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I wasn't sure if you just meant the video for my LPs or the whole shebang so I included all of it. If there's information irrelevant to your query below then please just ignore it, figured it's safer to just include it all.

1. I use FFMPEG to do surface recording, usually encoded in an intermediate codec.

2. For the audio of the game I capture it via a Pulse connector.

3. I record my voice via Audacity. Once the LP is recorded and edited I also use Audacity to do waveform compression, equalization, normalization and editing.

4. I use Avidemux to edit the videos without re-encoding a single bit of data. I feel this is important as to avoid multiple encoding passes since it'd reduce the quality of the final encode.

5. Once I've edited the video and audio I merge the pieces into parts. These I upload to youtube then encode via x264 for long term storage on my own network.

Hopefully one of those will answer your question.

Oh okay sweet XD yeah I've been wanting to do some Let's Plays myself with some AGS games but I'm pretty ignorant to which screen capture/audio recording programs I will need to pull it off as simply as possible without sacrificing quality. I've tried Hypercam but the playback was mega laggy and it also affected my gameplay sometimes and would just stop recording for no reason and with absolutely warning  . So hours of gaming were instantly lost T__T

What program do you use to record your Let's Plays with?

Sweet! Thanks for the heads up

Speaking of cyberpunk games, anyone know of some cool point n' click adventure games within the cyberpunk genre? Gemini Rue is the only one I can think of off the top of my head.

Thank you. That's very kind of you to say.

Honestly though, we debated if we were ready for MAGS and then just went "Screw it!" We didnt expect to make anything amazing, but our only unspoken rule was to try our best. If it came out rubbish, then we would laugh it off. It's a short freeware game, and our first one too, so it didnt really matter if it was bad or good. It was just important we learn the code and make something complete. Those were the goals. By some goof we made something people liked and here we are.

I think we can all be too cautious, and sometimes the best thing to do is just go for it. The only way to find out if you can make a go of it, is to make a game and finish it Your art style will work well and you understand animation so you only need to carve some time out each day/week/month to work on it. If you need help with code there are so many tutorials and helpful forum threads, and if you need any help with your story or art there is a critics lounge too. If you wanted an opinion on story ideas I'd be happy to take a look for you.

Also if you do make any Witchy Woo fan art please let us know. Sox would get super excited and I would love to post it on our blog

Yeah I'm kind of tempted, if I can manage to allot myself some more free time in the following months to participate in either the April/May MAGS. I'd really like to do that I'm just afraid since I lack proper programming knowledge that the art might look lovely, and the writing potentially compelling, but ultimately the coding would probably be hella glitchy ;A; but if it's just for a MAGS I think I won't feel as pressured to make it uber polished and just do my best to start and complete something.

I actually started on the fanart piece a few months ago, hopefully I can try to finish it up this weekend :p Woo is such a cute character and a lot of fun to draw!

Frankly, all the AGS campaigns I've backed have all surpassed the goal, I have kindly helped people who backed them by posting them into various forums as well. I think Nelly Cootalot, made a great buildup to its kickstarter. If there's product, people will pay for it eventually. I've been around, I've seen things, I've basically kickstarted a certain agser without him being aware of it. It's all about the product.

I really admire the AGS community and how supportive everyone is towards each other. Admittedly since I've never used this engine before and really have no experience with programming anything from scratch I'm afraid my game might seem visually appealing but fall horribly short (and glitchy) in execution. Hopefully I can attract some coders/programmers that find my story compelling enough to contribute. Originally I was under the assumption that I'd most likely have to do everything entirely on my own and if I required additional help I'd have to pay for it. Which is why I was so worried about requiring any kind of substantial budget in the first place. But I think seeing what others in the community have been able to achieve with little to no experience with the engine and little to no budget to work with I'm feeling a lot relieved and even more motivated that I might be able to pull this off after all. *fingers crossed*

I remember checking out your game when I was browsing the MAGs competitions and pondering if I was ready to tackle one or not. I've been a bit hesitant but your game was really impressive and definitely motivating. I actually wanted to make some fanart for it after playing it, I have no idea why I never got around to doing it yet =X

I'd love to see/play your next game! And I hope to have a similarly successful debut game! <3

I was torn between "monster" and "height" simply because those associated illustrations got my creative juices flowing the most and I instantly got a handful of ideas that I could really work with

But ultimately I voted on height. I love massive cyberpunk metropolis type stuff.

