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Finished the game and had good fun with it! It's by far the best Among Us related or inspired thing I've seen so far and I got a few good laughs out of it as well.

One question from me:

Spoiler

I got the ID card from the locker and tried to use it on the scanner for the freezer. For the first several times I tried this I just got the error boop and an X on the screen, but after leaving the room and coming back later it suddenly worked. Did I trigger a bug that resolved itself?

[close]

You can import regular windows font files into AGS and use those as your fonts. This way you don't need to customize any fonts manually to cover the special characters, but when importing a font into AGS you might have to try it out a few times to get the scaling to look right in your game, as most modern fonts are designed for higher resolutions than most AGS projects are created in. Just going on Google and searching for royalty free font files and then searching those sites for small scale or pixelated fonts can give you plenty of solid options that can look nice in AGS projects.

An example site might be daFont which I've used, and fonts such as this one:
https://www.dafont.com/pixellari.font?text=S%F6me+%7ESp%EAcial+Ch%E4r%F6cters

Not quite the precise answer to your question, but hopefully this is a useful stepping stone to get started with, as it can save you some time and effort.

[TUNIC]

Half Life: Alyx. Headcrabs went from annoying in every other Half Life game to a constant source of pants-fudging terror. 

I can second that one. Alyx is the one single game that proved to me that VR as a medium has the potential to elevate tired old genres like first person shooters into something really new and interesting. For me the greatest revelation was the interactivity of weapon reloading, how different weapons have different mechanics and how the simple act of changing magazine on a pistol can become a whole minigame unto itself when done under pressure.

As for my own entry into the list of games that changed my life, I will suggest a lovely game called TUNIC.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/553420/TUNIC/

TUNIC is a game that will absolutely die and lose all meaning if you get a few too many spoilers, so I highly advice people to not look too much into the game before playing. The images and trailer on the Steam store page should give you enough of an idea of the visual style and basic gameplay, which is loosely reminiscent of older Zelda titles. What sets TUNIC apart, though, is its manual. The manual exists as an object inside the game itself and discovering it, along with the little hidden quirks and details of it, was original, exciting and utterly delightful to me. I've spent several evenings and nights contemplating just how genius the little ideas and details of TUNIC are and how I might replicate even a fraction of that in my own game designs. In that, I feel it was a life changing experience.


As a honourable mention I also want to highlight another game: La-Mulana. Inspired by a youtuber I follow I took on the challenge of it after many years of having given up on it, readjusted myself to take extensive written and drawn-on-paper notes (with an actual pencil! Like we did back in the 90's!) and began to piece together its maps and secrets. While it is too obscure and difficult for me to make through without some outside assistance, it's an admirable game in that it sets out to challenge the player's comprehension of its world, lore and mechanics in a genuinely hard but fair manner and absolutely succeeds in it. What makes La-Mulana a life changing game is the immense sensation of accomplishment on beating single rooms, bosses and areas, let alone the entire game!

I'm planning to play all the games this weekend, likely on Saturday, and will be streaming and recording the attempts as well.
For the devs it might be a chance to see someone play their game live, and for people who are "too busy" to play for themselves, they might be able to see the games, get a feel for them and maybe even provide additional votes.

I'll post a link and time in the AGS discord later.

The links in the edited opening post don't work for me, I think the forum is trying to add a https:// to the start of the URL's that already have it.

Hat, meet ring.
I've tried to write something for several recent FWC's, but kept coming up short with my ideas. Let's see if this one is the one that gets the creative juices going again!

Bah! I feel awful for not updating something proper, so I'll have to write SOMETHING here to keep you folks up to date.

Back when I started this I had a plan to try and update twice a week, which seemed feasible. I had plenty of free time after work and making new rooms to explore took a couple hours per room at most, which I felt I could surely pull off once a week if need be. As you've all noticed, however, that isn't happening.

