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I'm pretty tired and bored of working on another project I'm working on and I hope to find some "creative relaxation" with this
This image is all I have at the moment, but I'm "announcing" it anyway just to convince myself I'll make it in time

I'm using Hexels Pro (the newest Beta version) for graphics and I'm trying a 800x600 resolution!

Yesterday evening I noticed that Hexels had a public beta for a new version that introduces animations, new modes and layers! So I decided to give it a try

Very nice theme! Lately I'm dealing with "ruined landscapes" settings, so I jumped right in Two birds with one stone.
This was made in about 2 hours (I don't think I'll refine it, but anyway)

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/FifWUDR.png[/imgzoom]

Can't wait to see your other finished works!

I was too impaired by the hype to create a thread, so thanks Trapezoid!

Fingers crossed until.. Dunno... Until my bones break

Silly question, but still:

It is mandatory for you to use collisions? (Probably it is, being it a Game Design class where you may be supposed to make use of everything you've learned so far).

I'm asking because my only experience with GameMaker had no collisions (nor physics) at all and, while I had a bad time with GML as well, I managed to get something up and running in a very short time (Ludum Dare is a 48h game jam).

This is a really nice tribute to passion and game development Thanks for sharing.
(And yes I took a couple of shots as well )

Congrats everybody!
I voted #10, #12 and #13

Awesome work, Ghost!

I'd be more than happy to see Ghost's game finished
Unfortunately I can confirm that I won't be able to finish mine in time

So an array is a design pattern for dealing with that particular type of "problem". And if you want to apply some processing to every individual variable, you'd probably write a for loop looking something like for(int i=0; i<array.size; i++) {}.

Thanks, indeed Actually I had a feeling that arrays and functions were design patterns (and it figures, completely) but wasn't sure enough. This whole matter, by the way, gives me further light over things such as engines and SDKs

some of the articles in various tutorials and on the Wiki are arguably about design patterns.

I should definitely check them. Thanks a million for the thorough answer, it really shed some light

I really hope that this is the right place to post this.

I'm mostly self-taught and I've been on and off programming\scripting for few years now. Today, for the first time ever (or, at least, so I think), I laid my eyes on the "Design Patterns" topic. Singleton, Factory Method, and so on: I've never actually studied them and what most bothers me is that I really don't understand if, by any chance, I did use any of these patterns without even noticing it.

I'm more or less "accustomed" to the programming vocabulary, still I seem not to make heads nor tails of what I read here.

Lately I've been able to really improve my understanding of programming thanks to practical application of programming concepts through, of course, Adventure Game Design (), Music Programming and so on. I think that I'm still in that phase where I really need to "see" things before I can learn them.

So my questions are: what's the story with Design Patterns? Being AGS semi-object-oriented means that can handle them somehow? Can anybody show me some practical use of these patterns? Have you ever used them in AGS?

Thanks in advance!

Apart from the predictable answer "I don't think that there is a method that works the same way for everybody", I think that it could actually even depend by the amount of work you think that your design is going to take.

Being not someone who was taught a "working method", my own current method can prove itself to be completely unproductive, compared to any other's.

I'm currently trying to develop something larger than usual and, this time, I started from what I'd like my game to "express". Then I wrote down some plot ideas (that still leave huge plot holes). After that I began scripting something with placeholder sprites and backgrounds, starting to work from where I think the game could eventually start. In parallel, I'm continuing to lay down the plot, fill the missing links and thinking about the puzzles as they come in my mind.

It helps me, because I think it's letting me develop a preexisting game world around simple "pivotal" plot hints.

My two cents (or even less ): if you don't know where to start, start from the beginning and see where it leads you To do a little is better than don't do anything at all and, at least, then you can say that you did!

[and Stupot+]

Congratulations to Ghost and Stupot+ and to the others as well!
And, Baron... For being the Vice-President of Awesome you sure make top quality trophies!

See you on the next round!

EDIT: Forgot to mention Stupot+

Say, we're a bit about half-time. How's everyone doing?

I think I'm designing something too large (at least for a noob like me!) to be developed within the month :\
We'll see, anyway... At this stage, I still don't even have an alpha version of the game

Oh, and your Lightweight BASS template is always amazing, btw!

Will Ponch finally submit a MAGS game? Why does OldSchool's avatar look different each time I look at it?

Ah, yes... If Ponch would submit a game, it would be aMOOsing! And... I did never really notice the shapeshifting Oldschool_Wolf avatar... Witchcraft!

[Best Fictional Game:]

Best Fictional Game: Ghost, Stupot+
Best Organized Review: CaptainD, WHAM
Best Word Choice/Style: Sinitrena, Eric
Most Incisive Review: CaptainD, kconan

Tough one, guys! Really great round anyway

[TITLE]

I hope I'm not too late but, anyway... Here goes!



