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I don't know if anyone has already been down this route but I remembered Slasher used to post as @barefoot. So I checked that profile and there was a Skype link with an associated Hotmail address. I've sent an email to the address. Trying to message the Skype chat resulted in the message not being sent.

He also posted as @steptoe for a time too, equally as prolific as the others, but I can't see that profile.

[Edit]
Oh interesting... the Steptoe profile can be clicked on above but it does not appear on the member lists or search.

Just look at how many games he has made across all three accounts.

[a tie]

It is indeed a tie!!

Well done to both @4KbShort and @RootBound.

I'll PM you both soon. Usually during a tie, both parties get to choose the next theme together.

[Ender's Game]

I read Ender's Game for the first time a couple years ago and had no idea about the twist at the end of that one. I guess most people here already know it, but if you haven't, I recommend the book (if you're someone who can separate art from their artists).

This is fun!

Spoiler

Was the mug already in the microwave because you had already microwaved it earlier too?

[close]

This was my immediate guess too but it seems a bit too obvious for its own forum thread. So I'll guess something a bit more crazy.

Were you already holding the cold mug of tea your other hand?

[Snarky replied while I was typing this]

Thanks for the votes so far folks. A few more would be great. There are about 4 days left.

How's it going? Anything brewing?

This could be interesting. Thanks Sini.

I was thinking of expanding on one of my 144-word flash fictions, but there are a couple of stories which I was quite unhappy with and wouldn't mind giving a rematch.

I'll keep this brief.

Spoiler

Both stories were pretty decent and had a lot going for them. Sini's play is very atmospheric and raised a lot of interesting moral questions. There was also a hint of lots of interesting background without ever being too expositiony. I would like to have read or "watched" the first part, and learned more about their master-apprentice relationship. My only real concern was more of a practical one about how you're gonna get a raven to do all the things this raven is described as doing. Even a man dressed in a raven's suit is going to struggle to live up to those state directions.

The slasher element of Baron's was really fun for me, but I was less keen on the setting with the students getting away with (as it happens, literal) murder. I think that in a school so lenient towards students, there wouldn't be any students in the classroom anyway. They'd all be breaking violation 22b about truancy, punishable by 12 extra merit stickers. The slasher stuff was fun, but could have used a bit more breathing space. A lot of deaths and days are packed into a just a few paragraphs each, but this could easily be a whole novel.

[close]

We have a tie-break situation, so guess it's up to me to decide the winning entry.

Spoiler

It's a tough choice but I'm going to give my vote to Sinitrena. I agree with Baron that normal prose might have suited it better than the play format but it was a good exercise and I had fun reading it and visualizing what it might look like on stage.

Over to you

[close]

[Creamy]

Concept. Creamy does it for me. This is a very interesting concept. I'd love to see this animated.

Playability. RootBound. This is definitely the more playable of the two, for me, in terms of adventure games. Though the low angle would make it a little tricky to implement as a room.

Artistic Expression. This is tough, as both have their charms and both are well done, but I'm going with Creamy just because it's the more polished of the two.

[The RoadTrip]

Thanks to both entrants for these two cracking-looking games.
Looks like we've got a proper contest on our hands.

It's time to vote for your favourite game of MAGS June.
Please vote using the poll above:

	The RoadTrip by 4KbShort
	Mad Jack: Breakdown Shakedown by RootBound

[Tales from a Forgotten Tavern]

Theme: Last One
Set by: 4KbShort

The winning entry is:
Tales from a Forgotten Tavern by Ponch

	Tales from a Forgotten Tavern by Ponch
	Well... Horror, Naturally by tbook

What: Human? Minute? Day? Animal or tree? Maybe the last star?

Where: Is it an item or a moment in time? A place? Does it move? Is it buried? At the bottom of the ocean?

Who: Who else wants it? A greedy corporation? Your evil twin? A time traveler from the future? Everyone?

Why: Why is it so important? Why do YOU need it? Save the world? Save yourself? Destroy it before it's too late?

When: The far future, the distant past, today? Yesterday?







What is MAGS?
Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for amateur adventure game makers. The idea is to create a game in under a month, following the guidelines set by the previous winner. It aims to help you work to a deadline, improve your skills, and provide a kick-start into making adventure games. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favourite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you have bad art skills, use it as a chance to do some graphic work. If you're sub-standard at coding, use it as a chance to give scripting a go. Ultimately, people will vote for the most enjoyable entry.

Rules
Entering MAGS is simple. First, conceptualize your game following the month's criteria (see above). Second, create your game fuelled only by coffee. Finally, post your game in this thread, including:

* A working download link
* The title of your game
* A suitable in-game screenshot

At the end of the month, voting will begin, usually lasting for fourteen days, and the winner chooses the next month's theme.

