OHR Game of the Year 2011 Discussion and Voting
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Not to hijack the thread or anything, but since the Motrya Design Journal thread is locked, I may as well say it here: Why bother ending the project, or abandoning it, or doing the things that too many OHR designers do that gives our community such a bad reputation for unfinished projects when it just degrades your show of commitment? Don't cancel it. If you've got too much else going on right now, put the dang thing on hold. Come back to it in a year or two when you're refreshed. Stop canceling games because you're out of steam or motivation, or because one team member failed to meet his end of the bargain! Maybe that team member will catch a second wind and go back and do what he said he would do.
I'll be honest, I'm not a defender of Motrya, so I've got no personal reason to want to see this finished. But I do get sick of seeing authors raise a crapload of hype for a game, release a demo that most other players love and want to see more of, claim that it's their most important project of their OHR lives, claim that it's been in their heads for years, and then kill it because someone they delegated one part of the game to decides he doesn't want to work on it anymore. Get over it! If you care that much about the game, then finish it, even if you have to wait for that second wind. I've got two games that rely heavily on someone else's music compilation. The OHR community hasn't seen Tightfloss Maiden's musician in many years. Have I stopped working on it? No. I may not want to change composers -- Specplosive's style was perfect for the game and I've made such a big deal about giving him credit for it -- but I will if that's what I have to do to finish my game. I'll keep changing composers until I run out of them if that's what I have to do to finish the game. Entrepreneur's musician has a style that no one else I know in this community has matched, and I confess that it's both stressful and disheartening that he hasn't been responding to his e-mails or finishing his part of the project. So, what am I supposed to do? Why, just use what I already have. And if I find someone who can compose great 80s music around here, then I'll recruit a new musician. But I won't abandon the project just because someone I need to do his part just up and vanished on me. I care too much about it. The only reason I can foresee throwing a project away is if I never had much interest in it in the first place. So, am I to believe that the developers of Motrya really didn't have much interest in it? If so, then why all the hype for so long? Why all the lies?
I don't think that's the case here; I think you guys really do care about the project, so I am extremely surprised that you're canceling it. I really think you should consider "tabling" it until you get your ducks and MJs in a row. It'll make you and your hype more trustworthy in the future.
Now, back on topic, I've been playing a few of 2011's games this weekend. I should hopefully crank out a small list before the night ends.
I'll be honest, I'm not a defender of Motrya, so I've got no personal reason to want to see this finished. But I do get sick of seeing authors raise a crapload of hype for a game, release a demo that most other players love and want to see more of, claim that it's their most important project of their OHR lives, claim that it's been in their heads for years, and then kill it because someone they delegated one part of the game to decides he doesn't want to work on it anymore. Get over it! If you care that much about the game, then finish it, even if you have to wait for that second wind. I've got two games that rely heavily on someone else's music compilation. The OHR community hasn't seen Tightfloss Maiden's musician in many years. Have I stopped working on it? No. I may not want to change composers -- Specplosive's style was perfect for the game and I've made such a big deal about giving him credit for it -- but I will if that's what I have to do to finish my game. I'll keep changing composers until I run out of them if that's what I have to do to finish the game. Entrepreneur's musician has a style that no one else I know in this community has matched, and I confess that it's both stressful and disheartening that he hasn't been responding to his e-mails or finishing his part of the project. So, what am I supposed to do? Why, just use what I already have. And if I find someone who can compose great 80s music around here, then I'll recruit a new musician. But I won't abandon the project just because someone I need to do his part just up and vanished on me. I care too much about it. The only reason I can foresee throwing a project away is if I never had much interest in it in the first place. So, am I to believe that the developers of Motrya really didn't have much interest in it? If so, then why all the hype for so long? Why all the lies?
I don't think that's the case here; I think you guys really do care about the project, so I am extremely surprised that you're canceling it. I really think you should consider "tabling" it until you get your ducks and MJs in a row. It'll make you and your hype more trustworthy in the future.
Now, back on topic, I've been playing a few of 2011's games this weekend. I should hopefully crank out a small list before the night ends.
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Okay, I'll give this my best shot. There were only a few that had my interest this year and the rest I played this weekend. There are many more I didn't play, mainly because they got low enough ratings that playing them didn't make much sense to me.
Best Game of 2011: The overall best games. Vote for five to ten games.
*See my explanation for each of my best game votes at the bottom of this post.
1. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2. Castle on the Night Land
3. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
4. Heart of the OHR Tribute
5. Ruin
6. First Fantasy
7. Nordomin: Quest of Creole
8. Final Dragon Legacy
9. Black Heart of Exile
10. Escape the Wolf OHR
Best Graphics: Best style, best pixelation, etc. Whatever made your eyes weep with joy. Vote for two to five games.
1. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2. Fat Frog the Movie (Note: I've never played this, but I've seen pictures)
3. Escape the Wolf OHR
4. Ruin
5. Black Heart of Exile
Best Design: This can be Plotscripting, map design, battle systems, or any other technical game aspects. Vote for two to five games.
