Messages

If you "no", you "no".

Good to see two early entries. Still just over a week to go.
Anyone else in? I've no doubt @Baron and @Sinitrena are brewing something.

How we getting on, folks?

[Come As Is]

Altered Reality
Word count: 500-800  |  Voting til: June 2nd

Come As Is by Mandle
The Intern by glurex
The Assize Court by Creamy
ABC on the Line by Sinitrena (Winner)
Winter is Dumbing by Baron

Think of a true event or scenario from your own past and write a fictionalized story by changing something about that event and exploring how the change might have affected the way things played out.

You could simply rewrite the ending to be something more favorable or flattering. You could insert a new item or a new character to the story to see how that would have changed the dynamics. You could change the setting, or tell it from a different POV, and see how that affects the outcome. Use your imagination, but focus on how the change or fictional element affects the outcome of the story.

No need to provide the real version or background context (unless you really want to), and it doesn't have to be written in the 1st person. This is a work of fiction, but it should be based on a real moment from your life, whether that be a childhood memory or yesterday lunchtime.

Good luck.

Thanks for the votes and kind feedback everyone.

I whipped my entry up quite quickly and completely made it up as I was writing it, but even as I was typing, my mind was coming up with all sorts of backstory and ideas for the climax, as well as loose explanations for some of the things on the page.

Last week I had a bit of time to myself and made a rough plot summary of what a novel might look like, and I ended up making myself cry with it. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I already have too many projects on the go, and am having trouble focusing on one, but Little Brother is officially on the list.

Look out for a new FWC thread soon, hopefully sometime today.

[Mandle]

Mandle

Spoiler

I love that at first glance, this is a tragic love story implied through the letter, web article and "your" blog posts. And disappearances like this are the kind of thing that can happen and do happen in Japan.

Then, to add to the mystery, there is the reveal that Jojo was known for some pretty weird views about the nature of the cosmos. What was the nature of this treasure he was trying to find? Closer inspection of the hard-to-read smallprint reveals a few clues. Ancient Aliens perhaps?

I've no guesses about why Beth/Kerry has two names. Maybe they are they two different people. Is Jojo himself an alien, or working for them, bringing them girls to feed on? Beth and Kerry were two different victims and only Kerry thought to write a message in a bottle.

There's a lot going on and I like it. Unfortunately it does break the rules on a number of counts, being considerably over 600 words and not really being a fragment. Unless the twisted genius is that perhaps you missed the guidelines because you only saw a fragment of Baron's original post.

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Sinitrena

Spoiler

I like that your fragment crosses a scene break, so that we get a bit more story for our buck. We join the action right at the end of a nasty, bloody battle. Of the three, this is the one that most makes me really want to read the rest, if only to be able to go back and read the full gory battle details. Very vivid stuff.

In the second part, a lot can be inferred about the relationship between Julia and Julius. I'm guessing it's a forbidden one - possibly even Julia is Lydia's real mother but it can never be known? Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but it feels like there are some of those dynamics going on.

The title is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in that regard. You read the page completely differently knowing from the title that the relationship between the two characters must be central to the whole story. I wonder what a reader would take away from the page if they didn't know the title.

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CaptainD

Spoiler

I like the mystery. I definitely want to know more about these strange experiments and the apparently not-too-distant future world in which they take place.

I'm curious too about why certain places seem to be spared while others suffer. This seems to imply a certain level of deliberateness about these events. My suspicion is AI gone awry somehow.

I like the idea of a "Holo-cast" but you might want to consider a different name, especially as it shares a paragraph with mentions of "events in Poland".

No real nit-pick, to be honest. If I found this scrap on the floor in real life I would definitely be on Google trying to find out what it's all about.

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Votes

Spoiler

I'm struggling to choose a favourite here. Sinitrena's is the one that most made me want to read the rest, so I'll give Sinitrena 3 points. Both Mandle's and CaptainD's create compelling but very different mysteries, both with interesting sci-fi elements. However, as Mandle's wasn't within the guidelines, I'll give CaptainD 2 points and Mandle 1 point.

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[The Year of MAGS]

Thanks for your patience.
Voting is now underway.

Please vote using the poll above.

	The Year of MAGS by OneDollar
	The Expedition by Soulstuff
	The Twilight Zone - The Lost Episode by Repi

Please let me know if I've missed anything.

I don't think I'll be able to get to these until at least the 8th. Could you perhaps extend the deadline a tad?

Is there a possibility for a one day extension?

No worries. I might not get to it for another couple of days, so consider it a short extension.

[Phone]

2025 - THE YEAR OF MAGS!

Theme: Phone
Set by: Soulstuff | Winner: Repi


The winner of MAGS May was:
The Astral Chapel by Repi



Include a phone in a game in any form, can be just something you call other characters, can be an on screen GUI for searching information or just a rotary phone as part of a puzzle.






What is MAGS?
Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for all AGS users. The idea is to create a game in under a month, following the guidelines set by the previous winner. It aims to help you work to a deadline, improve your skills, and provide a kick-start into making adventure games and more. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favourite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you want to improve you art skills, use it as a chance to do some graphic work. If you're sub-standard at coding, use it as a chance to give scripting a go. Ultimately, people will vote for the most enjoyable entry.

