SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

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Gizmog
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

The Ancient Gondola Tablet:

I like the tablet, and I'm a fan of the meme, but there isn't much to do but watch in wonder for a few minutes, pushing buttons and trying to determine if they're actually doing anything. The music does evoke the proper wondrous tone, and I mean, I smiled. Nicely done.
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Sir, Chevron Five is encoded! I repeat...
Sir, Chevron Five is encoded! I repeat...
ancientgondolatablet0006.png (3.74 KiB) Viewed 3931 times
I think that's supposed to be SHIELD, but the way of the Gondola is mysterious, indeed
I think that's supposed to be SHIELD, but the way of the Gondola is mysterious, indeed
ancientgondolatablet0005.png (3.75 KiB) Viewed 3931 times
BENIS :D :D :D :D
BENIS :D :D :D :D
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Gizmog
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

Landscape Champ '58

I feel like Spoonweaver talked to me about this idea once before, and I thought it sounded hokey and hard to properly convey. It is a little hokey, and it's not the most intuitive game in the world, but because you're not dealing with a strict algebra, the end result is very comforting and retro. I think the music on the calendar is just a little out of tone, it struck me as almost ominous, but everything else is very neat and paints a pretty picture. The sprites overlap just a little, and even though it probably doesn't do anything for the end result, it makes me giggle to try to arrange things so it looks like they're interacting. Spoonweaver always does a great job of giving his game's a menu (like a real game) and I love that he saves the high score as a picture of the yard and not just a number. I would like a button that lets you sit back and look at your yard before that, though.

One other little thing that bothered me, I wasn't a huge fan of the Saturday store sometimes being rained out. The store selection has to be random, or there's no game, but the Saturday closure is just one rogue element too many.
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It's that kind of gane.
It's that kind of gane.
Landscape Champ '580026.png (1.83 KiB) Viewed 3927 times
Socialists hate him!
Socialists hate him!
Landscape Champ '580022.png (3.43 KiB) Viewed 3927 times
More like Landscamming Contest... nevermind, I'm thinking of something else.
More like Landscamming Contest... nevermind, I'm thinking of something else.
Landscape Champ '580023.png (2.06 KiB) Viewed 3927 times
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Gizmog
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

Time Girl 1998

All of the games have been so pretty this year, and Time Girl's no exception. The big walkabouts and custom conversation menus make it feel like there's a lot more going on than is actually under the hood, and that's a good thing. Work smart, not hard. I feel like maybe I took longer getting through this than I should've. I spent nearly a week of in-game time, giving hot dogs to everyone, going to the mall and leaving hot dogs by the vent, going back and getting another hot dog, playing games with my mom's glasses, before finally getting the key I needed. I at least know what I did to solve that puzzle, I think, but some of the later ones, especially the french fries, I'm not sure what changed from one day to the next.

During that experimentation phase, some of the NPCs seemed to have scrambled conversations. Options named the wrong thing, or even characters being mislabelled. That got me thinking, at every puzzle, "Well slime, did I already break the game?" and while the errors turned out to be mostly cosmetic, it still put a damper on my enjoyment.

The time travel jokes feel appropriate, it doesn't veer too hard into "Remember ALF? He's back, in POG form!" territory, it's just the right level of references. Some of the concepts can be a little mean-spirited, you steal and sell your sister's beanie babies to buy an orange julius (which is more of an 80's thing, if I remember right), and that rubs me wrong. The titular Time Girl is sort of a jerk in general, and that's not even going into her hitting on high school boys.

The wall map at the right end of the school hall is busted, and you can sneak into some of the later rooms that way (though I was unable to actually make progress by doing so, but I was also afraid I was breaking things that might already be broken). 1998 is about right. It's a nostalgic trip to the kind of Flash games I would've played back then, the puzzle logic, the art style, a little bit of bullying for good measure. Hell, the author even includes a phone number to barter for tips, how old school is that? AND WHAT KIND OF LUNATIC DOES THAT?!

