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I love AGS, and after making my first game, Entrapment, for the AGS Bake Sale last year, I have dabbled with a few projects, but ultimately have yet to finished one since. I think MAGS is a great way to work to a deadline, share progress with like-minded people and even get additional input into parts of your game.

My question is: How do you prepare for MAGS? Is there anyone who has competed in MAGS or similar game jam that has any helpful advice or tips on taking part in MAGS?

The reason I've chosen this Month is that I have a lot of free time coming up and wanted to make the most of it.

Loving the visuals, but as I'm not a football fan, I'm worried that some of the jokes may go over my head a little, but the trailer looks awesome! Looking forward to the release.

I never played the original game, but those screenshots have made me look it up and I'm downloading now! Good luck with the release.

I *Still* have that song in my head from this game. One of my favorites from the Bake Sale. Some really memorable characters and puzzles with a bizarre story. People should play this game for the song alone!

This game looks great. I was sad that I missed the last Adventure X and was unable to take a look first hand. I'm not sure what to make of the difference in the backgrounds to the character sprites, but I think that it adds to comedic effect. I'll be sure to pick this up when I get a bit of time (and money). Congrats on release and all the best with Steam greenlight.

PS: Loved the spinning-chair Pirate in the trailer 

Awesome! I remember playing this for the first time at the very first Adventure X (where the running joke was the number of games that contained violence towards women, including my Bake Sale game)! I still have my Bake Sale copy, but I urge people to play this if they haven't.

@Andail

Well, it's not really a background for an adventure game. I just decided to take a break from the game I'm currently working on to practice my tablet skills (what little there are). With regards to composition, I can't say I've ever though about it like that. I mean, when doing a BG I would think about where stuff needs to be for the game, but not how it will look. Can anyone recommend any articles on composition? In Andial's example, he mentions less stressful shapes, more air will make it easier to look at, so that's a start.

@Anian

Like I say, I wasn't using any perspective points, I was just winging it and I guess it shows I agree with your suggestion about a light source. Perhaps a blue light for the boys and pink for the girls would offer some interesting lighting?

Thanks Guys

Hi Guys

I'm a bit rusty when it comes to creating background art and I'm currently working on something using a mouse to draw pixels. I took a break for an hour and dusted off the old tablet and decided to have a go at painting something instead (I haven't got much experience using a tablet). It's nothing special, but I just wondered what opinions where of it. Here it is:



I drew the original image at 640x400 and then re-sized at the end. I'm thinking that after my current project, I will start to use my tablet as I feel like I've been working on my current BG for days and it's still unfinished. If I can create this in an hour, then with a little practice, I should be able to creat a fairly decent BG.

Thanks in advance for any comments

Hi Guys

I'm still having issues with the unhandled events not triggering when an inventory item is looked at or another inventory item is used on an item.

As I said in my previous post I believe it has something to do with this line of code:

Code: AGS

if (iat.IsInteractionAvailable(mode)) iat.RunInteraction(mode);

But after staring at it for some time, I can't seem to figure out how to fix this. Here is how the code looks right now:

Code: AGS

function on_mouse_click(MouseButton button) {
  CursorMode mode = eModeInteract;
  if ((button == eMouseRight) || (button == eMouseRightInv)) mode = eModeLookat; //If the player right clicks or right clicks on an inventory item, it will Look at what is being clicked on
  else if (player.ActiveInventory != null) mode = eModeUseinv; //if the player has an active inventory item it will use inventory
  if ((button == eMouseLeftInv) || (button == eMouseRightInv)) //if the player right or left clicks on inventory
  {
    InventoryItem *iat = InventoryItem.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y); // "iat" is whether there is an inventory item being clicked on
    if (iat) { // If there is an inventory item being clicked on:
      if (iat.IsInteractionAvailable(mode)) iat.RunInteraction(mode); // if there is an interaction available then run it
      else if ((button == eMouseLeftInv) && (player.ActiveInventory == null)) player.ActiveInventory = iat; //If Player Left Clicks and currently does not have an inventory item selected then it will select one
      else if ((button == eMouseRightInv) && (player.ActiveInventory != null)) player.ActiveInventory = null; //If Player Right Clicks and has an inventory item selected, it will deselct the item
    }
  }
    else if ((button == eMouseLeft) && (player.ActiveInventory == null) && (GetLocationType(mouse.x, mouse.y) == eLocationNothing))
  { // If the player left clicks and has no inventory selected and the mouse is not over a Hotspot, Object or Character, then...
    ProcessClick(mouse.x, mouse.y, eModeWalkto); // The player will walk to mouse coordinates
  }
    else if ((button == eMouseRight) && (player.ActiveInventory != null))
  { // If the player right clicks and has an inventory item selected, then...
    player.ActiveInventory = null; //The player will deselect the inventory item
  }
    else ProcessClick(mouse.x, mouse.y, mode); // else process the click
}

