OHR Game of the Year 2010

So with a little under a month left to go we only have, uh, three votes, not counting my own that I'm saving until the end. I'm not posting results with this few votes. Anyone else going to vote?

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

Best Game of 2010:
1)Motrya
2)Vikings of Midgard
3)Okedoke
4)Vikings of Midgard (Update)
5)Batman & Robin
6)Barnabus

Best Graphics:
1)Vikings
2)Motrya
3)Okedoke
4)Batman and Robin
5)Puckamon

Best Design:
1)Bell of Chaos
2)Batman and Robin
3)Motrya
4)Barnabus
5)Vikings

Best Writing:
1)Powerstickman
2)Vikings
3)Who killed Dinosaur Giant

Most Ridiculous:
1)Horse Game
2)Meh
3)Barnabus
4)Seinfeld

Most Anticipated 2011:
1)Tim-Tim 2
2)Motrya 100% completed
3)Heart of the OHR games

I'll have my votes in before the deadline. Just haven't had much time to figure any of this out yet. Too many great games to sort through this year. Combined, 2009 and 2010 have made for one of the OHR's greatest seasons to date.

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Place Obligatory Signature Here

Best Game
1) Okedoke
2) Puckamon
3) Tales of the New World
4) Tales of the New World 2
5) Vikings of Midgard

Best Graphics
1) Puckamon
2) Okedoke
3) Vikings of Midgard
4) Tales of the New World
5) Tales of the New World 2

Best Design
1) Puckamon
2) Tales of the New World
3) Okedoke
4) Tales of the New World 2
5) Vikings of Midgard

Best Writing
1) Okedoke
2) Puckamon
3) Tales of the New World
4) Tales of the New World 2
5) Vikings of Midgard

Most Ridiculous
1) Vikings of Midgard
2) Tales of the New World 2
3) Tales of the New World
4) Okedoke
5) Puckamon
I'm being dead serious here.

Most Anticipated 2011
1) Maces Wild. Why aren't I working on this? Get to work, me!
2) Wandering Hamster
3) Walthros Remake
4) Totally Gihern Remake
5) Airship 2600 (sigh)

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Remeber: God made you special and he loves you very much. Bye!

Best Game of 2010:

1. Motrya
2. Barnabus Collection
3. Dragon Bustier
4. OHR Tetris
5. Duck

Best Graphics:

1. Motrya
2. Dragon Bustier
3. Duck

Best Design:

1. Motrya
2. OHR Tetris

Best Writing:

1. Duck
2. Motrya

Most Ridiculous:

1. Barnabus Collection
2. Star Wars Episode IV: An OHR Hope
3. Puckamon

Most Anticipated 2011:

1. More Motrya! - Best all around game I can think of, all that's left now is for it to be finished.

2. Whatever Lord Shizuma decides to make - He's posted a few times in Livejournal about his plans, talked a few times in IRC and I've seen some graphics, and whatever you decide to do, it'll be great. Just do it!

3. Newbie Power Solo Project - Kind of like Shiz, I know you've had ideas, and you even released (then unreleased) a nice little project, go ahead and finish something, I'm sure you've got some downtime from mean ol' JSH.

Game of the Year 2010 Votes:

Best Game of 2010: The overall best games. Vote for five to ten games.

1. Legendary Heroes
-I actually like this game more than I do Motrya, therefore it gets my #1 vote. I don't care if the rest of the community disagrees. This one's my favorite for 2010. Love everything about it.

2. Batman and Robin
-Essentially Crystal Chasers with a DC twist. Great concept and even better execution. The high level of choice involved really makes it awesome.

3. Motrya
-This vote is not based on personal experience. Haven't really played that much of it--in fact, I haven't played past the Lyte Snap stuff. But I can see why everyone else likes it, so I'm voting this #3 on hearsay. If that's a problem, I'll gladly remove it from my list.

4. Lost Legends of Prismia
-A game so underrated that I'm willing to bet that I'm the only active member who's played it. But it's well designed, and certainly worth the time to play. Graphically, it's average, but the game is still fun.

