STORY GAME in September 2011
September 1st, 2011
It’s almost the Fall, with the holiday season slowly lurching into view. Soon we’ll all be gathered around a roaring fire telling tall tales, or curled up in a chair with a good book. Or (more probably if you’re on this site) sitting firmly planted in front of our modern story teller – the computer.
So what do you say Game Developers, can you craft your own STORY GAME in September?
We're a group of indie game developers, running a friendly competition every month. The rules: Make a game based on the month's theme, and don't spend more than 7 days. New games posted at the end of every month.
42 Comments, Comment or Ping
Wonderful theme… I hope to have the correct inspiration.
September 1st, 2011
GAAAAAAH… does want. =(
Do I have to write a story and make the game in 7 days still? LOL
September 1st, 2011
Sounds really fantastic. Story is the backbone of any good game – and for some (like myself) is equally important as the shooting or hacking and slashing.
September 1st, 2011
This will be my first try at this game jam. Hard theme. How to deliver a story without walls of text or cinematics, and turn it instead on the focus of the game?
Challenge Accepted ;-)
September 1st, 2011
I’m so tempted to make a game on 9/11
September 2nd, 2011
Great theme! :)
September 2nd, 2011
Good theme. Narrative is often a neglected element in games, despite the great potential it holds.
Might give this one a go, been experimenting with narrative mechanics and have a few ideas floating around.
September 3rd, 2011
Perhaps a little clarification for those who don’t have a good grasp on the genre. Do you mean story game like Hotel Dusk, Phoenix Wright, Grim Fandango, Myst, Zork, or countless others that I can’t think of at the moment as Story Games? Or do you mean any type of genre game with a solid narrative? I’m just a little confused especially without a good reference or something.
September 3rd, 2011
I’d think it was fairly open to interpretation, as always. My view is that it’s just a game where narrative/story is the key focus, rather than the gameplay mechanics.
September 4th, 2011
Real quickly guys try the game gravity bone. might help you inspire depth in your story
September 4th, 2011
I had planned to do one in a very unique way for my nieces.. however, they aren’t old enough yet for story books. Hmm. Could always do a test run though.
September 4th, 2011
Hi,
I still couldnt understand the objective behind this jam…..do V have to make a story of a game or actually design a game which has a good storyline???
September 5th, 2011
Hi all,
I have not posted anything on here in a while because i have been busy with a “longer than 5 days game”. While i accept that this is cheating, i wanted to experiment with what was possible given more time. I am fairly happy with the result and would love people to try the game out and let me know what they think. Additionally, it is a highly story based experience so, by luck, it fits with this theme (though i know it breaks the 5 day rule).
http://90cdalstonlane.co.uk/downloads/LonelyMan_v1.0.zip
feed back is very welcome. I hope you all like it.
Will
September 5th, 2011
With a basic grasp of actionscript and a half formed idea I go forth for the first time.
If I fail to submit, form an angry mob and find me. Nothing says motivation like pitchforks.
September 6th, 2011
Okay — I actually made this a month before the theme came up, but it was put together in less time than God created the Earth and Everything On It, so I’m giving myself a let:
http://apps.facebook.com/melville/
Look forward to feedback!
September 6th, 2011
Hey everyone, Long time listener, first time caller. :)
I think I’m going to get in on this. I’ve got an idea that, imo, tangentially fits the theme.
September 6th, 2011
Here’s my first EGP entry ever.
Title: Harap-Alb
Author: Timotei Dolean
Website ( binary + source): http://timotei.github.com/egp_story/
Timo
September 17th, 2011
I’ve made this in 48 hours (+1) and I’d like to enter it :D
http://software.o-o.ro/redeye/
September 18th, 2011
The Tragic Tale of the S.S. Orca
http://www.mcfunkypants.com/OrcaJam2011/
The story goes like this:
The year was 1821. Technology had reached its pinnacle.
The greatest sailing vessel ever created was ready for its maiden voyage.
“This ship is unsinkable! Its stability and traction on the deck is such that we don’t even need guard rails.”
“The weather became rough, and soon DISASTER was about to befall its passengers!
“Oh dear, it’s a kraken!”
The objective is to save drowning victims by throwing them a life preserver. The sinking ship acts like a “plinko” board to make things a little more difficult. Any people who reach the bottom of the screen are lost. How many can you save?
Silly? Yes. Simplistic? Yes. Great fun to make (made in a weekend at Orca Jam 2011)? Yes, indeed!
September 19th, 2011
my entry for story experimental gameplay..
http://balaji.me/vkrishna/invasion/
you effect the outcome of the story by playing better.. no scores displayed.. just health of the player. I haven’t spent much time polishing the game.. i.e, no particle effects.. no sounds
September 21st, 2011
Timotei -> I could not get your game to run (the binary), it simply says “Harap-Alb has stopped working”, any suggestions?
September 22nd, 2011
@WILL: Did you install the XNA 4.0 Redistributable – linked on the webpage – and have an up-to-date DirectX?
September 23rd, 2011
Hi,
I’ve made this “game” in 5 days. It’s in spanish and english too. Actually the story in english is empty, so please play it and make it grow! :)
The game is about interactive and cooperative story telling.
http://www.tyranus.com.ar/taleoftales/taleoftales.html
September 23rd, 2011
Hey there,
Here’s my entry for this month. It’s called “Trout!” and it’s a party/multiplayer improvisation game where several players take turns in making up a story on the fly.
You choose the rules of the match, choose the players and then play a round where each player has a turn to speak. That player has to say something according to the match’s rules (e.g. say a word that follows the phrase). The game then chooses another player at random.
