OHR Game of the Year 2011 Discussion and Voting

Banner art by Harlock

WHAT
Democracy in action. This may be the most important vote you cast in 2012. It's time to decide which games a tiny minority of readers think are the best of the previous year.

WHEN
Voting begins now and goes until March 25, 2012, giving everyone plenty of time to catch up on games they missed. The results will appear in the April issue of HamsterSpeak.

GAMES?
"I haven't played any of these games yet!" Well, you've got a couple of months to play some. How do you know which ones are worth playing? That's up to discussion threads on the forums. Even if you're not ready to officially vote yet, discuss and nominate your favorite games of the year. Let people know what's worth checking out.

HOW
Votes can be submitted either by PM, e-mail or by responding to the GOTY2011 discussion threads. I think that posting in the thread is good, as it will help remind people of what was fun this year, and maybe inspire people to try a few new games.

Vote for your favorite five to ten games in the Game of the Year category. Vote for your favorite two to five in the sub-categories. Your first through third place picks in the main category will receive bonus points, first getting three extra, second getting two, and third getting one extra point in the overall standings. In the sub-category votes, only your top pick will receive bonus points.

You CAN vote for your own games, but those games will not receive bonus points. For each of your own games you vote for, you MUST vote for a game by someone else. Bonus points will be given to the highest ranked games in your vote that weren't made by you. When voting, specify if you worked on the game in question. Use full titles when voting. Don't have tied votes in your submission. Votes can be changed up until the deadline if you play some new games and change your mind, but make sure you notify us if you do so.

WHAT ARE THEY

These are the games released/updated in 2011. Games that were part of a certain not safe for work contest are not eligible since there would obviously be no competition if they were. Insert Airship 2600 jokes here, laugh at jokes, list games.

Armored Devil
Arms Race
Black Heart of Exile
Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
Cardians of Lore
Castle on the Night Land
Don't Push the Button 2011
Doodle Quest
Doom RPG
Dungeon Quest
Escape from Strong Castle
Escape the Wolf OHR
Escape the Zombie Horde
Final Dragon Legacy
First Fantasy
Forest Temple
Forsaken
Grayscale
Grey Star Lives
Harbinger 6EQUJ5
Heart of the OHR Tribute
Kim und Jose
Labyrinth (Master K)
Labyrinth (RM Sephy)
Monster out of Six
Mostly Involving Robots
Nordomin: Quest of Creole
Princess Flesh Cartoon RPG
Quest Game
Ruin (25% Demo)
Spectrum
Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
Star Quest
The Hall
The Tower
There is Nothing Left
Virtual School 2
Weegee

These are the OHR movies released/updated in 2011. They are not eligible for Game of the Year points since they're not games, but they may be voted on in any of the supporting categories.

Deforestation
Deforestation 2
Deforestation 3
Fat Frog the Movie
Habla no Ingles: The Movie
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Metal Gear Duck
Monster Lot
The HangovOHR
Triangle

These are the categories:

Best Game of 2011: The overall best games. Vote for five to ten games.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Let's do this. Start discussing some highlights of 2011 and we can get moving. When voting, feel free to comment on the games you chose. Your comments may be used in the results article! Voting and discussion threads can be found on Slime Salad and Castle Paradox.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

Best Game of 2011:
1. Castle on the Night Land - One of the great true adventure games ever made on this engine.
2. Grey Star Lives - Terrifying!
3. Black Heart of Exile - There's a lot of thinking that goes into playing this RPG, it's a fun time for gamers. Extremely hard.
4. There is nothing Left - Madness!
5. Escape the Wolf OHR - Fun little game.
6. Heart of the OHR Tribute - No comment.
7. Nordomin: Quest of Creole - Does a lot of things well. With a bit more work who knows?
7. Ruin (25% Demo) - This isn't quite the Omega yet of course, but it was good so far.
8. Final Dragon Legacy - There were parts of this I enjoyed very much, although overall it suffers from a few bad decisions.
9. Star Quest - Although broken, It's was very interesting. One of the most unique ohr games.
10. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - putting my own game at 10 since I don't get bonus points anyway.

Best Graphics:
1. Castle on the Night Land - Very stylish.
2. Monster Lot - Strong character design, good clarity. About what I'd expect from those two authors.
3. Nordomin: Quest of Creole - The design is excellent and graphics were very vibrant.
4. Star Quest - Stylish!
5. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - I draw pretty good!

Best Design:
1. Castle on the Night Land - Dungeon design.
2. Black Heart of Exile - The design is even better than Night Land although the rigid structure shows more.
3. Escape the Wolf OHR - I'm always impressed by these world randomization scripts.
4. Fat Frog the Movie - Animation quality was at time mind-blowing.
5. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - Also dungeon design!

