The Great 2012 Review Contest [Reviews: 94] [CLOSED]
Moderators: Bob the Hamster, marionline, SDHawk
The "FF1 Intro" sequence is getting cut, for what it's worth. It doesn't fit in the context of the game, and it's not a particularly good gag even if you're in the limited audience that has played FF2US. (Though I must admit I'm partial to "The snake was silently shedding his skin.")
I gather from your review that you've never played the Walrus Chef games. Those games do not involve resource management. I'm not sure what you mean by "disposable mechanic."
Your other criticisms should be addressed to some extent or another in the full version, where the town hub has much more going on, including story arcs for each of the characters.
You are the first person to complain about our semi-silent protagonist. I thought HONK had universal appeal. Alas, it cannot penetrate the stone-cold cackles of your black, black heart
ADDENDUM: Yes, the game was made for the Heart of the OHR 2012 contest. The timeline for that contest was fairly generous, and yet here we are.
I gather from your review that you've never played the Walrus Chef games. Those games do not involve resource management. I'm not sure what you mean by "disposable mechanic."
Your other criticisms should be addressed to some extent or another in the full version, where the town hub has much more going on, including story arcs for each of the characters.
You are the first person to complain about our semi-silent protagonist. I thought HONK had universal appeal. Alas, it cannot penetrate the stone-cold cackles of your black, black heart
ADDENDUM: Yes, the game was made for the Heart of the OHR 2012 contest. The timeline for that contest was fairly generous, and yet here we are.
Last edited by Mogri on Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bob the Hamster
- Lord of the Slimes
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This week we honk, wakka wakka *fozzie bear face*
The Towers of Love and Energy
by IDON'TKNOW
*insert pic of title screen*
It's a charming short thing. Impressive it was made, not meaning to be anything more than the work of a few hours. The scary part is in how close it feels to a lot of other games that (supposedly) had more time spent on them.
*insert screenshot with silly caption*
No idea what's going on. Talking to tables is cool. There's one point in a dungeon where the music stops when entering a new room, and it was like an accidental and awesome tension building setup, eventually broken by more random battles. The music was nostalgia cool.
*insert amusing out of context screenshot or cut of hero sprite looking bored and plain*
I guess the larger topic here is how to review a contest game well after the contest is over. I'm no stranger to making them, and honestly, they're meant for that small fleeting window of excitement, the thrill of a live event I suppose. How do you review a concert? "Had to be there..."
All in all, I think contest work is fine either way. Not something I'd want to get caught up in personally. Being super positive, it will make for interesting pieces to look back on if you make it as a game maker. That is if you ever make anything outside of contests
Look at contest game reviews like this one: their short term nature is something to weigh carefully before jumping into that cool contest you totally think will make all your dreams come true. Will it matter come a year?
The Towers of Love and Energy
by IDON'TKNOW
*insert pic of title screen*
It's a charming short thing. Impressive it was made, not meaning to be anything more than the work of a few hours. The scary part is in how close it feels to a lot of other games that (supposedly) had more time spent on them.
*insert screenshot with silly caption*
No idea what's going on. Talking to tables is cool. There's one point in a dungeon where the music stops when entering a new room, and it was like an accidental and awesome tension building setup, eventually broken by more random battles. The music was nostalgia cool.
*insert amusing out of context screenshot or cut of hero sprite looking bored and plain*
I guess the larger topic here is how to review a contest game well after the contest is over. I'm no stranger to making them, and honestly, they're meant for that small fleeting window of excitement, the thrill of a live event I suppose. How do you review a concert? "Had to be there..."
All in all, I think contest work is fine either way. Not something I'd want to get caught up in personally. Being super positive, it will make for interesting pieces to look back on if you make it as a game maker. That is if you ever make anything outside of contests
Look at contest game reviews like this one: their short term nature is something to weigh carefully before jumping into that cool contest you totally think will make all your dreams come true. Will it matter come a year?
What does your recipe look like, Mystic? Am very curious what you mean.
And so far as details for Penguin Chef... I don't know. I could list all kinds of things but I've fallen into the 'review madness' where I begin questioning the point to any of this. Began writing a review of Dungeonmen, and the madness won't leave me alone.
Maybe if I didn't make games myself, I wouldn't succumb to it. But then I doubt I would have played any of these games otherwise. The best advice I can give is to stop treating your game like it's an OHRRPGCE game. It's the core of what is hurting it. By that I mean, don't use the stock ohr mechanics and 'meta' that everyone else uses just because it's there and available to you. The madness... have to fight it. OK
The big things are:
- text boxes are a big part of the game, make it fun; the portraits are laughably tiny, use transparent backgrounds or something and go big
- the game doesn't give the player any feedback or sense of the setup where there are days and limited actions per day. In any other game, we'd know by looking at a gui, something...
