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Messages - xil

#101
Thanks for the comments guys :)

Myself and alxalxalx (who co-wrote and produced the music) only ended up having 2 days left of the jam to get it done so I'm just happy it got finished!

st. once again you really seem to have crept into my head as so much of what you have said is perfectly on point.

For those that would like a little more of the story and the ideas behind what it represents (big spoilers ahead!!!):

Spoiler

The idea of the game world is to disconnect the player much as the protagonist is disconnected - think in terms of a prince or child of a celebrity who only knows the world from their bubble, to them it's great and life is awesome, and they don't understand that everyone doesn't live like that.

The game is split into 3 stages:


  • In the first we chip away at the bubble the protagonist is living in an explain that not everything is how he/she sees/lives it. They learn that others with less still give to the world and make it a better place. Why don't they do that when they have so much?
  • The second stage gets us to stand up for this new belief. Something that was once regarded as perfectly normal is torn down and demolished by the protagonist. We referenced the marriage of two people from different classes but you could apply the same principles to abolishing slavery or saying no to racism/sexism.
  • The final stage is a simple choice and one that promotes the idea of equality. The three candidates all represent an idea or policy but the second candidate can't quite decide what that policy is exactly. They are a procrastinator or someone who will bend their view for the right price or be swayed by another influence. The reason you must select the first and third candidate is because they both believe in something, and although not the same thing, by putting them on either side of the scales, you create balance. The second candidate would have made the scales unbalanced.

The ending sequence can probably be summed up by relating to the saying "You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?". You can talk about doing something good all your life, but until you go out there and do it you won't affect anything.

I hope that helps explain the game a little more!
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Also, the music is indeed on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/weamthefractals (the main track is called Ocho and the ending is called Experiments in Doom).
#102
Completed Game Announcements / Re: Foundations
Mon 20/04/2015 19:11:05
Really, really enjoyed this Matt. The art and animation are of course beautiful (as always!) but I thought the interactions and story were equally as good. I liked the game world and would love to see more! I also gave you a vote on #adventurejam :)
#103
Great game Shaun! I really enjoyed all the hard work put into the events and animations, it really payed off. I gave you a vote on #adventurejam as well :)
#104
Great little game Stupot+! I managed to get through it with only one hint from the walkthrough :) I gave you a vote on #adventurejam as well.

P.S. I'm also a little unsure of the format of the jam and the rules, half of the games aren't even finished either :~(
#105
Such a crazy game but I am enjoying it so far! I've given you a vote on #adventurejam :)
#106
Yes, well done to Billbis, Creamy and yourself Shaun. I really enjoyed both games and liked how we all managed to put a different spin on the theme! Apologies for taking so long to getting round to playing the games, I was away most of April and really wanted to get something done for #adventurejam so have only just managed to play through them and couldn't even get my vote in on time. oops! :P
#107
My game 'blind to siberia' is finished! It's done a bit early as I entered it into #adventurejam as well :) I hope that's okay and not a faux pas!

Here is the completed game thread: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52037.0

[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bts4.png[/imgzoom]
#108
I just managed to sneak my game in as well: http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/blind-to-siberia/60762/

Or if you don't want to go through game jolt then I have uploaded it for MAGS April 2015 as well: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=52037.0

[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bts4.png[/imgzoom]
#109



blind to siberia was made for MAGS April 2015 and #adventurejam 2015.

what is the light? does it shine directly on us, illuminating our achievements - or does it actually only light around us, making us aware of our surroundings so we can know our place in the world.

blind to siberia is a short abstract point and click adventure / interactive story.

created by calico reverie and alxalxalx

music by the fractals


[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bts4.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bts1.png[/imgzoom]
[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bts2.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bts3.png[/imgzoom]

#110
Hints & Tips / Re: Aractaur
Wed 08/04/2015 00:10:13
Here is a couple of clues, only look at the first one if you don't want it too spelled out in regards to the rat!

