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Can you upload it somewhere that's not steam, so we can get DRM-free?

Sorry, but no. I wish to keep the game to one distribution platform for now. I'd also have to go in and take the time to re-write the achievement code so those would work in a non-Steam environment again, though admittedly that's a fairly minor bit of work.

Wonder if it's worth putting free in the topic title - I assumed Steam meant commercial.

That is actually a good point.

Thanks to everyone for the comments so far, much appreciated!
Spread the word!

The game is out! Steam page is up and game is available for download!
Check out the new forum thread at: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=57359.0

[ This thread can now be locked ]

[Do you have what it takes to save the Gnrblexian mind-maggot from total extinction?]

Do you have what it takes to save the Gnrblexian mind-maggot from total extinction?
DOWNLOAD HERE


Take on the challenge and preserve both the species, and humanity's fragile sense of self-worth, in this retro-inspired point and click adventure game.

Features:
- Traditional point'n'click game-play
- Retro-inspired visuals and art
- New, original soundtrack by http://jothmusic.com/
- Full voice acting by four talented voice actors
- A dark sense of humor
- Math!
- Extra wriggling

(Game originally released in 2016 as part of the "Monthly AGS" -competition on the Adventure Game Studios -forums. This old version lacked the full soundtrack, voice acting, and some puzzles, and used older, cruder graphics.)


(Below: comparisons between the old and new background visuals)



EDIT 2020:
GNRBLEX is now also available on itch.io. LINK ->.

My second-to-last post in this thread.
The release of GNRBLEX is TWO DAYS away!

Check out the Steam page and mark it down on your wish lists if you want.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1060560/GNRBLEX/
I'll also be doing a live stream on Twitch on Friday, to mark the release of the game as well as to talk a bit about how the game was made.

Now also taking bets on how many times the game bugs out during the stream, due to the infamous "demo effect".
Come say hi at https://www.twitch.tv/whamtheman

-W

Arr, am too late to this party, but I might book flights and come out anyway as a guest.
Been a long time since I last got to travel to the UK, and AdventureX sounds fun! Just came across a few photos I took in the 2012 event a few nights ago.

I had to skip this one, due to working on the final beta testing of a game. Things seem to be leveling off, so I should be able to join in on the next one.
Congrats to JudasFm for the win!

All artwork is terribly under priced if you ask me, be it pixel art or other digital art. The reason, I think, is simply the ease of offering such services, the range of wild actors providing these services and aggressive competition driving the prices down.
What I've found, however, is that the people who advertise themselves as the low-cost option are notoriously unreliable. All I can think of is that this is a function of interest waning as the income from a project fails to cover costs.

And then, on the other side of the coin, are the predatory service purchasers who demand work be done for next to nothing. Since there are tons of those around, and they are visible on the open market, and seemingly catered to by the low-cost artists, it distorts the pricing and appearance of the market.

My only advice, from limited experience, for game developers looking for art: find an artist you can trust, who can provide you with what you need.
Forge a business relationship based on that trust and respect, and then pay the artist fairly and squarely. Yes, you will likely end up paying more than the lowest bidder, but you will save a ton of time and effort and pain in trying to sort through the less reputable artists.

If you are reading this, and would like to participate in the last few weeks of testing out GNRBLEX, finding bits and pieces and details that could be polished, please contact me via PM!
I know a few people messaged me a long ago about this, but since the project was delayed for such a vast amount of time, I don't quite feel comfortable just popping messages at people who had messaged me years ago, so this is a chance for those still interested, as well as anyone newly intrigued, to get their hands on the game early and help make it the best game it can be prior to the July 26th release date!

[Sinitrena with 7 points.]

Mandle didn't make it. I think he was eater by a Grue.

I'm throwing in my own votes, though:
Best Character: Sinitrena
Best Story: Mandle
Best Writing: Baron (despite the abundance of crude language)
Best Use of Theme: Mandle

And with that the final scores come to:

Sinitrena with 7 points.
Mandle with 6 points.
Baron with 3 points.