Best Writing:
1. Grey Star Lives. - DESTROY
2. Triangle - I have to give it credit, the direction style is incredible.
3. Heart of the OHR Tribute - Funniest game of the year by in far.
4. Habla no Ingles: The Movie - Second funniest.
5. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - I mostly didn't write this aside for the conceptual and summary stages. Harlock is a great writer.

Most Ridiculous:
1. Star Quest - Go ahead, proceed through this game, use debug if you have to; and tell me this was not the most ridiculous and strange thing made all year.
2. Princess Flesh Cartoon RPG - Not as ridiculous as it sounds however; YOU MOVE IN TO ATTACK ENEMY!
3. Heart of the OHR Tribute - Decidedly ridiculous.
4. Habla no Ingles: The Movie - Definitely ridiculous.
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Qualifies.


Most Anticipated 2012:
Abstain.. I am just looking forward to anything and everything! Make your games guys, and know at least I'll play it once rain or shine!

I played pretty much every game that came out this year at least for a few minutes. However, I didn't watch any of the movies, so you'll notice my list does not include any of them. I apologize to the movies' creators whom I am sure worked very hard.

Best Game:
1) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - It's more satisfying than most of the classic games it emulates. That's high praise.
2) Final Dragon Legacy - It seeps love, care, and classic sensibility.
3) Star Quest - It's flawed but highly original and enjoyably puzzling. It inspired me to make Castle on the Night Land.
4) Doom RPG - The creator's insane enthusiasm is infectious. This game more than any other is a labor of crazy love.
5) Nordomin: Quest of Creole - A most promising demo. Sadly, I suspect it's abandoned.

Best Graphics:
1) Armored Devil - Unique color scheme and highly imaginative designs.
2) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - Old School graphics perfected. I love the creatures.
3) Star Quest - Psychedelic!.
4) First Fantasy - The style is believable and deceptively simple.

Best Design:
1) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - Engrossing party building, devious puzzles, and thought provoking combat. I wouldn't change much.
2) Star Quest - The sprawling maps are interesting to explore. It uses NPCs in novel ways.
3) Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts - It has finely tuned "game book" play. The choices feel relevant and the consequences are always logical.
4) Final Dragon Legacy - The nuanced combat and creative puzzles make for excellent balance and challenge.

Best Writing:
1) Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts - The elegant prose prose works as well as graphics.
2) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth - What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in energy. The plot and dialogue mix humor and high adventure well.

Most Ridiculous:
1) Star Quest - Absurd and ambiguous. There is nothing quite like it.
2) Kim und Jose - Two kids and seal travel a magical world. Kick soccer balls to beat your foes. Its surreal, enchanting, and refreshingly innocent.

Star Quest is one of the most bizarre things released here and I'm glad to see it has a few fans.

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

Best Game of 2011:
1. Spellshard: Black Crown Of Horogoth, by Shizuma and Harlock Hero.
2. Ruin (25% Demo), by Meatballsub.
3. Grey Star Lives, by Willy Elektrix.
4. Castle On The Night Land, by Willy Elektrix.
5. Doom RPG, by thespazztikone.

Best Graphics:
1. Ruin (25% Demo), by Meatballsub.
2. Forest Temple, by Blue Train and TMC.
3. First Fantasy, by G-Wreck.
4. Spellshard: Black Crown Of Horogoth, by Shizuma and Harlock Hero.
5. Cardians Of Lore, by Master K (Yes, I voted for one of my own games.)

Best Design:
1. Escape The Wolf: OHR, by James Paige.
2. Castle On The Night Land, by Willy Elektrix.
3. Monster Out Of Six, by Pepsi Ranger.
4. Spellshard: Black Crown Of Horogoth, by Shizuma and Harlock Hero.
5. Forest Temple, by Blue Train and TMC.

Best Writing:
1. Grey Star Lives, by Willy Elektrix.
2. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts, by Surlaw.
3. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horogoth, by Shizuma and Harlock Hero.

Most Ridiculous:
1. Weegee, by Nathan Karr.
2. Kim Und Jose, by Marionline.

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.

