TERRIBLE GAMES CONTEST - 2009 - WHAT IS LOVE - VOTING

[Fenrir-Lunaris]

The time has come to vote for the winners or the Terrible Games Contest. You know how this works, but in case you've forgotten, here's a brief run-down.

I will not be judging what constitutes a "terrible game". Therefore, I am continuing last year's practice of allowing people to vote for which games were the "best/worst/whatever". It is your obligation to vote on the entries, in however manner you choose. As in all previous contests, the cream of the crop always rises to the top.

VOTING AND SCORING

Voting will begin from May 1st to May 14th, effectively giving two weeks to play each game and vote whose games were the best/worst/whatever. This is also to collect data for Hamsterspeak Magazine, whose subsequent June issue will reveal the contest winner.

Anyone may vote on the games, and may rate each one on a scale of 1 (awful) to 5 (best). You may have games that have identical scores, if you so choose. What constitutes a bad or good "terrible" game is your decision, as is the nature of the contest. Based on the theme of this contest, you must take into account whether the game's creator successfully met the contest's theme, "Love" and/or "SCIENCE!!". I will not be checking to see whether your score is an accurate reflection of that, or upon what other criteria you have for voting the way you've chosen. As always, comments on each submission are welcome and ultimately helpful to the contestants. Your score sheet should look something like this:

Scorecard:
Put on socks - 2
Put on pants - 3
Surlaw and Order - 4
Cross the street - 5
Barely Legal Seals - 1
Wandering Turnip - 2

If you fail to vote on any one game, I will assume you DID NOT play it, and accordingly give it an automatic score of 3. Consequently, it is in your own interests to play each game, even if only for a little bit, so you can judge it yourself.

People who are NOT regular OHRRPGCE game creators are free to join AND vote. The only requirement for an "outsider" to vote is that they MUST register an account on any of these websites (Castle Paradox, Slime Salad, Surlaw Forums).

You may only vote ONCE. Yes, you can vote for your own game. Voting shall begin May 1st and will end on the 14th, to allow people enough time to play the games and vote on them.

After the votes have been tallied and the points added up, any deductions incurred on the contestants' behalf will be subtracted from their score. At this point, a maximum number of deducted points can be 5, but with each passing day that penalty will increase. Remember you CAN slip in a late entry, however it not only suffers from a lack of representation on the front page, but also diminishing points each day. The game with the MOST points on the 14th of May wins, and its creator gets a -PRIZE-!!

PRIZES!!

The 1st Place Winner will receive $25 USD (by check) sent by mail to your home address, OR 2500 Slimebucks. I said the prize was not insignificant, did I not? 2500 can turn a low level newbie into an instant mid-high tier brawler in the slime fights, so consider the ramifications of having access to so many slimebucks.

Second place will receive 1500 Slimebucks as a consolation prize.

Third place receives 1000 Slimebucks.

All contest entries will immediately receive Slimebucks as a gratuity for entering the contest, assuming they are registered on Slime Salad. Therefore, no further placement is awarded.

THE GAMES:

The game list is as follows:


<3 by Twinconclusive

A shot in the Dark by Uncommon

Babies vs Robots by Spoonweaver

Bob the Hamster in the Crypt of Baconthulhu by James Paige

Moron Mission by Rurouni Catholic

Techno Ship Funkatron by Spoonweaver

The Pope's War on Science by 8bit Pontiff

Timestream Saga - Arcadia Incident Report by Fenrir-Lunaris

Village People: The Videogame by Surlaw




Please note that [<3] will receive a -5 penalty for being released early.




And to the entering contestants, whose reputations will no doubt be ruined by these games, good luck, and godspeed.

[Twinconclusive]

Grades:

• A shot in the Dark + 3
  • It was neat, but too short :(
  Babies vs Robots + 2
  • D:>
  Bob the Hamster in the Crypt of Baconthulhu + 5
  • All sorts of wonderful. Loved the intro! And the rest of the game, I guess.
  Moron Mission + 1
  • T_T
  Techno Ship Funkatron + 2
  • The sync was....good?
  The Pope's War on Science + 3
  • Wonderful song, can't say as much for the rest.
  Timestream Saga - Arcadia Incident Report + 3
  • Pretty to look at, but I couldn't progress much farther from the town.
  Village People: The Videogame + 5
  • Yes Yes Yes

Overall, I'm very impressed with the turnout of this contest ;)

[Fenrir-Lunaris]

Timestream Saga - Arcadia Incident Report + 3

• Pretty to look at, but I couldn't progress much farther from the town.