I'm all over the place in this "review". Long story short, it's an alright game. There's an NPC who gives hints, but it would be nice if there were better indicators of when you've progressed a certain character or puzzle, and it is a little annoying having to go home, go to bed, go back to school, before you can try a different idea (though there apparently is no way to die, or lose, which is nice. Some of the old Flash games like this played like the author thought they'd get a quarter every time you had to start over.)
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Frieza! Frieza! Frieza! Frieza!
Frieza! Frieza! Frieza! Frieza!
time girl 19980010.png (2.54 KiB) Viewed 3912 times
This guy isn't supposed to talk about hot dogs
This guy isn't supposed to talk about hot dogs
time girl 19980060.png (2.82 KiB) Viewed 3912 times
Me, Time Girl, and Julio down by the Schoolyard
Me, Time Girl, and Julio down by the Schoolyard
time girl 19980065.png (2.5 KiB) Viewed 3912 times
It took me a long time to get here. 23 years, by my count!
It took me a long time to get here. 23 years, by my count!
time girl 19980072.png (2.38 KiB) Viewed 3912 times
Not this one
Not this one
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TMC
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by TMC »

Wow, a lot of games! Great to see the enthusiasm.

I'm not going to rank the games, I'm going to score them, and maybe the other judges should too. If we all rank them, ties are highly likely. As I mentioned before, I'm scoring according to a predetermined schedule/system, as an experiment in semi-objectively comparing games regardless of genre, amateur/indie/AAA scale, joke games, etc. It turned out to be a lot more difficult to design than I expected! I've avoided this thread and any information about the games to avoid influence while finalising my scoring system.

But I'm taking part in a contest for the next half week so don't have much time till then. (Plus, against significant odds, I was also selected a couple weeks ago for the jury I (may have) mentioned, but the trial was eventually aborted without ever starting, a very rare occurrence.)
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Spoonweaver »

TMC wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 1:37 pm Wow, a lot of games! Great to see the enthusiasm.

I'm not going to rank the games, I'm going to score them, and maybe the other judges should too. If we all rank them, ties are highly likely. As I mentioned before, I'm scoring according to a predetermined schedule/system, as an experiment in semi-objectively comparing games regardless of genre, amateur/indie/AAA scale, joke games, etc. It turned out to be a lot more difficult to design than I expected! I've avoided this thread and any information about the games to avoid influence while finalising my scoring system.

But I'm taking part in a contest for the next half week so don't have much time till then. (Plus, against significant odds, I was also selected a couple weeks ago for the jury I (may have) mentioned, but the trial was eventually aborted without ever starting, a very rare occurrence.)
That should be fine as far as the extra time needed.
As far as the scoring system, you are free to do what you would like as a judge.
I do hope you'll converse with the other judges.
My main concern with the scoring system is 1 person's 3/5 would be another person's 4/10. which would be hard to match together.
So as long as everything matches and clear winners are picked, it's totally in the judges hands.

Again take your time.
Thanks for letting us know what's going on.
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Spoonweaver »

Gizmog wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:10 am One other little thing that bothered me, I wasn't a huge fan of the Saturday store sometimes being rained out. The store selection has to be random, or there's no game, but the Saturday closure is just one rogue element too many.
It's always the 2nd and 5th week that it rains. So it's not random, I can see where it being random would be a bad thing.
It rains sometimes to promote the player to take days off work to shop instead of waiting for the weekend.
The rain is also a throwback to when raining and things like that used to actually disrupt people's lives instead of now where people go to work during hurricanes.
TMC
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by TMC »

Spoonweaver wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:37 pmMy main concern with the scoring system is 1 person's 3/5 would be another person's 4/10. which would be hard to match together.
So as long as everything matches and clear winners are picked, it's totally in the judges hands.
Well, you're correct, combining scores is a problem. If one judge scores 7-10/10 and another scores 3-9/10 then simply adding them gives the 2nd judge twice the voting power.
So maybe combining rankings is better, and if there are any ties for top 3 then the judges can discuss them.
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by ArtimusBena »

Next contest, leeeet's have an established scoring metric and solid strategy for tabulating it.
Do you make love with the same urgency you make games?
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Spoonweaver »

ArtimusBena wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:30 am Next contest, leeeet's have an established scoring metric and solid strategy for tabulating it.
lol

That's impossible to do.
Scoring systems are always completely subjective even when it's for a sport where everyone is trying to do the same thing.
I think this contest is the perfect example of why a singular system for what earns a game points doesn't work.
Would time girl get less points for keeping things simple and not scripting every tiny thing?
Would mystery dungeon friends get penalized for using trademarked characters?
Does Dead Man's Tale just lose because it uses the basic battle system?

I think every game in this contest is going for something completely different and so they would each have their own scoring chart.
Afterall, you cant have a story/plot score and then judge tetris poorly for not having one.
That promotes an idea of games needing to be a certain way to be successful, which as indie game devs we should be directly against.
None of our games will compete in this style of judgement against triple A games, and we shouldnt be trying to.
Indie games are popular because they go directly against this mind set while triple A companies take the easy road and stick to the well established models.
We should not be judging games all in the same way.
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by ArtimusBena »

As I recall, everybody who participated in HOTOHR could judge the other games however they wanted but at the end of the day we had to submit a 1-10 score.