Best Game of 2011: The overall best games. Vote for five to ten games.
12. Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
A worthy text adventure that will be as good as it's going to get once it has a few groovy tunes

11. Virtual School 2
Giz's most mainstream-friendly game, which some might say can only be a good thing

10. There is Nothing Left
A disturbing experience that must be seen to be appreciated

9. Triangle
Basically a literal character assassination, but scores high for its art direction

8. Nordomin: Quest of Creole
The beginning of what I can only hope will be a versatile, entertaining full RPG

7. Ruin
Even with its faults, Meatballsub's opus is one of the best fully playable RPGs on the engine

6. Castle on the Night Land
A stylish adventure game with a mesmerizing quality

5. Labyrinth (RMSephy)
An innovative approach to the OHR battle system puts this dungeon RPG above others released in 2011

4. Heart of the OHR Tribute
Barnabus makes everyone smile and remember a contest fondly, somehow making this an entertaining game at the same time

3. Final Dragon Legacy
A wonderful nod to Dragon Quest that shows mastery of the engine by a new user

2. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth by Harlock and Shizuma
A sprawling epic packed with content and an undeniable attention to the details, not to be missed by any old-school RPG lover

1. Transylvania Girls
Turns the dating sim genre on its head, taking it somewhere it normally wouldn't go while maintaining a ton of character and humor

Best Graphics: Best style, best pixelation, etc. Whatever made your eyes weep with joy. Vote for two to five games.
1. Castle on the Night Land
2. There is Nothing Left
3. Triangle
4. Spellshard
5. Final Dragon Legacy

Best Design: This can be Plotscripting, map design, battle systems, or any other technical game aspects. Vote for two to five games.
1. Final Dragon Legacy
2. Labyrinth
3. Spellshard
4. Castle on the Night Land
5. Ruin

Best Writing: Story, dialogue, world creation. Vote for two to five games.
1. Heart of the OHR Tribute
2. Virtual School 2
3. Bufanda
4. Castle on the Night Land
5. Final Dragon Legacy

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. Princess Flesh Cartoon RPG
2. Doodle Quest
3. Harbinger 6EQUJ5
4. Star Quest
5. Deforestation 3
6. Habla no Ingles: the Movie

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My website, the home of Motrya:
http://www.jshgaming.com

BEST GAME OF 2011

1.Spellshard ~ was once one of my favorite games before it was updated, and my inspiration to create a retro-style game.

2.Castle on the Night Land ~ a very cool adventure game with a very unique art style.

3.Nordomin: Quest of Creole ~ i do love me some down-home southern cooking, but this game is also pretty good. i suspect this project was abandoned, and that makes me sad.

4.Ruin ~ a cool SNES style RPG with more meat to it than most other games. it even has a quest journal!

5.Grey Star Lives ~ i have no idea what just happened, but it was awesome. it's one hell of an adventure. the sound is pretty grating on the ol' nerves, though.

6.Bufanda ~ another cool adventure/story style game, this time from surlaw. i chuckled at the walthros references.

7.Black Heart of Exile ~ cool graphics, cool idea. it's also a bit too difficult and grind-heavy for my taste, but others may appreciate the challenge.

8.Escape the Wolf: OHR ~ protip: if you're apt to run through a forest with hungry wolves, don't wear red.

9.The Tower ~ maybe voltire got lost on one of the (few) floors in this tower, because i haven't seen him around much since then. it was the winner of the fan-game contest (which flopped HARD with only two entries), and could be very fun if more work was put into it.

10.Doom RPG ~ attempts to do very much, delivers on very little. with a lot of work, it might end up being very fun. (i'm currently working on this game with spazztik, and hopefully it will turn into something more than a spacebar masher)

Honorable Mention: Armored Devil ~ a very cool premise, very cool graphics, though there's not enough to the game to merit thus far.

BEST GRAPHICS

1.Spellshard ~ does the retro style pixellation of the NES era very well.
2.Nordomin: Quest of Creole ~ on par with an SNES RPG.
3.Ruin ~ characters with character. just look at that hair!
4.There is Nothing Left ~ eerie and surreal. delve into the mind of the emotionally disturbed.
5.Castle on the Night Land/Black Heart of Exile ~ both of these games use extremely simple graphics, and yet at the same time, render an appropriate atmosphere.

BEST DESIGN

1.Ruin ~ mining, quest journal, and BLUE MAGIC.
2.Nordomin: Quest of Creole ~ lots of character choices, and a unique take on the OHR's default battle system.
3.Spellshard ~ everything you loved about NES RPGs, and a nifty intro to boot.
4.Escape the Wolf: OHR ~ cool premise solidified by the randomly generated forest. also, james does all the sound effects and music himself.
5.Castle on the Night Land ~ small, yet well structured maps. plenty of places to explore, and it even has secrets!

