GIAW XI Judge Reviews

GIAW XI Judge Reviews

Well, I figured it's about time to post some of the judges' reviews here. These reviews are pretty much anonymous, because many of the judges decided to collaborate and mesh their stuff together. It helped some of the judges to include more honesty and less sugar-coating. Sorry if some of the comments seem a bit repetitive, because I'm mostly copy + pasting the notes from the judges. I'll *try* to weed out things that sound alike. Sometimes, you may even see comments that contradict each other, based on the judge's perspective of certain things. Without further ado, I'll start throwing these reviews up.


NORMAL MODE


#1: Christopher Lupin (cloudfall)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-The parallax mapping looks nice, but it has errors and there's some cutoff in a map or two.
-Parallax should have been split up into two images, parts of the map below the character, and parts of the map above the character, that way the character can pass behind lamposts and trees and the like.
-There were some stray pixels in the house signs, the background would have been better as a parchment or wood background.
-Very impressed by the radio sequence and the car scene.
-Stair case railing can be seen when walking into the Mark part of the Museum. Its fixes if you look at a mark. Not a big problem.
-All of the scenes seemed to be pretty detailed and well executed - especially with the details to the text speed and whatnot.
-The music suited the game pretty well, and was used to match the mood of the game.
Playability
-There were no bugs that I could spot, except for not being able to move behind certain objects. This was frustrating at times, because I would have to go around things. This only really bothered me on the garden map, because I was already moving slow enough in that area.
-Gamplay is good, I particularly like the hints that lupin gives to the player, as well as the shift feature to recheck the current objective.
-A floor map of the museum would have been nice, if not for aesthetic purposes only.
-The mechanics were pretty simple, except for the ability to "remind" yourself what you're doing in the game. I really loved that feature (although I kept hitting it by accident, being used to "Shift" being the dash button).
-Sometimes, I wish I could have dashed in the game, but I moved fast enough indoors that it didn't bother me too much.
Ingenuity
-The story is predictable, but is quite good, I've seen stories like this before but the medieval take is quite good.
-The story really hooked me on this one. The way the writing and humor was done was simply fantastic and interesting. I'm really hoping that you will continue to make this game, just so I can find out what happens next.
-The story was fairly original. I really enjoyed all the history involved with making this work. In that regard, it makes this game very unique.
-The fact that you were able to disguise RPG Maker's lack of modern graphics, while still using a modern time game was really neat. I think that was a genius move, and it did no harm to the story. In fact, I really liked the setting.
Entertainment
-There were times when the game slowed down a bit, but I overall really enjoyed it.
-Although most of the game is text, it did not bore me. In fact, I really loved the creator's use of voice in his writing, and that was enough to keep my entertained.
Genre
-No doubt about it - this is about as "Mystery" as it gets. I have no objections to this being well fit for its genre.
Comments
-Some lady outside smoking, I guess she doesn't want to talk?
-FINISH THIS GAME. PLEASE.

#2: Of Knives and Roses (Kitten2021)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-Nice use of the RTP graphics! The maps looked busy, and that's always a good thing.
-Sometimes the music felt a little out-of-place. For example: in the scene where I met the priestess girl (sorry, I forgot her name already).
-Whenever you changed music, it didn't really run smoothly, either. Try using some "fade out" effects, and then using silence before playing other songs.
-The text scrolls very quickly, and goes through a lot of text. I would suggest using pause breaks in the text, between sentences, or something. (This thing: /. I think. I forget what it was exactly).
Playability
-The game was simple enough to play. The sparkles helped me out, as far as deciding where to go next. I kinda liked that.
-There wasn't very many mechanics, just the simple RTP for the most part. I would have deleted the "save" option in the menu, if you were intending to have the blue fire save points. Unless you wanted to keep both, for some reason?
Ingenuity
-The story started out with some text about a tragedy from the past, which was interesting (in a sad way, of course). It was a nice touch to start with some backstory.
-The game had a sense of direction, and I liked that. I actually had a goal in mind - saving my brother from a guilty verdict.
-So far, the story was so-so on originality. It was hard to tell with what was there.
Entertainment
-The game was pretty interesting - and had a touch of humor.
-The music actually kinda killed some of the moods for me, because for a majority of the time, it seemed a bit unfitting.
-Overall, I really liked the direction this game was taking!
Genre
-The intro and scene with the priestess led me to think this has romantic elements to it. However, its tough to say whether or not I would consider this a "romance" game, or just a general RPG adventure at this point.
Comments
-Good game so far! Needs a little bit of polishing with the text and use of music, but I'd like to see this game go far.

