Messages

AGS games. I am not sure yet if there are others.

There's also this game: Sleuth.

This is an older game. I don’t think Monkey is entering it into this year’s Jam.

Some great looking titles there.

I still don’t get why they limited voting to only people who entered. I’m sure a lot more people would bother playing the games if they were able to vote.

I wondered the same thing. We had already several people telling us they would have been voting if they could. It doesn't make much sense but sadly we can only follow their rules   

Yeah. The first year or two was open for anyone to vote but after that they limited it. When I asked why they just said it had been chaos.

I’m currently reading “The Clocks” by Agatha Christie. So far so good, but it’s still in the early stages.

I also read Ender’s Game not long ago. Very cool book. I had never realised there was a whole Ender saga out there. I’ve been wondering whether to pick up one or two of the other books, but I don’t really have the time to delve into a whole literary universe. I might just stop there.

Some great looking titles there.

I still don’t get why they limited voting to only people who entered. I’m sure a lot more people would bother playing the games if they were able to vote.

We seem to have a real contest shaping up. Keep those entries coming in.

What’s been grinding my gears lately.

There’s long been a sub-genre of tweets, memes, videos, gifs, etc. all about how annoying it is for creative people to be asked to do free work in return for ‘exposure’.



Now, I can understand how this is annoying and appreciate that creative people want it to be known that they have bills to pay and can’t work for free (although I don’t really like the attitude of these memes. What’s wrong with politely informing people that you do not work for free?).

The thing that is grinding my gears at the moment is an evolution of the above. Creative professionals are now stuck so far up their own asses that they won’t even field genuine requests from people who *are* willing to pay.

The video in the link below show’s some douche bag recreating a scene where someone first compliments their art and then asks them for their rate for commissions. The artist first refuses to give him the rate (?), and then when the interested party is predictably shocked by the rate, makes the other person out to be a right asshole.

https://twitter.com/papagaeio/status/1393371202115162113?s=21

Again, what’s wrong with just politely telling people ‘this is my rate, it might be a little higher than you expected because of a, b and c...’ That person will now learn what sort of price they might be looking at were they to then ask another artist a similar question.

Videos like this are just nasty and elitist. Not made to inform potential punters like me who might want to approach an artist for my board game project, for example. They’re just made to get likes and pats on the back from other artists.

Get over yourselves.

[Power Nap]

Why not enter AdventureJam and MAGS at the same time (https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=59077.0)

The theme for MAGS this month is "Growing". If you can make your AdvJam game about growing (and make it in AGS) then there's nothing to stop you from entering it into MAGS too.

That's actually what I did in 2015. The theme for MAGS was "sleeping", so I made Power Nap and entered it into both.

[EjectedStar]

I had been hoping to take part but wasn't able to come up with a satisfying allegory.
I was able to read all the entries, however, and if you'll accept my late votes, here they are.

I have no special criteria for allocating points, so I will just rank them and give some thoughts about each one, and give  points based on the rankings (1+2+3+4=10, so it works out well).

EjectedStar I really liked this story. The flashback scene was particularly heartbreaking. I got the sense that the girls had been travelling for a very long time but was unsure how long, perhaps this could have been specified. I genuinely hope they reach Valeria. (3 points)

Sinitrena This was my favourite. This one reads like a proper old-school parable and I really liked the message. You feel sorry for the guy just wanting to do what he's told for acceptance but also feel that he's a rather pathetic. I might read this story back again every time my wife asks me to do the vacuuming. (4 points)

Mandle - This was a delightfully weird story. It's a good spin on the concept of reincarnation. I didn't really like the characters though. Especially the woman, her attitude stinks and she basically kills this guy twice, haha) (2 points)

BarbWire - This was a clever analogy for Brexit and I liked all the little touches about UK politics of the time. But it feels more like you are laying out the situation rather than telling a story. I think you would be better off choosing a particular scene from Theresa May's tenure and retelling it as a little tale, using all the other details as background information. (1 point)


There are my votes. I hope they count.

