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This has happened to me too. I’ve come up with an idea, wrote a 300 word outline, but the more I try to flesh it out the less punchy it seems. But the outline on its own isn’t really enough to submit. Still working on it though.

My wife and I got onto the topic of how people from different cultures behave during a movie while at the movie theatre. I’m led to believe it’s not unusual for American audiences to even cheer and whoop at certain parts.

In England, there’s rarely any cheering or whooping, but we do let ourselves laugh out loud at the funny bits. In Japan, it’s quite common to watch a movie, even an MCU blockbuster, in pretty much total silence.

Then, my wife decided to mention that she actually gets a bit embarrassed when I laugh at parts of movies that no one else is laughing at. And she was particularly ashamed when I laughed at parts of the 2019 movie Joker, which was a serious, dark, drama about somebody’s mental breakdown.

A lot has happened since 2019 and I can’t much remember the exact bits I supposedly laughed at. But, I mean, come on. It’s a movie about a clown who even tries his hand at stand-up. And all good films have moments of levity, don’t they?

Cast your minds back. Did you laugh at all watching the film? How about the people you were with? Can you remember the parts that made you laugh (if you did).

Did Stupot happen to mention any good titles for my next submission? 

The Big Whollop Theory.

Stupot, I have an unfinished game and could use an extension if possible. If not, I'll release it anyway after the deadline. 

Sorry Helton. I thought I had replied to this. Do you still need a bit of time?

Yes, but not much. I have a finishable game which needs a bit of debugging.

All right. Just post it when it’s ready and we’ll start the voting :-)

["Morning"]

Topic: "Morning"
Set by: heltonjon

No entries this month.

â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"

Ahh, mornings! They are delightful and calm starts of the days...except if you are a vampire who needs to reach your coffin before the sun rises. Or if you need to get everyone ready for school, kindergarten and work and time is running out. Or if you are on a planet with multiple suns where there may be a small morning before the big one. Or if you are a hobbit, not expecting a wizard and a bunch of dwarves turning up for breakfast.

How will you get ready for the day?






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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sorry for the tardiness, guys
IRL + crazy forums = late, sad Stupot.

OK. So I said it might be something really small. This isn't even actually a game. But hey, I said I was in, so I wanted to do something.

https://gamesbypell.itch.io/unexpected-guest

Thanks for your entry, Pell. I'm glad you entered something.

Stupot, I have an unfinished game and could use an extension if possible. If not, I'll release it anyway after the deadline. 

Sorry Helton. I thought I had replied to this. Do you still need a bit of time?

  All I know him from was my backing (100 bucks) the never-finished Kinky Island game.  It worked out though, as I'm now way more careful on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and made good choices otherwise.

He offered a refund on the Kinky Island money some three years ago. You should have had an email about it. He didn’t have to do that, but he did.

I just got back after a many, many years' hiatus. I used to be 'esper' around here, and I started 20 years ago. I just got back and set up here again after all this time, and suddenly the forums went offline for such a long time. I have been super worried! I was looking forward to rejoining the community!

Welcome back Wandering Wizard a.k.a. Esper. I remember that name. Some folks you’ll remember are still knocking about.

I was getting concerned. I don’t even post all that much these days but I always check. I was seriously beginning to contemplate a post-forum world, and it wasn’t pretty.

Squid Game is definitely not for kids I’ve only seen ep1, but yeah just on sheer body count and amount of  blood I would not encourage parents to let their kids watch it. Certainly not primary-aged kids, anyway. Secondary age may be a different matter. Like Dan, I was allowed to watch some pretty bad horror from a fairly young age and I actually thank my mum for that. She played it perfectly. There were still rules but my sister and friends lived near a video shop that didn’t care about the age ratings so we were allowed to discover our own limits and didn’t become Disney kids. Thank you, Mum.

As for the violent playground games, that’s nothing new. As long as no one is killed then it’s just a regular playground game, albeit with a new theme. If it does get particularly bad, schools will ban them just as  they banned British Bulldog when I was a kid.

Story Feedback.

Mandle

Spoiler

I loved the concept. I’m a sucker (pun intended) for these kind of high concept stories where a group of people are in a “game” of some sort (I still haven’t seen Squid Game yet but I imagine it’s in the same vein).

This story also reminded me in many ways of the movie Circle (not The Circle). The ending is similar in how it’s aliens who are responsible for the “game” and in how it turns out there are thousands of identical games going on around the planet. My only question, though, is if they all die in the end anyway, is there much point making a game out of it with the big displays and stuff. In Circle one of them is at least supposed to survive.