1. Castle on the Night Land
2. Escape the Wolf OHR
3. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
4. Heart of the OHR Tribute
5. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
Best Writing: Story, dialogue, world creation. Vote for two to five games.
1. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
2. Heart of the OHR Tribute
3. Black Heart of Exile
4. Castle on the Night Land
5. Ruin
Most Ridiculous: What games baffled your mind this year? The reasons don't matter. It could be an astonishingly confusing game, a shockingly funny one, whatever. Some sort of wild card category or something.
1. Escape the Wolf OHR
2. Deforestation
3. Star Quest
4. Heart of the OHR Tribute
Most Anticipated 2012: What games would you most like to see updated this year, and which announced games are you most excited about? You'll have to do the digging on your own for this one, because we get dozens of proposed games that never come out and finding/listing them all would take forever.
1. Really, any game planned for Heart of the OHR 2012, new or revisited.
2. Saminaster and Sorcery (Bagne/TwirlySocrates's game)
3. Village People: The Video Game and Surlaw Armageddon (Surlaw's games)
4. Wandering Hamster (James's game...duh)
5. Marooned (Mr. 8-bit's game)
6. Okedoke and Alleghany School Hell (FnrrfYgmSchnish's games)
7. Something from me.
Explanation of Vote for Best Game:
Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
-The presentation is excellent and the game is massive. I had fun with it the moment I started. It didn't demand any complex play mechanic from me. And I loved the fact that each world had several story lines to complete. The old 8-bit style really helped. Oh, and it's complete. That seems to make a difference in Game of the Year votes.
Castle on the Night Land
-Intelligently designed and written adventure game. It never gets too complicated, or boring. In fact the only thing that gets annoying about it is that same music track that plays forever and ever. I still haven't found the 15th treasure.
Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
-As far as choose your own adventures go, this one was well thought out and perfectly executed. It's probably the only game released this year that I might actually play again and again to find its other endings. The text drew out my imagination in spades. OHR story of the year.
Heart of the OHR Tribute
-I agree that this game is horribly dated, but the presentation was perfectly executed and memorable, and because I'm partially responsible for its existence, I think it's only right that I give it some acknowledgment, even if it won't make sense to any newcomers to the community.
Ruin
-The opening sequence is well-designed and nicely animated. Details like what this game offers go far with me. The actual game design is a little poor with NPC interactions a little sluggish (probably because of the dash button -- something I've had problems with in my own game, but have recently fixed) and maps made with naked edges (one of my design pet peeves). But it's a small price to pay for innovative ideas and sensible quests. Decent game.
First Fantasy
-I'd actually rate this one higher if there were a bit more to do than just following a standard fare RPG path from point A to point B. But the idea of creating a prehistoric RPG is something I don't see used enough anywhere, and I think this deserves a higher spot for concept alone. It also helps that it looks nice.
Nordomin: Quest of Creole
-I like this one simply because it feels polished, and it has a cool dialogue selection feature. I don't know how much class selection affects the experience, but it's nice to have the option to choose your elemental base right out the gate. I also like that running from enemies is acceptable practice. Fairly solid game.
Final Dragon Legacy
-I'd actually want to rate this one much higher than #8, but I gotta say the prologue really annoyed me. There didn't seem to be any point in fighting enemies if I was already so overleveled that I'd never have a chance to level up, so going through the dungeon was mostly pointless. And yet the boss was still powerful enough to wipe the floor with me that I never did get out of that cave. If I had seen the rest of the game, there's a good chance I would've greatly enjoyed it, especially since I hear there is so much more of it to play, and I might've voted this higher. (That's my note to its creator: the prologue map is pointless if there's no reason to battle or collect treasure. I stopped playing long before it went anywhere.)
Black Heart of Exile
-This game is pretty hard, but I love the aesthetic behind it, and that music may just be the creepiest thing I've heard on the OHR. This is one I'd like to try again just to see if I can figure out what to do. It's a complicated design, but I think it has a method to its madness. I'm certainly intrigued by it.
Escape the Wolf OHR
-This was one of the weirdest games of the year, and I didn't find it particularly fun. But I appreciate what it accomplishes, and I certainly appreciate the polish behind it, and I really appreciate the tendency to push the player around trees if one gets in the way. The play control is quite smooth in this regard. But, as if it's no surprise, it's the voice work that really makes it unique, and the only thing that kept me amused long after the novelty of running through a forest wore off.
Congratulations in advance to the Top 10 winners. I hope 2012 is even better.
Best Game of 2011: The overall best games. Vote for five to ten games.
*See my explanation for each of my best game votes at the bottom of this post.
1. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2. Castle on the Night Land
3. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
4. Heart of the OHR Tribute
5. Ruin
6. First Fantasy
7. Nordomin: Quest of Creole
8. Final Dragon Legacy
9. Black Heart of Exile
10. Escape the Wolf OHR
Best Graphics: Best style, best pixelation, etc. Whatever made your eyes weep with joy. Vote for two to five games.
1. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2. Fat Frog the Movie (Note: I've never played this, but I've seen pictures)
3. Escape the Wolf OHR
4. Ruin
5. Black Heart of Exile
Best Design: This can be Plotscripting, map design, battle systems, or any other technical game aspects. Vote for two to five games.
1. Castle on the Night Land
2. Escape the Wolf OHR
3. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
4. Heart of the OHR Tribute
5. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
Best Writing: Story, dialogue, world creation. Vote for two to five games.
1. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
2. Heart of the OHR Tribute
3. Black Heart of Exile
4. Castle on the Night Land
5. Ruin
Most Ridiculous: What games baffled your mind this year? The reasons don't matter. It could be an astonishingly confusing game, a shockingly funny one, whatever. Some sort of wild card category or something.
1. Escape the Wolf OHR
2. Deforestation
3. Star Quest
4. Heart of the OHR Tribute
Most Anticipated 2012: What games would you most like to see updated this year, and which announced games are you most excited about? You'll have to do the digging on your own for this one, because we get dozens of proposed games that never come out and finding/listing them all would take forever.
1. Really, any game planned for Heart of the OHR 2012, new or revisited.
2. Saminaster and Sorcery (Bagne/TwirlySocrates's game)
3. Village People: The Video Game and Surlaw Armageddon (Surlaw's games)
4. Wandering Hamster (James's game...duh)
5. Marooned (Mr. 8-bit's game)
6. Okedoke and Alleghany School Hell (FnrrfYgmSchnish's games)
7. Something from me.
Explanation of Vote for Best Game:
Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
-The presentation is excellent and the game is massive. I had fun with it the moment I started. It didn't demand any complex play mechanic from me. And I loved the fact that each world had several story lines to complete. The old 8-bit style really helped. Oh, and it's complete. That seems to make a difference in Game of the Year votes.
Castle on the Night Land
-Intelligently designed and written adventure game. It never gets too complicated, or boring. In fact the only thing that gets annoying about it is that same music track that plays forever and ever. I still haven't found the 15th treasure.
Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
-As far as choose your own adventures go, this one was well thought out and perfectly executed. It's probably the only game released this year that I might actually play again and again to find its other endings. The text drew out my imagination in spades. OHR story of the year.
Heart of the OHR Tribute
-I agree that this game is horribly dated, but the presentation was perfectly executed and memorable, and because I'm partially responsible for its existence, I think it's only right that I give it some acknowledgment, even if it won't make sense to any newcomers to the community.
Ruin
-The opening sequence is well-designed and nicely animated. Details like what this game offers go far with me. The actual game design is a little poor with NPC interactions a little sluggish (probably because of the dash button -- something I've had problems with in my own game, but have recently fixed) and maps made with naked edges (one of my design pet peeves). But it's a small price to pay for innovative ideas and sensible quests. Decent game.
First Fantasy
-I'd actually rate this one higher if there were a bit more to do than just following a standard fare RPG path from point A to point B. But the idea of creating a prehistoric RPG is something I don't see used enough anywhere, and I think this deserves a higher spot for concept alone. It also helps that it looks nice.
Nordomin: Quest of Creole
-I like this one simply because it feels polished, and it has a cool dialogue selection feature. I don't know how much class selection affects the experience, but it's nice to have the option to choose your elemental base right out the gate. I also like that running from enemies is acceptable practice. Fairly solid game.
Final Dragon Legacy
-I'd actually want to rate this one much higher than #8, but I gotta say the prologue really annoyed me. There didn't seem to be any point in fighting enemies if I was already so overleveled that I'd never have a chance to level up, so going through the dungeon was mostly pointless. And yet the boss was still powerful enough to wipe the floor with me that I never did get out of that cave. If I had seen the rest of the game, there's a good chance I would've greatly enjoyed it, especially since I hear there is so much more of it to play, and I might've voted this higher. (That's my note to its creator: the prologue map is pointless if there's no reason to battle or collect treasure. I stopped playing long before it went anywhere.)
Black Heart of Exile
-This game is pretty hard, but I love the aesthetic behind it, and that music may just be the creepiest thing I've heard on the OHR. This is one I'd like to try again just to see if I can figure out what to do. It's a complicated design, but I think it has a method to its madness. I'm certainly intrigued by it.
Escape the Wolf OHR
-This was one of the weirdest games of the year, and I didn't find it particularly fun. But I appreciate what it accomplishes, and I certainly appreciate the polish behind it, and I really appreciate the tendency to push the player around trees if one gets in the way. The play control is quite smooth in this regard. But, as if it's no surprise, it's the voice work that really makes it unique, and the only thing that kept me amused long after the novelty of running through a forest wore off.
Congratulations in advance to the Top 10 winners. I hope 2012 is even better.
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The Wobbler
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Thanks for the votes bros, results will be tallied and posted in HamsterSpeak this Sunday.
Spoiler: Spellshard won everything that counts
Spoiler: Spellshard won everything that counts
Last edited by The Wobbler on Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:47 am, edited 1 time in total.