Spoiler
The rat might like something you have!
[close]

Spoiler
The peanut butter will allow you to interact differently with the rat, but you will need to think outside the box still. You only need the peanut butter to solve the rat puzzle!
[close]
#111
Hints & Tips / Re: Aractaur
Tue 07/04/2015 01:56:44
You need to
Spoiler
rummage around outside the factory to find the missing piece of the molotov.
[close]
#112
Hi everyone!

I've been out of the country to sorry for not replying sooner! Thanks so much for the kind comments and thanks for pointing out some of the bugs and issues.

Unfortunately I really didn't have much time this month so will be going back to this in a couple of weeks time after Adventure Jam/April MAGS (which thankfully is only 2 weeks so should give me a day or two to easily to polish it up and add some of the extra bits I originally intended).

Spoiler

I was laughing quite a lot at some of the mistakes - I had no idea bubbly didn't burn (we'll go with the cheap paint stripper option ;)) and also no idea about cocoon 2 haha (i assumed it just couldn't be possible to have a cocoon 2 and enjoyed the cocoons/aliens pun!!) :) Funnily enough as well as Cocoon 2 I also haven't seen The Mist but it's going on the list and I'm definitely going to work something special into the deluxe ending sequence I have planned.

I did also intend to have the factory floor as an extra playable room (it was going to feature the Aractaur again with a puzzle to obtain the metal saw), however, I'm just going to remove the arrow/room reference to avoid confusion.
[close]

Apologies to those of you that found some bugs - I was accidentally using a custom version of the new beta engine so totally my fault that one. I'll make sure to downgrade back to the beta release for the next game!

P.S. I will get round to playing the other MAGS entries hopefully today/tomorrow, they both looked awesome :)

P.P.S. The names were pretty much random with a splash of reference to people I know in real life =).
#113
A player has just let me know they get the following error when they try to start my game (Aractaur).

---------------------------
Illegal exception
---------------------------
An exception 0xC0000005 occurred in ACWIN.EXE at EIP = 0x004A2B60 ; program pointer is +77, ACI version 3.4.0.3, gtags (16,320)

I cannot seem to reproduce this error in either Direct Draw or Direct3D, any ideas how I can try to debug it?
#114



Aractaur is a black comedy point & click adventure starring Dirk Longerwood as the would-be hero. When even the Special Forces can't take out a spider-alien-thing, Dirk must step in and save the world himself.


[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac2.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac3.png[/imgzoom]
[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac4.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac5.png[/imgzoom]

#115
I just about did it in time! :D

PLEASE BE WARNED: I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO VERY LITTLE TESTING!! I will do my best to run through it now to make sure it's not broken.




Aractaur is a black comedy point & click adventure starring Dirk Longerwood as the would-be hero. When even the Special Forces can't take out a spider-alien-thing, Dirk must step in and save the world himself.


[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac2.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac3.png[/imgzoom]
[imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac4.png[/imgzoom][imgzoom]http://calicoreverie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/arac5.png[/imgzoom]

#116
Haha, I'll take it. Victory is mine! (kind of) ;)
#117
Looks great Shaun, I'll give it a go when I get a bit of time =)

Sorry you couldn't get yours finished Retro Wolf, I know that feeling.

As per usual mine will be a mad rush up until the last second so we'll see how I do later on!

Good luck to Billbis and Creamy, I hope you guys gets yours done!
#118
I'm getting there!



#119
Quote from: BarbWire on Thu 26/03/2015 18:34:55
Gamejolt is an alternative to showcasing games and reaching a wider audience.
However, the sheer amount of games, many of them fan based, which appear at an alarming rate means a game drops from page 1 to 101 in no time.
So unless someone is prepared to carefully scrutinise all 900 odd pages there is little chance  your game would be noticed.

Yea I completely agree, there is never going to be a perfect solution but it does seem a shame that there are so many games in the AGS database and so little activity in regards to comments and ratings.

