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I guess my experience differs from the norm a bit. When I started about 7-8 years ago, I had no background or skills in any of the required fields of game development. So, at first it was all new and interesting and that probably motivated me a lot in the beginning, since I like learning new stuff, but over the time it has simply become an enjoyable and relaxing activity. Currently I enjoy making games more than most of my other hobbies. It's more fun than playing games for me, I prefer it to watching movies or reading books, I think basketball is the only thing that can give me comparable enjoyment.

I think that in some ways I can compare it to playing a great game, there are parts that are challenging, there are places where I get stuck, but there's never any real frustration, it never feels like a chore or grind. But at the same time I don't think I've ever gotten any euphoric highs from developing a game, it's just a stable good (or sometimes neutral) feeling all the time. I don't mind if things take a huge of amount of time to finish, because that only means I spend more time doing what I love. The process of making games is certainly more fulfilling to me than actually finishing or releasing something. And if other people enjoy the end product and have fun playing my games then that's simply an extra bonus.

I mainly did start making games because I had a bunch of stories, fictional worlds and characters in my head that I wanted to bring to life, but I haven't actually started with any of those dream projects and that's fine, I'm not in a rush. I knew that I wasn't ready to tackle them back then and instead concentrated on short jam games based on random flash ideas. I do plan to move on to bigger and more personal projects and it's possible that it gets harder and frustrating then, but I feel that I have learned to love the process too much by now and have reached a sufficient skill level in most categories that it most likely won't be an issue.

So, yes, I definitely recommend doing game jams and smaller projects at first and not put too much pressure on yourself. Maybe try to focus on the parts that you like more. For example, if you like writing and drawing, make a visual novel or if you enjoy programming more, create something that's visually very minimalistic (or use pre-made assets), but offers unique gameplay and technical solutions. And as Laura mentioned, working in a team can also be a good solution to stay on track and be motivated. Although, for me personally, working in a team actually creates the unwanted pressure to perform better and meet the expectations, especially when I'm in a lead role, then the planning, communicating and responsibility becomes mentally so exhausting.

Kind of sucks to see that so many people are struggling with hobby dev. I really do hope that you either find compatible team members to help you focus on parts that you enjoy more or are able to rethink and restructure your goals and work process in a way that it becomes more enjoyable.

Wasn't there like an AGS support group initiative or something a few years ago?
This one: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=50930.0
What ever happened to that?

Congratulations to the nominees! And to monkey424 for the win in the Best Voice Work category!

Also, it's awesome to see my own little game in a couple of categories next to some really outstanding releases.

Late birthday wishes from me as well! Still planning to make a RON game at some point.

Last tease before release! 1080p60 and full screen strongly recommended.

I don't have a 1080p screen 

But the trailer was great! Really looking forward to playing the game!

Finally updated the game. I actually completed the fishing parts already a few months ago, but since I was planning to add some more stuff, it kind of kept dragging on and on. So, I decided to simply draw a line and release what I have and leave it at that, I consider this game completed and done now. The latest 1.0 version has some new interactions and animations, few additional puzzle elements and a very basic fishing mini-game.

[1st: Creamy - Ballroom!]

1st: Creamy - Ballroom! Love the ballroom concept and that cheerful look on their faces. Can already imagine them in motion, wonderful.

2nd: Klatuu - Friendly bowing ghosts. The tie-in with a previous Coloring Ball is brilliant and they seem such a lovely and polite pair of ghosts.

3rd: Sinitrena - Girlfriend with giant fish. Ah, all dressed up, running around with a giant fish... Yes, I guess we've all been there, business as usual. It does look like a very intriguing situation. Makes me curious about how it came to be and how it's going to end.

A solid game, very reminiscent of the old Sierra titles both in visual style and humor. The overall pacing was good and puzzles were enjoyable and the story really started to pick up as the game went on.

Others have already mentioned the slowish walk speed, slang and occasional pixel hunting, and I agree with those points. There were also some odd visual inconsistencies here and there, like some of the cars looked like they were scaled down from bigger sprites and felt a bit broken and out of place compared to the rest of the environment. And it would be awesome if there were more little animations for the world and characters as it felt a bit static and stiff at times, but I understand that this would take a lot of extra work and time.

Enjoyed the game and will certainly try out the next chapter as well.

I'm working with these guys for the animations! https://twitter.com/tulevikEU

I'm helping out with the animations (in case some people don't make the connection  ).
Applied for the job right here in the Recruitment section, so huge thanks to the AGS forums for providing awesome opportunities.

It's been really enjoyable work so far and makes me appreciate ProgZmax's talent even more, it's very educational to see how some of this stuff was made.
We do have some differences in style and approach to animation, but I tried to keep it as close as possible and hopefully it won't stand out too much.

Congratulations, Klatuu! Looking forward to see what shape you can come up with for the next one.

1st: Klatuu's spider
2nd: Cassiebsg's pumpkin
3rd: Reiter's ghost

Boo! Spooky scary ghosts!

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/o6Jl6on.png[/imgzoom]

Congrats! I remember playing the demo about 5 years ago and was very impressed already back then, it's awesome to see the full game finally released.
I wish you all a myriad of satisfied players and lots of positive feedback.

This is a great initiative! I actually planned to start preparing for the next AGS Awards some time in November, play about 3-4 games a week and get through at least half of them before the nominating and voting starts. So, I'll be mainly focusing on this year's games, but I guess I can squeeze in some older suggestions from this thread as well and I will rate and comment on all of them of course.

