressing room on the right. The bedroom door will close behind you.
- Use hands on  the wardrobe. Mr Chocolate will take a coat hanger from it.
- Use hands the chair, Mr Chocolate will take spare keys from them.
- Use the spare keys to open the bedroom door.
- Go up to the first room to pick up the rope.
- In your inventory, use the rope on the coat hanger to make a sort of fishing line.
- Go up the stairs to the music room (you can only access it if you fixed the hole on the stairs, see above).
- Open the door to the water tank.
- Use the fishing line on the water. You will get a big key.
- Use this big key on the calligraphy room door.

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5. How to open the blue bedroom door

Spoiler

- Go in the corridor and look at the door to the blue bedroom, it has a note pinned in it. Mr Chocolate will read it and he will know he needs to find the other half of a sentence to open the door.
- Go back in the library. Use hands on the bookshelves on the left of the room. Mr Chocolate will find the book but the page is torn.
- You need a key to open the wardrobe where the page is. This key is in the bathtub, look at it in the bathroom to see it, but you cannot take it as Mr Chocolate hates cold water.
- Talk to the bathtub. At Mr Chocolate's request, it will warm up the water and he will take the key.
- Go use this key on the wardrobe in the guest room (at the end of the corridor). Mr Chocolate will pick up the torn page, but the ink is faded and you need incense to make the ink reappear.
- To find the incense, go back in the library. Talk to the books in the shelves on the right; this is how Mr Chocolate will get a bookmark.
- In your inventory, look at the bookmark. Mr Chocolate will tell you it's a label from an incense box.
- Use the bookmark on the supplies in the kitchen (at the right end of the room). Mr Chocolate will use it to find the right box of incense, you now have an incense stick in your inventory.
- Go up one level and talk to the smoking room door. It will give Mr Chocolate his matches.
- In the inventory, use the matches on the incense stick. You now have a smoking stick.
- Use the stick on the torn page. The text will reappear.
- Look at the page now. Mr Chocolate now knows the message.
- Go in the corridor and talk to the door with the note pinned on it. Mr Chocolate will say the quote, and the door will open.

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6. How to open the radio room door

Spoiler

- Go look at the door so Mr Chocolate knows he must remember a code made of his favourite song and Yolanda's favourite song.
- Go to the music room and use hands on the records, Mr Chocolate will get out Yolanda's favourite record.
- Use hands on the record to pick it up.
- Use the record on the turntable to play it. Mr Chocolate will remember this is the same as his own song but you still need to hear it somewhere else.
- Go in the blue bedroom and use hands on the glass on the table to pick it up.
- Go in the calligraphy room. At the right of the room on the table is a handkerchief, use hands on it to pick it up.
- Go to the kitchen use the glass on the tap. The glass is now full but too hot so Mr Chocolate will leave it on the table and cannot pick it up anymore.
- Use handkerchief on the glass to pick it up.
- Go in the master bedroom, use the glass of hot water on the desk door to melt the wax seal that keeps it shut.
- Use hands on the desk door to open it. Then use hands on the musical box inside to pick it up.
- Go to the music room and look at the piano to get the tuning tool.
- Use the tuning tool on the musical box to hear Mr Chocolate's favourite song.
- Now he is ready to type his code: go use hands on the radio room door.

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7. Finish the game

Spoiler

- Talk to the radio transmitter in the basement and exhaust all dialogue.
- Walk up to enter the smoking room, which is now open. Pick up the talisman on the armchair.
- Walk to the entrance door and use the talisman on it.

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^I have seen a let's play of Detention. It was nice (wasn't it made by some Taiwanese person?)

It was made by a Taiwanese company yes.

Thanks
I have actually played The House of Mr. Chocolate (up to a point).

You blocked?

Not really :/

If you have another game, I will also give it a look.

A personal favourite in horror games is the wonderful "Detention" but it was not made with AGS.

There, I just nominated a few!

Wow I am totally playing that! I will download it and let you know what I think.

That is such a fun idea I decided to give it a go.

I know my game is not commercial so I am not in competition but it's not important to me, I had fun redesigning my own character through his ages so I decided I'll share it with you anyway. I'm not that much of an artist but I enjoyed playing with these pixels.

Mr Chocolate as an adult (he's like 35 to 40 in the game I think):



Now here he is as a younger man (age 18):


A more skinny neck and slimmer body, also the tie is looser because he is more relax. He has no shades around his eyes and more hair. His hair is also less dishevelled because he is not so depressed yet but his expression is already rather placid.

Now here he is as a child (age 9):

I changed the robe into pyjamas but kept the colour scheme. He was already dressing for night and comfortable but in a kiddy way. Even more hair, smaller face and body.

And finally here he is as an old man (age 65) reunited with Ms Dumpling (she aged better than him!):

Grey hair and even bigger shades, lower head a bit hunched by all the walking he does accross his house, but an equally peaceful expression.

Here they are all real size:
     

And a little family portrait:


Thats it. I know you would have preferred Guybrush Threepwood but I hope it raised a smile anyway

Well that's the thing

Spoiler

I did not have the magic wand. But now that you mentioned it I looked for it and wow it was really hard to see!

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Thanks anyway!

Also they remind me of Settlers 2, that was a lovely game. What kind of game did wanted to make when you created this?

What to do after you

Spoiler

put the crystal ball on the altar? No idea where to go from there.

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After that you might want to check out the

Spoiler

bedroom

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yes but

Spoiler

the door is locked

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What to do after you

Spoiler

put the crystal ball on the altar? No idea where to go from there.

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Thanks
I have actually played The House of Mr. Chocolate (up to a point).

You blocked? I think I will post a walkthrough somewhere.

Beautiful graphics indeed

I still name Maus the scariest comic book I ever read. Because it was real.

Nothing scares me more than what is real. That is why I often say Brazil is the scariest movie I ever saw: each time I see it, it's a bit less science-fiction and a bit more like reality