5. Crystal Chasers
-Another one I barely touched, but played enough of to know that it's a great concept with great execution, and one I'll likely enjoy if I can ever sit down long enough to really give it a fair chance.

6. VocabMosaic
-It still boggles my mind that James was able to import the English language and somehow use it make a legitimate Scrabble game on the OHR. I think I was the first community member to play it.

7. Bell of Chaos
-Technically better than VocabMosaic, but not as intuitive, so it doesn't get as high of a mark. Still a cool side scroller with an even cooler main character.

8. Tilt
-I don't really enjoy games like this, but I'm fascinated by the simple psychological overtones it displays, and I think it deserves recognition for its presentation.

9. Duck
-Non-saving gameplay went out with the '90s, but I still like the concept, the writing, and the atmosphere this offers, so I think it's a worthwhile game all around. My favorite part, of course, is the fact that it's making a murder mystery out of a ridiculous newbie game.

10. Okedoke
-Since there wasn't much added to it this year, I didn't think it was really worth putting on the list. But because it's still better than 90% of my other choices, I figured something should go here.

Note: As much as I believe in Powerstick Man XE, and as much as I think it deserves to be on this list, I'm not voting for it for the simple reason that I never fully released it. I won't discourage anyone else from voting for it, though.

Best Graphics: Best style, best pixelation, etc. Whatever made your eyes weep with joy. Vote for two to five games.

1. Damnation
-Despite there being nothing there, the nothing that is there is quite detailed and worth looking at.

2. Okedoke
-This game maintains a consistent design, no matter how ridiculous the characters and locations may get. And extra kudos for keeping it 8-bit long after the contest ended.

3. Bell of Chaos
-Another one that keeps the 8-bit graphics intact, and does it with style.

4. Tilt
-While the sprites are hardly anything to look at, the painted backgrounds are works of art--literally.

5. Viridia Chapter 2
-Solid NPCs, interesting setting, and fantastic battle sprites allow this game to round out the top 5.

Best Design: This can be Plotscripting, map design, battle systems, or any other technical game aspects. Vote for two to five games.

1. Boulderbeast Tech Demo
-Not really a game, but a heckuva way to destroy anyone's perception of what the OHR can do visually. It's a perfectly three-dimensional, fully rotational, fully manipulative creature for crying out loud.

2. Crystal Chasers
-Every map has a new theme, and with it, new design style. Certainly fresh.

3. Batman and Robin
-Essentially gets the vote for the same reason as Crystal Chasers, but gets #3 instead of #2 for not doing it first.

4. Motrya
-I'm actually voting for Lyte Snap. Fantastic card game, and flawlessly scripted, which seems like an impossible feat considering how fickle slices
and menus can get.

5. Legendary Heroes
-Fast paced and no-nonsense gameplay. Everything a busy person needs in his life. Considers player more than it considers author.

Best Writing: Story, dialogue, world creation. Vote for two to five games.

1. Duck
-I concur that this is ingenious. Moody and ridiculous rolled into one marshmallowy package.

2. Who Killed Dinosaur Giant?
-See above statement. Applies to this game, too.

3. Horse Game
-The game itself is kinda stupid, but the effiminent German announcer is hi-freakin-larious.

4. Viridia Chapter 2
-Kinda dense, and hard to follow, but so is the Lord of the Rings. Overall, the components are there, and anyone who's paying attention will see that there is quite a story to tell in this game, and it doesn't suck.

5. VocabMosaic
-It's a Scrabble game. It's got the brunt of the English language at its fingertips. Highest brow writing in the OHR. Period.

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. Horse Game
-It's a game show where the prize is a horse. Seriously? No, not seriously, hence my reason for voting for it.

2. Seinfeld Teaches Typing
-A crazy concept made ridiculous by its utter pointlessness.

3. Duck
-A children's murder mystery? Need I say more?

4. Bacon Origins
-Most stupid games I wouldn't even bother mentioning, but this one goes the distance from its casting pork characters and blasting the soundtrack with death metal to setting up random enemies inside of shops. Retardiculous.

