SyntaxBomb - Indie Coders

General Category => Game Coding Competitions => Topic started by: Qube on November 04, 2018, 20:56:17

Title: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on November 04, 2018, 20:56:17
(https://www.syntaxbomb.com/images/logoCAGCDEC2018.png)

Theme :

Adventure.

For the definition of an adventure game click here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_game). Note - You do not have to include all elements listed if you do not wish to. A small or large adventure, let your creativity flow-ho-ho.

Limits :

Must have a Christmas, festive or winter based setting.

Prize fund :

£500

Competition length :

From Sunday Nov 3rd 2018 to Sunday Dec 23rd 23:59:59 BST

Rules :

1.. No copyright media or modified pre-built game templates allowed.
2.. Game frameworks are allowed as are free / purchased media.
3.. Individuals and teams are allowed to enter.
4.. Provide a download with at least a Windows executable ( or link if a web browser game only ). Include other OS's too if you want.
5.. Choice of language is totally up to you. You do not have to provide the source code.
6.. One entry per person / team.
7.. Syntaxbomb has zero rights to any work posted here. You / your team hold total control.
8.. Prize to the winners payable via PayPal only.
9.. All entries must be in by 23:59:59 on the 23rd of Dec 2018 ( GMT ). No extensions to the deadline will be granted.
10.. Games must be of a complete status and not merely a demo.
11.. There will be a one week gap after the comp ends before voting starts to allow members to play the games and for developers to fix any bugs in their game and re-upload. Once voting commences then no further bug fixes can be submitted until after voting has been completed.


How to submit your game :

Game submissions must be made in this thread. You may link to your external webpage or showcase post about your game. If you have no means of hosting your game then please PM Qube and arrangements will be made.

When submitting your game please adhere to the following format ( if relevant ) :

Game Title
Download link and OS requirements
Required dependancies
Brief info about your game
Media information ( If using free / purchased media then please state where you obtained said media. )

How are the winners picked :

Voting will take place from the Monday the 30th of December 2018 for one week and a dedicated thread will be made and relevant voting information provided.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: 3DzForMe on November 04, 2018, 23:32:23
Let the adventures begin .....
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Derron on November 05, 2018, 00:01:09
Are all of you adults? "Naughty Santa" could become an adventure game about little elves, horny reindeers, busty beavers and a santa missing some of his favorite toys (sorry, idea is based on the larry 1-videoclip posted in the other thread).

Am not sure if I could/will take part in the competition - writing an adventure engine is another task which others did before, means either coding it on our own or using a "adventure toolkit" + creating a big bunch of puzzles and assets.


bye
Ron
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: round157 on November 05, 2018, 00:06:23
Quote from: Qube on November 04, 2018, 20:56:17
(https://www.syntaxbomb.com/images/logoCAGCDEC2018.png)

Theme :

Adventure.



Hi, may I ask a question? This kind of game is without graphic.

Does this kind of game belong to adventure game? Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNqcPZaiNh4
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on November 05, 2018, 00:48:21
Ho ho ho. In case this idea did come off the ground I started thinking about a game based on new years resolutions as I thought it might go to a new year theme. Guess it's back to the drawing board but here we go again then :-)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on November 05, 2018, 00:58:57
QuoteAm not sure if I could/will take part in the competition - writing an adventure engine is another task which others did before, means either coding it on our own or using a "adventure toolkit" + creating a big bunch of puzzles and assets.
You don't need to create a massive graphical puzzle fest style adventure / RPG :P - Be creative :)

QuoteDoes this kind of game belong to adventure game? Thank you.
If it were based within the limits of "Must have a Christmas, festive or winter based setting." then yes. A text based choice game with a story is an adventure / journey and falls into early text based adventure games.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MikeHart on November 05, 2018, 05:17:23
Are tools like Twine or Visionaire Studio allowed to be used?
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Amon on November 05, 2018, 06:13:41
I'm in. Lets get coding.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on November 05, 2018, 07:06:44
Quote from: MikeHart on November 05, 2018, 05:17:23
Are tools like Twine or Visionaire Studio allowed to be used?
Providing it's not just asset flipping a pre made game template then yes :) - You can use free / bought media and game frameworks but just changing the graphics of a pre made game template is a no-no.