I've had some changes in my health, work and personal life that are demanding more of my time and leaving me with less free time all around. What time I have left I try to invest in seeing friends and relatives and being more active socially and less online. As such I haven't had a chance to partake in the fortnightly writing contests, MAGS, this game, nor my personal game development projects. Windows updates also forced me to change my pixel art creation software back in spring (RIP Paint Shop Pro 9 I pirated back in 2007) and I'm massively struggling with things that used to be quick and easy for me.

I have plenty of ideas on where this game might be going and the story of us and Shoshana is still young, but with how slow things are going it feels wrong to say this game is still "active". I could keep things going if I changed this to more of a text adventure with less visual elements, but that doesn't feel in line with what I hoped to provide you folks.

Time will tell how things develop on my end and if more free time and energy will manifest, allowing me to be more active in the AGS community again.

[> Climb back down and enter/search the office]

> Climb back down and enter/search the office

The rooftop, strange as it is with its odd firewood pile, doesn't seem like a worthwhile place to spend time in. No treasure in sight, nor anything that might really qualify as a secret nor a mystery. The harsh rain beating down on your raincoat doesn't help, either. You climb down the ladder and close the hatch above you, then head down to the door Shoshana entered before you.



Raindrop still drips off you as you enter the office. It seems like a rather functional space with a rather fancy desk, some assorted books on shelves, as well as what appears to be some sort of miniature model of the surrounding areas. Several locations are marked to be of interest, seemingly denoting development projects that are or have been active in the region.

Shoshana seems intensely focused on a doorway. Hearing your approach she turns to look your way.

"I found a mystery!" -she declares cheerfully, as she taps her hand on what appears to be a smooth, featureless pane of glass that covers the entire doorway without any indication of a handle, hinge or mechanism in sight. "And I think there might even be treasure! And, like, candles and stuff!"

Spoiler

Is this over? WHAM?

No, I've just been preoccupied with far too many distractions for my own good! Apologies for that.

[close]

[> Check the platform for a possible hatch to the private room below.]

> Check the platform for a possible hatch to the private room below.

You climb fully up to the roof and enter the narrower structure up top, which provides you with some shelter from the rain. The platform, on closer inspection, is an odd thing. It appears to be a slab of stone of some kind, sitting atop metal supports. The four sides of the stone slabs are smooth, while the top is covered with a generous pile of firewood. The metal supports are bolted into smooth concrete and appear to provide no access whatsoever.

A dead end.

[> Examine what seems to be a schematic or map on the wall of the top floor.]

> Examine what seems to be a schematic or map on the wall of the top floor.

You step over to the wall mounted map. It seems to be a rather old version of the general area map with a slightly narrower scope than the one in your pocket. It shows the nearby town of Autumnscreek and its surrounding areas. The area you are currently in is marked as a forested valley, though, with no road leading to it. The river through the woods, which you crossed earlier, appears to have been considerably wider and had no bridge across it, and a small lake appears to have been here, though that must have been dried out at some point since. A marking on the map indicates it as having been printed in 1957.



> Pick the padlock of the hatch and check the roof for a possible way to get into the private room.

The padlock is a cheap little thing and poses no resistance to your skilled hands and expert tools. A mere minute and it opens with a cheerful little click.
As you push open the hatch you squint your eyes as cold raindrops spray back down into your face despite the excellent top hat you are wearing.

The roof is the same square shape as the building itself, with a low wall around it. A smaller structure sits here, looking much like an unfinished frame of simple metal, with an open doorframe visible to allow easy access into the shadowy interior. The lack of solid walls causes the wind to spill rain inside. You can see some sort of elevated platform sitting in the middle of the structure with what appears to be firewood stacked on top of it.

[> Open all doors and check the rooms behind them while following Shoshana]

> Open all doors and check the rooms behind them while following Shoshana

You steel yourself for a bit of calf muscle training and start heading up the stairs.

The first floor above the ground floor appears rather mundane and practical. A comfortable toilet awaits beyond the leftmost door. The one beside it leads to a relatively spacious dining room, at least considering the confines of the tower. The rightmost door leads into a functional kitchen.

One floor further up there appears to be only one door, which leads to a spacious office space well suited for work. It appears ornate and comfortable, but also utterly boring.