Has anyone seen that new show Almost Human? Karl Urban from the Judge Dredd remake is in it. That and Continuum pretty much curb my scifi cravings in terms of television. Would really love a full blown cyberpunk show though. That'd be epic.

I think it sounds like a wicked good time what theme did you vote on?

Yeah that's why my first game isn't too overly ambitious. It's nowhere near the caliber of say Blackthorne's "Quest for Infamy" I'd have to be downright mental to aim that high for my first try :p

The story I'm working on isn't a complex saga and the game itself is rather short but intended to be a full game. But I still feel it has a nice refreshing and unique concept that anyone could get addicted to. The only reason I'm at all concerned with budget and by that i'd probably only need like 500-600$ minimum that...I can probably save up all by myself if I live off ramen noodles for awhile lol. The reason for this is though the game will be simple as anyone's first game should be I really want to make it as polished as possible in other areas. I want it to have a strong story line, attractive graphics, and optionally (if a nice little microbudget would allow) a decent soundtrack and voice acting. The latter two aren't exactly necessary for a first game, I get that, but hey if I managed to raise/save up enough to afford to do that, it'd be groovy.

This game would be more of an introduction to what I could offer as a game designer. I don't intend to profit from the game and ideally I'd like to release it for free but at the same time I want it to be able to compete (in terms of quality) with similar titles that are of a commercial "indie" grade. Meaning, I don't want it to be sloppy if I can help it XD

I ran this Kickstarter campaign several months ago expecting to only receive pledges from friends, family and a few AGSers. As it was, the majority of support came from adventure game fans I've never met.

I remember your game being one of the first AGS games I came across and it was one of a handful of modern P&C Adventure games that really inspired me to take a stab at the genre XD and thanks for sharing your advice! It really helped put things in better perspective for me. I'm still trying to figure everything out and settle on the best way to approach everything. I mainly posted this thread because I wanted to hear from other AGSers before attacking any given project blindly :p

I don't know what communities you've visited before, but you'll have to work harder if you want to annoy people here

The most important things have already been said, the only thing I can add is this: If you really want to make a game, just make it - no one here wants to discourage you. The best thing you can do is to work on your game until you have something to show. Then you can decide if you want to recruit other people to help, and if your concept is good enough for a crowd funding campaign. Maybe it's a good idea to make a small one-room game first to get some practise. With your first complete game, you're bound to make a few mistakes. And why not have a look at the "Competitions & Activities" section? We're all crazy here anyway, so you've got nothing to fear.

Yeah I've mostly just been lurking on these forums until now but I really admire its community over other indiedev/gamedev forums that have a very pretentious air about them. You know, the ones who get all miffed if they get even the slightest whiff of a idealistic noob. It's especially more difficult when they find out you're a girl, they get even more insulted for some reason. HOWEVER AGS seems to be a really fun and nurturing community which is nifty. Also I've noticed a lot of female gamedevs on here so I feel much more comfortable.

For my first game I made it rather simple because I didn't want to be too ambitious with my first attempt although I think I did a pretty good job and creating a unique and intriguing story to make it stand out more. But maybe even that is a bit too ambitious. I'm pondering more and more over the course of this thread that I should probably collab with a small team on a fun hobby project or join in a game jam or something to get some more experience under my belt before going solo.

I just didn't think I'd get much interest in collaborators with my game until I produced a lot or most of it solely on my own beforehand. But shelving my game and contributing to someone else's who has previously proven themselves is probably the better alternative. :p

I wanna plaaaay ;A;

Thanks everyone for your replies I'm sorry if I wasn't completely clear in my original post or gave people the wrong impression. Over the past 10 years I have fiddled in game making as nothing more than a secret little hobby of mine. I've made (albeit unfinished) puzzle games in Flash, platformers in Game Maker, VNs in Ren'py, etc. (though this was several years ago) and I feel I am ready to pursue it on a more serious and professional level. I've always had an interest in making games but was never taken seriously and always discouraged to pursue it.