At the end, the match is replayed showing how the story came up.
It aims to be fun when playing with a lot of drunk people.
You can get it here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64314/games/Trout%21/binaries/Trout%21%201.01.zip
and you can read a bit more about it here:
http://www.byfernando.com/blog/?p=465
September 23rd, 2011
Hi everyone,
This is my first entry to the EGP. The prototype I developed consists in letting the player and the computer the task of creating a story.
http://tembac.com/2011/09/intimate-stories-egp-september/
We are creating a kind of community around experimental prototypes in Argentina. We are having meetings with Fernando, Alejandro, Martin. Our idea is to make a prototype per week and we are open for everyone to join.
For more news about our growing community we will be posting here: http://byfernando.com/experimental/
(It is empty now because we are working on it now)
September 23rd, 2011
Challenge Accepted!
(Working with my 7 & 11yrs old little-sisters)
Best Regards,
Frank Martin Eriksson
September 24th, 2011
I uploaded my game to gamejolt because I was having troubles with my server :
http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/strategy-sim/intimate-stories/6206/
September 24th, 2011
Here’s my entry, made in a very rushed six days. browser and windows download links on my tumblr:
http://alllen.tumblr.com/post/10624728933/the-rudest-party-guest
submitted once before but it didn’t go through? Hope this isn’t a double-post. If so, delete/disregard.
September 24th, 2011
I have completed my entry for this month. I didn’t think I would be inspired by anything or have enough time, but a couple of factors worked in my favor and I finished this small prototype.
The story is about ninjas and robots, but it’s a little dynamic and it’s realtime so you have to read quickly. The game is adventure genre, with a little new mechanic mixed in.
Try it here (flash player):
http://vazor222.com/cardwood/cardwood.html
September 29th, 2011
Hi everyone,
haven’t been jamming on one of the EGPs for almost a year now, and I’m glad that I finally found the time to do a game this month, coincidentally with an awesome theme.
Here is the link to my game for this month:
http://dark-manifesto.blogspot.com/2011/09/memoirs.html
———————————————————————————
Synopsis
“History is Written by the Victors” – Winston Churchill
Memoirs is a top-down shooter featuring a gritty story about War, presented in the style of a History Book – the story unfolds and History is literarily written on one page as the Player combats enemy troops on the opposing page.
In Memoirs, Accuracy and Evasion are valued over an Eager Trigger-Finger, as through reducing the number of Civilians casualties in the story, Players will gain an entirely different perspective of the events that transpire – hinting at a more sombre underlying message on the story’s themes
———————————————————————–
Good luck to everyone.
September 29th, 2011
Here’s mine (android app): https://market.android.com/details?id=processing.android.test.thattimeialmostdiedataconcert&feature=search_result
September 29th, 2011
This is my first game.
The game involves thoughts and experiences I’ve gone through recently. Although looking at the end product, the story seems like an overdone trope. Capitalism, finding yourself, being an artist, being a jack of all trades, being ambitious, finding motivation, failure, etc.
http://www.rahilpatel.com/blog/the-jack-of-all-trades
September 29th, 2011
Hi Folks, I havent been here since a year or so ;-) … but nice theme! Was thinking for days what game I could come up with, but could not start until today evening… so for a few hours now I am trying to hack a little Unity game together. The idea is to generate a story out of three item words, that the player can choose.
I try to speed up to have it finished before midnight, if that´s ok?
Cheers
hardnheavy
September 30th, 2011
Here’s my entry! It’s a game about Joan of Arc’s battles to free France from the English back in the 1400′s
Screenshots and links here:
http://superfriendshipclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=404
Ok. I’ll admit it. I didn’t do this in 7 days, I did it in 30 (for the Super Friendship Club). BUT! It’s my first ever story game, using moderately experimental gameplay, so I hope you enjoy :)
September 30th, 2011
Here’s an entry that I made with one of my buddies. We made it in the last 3-4 days after work, with some brainstorming and stuff before then. We really tried to play on the story theme as much as possible. If you play it, I hope you enjoy!
http://www.stevegargolinski.com/the-fifth-zombie/
September 30th, 2011
Thanks for the wait! :-)
And here´s the game (few hours too late though):
http://codemachinery.net/en/en-experiments/en-one-million-hero-stories
In principal it´s a dynamic text adventure, where the only decisions of the player are made up front.
Made it in roughly a 12 hours session, but thought about the concept a few days before. Well, hope you enjoy reading as much as I do coding.
And I am thankful, if anyone tells me in case that anything’s not running – did not spend too much time debugging…
September 30th, 2011
Hello!!! This is our second time, it was hard to come up with something for the theme, but we think the idea is good, although it may need more time on the oven, what do you think?
You use the arrows, and pick the words pressing down, some words help you get through, enjoy!!!
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/580626
(it was done like in 4 days)
September 30th, 2011
These Walls is a story-based game in which the player assumes the role of a location at which something disturbing has happened. You need to communicate the story to visitors who have arrived to spend the night, but you can only do so through metaphysical cues (audible, mental, or physical). In the morning, the visitors recount their experiences from the night before, revealing bits of the story to themselves and to you.
I started this game for the mini Ludum Dare that just concluded. The build I submitted isn’t all that much fun to play. Since then, I added a win condition, better intro and summary story, and better player feedback. Any suggestions/praise/flames would be much appreciated.
It’s HTML5/JS, so no special browser requirements to play online:
http://i.getsodizzy.com/thesewalls/sept/
October 1st, 2011
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