Quote from: Amon. on November 05, 2018, 06:13:41
I'm in. Lets get coding.
Me too ;D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: RemiD on November 05, 2018, 07:16:26
Quote
for the definition of an adventure game click here
so basically :
explore
predefined story / steps
no combat, no running jumping climbing, rather find items, use dialogue, do mini games, solve puzzles / enigmas, to reach others areas / steps of the game

not my type of game, but i will try !
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on November 05, 2018, 07:19:49
Quote from: RemiD on November 05, 2018, 07:16:26
Quote
for the definition of an adventure game click here
so basically :
explore
predefined story / steps
no combat, no running jumping climbing, rather find items, use dialogue, do mini games, solve puzzles / enigmas, to reach others areas / steps of the game

not my type of game, but i will try !

You can have all those elements. The comps aren't that strict so as along as it's a clear adventure, then yee-haa :D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on November 05, 2018, 17:17:03
My plan is for a text adventure but I'm making it a short game (20 locations within a house) as I'm aware a lot of people don't have the patience for this type of game any more with modern RPG's and first person epic games like Skyrim. However, you do have to concede to modern games to an extent so, providing things go to plan, then I will have graphics for each of the locations and also some buttons/cursor keys option for movement to save the old fingers from too much typing.

Additionally, I want to stick with the simple verb/noun two word system that the early adventures use because I don't have the grey-matter to come up with a powerful sentence parsing function and i don't think this game would need anything more than that anyway.

So, 20 rooms with a main quest, a side collection task for bonus points and an optional task which will award a points multiplier just for those who are going to wonder why the score says something like 50/150 when they first complete it, so play it again to work out what they missed.

Yes, i already have a map and most of the plot / puzzles worked out. You don't think I go to work to actually work, do you? :-)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on November 05, 2018, 18:13:03
QuoteI'm aware a lot of people don't have the patience for this type of game any more with modern RPG's and first person epic games like Skyrim
A good game is a good game regardless of the format it's presented in :)

Just don't forget the "Must have a Christmas, festive or winter based setting. " :P
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Steve Elliott on November 05, 2018, 18:33:47
Quote
A good game is a good game regardless of the format it's presented in :)

That's a good point.  Everybody has their own idea of what a good game should be, then a game comes out and everybody says wow, it's not a game I thought I would enjoy - but I do!  And the coder makes a fortune.   :D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on November 05, 2018, 19:05:12
Quote from: Qube on November 05, 2018, 18:13:03
Just don't forget the "Must have a Christmas, festive or winter based setting. " :P

You're searching for your xmas present on Xmas eve, along with Xmas cards while avoiding the ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge until you can set his spirit free.

Xmasy enough for you? ;-)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: michael on November 05, 2018, 19:07:30
I am gonna try to get a Christmas themed game done by the deadline. Hopefully it will be unique and fun for all.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on November 05, 2018, 19:18:05
Quote from: XerraXmasy enough for you? ;-)
That's the spirit ;D

Quote from: michael on November 05, 2018, 19:07:30
I am gonna try to get a Christmas themed game done by the deadline. Hopefully it will be unique and fun for all.
Welcome on board and good luck. BasicBoy joined the forum and won the Halloween comp last year.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on November 05, 2018, 23:02:39
Yes, definitely having some new guys entering this time would be good.

Don't forget to create a worklog once you all decide what you're going to do.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: RemiD on November 06, 2018, 21:48:13
well, i sat down, took a pencil to draw some characters and things for a game, but the more i age, the less interest / patience i have to write/draw fictional stuff...  ??? so i think that i am (already!) out of the comp...
good luck with your things anyway!
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: 3DzForMe on November 06, 2018, 21:56:18
I managed to draw a paper prototype UI and have some ideas bouncing around. That's it so far though, can't commit much more at the moment.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: BasicBoy on November 07, 2018, 09:10:22
I'm attempting a 3D game, and currently coding the map/world editor (which on its own is a big enough job!). So, imagine something like 'Doom' but without the bloodshed and less sophisticated graphics, and set somewhere in Lapland (Santa's house, maybe?). I can't guarantee the game won't feature mutant snowmen or a particularly benevolent Santa!


BasicBoy.
--
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Morpheus on November 08, 2018, 20:14:43
Hi guys,

I won't be entering this competition; it's not my sort of game style.

