Magium - The mage tournament (WIP) -> Updated 09/12/2015

Off-Topic Other Interactive Fiction
1

Edit: Magium is now available on both Google Play and iOS App store. The link for iOS is: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/magium-text-adventure-cyoa/id1229498009 . The link for the Play Store is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magiumgames.magium .

Update:
---------------------------------

The demo has now been updated with chapter 4. It can be played at the website: http://gamesmakeyousmart.com/?page_id=197 (web interface is now completely fixed)

or downloaded in apk form for android devices at this link:

This chapter introduces the story’s main antagonist, Eiden the stillwater.

The events in this chapter will play out differently depending on whether you let Cutthroat Dave see your face in the first chapter or not.

---------------------------------

Hello.

I am currently developing a CYOA type game in a fantasy setting. In the game, you play as Barry, an ordinary guy who’s lifelong dream is to become a mage. After decades of search, he finally found a way to do it. Unfortunately he first needs to win a life and death tournament against the most powerful mages in the world.

As the game progresses you will make powerful allies and enemies, and once you find out more about the tournament, you will slowly start to realize that the organizers of the tournament have not been completely honest about their reason for organizing it.

Here is the link to the first four chapters (~39k words) : https://www.dropbox.com/s/ach7ds4ej39lm0q/Magium%20chapter%204.apk?dl=0

It’s a dropbox link that will prompt you to download the apk, so you’ll need to have an android device to install it on.

In case you don’t have an android device, here’s the web version of the game: http://gamesmakeyousmart.com/?page_id=197

Besides the traditional choice making, this game also has a stat system which is different from most choice of games. Instead of gaining stats when you do certain actions, here you must choose to raise certain stats, and based on that, you will be able to perform certain actions in game. When a certain scene arrives, the game will check if your level in the required stat is high enough, and if it is, the action will be performed. For example, if you try to crush a wall with your fist, the game will check to see if your strength is high enough.

Failing and succeeding in stat checks is displayed at the top of the screen in red (for failing) and green (for succeeding).

The stats actually have an in game explanation, as the main character uses a magical device to augment his physical attributes. The device feeds itself on the tremendous energy released by the powerful magic that is being cast all around him. As time passes, the augmentation of stats such as strength, agility, reflexes, toughness, hearing, perception and premonition may become so high that it will feel like having superpowers.

The stat system is a simplified version of the stat system in the PC game “Long live the queen”, in case anyone’s played it.

For those of you that participated in my first Magium (WIP) thread, this is the main game that I was talking about.

I’d really like some initial feedback, especially on the stats part of the game, but also on the story.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, this time there’s 9 save slots, so there’s no need to hold back. You can save and load your game by accessing the main menu by pressing the button on the top of the screen.

5 Likes
2

I like how straightforward the stat system sounds, as well as being able to save.

2 Likes
3

I’ll have to play this one. People with names like “Barry” have no choice but to be utterly badass.

495Ă—543 117 KB

3 Likes
4

@Giratina

That’s good news! The stat system is what I’m most worried about, since I haven’t really seen anything similar in other text based CYOA so far.

If you want to see how it works in game, there’s a battle scene in the second chapter that takes full advantage of the stat system.

@Doctor

His badassery depends on your choice of stats, but you won’t really be able to finish the game unless you get at least moderately badass.

1 Like
5

Ok, so I’ve heard that the game is unplayable in this html5 version for a lot of you, so I’ve put the dropbox link to the apk in the first post. The apk version should work without any problems, as long as you have an android device. Please tell me if there are any resizing problems as I don’t have many android devices to test on at home.

2 Likes
6

Alright! So I finished working on the third chapter which is around 19k words long. This brings the WIP to around 29k words at this moment.

Since it’s an apk, you’ll need an android device to install it on.

I’ve now added an autosave feature so that the game will pick up where you left off if you exit. However, if you die and you didn’t save your game, you’ll have to load from your last checkpoint, which is at the beginning of the last chapter you reached.

Try to make full use of the nine save slots, especially during the fight scene at the end of the third chapter, since the chapter is pretty long to restart when you die.

I will be adding an achievements system soon. As an aside, one of the achievements in this chapter will be “One man army” if you manage to defeat a hundred men by yourself.

I’ve tested this chapter a lot, but there’s a lot of ways the fight can end, and I’m not sure I managed to test all the paths properly. Some help would really be appreciated! Please tell me if you find any bugs while you play, and if the game works well on your device!

7

Not sure if anyone actually had the time to test this, but if you did, could you please tell me if the game worked properly and what android device you tested it on? It would really help me a lot. Thanks!

8

And then, you get this guy:

@Nemeean_lion

Just downloaded it, give me a few minutes.

3 Likes
9

I’m not sure who that is but he looks like more of a Susan than a Barry…

10

Doctor, that’s Barry from Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. I haven’t seen him in the anime, but in the games he dances around like a total dweeb and constantly crashes into the player character. In short, Barry’s a chump.

11

Pokémon shouldn’t count anyway. Took the fun out of hunting monsters and forcing them to do your bidding

12

Forcing them? I’m pretty sure the giant tortoise with two water cannons on its back has a say in whether or not to do as its trainer says. Heck, traded Pokemon frequently won’t listen to the trainer if he/she has enough badges.

13

I never watched Pokemon, but if they pronounce his name the same way as they pronounce it in FMA, then this guy should be put in a different category of Barries, apart from Barry Burton, since the original version of the anime is in japanese.

For those that didn’t watch FMA, there’s a character in there called Barry the Chopper, and they pronounce his name as Baaareee dza choppaaaa. Different pronunciation, different name!