[close]

EjectedStar

Spoiler

Another great concept. We have so many vampire stories either set in old Gothic settings or the modern day, and the theme of ancient vampires in contemporary settings isn’t new but the humour of this story comes from just how freaking fast the world has changed since Winston’s previous cycle. Even a being used to adapting to different eras can not catch up to the crazy world we live in today. My only criticism is that while it is a funny fish-out-of-water concept, with lots of great ideas for funny situations for Winston to face, I think they could have been milked for more comedy.

[close]

Baron

Spoiler

You promised us something a little less goofy and delivered the goods. I loved the style and really savored every word. You have a real enviable knack for word choice. I liked the final twist but I enjoyed the build up more. I would like to read a longer version of this character’s story that goes into more detail about his life and experiments.

[close]

[Victor]

Victor

"We can't let him out there. Not after last time."

"What happened last time was an accident. No one could have predicted that. And nobody died, did they?"

"And what if there's another accident? We're just creating more work for ourselves."

"Trust me, Ray. It has to be done."

"He's just a kid, for Christ's sake."

"He's 19. He won't even feel it."

"I'm not talking about the civilian, Arn I'm talking about Victor. He's just a boy."

"Victor is 153 years old, Ray."

"You know what I mean."

"I'm sending him out tonight. By midnight this won't be our problem any more."

________________________________________________

Simon hopped across the road, only briefly minding the corners of his eyes to confirm the lack of oncoming traffic A streetlight above him flickered and he flinched nervously. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door beside a shuttered hairdresser that lead upstairs to the safest place he could possibly have been: Michael Bailey's Architect's office. His mother had worked for Mr Bailey before her retirement last year, and somehow she had never been asked for the key. No one would think to look for him here.

He cursed as the light came on automatically and he scrambled to close the blinds, so as not to draw attention to the room from outside. He went into what he knew to be the conference room, which also served as the breakroom, and sat down to catch his breath and try to make sense of what had just happened.

He decided to record the story into his phone in case it could be used later:

So, err, if you're listening to this, then, err, well, err, hello. My name is Simon Durst. This evening I witnessed a kidnapping, but I fled the scene because, well, let me go back a bit.

I was going to the pub after karate, as I do every week. Erm, along Peignton Avenue, and I saw a girl, maybe 12, or... 11 or 12, being bundled into the back of a car. Err, a black car. It was just in front of the letter box there, err near the old cafe that's always closed. Err. Number plate... I didn't see the number... to be honest, I don't think it even had number plates. It was dark, but, yeah. Err, black car, no plates and two men, that I saw.

I shouted something, probably  "OI!" Quite loud, maybe a neighbour heard, or something. So the men turned their heads and saw me. They looked pissed off, I didn't know what to do next, so I just kind of stood there. Err, I was pretty close to them, by the way, like close enough to see. I would recognise them. They didn't look like kidnappers, like creepy pedos or anything, they looked like some kind of government, conspiracy shit... er... and I regretted shouting. Maybe I thought they would drive off and leave the girl, but they didn't, they continued bundling this girl into the car. She looked like she was resisting, but she wasn't crying or screaming, from what I saw.

And then just before they closed the car door, something fell on the road. Then they drove off. I was sure they would kill me or something but they didn't. I went and checked the thing on the floor and it was this fucking USB stick or something. That's when I called the police, but I didn't hang around because I thought maybe they'd realise the memory stick was gone and come back for it. So I took the stick. Not like, er, tampering with evidence or anything. I just thought better to take it now and give it to the police later, than hang around for the men to come and get it back.

Anyway. That's what happened. so... err. Okay.

He suddenly remembered that he was indeed handling evidence. He looked around the office for somewhere to keep the USB stick, a plastic coin bag or something. He noticed Mr Bailey's computer on the desk and found himself switching it on. Happy to see that there was no login screen, Simon slid the stick into a free USB port.

The memory stick was blank.

________________________________________________

"You know where to find him now, Victor." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." He replied anyway.

"Go there. Do what you do. And come back."

"Full course?"

"No, just the main."

"Arn, Don't do this. Victor, You don't have to-"

"Shut up, Ray. Victor. Please go now. Come back before dawn." Victor turns and falls from the window. The flapping of his wings can be heard. "I'm proud of you, boy."

________________________________________________

By now, Simon has checked the memory stick in every port on the PC and it keeps coming up empty. There are no hidden files or folders that he can see. Nothing. Why would those men be carrying around a blank USB stick?

Then it hits him.