Instead I will be working on further improvements to Triss and getting it running and playable on tablets.

Good luck everyone  ;)

Morpheus
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: BasicMan on November 14, 2018, 20:51:06
I'm excited to take part in this game competition. I'll make something, though it'll probably not be very good and get last place, it'll still be fun to take part.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: BasicBoy on November 15, 2018, 00:08:56
Quote from: BasicMan on November 14, 2018, 20:51:06
I'm excited to take part in this game competition. I'll make something, though it'll probably not be very good and get last place, it'll still be fun to take part.

Ah, so you're Basic too?

:D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Holzchopf on November 15, 2018, 06:37:41
I wonder if anyone is going to make a Die Hard adventure
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Santiago on November 15, 2018, 16:43:43
Hello, I think I'm going to participate, Now i'm reading a bit the conditions and the concept of adventure game, so as not to get out of context!

I'm going to sharpen my Blitz3d, I hope I can come up with a good idea!

I find it as a great idea!

I want to participate!
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: 3DzForMe on November 15, 2018, 22:15:51
Santiago, if you're participating, I need to spruce up my coding mojo and also hang something together , in Blitz 3D obviously  8)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: round157 on November 16, 2018, 06:55:35
Quote from: 3DzForMe on November 15, 2018, 22:15:51
Santiago, if you're participating, I need to spruce up my coding mojo and also hang something together , in Blitz 3D obviously  8)

Hi, may I ask a question? Is Asteroids 3D also made with Blitz3D? Thank you.
https://www.syntaxbomb.com/index.php/topic,3309.0.html
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: DaiHard on November 16, 2018, 08:31:09
Quote from: Holzchopf on November 15, 2018, 06:37:41
I wonder if anyone is going to make a Die Hard adventure
Well, obviously I'm planning a Dai Hard adventure - is that close enough?

:-)

Dai
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Holzchopf on November 16, 2018, 10:25:32
As long as the Christmas spirit is about the same :D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: 3DzForMe on November 16, 2018, 11:37:07
@round157, yes indeed, asteroids 3d is written in Blitz3D  8)

Apparently there's a cold snap coming in Britain, all the more reason to hibernate and get your entries completed for the Christmas compo, right, best start mine then
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Santiago on November 18, 2018, 04:06:22
Hello, how are you ?, these days since I decided to participate I was thinking what game to do for the contest, and today I get out of bed to make the first drawings, I will work on the prototype the following week to see if an entertaining game comes out.

It would be a 3D game.
Scenic Snow Mountain (cabin)
Controlled with Mouse & Keyboard

History
1. Santa pulls the toy but falls away from the cabin.
2. The toy is a robot that, when it falls, reads the letter of the child who asked for the toy, sees the cabin in the distance and decides to go and give it up.
3. The adventure itself, is to reach the cabin, overcoming obstacles, difficulties.

This time I will try to design the game first before I start to program it

Regards!!!

(https://scontent.faep9-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/46370510_1593895897378982_5514015233787559936_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_ht=scontent.faep9-1.fna&oh=43c3f41cb8baa6316114863aae39948b&oe=5C707C47)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on November 26, 2018, 00:34:15
Looks interesting.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: 3DzForMe on November 26, 2018, 17:25:45
That is the most awesome paper prototype I've ever seen, looking promising. My paper prototype barely covers the UI ;)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on November 28, 2018, 03:14:18
I guess i'm in. I generally do a christmas game once a year,this time I may well do something with it.
here's a few other xmas games iv'e done.
https://youtu.be/3GN3KYhY_EE
https://youtu.be/kobD1nimg7I
https://youtu.be/T7bnI_cl06Q
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Steve Elliott on November 28, 2018, 09:47:57
Haha love the animation and look of Rudolph's Un Christmas Eve.  :D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: RemiD on November 29, 2018, 17:28:43
"santa feeling jolly" (second video) looks fun, well done :D


By curiosity, you made these games with which languages / engines ?
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on November 30, 2018, 06:00:19
made using Blitz3d mostly.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: RemiD on November 30, 2018, 16:17:38
@MrmediamanX>>ok

i have taken a look at your videos on youtube and you have made some cool games / demos, well done
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on December 02, 2018, 01:49:34
Three weeks to go now, guys. How's everyone getting on?