Remember that this is a challenge to see what you can do in a month, so any tinkering you do after that, including fixing minor glitches, is against the spirit of the competition. The exception to this is that you may go in and fix major, game-breaking bugs only during voting. We want you to have a game that voters can actually play and that runs on their machines.

So to reiterate, during the voting period fixing major, game-breaking bugs is okay, fixing minor glitches or making cosmetic changes is cheating.

Tips
Here are some ways to make sure you have a game to submit at the end of the month:
* Make a tiny game. Plan small, then cut it in half. Find shortcuts (e.g. if making walkcycles is time-consuming, make the characters static or have it in the first person).
* Plan to have your game playable and submittable with a week to spare. This way you have a week to fix bugs, add some flourishes and maybe even get someone to test it.
* Plan to submit it a day or so early. This way, if there are any technical issues with uploading, they can be sorted out in time.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a little help with graphics? Perhaps The AGS Trove has something you can use.
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If I can have an extension, I'll gladly take it.   

Granted.

I like this idea and look into it as an option.

I'd prefer to keep the contest fourum-based overall. I don't want to force every participant to submit through Itch. Basically anyone can host their game anywhere but must post about it in the relevant thread. I don't think that will change.

But if it's possible to run an Itch jam alongside it as a way of drumming up participation (even just occasionally, rather than every month) then I'm all for it.

Well, class. It's time to put down your pencils and face the front.

The two entries are:
Sinitrena - And in the Darkness: Night
Baron - Nadir High

Anyone may vote. Please simply choose your favourite story and post the title in the thread. In the case of a tie I will cast the deciding vote.

Voting closes on July 4th at 23:59 Hammer Time.

Great to see that there will be, at least, two entries this month!

I'm currently playin' The RoadTrip in my RG351V:

Woah, that's cool!

Looking great, @4KbShort

How's everyone else looking?

No, it isn't complicated. I just thought the unique situation gave me a chance to put forward an opinion I've had for a little while now that the topic setter should be able to join in the writing.

The way I see it, the idea that winning a round means you're not allowed to join in the next round feels more like a penalty than a prize. It's nice to win occasionally and it's a lovely treat to be able to choose the topic and make the thread and grant the obligatory extension request, but wouldn't you like to have the option to join in the writing too?

I see your point about not wanting one person to dominate by keep winning repeatedly but I don't think it's likely to happen very often, and even if somebody were lucky enough to have a good run of wins, should that not be celebrated?

To be honest, with so few regulars, I think it's kind of silly not letting the topic setter join in the writing. I suppose there is the potential for some kind of unfair advantage, but I don't think that's really a problem here. In fact with MAGS, we don't bar the theme-setter from making a game, even though they might have had two weeks head start to think about it. I propose we get rid of that rule, if only to increase the number of stories by one. What does everyone think?

I see your point, but a head-start or unfair advantage was never the problem with the theme-setter joining the competition.
The problem lies with the need of a neutral arbitrator. For example in case of a tie. MAGS never needs to ask this question, becasue MAGGS always has a neutral person - you - as the administrator. For MAGS, the role of theme-setter and competition administrator are seperate, so that it doesn't matter if the theme-setter enters.
Therefore, personally, I wouldn't mind if you two chose the theme together, but one of you takes over hosting duties, and only the one hosting doesn't enter.

Anyway, congratulations to Mandle and Stupot. Nice little cooperation.

Yeah, you make a valid point about the difference between FWC and MAGS. There wouldn't be much need for a neutral arbitrator if we were able to settle on a voting system but with so few people there isn't a good solution for that.

We'll sort something out. Keep an eye out for the next theme, coming soon.

Thanks for your feedback Baron, and thanks for your vote.

Under normal rules, the author of the story with most votes would set the next theme. But an unintended consequence of our project is that both Mandle and I would be ineligible to participate in the next contest, which would be a shame considering there are only a handful of regulars.

One option is for Mandle and myself to flip a coin to decide who gets to pick the theme and who gets to participate.

Another option is to just get ChatGPT or some random word generator to give us a theme so that we can all take part.

To be honest, with so few regulars, I think it's kind of silly not letting the topic setter join in the writing. I suppose there is the potential for some kind of unfair advantage, but I don't think that's really a problem here. In fact with MAGS, we don't bar the theme-setter from making a game, even though they might have had two weeks head start to think about it. I propose we get rid of that rule, if only to increase the number of stories by one. What does everyone think?

I saw something about this on Twitter. I echo eriOo's question about whether or not there will be any recordings to watch.