"I'll take a look inside!" -Shoshana declares, swiftly disappearing inside the office to snoop around.

Finally the topmost floor offers just a single door again, though this one appears to be locked quite sturdily. A plaque set in the wall beside the door simply reads "PRIVATE". The lock appears old-fashioned and alarmingly large to the point where you doubt your pocket-fitting multi tool and shims would provide sufficient pressure to operate its mechanism. Away from the door there appears to be a ladder leading up to a hatch in the ceiling. The hatch is also locked with a simple padlock.

[> See if the multitool has a glass cutter.]

> See if the multitool has a glass cutter.

You pull out the multitool to refresh your memory. There is a small set of sharp scissors and a pair of different knife blades, but those don't really cut it when it comes to cutting glass. The rest of the tools are various files, screwdrivers and such, as well as the thin metal shims and picks you've embedded into your thiefs tools.

> Wipe away a tear from your eye over the broken cat bookend and follow along behind your sister.

You pocket the tool and mourn the loss of a perfect ornament. So pure and sweet, taken from us too soon. A tear wells up in your eye but you wipe it away with your hand so as not to show the deep mental anguish you experience. Luckily for you Shoshana has already stepped out of the room so there is no witness.



You step through the door and find yourself in a stairwell going up. Based on the light and sounds of footsteps and doors opening and closing, Shoshana is already a level above you. It seems there are three levels in addition to the ground level you currently occupy. The ground floor has a single door you just entered through, while the second floor has three doors and the third and fourth floors have just one door each.

"Looks like a dining room and a kitchen up here." -Shoshana calls out in a loud whisper as she peers in through the doors. "I'll head on further up!"

[> Open the cabinet to see what's inside.]

> Open the cabinet to see what's inside.

You pop open both of the cabinet doors, which put up no resistance. The pickings within are rather slim. Looks like there are some photo albums inside, a bunch of spare candles, a few rolled-up tablecloths, along with the missing cat bookend that matches the one up on the shelf, though this one appears to have suffered a fall at some point. Its tail has broken off!

> Look at the other books to see if they have anything in common that might give clues to the book in the case.

The books come off as posh and many of them seem so new and pristine that you wonder if they've ever been read at all. 'The Practice of Management', 'The Managerial Grid' and 'The Greatest Salesman in the World' look fairly old, but several other books are much newer and varied in topic, such as 'The Complete Guide to Business Etiquette', 'The Kalevala', 'Clear Body, Clear Mind', 'The Seven Wonders of the World Illustrated', 'Global Business Culture in the Modern World' and 'Buddha's Words'. Business and religion seem common topics and a copy of King James Bible sits proudly front and centre on one of the shelves.

> Examine the display case to determine how best to open it.

You look the glass display case up and down and come to an odd conclusion: there is no handle anywhere in sight, just a smooth, polished pane of glass. No holes or visible seams either, nor anything like a latch.

Shoshana has sat up again, seemingly eager to explore some more. "I'll head on upstairs and see if I can find an office or a bedroom or something like that, okay? If I was the mayor I wouldn't have my safe down here. This looks more like a place for guests and the like, not for secrets."

She seems to like secrets.

Spoiler

Sorry for this post being so late! This year has started way busier than I expected with both work and hobbies. The forums being down added maybe a day or two, but mostly this delay is up to me and my messy schedules.

[close]

[> Look]

> Look

You settle down and suppress the urge to keep dancing and putting on a show. The urge is still there, though, just underneath the surface, never too far away. The fancy top hat is a constant reminder.

You appear to be in a rather cosy and welcoming sitting room, well suited for receiving guests in. The floor is carpeted from wall to wall and feels soft beneath your sneakers, leading you to feel a little guilty for bringing in mud from the outside. There are several framed pictures on the wall, along with a shelf that appears to display some prized objects. A cushy armchair and sofa await ahead. At the back there is also a window, though the outside is very dark so there isn't much to see out there.

A tall bookshelf stands beside you, holding a variety of books and a very lovely cat ornament that is supporting some of the books. A pair of cabinet doors over its lower third suggest potentially more books or objects within.

