MAGS January “Break Some Rules” (RESULT)

[Stupot]

2025 - THE YEAR OF MAGS!


THEME: BREAK SOME RULES
Theme set by Babar and jfrisby


The joint winners this month are:

• Skrexeval's Quest (MAGS) by Emma Gundersen
• One Million Years Dungeon by Falsely

Well done to you both.

	Bière Américaine by Ponch
	Skrexeval's Quest by Emma Gundersen
	Artifact by Kara Jo Kalinowski and pell
	One Million Years Dungeon by Falsely

Break one (or several) of the various rules/axioms/taboos of adventure gaming.

Through the years many have written about 'what not to do' when making an adventure game. All those supposed 'rules' and conventions have robbed us of who-knows-how-many cat hair moustaches, mazes, and delicious softlocks. I say those rules are flexible... or asking to be broken!

Backwards puzzles? sure!
Pixel hunts? yes please!
Obtuse puzzles? Moon logic? I like the moon!
Unfair deaths? Kill me now!
Missable clues? Softlocks? Just start over!
Mazes? Amazing!
A cat hair mustache? it could work!
Sliding tiles..... well, lets not get crazy... or maybe?

Many more examples:
https://grumpygamer.com/why_adventure_games_suck

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/wiki/Bill_of_Adventure_Gamers'_Rights

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/adventure-related-talk-chat/checklist-of-adventure-game-ideals/?all

https://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-10-worst-and-most-wtf-puzzles-in-adventure-gaming/






What is MAGS?
Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for all AGS users. 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 and more. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favourite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you want to improve you 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, 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 walk-cycles 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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a bit of help with music?  Check out Eric Matyas' huge stock of free music resources.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Stupot]

Any early interest? Let's see if we can start the year off with a bang.

[Ponch]

Am I in? Yes!
Will i finish? Maybe! 

[Kara Jo Kalinowski]

This is really interesting and would be fun, but I usually give up when making these because I don't have time for all the art. But maybe..

[pell]

This is really interesting and would be fun, but I usually give up when making these because I don't have time for all the art. But maybe..

I didn't plan on participating by myself this month, but I'm willing to handle the art side if you or someone else wants to collaborate.

[Falsely]

Well, this is delightfully evil.

I just finished playing Return to Zork, so I've had dumb deaths and mazes on the brain for a while... 

[heltenjon]

This is really interesting and would be fun, but I usually give up when making these because I don't have time for all the art. But maybe..

I didn't plan on participating by myself this month, but I'm willing to handle the art side if you or someone else wants to collaborate.

I don't have much time for coding either, but I'm sure I could cook up some backwards puzzles or a stupid plot, if needed.

[Kara Jo Kalinowski]

This is really interesting and would be fun, but I usually give up when making these because I don't have time for all the art. But maybe..

I didn't plan on participating by myself this month, but I'm willing to handle the art side if you or someone else wants to collaborate.

Definitely interested in collaborating to make a game, do you have Discord?

[VampireWombat]

I had no plans of making a game, but I've had ideas come to me after watching Doom Patrol the last few days. And after waking up I had more ideas which flesh things out more.

[pell]

This is really interesting and would be fun, but I usually give up when making these because I don't have time for all the art. But maybe..

I didn't plan on participating by myself this month, but I'm willing to handle the art side if you or someone else wants to collaborate.

Definitely interested in collaborating to make a game, do you have Discord?

I sent you a private message.

[pell]

This is really interesting and would be fun, but I usually give up when making these because I don't have time for all the art. But maybe..

I didn't plan on participating by myself this month, but I'm willing to handle the art side if you or someone else wants to collaborate.

I don't have much time for coding either, but I'm sure I could cook up some backwards puzzles or a stupid plot, if needed.

We'll have to do another one sometime. I'm hoping there's another "finish your MAGS game" topic so we can finish our last one.

[Radiant]

Needs more Monkey Wrench! 

Also, nice to hear that it's the Year Of MAGS. I wonder what that entails, is something special going to happen this year?

[heltenjon]

Okay, so I threw together a shortish break-the-rules puzzle flow, which I will post in spoiler tags.
If anyone wants to participate, and need the puzzles, feel free to use this (or parts of it). I won't have the time to make it myself, but I don't think any of the puzzles here should be difficult to implement - it's fairly beginner level stuff.

Be advised, though, that in any other context than this MAGS, this will be horrible design. If someone makes the game, it will likely score zero or one cup. But I'm fine with that. 

In case you're a player, don't read the puzzle flow until after we see if someone uses it. Otherwise, this is up for grabs for anyone.

