Messages

Anyone else still playing?

Yes but barely. I go days without remembering to play.

[Rob the Weather]

I have read both stories and now have the unenviable task of picking a favourite.

I know this is something we say too much, myself included, but this really is a tough choice (as I write this, I still haven't got a solid pick, but I'm hoping as I give my feedback I will settle on one).

Baron

Spoiler

What I enjoyed most about this was the attention to detail. I don't know if you already have some aviation knowledge or did a bunch of research or just blagged it, but I really felt like I was in the cockpit (snicker) with these two horny pilots.

One critique is that once they were aware that things were bad, the dialogue didn't seem to fit the urgency of the situation. For example, Ted's line beginning "You know as well as I do..." goes on for about a minute but ends with "We may have mere minutes to live." I'm not sure he'd be so eloquently elaborating on why they are fucked if he really thought they were that fucked."

Other than that, I enjoyed the ending and how he landed the plane and Ted's well-deserved demise. The last like made me chuckle but I almost wish it wasn't there as it doesn't fit with the tone of the rest of the piece.

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Mandle

Spoiler

This was a considerably more restrained piece from you this round, I think, and I liked it. I enjoyed spending time with the characters. And I am enjoying the mystery. Obviously, it isn't finished yet, but I am all in for chapter 2 and beyond.

I'm sure there will be more explanation in the rest of the story, but I wish we had a little bit more information about Rob's motivations or something else to hook onto. There is a very subtle mention about "the rain doesn't lie" which tells me he's got some kind of supernatural ability that involves the rain in some capacity, which I'm eager to learn more about. Apart from that blink-and-you'll-miss-it line and one or two other mentions of the rain, the theme of 'weather' doesn't feel like a significant part of the story (yet...as I'm almost certain you have plans that involve the weather in a big way)

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So, about my vote...

Spoiler

Ahh man. Both stories were highly readable. They both gave me something different, they both had me feeling like I could be watching a movie. I think, despite the fact that it left me hanging and that it only just fits the theme, I'm going to go with Rob the Weather, by Mandle.

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[The Distant Door]

Thanks for the votes, everyone.
I honestly thought this was going to be tight, as both games look great. But the people have spoken and the winner with 8 out 8 votes is...

The Distant Door by Durinde

Well done, Durinde. I'll PM you soon about setting a theme for October.

How are we getting on, everyone?

Last chance to get your votes in, folks

You might want to rethink Unity, at least until they u-Turn this nonsense.

https://www.axios.com/2023/09/13/unity-runtime-fee-policy-marc-whitten

I regret to say that I cannot envisage being able to get a story in on time. I had an idea and had written the first part in long hand in a notebook but it isn't enough and I don't know when I'll next have a date with my laptop.

Quite lucky today #813

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Blimey. 5 goes for me.

Glad you found someone. Happy genealogy-ing.

Are we allowed to use art purchased in humble bundles, etc., or only publicly available art?

Use whatever you can (legally) get your hands on, Kitty. It is good form to credit your sources, either in-game or in a readme file. Not only does that give the original creator their due credit, it also adds a level of transparency for the players and voters.

In recent years, the Escape Room games have become very popular. Those are definitely adventure games, but often with huge amounts of moon logic and little or no story.

True. And would surely be worth mentioning, however briefly, the recent popularity of physical escape rooms, not just video game ones.

Yeah. Once upon a time there was a fairly strict 'no pre-existing assets' law. Everything had to be made from scratch. I think it was felt that this made it too overwhelming for newcomers (though I wonder if it did encourage more team entries, where everyone had a specific job to do).

So for a while we had it where the topic-setter could choose whether or not premade assets were allowed, but almost everyone said yes, so I stopped asking. Since then it's been much more lenient. No one has complained and while it hasn't done much to increase the participation numbers, it does lower the barrier for entry to those who would like to enter but can't do everything from scratch.

In the more specific case of reusing something you'd made for a previous entry (whether completed or not), I don't see a problem with that, especially if it helps increase the number of entries. Others will say so if they think someone has taken too many liberties, if not in writing then in the voting.

Hi Rinat,

Whether or not people liked the games that came out of it, you can't ignore the Kickstarter Comeback boom of 2012 when all the old firm came out of the woodwork to (in my opinion) cash in on the success of Tim Schafer's Broken Age.

Tim Schafer - Broken Age (Doublefine Adventure) - 2014 (Kickstarter launched in Feb 2012)

Jane Jensen - Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition (Mystery Game X) - 2014 (KS launched April 2012)

Al Lowe - Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded - 2013 (KS launched Apr 2012)

Chris Jones (Not that one) - Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure (Project Fedora) - 2013 (KS launched May 2012

Two Guys From Andromeda - SpaceVenture (KS launch May 2012)

Charles Cecil - Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse - 2013 (KS launched Dec 2012)

Ron Gilbert followed suit in 2014 with a KS launch for what would be Thimbleweed Park (though he was also to some extent involved in Broken Age)

[and probably some more I've missed]

[my]

Maybe I'm missing the point but a lot of these social media memes, both still ones and these "reels", have a caption that begins "POV". This is supposed to stand for "point of view" (as it always has). Only, these memes and video are not POV. They are just pictures or video of a person doing something.

If the point is that it's supposed be from my POV as the person looking at the images, then that means every single picture I've ever look at has been "POV".


POS, more like. 😠

[No Talking, please]

You say it best, when you say nothing at all. So I will shut my mouth and introduce MAGS September.

Theme: No Talking, please.
Guidelines by: Ponch

This month's MAGS was a tie. Well done to both entries for sharing the win.

]	The Delivery by @4KbShort
]	Lost & Found by @Creamy

This game can have everything except dialog. Nobody says a word! Is the world filled with monsters that hunt by sound? Have space aliens stole all our words? Have you been raised by a colony of devout mimes? Have you taken a vow of silence? Are you trapped underwater and can't afford to waste the air? I don't know! But no one talks in this game!







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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[The Distant Door]

That is no problem, @Kitty Trouble.

Thank you to those who participated this round, even if you weren't able to get an entry in.

We still got two great-looking games and I think it's going to be an interesting battle for votes.

Please vote using the poll above.

	The Distant Door by Durinde
	The long August longing by Cassiebsg and Blondbraid

@Snarky, have you tried using the rubber chicken on the lockbox?

That's what she said.

_{Sorry everyone. I promise this won't become a habit.}

No worries @Radiant. Look out for September's theme very soon.

Thanks for the votes and feedback folks. The winner is...

Sinitrena, for Moon's Flower.

Well done Sini. Your turn.

[Sinitrena]

Strong selection this round. I had a tough time deciding on a favourite but I think I'm going to plump for the one that engaged me the most while reading on my Kindle:

Spoiler

Sinitrena

It reads like a fairy tale that has been passed down through the generations. I couldn't quite work out whether the story was saying it is noble, stupid or pointless to make sacrifices for other people at the expense or your own survival. Maybe all three. This moon flower's kindness cost it its own purpose. But in a way it dodged a bullet because it didn't have to spend the rest of its life with that awful princess.

Mandle's stylistic story was very cool and I loved the idea of telling it through the eyes ears of a blindfolded protagonist. The shifts in tense and person were a little jarring for me. I'll need a reread to make sure I understood who's who and what's what. But overall I enjoyed it.

And I also enjoyed Baron's feline fable. It's a simple story, well told. If I were to suggest any criticisms it would be that our cat protagonist isn't very likable.

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