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That was well worth watching. You did a nice job with the "virtual setting" there, I wouldn't mind seeing more of that sort of indie introspective 

Never heard of that game before I might check it out. Though I'm not too in to text adventures. Is that how that game ends? With you dying?

Even better, that is how you WIN the game But yes, that is the end.

"Oh, are we trying something dangerous now?"
- Planetfall's Floyd, after the player types "save"





The most memorable death screen, for me, is in Infocom's Infidel text adventure. You're exploring a pyramid, looking for treasure, and once you pick up the riches, the chamber collapses around you, burying you deep in the bowels of ancient architecture.
Then you get:

You have died.
You have won the game.

--

Personally, I rather like adventures where your actions can lose you the game. Never played the Horrorsoft games but game deaths were par for the course in King's Quest et al. Shrugged at today, yes, but still I liked the risk of screwing up. And back then we actually tried to find the most obscure deaths in games like Malcolm's Revenge and the odd Space Quest game.

If you're planning to make a game in that vein, I suggest you add an "undo" button to the death message. Basically, resetting the player to the action before they died so they can easily try something else, instead of having to load an earlier savegame. It takes out the frustration and still leaves in the death. Alternatively, make an option that allows players to use the undo, use it only a limited amount of times, or never use it at all- that way, everyone gets the kind of challenge they feel comfortable with.

Happy one, Mandle! I raise my glass, which is half full

Things are improving. We'll see this through
Next update should be around sometime soonish 

[oops]

Recent photo... how did we get there... 

This is nothing short of adorable! Godspeed, Crash!

Wait, what? Friend slots? Is that an ACTUAL thing?

Aye, it sure is. You can't just MAKE friends, man. You need slots for them. Where else would you put them? 


One thing that's also worth mentioning is how games can differ quite a lot in their "set size". There are games that feature a set of about 6 cards and I saw at least two that require a dozen cards for a full set. I'm pretty sure smaller sets, while less lucrative, give a good incentive to complete it at least once, even if it means purchasing missing cards. Your game always drops half the number of cards of a set but you can get doubles, so there's never a way to farm a game "fully".
Would be interesting to learn *who* decides on the set size, actually.

What the... hells yeah. Girthingage!

What are badges used for anyway? 

They can be displayed on your profile, and that is about it. They are purely cosmetic, though you do get these weird "xp" if you craft lots if I am not mistaken. And xp give you more ways to customize your profile as you level up.

As a cynic one could just say that Steam wanted to add a social element to its site (card trading), and what they got were people idling games to get some easy profit, so they added security in form of tedium instead of just overhauling the system for real.
I still consider a badge something worth making and showcasing, if just as a sign of liking a game- but honestly, few people may think that way.

I actually like to get at least a full set of cards and craft a badge for games that I really enjoy. I'm not interested in the actual trading/selling, since Steam has done its best to make this as convulted and inconvenient as possible (confirming emails, sales are held for a few days, etc). But I'll happily shell out the extra monies to get a badge for a fun game.
If I somehow end up with foil cards... well then there is no helping me, I have to get the foil set and badge then, too, it's like find a rare in a Magic the Gathering blister pack.

Trading cards canalso be a way for the developer to earn a few extra cents while "giving" a little something extra in return. Win win. So no harm in adding them, as far as I am concerned.

Happy birthday Ghost!

Thanks ye kindly, sir. Man, 44. Time to change the batteries I guess

Spoiler alert: that's a puzzle from Zaphod's portion of Infocom presents Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy by Steve Meretzky.

Damnit! I even played that game! I totally forgot about that puzzle... but rest assured, in context it will be very different. It's more or less an introduction to Willow's personal brand of "thinking odd", and resembles the children's peek-aboo game more than fiddling around with your ever-so-useful towel
edit:
No, I'm positive that the ideas really are different. Hitchhiker is about consulting the guide to learn about a weakness that is unique to the beast and then exploiting it. I remember not even reading up about the creature in-game, because I knew the source material well enough to figure out what to do. So, yes, similar for sure, but not a direct copy.

Frodo, Dactylopus & everyone-
It was hard to make that post. Even with the hidey brackets. But now that it's out there I feel relief. As I said, what held me back for so long was the (perceived) fact that the net is full of these "Oh I am so sad" posts and the reaction would just be eye-rolling and snark. It took me ages to accept the fact that yes, there's this illness inside you, you are not quite right in the head, you do need help. Still not quite there; openly talking about it, well, still feels odd and risky. But as I said, AGS is an old place and I have trust in it.
Thanks for your kind posts: They are an incredible support.

Thanks guys. That really means a lot.

And to not end the day so sober: Today saw much progress on a puzzle where you get to convince an alien that it can not see you as long as you are covering your eyes.
It is going to be very droll.