Hah! I feel like I'm in an AA meeting.
Hi! I'm a Hobo and I also have an old computer and phone.

Well, actually it's a laptop, been using a Thinkpad R400 (from 2009) for the past few years, bought it as a cripple, then refurbished it and upgraded with extra ram and ssd. Works fine for all the AGS stuff, lets me browse the web and watch videos. Can also play older (90s) games on it or smaller 2d indies from recent years.

I've been thinking of building a PC that can handle modern games, but not really in a hurry with it, don't have that much free time for playing games anyway, plus my backlog of AGS games that I want to try out is already enormous. Should buy a new monitor though, everyone's talking about 4K these days and I haven't even moved to 1080p yet.

Never owned a smartphone, got a Nokia 515 at the moment, works fine and battery lasts a week. The system info says it's from 2014.

What is this witchcraft? Can it really be or are my mortal eyes deceiving me...

Incredible stuff! This looks like it could be really useful for AGSers participating in different game jams, because browser-playable games often seem to get more traction and are easier to quickly try out and if it works on mobile as well then that's double amazing.

Haven't had the time to watch it myself yet, but figured there might be a few Monkey Island fans in the forums, who are perhaps interested:

I always find these type of discussions interesting, because for me it's fascinating to see people pinpointing out exact experiences and games from their past. I don't have anything like that myself, looking back at all the games I've played, I can't really say that any of them had a big impact on my life or resonated very deeply on an emotional level. Collectively yes, I can see how I've learned a little bit from a bunch of them and games as a whole have certainly had an influence. But a single game? No, not really.

That actually applies to all types of entertainment I've consumed in my life, I've never been a die-hard fan of anything or obsessed with a particular piece of media, never been a part of a fandom, never had a single poster on my wall, never bought any related merchandise. Currently I'm trying to keep my eye on the new console launches out of professional interest and it's very weird to see how much passion some have for these things and how engaged they are. All that hype and excitement, as well as the negativity and toxic behavior, is kind of unfathomable to me. Or like how some people are playing one game for thousands of hours or replaying their old favorite for a tenth time already, can't ever imagine doing the same myself.

You're defenitely missing a crowbar and some red herrings. Great work, by the way, looks really good already.

If you're looking for something from more popular and classic series then a few ideas:
- Schattenjäger talisman and dagger from Gabriel Knight or obviously the infamous cat hair mustache
- King Graham's hat perhaps, but there's already a hat, so probably not.
- The mammoth doll from Syberia or simply some gears or other automaton parts.
- Can't remember if The Longest Journey/Dreamfall series had any recurring items, but maybe Cortez's pocket watch from the first one or a Watilla toy from the latter ones.
- Not sure if Quest for Glory or Space Quest had something unique that was used in multiple games, but Olga Stovich's famous avocado and garlic sandwiches are always a good meal, only 50 kopeks each.
- If you want something from AGS games, then Joey's tie from Blackwell is pretty memorable and something from the Ben Jordan games would also be deserving.

Oh, and if you want to be somewhat brazen and gross, you can always throw some Larry's condoms on the table

Very sad to hear. His posts in Critics' Lounge were quite helpful to read when I was starting out with pixel art. Also, simply by looking and studying some of his sprites and animations, I learned some very useful tricks, especially regarding color use and shading. I hope that his art will keep on teaching and inspiring people in the future as well.

Thanks for the comments, heltenjon and FormosaFalanster.

The (not?) obvious way to follow up this great title probably would be to make "Interlude and/or Postlude to an adventure". I think the idea of making a game out of the preparations is very good, making the game stand on its own quite nicely.

That actually would be rather unique, to make a game or series of short games that revolve around a big adventure, but only depict the preludes, interludes and postludes of that adventure. So that the actual adventure takes place somewhere in the background and the "filler" or slice of life content is pushed forward. Like camping and cooking food in the evening, gathering supplies between trips or recruiting new companions.

Are you not afraid the interface will limit you a bit?

I mean, the two-click interface has been a standard for a long time now, one-click isn't that much different, considering that one of those clicks is usually reserved for looking and inspecting. I do agree that a text parser or multiple verb interface gives more opportunities for devs and creates extra challenge for players, but it's probably still more down to good puzzle design than the interface itself. I can still use inventory or environmental puzzles, play around with time or physics based stuff, utilize teamwork with companions or compliment the gameplay with additional exploration and mini-games. Also, regarding repetitiveness, even if I do decide to resume to this project at some point, I seriously doubt it'll be a long 10+ hour commercial release that requires a fully developed world and tons of variety. It's more likely going to be a freeware hobbyist thing that lasts an hour or two, but as I said, it's very possible that this little prelude is all that it will ever be. And besides, there's nothing wrong with easy and simple games, there's a reasonable audience for it and I don't consider them any worse or lower than the hardcore puzzle ones.


Also, I would like to tone down people's expectations about the fishing mini-game. It's still going to be very simple and basic, because I don't really have the scripting know-how or time to create something more complex and advanced 

Oh, and as a little visual treat, one of the first things I animated were run cycles for the main character, but they didn't make it into the game, because the current walkable areas were too short and small:
[imgzoom]http://tulevik.eu/ags/mags/Prelude/Movement.gif[/imgzoom]