HamsterSpeak #20 Online

[The Wobbler]

http://superwalrusland.com/ohr/issue20/cover.html

In spite of a last minute scramble for content, we managed to pull together a pretty nice issue. We've got reviews of three new games, an exclusive download (only online until November 3rd, so hurry), the conclusion of Covered With Dust, and more.

[Calehay]

FYI, blobtale.exe contains a trojan according to Antivir. (Strange, though. I seem to remember playing that game without a problem before.)

I don't remember Antagonist being so bad battle-wise but I do agree with the sentiments of the rest of the review (right down to the game crashing and not really being motivated to start it up again.)

I haven't said it yet, but I've really liked the Covered with Dust articles.

I also enjoyed reading the history of the Epic Marathon.

[Mogri]

FYI, blobtale.exe contains a trojan according to Antivir. (Strange, though. I seem to remember playing that game without a problem before.)

Does IM know about this? It should really be taken down if that's the case.

[The Wobbler]

I downloaded it and didn't bother playing it after I saw it was a .exe, but if that's the case I'm taking down the link.

[Uncommon]

That would be pretty consistent with Gilbert's review, yeah.
I think it's funny that we had two reviews by Gilbert, and the third of his game.

Now, doesn't Ysoft know that dealer has to hit on anything sixteen and under and stay from seventeen on? I mean, blackjack only has maybe three rules, missing one of them kind of breaks the game.

[The Wobbler]

Gilbert was joking in his review, which makes it kind of funny to learn that there's actually something wrong with the file.

[Mogri]

Now, doesn't Ysoft know that dealer has to hit on anything sixteen and under and stay from seventeen on? I mean, blackjack only has maybe three rules, missing one of them kind of breaks the game.

Yeah, I thought that was odd, too. It's not like it's a difficult AI to program, even.

[Calehay]

FYI, blobtale.exe contains a trojan according to Antivir. (Strange, though. I seem to remember playing that game without a problem before.)

Does IM know about this? It should really be taken down if that's the case.

I wanted to confirm Antivir was detecting a real virus before jumping to conclusions (I went through an awful time were it spontaneously kept identifying these picture files I had been using for months as containing some dangerous virus until I just gave up and deleted them because of its ridiculously loud warning sound.)

However, I'm fairly sure of it now. What's interesting is that there's both blobtale.exe, which is only about 24 KBs, and Blob Story.exe, which is game.exe. The "game" however, isn't anything like the grandiose description on CP. Gilbert's .gif is literally the entire game.

Then I poked into the .rpg file. The main character is apparently named "~Purity Hackbot~." So, yeah, everybody PM IM and get this removed. However, I swear somebody came on the forums and asked us to play a game with these exact graphics. The only thing I can find is this (where it seems Gizmog was right to be suspicious.) I'll look into it and see what I can dig up.

[Uncommon]

Wasn't actually Gilbert's .gif, it's the one from the gamelist entry.
And was he joking in his review? I dunno if it's just that I'm terribly hung over or what, but if the thing's got a virus in reality it seems plausible that he was being serious.

[Mogri]

FYI, the game has been taken care of. If you messed around with this, make sure to scan your computer for viruses.

[The Wobbler]

And was he joking in his review? I dunno if it's just that I'm terribly hung over or what, but if the thing's got a virus in reality it seems plausible that he was being serious.

It sounds serious now that we've heard about this, but we talked when he submitted the review and it was a joke.

[Pepsi Ranger]

Great issue this month. We have a virus warning. An HQ3 limited release. And some of the best last minute HamsterSpeak articles ever. I stayed up long past my capacity to keep awake last night reading it. Very entertaining.

Covered with Dust was okay. Kinda redundant. Felt like I already read it before. But that BlackJack OHR looks pretty cool (and I didn't know dealer had to hit on 16--that might be worth bringing the final score down a point).

In all seriousness, I'm glad you all enjoyed them. I really felt like I was writing it just to add content to the magazine. Maybe I'll do a few more in 2009.

I thought the Epic Marathon retrospective was worth the wait. Excellent article (and I'm glad it left out the screenshots--they would've detracted from the story). Uncommon, I appreciate you including your own history with the contest. You delivered far more than what I expected from the article. I think I'm gonna add 10 points to your overall score this year just for writing it (just remind me I said that come May).

Your article left a couple questions hanging that I thought I'd clear up for you:

You seemed unclear about the Magnus Sequel Marathon's start date. I remember conceptualizing it in mid-January 2002, but I think I started it six or eight weeks later (I can't really remember, either).

Squall did drop out. Bobert wanted to join, so I had him "fill the gap," which is why he got number 8. I think the kid who did 7 was another replacement (though I can't remember who he replaced). And Bobert's game subtitle ended with a question mark.

Grandtrain's Magnus 9: Golem came in second behind yours if I remember correctly.