TITLE: Do NOT Fall From The Stage
GENRE: Point and Click Adventure
DEVELOPER: Fourth Wall Games

As a self-taught musician and also a Neil Simon aficionado, I've spent a lot of time waiting for the right moment to play Do NOT Fall From The Stage, a traditional point and click adventure game developed by Fourth Wall Games.

Set in a non-specified American city during the '60s, the game features Vince Loretti and Bob Grubinski, two playwrights on a quest to see their work of a lifetime - a politically incorrect satyrical comedy, named Lapis Lazuli and Garlic Bread, Please! - published and brought on-stage by real actors.

As for most games of this genre, the true beauty of Do NOT Fall From The Stage lies in the details.

For instance, I really loved how the game takes its name from a sign stuck into the wall of Loretti and Grubinski's favourite nightclub, The Fuzzy Bin: a place where they arrange meetings with publishers and actors, in order to fulfill their dream.

Both Loretti and Grubinski are flat broke and most of the game's puzzles resolve around finding a way to build up the strongest impression possible for the next publisher they're gonna meet: a big fish from Broadway, named Fleming, which they managed to get in touch with thanks to their homeless mime-actor friend, Laurence McLoop, who lives and performs in the streets of the city.

Of course, humor is one of the most emphasized aspects of the game, both in puzzles (can a dead mouse be worn as an all-the-rage hat?) - which are balanced enough to both make few skilled adventure gamers stumble and introduce new players to the genre - and in the development of the storyline.
Soon enough, it will be revealed that Fleming is actually a woman, which will lead the protagonists to dramatically change all their plans in such a way that, at some point, will let the player move Loretti as he will do an improvised, awkward, stand-up performance at the Fuzzy Bin.
Without further spoilers, I'll just say that the results are hilarious!

The low-res pixel art does a great job both following the tradition and pursuing innovation with really smooth animations, bright colors and realistic backgrounds. The music is very fitting, sliding from swing to early rock songs in a really subtle way.

The Adventure Game Studio engine always proves itself to be incredibly open to experiments as you will see from the very beginning of the game which reminded me of an "enhanced" version of Woody Allen's Manhattan opening scene, featuring parallax.

Needles to say: I loved this game. But the problem is that I'm both a fan of adventure games and of these kind of plots. So, while I've found the experience to be extremely enjoyable, maybe it only suits the niche it appeals to, leaving those who are not very into adventure games out. Also, the storyline won't probably easy appear very interesting to new generation of players.

But maybe I'm wrong and, to prove it, I give it a full 10/10

EDIT: Few punctuation errors and formatting

A really well made experiment, in my humble and ignorant opinion

I can't really remember if I saw anything like the gas from the chimney and the little explosion in your other works but if they're not using a "particle system" they are very very smooth and realistic animations.

Regarding the main character. I like how Broken Age-ish its movements are, when interacting with something. I'm not really sure about the speed of the walkcycle. Somehow it makes it feel like it is too huge for the level it moves in.

Great stuff as always, anyway!

P.S.: Did you find it difficult to achieve this, using the latest AGS Editor edition?

Congratulations everybody!

I don't know if it's a third place but... Thanks to all those who voted my entry (#17)! And also thanks to anyone who did just read it

I totally agree with WHAM and Misj'

...And then, the game reviewed by the winner gets in the next MAGS topic !

[sure]

@Misj':

I really see your point and still I really don't know why I don't find the specific 6-words example (given the attribution doubts, I'll put Hemingway out of this) to be insulting, even though I think you're right when you say that it's not properly a story or at least it's not storytelling. It's a "transcribed picture" of a sign; a sign that has been isolated from its context.

I won't exclude that it could be simply my "fault": I happen to see "allusions to a story" in many things (not everything) and, when it happens, it's something that inspires me (even if I don't write so much and sure I'm no good at it). More simply it could be just that I like my imagination to be stimulated in a way that I can't really describe.

So when you despise that "allusion === story" I can't say that you are wrong: I wouldn't buy a 6-words book and I wouldn't suggest anybody to write it in order to achieve some "point" in literature (apart from "training").

It's not storytelling and it's not a story, but as long as it helps me write one (whether on paper or in my mind) I think it's worth reading
If it helps it more than other "6 words put together", I really can't explain why; sure it's not because I attributed it to Hemingway. Maybe it's just that the words used carry a different "range" of possible "events"?

On a side note: when I quoted the treatise On the Sublime, I was indeed exaggerating: it was just a way to try to put some usefulness in what I studied (bad) in high school, maybe fueling up a debate like the one we're having Of course, don't read anything I wrote as "aggressive"!

And also, I said "greatness" but being not a native English speaker I may have used the wrong word. I didn't mean it to be the among the greatest pieces of written art; I was just depicting what I thought it was its best "feature".