- what do the battles really add here? Not saying get rid of them, but battles for the sake of battles is like... it's like do any of you question things we all take for granted in ohr games? THE MADNESS IT CONSUMES ME
- The cooking tourney thing... it's the same deal. Question what good are ohr references for the judges, why you don't include the judges into the town or plot more, how does it tie into the simple joy of item collecting, needs to give more of a sense of plot progression, that we're getting somewhere, you don't even introduce simple fun things like a rival...
- basic things...
do you know why it's important to have a strong main? why you include other characters with the main in stories? in basic terms, character design is such that you want them to play off each other. like the funny man / straight man. not one game does this so far that i can remember here...
do any of you guys ever talk shop?
I want to say that's why reviewing these games are so hard in terms of breaking the bad news that could have been avoided with a little friendly banter about making games.
This feels like guitar hero for game makers. It really does.
And so far as details for Penguin Chef... I don't know. I could list all kinds of things but I've fallen into the 'review madness' where I begin questioning the point to any of this. Began writing a review of Dungeonmen, and the madness won't leave me alone.
Maybe if I didn't make games myself, I wouldn't succumb to it. But then I doubt I would have played any of these games otherwise. The best advice I can give is to stop treating your game like it's an OHRRPGCE game. It's the core of what is hurting it. By that I mean, don't use the stock ohr mechanics and 'meta' that everyone else uses just because it's there and available to you. The madness... have to fight it. OK
The big things are:
- text boxes are a big part of the game, make it fun; the portraits are laughably tiny, use transparent backgrounds or something and go big
- the game doesn't give the player any feedback or sense of the setup where there are days and limited actions per day. In any other game, we'd know by looking at a gui, something...
- what do the battles really add here? Not saying get rid of them, but battles for the sake of battles is like... it's like do any of you question things we all take for granted in ohr games? THE MADNESS IT CONSUMES ME
- The cooking tourney thing... it's the same deal. Question what good are ohr references for the judges, why you don't include the judges into the town or plot more, how does it tie into the simple joy of item collecting, needs to give more of a sense of plot progression, that we're getting somewhere, you don't even introduce simple fun things like a rival...
- basic things...
do you know why it's important to have a strong main? why you include other characters with the main in stories? in basic terms, character design is such that you want them to play off each other. like the funny man / straight man. not one game does this so far that i can remember here...
do any of you guys ever talk shop?
I want to say that's why reviewing these games are so hard in terms of breaking the bad news that could have been avoided with a little friendly banter about making games.
This feels like guitar hero for game makers. It really does.
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Meowskivich
- Blubber Bloat
- Posts: 2199
- Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:38 am
- Location: Earth
- Contact:
I'm not mystic, but a certain recipe I use goes like this....charbile wrote:What does your recipe look like, Mystic? Am very curious what you mean.
Code: Select all
You take the moon, and you take the sun.
You take everything that seems like fun.
You stir it all up and then you're done.
Radda radda radda radda-radda.
So come on in, feel free to do some lookin'.
Stay a while, cuz something's always cookin'.
Come on in, feel free to do some lookin'.
Stay a while, cuz something's always cookin', yeah!Also, I still await the promised review, Charbile. I expect it to be grand and epic. In-depth as a pixel-by-pixel analysis, insightful as deepest wisdom from the oldest monk on top of mount Everest, and as smecksy as Vivi blowing Black Waltz #3 to bits.
SEVENTEEN DAYS LEFT 
Just a heads up that this thing ends Sunday, but I won't actually close it until some random time on Monday. I'll be posting ruminations on this year's contest, the starting date for 2013's contest, and opening the thread up for discussion on how to improve next year's edition. Unless a mad man surprises us all though, Giz has got this contest in her iron clutches.
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Meowskivich
- Blubber Bloat
- Posts: 2199
- Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:38 am
- Location: Earth
- Contact:
Monday, eh? I GUESS A CERTAIN CHARBILE AUGHT TO DO THE PROMISED ARP REVIEW BEFORE THEN, EH?! YOUR FLUIDS ARE AT RISK, I HAVE A BAG BENDY STRAWS WITH YOUR PROVERBIAL NAME ON THEM IF YE DON'T STEP IT UP.
Oh, and you'll no longer be "the great and powerful" too, as great and powerful ones always keep their word.
Oh, and you'll no longer be "the great and powerful" too, as great and powerful ones always keep their word.
It's over! Check out the results thread.