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Another great looking game, Pinback.  Looking forward to it.

After much deliberation I've chosen to give my vote to...AtelierGames.  Yes, I'm fairly certain that's what I want to do.  I think.  Very tough call, but what can I say, I'm a sucker for Halloween stories.

Now everybody vote.  It'll be weird if I'm the only one.

There's a surprise.  Well done Babar, congratulations.

Finally finished all the games.

I thought I'd post my comments/constructive criticisms for each game in the order that I finished them.

Ted McBinky and his Steam Engine:

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This is either an ingenious parody or a triumph of sheer stupidity, but either way it kept me laughing, if not thinking particularly hard.
It reminded me a bit of my first ever AGS project which also featured an excessive number of keys and a MIDI rendition of a Black Sabbath song.

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Steamsquares:

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It's a fairly challenging little puzzle, and I confess I played it through several times while waiting for the other developers to finish. 
However, I find myself agreeing with Crimson Wizard on this one, it would be a really cool mini game (BioShock anyone?) but it doesn't fare too well as a stand alone concept.  It looks great, and it's a really fun way to kill 10 or 15 minutes, but beyond that has very little to offer.

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Steamtrek:

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A very cool idea, though I feel like more could have been done with it.
The 3D graphics were neat (if a little rough around the edges) and the dialog was quite funny.  There was at least one puzzle that was a bit harder than it needed to be but overall a very brief, enjoyable game.

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The Energizer:

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An interesting concept and I loved the idea behind the interrogation sequences.
In practice though, it called upon the player to pay a bit too much attention to tiny details.  The interrogation system was flawed in that you had to guess, blindly for the most part, what one word would make the suspect crack.  A very intriguing idea, overall, I had fun with it, but it probably could have been a lot better given more time.

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Samarkand:

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Brilliant!  Reminded me very much of Loom, one of my all time favorite adventure games.
That being said, the game was simply much too short.  The puzzles, while very inventive, weren't particularly challenging; if there had been more obstacles along the way this game could have been improved dramatically.

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Chronomancers:

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A lot of fun, despite the dead end bug and lack of a save function.
The aesthetic was very unique, and the dialog was probably the best written and most period appropriate of all the entries.
The game was hampered somewhat by the tiny graphics, which made every puzzle a bit of a pixel hunt.  A solid entry, but I wish discordance had paid a bit more attention to the bugs (and our desperate cries for save game feature).

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One of a Kind:

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This game features some very nice, if very simple visuals (it's a good thing).  The quality of writing was a huge step up from the author's last game and the story was, in my opinion, quite clever, and funny.  The puzzles were at times, unnecessarily difficult.  Admittedly, I'm not the best when it comes to puzzles, but I feel like I could have been saved a lot of frustration if there had been some more helpful feedback for certain interactions to let me know if I was on the right track (may be better in the latest version, I haven't played it).

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Trial of the Schnellersparrow:

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Wonderful, gorgeous graphics, and a very immersive, and very steampunk atmosphere really make this game stand out.
My biggest complaint is that the game gives you almost no feedback at all; I had no idea what I was allowed to interact with, or whether I was trying the wrong inventory combination or just missing the hotspots when I clicked.
The creative aspects (story, music, ARTWORK) are all top notch, but it was clear to me that the developer was struggling with the technical side of things.

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Great competition this month, I had tons of fun making my game and playing all of yours.

As for voting, I'm not quite sure...

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I may go for One of a Kind.  Despite my frustration with the puzzles, it really was the best balance of story and gameplay.  A lot of the other entries (namely Trails, and Chronomancers) came close, but in the end this game was both enjoyable, and relatively bug-free. Plus, I love The Beatles 

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Finished everything but Trial (ran into the same issue with the telescope as everyone else).

Also, at one point this happened:

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I used the elevator to go back inside the ship after I couldn't get the eyepiece off the telescope.  I looked around, didn't find anything, so I used the hammer to get back outside.  I still couldn't get the eyepiece, so I went back down the elevator, and this time I couldn't get back out (the elevator hotspot completely stopped responding to everything I tried to do to it).

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Is anyone still having issues with my game?  I'll try to work that bug out as soon as I can, it seems pretty rare though.

I could swear I tried that earlier and it didn't work.  I got it now though, so I guess I must have just been clicking the wrong hotspot by mistake.

That bug threw me off, I kept thinking maybe

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removing the bolt was supposed to allow the bellows to blow stronger.

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Maybe I should stop playing MAGS games for a while and go outside or something  .

I got a very similar error to tzachs (well, the same error message in a different place).  It happened when

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I was in the library trying to close the glass tube GUI

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As a side note I'm a bit stuck...

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I'm in the library trying to get the key. I managed to remove the cap, hook up the bellows, get the ball out and remove the bolt, in that order, but I still can't get the key, and removing the blot doesn't seem to have changed anything.

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Also, I'm quite glad you decided to finish this game, I've enjoyed it.

And how can they kill  John's ghost with a shotgun? :p

1. That wasn't shotgun XD. it was some old aged rifle.
2. I think that was rather metaphorical, "magical" murder, since the woman, who held the gun, was posessed by the spirit of John's father at that moment. I guess that involved some specific laws of the world of spirits, or something...  :
By the way, as you may know from playing 7Days or 6Days, John wasn't actually killed to the end....
oops, spoiler spoiler

If you read the text in the black magic book carefully, it says that the ritual of putting the ghost back in its original body makes it 'partially mortal' or some such thing (i.e. the whole point of the ritual is so they can kill the ghost with a shotgun, although I kind of like Crimson's explanation better).

So after 5DAS, the idol is haunted by both Tall Man and John? If you touch it, you are possessed by John, if you "torture" it, you get killed by Tall Man?