Rules
Entering MAGS is simple. First, conceptualize your game following the month's criteria (see above). Second, create your game, fuelled only by coffee. Finally, post your game in this thread, including:

* A working download link
* The title of your game
* A suitable in-game screenshot

At the end of the month, voting will begin, and the winner chooses the next month's theme.

Remember that this is a challenge to see what you can do in a month, so any tinkering you do after that, including fixing minor glitches, is against the spirit of the competition. The exception to this is that you may go in and fix major, game-breaking bugs only during voting. We want you to have a game that voters can actually play and that runs on their machines.

So to reiterate, during the voting period fixing major, game-breaking bugs is okay, fixing minor glitches or making cosmetic changes is cheating.

Tips
Here are some ways to make sure you have a game to submit at the end of the month:
* Make a tiny game. Plan small, then cut it in half. Find shortcuts (e.g. if making walk-cycles is time-consuming, make the characters static or have it in the first person).
* Plan to have your game playable and submittable with a week to spare. This way you have a week to fix bugs, add some flourishes and maybe even get someone to test it.
* Plan to submit it a day or so early. This way, if there are any technical issues with uploading, they can be sorted out in time.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a little help with graphics? Perhaps The AGS Trove has something you can use.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a bit of help with music?  Check out Eric Matyas' huge stock of free music resources.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Anyone else? @Sinitrena?

@soulstuff Please check your PM's for a message about coming up with a topic for May.

I agree, pretty much. I cringe when people use 'unalive' on Facebook. Maaaaybe the algorithm pushes down posts that mention 'kill' or 'suicide', but so what? By using 'unalive' instead,you're saying a) "I'm so narcissistic I feel that my posts deserve to be seen my more people," and b) "everyone else is doing it, so it's basically just a meme/bandwagon."

When it comes to things like 'neuro-spicy', I tend to hear it from people who themselves talk about having neuro-divergences (more "neuro-spicy people like me" rather than "neuro-spicy people like them") so I guess it's only insulting if you are insulted by it. Either way I still hate the word

[Weaving Time (by Soulstuff)]

Thanks for the votes, guys.
The winner of MAGS March is:

Weaving Time (by Soulstuff)

Well done Soulstuff. I'll be in touch about setting the theme for April.

Thanks to all who entered.

Text version, if you have issues with the image.

Spoiler

Little Brother by Stupot
Page 174

...much since the last time she was here. The old grandfather clock still stood proudly in the corner. The same worn-out, cigarette-burn-pocked carpet covered the floor. She was pretty sure the barkeeper was the same, too. The only real difference was the air. Smoking had long since been banned. She recalled Little Brother, running cheekily through the sweaty fog, between the legs of the patrons, receiving pats on the head and smiles from the grown-ups, while she sipped her lemonade miserably, in what she realized was very possibly the same chair she sat in now.

This time, though, she was drinking white wine. Nancy took a sip, opened her backpack and without thinking, she pulled out the small case. So far, everything Mrs Chapman had predicted had come true. Her skepticism had all but vanished. The old woman truly is psychic. There can be no doubt. But that doesn't necessarily mean she always tells the truth. Nancy held the small case in her hand and moved it up and down, as if gauging its weight. If the psychic's fifth prediction proved true, then everything... EVERYTHING... she thought she knew about the world, about life, death, nature, physics, all of it was a lie. She replaced the case in the backpack and took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching her.

Be more careful, Nance, she told herself. She'd come this far and didn't need to be drawing unwanted attention to herself now.

A younger man roughly her age entered through a door behind the bar. Though she had not seen him for more than thirty years, she recognised him immediately as Dan Baxter, the landlord's son. He caught her eye and offered a silent smile and a nod by way of greeting, as he would have with any other customer. He didn't seem to have recognised her.

The clock chimed three o'clock. Nancy took another sip of wine. Only now it was lemonade again, and she was glaring at Little Brother, jealousy raging through her like the lemonade through the straw. She hated him. She knew she shouldn't but she did.

A tap on the shoulder brought her out of her fugue, but when she turned, nobody was there. It's starting, she thought. The fifth...

[close]

379 words

Is anyone in contact with @ddavey1983? He's been inactive for over half a year and I don't think he knows that he won MAGGIES again.

Congratz Baron. I look forward to seeing the next topic.

Welcome back, man. How long are you back for?

50 words:

Spoiler

After the Month No Werewolves Came by RootBound

[close]

200 words:

Spoiler

Leaving Home by Mandle

[close]

500 words:

Spoiler

A Tragedy of Errors by Baron

[close]

Overall favorite:

Spoiler

A Tragedy of Errors by Baron

[close]

Anyone got anything in the frame?

Great theme!  Babar and I had our unfinished mags mall game that was first person in a frame that we can maybe finish out of competition or something for this.. 

Or maybe you could make a new game using parts of the previous code and enter with that one?

Normally, using pre-made modules or templates is allowed and encouraged. In this case, Stu would probably have to make a call on whether it is acceptable to make a new game with a pre-made frame UI, since this month specifically, the code is part of the theme.

I think it depends on how much of the unfinished game you plan on using and how much of a head-start that gives you. As Kastchey points out, seeing as frames are the theme of this month, it could be seen as an slightly unfair advantage to enter the contest with the frames already made.

If you do decide to enter, please be upfront about exactly what was made before this month, so that the voters may take it into consideration.