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As well as all the great technical suggestions in this thread already, it goes without saying that you don't have to have a particular view from a reverse angle if there's no need to have it. If there is nothing meaningful to pick up or interact with, then cut the view. Jump straight to the bottom of the stairs or the end of the corridor.

I dig it

Anyone in?

Yeah it looks like a mistake. The rules state that you have to post about your entry in this thread anyway, so I'm willing to wait until the deadline, on the off chance he does actually post it here. And then uncheck the 'mags' box if he doesn't.

10 minigames seems quite an accomplishment for a MAGS entry, but it would fit this month's theme.

[Vertices and Vagaries]

Voting is over.

The joint winners were:
Vertices and Vagaries by Rootbound
Topping the Triangle by Mandle
Of the Creation of the Pyramids by Sinitrena

Commiserations to:
Three's a Crowd by Baron


They say all good things come in threes. Or do they, I forget. Well, let's say they do.

Nothing comes in threes moreso than triangles. Triangles not only have three sides, but they also have three angles.

Can you think of an angle for your story?

Whatever you do, I'm sure you will tri your best to come up with acute story.

Deadline: November 5th

My nose will soon be open to the public for Halloween. Almost ready. Just got to get the bats in and turn the lights off.

Thanks for the votes, everyone.
Keep an eye out for a next theme.

[tie]

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

I'll contact you both in due course about choosing a theme for November. Feel free to confer with each other in the meantime.

Hahaha. Oh crap. And here I was thinking AI was gonna help us come up with solutions for reversing climate change, not rebranding it.

Phew, that's world peace sorted.

Now. Climate.

Last chance to vote, folks.

Thanks to those who have voted so far.

Keep it up, RB.

I vote for The Book of Jim

Spoiler

Sini's poem was poignant and well told. I feel that this would have worked better as prose; the rhyming scheme didn't quite hit for me. That said, it was good at painting an image in my mind as to what was going on.

Baron's Bible entry made me smile. We don't hear much from the POV of The Lord's siblings so this was an important addition to The Book. I mostly enjoyed how you dealt with the 'No solid ground' rule.

[close]

"Shiiiiiiit."
This was Tre's 257th jump but he always screamed like it was his first. The rush of those first few seconds was... No, it wasn't just a rush; it was indistinguishable from panic. It was the realization that you've left the stove on, lost your passport before a flight and crashed your dad's car. All in one go. But he loved it.

Today, though, that panic was tinged with something else, and lingered a few beats longer than usual. He'd been feeling a little uneasy before the jump but couldn't pinpoint why. He brushed it off when he saw Thomp gesturing to his chest, reminding Tre that he was the videographer today and had a job to do. Tre held the camera in front of him and turned his body towards his freefalling friends, Thomp, Chyles, Damon and Baraka. They had already begun grabbing each other's arms and positioning their bodies into a large circle, as a few small fluffy clouds rushed past them. Then, when the circle was complete, they let their hands go and began rolling their bodies rapidly with impressive synchronicity. This was the cue for Tre to turn the camera back towards the plane from which they had just leapt, and from which now jumped a sixth member of the group, their leader and mentor, James "Watchout" Wachowski, who darted rapidly towards the rolling human circle at great speed wearing his signature dark green and black wingsuit. The suit gave him far more control and speed than the others, and before Tre knew it, Watchout had already darted right through the centre of the human circle like an arrow. Tre hoped he had caught that on camera.

The four who made up the circle wasted no time in deploying their parachutes. Tre would wait a second or two more, and film them from underneath them as they appeared to jerk upwards, away from the camera. Happy with the shot, he pulled his own cord.

Nothing happened.

He tried the emergency cord.

Still nothing happened.

He was experienced enough to know he had about 12 seconds to live.

***

"I told you we wouldn't make it," Damon chastised Tre.

"I was sure these trollies would take us across." The two dangled from a zip-line almost 1000 feet above the bottom of the canyon, and they both looked depressed knowing that, due to Tre's fuck up, they were going to have to drag themselves the rest of the way across, instead of letting gravity do the work for them.

"I shoulda trusted my instinct, man. Those piece-a-shit ball bearings have too much friction. We shoulda borrowed Chyles's ones, man." Damon wasn't good at hiding his frustration.

"I asked him and he wouldn't let me." Tre was doing all he could to avoid having to say sorry.