5. Nightmare on Elmo Street
-A children's slasher film? Something's depraved about this community.

Most Anticipated 2011: 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. Saminaster and Sorcery
-The game that's supposed to contain the boulderbeast in its full 3D glory. The demo that I played last year was amazing, and it wasn't anywhere close to finished.

2. Viridia (any chapter)
-Although I was not crazy about the stupidly long battle sequence in Chapter 2, I am still interested in this game's story, and in its titanic potential as an overall product, and I look forward to any release that comes next in the saga.

3. Vikings of Midgard
-Finish the game already.

4. Wandering Hamster
-Ditto

5. Village People: The Video Game
-Come on, Surlaw. Just three areas to go, right? I challenged you last year to have this and Surlaw Armageddon finished by the end of this year. Are you gonna rise to that?

6. Surlaw Armageddon
-Ditto.

7. Alleghany School Hell
-Ever since I first played Okedoke, I was interested to see what Fnnrf could pop out in full color. Hopefully this one will also rise to the occasion.

8. The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition
-Maybe this year? Realistically, maybe by Heart of the OHR 2012. It's already getting too big for comfort.

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Place Obligatory Signature Here

I feel bad about not voting, but I also haven't played enough 2010 releases

Huzzah!

Voting is extended to April 2nd, though I'd really prefer to see more votes earlier than that!

Finally posting my own votes:

GOTY 2010

1 - Duck - This was honestly my most enjoyable OHR game experience of the year.

2 - The Account of Duck Duck - Another game about a duck, but a very different one. Aside from the boss at the end being kind of broken, this game's wonderful, and I really feel it was ignored. I have no idea why.
It looks nice, it's well scripted, and it's a lot of fun.

3 - Horse Game - I like the pepper.

4 - Who Killed Dinosaur Giant? - I want to do a follow-up to this game, even if the response to this one wasn't what I expected.

5 - Do You Want to be a Hero? - A game that manages to actually make me want to fight battles with random thugs has achieved something few RPGs do. The art and dialogue rules too.

6 - Motrya - The best traditional RPG of the year.

7 - Batman & Robin - There are little things about this game (THAT SAFE PUZZLE) that need to be cleaned up, but it's a very complete package that does what it sets out to do well.

8 - Barnabus Collection - There's nothing else like this. I'd rank it higher, but it's not going to age as well as some of these games, because half the fun was being there when it all went down.

9 - Vocabmosaic - This is probably the most overlooked of James' games this year, but I think it's the most well done and fun.

10 - Mr. The Hamster's Math Class - This isn't a game for us. Its target audience is much younger, so while I didn't have "fun" playing it, I greatly appreciated what it set out to do. It's a very, very nicely made
tool for helping kids practice their math skills, and it has adorable graphics. You don't have to be its intended audience to appreciate the value of this one.

Graphics

1 - Puckamon - I didn't care for the humor and I thought the gameplay needed some major tweaking, but I love this game's style.

2 - Viridia - A very unique style that's pulled of very well. I want to see more of this world.

3 - Duck - They're not pretty, but they're perfect in a way that nothing else would be for this game.

4 - Motrya - It feels kind of weird ranking Motrya below Duck, because its sprites are incredibly well drawn. I guess I prefer the bizarre.

5 - Batman & Robin - An impressive cartoony look. I liked chubby Batman, and I really liked the enemy art. Some of the portrait art may be really scary (Ivy's eyes, Bruce Wayne's face), but most of the art here is really fun.

Design

1 - Boulderbeast - Even if it's not a game, it's the first OHR program I've downloaded where I didn't even have the slightest idea how it was pulled off.

2 - Barnabus Collection - The amount of variety in the games is pretty remarkable, and the way it was pulled off will probably never be able to be reproduced.

3 - Motrya - Lyte Snap is the best minigame I've seen in an OHR game, looking forward to seeing more of it.