I hope my OP didn't give people the impression that I was intending to doodle up some stick figures over the weekend and slap that up on Kickstarter in a premature attempt to beg for money. If I were to follow through with it I would spend a good 4-6months working on a playable demo and a nice proposal video so that I can do my very best to portray my intentions and goals with the game before I'd even find myself personally ready to take that next step.

I also understand the concept and importance of marketing and networking. I wouldn't launch a Kickstarter and just sit on my bum expecting money to roll in with no effort on my part. Which is why I thought it important and potentially useful to ask the actual community their opinions. Be it their own personal experience, advice, etc.

This is something I would probably launch much later in the year and I wanted people's advice beforehand so that when I do make my "debut" within the community I'm able to make an impressive first splash instead of a mucky puddle. =/

Also figured I'd mention I am a full-time animation student so the artwork commissions are mostly done in the little free-time I get. I don't do commissions full-time and don't really consider it my full-time job. I also do web design gigs so it's not my only form of extra income. My art commissions as of late have been lacking because again it's not a very lucrative thing to do anymore...for really any artist unless you're part of a team or studio. Most people expect it for free and truly never grasp just how much work and effort is put into any given piece. So I've kinda opted to just draw for "me" instead of others at this point. Focusing on making my game is something I was really excited to do but now I'm worried it'd just be a wasted effort if I've already destroyed everyone's expectations with this noob post. I really should have thought that through I'm really sorry guys! XD I hope my uneducated rambling in the world of AGS hasn't annoyed too many people

Cheers!

You need to poke a while (with a long stick) to find the quality stuff, but DeviantArt is still popular and at has a PM/Message/Group system that's flexible enough to find people and collaborate. I did some collab stuff for an adventure game there way back in 2004 and it was good fun. Nothing came out of it, but seven people scribbling and tossing ideas at each other was defenitely worth it.

Also! That is an adorable picture, and the first thing I though was: Ren'py! Make a Visual Novel! The toolkit is free and apparently quite easy to use, and you cut out a lot of AGS overhead when you go for still images!

I was actually torn between making my game either a Visual Novel with Ren'py or a Point & Click Adventure with AGS in the beginning. Eventually I ended up leaning more towards AGS because even though both are pretty niche genres I felt the aspect of actually being able to interact with the environment and collect clues/investigate the storyline to be more intriguing. But maybe trying to use AGS for my first "commercial grade" game was a bit too ambitious. The major downside of Ren'py is that it doesn't have the element of interacting with the environment and gathering clues like AGS has. You could theoretically program it to have those similar features but I can't code from scratch to save my life XD

I've used DA in the past to search for gigs and clients but haven't lately because I started to get ripped off or scammed. 5-8yrs ago I use to get paid 40-80$ for a full body colored illustration (mind you my ability back then was FAR WORSE than my current level) yet now I can't find gigs that pay more than 5-10$ for the same thing with far superior quality without people crying about it being too expensive.

My other artsy friends think it's downright criminal that I put all my time and energy in jobs that ultimately only pay out 5-10$ but it's all I can get these days. Generally the commission rate equation goes more like 8-15$/hr of work. The drawing I posted earlier for example took 8-10hrs to complete so in theory I should be getting paid more like 80-100$ for stuff I end up doing for 5-10$ x__x;

I should have become an accountant.

I've been tempted to try and collaborate with a team maybe. Put my game on hold temporarily while I build up my reputation in the AGS community as a hard worker and innovative storyteller XD but I haven't really seen anyone seeking new collaborators especially without previous experience. Maybe if I was able to build up a reputation and network that way I could eventually earn the respect from people in the community to warrant the right to launch a crowdfunding campaign for my own game without looking like an amateur dickwad.

Whenever I tried to join a gamedev community/forum in the past without any prior programming knowledge I've been laughed out. Especially when they find out i'm a girl, most of the time the response I get is, "oh you want to make a game? That's cute." So everything I have learned or attempted in the past has been self taught and I've never really had the opportunity to benefit from a supportive like-minded community before. Luckily I think that is slowly changing and people are becoming more understanding and accepting. But I still find it rather difficult to get my foot in the door.

Anyone know of any good forums/communities to look for collab/commission work?

Not a completed game yet and not even bothered to spend some free time on basic graphics yet - I doubt that someone is willing to spend money on such a kickstarter...
It may sound harsh, but unless this is the most innovative game concept with amazing story and stuff, I don't think this will be funded successfully...

