Messages

Belated happy birthday, Snarky!

Happy Birthday Stu!

Happy Birthday Malte!

Love the look of this, awesome to have another horror genre creator on board.
Best of luck with the development!

Happy Birthday, Mandle! I haven't been to the forums for the past few days but I'm pretty sure yours was around this time of the year...

Belated HB Snarky!

(I'm so bad at this thread, I seem to never make it on time)

Happy Birthday Blondbraid!

Belated HB, cat!

Great to see you back here, Tamanegi! Even if for a brief moment.

I did play your game back in 2011 when you released it and the memories were still vivid when I was replying it in May this year.
Fantastic work!

Haha, thank you :3

Fully agree, the lack of save makes the game considerably less player friendly and it does take more than an hour to complete. Still worth it, though!

Spoiler

I think I got the same ending the first time round, as I also figured the real culprit was the most logical choice. Side note, if I remember correctly the debug mode has been left on so whoever doesn't feel like replaying or have the patience because of the lack of save system, there's always the cheap option for a bit of extra lore...

[close]

And as for the game choice in general, it's always interesting when someone uncovers an old gem. But there's also an unquestionable perk to choosing games released in a given year - more chance for a wider variety of nominees for AGS Awards. I thought of suggesting a game added in 2019 purely for that reason, but couldn't resist picking Absin...

[Absin]

If no one else is looking to provide a pick with a full description, I can offer:

Absin by Fransis
Database link: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2263/
Synopsis: Join a bitter, cynical, down-on-her-luck detective on an unexpected and very much unwanted journey into her past.
Whilst more picky players may find the visuals lacking, the interesting non-linear structure of this investigative noir game and a strong focus on narration should easily make up for it.


It hasn't been a PotM yet and it's a pretty cool game. Fairly recently released, too!
Also, - spoiler alert, best play the game through to the end before you unhide -

Spoiler

it has a Q protagonist, per Blondbraid's wish

[close]

Spoiler

Would have been great if you had to face more "fears".

[close]

Spoiler

I agree! But I suppose the lack of polish and some plot shortcuts were all down to MAGS time constraints.

[close]

[Don't Look!]

How about...

Don't Look! by Tamanegi
https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/1394/

A somewhat disturbing journey into the mind of a troubled 8 year old struggling to control her anxiety.

The strong focus on storytelling takes it toll on the puzzles, the verb coin is a bit awkward and there is no sound or music, but if you can appreciate a game for its backstory, cool NPC and an occasional jump scare, you will definitely enjoy this dark fantasy tale.

Happy belated birthday, Mandle!

HB abstauber!

Aww, thank you for this suggestion. Unexpected! =)

[* Feb 18 | pick genre, setting and location from predefined lists and include a pet with an extraordinary gift | 4 entries]

On the subject of theme choice... Not sure if it will help anyone or not but here's a brief summary of themes and turnout for the last 30 competitions:

Spoiler

* Mar 18 | make three playable characters and differentiate the gameplay between them | 2 entries
* Feb 18 | pick genre, setting and location from predefined lists and include a pet with an extraordinary gift | 4 entries
* Jan 18 | hidden and misinterpreted true motives | 3 entries
* Dec 17 | invisibility | 1 entry
* Nov 17 | contest/competition | 4 entries
* Oct 17 | fears/phobia, + 1 room requirement | 5 entries
* Sept 17 | past and future mixed up | 3 entries
* Aug 17 | the Bible | 3 entries
* Jul 17 | same place frequented by character 3 times as key element of the plot | 3 entries
* Jun 17 | rescue | 8 entries
* May 17 | fate | 2 entries
* Apr 17 | misinterpretation/mistaken identity | 1 entry
* Mar 17 | difference in size | 2 entries
* Feb 17 | same location at multiple time periods | 2 entries
* Jan 17 | transformation/metamorphosis | 3 entries
* Dec 16 | pickpocketing | 2 entries
* Nov 16 | afterlife | 3 entries
* Oct 16 | remake an existing game into a different genre | 2 entries
* Sept 16 | pure evil | 5 entries
* Aug 16 | must include monkeys, poor quality vehicle, giant banana | 5 entries
* July 16 | extinction | 4 entries
* Jun 16 | non-cliche historical setting + real personnas (optional) | 3 entries
* May 16 | must include gas, "It's all right now" quote, someone named Jack + Jack jumps and toothless bearded hag (optional) | 4 entries
* Apr 16 | natural disaster | 2 entries
* Mar 16 | changing seasons | 1 entry
* Feb 16 | RoN | 2 entries
* Jan 16 | Black Death | 6 entries
* Dec 15 | depleted/running out | 3 entries
* Nov 15 | monsters + must include rhyming | 6 entries
* Sept 15 | Stephen King, must include 2 rooms and 2 characters exactly | 2 entries

[close]

What I feel the most popular themes have in common is that they are flexible and not too ambitious, in a good way. Basically, when I think say "monsters" or "contest" or "rescue", a bunch of simple short game scenarios immediately springs to mind and whilst none of these games would probably be very original or imaginative, they could be quickly and effortlessly planned out. Coming up with a working MAGS game plan shouldn't really take any of the precious little time we have to actually create the game.

Also, not all themes that scored 4+ entries are vaguely defined - some in fact use detailed requirements, see the monkey theme from Aug 16 or Jack theme from May 16 for example. Personally I'm not a big fan of these "include x, y, z and your game must be f" subjects because (admittedly more as a player than a creator - I rarely participate) I feel the competition is more captivating when the entries are themed rather than connected by randomly chosen elements. But it does seem to stir creativity if the combination turns out to be flexible enough.

As for the use of pre-existing open source graphical assets, it feels like something that could improve the turnout but I'm not convinced if using RON resources for this purpose is a very good idea unless the MAGS entry is an actual RON game. It is a free to use library, but a library dedicated to a specific series so using it for random MAGS games *kind of* defeats the purpose to me. But then again I'm hardly an expert on RON policy, someone better versed in the subject might want to comment should this option ever be seriously considered.

I also love the artistic licence taken with the positioning of the rooms inside the ship to show things off to maximum effect.

Shhhh! No one was supposed to notice

I feel a bit silly for posting this with a month's delay, but anyway - for Mandle and anyone else who wants to see the details of the cross section in its original resolution, here it is:
[imgzoom]https://s18.postimg.org/6uvvpe3y1/CD2_DHAMSB-cover_315x250_2.png[/imgzoom]

(Had to be resized on the promo art due to the host's image size requirements)