I'm still beavering away although I've not updated my worklog for a couple of weeks. Apart from adding a few more room pictures as and when they're finished, I'm now putting in a lot of the descriptive text conditions for each room. This changes depending on certain actions so takes a lot of conditional checks to reflect what you've been doing. A lot more code than I originally realized.

The artist is a bit behind with the artwork but I allowed for that in a deadline I gave him so I'm not panicking just yet. The coding side seems to be on track so far as long as I don't hit any major problems once it's properly playable.

There's a lot more work in a game like this than I realised when I started, however :-)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: BasicBoy on December 02, 2018, 03:17:22
Quote from: Xerra on December 02, 2018, 01:49:34
Three weeks to go now, guys. How's everyone getting on?

Not very well at all. I doubt I'll make the deadline.


BasicBoy.
--
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Derron on December 02, 2018, 07:40:21
I won't enter - had a play with Godot for one day, created issue reports on github for stuff I encountered that evening. Issues still open - so I won't dive deeper into Godot for this compo thingy.
Also real life has some work for me to do (and other games expect my love too ;-)).


Have fun.

bye
Ron
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: DaiHard on December 02, 2018, 22:52:01
Pulling in my horns a bit - I can't see me getting past a text-only adventure - but finally making some progress with actual code! The outline is fairly firm now, and I'm sorting out my data formats. Now it's just the logic...

:-)

D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on December 07, 2018, 04:42:31
i'm practically done with the game i'm building ... just going over a few tweaks,may as well work right up to the crunch.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: round157 on December 07, 2018, 14:27:56
Quote from: MrmediamanX on December 07, 2018, 04:42:31
i'm practically done with the game i'm building ... just going over a few tweaks,may as well work right up to the crunch.

Hello,

Will you make a thread in Worklog sub-forum or Showcase sub-forum to introduce your game to members?

Do you have screenshots of the entry?

Will you upload a video of the game? Thanks.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on December 07, 2018, 17:19:10
here we go: https://www.syntaxbomb.com/index.php/topic,5060.0.html
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: BasicBoy on December 08, 2018, 09:11:57
I'm probably not the only one dreaming of a deadline extension!

But... yeah... rulez is rulez, innit.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on December 08, 2018, 09:42:29
Quote from: BasicBoy on December 08, 2018, 09:11:57
I'm probably not the only one dreaming of a deadline extension!
No deadline extension, Christmas doesn't get put back :P. Do or do not, there is no try ;D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on December 18, 2018, 10:25:21
I'm ready to upload my game, so how do we do this?
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on December 18, 2018, 17:22:21
Quote from: MrmediamanX on December 18, 2018, 10:25:21
I'm ready to upload my game, so how do we do this?

I'd suggest putting it up on https://itch.io/ and making sure you do hit the publish button once you've uploaded it. Get a link to the game page from the site and post the link into another reply on here. Once the deadline ends then keep an eye on this thread afterwards as you will have a week to fix any bugs that people report before voting starts. Also, if you're able to, submit any other platform builds you've been able to do as well as Windows.

Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on December 19, 2018, 02:43:24
we are good to go. the link can be located here on the SANTAFANTAZMA worklog page:
https://www.syntaxbomb.com/index.php/topic,5060.0.html
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: DaiHard on December 23, 2018, 17:30:58
Hi Folks,

OK, I've "finished" my entry, "Spirit of Christmas" - at least it is complete-able.

BasicBoy has kindly agreed to host it, here:

http://www.proggies.uk/progs/zip/soc.zip (http://www.proggies.uk/progs/zip/soc.zip)

The zip file contains a Windows executable, plus a folder with the source code, if anyone wants to see it.

I should say that the executable is NOT signed - I don't have a code-signing certificate. That means even MY computer asks if I really want to run the downloaded version...

Worse, BasicBoy got a virus warning from Windows Defender (even after recompiling it from the source code), but he ran it through two other checkers, and it came up clean. He suggests it's a false positive, but I feel duty bound to note it. The code doesn't do anything contentious.

We'll continue to investigate what is going on, and see if we can resolve it... If so, I'll post it as a bug fix.

