Messages

Yeah, I did want to put something like that in, but I couldn't find the right place for it and I was running out of time anyway so I left it as is rather than try and shove in a line where it doesn't fit. I'll look into it again and add something after MAGS voting has ended.

I don't watch horror movies, so I'm going to die horribly. Probably quite soon.

Does any part of the movie take place in an abandoned building?
Does the movie take place at Halloween?
Are the main characters teenagers?

[Like, was she supposed to seem emotionally disconnected because this is just her job, which is the vibe I got from the writing.]

Thanks, Blondbraid! I'm glad you stuck with it until the end!

That is AMAZING! I don't consider my approach to be brute force but rather a logical reconstruction.

I will fully admit, there is no hidden brilliance here. I didn't realise it was even solvable that way (other than literally trying every possible combination of words) . I suppose the content of the message is guessable, and some of the words in the letter hint within itself as to the outcome. But the rest is just coincidence, I'm not a secret puzzle genius.

Also while fleeing from robohenry and switching characters I somehow crashed the game. Will see if this is reproducable.

Yeah, that's the place there is most likely to be crashes, with the characters moving around so much. I'll have a look and see what could have caused it. Do you remember if either of the characters was speaking at the time?

I have a question I would like to ask to the author about this game:

Spoiler

Was the time-traveller character supposed to be tone-deaf to the sometimes horrible things that were going on around her?

Like, was she supposed to seem emotionally disconnected because this is just her job, which is the vibe I got from the writing.

Or did you write a lot of the character on the fly because of the time constraint?

I found this character quite unlikeable at the end of the game and I was wondering if this was on purpose or if it just turned out that way, or perhaps a bit of both?

No criticism intended here: An unlikeable character is fine in my book. I was just wondering if it was on purpose or not. And of course there is also the option where it's just a personal feeling on my part.

[close]

Yes, the part in bold is exactly what I was trying to get at! I didn't think I'd got it across very well, but my thinking was this:

Spoiler

I imagined the game as being part of an ongoing monster-of-the-week type of thing, like Doctor Who or something, where the protagonist is sent to a certain point in history, saves the day and then goes off on another mission. Except this is being seen from the point of view of the people left behind, rather than from the perspective of the "hero", so they have to deal with the consequences, while the hero moves on (also part of the reason why I didn't give the hero or villain names; they are the ones passing through this story, not the other way around). Also, the fact that these people are all long dead in her time means that she feels no connection, almost like she's just inside a story and that they are just characters and not real people. I mean, I wasn't aiming for her to be unlikeable, but emotionally distant, or desensitised to the situation, was something I was definitely hoping to get across. So, sort of yay?

But also, yes, a lot of it was written on the fly. If I'd had more time I would probably have tried to make her attitude a bit more get-on-with-it businesslike, rather than downright uncaring.

[close]

[Fred and Barney meet the future]

You are very welcome.

Fred and Barney meet the future by Slasher

Spoiler

After last month's more sombre entry it was nice to get back to classic Slasher territory with this game! You're very good at keeping the characters close to the originals, some of the dialogue sounded like it could have come straight out of the cartoon! The puzzles worked well within the story, and the ending was a surprise! Well done!

[close]

Time Trial by Mandle

Spoiler

So, I was thinking that this was a nice idea for a game, with the hunting and searching for water, and that it will be good when the combat has been added etc. Then I went back to the cave and OH WAIT it's clearly not the simple little game I thought it was. The whole console sequence was really unexpected and makes the entire game so much more intriguing. It will be interesting to see how the story progresses if you do end up expanding it to a full game. Good job!

[close]

Mandle:

Spoiler

It was actually "AnneDroid Botleyn" all along. I had exceeded my pun quota from the very beginning.

[close]

Ooh, using just one room is an interesting twist. I'm intrigued to see what everyone comes up with!

Mandle: Wow, that must have been awful. I'm scared of heights/falling too, but I don't know where it came from. I've been afraid of it for as long as I can remember.

I KNEW IT! Mandle never lets us down! I hope you realise we'll all be expecting a surprise Mandle MAGS entry every month from now on.