Quote from: Monsieur OUXX on Thu 26/03/2015 16:35:50
I think the "ain't broken, don't fix" thinking doesn't apply here.

Why do the community members (not the newcomers!) go on the AGS website? --> Essentially, for 3 things :
1) Download AGS
2) Download a game
3) Go to the forums

1 --> That happens less than once every year, when there is a version change. And it would be the home page of the site anyways.
2 --> 50% of the times, I reach the download page from a link in the forums. And you don't go looking up games so often anyways
3 --> I never use the forums link on the AGS website. I always type "AGS forums" in Google (and that's for people who don't even have a bookmark).

As a conclusion: that wouldn't change anything for the community members. Yet, it would be a big improvement for newcomers. I think the forums are too "hidden" withing the site. That would actually be an enhancement.
Oh, and I'm not grabbing WRK's enhancements just because he suggested them. It's just that they are exactly what I had on mind for the website for the last several years.

I think this highlights exactly my point about blurring the lines between what WRK's mock up is trying to achieve. On one hand I agree completely, as a community member I have almost zero need for the front-end website. As a developer I don't play many AGS games as I'm busy trying to make them and I never use the forum link on the website, I always get here through a bookmark or straight from Google.

But why then do you say it would be a big improvement for a newcomer? The forums are hardly hidden, it's one of 4 link at the top of the page. Yes, you could maybe have the 'enter the forums' link as a button but it's not rocket science getting to them. I'd go as far to say for a new developer it would be a minor improvement but not a big one.

However, if you are meaning newcomer as a new player/interested party then yes, it would be a big improvement, however, it still does not address the fact that the games page is a bit outdated and very hard to actually sign up to give a rating or comment. I think it would be an utter waste of everyone's time if you just made the homepage nice and pretty with an updated look but then completely disregarded the fact that perhaps AGS on a whole should be changing the way it works to be more of a community like Game Jolt where we mix players and developers?

I would love to have an attempt at doing some sort of "AGS Game Jolt" but like I've said before it would clash directly with the current games database (and possibly even what AGS Archives is trying to achieve?).

Again, don't get me wrong, I really do love WRK's mock up but website looks are very fickle. They twist and change every year, if not every 6 months and then just look outdated again no matter how 'fresh' you think it looks right now.
#120
Quote from: BarbWire on Thu 26/03/2015 14:51:56Isn't it a case of IF IT AINT BROKE DON'T FIX IT.

As much as I love the redesign, I agree essentially with the "ain't broke, don't fix approach" as the average visitor is surely going to be a developer. Just look at the description from Google: AGS is an Adventure Engine to create graphical point-and-click adventure games - Adventure Game Studio. So by making it all pretty and new in the current 2015 style (which will only change again in 2016) isn't going to affect much, developers won't give a crap about what the website looks like, they want an engine to make games.

If I do some quick searches for "adventure game engine" or "adventure game creator" then up pops AGS, however, if I search for "indie adventure games" it's no where to be seen. Which is obviously correct as AGS is an engine not a forum to showcase adventure games, or is it? I feel this is where the line in a lot of peoples arguments is getting blurred.

I do feel it misses the mark when you consider that players might be coming onto the site but isn't that the type of visitor that AGS Archives is trying to accommodate?

Out of interest, does anyone know what sort of traffic the main site gets, and things like the bounce rate and search terms? Maybe the AGS site should have a sister site that focuses on a games showcase, which I would welcome a design like WRK's, as I think the current games database hasn't aged quite as well as the main site and it feels a little 'clunky' in comparison to some newer sites like Game Jolt or itch.io for example.

I also quite dislike the fact that for a player to provide a rating or comment they have to go through what is quite frankly, an arduous signup process which will only serve to put off casual players from commenting and rating. I am about 5 years out of the loop though so I might be wrong on that account now?
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