As I understand it John's soul is in the wood, so it can come out posses people, but the Tall Man's soul is the wood so it has to stay put until July 28 rolls around, and the Tall Man's body can come avenge it.

@Leon/Helme:

Dang, guess I should find myself a tester, thanks for all the feedback.  In my defense a lot of the aesthetic issues were left as is just so I get on with the rest of the game.  Still, I'll have to address these problems as soon as possible now that the extension's been approved (check the game post for patch updates I suppose).

The dialog font is custom made with Radiant's font editor.  I'm glad you found it readable, because that was one of my bigger concerns about the game (it's kind of dialog heavy after all).

[Ex Machina (Now version 1.2)]

First off, I would not be opposed to an extension, even though my game is done, as long as I retain the right to continue to patch it until the new deadline.  It's only fair after all.

That being said here's my entry, I tried to make it a little less convoluted than The North Crown but I feel like it could still use some clarification at times (hence why extra time would be handy).  You may want to hold off playing it until duals gives us the word on this extension business, as I will probably make some changes if I can.  I just want to be sure I'm entered.

I don't think I'll be doing any more updates.  Part of me wants to start designing new rooms and puzzles and things, but I think that would just weigh me down and cause more harm than good.  So this is the final version unless I need to do another emergency bug fix.


Ex Machina (Now version 1.2)

http://www.mediafire.com/?znl50jz4myi

Story:
William Ashcroft is a nervous man, who left his adventurous spirit behind him years ago.  One day an unfortunate chance encounter with a duo of ruthless assassins draws him into the midst of a strange conspiracy...

Also, the game features two endings depending on how you perform on a certain puzzle.  Probably should have mentioned that sooner.

Version 1.1 Fixes:

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Fixed dead end bug in tavern.
Added more feedback for picking up items.
Fixed some typos.
Fixed walking bar stool bug.
Fixed infinite hammer bug.
Redrew certain inventory items.
May have fixed blowpipe staying in your inventory issue.
Fixed issues with mislabeled hotspots and descriptions.
Expanded hotspots and changed descriptions to make things less pixel-hunty.

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Version 1.2:
Reworded the endings.
Made the last puzzle just a bit more challenging.

Screenshots:

Okay my entry's done, just needs some last minute testing.  I need to stop by my doctors' first so I will edit this post with links and such within the next few hours decided to make a new post so people would see it.


@Crimson: Sorry to hear that, but I don't blame you, making the deadline can be quite stressful.  I'll be looking forward to the remake.

Pinback, that artwork's outstanding.  Here's hoping you've got puzzles and story to match.

Looks like we're going to have quite a competition this month.  I'm super excited about this theme and the games are all looking really good so far (although I haven't actually had a chance to play them yet).

My entry's very nearly finished, I might even get it done before the deadline this time XD.

You know, I had what I thought was a decent idea for this, but I never found the time to get it written.  Ah well, there's always next time.

Anyway I'd like to place a vote for monkey_05_06.

I just wanted to stop by to thank everyone for their feedback and give a special thanks to everyone who had such nice things to say about my writing.

In response to Tijne, yes, you downloaded the right version, or rather there is no version of the game that includes music or sounds.  It's unfortunate, I agree, but I was so desperate to get the game done, and I just didn't feel like I had the time.

Tijne-

Sorry, I'm fairly new to this.  The files are mostly identical its just that I forgot to turn debug mode off the first time.  Should be fixed now though.

I don't know what's wrong with my screenshots, but I'm not seeing them either.

I'm 'pretty' sure we go by Dual's timezone, which is currently 3:44AM, so a few hours too late....

I was afraid of that.  Man, its only 8:51PM here...  He did say anytime before he posts though, so I'm confidant I made it.

[The North Crown]

*huff*puff*pant*etc* Finally finished my game.  Did I make the deadline?  I have no idea which time zone where going by.

The North Crown

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=5ed75ffb552e03d61f8e0fff488e27e0e04e75f6e8ebb871 <- Original Version

http://www.mediafire.com/?qgzwtyy2nhr <- Fixed version (to be removed at the request of Dualnames or the mods)

EDIT: Had a bug. Fixed thanks to Tijne.  I'm not sure what the rules are for this sort of thing so I posted the fixed version separately since its well past the deadline now.

I kind of hate the way it came out.  I knew I should have made a funny game.

I would also like to apologize for the terrible animation in the game's final sequence, and the inconsistency in the quality of writing.

Enjoy.

Story:

You play as Michael, a fairly average young man in his mid-20s, who, while walking to the train station one morning is confronted by a mysterious demonic entity.
Guide Michael through his battle with the devil, aided by a one of a kind arcane relic that defies conventional description (and is based off a stupid optical illusion I saw in my psychology text book ).

Screenshots:





Edited by mod: Fixed the images. You have to copy the "direct" links for the images.

Well, I haven't had a proper internet connection for a while now, but I wanted to say that I've been working on an entry which will hopefully get done in time, and with some luck I'll be connected and able to post it before the competition closes.

So I guess I'm just announcing my intention to enter, and apologizing for showing up so late for the party.  Don't wait up for me, finally releasing a game after aimlessly poking around at AGS for so long will be reward enough.

If I missed a rule somewhere and should have posted here sooner, just disregard this.

I wouldn't worry about lighting right away, it'll probably be easier to do that once you've got the colors and whatnot right.  I don't think the color scheme you've got right now is particularly evocative of a coffee shop, typically they're kind of...browner...(yes its nearly 3 in the morning and I'm not sure how to say that any better)  It might be helpful to go to/look up pictures of actual coffee shops to get a feel for how they generally look.

As far as things to make the room less bare; try shelves full snacks and pastries, stacks of coffee cups, maybe a refrigerator full of sodas or cakes or something, stuff like that.

I enjoyed your first game, best of luck with the sequel.