"You shouldn't have picked it up." He was thinking these exact words, but they also came from behind him. He turned and froze. Before him stood a boy, he could not have been much older than 11 himself, yet he was weathered and worn like an old headstone. His deep set eyes were exhausted and behind them Simon saw only trauma and pain. The boy's arms were bony and frail, and hanging from them was this battered leathery film. Were those wings? His bruised and flaking legs bowed and shook and he took a feeble scab-footed step towards Simon. Simon screamed and tried to run, but his own legs collapsed beneath him and he was at the mercy of this demon.

"You are lucky," the boy croaked. "You will die in this century. I still have at least another thousand years of this."

"You're not going to kill me?" Simon stuttered.

"I hope not. Though accidents happen. My instructions were to take what's needed. Your memory."

"The memory stick? You can take the memory stick. I don't need it. It's yours."

"No. I will only erase the last three hours from your memory."

"But what about the girl? She needs help."

"She is where she has to be."

"Where is that?"

"The ANNEX have her. They do not kill. She is safe. They just need to learn something from her."

"What is the ANNEX?"

"Enough questions. Please know that she is safe and don't make this harder than it needs to be."

Simon paused for a minute as if something had occurred to him. "Okay. Just. Please don't kill me."

The boy limped towards Simon, who was still on the floor leaning against a desk. With each step the boy took, the smell of pus and faeces and body odour grew stronger and stronger. The boy opened his arms and spread his wings and the stench was sprayed into Simon's face. Simon breathed in the foul air and vomited into his lap as the boy approached him and began to wrap his wings around Simon, who was crying, and gagging for air. The boy opened his mouth to reveal a set of large fangs slathered in a congealed mucous membrane. Simon screamed as the creature sank his fangs into the side of Simon's neck.

________________________________________________

Simon awoke to find himself in his mother's former employer's office. He was covered in vomit and a foul odour lingered in the air. Had he got so wasted after Karate that he had decided to sleep it off in here rather than face his mother at home?

He picked his phone up from the floor next to him and looked at the screen to check for messages. He had somehow put it on voice recorder and it was still recording. He tapped 'stop' and then 'play' and listened back to the recording.

What was all this about a kidnap? That was his voice but he didn't remember any of the details he was saying. Black car? USB stick? Police? And then there was another voice. Someone else was here? Erase my memory? Who the hell is ANNEX? What the hell happened to me?

It took Simon a shower and a rest and several more listens to the recording to fully realise that he'd gotten himself involved in something. He was going to have to find out about this ANNEX, and the creature who attacked him, and the girl.

They do not kill, it had said. Which meant that she was still alive.

________________________________________________

"Well done, my boy. I'm sorry you had to go through that again. I promise it's the last time for a while."

"He was a nice guy. Just worried about Dinah."

"I know. I know, Victor. But you did the right thing."

"Arn. I can't do this any more."

"Ray. Don't be stupid. It's over. The civilian has been safely neuralyzed. We have the girl. No one was killed. We can afford to relax a little."

"I'm sorry, Arn. I'm out."

"Victor. Would you do the honours?"

Maybe I’m showing my age I’ve never heard of anyone selling game demos. The whole point of a demo it is so that people can decide if they want to pay money to play the game. Paying money for the demo kind of defeats the object.

Early access is good though, if you get enough interest, because you end up with a number of players who feel that they are part of the team. That can help build a community and spread word of mouth.

//

Is anyone working on anything?

I’m brewing a story but Ive struggled to find a moment to bash it out. I do have tomorrow off though, so I might be about to pull something out the bag.

[Concept:]

Concept: Reiter and Blur - I simply couldn’t decide between the two for this category.

Playability: Reiter - I like Blur’s cliff side steps and it has plenty of walkable area, but Reiter’s boat wreck, on top of the detailed textures of the rocks and grass, provides more to do in terms of searching and interacting.

Artistic expression: Reiter - I’m particularly impressed by the way you captured the motion of the water with just a few curvy lines. It really works, and the details of the boat wreck are also well done.

I’ve only really finished two adventure games and they were both tiny. But for those (and for the abandoned projects that got closest to completion) I had basically planned them all out in a notebook before I even opened up AGS.

Then I typed up pretty much the entire game as a walkthrough. And was able to stick pretty faithfully to those plans.

The main reason for my larger projects failing was that I fell out of love with them and lost motivation. So try to make something you really love and feel proud of.

Also, announcing the game too early is a kiss of death for me. Some people need the constant encouragement and keep uploading screenshots and updates. For me, once I’ve told more than a few people about the game, it is jinxed.

Well done, detective Rincewind.

I just had a look at a long play too, and I now want to play it.

It certainly helps to keep a cool head.