14

I finally managed to sort of fix the web interface of the game. It should now be functional to play for all of you at this link: http://gamesmakeyousmart.com/?page_id=197

The reason I say sort of is because there are two main inconveniences at the moment with the web version:

  1. The buttons aren’t always placed at the end of the text. More often than not, you’ll have to scroll down a fair bit to see the option buttons, which can be annoying, and after a certain point perhaps even frustrating.

  2. The game doesn’t automatically scroll up to the top of the page once you’ve pressed a button, which means you have to scroll all the way up yourself after each click. For computer users, this can be made somewhat easier by pressing the HOME key on the keyboard, which brings you back to the top of the page, but it’s nowhere near convenient.

I am really sorry about these interface flaws for the web version. The game’s been designed primarily with android in mind, and porting it to HTML5 has proven to be a harder task than I anticipated.

But in case anyone wanted to give this little demo a try and wasn’t able to because they lacked an android device, I wanted to make a web version at least somewhat functional. I’ll try to tend to it more in the future. Please do not hesitate to tell me if it’s still not working for you.

15

The web interface of the game should now be completely fixed!!! Here is the link: http://gamesmakeyousmart.com/?page_id=197

A big thanks to everyone that gave this little demo a try even with the previous faulty interface!

One last note, however. While it works perfectly on my PC while using Google Chrome, if I use Mozilla Firefox the page does not scroll to the top once you press a button, which can be pretty annoying. I’ve yet to try other browsers, but from what I’ve read I think it might be tied to a Firefox bug. If you have any other browser than Firefox installed on your computer, please use that to play the game. Preferably Google Chrome, since I’ve already tested on it and it works fine.

I am currently writing on the 4th chapter, which I hope I’ll be able to release in the next few days. In this chapter, the main villain of the story gets introduced. Enter Eiden, the stillwater. Below, there’s a preview to know what to expect:

Eiden turns towards me. I suddenly remember that he relies primarily on his magical sense and not on his eyesight in order to assess his surroundings. He must have sensed my presence ever since before the beginning of the battle.

“Did you enjoy the show, Barry?” he asks me. His smile is gone from his face.

“It was quite the spectacle,” I reply to him.

“That it was. It would appear the cutthroat had mistaken me for another stillwater. One who was associating with a healer. Quite an unfortunate misunderstanding. You wouldn’t happen to know who they were looking for, would you Barry?”

“I think you already have the answer to that question.”

“I do, indeed. Tell me, Barry. How did you come to the conclusion that using me to clean up your mess would be a good idea?”

“Well, I figured you wouldn’t have any trouble dealing with those lowly thugs. And you seemed to enjoy it well enough. Otherwise you would have simply cut down the tree I was hiding behind in order to reveal me to the cutthroats.”

“Fascinating. You really appear to have no sense of crisis. Allow me to help you in that regard.”

As he finishes his sentence, I start feeling something pressing against my throat. It feels like an invisible rope is tied around my neck, and it is slowly lifting me above the ground. It’s not just my imagination. I really am being lifted higher and higher above the ground. It’s getting a lot harder to breathe as the invisible noose gets tighter around my neck. I try to take the noose off with my hands, but there’s nothing there. If this goes on much longer I’m seriously going to die.

Once I get several feet above the ground, the invisible noose suddenly disappears, and I fall on the rocky soil, dropping to my knees. I could hear a loud crack as I hit the ground. I’m pretty sure that the fall broke both my kneecaps. The pain of it is excruciating.

“Now that I have your attention,” the stillwater continues, “I want you to understand something. If you try something like that again, broken kneecaps are going to be the least of your worries. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

Eiden’s smile comes back to his face.

“That’s what I like about you, Barry. Even in the face of utter annihilation, you manage to maintain your defiant, sarcastic tone. But you are neither strong nor brave. So what is it, then? What is the driving force that propels you forward?”

“Stupidity.”

“Well said!” Eiden says, smiling. “I think your healer should have woken up from his slumber by now. Go ahead and call him. I’m sure he’s fixed more than a few broken kneecaps in his lifetime. I’ll be waiting for you to deliver my message. Do not fail me, Barry.”

With these last words he turns his back to me, and heads deeper into the woods.

16

Oh! a stillwater sweet!
When do we kill him?

17

Well, he’s the main villain (sort of), so he’ll be sticking around for a while :stuck_out_tongue: .

He’s incredibly overpowered, so it’ll take a while to get the necessary information and power to be able to fight him toe to toe. How early in the game you can kill him will depend on the choices you make and the stats you prioritize, but I think it’s safe to say that he won’t be killed in the first book.

18

So I assume that my character that mostly relies on seeing the future.
Speaking ancient tongues and having good eyesight and hearing will be great at finding out all his weaknesses and relevant information.
And will have to rely on our two friends to actually fight him huh?
Or will we need an ordinary human to beat him?

19

You will meet other characters as the story progresses. Some of them already know the stillwater and may also know his weaknesses. Some of them have a grudge against him. So you don’t necessarily have to rely on your two friends if you aren’t specced for combat. You could get help from the ones that have grudges against him, depending how you play your cards, and provided you want to help them in the first place.

Also, stats may play an important role, but there will also be some other ways to fight like artifacts or magic, depending on the route you will choose later on.

20

The demo has now been updated with chapter 4. It can be played at the website: http://gamesmakeyousmart.com/?page_id=197 (web interface is now completely fixed)

or downloaded in apk form for android devices at this link:

This chapter introduces the story’s main antagonist, Eiden the stillwater.

The events in this chapter will play out differently depending on whether you let Cutthroat Dave see your face in the first chapter or not.

1 Like