Also, I wanted to mention, I've updated my game to fix a game-breaking bug (thanks Mandle!). So if you've downloaded but haven't played yet, then you might want to re-download, just in case.

Yay! I remember you mentioning this in the MAGS thread back in January. It's good to see how much it's progressed. I'm looking forward to playing!

Thanks, Shadow!

ARGH! Sorry, Mandle. I thought I'd limited that to certain rooms, but obviously I forgot. I've fixed it now. About the other thing:

Spoiler

Yes, I see what you mean. I was a bit worried about the wording of that puzzle, especially whether non-native English speakers would be able to get it, which is why I added so many clues. If you keep going back to the tower then

Spoiler

eventually the guard just flat out tells you the code.

[close]

I hope you didn't feel cheated by it though. Maybe I'll rethink the wording of it for a later version.

[close]

Thank you for playing it right through, even though you had to start again. I'm glad you enjoyed it the second time around!

[The Execution of Anne Boleyn]

That's a shame, Creamy. I hope someone else is working on an entry, I don't want to take on Slasher all on my own...

Speaking of that...my entry is done! Behold, The Execution of Anne Boleyn:

Story:
Created for MAGS September 2017, for the theme "Past and Future Collide". When villains from the future alter the past, a time traveller must try to set history back on track with the help of an imprisoned queen.

Screenshots:

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/lakctf9.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/4tKUAtH.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/LiwplxM.png[/imgzoom]

Details:

• Two-click interface: left-click to interact, right-click to examine
• 320 x 180 resolution
• Game Length: Short

DOWNLOAD NOW!

I hope there's not too many bugs, I've tested it as thoroughly as I can (I even roped in Slasher to help! ). And if the final section seems familiar it's because it was ripped off from inspired by another game.

[Story:]

Story:
Created for MAGS September 2017, for the theme "Past and Future Collide". When villains from the future alter the past, a time traveller must try to set history back on track with the help of an imprisoned queen.

Screenshots:

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/lakctf9.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/4tKUAtH.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/LiwplxM.png[/imgzoom]

Details:

• Two-click interface: left-click to interact, right-click to examine
• 320 x 180 resolution
• Game Length: Short

DOWNLOAD NOW!

The game looks really good! And that was a great explanation of your thought-process while designing the puzzles.

Aww, thanks for the encouragement, Slasher!

Unless you have a zillion rooms to change you can do it.

To be honest, it does feel like I have a zillion rooms to change! Just as I think I'm nearly finished I remember something else that needs doing. And the game isn't even that big!

Nice one, Slasher! I'm getting there with my game, it should hopefully be ready by the end of the week. I've got a few more sprites to draw, the sound effects to add in and then it's just squishing the bugs.

I'll warn everyone now, though, the graphics are bad. When I did them at the beginning I thought I'd be able to go back later and make them a bit better, but I don't think I'll have the time. So I apologise to your eyeballs.

[Most difficult and cumbersome to use:]

Most difficult and cumbersome to use: funnyboy044

Most likely to injure the user: Rocchinator

Most tacky design: kconan

Congratulations, Cat and family!

Congratulations HanaIndiana! That was a really great take on the theme. Well done to Slasher and Mandle as well, both entries were fun and had a lot of potential.

I think you have to bring Character_Phone into the same room as the player before starting a conversation. So when the player clicks the phone, do

Code: ags

Character_Phone.ChangeRoom(player.Room)

before starting the dialog. If there's a better way of doing it then I'm sure someone else will let you know soon enough!

Good to hear, Slasher!

My game now has approximately one and a half puzzles and more character sprites than I've ever drawn in my life (not that it actually looks like it in-game). So it's getting there.

There are lots of theories about why Henry VIII had Anne Boleyn executed, but my game reveals the true story of what happened and is 100% historically accurate, as you can see from the screenshot* below:

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/4lJuUFU.png[/imgzoom]
*Everything in this image is subject to change, but probably won't.

Happy Birthday, Kumpel! I hope you have a great day!