Best wishes,

D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on December 23, 2018, 23:04:37
Bah, Humbug! is finally finished. Once again I left it very late and wound up hacking at it for most of the last day. I never learn :-)

Game Title: Bah, Humbug!
Download link and OS requirements: https://xerra.itch.io/bah-humbug
Required dependancies: None
Brief info about your game: Adventure game with graphics.
Media information: All media is credited within the credits by pressing F1 on title screen.

As per rules I've also attached a picture confirming the payment for the games artwork.

You can download it now for OSX and Windows here: https://xerra.itch.io/bah-humbug

Please let me know if you get stuck or find any glitches so i can do a bugfix update before the voting commences.

I also found the jumper while Xmas Shopping so just had to get it. Sorry but that picture had to include me as well :)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Qube on December 24, 2018, 04:31:18
Bit late to the show but that's the deadline over with for another comp.

3 Entries?!?!? Oh dear, I guess that happens when you open suggestions to the community that debate for ever in a day - results in minimal entries :P - I think for the next comp we'll skip the whole debate and I'll just make something up ;D

Very well done to those that made it in time. I'll give them all a good play today as they all look pretty unique and fun.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: MrmediamanX on December 24, 2018, 04:56:22
I recall there being a lot more wanting to enter but time is ever fleeting I guess.
all and all congrats to all the other applicant's....look forward to see what's next. 
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: round157 on December 24, 2018, 06:04:31
Only 3 entries. My objective analysis:

1. The period(seven weeks) is too short for ordinary members to submit a complete adventure game for this contest.

2. Adventure game is not a popular category. Some members don't like this category. Thus they decided not to join this contest.

3. Some members decided to make a game for this contest at first. However, they finally abandoned the contest. The reason is that they faced many difficulties while they were making their entries. Actually, adventure game is a really difficult category for ordinary game developers.


A good solution:

Don't restrict to a specific game category in future competitions.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Derron on December 24, 2018, 09:28:23
I was not entering as:
- adventures take a bit more time (for adventures _I_ would create you either need a lot of backgrounds - or at least a lot of "scenes" which means assets, assets, assets!)
- had no time to spare
- was annoyed by a godot bug during the first prototype (just to check if I could create a 3D adventure system - basics like collecting 3d assets worked)

For others I think - same as round157 - that adventures are not everyones favorite. You will get most entries for "arcade" (simple gameplay) and "open genre". Also people will more likely join if you have a genre they've done games with in their past ("I know how to handle it").


With only 3 entries I am pretty sure that I wont vote ... dunno if Xerra used my interface or not, if he did I cannot vote for him (so only 2 of 3 votes -> my user vote would be invalid). Also each of the 3 games would receive a rank while there _might_ (did not play them yet) be games which I would not give a "single point". Just imagine someone created a game consisting of a single screen with a key and a keyhole - drop the key on the keyhole and the game is won, end screen presented, well done. Such a game would still rank on "#3" (with 0 points).

Regardless of this: good job guys to enter the compo and finish your stuff.


bye
Ron
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Steve Elliott on December 24, 2018, 09:43:49
Agreed adventure sounded like a lot of asset work (especially if you're a one man band).  Also, the theme requires quite some depth of gameplay to do it justice (again time consuming).  Christmas is a busy time for many and with only 7 weeks and pages of 'discussions' deciding the theme, people were always going to struggle on this one.

Looking forward to playing the entries that did arrive in-time though, I'm sure they'll be entertaining.
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: RemiD on December 24, 2018, 12:06:23
i agree, imo it is better to impose a subject / theme, but let each participant create his own components / gameplay as he wants / likes...


anyway, congrats to the participants who have finished something... ;)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: STEVIE G on December 24, 2018, 16:09:27
It's a bit disappointing that there are only 3 entries but at least everyone's a winner  ;D

I think with an adventure, as well as a load of assets you also have to have some sort of coherent/ interesting story.  I did spend some time trying to come up with an idea but never really got anywhere.

I'll be giving them all a bash after Xmas - good luck folks!
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on December 24, 2018, 23:55:52
@derron Yes, I did use your interface so probably invalidated you voting anyway, if you were thinking about it. I do also appreciate your help and probably didn't do you work justice but thank you anyway. It was much appreciated.