I liked that all the entries were a little bit more bitesized this month. One of the things that has put me off entering and/or voting in recent times is that the other stories can be quite long and the TL:DR sets in. This says more about my own laziness (and genuine lack of time, sometimes), but often those walls of text are off-putting.

Some writers don't want to be limited and I'm not suggesting to stifle them, but I wonder if the occasional (like once every two or three competitions) could include a tighter word count limit. This might encourage a few more people to join in. Just my deux centimes.

Logically, you are right. It’s best to have all the puzzles and gameplay sorted out before you make the pretty backgrounds, because if you need to make changes to the game then those backgrounds risk becoming unusable and getting wasted. I’m sure that happens.

That said, I think that starting with some beautiful artwork early on actually helps devs to visualise their ideas and even inspires new ideas. Also, putting a few pretty backgrounds out for people to look at invites the encouragement of the community, much more than placeholder art. So I think there is a place for the gorgeous backgrounds early on in production.

This is a great challenge! For the first time since 2003, I might actually commit to finishing something... I'll do my best to put a game together this month!

Good to hear, Hobbes. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with :-)

[What a Whopper]

Where is everyone?

Well, it looks like you are the only one with the antidote, Slasher. Thanks for taking part. I'll be in touch about choosing a topic for June

Everyone else. Download and play April's winnerWhat a Whopper today.

And why not try something for MAGS May.

[Growing]

Topic: Growing
Set by eri0o

Voting is underway.

Please play the games below and vote using the poll above.

	Dirandious Kroken by Slasher
	Breakfast on Trappist-1 by FormosaFalanster
	Fhaloness by Hobbes

You are always growing, getting old, and so is something in your game. Your character is going from childhood to adulthood, or they have kids. Maybe they live in a city that is expanding, it's just not what it used to be anymore, growing is change too. Or is just a persistent mold in your wall that you can't freaking kill, like, how do I kill this thing, aahg.. Ahem. So. Growing!





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

[I Rented a Boat]

The winner of MAGS March is...
I Rented a Boat by Eri0o
Very well done.

As Slasher said, I’ll PM you soon about choosing a new topic. Glad you’ve got some ideas already.

Thanks to all participants and voters.

Everyone already knows that wrestling is fake, so pointing it out is meaningless.

But, I do appreciate where those people are coming from. The fact that wrestling is fake means that it is literally just a soap opera. What grinds my gears is why is a soap opera covered on a sports channel? And why do people pay money to fill up arenas or stay up til the early hours of the morning to watch a bunch of oiled up actors prancing around pretending to hit each other.

Don’t get me wrong, I used to be into wrestling when I was a kid. I also used to watch Eastenders, but I guess I grew out of both.

His mates called him Ben Dover.

Looks fantastic. All the best for the release, guys.

Um....
"What is Jesus Christ's real name?"

(not a joke)

Our Lord and Saviour, Baby Jesus H. Christ Almighty the Third (The Other Two Thirds Being The Father and The Holy Ghost) of Nazareth, Son of Carpenter, Doer of Right and Righter of Wrongs, And Overall Decent Bloke, Ex Plus Alpha Turbo Ultra Superman Shave-and-a-Haircut Five Bob.

Congratulations to all the winners. Sorry I wasn’t able to attend. I look forward to watching the recording.

[The Cabin]

The winner has been announced. For those of you who missed the result in the AGS Awards, the winner was:

The Cabin by TheBitPriest.

Good job, TBP. You won by quite a margin, so well done.

Thanks to all those who voted. We ended up with the same number of voters as last year even though the voting period was much shorter, which is great.

And thanks as always to all participants over the year, whether you made a game, played a game, voted, tested, or cheered on a friend from the sidelines.

Tip 1 was: it is related to water
Tip 2 is: it is related to speedy transport


Speedboats 🚤