Go east. Through the cactus in desert area 5.

[Spoonweaver]

<3 by Twinconclusive --- 3
would have been nice to win

A shot in the Dark by Uncommon --- 2
just didn't really even seem like a game


Babies vs Robots by Spoonweaver --- 5
because it's mine

Bob the Hamster in the Crypt of Baconthulhu by James Paige --- 5
because this game is awesome

Moron Mission by Rurouni Catholic --- 1
boooooo.....

Techno Ship Funkatron by Spoonweaver --- 5
because it's mine

The Pope's War on Science by 8bit Pontiff --- 3
the rock song was the game's saving grace

Timestream Saga - Arcadia Incident Report by Fenrir-Lunaris --- 2
since this was a remake, and doesn't seem to fit in the contest

Village People: The Videogame by Surlaw --- 4
why does everyone love the village people so much?


Too Terrible! by Gizmog1 --- 0
-1 for lateness, -4 for suck

[Bob the Hamster]

I have started posting my Video First Impressions. I will be doing one of these for each game as I get the chance. (except for [<3] which I first played over a month ago)

I will withhold my numeric ratings until I have found time to play everything to completion.

Also, thanks for all the kind words about Baconthulhu!

[Twinconclusive]

Too Terrible! by Gizmog1 --- 0
-1 for lateness, -4 for suck

• ...a game so bad that it wasn't even entered into the Terrible Games Contest for fear of ridicule or reprisal

(except for [<3] which I first played over a month ago)

You could pretend you didn't

[8bifit]

I will be doing one of these for each game as I get the chance.

I can't wait for this.

EDIT:

All contest entries will immediately receive Slimebucks as a gratuity for entering the contest, assuming they are registered on Slime Salad. Therefore, no further placement is awarded.

I don't know for sure, but I don't think I got any kind of bonus slimebucks.

[Fenrir-Lunaris]

I don't know for sure, but I don't think I got any kind of bonus slimebucks.

You get slimebucks and even stat bonuses just for posting a game. The exception being myself, who didn't get any at all.

[Spoonweaver]

Too Terrible! by Gizmog1 --- 0
-1 for lateness, -4 for suck

• ...a game so bad that it wasn't even entered into the Terrible Games Contest for fear of ridicule or reprisal

I know..... I felt I had to. lol

[8bifit]

Well. I just thought we got something SPECIAL for entering a SPECIAL contest. Other than the sense of accomplishment, that is.

[Pepsi Ranger]

Just finished playing them.

<3 by Twinconclusive

Very strange, but somewhat atmospheric. Not sure how to rate it, but I can definitely say there isn't anything like it. Interesting. 3/5

A Shot in the Dark by Uncommon

I had fun with this one. Not much in the way of gameplay, but I like how a flip of a coin can change the story. 4/5

Babies vs Robots by Spoonweaver

I'm confident now that Spoonweaver can pull off a Lemmings clone next. Here's to hoping he'll try. For now, there wasn't much to this game. Bonus point goes to trying something unique. 2/5

Bob the Hamster in the Crypt of Baconthulhu by James Paige

Definitely feels like an advanced Pac-Man. It's like a battle against arteriosclerosis. Wasn't quite sure what the point was, though. Nice soundtrack. Did the map actually grow? Hard to tell with all the "fog of war." 4/5

Moron Mission by Rurouni Catholic

I think this game ruined Vikings of Midgard for me. Thanks, RC. "Terrible" is an understatement. I think there's more merit in drinking gasoline than trying to figure this thing out. 1/5

Techno Ship Funkatron by Spoonweaver

One of the stupidest games released for the contest, and yet, one of the catchiest, I thought. The joke was lame, but the song was amusing. I even tried to beat my high score (I got about 1500 points). At least it's not boring. 3/5

The Pope's War on Science by 8bit Pontiff

I agree that this game had the best soundtrack of the contest. The theme song was way over the top, but the overall score left me thinking that I need to ask 8-bit to score my next game. The game itself was lame, if not good for a couple laughs. 3/5