I'm disappointed that we only had three entries that made the deadline as i'm pretty sure that there were quite a lot more who were thinking and actually started working on something for this competition. I know BasicBoy ran into time problems but nobody else said anything so I assumed we'd have the level of entries that we've had for the last couple of competitions but it was not to be. I feel a bit responsible as I was pushing for the adventure category as it was something that I wanted to test myself by doing.

Next time I think we will need to have something more generic to generate the interest level again. Adventure games are tricky to create - trust me, I know this now - and a short deadline could be off-putting to most.

I would encourage everyone to at least have a play and vote for the entries we do have, however. We all need feedback and I believe the other two entrants are actually debutants so it's probably even more useful to them, as much as I would value it too.

Looking forward to the next one - as always :-)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Holzchopf on December 25, 2018, 07:26:57
Well I had an idea right at the beginning for a pure point and click adventure and I planned to build some scenes out of stuff in the apartment and then take pictures of them. But first of all I had another project going on, second I live somewhat minimalistic and would have had to take home some toys and stuff from my childhood place (or go there to shoot all the scenes), then I realised the story I came up with was not much of a story and needed more work. So I let it be. And in retrospect (as I'm writing this), I realise I don't even own a digital cam any more, thus taking the pictures could have become somewhat challenging :-[ :))
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: 3DzForMe on December 25, 2018, 07:44:50
I'd an idea which made it to the paper prototyping stage, alas, getting the two monitors up from the side of the couch (wheel my Dev machine location lives) proved less appealing than playing games.....

I will be trying out all the entrants soon and providing feedback, well done to all for your entries!
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Derron on December 25, 2018, 08:59:52
Story in my mind and on some "sketches" were:
"Don't bother Santa"
- santa factory + living area
- someone sabotaged the production of toys
- Santa was asleep as the "big day" was approaching and it would be a long long day!
- player is one of Santas little helpers a.k.a. an elf

scenes:
- sleeping room of santa (keys to certain important rooms are there + other puzzles)
- factory (production lanes ... with "handles" missing, directions mixed, color bins for automatic "brush paints" exchanged ...)
- "garage" where some parts of the sleigh were missing
- outside area with a snowman hiding some information

Of course it is that little snowman who sabotaged everything - he came alive by the magic of christmas years ago ... and as nobody was visiting him in all these years (all were busy building up so many toys as more and more children wanted soooooo many presents each year) he got more and more angry / grinchy. He created an evil plan - starting to lower temperature in areas so he can safily enter the house to start sabotaging christmas to stop this "gift creation mayham" so elves start to have sparetime again ... start to create other snow mans, to play outside at the north pole ...

OK, enough spoilered. Did not finish it so .. yepp, bye bye idea.


Back to the kitchen - cooking next meals for this evening.


bye
Ron
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Dwapook on December 29, 2018, 22:46:37
I had jotted down 9 puzzles and a premise during a lunch break at work, but I just didn't end up picking it up again after that... x.X! I didn't have a lot of free time this month..
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: RemiD on December 30, 2018, 09:36:39
I did a quick test of the 3 games :
good news : all games worked well on my computer.

concerning the gameplay, imo, adventures games are appreciated by people who have a lot of free time and mental energy to put in entertainment... (= not me...)
i had some fun playing "SANTA FANTAZMA" because it is more an action game with easy controls... (the more i age, the less patience i have to "learn" to play video games...), but i quickly got bored and stopped...

my suggestion, if you make games, is to ALWAYS keep in mind that the others players don't necessarily know what you know, and some (like me) will quickly become annoyed / bored if they don't understand how to play / what to do next, so imo, it is a good idea to provide a "help / what to do next" screen (always accessible)

anyway, kudos for your perceverance to have finished a functional game !
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on December 30, 2018, 12:09:42
Quote from: RemiD on December 30, 2018, 09:36:39
my suggestion, if you make games, is to ALWAYS keep in mind that the others players don't necessarily know what you know, and some (like me) will quickly become annoyed / bored if they don't understand how to play / what to do next, so imo, it is a good idea to provide a "help / what to do next" screen (always accessible)

Both the adventure games did exactly this. I know the other adventure game did because I used it a lot playing it while trying to solve the encyclopedia problem.

You could type h or help into Bah, Humbug! and it gave you a list of most of the commands you would ever need to complete the game. It told you that after every input you put in, pretty much.

Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: RemiD on December 30, 2018, 13:59:18
@Xerra>>that's good, i have not noticed it (not my type of game, so i did not play much)
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: DaiHard on December 30, 2018, 16:47:53
Quote from: Xerra on December 30, 2018, 12:09:42
while trying to solve the encyclopedia problem.
I hope describing it as "the encyclopedia problem" means you solved it, and got out of the first room!  ::)

I've tried to give enough hints to make it solvable in a sensible time. There's a fine balance to be made between making the puzzles too easy,  so the  game is boring and pointless, and making them so difficult the game is insoluble unless you know the solution! You DO need to read the books, though...

Best wishes,

D

PS Managed to finish Bah, Humbug!, but seemed to LOSE points for catching the ghost! Is that meant to happen?

PPS Couldn't finish Santa Fantazma: I splatted all the baddies, got the key and unlocked the chest, but still couldn't get through the cave?
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on December 31, 2018, 14:14:43
Quote from: DaiHard on December 30, 2018, 16:47:53
Quote from: Xerra on December 30, 2018, 12:09:42
while trying to solve the encyclopedia problem.
I hope describing it as "the encyclopedia problem" means you solved it, and got out of the first room!  ::)

I've tried to give enough hints to make it solvable in a sensible time. There's a fine balance to be made between making the puzzles too easy,  so the  game is boring and pointless, and making them so difficult the game is insoluble unless you know the solution! You DO need to read the books, though...

Best wishes,

D

PS Managed to finish Bah, Humbug!, but seemed to LOSE points for catching the ghost! Is that meant to happen?

PPS Couldn't finish Santa Fantazma: I splatted all the baddies, got the key and unlocked the chest, but still couldn't get through the cave?

Actually, no i didn't. I was struggling to find the right words to use. I am making the assumption that I need to use it as a step to get through the window? Would appreciate a hint here as I want to go back and get a bit further in the game for sure. There's a lot in your game you've done very well that maybe not many people will appreciate, unfortunately, as they're not people who've ever played games like this. I think that was always going to be a problem with this type of competition theme :-(

Glad you managed to solve Bah, Humbug! The lack of feedback yet means I have some big concerns about wether I have made it either too easy or too hard. I had some very worrying feedback on the lack of real help while playing the game a week before deadline from a couple of my testers which made me do some very last minute major changes to make it easier as a result. I do have concerns that people aren't going to give it enough time to see everything that is actually there.

Did you solve all of the quest lines or just the opening of the safe? To fully complete the game you also should have found all the xmas cards, found and used the computer disk to finish your homework and got rid of the ghost of Scrooge completely?

As for your issue with the ghost, I think you may not have noticed the adverse affect when he's in the same room as you. When you find the Xmas pudding you will notice he's always following you around because he really wants it. The side-effect is that he's sapping your score by 5 points every few seconds so the best strategy is to only carry the pudding when you need him to come to you and then deal with him as quick as possible, once he does appear. I won't give any more spoilers than that for now, unless anyone is really stuck.


Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: DaiHard on January 15, 2019, 17:48:52
Hi Xerra,

Missed this post earlier! If you are still interested, you need to use the encyclopaedia to build steps:

make ("build" also works, as per help) steps with encyclopaedia (lots of synonyms, including eb!)

Then you can get out the window, and get on with the rest of the game!

Bah, Humbug: yes, I found the cards and did my homework. I got as far as trapping the ghost in the vacuum - are you meant to do anything more with him?

I found out that I was meant to catch him in the vacuum by mistake: I tried vacuuming the dusty attic, in the hope it would turn up something useful, and the comment I got indicated that I had to use it on him.

Two critical comments, if I may, which I hope will improve things if you amend this game or do others like it:
1) When moving things, opening the window, etc, I often missed  that I could now see something, since that appeared high up in the communication window, and I was focussing on the message about what was happening, which just makes some vague comment about, "now you mention it, there WAS something under/behind it". Of course once I'd worked out where it appeared, I stopped missing them so often...
2) I found it difficult to ignore the pictures - they are attractive and compelling, but generate cognitive dissonance. You DO tell us to "focus just on the text", but the temptation to move the bed, or whatever, is annoyingly strong.