Other forgotten entrants included Rinku and Harlock's Magnus 12: Shoot Them Before They Shoot You (which was supposed to be the only non-OHR entry), Magnus 13 which you said resurfaced recently, but I myself haven't played yet, Magnus 14 by The Mad Cacti (Volcanite back then), and the one I was most disappointed over it not getting made, Magnus 15 by Scyree. Magnus Finale would've been 16 (which meant if one more person had joined and stuck with the series, you would've had your 17 without going through 11--actually, we would've need two people for that--math sucks).

I seem to remember offering the month extension for Volcanic Kings and canceling the series because even with the extension no one would release his game (and I was most disheartened by that because a couple people showed me awesome screenshots of the episodes they were making and I was really looking forward to playing them--djfenix's entry to be specific).

It was just an awful stain in Epic Marathon history no matter how it was sliced. Too many contests delayed it. And when it finally started, too many contests popped up. And, it just sucked.

The one thing I didn't tell you, or anyone for that matter, was that my intention for it was to emulate the appendix from Lord of the Rings by creating a new world with a similar background, and have the contestants build an epic story that referenced that appendix through their own unique interpretation of the world. So, there's some more back story on that.

There was a missing entry from Mynorety Whispers called Spies of the Cradle by Retrogamer. The fact that Retrogamer actually joined one of my contests was thrilling to start with. The fact that he never released that game still causes my hand to shake (and now that everyone else knows, I'm betting the rest of the community may be shaking a little, too).

And finally, the Moogle / Rain Man reference came from Moogle's spot on guesses for five Bob the Hamster clues in a row. He was like Dried Throne before Dried Throne showed up and nearly made me wet my pants from his amazing sleuthing.

And I think those were the only things you said you weren't clear on. Correct me if I missed anything.

Great article, though. Hope you'll consider doing another one after EM7 or 8 (or 9 if it's the one I retire it on).

Okay, and finally, to answer the questions this month:

• What feature of the new engine update are you most excited about?

I'm really happy about all the new text box updates. I think it makes dialogue much more edit-friendly.

I'm also finding it easier to breathe now that we have extended NPC slots and items. Thank you, James. Thank you. No, really, thank you.

• From Covered With Dust Vol. 3: "If you disagree with the list, or if you think your game should've been considered, feel free to shake things up a bit in the Issue 20 discussion thread by casting your own list of favorites by order and voicing your opinion on which games you'd like to see go up against BlackJack OHR in future competitions."

I think I might be omitted from this question since I'm the one that kind of asked it.

How about this: let someone else do a mini-blitz for December or January and put one of my games on the list.

Or don't considering most of them are tech demos. Or do, since most of them are cool tech demos.

• This issue saw a fond reminiscense of the Epic Marathon Contest. What OHR contest do you have the fondest memories of, and, to connect this with Covered With Dust, which contest games do you think deserve more attention than they got?

I still have fond memories of the 2001 48 Hour Contest. I remember thinking the old review blitz on OHR Monthly for that contest was incredibly sparse on detail. I wouldn't mind seeing those games reviewed again under the current bar.

The only other contest I joined and actually finished something for was the 2004 Human Day, and I don't remember any of the other titles off hand (though I think Gilbert's Robot game might have been one of them).

I could probably name some contests that deserved far less attention, though. Anyone remember that contest that required Chaos Nyte to make a "Generic RPG?" Was that really a contest? Seemed more like a reality show. So weird.

And what about the 47-minute contest? Did those games ever step into the light?

Well, this post is way too long now. So there you go.

[Uncommon]

I thought the Epic Marathon retrospective was worth the wait. Excellent article (and I'm glad it left out the screenshots--they would've detracted from the story). Uncommon, I appreciate you including your own history with the contest. You delivered far more than what I expected from the article. I think I'm gonna add 10 points to your overall score this year just for writing it (just remind me I said that come May).

Glad you liked it, man. You did, after all, request it.

I think the kid who did 7 was another replacement (though I can't remember who he replaced).

Magnus Finale would've been 16 (which meant if one more person had joined and stuck with the series, you would've had your 17 without going through 11--actually, we would've need two people for that--math sucks).

Well, according to the reference sheet in the zipfile of documents you sent me, Doctor Clock was the original 7, but I remember him being banned for whatever, so that might've caused him to drop out. According to this same list, I guess either Volcanite wasn't TMC's first handle, or there was another dropout from a guy name of Knight_0000 for 14, and a fellow by the familiar sounding CodeRed had 16. Your also forgetting about Shadowiii dropping out of making 18 because of multiple hard drive crashes. In fact, I might've posted that I'd enter if I could get 17, and started on the file when I knew I had it. I have no idea why, but I had a crazy fondness for that number back then.
And I figured 9 probably had second place, but whether that was on votes or points I don't know.

I seem to remember offering the month extension for Volcanic Kings and canceling the series because even with the extension no one would release his game (and I was most disheartened by that because a couple people showed me awesome screenshots of the episodes they were making and I was really looking forward to playing them--djfenix's entry to be specific).