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

@Khris

Thanks Khris, to be honest I've never used a Display command to check code when in game. I'm not sure how to place one? In this instance would it have shown that nothing was happening, rather than running through the unhandled event code, allowing me to see that the problem lay elsewhere? I'll try to use this with future issues.

@geork

Thanks. Your code seems to work, but is there a tweak I can make to allow unhandled events to be called when an inventory is clicked? So that when you look at an inventory item or use an item with another item it triggers unhandled events? I think I understand that it isn't working because the same reason, in the fist half of the code it says

Code: AGS

if (iat.IsInteractionAvailable(mode)) iat.RunInteraction(mode);

which will run the interaction if one is available, but what if there isn't one available? I'm not sure how to rejigger the code, so that it uses unhandled events. Would it be something similar to what you did with the second half of the code?

This is how my code looks at the minute (excuse all the comments, I was trying to gain a better understanding of the whole thing)

Code: AGS

function on_mouse_click(MouseButton button) {
  CursorMode mode = eModeInteract;
  if ((button == eMouseRight) || (button == eMouseRightInv)) mode = eModeLookat; //If the player right clicks or right clicks on an inventory item, it will Look at what is being clicked on
  else if (player.ActiveInventory != null) mode = eModeUseinv; //if the player has an active inventory item it will use inventory
  if ((button == eMouseLeftInv) || (button == eMouseRightInv)) //if the player right or left clicks on inventory
  {
    InventoryItem *iat = InventoryItem.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y); // "iat" is whether there is an inventory item being clicked on
    if (iat) { // If there is an inventory item being clicked on:
      if (iat.IsInteractionAvailable(mode)) iat.RunInteraction(mode); // if there is an interaction available then run it
      else if ((button == eMouseLeftInv) && (player.ActiveInventory == null)) player.ActiveInventory = iat; //If Player Left Clicks and currently does not have an inventory item selected then it will select one
      else if ((button == eMouseRightInv) && (player.ActiveInventory != null)) player.ActiveInventory = null; //If Player Right Clicks and has an inventory item selected, it will deselct the item
    }
  }
    else if ((button == eMouseLeft) && (player.ActiveInventory == null) && (GetLocationType(mouse.x, mouse.y) == eLocationNothing))
  { // If the player left clicks and has no inventory selected and the mouse is not over a Hotspot, Object or Character, then...
    ProcessClick(mouse.x, mouse.y, eModeWalkto); // The player will walk to mouse coordinates
  }
    else if ((button == eMouseRight) && (player.ActiveInventory != null))
  { // If the player right clicks and has an inventory item selected, then...
    player.ActiveInventory = null; //The player will deselect the inventory item
  }
    else ProcessClick(mouse.x, mouse.y, mode); // else process the click
}

Thanks guys

Hi everyone

I'm trying to get the unhandled event function to work properly, but everything I've tried just seems to have no effect in-game. I'm not getting any errors with my code, but whatever I seem to try, when I right click or left click on an object/character/hotspot that has no events scripted, none of the unhandled events seem to trigger and nothing happens.