The puzzle flow:

Spoiler

Puzzle flow proposal for the MAGS "Break some rules"

Room 1
There should be several items available (on the floor?), with no rhyme or reason to them. Most of them are going to be red herrings. Among the items are BLUE PAINT and YELLOW PAINT. There is a WALL to the left which is a huge hotspot. It is possible to use the paints on this to change the colour, and if both are used, the result is a green wall. Nothing of that yields any results, but makes the player lose the paint (walking dead).

Another item is a COWBOY HAT.

There is a MOUSE sitting on the floor. The mouse will disappear, and if it is not caught by using the COWBOY HAT, it disappears forever. This can be done with a timer, or by triggering an animation of the MOUSE running away either when a certain item is picked up, or when the player comes too close.

To the right, there is a door. When the player walks through this door, an anvil posed on top of the door in the next room kills him. Restart. The player has to USE one of the seemingly useless items on the door to trigger the trap. This should not be an obvious choice for throwing, but rather random, like a BANANA. The BANANA is now lost, crushed by the anvil. The trap can also be triggered by one of the PAINTS, resulting in losing the PAINT (walking dead).

The player can now walk through the door.

ROOM 2
Again, the obvious exit is to the right, where there is a white door. In front of it, there is a CAT. Amazingly, the player cannot pass the cat and is stopped by it. No explanation is given for this. The solution is to USE MOUSE on CAT. The CAT takes the MOUSE and runs away with it. The COWBOY HAT also disappears in this move, possibly destroyed by the cat, or maybe worn by it, depending on how much animation one wants to make.

A BLUE KEY has appeared where the CAT was. Apparently it was lying on top of it.
The player will try the WHITE DOOR. It is locked. Using the BLUE KEY does not work. The player has to USE BLUE PAINT on the WHITE DOOR, making BLUE DOOR. Then USE BLUE KEY on BLUE DOOR, which of course unlocks it. The player can progress through the door to room 3.

ROOM 3
In this room we see the BLUE DOOR to the left, a GREEN TABLE in the middle, and a WALL to the right.  The point here is that the GREEN TABLE is covered in green glue. Every item used on the GREEN TABLE will stick there and turn green.

If the player clicks on the BLUE DOOR, expecting to return to the previous room, he will instead tear the door from its hinges. The KEY will fall to the ground, now inexplicably turned grey. BLUE DOOR will be added to the player's inventory. The exit to the left collapses, and there is no way back.

The player must now USE KEY with the GREEN TABLE, resulting in a GREEN KEY that is glued to the table surface. Then he has to USE YELLOW PAINT with the BLUE DOOR, getting a GREEN DOOR.

Now, the GREEN DOOR or the BLUE DOOR (before it turns green) may be used with the WALL. In true Bugs Bunny logic, it fastens and becomes a regular door that can be opened...except that it is locked. The only way to unlock it, is to USE GREEN DOOR on the GREEN KEY that is stuck to the table.

After putting up the GREEN DOOR that is unlocked on the WALL, the player can walk through it into Room 4.

Room 4
This contains a DOCUMENT which can be read. The DOCUMENT says that in the first room, there is a small hotspot on the WALL and a description of where to search for it.
There is no way for the player to return to Room 1, so he's stuck in a walking dead position.

However, he can now RESTART, and in ROOM 1, he can now search the WALL on the left for a small hotspot a few pixels wide. This can be labelled WIN GAME or something misleading, like "Hotspot1", depending on preference.

Clicking WIN GAME will give a small message of congratulations and end the game.

[close]

[Ponch]

Holy cats, i finished a MAGS game! 

Bière Américaine


Rules broken:
* Sliding tile puzzle
* Unskippable maze
* Limited game play

The end result: Unskippable sliding tile limited game play maze puzzle! 

DOWNLOAD IF YOU DARE

[Kara Jo Kalinowski]

We're still working on ours...not sure if we will need an extension or not, but I needed to come online to get the assets and there was a site upgrade being done..... and the next time I was part of the mass false spam ban But regardless we do plan on submitting a game

[Falsely]

Still chipping away at mine. Things definitely got away from me, but I should have something semi-playable by the deadline. Will it be good? Bad? Who knows! 

[Radiant]

I'm also working on something, and I'm going to Break Some Rules by releasing it after the deadline! So there 

(seriously though, is it ok to ask for an extension until this Sunday?)

[Kara Jo Kalinowski]

I'm also working on something, and I'm going to Break Some Rules by releasing it after the deadline! So there 

(seriously though, is it ok to ask for an extension until this Sunday?)

That would be better for me too. I have family stuff on Friday. And the art will probably be done around then.

[Falsely]

Thirded on the request for an extension. I'll have something done before then, but the extra time would let me finish at a more sensible pace.

[jfrisby]

Holy cats, i finished a MAGS game! 

Bière Américaine

    
I've wasted like 20 minutes on this tile puzzle, its so evil.. well done!