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^Hey, buying different models costs money, so they may as well use the same model for all "white men" ^_^

Well, that's what happened (more or less) with regards to paintings of Christ.

That said, I don't know if Gabriel Knight is a stereotype - a stereotype of what? He may be the archetypal vain heart-throb and I'm sure he's popular with some female players, but he's not written in a way that insults the intelligence of male players.

Perhaps except that he's not good with languages. It's been too long since I played these games, but I remember knowing a lot more than the character, simply because he couldn't understand a word of German. I didn't really mind, as I tend not to identify with the player character.

You can't escape now, Batman! (...) Batman?

I'm using Kastchey's form, and it's a great help. Thanks! However:

Is there a list of what games are considered demos/which games of this year also have eligible demos listed as downloads?

Is there a list of which games have voice work?

I tried the search function with parameters in the games section, but it isn't foolproof. These two categories above have the fewest games to choose from, all the more important that none are overlooked.

I don't think they're floor tiles, but shadows cast by the columns.

It does seem so, but where's the light coming from? If it's the sun than the shadows cannot have different directions 

Indeed, the only thing that would make sense perspective wise was if there was an asymmetrical grid on a glass ceiling in the room and a light source above that ceiling.

Good points. Given the sci-fi setting, one could always make an explanation that would make an error right within that world. Could be multiple suns (but then there ought to be more shadows) or hovering light sources outside, above our frame of reference.

This game was very good! I hope I find the time to play Urban Witch Story before nomination time, too.

I particularly liked the dialogue, which added to the relationships between the characters, and was well integrated in the puzzles, as well.

You probably didn't notice, but the man in that painting is also naked.
He is, moreover, dead.
Hardly a case of treating women differently in media

I am reminded of those cool and feminist arabian princes, who always cover up ancient statues so that the genitals aren't visible. A serious ability to appreciate high art..

I think my whole answer is off-topic. [offtopic]The naked dead guy is Munch. By naming the painting thus, he gives his ex the role of traitor and (psychological) murderess. He literally paints himself as the victim and the woman as the villain. Now, we don't know the specifics about the gun shooting incident that lead to their breakup, but I'm inclined to call this a personal attack more than an attack on all women.[/offtopic]

I will admit, you've definitely nailed that Sierra art style.

I agree, my only issue is that the floor tile perspective seems a bit wonky in the top left background, but otherwise they look neat.

I don't think they're floor tiles, but shadows cast by the columns.

I never said the painting was pornographic, what I am trying to say it that it's really inappropriate for this discussion.

Agreed.

I still think there's a difference between say, Fransisco Goya painting terrifying paintings to deal with the horrors of the wars and Spanish inquisition he'd witnessed in his homeland, and Munch painting his fiance as a murderer because he couldn't handle a bad breakup.

[offtopic]This kind of behaviour is often seen in modern popular music, where the exes of musicians generally is written about in a less than flattering manner. That said, if we go back in history, personal attacks seem almost the order of the day. There is little or no division between person and the topic.

I think these paintings would fit in a thread about whether or not this kind of revenge against people who have wronged the artist is also applicable to games.
[/offtopic]

I liked this game a lot. The graphics are done well and put me in that old time Sierra mood. While I didn't mind the office chores in the beginning, I think the game really shines when the investigation starts. This is done step by step and area by area, not giving the feel of playing unconnected minigames, but of chapters in a story.

I'm in the camp that doesn't mind the sound when points are scored, but I can see that it's a bit loud and may be annoying for some. I finished with 99 points first, but thankfully only needed to load up my last saved game to find the last two. (I had triggered the ending too early.) I'll definitely try out the second chapter.

So I found the

Spoiler

key to the footlocker and with that got the socks and that gave me the lubricant... now I have no clue on what to do.
or how to steal the other key...

[close]

Have you

Spoiler

checked out the books in the nurses' tent? This should give you a hint.

[close]

I'm biased, as I betatested this game. Nevertheless I'll applaud the way the Mash camp is brought to life. I think this will be a very good template for making more Mash games, and I hope more creators will utilize the groundwork laid down here.