How we CAME to that 1-10 score was our business. This made it both properly subjective AND organized enough to come out with clear winners.

I don't find it acceptable that this time around is ALL subjectivity with no organization. :) (This contest doesn't have its stuff together, even well after the submission date? It's just irritating).
Do you make love with the same urgency you make games?
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Gizmog
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

Dungeon

Unfortunately, I think this game was broken. I was able to retrieve a gold key, but it didn't open the gold door, and all the other rooms seemed to be dead ends. "Walls" are listed as an enemy type in the read me, so maybe there's one I missed, but I tried pushing and talking to most of 'em and no dice. Up to that point, it was a pretty (if tedious) RPG, where my strategy for success was save every few steps and hope I don't run into one of the harder formations, till I got potions and money (which baffled me till I found the shopkeeper) enough to not have to save as frequently. Potions don't seem to work in battle (Or maybe it did and the enemy killed me anyway), a mistake I only made once.

There's a decent variety of enemy types and rooms in this Dungeon, at least aesthetically. A little variety in strategy, or even a little stat progression would've been nice. Overall, I don't hate it, but it's either obtuse or broken, and I think most players will be better off waiting for the next Arti joint.
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I wish I'd taken a screenshot of the acid room, it was pretty
I wish I'd taken a screenshot of the acid room, it was pretty
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This place isn't a Dungeon, it's a Prision!
This place isn't a Dungeon, it's a Prision!
dungeon0003.png (1.59 KiB) Viewed 3793 times
The attitude on this one!
The attitude on this one!
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

Video Goose

The last voice-acted RMZ-collab project I played was Monster Lot, way back in the OHR Movie Contest, and the addition of gameplay is a true savior here. I still would've preferred a non voice-acted version, because I read fast and waiting for someone to yammer through their lines makes me impatient. Some of the later dialogue feels like an episode of Blues Clues, with regards to it giving hints and asking leading questions, but I suppose that's okay. Blues Clues is designed to make you feel smart.

To review properly, Video Goose is the story of Louis The Goose's first day working at a video store. As the low man on the totem pole, it'll be up to you to stock the shelves, clean the floors, take out the trash, and battle the paranormal. Geese are great that way, they never complain, they work hard, and you can pay them in bread crumbs. If you own a family business, I recommend giving a goose a shot.

The game is controlled entirely via a point and click interface reminiscent of Maniac Mansion, or any number of LucasArts projects, and I would've liked to be able to move using the keyboard. A couple of times I would try to click the "Use" button and instead start wandering off to the screen below. Everything works pretty well in this department, except during the "Vacuum the floors" phase, sometimes map transitions would remove the vacuum graphic and functionality, but continue the sound, and other times it wouldn't.

When you've completed a task, a pop-up will... pop-up, which is nice so you don't go chasing phantom dustbunnies that don't really exist. That's a nice feature. The story is okay, but I really appreciate the effort put into the movie boxes and posters in the store, that couldn't have been easy.

There's a couple things that don't bother me, but might be "problematic" to a broader audience, who, due to the game's production values, might actually see it. At one point, a character is described as "spazzy", which isn't very offensive to Americans, but in Europe is pretty much the equivalent of calling someone a "retard". There's a dark-skinned character who is clearly just RMZ putting on a deeper, "jiver" voice, and if The Simpsons can't get away with that, we sure as hell can't. He's on the same screen as a stylized portrait meant to parody the character of Winston Zeddmore from Ghostbusters, which could, given a certain malicious or especially sensitive intent, be considered a "black-face" caricature, even though there's Dan Aykroyd doing the same thing next to him. (It also reminds me a little of the ads for that game Forty Winks, but that's neither here nor there.)

The last complaint is legitimately dangerous. As the game nears its thrilling climax, there's a lot of flashing light effects which could be hazardous to some people's health. I'm not usually prone to seizures or sensitive to flashing lights, but there was an effect where the camera panned quickly to the right, faded to black, and then leapt back to its starting position on the left before flashing back in that I'm still kind of dizzy about. This doesn't usually happen to me, but of late, even animated gifs on Discord that don't loop well can make me kind of nauseous. I'd talk to a doctor about it, but they'd tell me to quit playing video games, and that's not happening. I don't know what the industry standard is for this kind of thing, but a "trigger warning" would at least be helpful.

