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My thoughts this month, as well:

Alien Prison Escape by Bulbapuck:

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It's always nice to see seomeone finding the time to return to AGS after a break. The story is very funny, and it's one of those cases where the story isn't really good, but it's told well. The puzzles are original in their approach and quite clever. I especially liked tricking the guy in the neighbouring cell. The segment on the outside was also very entertaining, even though I admit to not having a clue what I was trying to achieve there until I did it.

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Santa Quest by GOC Games:

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While this isn't the prettiest game I've played from this author, it's easily the merriest.
 It goes to show the versatility of ddavey that he can make games in very different styles. There are clues enough in the game to tell the stories of the children and their internal relationships, and certainly enough to find out who the presents are for. I missed some of them in my initial playthrough, and felt rewarded when I was able to put in the final pieces in the next go. It also appeals to me that the game has some common ground with a long time project of mine, although ddavey has approached it differently than I do. The puzzles and the fragmented storytelling is what's driving this game, and it certainly appealed to me.

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I haven't decided who to vote for yet, so there's no need to put this in spoiler tags. Two fine games, both relying heavily on the puzzles. I feel Bulbapuck's puzzles are more original and funnier, while ddavey's are more integrated into the story. My compliments goes to both creators, whomever I decide to vote for. 

Edit: I let my daughter play the games to be the tie breaker, and she decided we should vote for

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Santa Quest

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My word today in the Ordly league (formerly Ordlek) got me guessing almost all the letters until I finally got it.
(Spoiler just to save space when browsing)

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I'm getting vibes that I've seen something like that...a woman dreams and keeps waking up in front of the cursed house. Can't place it, though.

Can someone please give exact examples of where the dates are wrong?  I've poked around, and everywhere I've looked they're showing today

Here. Wrong date in top left corner.  At least it's the correct year now, only three months wrong.

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That's my favourite category, too!  How could I miss it? 

Hmmm...I meant my comment above not as an explanation to the IP, but more as a question about when this command will be useful; what is it intended for? Sorry if it was misleading for you, BowsetteGamer! 

I can think of three instances, but they may not what the creators of the command had in mind:

1 and 2: If I already have several games made, and they are too small to release separately, or if they have been released as chapters and I want to merge them.

3. If multiple devs work on different parts of a story and wants to merge them into one game.

Will the command be useful for that, or will it be a false friend?

The link to the wiki isn't working, so here are the categories from last year, ready for use in the FYC thread:

Best Game Created with AGS
Best Freeware Game Created with AGS
Best Writing
Best Character
Best Gameplay
Best Background Art
Best Character Art
Best Animation
Best Music & Sound
Best Voice Work
Best Demo
Best Non Adventure Game Created with AGS
Best Programming
Best Puzzles

@cat - Please correct me if I missed something.

Interesting command. So I guess one could use this to fuse a game made in chapters or make a compilation of shorties, for example? (Apropos of nothing, the interactive fiction Annual Competition usually has a Frame game in which the player may choose which other game to play, but they may also be run normally, using whatever interpreter it's made with.)

I can only guess what he went through to find those gifts. 

Haha! I didn't think of that! It could be a fun plot for an adventure game 

Indeed! And perhaps utilizing the double screen from the Camera Tech Demo to make Clotilde solve similar problems in a more sci-fi manner, ending up with this double view. 

[The Virus]

An absolutely awful little thing called The Virus is at https://archive.org/details/the-virus-2016 . It absolutely looks like the author tries to give seizures by flashing lights. But okay, it's made for the fun of it.

Another terrible game is "The Dark Cults", which is at https://lost-ags-games.itch.io/the-dark-cults This one is made by the guy who made "Not the explainable", and gameplay is mostly trying to find the hotspot that is an exit. You may cheat by ctrl-x and ctrl-c, though, if you want to see the ending. For completeionists only.

The long lost game Zemp's Birthday Kwest is now available at https://lost-ags-games.itch.io/happy-birthday-zemp This is a tiny game with in-jokes that most of us are not in on. Still, it's a cool gift.

[Getting the Picture]

Getting the Picture

For your consideration -

AGS Database link

As there haven't been that many non-adventures made with AGS this year, I feel we have to put forward those that fit the bill.

Game summary:
It's a quiz game of sorts where the player has to guess at famous paintings, cropped images, movie posters and the likes of that. Also sporting a can't-get-out-of-your-head small ditty composed and performed by KitKat and lots and lots of "hidden" dialogue and funny commentary from the people in the pictures. I think it may be the only game this year where both Christ and Batman has lines. And don't forget that the left button is not always the right button.


Please consider nominating for:

Best Non-Adventure made with AGS
Best Music

>Say "I'm looking for spare keys to the place. Don't you remember the Harrington job?"

I played the game and enjoyed it. Great humour and cunning puzzles. 
I especially liked the cookie puzzle.

Minor bug:

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The player can get multiple antennas.

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I enjoyed this one a lot. It's in some aspects similar to a game in long progress I'm making with my daughters, and it's fun to see how you've solved that. I'll be sure to let my girls try this one out soon, too.

The puzzles are just the right level of difficulty, I think, for such a game. I needed two goes to sort all the presents correctly. It's also fun to see you make a sort of minimalist game after your thorough storytelling last month. There are stories here, as well, but they are sort of hinted at.

Everyone's favourite super hero is the Human Torch, right?

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[The Witch's Lullaby]

Here's what I wrote about the game in the jam thread when it came out:

I played Honza's The Witch's Lullaby, the overall winner of the Jam. This is an amazing short/medium game. The graphics, story, music, story and characters are all top notch. I also think this one has the best pixel hunt mechanic I've ever seen. Highly recommended!

I still stand by this. 

Edit: Even though I squared the "story".

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everybody!

Something quick I did for the occasion:

Guess it could look a bit weird unless you've played my games

I can only guess what he went through to find those gifts. 

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I played the game prototype today. I agree with Creamy on all counts regarding walk speed and not being able to skip/interrupt. For instance, when I was running away and then tried to open a door without unlocking it by mistake.  Perhaps the running speed could be the default walking speed?

But the atmosphere and story is really good. The music fits and makes the game all the more creepy. The voice actors do their job well, even though it would have been nice to not have several characters with the same voice. I also like the overall graphic style and the dark mood of the palette.

As for difficulty and linearity...I died plenty of times before making it to the end, so I guess it's not exactly easy. Even so, it doesn't take long to play through the story, and I guess the linearity is part and parcel of the design of the prologue. The inventory design suggests that you have more puzzle-oriented gameplay in mind later on in the game, while the prototype is almost pure survival game. I wasn't able to escape in the panic mode (after being caught), but died every time. Perhaps I'm not a fast enough clicker.

Suggestion: Make the statement about the missing doorknob the first time the player tries that door, instead of the first time after discovering a doorknob lying around. By all logic, she should know she needs that knob if she's encountered the door first.

Looking forward to see more of the game.

Looking good there in the rain. I'm eager to know how this story will unfold.

Here's a suggestion for a workaround. Make an area near the third object (which should be visible on mouseover now) that is activated when you put that item in the right place, then if you use the two other inventory items inside the area, the puzzle is solved, outside the area, another message appears.

In your puzzle, that would be

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When you put the tinder on the firewood, you activate the area. If you use the knife and flintstone while player character is in the area, the fire is lit. If outside the area, you're just told that it produces a spark.

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...but if this was a game using first person perspective, that won't work. You could make a closeup view instead of the area, but perhaps that would make the puzzle too easy again.