Here's the code I've tried:

Code: AGS

function unhandled_event(int what, int type) {

   //  Unhandled Hotspot
   if (what == 1) {         // Hotspot      
      if (type==1) {         // 1    1   Look at hotspot
      }
      else if (type==2) {  //  1    2   Interact with hotspot
      }
      else if (type==3) {  //  1    3   Use inventory on hotspot
      }
      else  {                     //  Undefined
      }
   }
      
   //  Unhandled Object
   else if (what== 2) {   
      // 
      if (type==0) {         //  2    0   Look at object
         Display("It looks fine.");
      }
      else if (type==1) {  //  2    1   Interact with object
          Display ("You have more important things to worry about at the moment.");
      }
      else if (type==3) {  //  2    3   Use inventory on object
      }
      else  {                     //  Undefined
      }
   }

   //  Unhandled Character
   else if (what==3)  {  
   //
      if (type==0) {  //  3    0   Look at character
      cBoy.Say ("Looking good.");
      }
      else if (type==1) {  //  3    1   Interact with character
      cBoy.Say ("I don't want to interact with him/her.");
      }
      else if (type==3) {  //  3    3   Use inventory on character
      }
      else  {                     //  Undefined
      }
   }
      
   // Unhandled Inventory
   else if (what==5) {
     //
      if (type==0) {  //  5    0   Look at inventory
      }
      else if (type==1) {  //  5    1   Interact with inventory (currently not possible)
      }
      else if (type==3) {  //  5    3   Use an inventory item on another
      }
      else  {                     //  Undefined
      }     
   }

  // Unhandled Undefined
   else {
      // This isn't supposed to happen
   }
}

I also tried this:

Code: AGS

function unhandled_event(int what, int type) {

	if ((what==1)&&(type==1)) { //Look at Hotspot
		cBoy.Say ("Nice Hotspot.");
	}
	else if ((what==1)&&(type==2)) { //Interact with Hotspot
		cBoy.Say("I'm not touching that.");
	}
	else if ((what==1)&&(type==3)) { //Use Inventory on Hotspot
		cBoy.Say("I don't want to.");      
	} 
	else if ((what==2)&&(type==0)) { //Look at Object
		cBoy.Say("Nice Object.");
	} 
	else if ((what==2)&&(type==1)) { //Interact with Object
		cBoy.Say("I don't want that Object");
	} 
	else if ((what==2)&&(type==3)) { //Use Inventory on Object
		cBoy.Say("Those two objects won't work together.");      
	}
	else if ((what==3)&&(type==0)) { //Look at Character
		cBoy.Say("Looking good.");
	} 
	else if ((what==3)&&(type==1)) { //Interact with Character
		cBoy.Say("I don't want to touch them.");
	}
	else if ((what==3)&&(type==3)) { //Use Inventory on Character
		 cBoy.Say("I'm not giving my stuff away.");      
	}
}

I've also tried just having this:

Code: AGS

function unhandled_event (int what, int type) {

  if (what == 2) {  // object
    if (type == 0) {  // look at object
      cBoy.Say ("Wow, nice object.");
    }
  }
}

But whatever I seem to try nothing works. It's making me think that it may have something to do with the way I'm interacting with things on mouse click. My code for that is here:

Code: AGS

function on_mouse_click(MouseButton button) {
  CursorMode mode = eModeInteract;
  if ((button == eMouseRight) || (button == eMouseRightInv)) mode = eModeLookat;
  else if (player.ActiveInventory != null) mode = eModeUseinv;
  if ((button == eMouseLeftInv) || (button == eMouseRightInv))
  {
    InventoryItem *iat = InventoryItem.GetAtScreenXY(mouse.x, mouse.y);
    if (iat) {
      if (iat.IsInteractionAvailable(mode)) iat.RunInteraction(mode);
      else if ((button == eMouseLeftInv) && (player.ActiveInventory == null)) player.ActiveInventory = iat;
      else if ((button == eMouseRightInv) && (player.ActiveInventory != null)) player.ActiveInventory = null;
    }
  }
  else if (IsInteractionAvailable(mouse.x, mouse.y, mode)) ProcessClick(mouse.x, mouse.y, mode);
  else if ((button == eMouseLeft) && (player.ActiveInventory == null))
  {
    ProcessClick(mouse.x, mouse.y, eModeWalkto);
  }
  else if ((button == eMouseRight) && (player.ActiveInventory != null))
  {
    player.ActiveInventory = null;
  }
}

Or perhaps, there is some setting that I have wrong that won't let me use the unhandled event function?