The animal with a top-hat mascot is a little overplayed (Sorry, Charbile <3) and I would've preferred a few more jokes, but it's a good gameplay experience and I think it's going to be pretty successful.
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The only garbage I was unable to remove from the store.
The only garbage I was unable to remove from the store.
vgg0015.png (5.48 KiB) Viewed 3787 times
Co-Starring Worf, from Star Trek The Next Generation
Co-Starring Worf, from Star Trek The Next Generation
vgg0008.png (4.9 KiB) Viewed 3787 times
Things are taking a Howard the Duck turn for the better &lt;3 &lt;3 &lt;3
Things are taking a Howard the Duck turn for the better <3 <3 <3
vgg0018.png (12.75 KiB) Viewed 3787 times
For a higher sucked up percentage, bribe the reviewer..
For a higher sucked up percentage, bribe the reviewer..
vgg0038.png (8.94 KiB) Viewed 3787 times
..no, seriously, do it.
..no, seriously, do it.
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Gizmog
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

And one more thing, why's there so much popcorn and soda and crap scattered through the store? It's a video store, not a movie theater!
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

Mystery Dungeon Friends

Once again, Charbile has looked at everyone else in the contest going to ten, and gone to eleven. Production values are through the roof, the text is custom, the battles are custom, the game looks like it has too many colors, like it's too sharp of a resolution. Only problem is there just isn't that much of a game to it, and in a way that feels a lot worse than Fishing 2. I love the way Charbile portrays his fellow OHR Developers, but it is basically a movie, with occasional hittings of enter and "Battles" that don't amount to much except proof that Charbile knows how to do 99% of a battle but doesn't feel like doing the last 1%. I can also only hear Popcorn so many times.

My favorite joke (which isn't even technically in the game) involves the readme file. It's worth watching if you like OHR in-jokes, and in-fighting, and in-cest, and like pretty much everything Charbile does, is a shining technical demonstration of what you can do if you take the time to do it. I guess he ran a little short of time, this... time.
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Spoilers. Boo!
Spoilers. Boo!
mysterydungeonfriends0030.png (16.65 KiB) Viewed 3780 times
It's that kind of game.
It's that kind of game.
mysterydungeonfriends0018.png (17.95 KiB) Viewed 3780 times
Some day, somebody's gonna take him up on this offer.
Some day, somebody's gonna take him up on this offer.
mysterydungeonfriends0005.png (4.51 KiB) Viewed 3780 times
I think this is the first game of the contest so far whose title screen I was able to capture succesfully.
I think this is the first game of the contest so far whose title screen I was able to capture succesfully.
mysterydungeonfriends0000.png (9.09 KiB) Viewed 3780 times
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Gizmog
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Re: SUMMER SLAM - the next gen of ohr contest

Post by Gizmog »

Dead Man's Tale (Ghostship?)

Maybe I didn't give this game the fairest of shakes, because I had to run away from the final two (boss) battles. It was a hard time at first, because I didn't realize my party had equipment to equip (Or maybe I had picked it up somewhere in the ship?), and I must've been missing some place to spend my gold, or to take a nap and regenerate health, because the way those final bosses absolutely wrecked me either meant I was supposed to do a lot more level grinding than I was able to, or I was screwing up some kind of puzzle or just fundamentally not engaging in an important part of the game.

There's not a whole lot to write about. Your RPG party of four pirates explores an abandoned ship in search of treasures and answers, you fight monsters and find keys, and in the end, can walk away with your choice of two endings. It's a good looking pirate ship, with good looking pirates. The enemies, especially the final boss, are very cool, and the music keeps you in a pirate frame of mind. There's a broken wallmap at the bottom of the boarding plank that lets you wander through the water a little, but that's the only technical flaw I noticed.

Not a bad way to spend twenty minutes, especially if you find whatever it is I'm missing and make me look like an idiot.
Attachments
The first first-person game to properly simulate the cornea. Kudos!
The first first-person game to properly simulate the cornea. Kudos!
ghostship0004.png (10.31 KiB) Viewed 3726 times
Spoilers: they all do :O
Spoilers: they all do :O
ghostship0002.png (3.81 KiB) Viewed 3726 times
Swimming ashore is the pirate equivalent of having your parents park around the corner from school
Swimming ashore is the pirate equivalent of having your parents park around the corner from school
ghostship0006.png (3.12 KiB) Viewed 3726 times
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