Yeah like I mentioned I've pretty much finished the story/script for the game. Right now I'm just working on some prototype artwork in an attempt to put together a polished mockup of the game so that I can at the very least announce the game's pre-production. I would eventually intend to utilize that material to create a proposal video for a crowdfunding website like Kickstarter or Indiegogo if I surrendered to the idea and tried to go that route with seeking the necessary funding.

But you've pretty much verified my concerns and now I'm not so sure I should attempt to seek funds in that way after all. It was just eating me up and I had to ask! :p

This is an example of some of my freelance work, to give some idea of my competence as an illustrator.

Sadly I can't really get more than 5-10$ for a piece similar to this so trying to save up money for my own projects proves extra difficult when bills and food are more of a priority. I just got really excited with the prospect of turning my story into a Point & Click Adventure game and kind of approached it entirely with that in mind. But I could always re-write it as a novel I suppose. It's so much easier to get a book deal than it is to pursue the game industry XD

I just love telling stories and am determined to get this one out there, no matter the format. Though an AGS game would have been most ideal.

Thanks so much for hearing me out guys! I really admire this community and other AGS developers. I guess I'll just continue to lurk the forums from now on lol.

I'm an illustrator and plan to do all the graphics myself but all my free time I would have to spend on doing that is normally taken up by the few freelance gigs I manage to get just to pay the bills and feed myself. I'd love to be able to afford to take some time off from freelance gigs to devote my time and energy to my own project but I can't. I'm already couch surfing as it is just to get by with what i'm making now. I would only need enough to well, continue surviving while I pour myself into this project and see it to completion. I would also like to afford to pay for voice actors and a music composer if the crowdfunding was successful enough to afford that but if my budget is constricted I could do without it but it would be lovely to afford to pull that off. Can't hurt to dream!

This would be my first completed game if I managed to afford to finish it so I'm not expecting to raise or require a large budget. But if I'm to start expanding my "game designer portfolio" I've gotta start somewhere :p

I'm curious how others have pulled off completing their games on either a micro budget or no budget at all. I'm eager to get some ideas or advice from other developers! If I were to do it in my free time with no budget it would probably take me 3-5yrs to complete on my own. But if I was able to raise say...2-5k which may not seem like much of anything to most game publishers out there I could finally finish this project in less than 3-4months.

Okay so for the past few months I've been sitting on my first P&C Adventure game but beyond writing the script and fleshing out the story/characters I haven't been able to complete the rest mainly due to budget constraints. I desperately want to start completing the graphical assets for the game but without any funds to do so I pretty much have to abandon the project entirely. I can spare the limited free time I do have to muster up a glossy mockup/prototype for a Kickstarter campaign but without raising some money I'm pretty much screwed. I've seen several successful campaigns in this particular game genre do amazingly well and achieving goals of 60k, 200k, to 400k+ which is crazy ridiculous to even fathom XD I wouldn't need nearly that much yet I feel awful even asking for a few hundred bucks.

So my question is should I suck it up and put one together anyway even if I'm afraid people will bash me for it and hope for the best because what do I have to lose? Should I wait until a mysterious dead uncle leaves me his wealthy estate? Or are there any other possible alternatives to crowdfunding that I can pursue to obtain the needed funds? eg. an indie game publisher that will grant me a modest advance if I present my "currently in progress" game?

I'm all really new to this and I'm excited to pursue it on a serious level but no clue as to how to go about affording to do so =X How do you guys do it? I'd love to hear some personal experiences from others in the community.

Thanks guys for being so supportive! I felt awful for my lacking ability to create anything for this month

Really bummed to admit this but I won't be submitting an entry I was overly confident with my abilities to whip something up without realizing how much of a noob I am with the engine, in short my attempts were a huge noobish mess ;A; once I am a bit more familiar with AGS i'll be able to produce something worth submitting.

Until then I suck

I've got most of the story down for my game. You'll be able to play as two people and throughout your journey you will...
High five your bud
ride unicorns
get captured and escape from the fairy king

God damn it your game already seems cooler than mine D: I was also going to go with a fantasy-esque setting BUT NOW I GOTTA REWRITE EVERYTHING.