So is the game any good? Oh yes. 

On my way through the games realeased last year, I was lucky enough to be entertained by this one today. Good fun and metajokes. Decent puzzles, too.

I thought this was just an escape the room game, but there was quite a bit more to it than that. Fun fan game in the Harry Potter world. Good puzzles that utilizes the HP lore. I'd be happy to see more of Sophia's story. Otherwise I agree with the comments above.

I especially liked the commenting portrait character and the magic puzzles. When voting, I put this as a medium sized game. I couldn't have completed this in 30 minutes, at least. 

Room for improvement:

Spoiler

I don't expect this from a first game, and it didn't detract any for me, but there are some minor inconcistencies, like that the rat is still in the trap after the owl has taken it, some of the portrait dialogue doesn't quite fit after Sophia has progressed further, and you can still see the key in the rat hole after obtaining it. Actually removing all those things are a ton of work, but would make a world seem more "real".

[close]

I would go for v3. There are countless variations of the rules, but insurance is taken before player action. It's a side bet and not really connected to the "real" Blackjack round, e.g. it doesn't depend on the player's cards.

Doubling down is logically the last action, as it is basically taking one more card and standing. Thus, you can't split after doubling down. Some casinos will not allow you to double down after splitting, but the other way around just won't work.

So either go for v3 or make splitting and doubling down mutually exclusive.

I think a pretty apt illustration of the double standard is that when Batman and Robin bombed, executives decided it was simply because it was a badly made film and made a more serious reboot of Batman a short time later, but when Halle Berry's Catwoman flopped, Hollywood decided it was because audiences didn't want to see black or female superheroes, and it took decades before we got a female and a black superhero in Wonder Woman and Black Panther respectively, and they were both treated as a big political statement on equality when they came out.

That may well be the case. But I also believe that it was of importance that the Batman franchise already had some successful movies (and a lot of classic comics) before the Batman and Robin-flop. I don't remember much about the Halle Berry catwoman film, except that the character had some catlike powers and wasn't much like the comics character (who is a cat burglar). Halle Berry was a great Storm in the X-Men films, but sadly underused.

Now if only someone could make a movie about the Martha Washington graphic novel...

I rarely identify myself with any character - that's not how I think. I can relate and try to understand them, but identification is not high on my list of needs. One of my favourite authors is Terry Pratchett, and I don't feel the need to "be" stumbling wizard Rincewind or hard-as-rocks witch Granny Weatherwax in any manner. But I enjoy their stories anyhow.

The original point in the thread is akin to Simone deBeauvoir's idea about women as "the other sex", stating that the norm is seen to be male. The easiest way to change this is to simply make stories about women or any other character trait not viewed as the norm. And the real reason why the norm holds up so well, is probably lazyness. There are some great stories told about brooding vigilantes with a troubled past, and then there are the copycats that are not so well written. For that matter, an arguably great character like Batman is considered great because there are good stories about him, but there are just as many stories that are terrible. But the success of Batman will then spawn similar characters that try to outdo the original in some way, like using guns, being more violent or any of the other boxes you could check. These other characters will most likely not be as interesting.

I played this today, and I found it to be a deep, somewhat philosophical story. Very well done! I liked the conversations, the character's relationships with other people and how the story flows. While there may be some pixel hunts, I wasn't stuck. Probably just lucky.  Good and fun puzzles, too, but I liked the story the best.

While you excuse yourself for the graphics, I think they worked very well. The generic look actually adds to the story. I also found the music and sound to be very well integrated into the story, adding atmosphere or giving feedback about player breakthroughs.

Hi,

On the startup Games page, there's listed a short game called "Murder" at the bottom, under the heading AGS Awards. I clicked on it and got an error message. Then I clicked on the AGS Awards link and found that "Murder" is listed as the winner in every category for 2020.

Clearly, this isn't correct. So, is this a dummy placement in order to open up the categories, or is someone having fun hacking/manipulating the awards list?

The Anti-Ninja.