Congratumalations to the winner! I look forward to Sinitrena showing us some grand examples in advertising this competition all around the forums!
(You can always blame me, afterwards.)

C'mon, Mandle! You can do it! Energize! I'm headed to bed now, had a busy day. Will close up the competition tomorrow during or after work so we can get a new one rolling along.

That's three for extension (including myself). And hey, now I'LL have more time to read, too! Win-win!
Cast your votes by 23:59 UTC on Sunday, please! May the best ad win!

So, uhh... the deadline for voting ended just now, and we haven't got a whole lot of votes.

Do we:
A) Extend voting over the weekend
B) Flip a coin
C) Have the host (me) cast a final set of votes and hope it results in a conclusive winner

Yup, completely missed it as I scrolled through the thread. I could make an excuse about doing that post while at work, but...

Purely my bad. Sorry KyriakosCH!
Added it to the post above now.

[An Out-Of-This-World Deal]

The time is up, the offer is no longer applicable. But if you missed out on our wonderful offer, fear not, for there is more!
Now, for the low price of 0,00 you can cast a vote for one of these fine entries:

An Out-Of-This-World Deal by Mandle
The ever after by KyriakosCH
Blue Spectrum Blues by Baron
To Shoot at Sparrows with Cannons by Sinitrena


And the voting categories are:

Best Character: the most interesting and credible character in the story.
Best Story: the best journey from A to B, told in a gripping way.
Best Writing: the category for fancy wordsmithing?
Best Use of Theme: who was best able to craft an attention-capturing and purchase-encouraging advert?

Cast thine votes, ladies and gentlemen!
Voting ends on Friday 31st of May 2019, at 23:59 UTC.

<Deleted, holy hell why was there a thread this old bumped to the top? Sorry!>

I was just about to ask for an extansion (again - I seem to do this a lot in the last couple of FWC's) but then I saw that I misremembered the deadline. I have a day left, don't I? I should be good, but just in case I don't manage to post in time, I guarantee I won't be more than a few hours late. 

You can do it! I, and my team of crack marketing specialists, believe in you 110%!

For me the pivotal moment of gaming was the original Police Quest. At the time it felt so full of detail and things to do, with a driving minigame, tons of things to LOOK at, characters to talk to and rooms to explore. I didn't get very far in the game, since back then I was 7 years old and barely knew english, but the trial and error nature of a Sierra adventure game led me to learn more and more.

That kind of design, with plentiful detail, realistic setting and use of language has stuck with me ever since, and has set the foundation of my own game design ideology. Sometimes having the player do something really mundane can help set a tone of a game, and to make the world the player is exploring feel that little bit more believable.


Beyond that there have been a few other major influences, such as:

The Elder Scrolls Series, inspiring me to try and avoid the kind of story progression they often have, and to avoid the feeling of having the world freeze around you if you don't act (I like to place some time constraints in my games, so the player doesn't feel cheated when the game tells them something is urgent).

JRPG's like Final Fantasy 6-9 and Breath of Fire 3-4, inspiring me to try and craft a background story that exists as a framework for a game. Sometimes I fail at this, or omit this when working on a MAGS game with time constraints, but it is always something I keep in mind when writing game stories.

The Days series of games by Yahtzee, inspiring me to try first out the AGS engine, which has led me to this wonderful community and has allowed me to create so many fun little projects!

Just a single week left. That's half a fortnight! 50% off!

Are there any 2-for-1 deals allowed? 

Absolutely! Any and all discounting mechanisms are welcome here, for we SURE DO love to provide the BEST* and CHEAPEST** goods and services to our CLIENTS***!

* Not actually always the best, but somewhere in top 1000 in most quality ratings, out of a sample group of one thousand.
** Not including taxes, shipping and other extraneous costs.
*** "Client" in this instance refers to a person or group of which our organization can gather data, to be sold to unlicensed and unknown 3rd parties.