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[TREES!]

Yay! Home and dry!

Well, home and and dry yesterday, but the sandman could not be held at bay any longer.

Pictures and videos coming soon...INCLUDING:

Scotch and Grundislav vs Wii!
Trees!
Fun at the local!
Trees!
Annie in a post-office!
TREES!
Plus Pablo, CJ, DaveGilbert, Creed_Malay, SinSin, Fuzzpilz, Hajo, m0ds, Hotspot, Magintz, etc, etc, etc.

Thanks to AGA for sheltering me from the elements/reality/death, and to all the Britteneers for being so welcoming and downright funky.

A special thanks to Ruby and Bonnie for redefining the term "smelly", but making up for it by being teh cute.

Yay!

...

TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

EDIT: But everything pales in comparison to the glory that is teh Zooty!!! THANK YOU ZOOTY!!! YOU COMPLETE ME!11!

EDIT: Oh, I forget to mention. This is meant to be an alternative to the "AGS in the media" thread, and an attempt to have all such material in the same place, catagorized and archived.

AGScene!

...is a new blog dedicated to keeping track of print (and web) reviews of games made with AGS.

And it needs...YOU! :o

Well, it needs non-UK AGSers, particularly those from english-speaking countries (USA, Canada, Australia, etc) who have access to gaming magazines from their own countries, and who could scan and upload any print reviews of AGS games (I know that the US editions of PC Gamer and Games for Windows have featured AGS games in the past) for posting on the blog. I pretty much have the UK covered.

The blog would also welcome print reviews (not web-based ones) from non-english speaking countries. In the past many AGS games have featured in Level magazine and such, and scans of these would be much appreciated.

I know not all of you would buy gaming magazines and the like, but if those who do (and have access to a scanner and the time to upload a jpg of the review) could post anything they find in this thread I would be most grateful. You would of course get a credit on the blog.

Thank you.

PS: Suggestions and opinions of the blog are also welcome.

Yes, you heard me! Before I go on, let me point out that I am awfully paranoid about the hidden dangers of the internet. I don't know why, I just am. And this happened not half an hour ago.

Now read on...

I'm a fairly conscientious type of guy when it comes to internet security. I have my ZoneAlarm, my SpyBot, my Firefox w/ Adblock Plus, etc, etc. I don't open suspect e-mails (I hardly ever get any), and I don't install software I don't need.

But none of this matters when you're surfing the web and you click on a link that's really a re-direct to a porn site or a phishing site or some other seedy shenanigans. Phishing sites or domains that are really just ad page things I can handle, but I have serious misgivings about being redirected to pornography.

I'm not a torrent user, but I do download from rom sites (old SNES and Genesis roms and the like), and I'm generally picky about the ones that I visit. Unfortunately, links sometimes go out of date, and the domain you get re-directed to isn't the one you thought you were clicking on.

I usually right-click a link in Firefox to check where it's going. Of course this is useless in cases such as the one I'm about to describe.

The link was obviously out of date, but someone had purchased/registered/whatever the domain on the other end. The address was the same alright, but it was now just a redirect. And redirect it did!

I ended up with a logo on my screen that said "ChrimataCo.com". That was it, nothing more. No ads or anything. So I figured it was just a domain park or something. Then I noticed the the domain name in the address bar was contained the words "pinkkittygirls".

Bollocks, I thought, my worst nightmare has come true and I've been re-directed to some underage porn site and the FBI have been notified and the police are on their way!

So I went to the old Whois thingy and started investigating.

ChrimataCo is an expired domain registered to something called Avalanche Services LLC. So I googled them and got listings for such things as CherryPimps, the aforementioned PinkKittyGirls, and others. Which made me feel worse. There was no way I was clicking on any of them, so I read the google site descriptions.

They mostly contained copyright notices for Avalanche Services LLC, so no help there.
Then I noticed that the one under PinkKittyGirls said "All models on this site are over 18 years old". So it is a porn site, I thought, but apparently not the illegal kind. Panic over, annoyance reigns.

And that's it, really. Nothing earthshattering, just an annoyance and a paranoid reaction on my part.

And I crawl an inch closer to total net paranoia.