> Examine book in display case

You decide to examine that one book in particular, for it appears to stand out from the others. It sits in what appears to be a custom silver stand made for its dimensions, behind a protective sheet of crystal clear glass.  As you examine the book with its name pressed into its leather cover in silver characters, it becomes obvious that this tome is in a language you cannot understand. It appears very old and worn, however, and you have a feeling it's probably quite valuable based on age and appearance.

[> Well, if it's fancy where we're heading, put on the top hat and dance through the doorway Fred Astaire style to get a laugh from our sister.]

> Well, if it's fancy where we're heading, put on the top hat and dance through the doorway Fred Astaire style to get a laugh from our sister.

At the sound of the word 'fancy', together with the sight of a veritably fancy top hat, you can't help yourself. You grab the hat, put it on and leap through the door while putting on your finest vintage dances moves, your sisters tire iron spinning in your hand instead of a cane.

You not only elicit a laugh from your sister, but also a round of applause!

Shoshana appears to made herself comfortable for the moment, putting her feet up as she reclines in a fancy armchair. Perfect to watch the show.

"Haha-! Bravo! Bravo!"

[> Examine the black ashtray more closely under the torchlight.]

> Examine the black ashtray more closely under the torchlight.

You illuminate the black ashtray and peer at it closely for any suspicious signs. No blood spatters or chips are to be found, however, and not even ash or soot. It appears to be a hefty little bowl of black porcelain. The bottom of the shallow bowl seems to have numerous faint scratch marks on it, but other than that it seems unremarkable. You can't really smell any tobacco or smoke, either.

While you perform your examination Shoshana steps past you and opens the door to your right, likely leading deeper inside the building. With a jolly step through the door she vanishes from sight.

"Fancy!" -you hear her calling out.

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

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

You grasp the edge of the mirror and tug on it. It lifts off easily, allowing you to peek behind it and view the simple painted wall and the metal hook drilled into it, which the mirror has been hung off from with a metal wire attached to its frame.

Shoshana watches you closely.

"Should we split up, maybe? We could cover more ground that way!" -she suggests.

[> Discuss directions and bearings with Shoshana...what door is likely the right way?]

> Discuss directions and bearings with Shoshana...what door is likely the right way?

You query your sister for a floorplan, or a plan in general, now that you two are inside.

"I don't know, to be honest. There's staird somewhere in here, likely going all the way to the top. It's not a massive building, though, so there can't be that many places to hide a safe, right?"

This does not inspire a great deal of confidence, but before you have time to continue the conversation Shoshana has already opened the door nearest to the way you came in.



"Stairs!" -she calls out before pausing for a second and turning away from the door again. "Those ones go down, though, not up. So... probably try the other door?"



> Examine and search drawers and the small bowl or ashtray on top.

You step over to the drawers and peer into them. The top drawer mostly contains scattered small items. A pair of leather gloves, some loose change, crumpled receipts and a few torn open envelopes and a case for a fancy pair of sunglasses.

The bottom drawer contains a pair of sandals that are far too big for you, as well as several pairs of folded woolly socks. There is also a bunch of wooden coat hangers like the one hanging on the wall above the drawers.

Atop the drawers is a fancy piece of white tablecloth and a black porcelain ashtray, though it appears clean and pristinely polished.

"I don't think the safe is going to be here, sis. Or are you looking for, like, a clue or something?" -Shoshana asks, trying to peer over your shoulder.

I guess I'm missing some kind of character development here.

That's understandable and having more meaningful development of the characters would surely make for a more entertaining story. But not all stories are entertaining and not all people develop over time. Sometimes stories are just a little depressing and the people in them stubborn and cold.

Congratulations to Baron!

[offtopic]Now please, please, PLEASE: not a Christmas theme for Christmas time! I beg of thee! [/offtopic]

Busy time of year for a lot of folks, so can't really blame 'em for not having the time to read and vote much. Hopefully we'll get at least that one vote that breaks the tie since we only had two participants this time around.