I hope you guys can help me out. Thanks in advance 

Oh yeah, I probably should mention that the list contains MASSIVE SPOILERS. So sorry about that Straydog, but to anyone who HAS played the game, hopefully you will understand the list a little better.

I've *shock* *horror* not found time to seriously play any of the BakeSale games yet but will be sure to return with feedback for you when I do. Entrapment was a big highlight of AdventureX for me

Thank you 

In case anyones interested, I wrote a quick piece on:

10 Things That Inspired Entrapment

on my (still under construction) blog

I mention a few AGS games in there.

Enjoy.

PS. I'd still like to see some more feedback on the game, especially negative stuff 

Well, the Expo is this weekend and I will be attending and seeing Charles Cecil and Steve Ince as well as all of the other talks going on. Is anyone here planning on attending?

If you have a tutorial for the game, you could call it a TITorial.

You can have that one for free 

Hey, just got the chance to play the new-and-improved bake sale version- great job man!  Looking forward to seeing some more awesome games soon, and let me know if you ever need another tester.

Thanks very much I'm not sure when there is going to be another game by us, but I'm glad you enjoyed the final version of the game.

I found it to be a really interesting game, with a combination of creepy atmosphere and unexpected humour (which made this even more creepy).
I'll be keeping my eye on your lightbulb!

Thanks Tzachs! Yeah, I originally planned not to have humor in the game due to the tone, but as I started writing dialogue, humor just seemed to come out. I mean, it's an Adventure Game! You need humor! I'm glad you found it funny. Any parts in particular?



I'm still waiting for some in-depth feedback. I was hoping that someone, somewhere was going to review all of the Bake Sale games, but I haven't been able to find any. I'd love to hear some more comments people  Thanks again to anyone who purchased the Bake Sale. Over $4000 for Charity, that's really impressive 

Hey Stu, finished your game last night! Really enjoyed it, it felt very 'tight', the art was clean and the hotspots were easy to navigate.

I was a little put off by the intro, it seemed a bit too strong, but the rest of the game followed through very well! There were some genuinely funny lines in there (the phone conversation was spot on) and some nice character animations.

Thank you for the kind words 

I admit that the LONG cutscenes are something I would consider as having done wrong in a post-mortem, but I am glad that you enjoyed the humour, art, navigation and animations.

Weeee! I hope everyone likes the music. This was a fun one to work on.

Time to go buy some brownies at the AGS Bakesale(still haven't donated yet  )

Yes! A big thank you to you Swordofkings128 AKA Brian. You did an absolutley superb job with the atmospheric music and helping out with a few OGG conversions. Thanks you very much.



So what did everyone else make of the game? I would love to hear some criticism as well as nice comments. I want to learn from my experiences of working on this game.

Also, has anyone spotted the references to the story within the first half of the game? There are quite a few as I recall, perhaps a clue to who the killer was or a reference to books or movies that may have inspired the story? Any guesses?

As I said to you in email, I found this a very solid and compelling game. Something to be very proud of, congratulations.

I am very proud of it  Thank you Ben

Has LinkedIn actually helped you guys in anyway and if so, how? All it's done for me is send me some spam email.

Same here so far. I guess if you are looking for a job, you can use it to enforce your CV, but other than that, it's not worth much at least here in Finland.

I have a lot of QA experience in the games industry and have had a few people contact me and offering for me to apply for a role, which was good. I think that it's a good way to keep an online CV, but I if you really want to benefit from it you have to join in the discussions within the groups to get noticed, but I don't have the time to invest in that.

This was the first Bake Sale game I played and I really enjoyed it. I thought the story was very unique and original along with the setting. The gameplay was solid. I enjoyed the puzzles, in particular the

Spoiler

Briefcase Puzzle, where the code was upside-down

[close]

, they were all pretty good though. The artwork was amazing as always and there were lots of unique animations used which really made the experience flow very nicely. I was fond of the music and the whispers were very creepy, but not in anyway annoying whilst playing. All in all another great game from Ben. I too would like to see a follow up, perhaps

Spoiler

We see the main character and the girl (I forget their names ) revisit the house that her father built? I would love to see what the background art for that would look like- a floating house in the sky made out of bits and pieces.

[close]

Well done Ben!