"Who said anything about asking him? We share, remember." Damon had a point; the gang pretty much helped themselves to each other's stuff anyway. No one minded. It was part of their whole philosophy. But Tre was still relatively new and hadn't got used to the whole sharing thing.

Tre and Damon began using their arms to drag themselves along the cable. It was going to take forever.

After a few minutes, and when he had calmed down a bit, Damon broke the awkward silence. "Anyway, how are things with you and Baraka? Didn't you guys have a bust up?"

Tre sighed "Nah, it was nothing. She thought our relationship might not work because she and Wachowski used to have a thing, but..."

Damon brought his legs up and wrapped them around the wire, but couldn't get a grip on it and dropped his legs again and resumed using his gloved hands. "Nah, Watchout's cool," he said.  "Definitely not the jealous type. He's married to the sky, man. Besides, he's more like a dad to her anyway... to all of us."

***
11 seconds
***

"It's not going to be a problem, is it?" Baraka said to Tre.

"Well, it's either this or we sleep on the solid ground."

"I'm not talking about the waterbed. I'm talking about James."

"Wachowski? Why would it be a problem?"

"Well, you DO seem pretty upset."

"Do I?" Tre sighed and tried to face Baraka, but they both bobbed up and down as he moved. It was hard to have a serious conversation on this thing. However, it did help to diffuse the atmosphere a little. They both smiled.

"I'm not upset, Beck. It just feels like something you might have mentioned before we started dating."

"James and I... it's... Yes, we dated a couple of times, and he watches out for me..."

Tre scoffed, "Is that why they call him "Watchout"?"

Baraka's real name was Rebecca. She had gained the nickname in school when someone pointed out the phonological similarity between her name and that of the Mortal Kombat character. Thankfully she didn't share that Baraka's arm blades, otherwise she and Tre would be mopping up water from the downstairs apartment for the rest of the year.

She did, however, share his brutality. "You know, I've slept with Chyles as well."

"Fuck! Why are you telling me this now? Jesus, you guys really DO share everything!"

"It was just a drunken thing. I knew he had a thing for me and I guess I took advantage."

"Well now I AM upset. Are you taking advantage of me too?" Tre, decided to turn his back on Baraka again, but as before the waterbed beneath them bulged and bobbed comically, and he gave up.  Tre couldn't remain upset with her under these conditions. The two of them burst out laughing.

"I'll get rid of it tomorrow," Baraka promised.

***
10 seconds
***

Tre stepped into the wind tunnel and was immediately sucked upwards and joined Thomp. Danny Thompson was his real name, but Chyles had started deliberately pronouncing the "th" of his surname as a joke and it has quickly evolved into "Thomp". Tre thought it was a tactic to distract from Chyles' own name, which appeared to be someone's misspelling of Charles.

Today he was helping Thomp practise the rapid forward spins for the jump they were planning. The key was to spin as fast as possible, while keeping your position relative to the others. Thomp was having trouble keeping his legs tucked in, and he had to get that sorted if he didn't want to kick Watchout in the face mid-air.

After a while, Thomp finally seemed to have got the hang of it.

"You got, it, dude." Tre shouted, to be heard above the noise of the wind tunnel. Now, they were just floating and darting past each other, playing with the time they had remaining before someone else needed to use it.

Thomp looked genuinely happy. "You're a good teacher." He spread his arms out to catch maximum wind and floated up.

"I appreciate you asking for my help." Tre replied. "I know I'm new and all."

Just then, Tre saw someone standing in the doorway. It was Chyles. He quickly darted through the open door and disappeared as if he hadn't expected to be seen.

"Were you expecting Chyles to be here today?"

"Not today. I told him not to worry about it."

"About what?"

"About coming to help me. He's too impatient and just starts moaning about... Never mind... But that's why as I asked you instead."

"Shit man." Tre felt really awkward. "Well, he's here now. I just saw him in the doorway and he didn't look happy."

Thomp pulled his arms in and sunk down to the wind tunnel's entrance saying "Fuck. Fuck. Not again."

"Not again what?"

"Ask, Beck..."

***
9 seconds
***

"CHYLES!" Tre screams his murderer's name into the air. His camera is still rolling and would pick up the sound of his voice. When they watch back the video, they will know who sabotaged Tre's jump.

