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Happy Wonkyth, Tabata! And a happy Tabata to Wonkyth too!

Salo?

Sadly, I've started two different stories, but I can't make either of them work to my satisfaction.

After pushing for someone to restart this contest, I find myself with nothing to enter. Oh, sweet irony! 

Now that you are here, I wonder, it was difficult making your 1st game? You have a bit of knowlegde on how to make it?

The first few games weren't too hard to make because I designed them to be very small. I kept the puzzles straightforward and the arcade mini-games simple. I mostly focused on conversations and the inner monologue of the hero because writing was the one thing I was certain I could do properly at that point. Plus, back in those days, AGS featured an easy to use interactions editor that made it a snap to plug simple puzzles and conversations into the game. Of course, later I stopped using the editor, but it was crucial to those first few games and probably the reason I stuck with AGS long enough to get the Barn Runner series up and running. (Personally, if I were to discover AGS today, given its lack of an editor and its "code everything" approach, I'm not sure I'd stick with it. It was pretty daunting at first, and without the editor there to help me understand how the room code worked, I'd have probably given up and tried to make more action-oriented games with Game Maker or something instead. )

The later Barn Runner games had increasingly complicated cutscenes and action bits (though the puzzles remain pretty easy, for the most part) because by that time, I had a much better understanding of how AGS worked "under the hood." And as I wind up the Barn Runner series (three more games to go!), I'm finally able to do the things I originally wanted to do but couldn't at the time.

Start slow, is what I'm saying. I see a lot of new guys starting interesting projects, but then those games just sort of fade away because the creator bit off more than they could chew and they abandon the game in frustration. If there's a really great game you want to do (and I'm sure there is), then do a couple of little games first. Don't be afraid to take the long road to your masterpiece. It will be worth the wait, I'm sure. 

This looks brilliant Ponch   

Thanks! Sorry to hear about your computer problems. 

Mysterious and exotic animals of the world.

We've all seen the boring, old animal kingdom in the zoo, on television, and on the annual Mittens Big Game Safari hunts. However, there are mysterious, exotic animals as yet unknown to science. Are they dangerous? Intelligent? Delicious? No one knows!

But rumor has it that a strange new critter has been seen lurking around, right here in this very thread!



Here are the rules for your hunt (using rifle, camera, or MS Paint -- your choice)

1. You must stay inside the lines when you color.
2. You can use as many colors as you like.
3. You can resize and rotate as needed.
4. Your entries must be in by August 22nd.

And the winners will receive one of these fine trophies.

(They look very much like the shirts offered by Intense Degree last time, but rest assured mine are of a much higher quality. No cotton-poly blend here, no sir! Hand wash only for my contestants!) 

I hope you view the first few Barn Runner games with a charitable eye. They're almost ten years old and I didn't know as much about AGS (v2.5) then as I do now. 

Love is never having to say...

So I won't.

My flag boy says to your flag boy "I'm gonna set your flag on fire."

Is that what you meant to say? 

I'm with Baron. Someone would have to pay me a lot of money to follow a schedule like that. Heck, I find a month of MAGS to be a bit much -- and I don't finish those games half of the time! Truly Tim is a hero to lazy programmers everywhere. 

Very fun little game. One can only wonder if it would have achieved even greater heights of cuteness if you'd spent the entire month working on it. 

Looking forward to playing more of your games in the future. 

X-Files: The Erlenmeyer Flask? (If I recall, Scully pulls that thing out of a jar in a lab).

The box looks very cool, Kconan. The retro design makes me wish I still had my Atari 2600.

"Exclusively for PC"? So there's no chance this will get ported to my Super Nintendo? 

Also, nice clock. 

Sweet biscuits! Isn't this one of the signs of the End Times? It's just like the Mayans predicted!!! 

(Also, congrats! Now release a new podcast already!)

Goodness, what a hard fought battle against many, many worthy foes. It was the stuff of legend, truly. But like the epic heroes we are, Frito and I emerged from the horde of lesser competitors, unbowed and victorious (just like Gilgamesh and that other guy, whatshisname -- best buddies 4ever!  )

I shall now hide myself away for a few days and try to come up with an entry worthy of this fine t-shirt. 

Damn you Large Marge! I had finally started sleeping through the night again! And now you're back!!! 

My first completed game: Billy Goats Gruff!!

Hooray! \o/

Congrats on making your first game, Nightfable. I hope you're not hungover from all the wine. 

Also, boo to Atelier with his promises of a game that never materialized! Boo! (I guess you'll have to submit it for amnesty!) 

Thanks DualGhosts! I'm glad you guys liked the game. 

And stop spreading rumors, spanos! 

Thanks! I'm not entirely happy with all of the art. I drew all of those pictures over two weekends, so some of them are really rushed. Several of the figures are too stiff and many of the angles used are pretty basic. I was hoping the visual novel style would give me a chance to do more varied backgrounds than the usual the nice, safe perspectives that I tend to use for my regular adventure games (a safe, boring background makes it so much easier for characters to walk around in). But, alas, it was a little too ambitious of a project to attempt for a MAGS contest and the end result isn't quite what I had hoped it would be. 

Still, I made a template out of it, so maybe I'll try something like it again one of these days when I have more time. Maybe Oceanspirit Dennis: The Visual Novel? At last, a chance to render Dennis in numerous loving, detailed closeups! 

Also, stay away from the wine! Booze only slows you down at crunch time! I'm speaking from experience here! 

Good luck! Still an hour or two left!

Prequel to Temple of Doom? Indiana Jones and the Temple of Bad CGI?

  Looks like fun, and based on a favorite story of mine as a kid.  I'll download and play it this weekend.   

Thanks! And I hope I can win your vote for MAGS.