Messages

I'll mention here that the voting for MAGGIES 2022^* will be held alongside the AGS Awards process as usual, and the winner will be announced as part of the Awards ceremony.

Expect a separate thread towards the end of this month, once December's winner is known.
^*What is MAGGIES? - Good question. It is the annual contest to choose the best of the best MAGS game from among the winning monthly entries. It is traditionally held separately from, but in tandem with, the AGS Awards.

Also in favour of 'torch', there is the issue that the invention and clever (or otherwise) naming of the Fleshlight, which has made the word 'flashlight' that much less attractive.

Last call for entries.

> Try looking behind the mirror if it's not screwed to the wall. If it is, use the multi tool to unscrew it.

[The Sea]

Theme: The Sea
Chosen by: ddavey1983
Deadline: January 31st

Calling all salty seadogs. This month your game must feature the briny deep, the great grey widow-maker.

The sea or ocean could be the setting, it could be an integral part of the plot, or it could just be in the background but it must be there somehow.





What is MAGS?
Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for amateur adventure game makers. 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. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favourite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you have bad 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, usually lasting for fourteen days, 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 walkcycles 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.
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Great to see a couple of entries already. If anyone else happens to be working on one, I should mention I'm away and probably won't be able to sort out the voting for a couple of days, so feel free to enjoy your New Year's Eve

"Torch" isn't such a dumb word. It may be an electric hand held lamp but it is a direct descendent of the old flame on a stick. Presumably when the light bulb was invented it wasn't long before somebody stuck one to a stick and used it in the same way they had previously been using a flame. They probably called it 'an electric torch' for a while to distinguish it from the flame version, but eventually the word 'electric' was dropped as they became ubiquitous.

I enjoyed Glass Onion too. A lot of the background stuff about Bangladesh etc. went a bit too quickly and quietly for me to process so I never would have had a shot at guessing all the motives and timelines. I almost wish it had been a book so that I might have had good go. But the solution ended up being quite satisfying and I'm looking forward to watching it again to catch more clues.

I did go back and rewatch the scene Snarky referred to and it is quite amazing. They pull off a moonwalking bear in a basketball game trick right in front of our eyes. I wonder how many people actually caught that.

Interesting article with some food for thought.

The final game he came up with is pretty good. I was able to get 100% on my first go, so of course I like it 😜

I do wish people would stop saying Josh Wardle "invented" Wordle, though. The article does mention that it's basically a lexical version of Mastermind, but fails to mention that even as a word game it is not new.

I know I've said this elsewhere in the forum but I'd been playing it with some of my students (albeit with 4 letters and more chances) long before Mr Wardle turned it into an app and practically named it after himself. It was on a list of warmers to play with ESL students, alongside dozens of other classic whiteboard word games. He might as well have "invented" a game called Hangdle

I feel it's relevant to mention that here because the article is about coming up with a brand new game, not rebranding an existing one. Despite that, I appreciated the depths this article's author goes to in order to create a new game, and some interesting points came up.

I wonder whether we should earnestly try to devise our own puzzle game as a community and see if we can't sell it to a newspaper for millions of dollars.

[Highland Spirit]

Well done to ddavey1983 (GOC games) for winning with the lovely-looking Highland Spirit. You'll be contacted soon about setting a theme for January.

Thanks again to everyone who made a game and to those who voted. This was a great month indeed thanks to all of you.

Looking forward to seeing what you and ChatGPT can come up with, Kitty.

Anyone else in the running?

We've had a reasonable number of votes so far, so thanks for that. But any more will be very welcome. Now's your last chance to get your vote in.

As always, please remember to rate and comment on each game's relevant AGS page where possible. It help encourage users to keep making more games.

For me, both stories had their moments. Wham's was probably stronger in terms of word choice and expression but was lacking in any real sense of drama. I felt the pain of the protagonist's regret but I wasn't really sure what the story was.

Baron's, conversely, was perhaps in need of a tougher edit. The first act in the station created an interesting scenario, but I felt the middle section meandered a bit, as Annison literally meandered around a series of icy obstacles. I began to feel that she had more juice in her vehicle than we were led to believe. But overall it was exciting enough. The ending was interesting, although the final twist didn't hit as hard as it might because I couldn't really get my head around why the rest of the members had planned all this for so long but not told Annison (or Chrysler).

In the end I lent my vote to Baron.

Hi all! Long time no see. 

How are we getting on, folks?

I've been making a game for this month to see what I can get together in a month. Very limitted on time these days but it's actually getting somewhere. Maybe not somewhere amazing as I hadn't opened AGS in like 7 years before this 
I think I'll have something done by the end of the month, but no promises with the holidays and all.

Long time no see, man. Hope you've been well.
Good luck with your MAGS game.

How are we getting on, folks?

I didn't have time to upload the downloadable version before I ran out of time. Certainly I can add it to the page since it doesn't actually change the game but I wanted to err on the side of caution.

Don't worry about that. You won't be disqualified.

[Don't Give Up the Cat]

Wow wee! Five games. Thank you to everyone who made a game for us this month. And they all look incredible.

Now it's time to play and vote.

Please vote using the poll above.

	Don't Give Up the Cat by Eri0o
	A Very Serious Plumbing Simulator by Falsely
	Highland Spirit by ddavey1983
	Two Ghosts of That House: The Missing Toy by Volcan
	Ghost Hunter: Dracula by newwaveburritos

(As always, please let me know if I've missed anything)

+1 for breaking in and getting the party started.

I've started on something too. It's pretty bad so far but I'm hoping to fix a few issues and have something a bit better than last round's dire attempt.

[One Big Room]

Theme: One Big Room
Set by: Ponch

The result was tied. 4 votes a piece. Well done to both entrants.

	Alien Prison Escape by Bulbapuck
	Santa Quest by GOC Games

The theme is One Big Room. All (or most) of the action takes place in one large, very detailed, and puzzle-packed room. Is it a museum? A roadside attraction? A junkyard? Who knows! But it is one room. It's like OROW, but with four times as much time to work!








What is MAGS?
Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for amateur adventure game makers. 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. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favourite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you have bad 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, usually lasting for fourteen days, 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 walkcycles 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.
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++