4 - Do You Want to be a Hero? - Everything in this game works just the way I want it to work. Not perfectly balanced, but the execution is fantastic.

5 - Horse Game - I thought the red door puzzle was clever.

Writing

1 - Horse Game - I had too much fun writing/recording the taunts to not list this here.

2 - Who Killed Dinosaur Giant - I liked the ending.

3 - Duck - I wish there had been a way to skip scenes you'd already seen when replaying it, but that's not a slight against this game's writing. Darkly funny and charming.

4 - Barnabus Collection - These games cover a huge swath of genres, styles, and tones, and somehow they're all still coherent. Impressive and slightly scary.

5 - Motrya - I felt some of the dialogue distracted from the action, but the world and its people are so very well fleshed out.

Ridiculous

1 - Yo Ghost Reborn - An attempt to take the comedy Yo Ghost fad and use its momentum to remake the original game made me assume this was going to be a funny game, or at least one that tried to be funny. Instead, it's played totally straight, and manages to be less fun than the original Yo Ghost. I don't know how or why this game happened, but its very existence boggles my mind. The "What the hell was that?" feeling I had when I was done was even greater than my number 2 choice.

2 - Barnabus Collection - This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something insane, and Barnabus pulled it off perfectly. I'm ranking it below Yo Ghost Reborn because it's a more calculated form of madness.

3 - Duck - I was not expecting this at all and I loved every minute of it.

4 - Horse Game - It's a game with a horse in it.

5 - Who Killed Dinosaur Giant? - Burgers grow on trees, rivers flow with shakes, and Dinosaur Giant has great sunglasses.

Most Anticipated

1 - Motrya Complete - When this is actually complete it will almost definitely be the best traditional RPG of the year.

2 - More Apophenia - Tons of potential in the disappointingly short demo, very much looking forward to where this goes.

3 - Mr. Triangle's Maze Complete - This game is SO CLOSE TO DONE. It needs a push for a final release, it's the best Mr. Triangle related game and it's one of the better puzzle games on the engine.

4 - Legendary Heroes Complete - I have plenty of little issues with the demo, but this game has a lot of potential and I want to see Spoonweaver actually finish this.

5 - Batman & Robin 2 - The first game is satisfying but flawed, but most of those flaws could be easily remedied in the sequel.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

Best Game of 2010:
1) Bell of Chaos (James Paige) - It feels just like a classic NES game, something about it floods me with nostalgic happiness. Also, in hindsight, I should have made some retreaux NES box art for it, but it slipped my mind at the time. Maybe next month?
2) Batman & Robin (RedMaverickZero) - I AM BATMAN
3) Who Killed Dinosaur Giant? (Surlaw) - Stylish OHR storytelling at its best.
4) Do You Want to be a Hero? (Mogri) - Who'd have thought taking orders from Dr. Manhattan could be so fun?
5) Heart of the OHR Tribute Barnabus Collection

Best Graphics 2010:
1) Bell of Chaos (James Paige) - I could play this in-between rounds of Super Mario Bros., Rygar, Karnov, and Duck Tales and it'd feel completely natural.
2) Okedoke (Fnnrfygmschnish) - Mother-like cartooniness, I can appreciate.
3) Viridia Chapter 2 (Baconlabs) - I'll forever cite this as evidence to how effective portrait graphics can be in storytelling.
4) Batman & Robin (RedMaverickZero) - I AM BATMAN
5) Mr. The Hamster's Math Class (James Paige) - Aside from its simple charm, there's the fact that the entire community helped draw the graphics! This kind of communal cooperation is something to be admired.

Best Design 2010:
1) Bell of Chaos (James Paige) - An amazingly polished platformer on an RPG engine. The Bell's mechanics alone boggle my mind.
2) Heart of the OHR Tribute Barnabus Collection
3) Do You Want to be a Hero? (Mogri) - The things that separate this from the average RPG game are the exact things that make it so wonderful. Except maybe the time limit.
4) Mr. The Hamster's Math Class (James Paige) - The best edutainment game I can think of. WARNING: May give children a warped idea of what hamsters are actually like.
5) Horse Game (Surlaw) - The greatest challenge in the world is beautifully demonstrated in this game: Don't get distracted by the muscle-men!