Okay, end of rant. Similar stories are welcome.

[Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.]

And so another of our greatest writers shuffles off his mortal coil.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

November 11, 1922 â€" April 11, 2007

If you don't know who he was, do yourself a favour and go find out.

[Unbound]

LimpingFish Presents...

Unbound: A "Wound" Vignette.

The second in a series of three short introductory games based on the backstory of
an, as yet, unmade full-length game entitled: Wound.

2. Unbound.

The aftermath of Project Caterpillar has left four people dead, and Dr Nicholas
Powell missing. Howard Fielding, surviving member of Powell's research team, has
been sequestered to an abandoned government facility, while agents investigate the
circumstances surrounding the deaths of his colleagues and try to determine the
current whereabouts of Dr Powell.

But whatever answers Howard Fielding might have he's keeping to himself...and
whatever has been awakened in his subconcious mind is about to make itself known.

Features:

*Panoramic enviroments
*Pre-rendered graphics
*Original soundtrack


Screenshots:












(New)


Development Progress:

Story: 100%
Scripting: 100%
Graphics: 100%
Sound/Music: 100%

Update 17/12/2007
Well...that didn't happen, did it? Nevermind, as Unbound is poised for a smash 'n grab release in the next day or two! The screenshots above are a little out of date, and new ones will be available in the upcoming Completed Game Announcements thread.

Whee!

Update 24/10/2007
This will be my last update for Unbound. Everthing is on course for a mid to late November release. There will be a short, in-house beta period beforehand to (hopefully) iron out any bugs and such.

Unbound has been developed alongside the third Wound Vignette, the title of which shall be unveiled a day after Unbound is released.

Because a lot of the groundwork for the third game is already completed, a release should hopefully take place sometime during Q2 '08.

Update 08/08/2007:
Just a new screen. I've neglected this project over the last month or so, but things are back on track.

Update 04/06/2007:
Some more screenshots from the first half of the game. Things are still moving, and a major update will soon be posted. A title change may be on the cards, but we'll see how that goes...

Update 06/05/2007:
Just updated the screenshots to how they will actually look in-game. Progess is a little slow at the moment, but things are moving.

Report: 14/3/2007:
Some people have been asking me when I was going to continue the story of Heartland and, although still early in development, I'm happy to announce the second installment: Unbound.

Although not a direct "sequel" as such, Unbound will go deeper into the story of Project Caterpillar, answering some of the questions raised by the audio tapes in R J Coombs apartment (see Heartland Deluxe), and introduce some more characters from the Wound universe.

Release date: November 2007.

When I try installing it I get this...


(Click for larger view.)

This is an original copy that I'm trying to install from CD, not some shoddy warez.

I've tried all the usual compatibility settings and stuff. The files it's asking for seem to be on the CD.

I'm out of ideas.

HELP!

EDIT: I tried Vogons, but couldn't find any mention in their forums.

EDIT: I've also exhausted the error database on the InstallShield website.

EDIT: It seems I'm not the only one with this error. I wonder why it seems to install and run fine for other people on XP. 

[TUNE CONTEST JANUARY 25TH TO FEBRUARY 1ST.]

TUNE CONTEST JANUARY 25TH TO FEBRUARY 1ST.

Theme: Goodnight and sleep well.

You know like...when...y'know the bit in Japanese RPGs when your character arrives at an inn and the...dude...behind the counter says "100 Gil to stay the night", or something, and you pay and the screen fades to black, and you hear this...um...little jingle, like...

This
or
This
or
This

That's what I want.

There are no restrictions. I doesn't have to sound like the above examples, but it should be short and sweet. Literally.

Entries will be judged on their ability to make me feel drowsy (a good thing in this case).

BEGIN!

EDIT: Sorry, but if you want to listen to the examples I've linked to you'll have to cut and paste the url into your browser

[LimpingFish Presents:]

LimpingFish Presents:

HEARTLAND DELUXE

The...deluxe...version of my OROW game Heartland.

"David Lawson, reporter, goes to the apartment of R J Coombs, local nut and all-round weirdo, after Coombs leaves a note for him at the offices of the City Pursuer newspaper. Upon arriving, Lawson finds Coombs is missing and sets about piecing together the clues he finds in the apartment."