Having said that, I thought it was by far the strongest game, with an interesting, compelling story line and challenges, and an attractive interface, despite my whinges above. I liked the fact that while playing your game I was back and forth around the house, as I found tools to carry out different tasks. I thought my own game had some nice challenges (though I'm not sure anyone actually managed them on this forum - I'd be interested to know if anyone got close to completing it!), but was a bit "linear". Maybe that's just because I knew the order in which to do things most efficiently...

If anyone is interested, I'll happily post a summary "cheat sheet" on how to complete it, either here or in the worklog.

Looking forward to the next challenge...

:-)

D
Title: Re: Code a game comp - The Great Christmas Adventure - Nov 4th to Dec 23rd
Post by: Xerra on January 15, 2019, 22:23:22
Quote from: DaiHard on January 15, 2019, 17:48:52
Bah, Humbug: yes, I found the cards and did my homework. I got as far as trapping the ghost in the vacuum - are you meant to do anything more with him?

I found out that I was meant to catch him in the vacuum by mistake: I tried vacuuming the dusty attic, in the hope it would turn up something useful, and the comment I got indicated that I had to use it on him.

Yes, this was a 2 part puzzle dealing with the ghost. It shouldn't matter about a spoiler now as Xmas has come and gone and I doubt anyone's still playing it now.

You can "Use Vacuum" wherever you are in the house and the ghost is. As you discovered by accident, the ghost gets caught up in the vacuum cleaner and is no longer a drain on your game score. The trick to capturing him is to get the xmas pudding from the larder because old Scrooge loves a bit of Xmas pudding and will stalk you while you have it - as hinted at with it being present in his portrait on the master bedroom wall.

The second part is also hinted at when you examine the same picture as it tells you that he's looking at the fireplace. If you use the vacuum cleaner in the master bedroom with Scrooge already captured then you will free him up the chimney. This changes the end of game screen slightly and also boosts your score even further.

I was meaning to do a post-mortem on the game with the feedback I've had outside of the friends I had testing the game but I didn't really get enough, unfortunately. One of the things that did become apparent though was that it was a bad idea to throw in the coat blocking the mousehole puzzle at the start. I thought I was being clever doing that as a tribute to a puzzle that Doug Adams used in the Hitchhikers adventure game but I was wrong. A lot of people playing this game have probably never actually played a text adventure before and shouldn't have been dealing with a tricky one like that right from the off. Especially as the rest of the game was toned down twice to make it even easier during the last couple of weeks because my testers didn't get it.

As for the text, you're right, it wasn't clear enough that something in the room had changed really. The biggest problem I had was people automatically made the assumption that the pictures were gospel and the text was just re-iterating what they showed. A couple of the pictures I did show a different one, depending on events that happened in the game, but mostly they were just static backdrops as it never occurred to me that they would be the main thing people would focus on.

An example of this was in the conservatory where the magnifying glass wasn't on the table if you picked it up. The only reason I actually did that was because I still had the image of the room without it being in the picture because my artist had forgotten to put it in.

What I should have done was be consistent and either had them be just backdrops only and make it more clear from the start rather than be inconsistent like this. I really should have realised that people would have focused more on images than the text as it's something most of us would automatically do with a book.

When I started working on the game I fully intended to have a much better parser and also have the text as a proper scrolling display with the ability to scroll up and down to work out what you already had tried previously. In the end I bodged in the basic parser, threw in a poor text output function which only allowed for a few brief lines of text, due to making room for the select-able mouse click directions, and then got involved with the graphics stuff, music and making the game work. I literally rewrote the parser system to process actual commands whichever room you were in rather than huge room processing scripts because I realised that I was only accounting for people typing in the right commands every time, which was really stupid.

In the end I didn't even mention that you could use the up and down arrows to repeat previous commands because I put the feature in right at the beginning and then realised it had broken somewhere down the line just as I submitted my final build.

These competition games are great fun but it's murder when you realise how many screw-ups you made when you look back because you're trying to hit a deadline :-)

Fortunately, the game works as it is, and only has a few bugs that don't really affect play so I'll let it be as it is. I've got the facility to rip out the game and actually use the shell for another adventure another day, should I wish to, so it's all good.

So, to be clear, evicting the ghost out of the chimney, finishing your homework, collecting all the cards and opening the safe to find your presents does complete the game 100%.

Why did I not think of putting a % complete display in the game!?!!?