Best Writing 2010:
1) Who Killed Dinosaur Giant? (Surlaw) - An absurd story that manages to take itself pretty seriously, it kept me on edge with its ever-growing intrigue.
2) Viridia Chapter 2 (Baconlabs) - This world is ripe with good stories, and I'm proud to be a bridge between them and you.
3) Horse Game (Surlaw) - Persistent taunts delivered by some kind of fleshy spear counterpart to GLaDOS.
?) Seinfeld Teaches Typing (James Paige) Contrary to popular belief, James Paige was not an original writer for Seinfeld

Most Ridiculous:
1) Horse Game (Surlaw) - You are now aware of how to spell "walrus" backwards.
2) Seinfeld Teaches Typing (James Paige) - I will never stop telling people about this absurd thing. It's like a badge of humor-honor to have played it.
3) Heart of the OHR Tribute Barnabus Collection
4) Star Wars - Episode IV: An OHR Hope (Spoonweaver) - The most surprising role reversal I've ever seen.
5) Nightmare on Elmo Street (J_Taylor) - It's also fun to get a "holy crap this actually exists?" reaction from this game, much like Seinfeld Teaches Typing, but... I wouldn't recommend actually playing this.
(the mute button is your friend)

Most Anticipated 2011:
!) Tightfloss Maiden (Pepsi Ranger) - I am still REELING with all the mysteries you dropped in the demo game. I need to solve them! I must learn mooooore about this world!
@) Detelamane (Twinconclusive) - Wishful thinking on my part. We probably won't get a demo, but that may be for the best, this game is building on a LOT of stuff that sounds like it'll be incredible to experience all at once.
#) Phantom Tactics Chapter 2 (Mogri) - I'm a sucker for strategic games; the similarities this bears to old Fire Emblem games makes it all the more endearing to me.
$) Skyfall (Mystic) - Something about the character designs has me very interested in their development. I also want to uncover the mysteries behind the Giant Cabbage in the cave.
%) Apophenia Demo (guo) - That Gumshoe is a real dick, and his is a mystery well worth solving!
^) Village People: The Video Game (Surlaw) - I always wanted to play as a macho man.
&) Wandering Hamster (James Paige) - Just how long are you going to leave that poor hamster underwater, James?!
*) Batman & Robin 2 (RedMaverickZero) - YOU ARE BATMAN
?) Mr. Triangle's Maze (RedMaverickZero) - I'm seein' Red! All revved up, and ready to gooo~!
~) Viridia Chapter 3 (Baconlabs) - There is no reason why I shouldn't complete this in 2011. Those of you who prefer gameplay over storytelling, keep an eye open for this chapter!
+) Seinfeld Teaches Typing 2 (James Paige?) - Now with audio clips from the show!

ALSO:
Why is there no music award?
(My thoughts on this subject will be moved to a new thread momentarily)

Pretty sure this one was from... sometime early in 2011 (maybe January?), which would make it not quite eligible for the game-of-the-year-2010 thing.

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FYS:AHS -- Swapping out some step-on NPCs for zones + each step script
Puckamon -- Not until the reserve party is expanded.[/size]

It's so close to the beginning of the year (January 3rd), and it so heavily pertains to a contest from 2010, I think we should let it slide. I guess Surlaw will be the ultimate judge of that technicality.

It's already GOTY 2011, it doesn't need to be GOTY 2010 as well.

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<TheGiz> oh hai doggy, oh no that's the straw that broke tjhe came baclsb

It's been discussed before but it comes down to the problem that 99.9% of OHR games just use ripped music. This year was definitely better than most for the number of games with original music, but if we did a best five it would still basically amount to only five choices to begin with.

I'd rather Tribute count towards 2011 instead, but you could change your votes to Barnabus's other collection of insanity and it would work just as well.

Also thanks for voting, look at this guy! Be more like this guy, people.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

Done.