Update 24th November 2006

Version 1.1 is now available and includes...

* Added player aid to the lock puzzle.
* Cutscenes can now be skipped (press 'esc' or right mouse button).
* Problems with location of phone fixed.
* Added alternative inventory combinations.
* Added error messages for player.
* Changed GUI (moved Inventory button to centre of screen).

For now it's only available from the download mirror (FileFront) .

EDIT: Yes, FileFront is a bit of a drag. If you're having any problems with downloading from FileFront, try enabling cookies in your browers and trying again.

Not a problem any more, thanks to Vince Twelve. Use the main Download link now, the mirror is FileFront.



Although greatly improved( ) over its first incarnation, Heartland Deluxe is still an OROW game at...heart...and as such is still fairly short.

I don't think it contains any bugs, but with my crappy scripting anything is possible.

Unfortunately, it's only available to download from FileFront, which some people have expressed problems downloading from. It seems you might need to have cookies enabled for the download to work. Sorry about that, but I'm trying to find a better host as we speak.

Thanks to Vince Twelve, FileFront is no longer the only option!

You'll find the download link (use the main one, the mirror is FileFront) on the AGS games page here.

Screenies...

[TUNE CONTEST EXTENDED (8th NOV - 20th NOV)]

Hallo, AGS forum people.

TUNE CONTEST EXTENDED (8th NOV - 20th NOV)

Theme: The Duel

Rules: Entries can only contain THREE percussion tracks and FOUR instrument (including vocal based) tracks. Any type of drum and any type of instrument, or vocal, is acceptable. Any musical genre is also acceptable.

Rule example: 

Percussion track 1: Bass drum
Percussion track 2: Snare
Percussion track 3: Hi-hat

Instrument track 1: Guitar
Instrument track 2: Bass
Instrument track 3: Flute
Instrument track 4: Vocal

THE DUEL! Between two grizzled soldiers locked in combat on the battlefield, or two cute bunnies fighting over a juicy carrot. Or two bald men fighting over a comb. Or a dance-off between two groups of gyrating...people. Anything and everything inbetween!

Starting...NOW!

["Heartland Deluxe"]

"Heartland Deluxe"

A Game by LimpingFish

Thanks to everybody who downloaded my OROW game, Heartland, even though it didn't actually contain that much "game".

Well, that's about to be rectified with the imminent release of Heartland Deluxe, the game Heartland might have been if I'd had more than a week to work on it.

Thanks to Steve McCrea's excellent Panorama Module, Heartland Deluxe now
features a fully rotatable room!


Update (22 Nov 2006): It's finished! See the Completed Games thread  .

Update (18 Nov 2006): It's finished...almost. I'm just waiting on some 2D elements for the intro, but the game itself is done. It will be available to download as soon as I can get it onto the AmericanGirlScouts server.

Minor Update (07 Nov 2006): It's coming, I swear. Any day now. Seriously.

Minor Update (18 Oct 2006): Due to circumstances beyond my control,  the release date of Heartland Deluxe has suffered a slight delay. I hope to have it ready sometime before the end of this month. In the meantime, I've updated the first two screenshots to how they will look in the final release. Thanks for your patience.

Minor Update (19 Sept 2006): I have set myself a target of the 18th October to have HD released. I'll have a better idea after the final update.

Update (12th Sept 2006): Things are moving along nicely. Just some scripting and music needs to be completed, and some minor graphic work.The next update will be the last before release, and will introduce you to some new characters from the game.

Some 640x480 screens below...








Force the lock to find out what's inside Coombs' closet!


The improved tape recorder interactions will allow the player to read at their own speed.

Development Progress (as of 19th Sept 2006):

Story: 100%
Scripting: 100%
Graphics: 98%
Sound/Music: 100%

Expected completion date: November 2006

For those interested, this months PC Gamer features Full Throttle as its classic demo of the month, as well as a retrospective feature inside the magazine.

Also included on the coverdisc are the original PC Gamer review and a fairly detailed look at the production of the game, both articles dating from 1995.