According to the posts on CP from that time (which i didn't bother linking to, but they're all publicly available), a lot of people were rushing to try to get their entries done. djfenix had a post maybe the day or two before you closed it saying he was doing his best to get something playable ready. Maybe there was something in e-mails that I didn't catch, but it looked like they were trying their best and just kept hitting snags.

There was a missing entry from Mynorety Whispers called Spies of the Cradle by Retrogamer. The fact that Retrogamer actually joined one of my contests was thrilling to start with. The fact that he never released that game still causes my hand to shake (and now that everyone else knows, I'm betting the rest of the community may be shaking a little, too).

I saw that one, and I remember being disappointed it never got finished when I was catching up with the third one, but I kind've glazed over all the stuff that didn't get released and just kinda focused on the tangible results of the contest.

Great article, though. Hope you'll consider doing another one after EM7 or 8 (or 9 if it's the one I retire it on).

Who knows what the future holds. Could be we will see one, I definitely enjoyed writing this guy.

I still have fond memories of the 2001 48 Hour Contest. I remember thinking the old review blitz on OHR Monthly for that contest was incredibly sparse on detail. I wouldn't mind seeing those games reviewed again under the current bar.

Maybe because it was my first year in the community, 2001 has a lot of fond memories for me, that 48 hour contest especially. I mean, it was the first collab I'd done with Grief, it was the contest that gave us I Made Dis, Never Go West, The King's Basement, Seizure Inducer, Tightfloss Maiden, Scars Of Glory and The Last Job. A lot of those games shaped the way I looked at the OHR and the variety of things it could do.
I remember this game A Troll's Coup D'Etat from that contest that was pretty cool, but it's been so long. I might should try it out these days if it's on O:OHR.

And what about the 47-minute contest? Did those games ever step into the light?

I remember a lot of these. I wanted to enter but I completely missed it. Gilbert, I believe, made Christopher Walken RPG, Scyree had Bill The Desk and some other game that was blank, might've been called Blank Game?
Ralfo won. I think his game was called Ralfo's Mansion. It actually had gameplay as opposed to the other entries.

aw man reminiscing

[Pepsi Ranger]

Well, according to the reference sheet in the zipfile of documents you sent me, Doctor Clock was the original 7, but I remember him being banned for whatever, so that might've caused him to drop out. According to this same list, I guess either Volcanite wasn't TMC's first handle, or there was another dropout from a guy name of Knight_0000 for 14, and a fellow by the familiar sounding CodeRed had 16. Your also forgetting about Shadowiii dropping out of making 18 because of multiple hard drive crashes. In fact, I might've posted that I'd enter if I could get 17, and started on the file when I knew I had it. I have no idea why, but I had a crazy fondness for that number back then.
And I figured 9 probably had second place, but whether that was on votes or points I don't know.

You're right, it was knight_0000, not Volcanite (TMC). For some reason I thought he joined the contest.

CodeRed? I forgot about him. Sheesh, did we have enough partipants to take the series to 19 (including the Finale)? What would life be like if this many people joined all contests (save for the 2001 48 Hour in which that many did participate)? And I forgot Shadowiii joined. Must've been a late arrival.

According to the posts on CP from that time (which i didn't bother linking to, but they're all publicly available), a lot of people were rushing to try to get their entries done. djfenix had a post maybe the day or two before you closed it saying he was doing his best to get something playable ready. Maybe there was something in e-mails that I didn't catch, but it looked like they were trying their best and just kept hitting snags.

I remember him messaging me on yahoo messenger back then. He might've officially dropped out there. I can't remember now. I just know it's not like me to drop something when there's a chance someone will come through (which is why I'm so notorious for extending deadlines). Volcanic Kings was cancelled when it became clear no one was gonna submit anything.

Maybe because it was my first year in the community, 2001 has a lot of fond memories for me, that 48 hour contest especially. I mean, it was the first collab I'd done with Grief, it was the contest that gave us I Made Dis, Never Go West, The King's Basement, Seizure Inducer, Tightfloss Maiden, Scars Of Glory and The Last Job. A lot of those games shaped the way I looked at the OHR and the variety of things it could do.
I remember this game A Troll's Coup D'Etat from that contest that was pretty cool, but it's been so long. I might should try it out these days if it's on O:OHR.

I remember a Troll's Coup D'Etat. That was the one where you assumed the identities of the NPC's you talked to, right? Bagne was one of the few true originals of that time, I remember. Sucks that he rarely releases anything (Moris Shifter is still my favorite incomplete demo).

[Shadowiii]

Ah, Magnus 18. An epic tale of a boy and his pet rock (whose only attack the entire game was going to be "sit there"). Oh, the lols we would have had. I still have the design doc on some webspace somewhere.
And I don't think I was a late entry...I was just quite about it except when Windows ME would randomly crash. Lame.