Sorry to hear about your trip to the hospital, Ghost. Hope everything is okay. 

I really feel the need to speak out what has happened and why. I'm a bit hesitant to do it here but what other place is there? This forum is among my oldest haunting grounds and many of you know me, or at least my persona, for a long time. Some of you have even teamed up with me in the past to make games or just have a pleasant chat.
If this needs to be moved or removed because it violates thread rules, I'll gladly do that; for now I put hidey brackets in case you don't want to read about health issues.

Spoiler

It was a severe hyperglycemia derailmaint. I'm a type 1 diabetic for over 20 years now and in the past few years I've had to learn to live with depression, too. Funny thing, depression, can make you lose all interest in caring for yourself.
In short, I had neglected my diabetes for a long time, and the result was a full-on breakdown with blood sugar levels of well above 700 (100 is the default for a healthy person, or a well-adjusted diabetic). I spend two days unconscious
in intensive care, with machinery pumping all sorts of stuff into my body to keep it going on. Spend another two days there until the chamical reactions that make a body work were in balance again. It was a close shave, if I might share that here, I was this close to shutting down for good.
What I remember is a long phase of hallucinations as the brain started to overload and that was some freaky shit. Doctors later told me that there was poison building up everywhere and I had been close to entering a loop where all the neural flares just keep firing again and again until they fizzle out.
For some reason I had it in me to keep going, and so I did.
One thing that I haven't done yet is just openly tell you guys: I am suffering from depression, and it impacts my everyday life. To me that felt like shouting: "Oi, I am an attention whore! I am very sick and may kill myself, so you better be very nice to me!"
But maybe that was the mistake, maybe I should've told my story earlier and maybe that could've changed things.
There is a lot I need to do now. I'm seeing a doctor to recalibrate my insulin intake, and will in time return to normal sugar levels. I'm also seeing someone to treat my depression. The patterns I have created for myself aren't healthy and I need to take more care of myself. There are options all around me- even if I don't like them they are all there- medication and therapy and whatnot. It's all there.
I'll get better, and if anything, I have reached a point where old beloved hobbies sound exciting again, and aren't something to run away from. Shit grows roses; I should know.

[close]

Hi, guys.

Back on Friday the 8th I was brought into the hospital for a health-related emergency, which was provisorically patched over in the past days. I'm back home now and have recovered sort of okay-ish. Not yet in peak shape but I'll be picking up the pace soon enough.
There's...
Well, there's some things to talk about, and I'll do that soon enough in another post. For now, we're back in the hauntings.

Mandle: That *is* an offer I may actually take your word for. remember when the real high-class LucasArts adventure games used to have these lucurious, fully voiced-over, intros? Back when CD was just establishing itself? If I can get a few guys and maybe a vountarily Willow I'd actually enjoy a brief voice over intro A LOT. Tell me your thought on that one though, would it be worth it, if only for a small joke, or would it look out of place these days?

..I can say that I would believe her everything she tells.

Hi Tabata! Pleased to meet you! Willow here!
I told Ghost there was a sale on Nerf guns somewhere and I got a few minutes at least, YAY!

OooooOoo your site has cup smileys!




Now, listen. This is a secret and you can tell no-one else. Okay? Everyone else, do NOT read this. Only Tabata.
Good?
You swear?
Gooooood. Now, see, the thing is, I am NOT mad. I am not INSANE. I am, actually, and in truth, and for reals, also an alien. Imma an ALIEN SPY.
I was send to avoid the apocalyse, see? It's all a RUSE.

That's why I am wearing this jacket too, it's the perfect way to hide my alien hands. See? No, you DON'T!
And that is the best! Since you can't see my alien hands they are concealed weapons.
And since you can't see them, you don't know when I am using them, and THAT means you don't feel it when I hit you, and THAT means...
I can just walk around smacking aliens without them knowing why they fall over!
I'm clever like that.

Hope this answers your question. And I like your avatar! We have some mice here too, in the room-with-the-electric-thing. Always chew through the cables, so
I like mice a lot because then nothing works anymore. Mice are AWESOME.

Hugs,
- "Willow"*

__
* My name is actually unpronouncable for the juman tongue.

I think he's coming back!

I think the pose in general is good, neutral and still natural. The character is leaning a bit to the left, which makes the sprite look strange. It's not much- try flipping the image horizontally while you draw; it's amazing how many small balance issues you can find and fix that way.
Like your style, by the way, very much. There's something simple and charming about it :nod:

Update in original post! -> https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=56955.msg636602218#msg636602218

Guys, I just once again want to say thanks to everyone who commented, was interested, and just made me feel like coming home. I'm really happy right now.

Bunny: That idea of yours sounds pretty interesting, make it! I'd play the hell out of it for sure (or NOT play it at all, instantly winning )