BEST WRITING

1.Grey Star Lives ~ like one of those old "choose your own adventure" books, but on the OHR. trippy backgrounds add to the suspense. what do all those words mean...?
2.Bufanda ~ like GSL, this is a text-based adventure where you control the outcome.
3.Castle on the Night Land ~ text box descriptions paint a clear picture of an eerie old castle, rife with danger and mystery.
4.Spellshard ~ a world without technology? eff that! where's my kindle...
5.There is Nothing Left ~ probably the only game this year with something truly important to say.

MOST RIDICULOUS

1.Weegee ~ it didn't win the fan-game contest, but here's a category it can take home. you'll understand if you play it.
2.Heart of the OHR Tribute ~ hilarious satire of all the games that entered the "Heart of the OHR Contest".
3.Princess Flesh Cartoon RPG ~ i don't even know where to begin with this one.
4.Kim und Jose ~ i don't speak german, but this game seems mostly silly.
5.Harbinger 6EQUJ5 ~ i'd like to like this game. the problem is that i can't stand the noise long enough to make it through.

and last, but not least (although almost forgotten)
MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2012

whatever the heck shakeyair had planned here: http://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4041&highlight=
i hope this project didn't get abandoned! it was looking pretty good.

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Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy... So here's some lunchmeat... Sandwich, maybe?

Best Game of 2011:
1. Spellshard
2. Transylvania Girls
3. Triangle
4. Raep Dungeon
5. Habla no Ingles: The Movie
6. Deforestation 3
7. No Eat
2. Nordomin: Quest of Creole
3. The Tower
4. Grey Star Lives
5. Ruin (25% Demo)
6. Castle on the Night Land
7. Escape the Wolf OHR
8. Labyrinth (RM Sephy)
9. Heart of the OHR Tribute
10. The Black Heart of Exile

Best Graphics:
1. Spellshard
2. Raep Dungeon
2. Nordomin: Quest of Creole
3. Labyrinth (RM Sephy)
4. Ruin (25% Demo)
5. Deforestation 3

Best Design:
1. Spellshard
2. Ruin (25% Demo)
3. Triangle
4. Grey Star Lives
5. The Tower


Best Writing:
1. Spellshard
2. Triangle
3. Transylvania Girls
3. Habla no Ingles: The Movie
4. Grey Star Lives
5. Raep Dungeon
5. Star Quest

Most Ridiculous:
1. First Fantasy
2. Cardians of Lore
3. Escape from Strong Castle
4. Princess Flesh Cartoon RPG
5. Monster Lot

Most Anticipated 2012:
1. Motrya
2. Eternity
3. Nordomin: Quest of Creole
4. Ruin

[edit, forgot movies are ok after best of]

Unfortunately I didn't play very many games last year. I am going to go with the little that I have regardless.

Best Game of 2011:
1. Spellshard
2. First Fantasy
3. Doom RPG
4. Armored Devil

Best Graphics:
1. Spellshard
2. Armored Devil
3. First Fantasy

Best Design:
1. Spellshard
2. First Fantasy
3. Armored Devil

Best Writing:
1. First Fantasy
2. Spellshard
3. Armored Devil

Most Anticipated 2012:
1. First Fantasy
2. Armored Devil
3. Doom RPG

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Cornbread Chemist

ALRIGHT!

Finally got around to playing enough of these to justify my votes counting, so here goes:

Best Game of 2011:
1. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth (make the games you want to play, guys!)
2. Castle on the Night Land (just a good solid atmospheric adventure that does so much with so little; I loved this one, and forced like 20 people I know outside OHR to play it)
3. Black Heart of Exile (now we're talkin'; it takes everything good from Castle on the Night Land and expands upon it in a way that makes it deeper, without tacking anything on that is purely superficial).
4. Star Quest (a game after my own heart, truly)
5. Grey Star Lives (similarly zany stuff)
6. Armored Devil (a nice level of polish that is kind of inspiring)
7. Harbinger 6EQUJ5 (Willy just dominated this year)
8. The Tower (extremely promising work here)
9. Final Dragon Legacy (the same)
10. There is Nothing Left (truly, there isn't)

Best Graphics:
1. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth (for me, Shizuma is the best visual artist I know, and it was stupidfly to be able to work with him for so long and see all these HUNDREDS of designs manifest and grow and change)
2. Castle on the Night Land (I'm actually in awe of how much clarity and variety there is here with just 2 colors; there's a lot to learn from this game. It's like the no-frills Kung Fu master who shows up and schools the flashy upstart by concentrating the force of 10,000 flashy punches into a single no-nonsense death strike.)
3. Black Heart of Exile (everything I said about Castle applies here too, but a little less so for me. I dig the "rendered" backgrounds, though; surprised they work as well as they do).
4. Star Quest (this one set the controls for the heart of the sun)
5. Armored Devil (just very nice in all respects)