For those of you who don't have access to the magazine (or are just too mean to buy it ) I have uploaded the coverdisc articles for your viewing pleasure. Get them here...

...and here...

Due to technical reasons, they won't be up for long so get 'em while they're hot!!!

Enjoy

All gone! :'(

I hope everyboy, who wanted to, got a chance to read them.

[ANIMALS IN STRANGE PLACES]

Fotoshop Friday. But on a Monday!  :o

"Can he do that?"
"Dunno. But he is!"

ANIMALS IN STRANGE PLACES

Such as...
One is an rodent who marks his territory with an anal scent gland. The other is a Ferret.


Before I added the Ferret...


Originality will be taken into account as well as photoshop skills.

Go nuts, people.

Well, not really...

But the latest Official Windows XP Magazine Special Edition carried a dozen or so on its coverdisc. I just wanted to let the authors know, if they already didn't, of another instance of their games reaching a wider audience.

The games:

Alien Time Zone
Anna
Apprentice 1+2
Detention
The Elevator
Five Days A Stranger
Frank The Farmhand Part 1
Prodigal
The Winter Rose

Below are scans of the coverdisc slip, and screenshots from the coverdisc browser...



























...and there we are.

Some scans from the latest issue of Retro Gamer:

The Making Of Sam & Max:Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

Tim Shafer Interview: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

EDIT: Okay, it seems everybody has had a chance to read these so I'll be removing them now. Sorry if you missed them 

Some more jpeg scans of interesting articles...

(The LSL and STS articles are from Retro Gamer. The Charles Cecil is from PC Zone)

Leisure Suit Larry retrospect and interview with Al Lowe:

Page One
Page Two
Page Three
Page Four
Page Five

A look at Simon The Sorceror:

Page One
Page Two
Page Three

A short interview with Charles (Broken Sword) Cecil:

Page One
Page Two

Enjoy!

A couple of recent articles dealing with adventure games, in one form or another, that I though people might be interested in...

Go here...
- URL REMOVED -
...and click the links.

The Sam 'n Max, AbandonWare, and Ron Gilbert articles are from PC Zone.
The Adventure Games, and DOTT articles are from GamesTM.

Enjoy! 

Edit: These articles are no longer available on my site. Sorry :'(
I hope everybody who wanted to read them did so.

The sequel to Sam & Max may be dead, but 'Bone' might turn out to be a worthy replacement...

Go Here...Ã, 

http://homepage.eircom.net/~limpingfish/index.html

...for a preview of 'Bone' from PC Zone magazine.

Then Here...

http://www.telltalegames.com/bone_the_game

..for more!

Enjoy!

Here's an article I've posted, about humour in games, from a 1998 issue of PC Gamer...

http://homepage.eircom.net/~limpingfish/page2.html

(Right Click on "Funny Games Article" link, and Save Target to download. It's a 2mb PDF document.Ã,  )

...It mostly talks about adventure games, and has contributions from Al Lowe and Terry Pratchett...

Enjoy

I've posted a scan of an interview Tim Schafer gave in the current PC Gamer magazine, in case anyone would be interested in reading it.

Just go here...
http://homepage.eircom.net/~limpingfish/Index.html
...and click on the link.

Enjoy!

EDIT: For anyone who hasn't already seen it, head here for more Tim goodness...

http://tinyurl.com/bhxhj

EDIT: Psychonauts playable demo on new "PC Gamer" DVD coverdisc...for people who haven't got broadband

EDIT: Uploaded four page review of 'Psychonauts' from PC Zone magazine...
Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Go here...

http://homepage.eircom.net/~limpingfish/index.html

Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  ...and follow links.

Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  PC Zone also has a playable demo on this months coverdisc...
Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã, 
Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Enjoy!

I guess this should be in the 'currently in production' forum, but since it's down, and I'm still pretty early into making my game, I may as well take the opportunity and get a critique on what I have so far. Graphics-wise, that is.

I have some screenshots on my website....

http://homepage.eircom.net/~limpingfish/index.html

...and would be grateful for any feedback. Thanks!

EDIT: A new screenshot has been added at the above.
Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã, Tell me what you think