Timestream Saga - Arcadia Incident Report by Fenrir-Lunaris

Despite it being incomplete, I really enjoyed this game. The gameplay was average (as is expected with a shoddy collision system), but the mood was perfect. Fenrir nailed the Apocalypse Now mentality with that music score and crisp dialogue. Way better than the 8-bit version and one I'll look forward to playing through to the end. 5/5

Village People: The Videogame by Surlaw

The stupidest game to have a bright future, I thought this bridged the gap between Earthbound and the OHR better than most everything I played here so far. Another one I want to see finished. 5/5

And yes, I will write the review blitz for this contest for the June HamsterSpeak. Shouldn't take too long to do.

[8bifit]

The theme song was way over the top, but the overall score left me thinking that I need to ask 8-bit to score my next game.

Oh hell yeah. As long as you don't mind MP3s making your game LARGE.

[Twinconclusive]

I'd like to add that these ratings are doing wonders to most of our standings.

[Uncommon]

<3 by Twinconclusive - 3/5
~ I'm demystified that this is not the greatest case of serendipity the community's seen since...well, the version of the engine with that name. But for being the purest distillation of the theme, I'll go easy on it.

A Shot in the Dark by Uncommon - 3/5
~ There are a lot of things I like about this game, but I think the lack of an ending is a huge problem.

Babies vs Robots by Spoonweaver - 2/5
~ Well, it's different, but way too short. How long would I have to sit there to <i>not</i> win?

Bob the Hamster in the Crypt of Baconthulhu by James Paige - 4/5
~ This game is a real cool time, but it's biggest problem is that it forces you to try to take it on in its entirety in one sitting. Maybe it's just that I liked to completely clear a floor before I moved on to the next, but this is beyond my means. Saving isn't something you could bring in casually without breaking the rogue-like feel. Maybe make it so you could only save if you were exiting? And delete the save once it's been loaded?

Moron Mission by Rurouni Catholic - 1/5
~ Eh. Even for a terrible game this is pretty mediocre. Someone who's really looked deep into the heart of that abyss will find no horror of horrors here.

Techno Ship Funkatron by Spoonweaver - 1/5
~ I don't know what's worse with this game, the fat that it's absolutely tasteless, or that it isn't even funny? There is no love here.

The Pope's War on Science by 8bit Pontiff - 2/5
~ I was a little disappointed that the enemy sets repeated, and even though none of them attacked, Darwin's Head still lasted longer than everything else just because it was a boss. It's no I Made Dis, but the theme song and sound effects were good times.

Timestream Saga - Arcadia Incident Report by Fenrir-Lunaris - 3/5
~ I respect the time put into it, but the gameplay's pretty lacking. It looks and sounds great and the characters are pretty well handled, but the meat of it is pretty lean. I think I liked the Ghost-fight the best, but it's really weird how the zombies particularly <i>stop</i> moving when they see you. It's also too bad that it cuts off just as the story's really picking up, I'd like to see this finished!
OH! This game also made me painfully aware that the volume control in the menu doesn't change sound effects at all!

Village People: The Videogame by Surlaw - 5/5
~ The Earthbound comparisons have been made, and couldn't be more accurate. I've had "San Francisco" stuck in my head for the last couple days now. The worst part is that there's only one scenario, but the love put into that scenario is hearty. The fights are a real cool time, Red Tape is my favorite attack. This game will be my best friend if as it goes on Police Chief gets upgraded to The Admiral.

[Bob the Hamster]

Bob the Hamster in the Crypt of Baconthulhu by James Paige - 4/5
~ This game is a real cool time, but it's biggest problem is that it forces you to try to take it on in its entirety in one sitting. Maybe it's just that I liked to completely clear a floor before I moved on to the next, but this is beyond my means. Saving isn't something you could bring in casually without breaking the rogue-like feel. Maybe make it so you could only save if you were exiting? And delete the save once it's been loaded?

I wanted saving too, but because of the way map generation and fog-of-war work, it is not going to be possible to implement saving until after I finish <a href="http://gilgamesh.hamsterrepublic.com/wi ... rmat">Plan for new save format</a>. (This game will be a great test-case for me when I am working on that)