Just then, Tre is blindsided by the force of someone smacking into him. He knows there is no time to fend off his attacker. Eight seconds. Then he clocks the green and black material of Watchout's wingsuit. He's not being attacked. He's being saved. Seven. In a single fluid motion, the beautiful bastard grabs Tre tight, locking his arms under Tre's and wrapping his legs around him, six, then pulls his own cord. The parachute unfolds and catches just the air. Five. Tre feels the familiar tug of rapid deceleration. But he knows they are already way too close to the dirt and going way too fast. He's already doing the maths. Four seconds to impact...
Three...
Two...
One...


***

"No way," Thomp says to himself. "No fucking way!" He looks to his left. Damon and Baraka are kicking and punching the air in celebration and he realises he's doing the same. He turns to his right. Chyles looks stunned.

One minute, Tre was falling to his death at terminal velocity as Thomp and the gang floated down the old-fashioned way. The next thing he knew, Watchout was literally flying like fucking Superman to his rescue. The versatility and speed afforded him by the wingsuit, as well as his own experience and, frankly, stupidity, had allowed him to catch up with Tre and deploy his chute in what must have been a matter of seconds.

As the four of them drifted towards the landing zone, two members of the ground crew were already there. Another two were running towards the scene. One guy was huddled over Wachowski, shouting at someone down a radio, and the other was standing near Tre, holding Tre's camera.

Before Thomp's feet even touched the ground, he heard the man shouting.

"Chyles! It was Chyles!"


***

"Shiiiiiiit!"

Tre didn't think he'd find himself back in the air so soon. But here he was, freefalling again, with his crew – a crew which no longer included the now incarcerated Chyles. For this dive, though, Tre was fastened tightly to the front of Damon, the only one capable of landing for the both of them without fucking up Tre's spine even more. Tre had got some of his speech back, and had already begun to feel some tingling in his feet, which the doctor had said *could* be a good sign. He had no right being out of hospital, let alone thousands of feet in the air.

But he was alive. And he had one man to thank for that.

Baraka and Thomp drifted either side of Damon and Tre, and grabbed each of Damon's arms, then manoeuvred around to take each other's, forming a circle. Once they had formed a steady circle, they let go of each other's hands and allowed themselves to freefall together silently for a moment. Then Baraka took out a ceramic container, held it in the middle of the circle and shouted "WATCHOUT!"

"WATCHOUT!" the others responded in unison and Baraka unscrewed the vessel and poured the ash into the circle between them.

Haha @cat That is so silly, I love it.

Thanks to your clues. It's...

Spoiler

A cow!

Two horns pointing up, a tail behind, and 4 legs and 4 teats of the udder pointing down. As for the two pointing forward... could be eyes?

[close]

[The Delivery]

Thanks for the entries guys.

Please vote using the poll above.

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

[Prolific]

In honor of Slasher, one the legends of MAGS (or MAG, as he called it), we have a special theme for you this month.

Theme: Prolific
Set by: Durinde

The time for voting is now.

Please vote using the poll at the above.

]	Super Author Simulator 2023 by RootBound
]	The Weird Thing Under The Bed by Mandle

Create a game themed around something or someone who produces a lot. Perhaps there's an adventure about a magic tree that produces an abundance of fruit. Maybe a game about a once prolific sci-fi writer who is stuck for ideas or an underachiever is suddenly asked to produce a lot. Perhaps a game about a movie star that seems to get cast in everything and wants to do something else.

Inspirations might include Isaac Asimov, Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, The Rock, and of course Slasher.





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

[October 2nd]

Can I get a couple of days please?

I'm nearly there but the game's not quite finished 

Granted.

New deadline: end of October 2nd (UK time)

Meanwhile, anyone interested in making a shorter game (or four) might want to consider checking out October's theme.

Anywhere I can lobby for bi-MAGS? 

Rather the other way round - I could more likely do an hour game or OROW than work a whole month on a game.

Nothing stopping you from making a OROW game and submitting that for MAGS. The beauty of it is that you'll get an extra three weeks to test and tweak and make it perfect.

No spoilers, but I think anyone who's more inclined to make a very short game very quickly might be especially interested in October's theme, so keep an eye out for that on October 1st.

But for now let's see if we can get any games over the finish line for September.

Anyone got anything in the works?