Best Design:
1. Castle on the Night Land (superb!)
2. Black Heart of Exile (ditto!)
3. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth (in the future, I want all my dungeons to be as good as Castle on the Night Land)

Best Writing:
1. Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth (I had to read these thousands of textboxes over at least 8 times, and each time they made me smile and laugh, so there you go)
2. Grey Star Lives (the most literary of the Elektrix entries, so it has to be represented here)
3. Black Heart of Exile (just really love the way the story was handled)
4. Harbinger 6EQUJ5 (good lord, these are some Willy-heavy votes, but I can't help it - the presentation here was really appealing to me).

Most Ridiculous:
1. Harbinger 6EQUJ5 (almost goes without saying, but you crazy, Willy (in a totally endearing and awesome way))
2. Star Quest (goes out there in some interesting ways)
3. Weegee (I'm a fan of this guy, I gotta say, and I think one day he's gonna stun everyone with what he drops)

I do wanna say I think this was a pretty standout year for the OHR, actually! It's been a while since there were so many exciting entries.

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SPELLSHARD: THE BLACK CROWN OF HORGOTH now COMPLETE! Grab it today!

Best Game of 2011:
1)Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2)Ruin (25% Demo)
3)Final Dragon Legacy
4)Escape the Wolf OHR
5)Castle on the Night Land
6)Angel Whispers
7)First Fantasy
8)Armored Devil
9)Labyrinth (by RM Sephy)
10)There is Nothing Left

Best Graphics:
1)First Fantasy
2)Armored Devil
3)Nordomin: Quest of Creole

Best Design:
1)Castle on the Night Land
2)Escape the Wolf OHR
3)There is Nothing Left

Best Writing:
1)Grey Star Lives
2)Bufanda: A Tale of Three Ghosts
3)Fat Frog the Movie

Most Ridiculous:
1)Kim und Jose
2)NO EAT
3)Heart of the OHR Tribute

I really feel like I should have played Armored Devil but I've kind of run out of time. I haven't finished Spellshard yet and I don't think it's perfect but it's without a doubt the most thorough, polished game released this year and its graphics and writing shine.

Best Game:
1 - Spellshard
2 - Ruin
3 - Castle on the Night Land
4 - Star Quest
5 - Heart of the OHR Tribute
6 - First Fantasy
7 - Escape the Wolf OHR
8 - Virtual School 2
9 - There is Nothing Left
10 - Bufanda

Best Graphics:
1 - Spellshard
2 - Ruin
3 - First Fantasy
4 - Castle on the Night Land
5 - Star Quest

Best Design:
1 - Spellshard
2 - Escape the Wolf OHR
3 - Bufanda
4 - Castle on the Night Land
5 - First Fantasy

Best Writing:
1 - Heart of the OHR Tribute
2 - Spellshard
3 - Bufanda
4 - Virtual School 2
5 - Star Quest

Most Ridiculous:
1 - Star Quest
2 - There is Nothing Left
3 - Kim und Jose
4 - Heart of the OHR Tribute
5 - Princess Flesh Cartoon RPG

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Super Walrus Land: Mouth Words Edition

I was really hoping to play more of these games. I blame basketball. These are my favorites of what I played.

Best Game:
1) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2) Castle On The Night Land
3) Arms Race
4) Final Dragon Legacy
5) First Fantasy
6) Escape the Wolf OHR
7) Heart of the OHR Tribute
8) Nordromin: Quest For Creole
9) There is Nothing Left
10) Armored Devil

Best Graphics:
1) Fat Frog: The Movie
2) First Fantasy
3) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth

Best Design:
1) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2) Escape the Wolf: OHR
3) Arms Race

Best Writing:
1) Spellshard: The Black Crown of Horgoth
2) Triangle
3) Heart Of The OHR Tribute

Most Ridiculous:
1) Princess Flesh Cartoon RPG
2) Heart of the OHR Tribute
3) Metal Gear Duck

Most Anticipated 2012:
1) Mo' Motrya
2) Something great from a contest
3) Dragon Bustier 2, or some kind of Shizuma solo project

How my 2011 Anticipateds worked out:
1) "More Motrya" - Still hopin'!
2) "Whatever Lord Shizuma decides to make" - ..I guess Spellshard counts. Being more specific this time.
3) "Newbie Power Solo Project" - That one didn't work out either.

http://www.facebook.com/motryarpg

I knew about that, but it doesn't mean a man can't hope.