#3: The Visitor (Owl)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-Some of the larger interior Maps are rather plain and could have been made smaller to achieve the same feeling while looking better.
-Music was nice, but isn't really fitting of a horror game, especially in the mansion, the piano makes the music sound like it belongs in a mystery rather than a horror game.
-The fog effects were just wonderful and the colors were pleasing to look at.
-You went through the effort of adding lighting to the windows, which was
a little plus.
-The ending screen was really cool, and I loved the old-fashioned look to it.
-The font was certainly interesting and bold. I liked it, especially how you made it change sizes at the end.
-The sprites seemed kinda strange with the tilesets.
-I would have preferred the game to not have wide-screen gameplay, due to some of the maps being really tiny in comparison.
-The music was really enjoyable. It set the tone pretty well, but (like most music) got a little old after awhile of listening to it. I spent awhile on this game, so the music was becoming a bit repetitive.
-I noticed that you used some custom sound effects, and that was a pretty neat addition, as well.
Playability
-The game progressed quite well with the help of the narration.
-The fact that I can inspect so many items in the game was another plus. You certainly put a lot of detail into making this game!
-My favorite mechanic of the game was the ability to actually use the items.
-I had to go into the project multiple times to try to figure out where to go, the game needed more of an indication of what to do.
-Overall the game needs more direction, don't hold the players hand of course, but give some indication of what to do next.
Ingenuity
-The narration helped boost the story and mood for me.
-The intro kind of set a mood of suspense and mystery. I could tell something big was unraveling with the Uncle.
-By the end of the game, the story started to feel sort of rushed.
-The ending was kind of surprising, but it wasn't something I enjoyed.
-It wasn't bad with originality, I guess.
-The story is an intriguing horror mystery, and I like how the characters were personified (even though Robert's Dad is a total dick).
Entertainment
-I was not particularly entertained, it took me an hour to get through the game, with forty minutes spent in editor looking for what to do next.
-The game was fun at first, because it was different and pretty exciting to see how the whole thing would unravel. However, it died down pretty quickly.
-Some of the things I had to do were just tedious and a matter of examining everything around the house.
Genre
-It was certainly a horror game, there's no mistake about it. It was more creepy than scary, but that's fine with me.
-The Visitor has horror elements, but is more akin to a "point and click" adventure, the item hunts took too much time away from actual horror elements that I expected.
Comments
-A very beautiful game! Sometimes, it got kind of slow, though.
-I would suggest that the creator make it a little easier for the player to figure out what to do next.

#3: Eden (Bluntsword)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-I like the title screen.
-I really, really liked the intro and the pictures you picked for them.
-The voice-over was a little too quiet and I could hear the microphone cutting in. You may have better luck with either text or a recording room, but the latter is a little more tough.
-Certainly neat to see the half-bod characters, but the guy takes up a lot of room, and leaves very little for text.
-You seemed to use the music just fine, but the first song cuts in kinda awkwardly (the forest scene one).
-I especially liked the town theme.
-Great use of mapping the RTP.
Playability
-Cool side battle system. I like that.
-Huge gameplay bug that prevents the game from progressing after the cliff scene.
-Great job with the eventing - I love the way you capture the characters and scenes. For example, when Hope was falling off the cliff. Good job!
Ingenuity
-The story seemed really neat so far. I was really looking forward to seeing what it unfolds into. Granted, all she really did was explore a bit.
-The setting seemed interesting.
-It was hard to say whether it was original or not yet. Some of the scenes were a little cliche, but otherwise I have no complaints.
Entertainment
-I had fun with this. At least, what I played.
-The characters had a decent amount of voice in the writing, and that always makes me have more fun with the game.
-I liked how you handled events and cutscenes.
Genre
-Not really any romantic elements yet. However, I could tell that it was going to lead up to a romance game. Maybe a love triangle of some sort?
Comments
-I hope you keep making this. I can see it having great potential.

#4: By The Riverway (Banana Boat)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-I liked the graphics. I'm not used to RM2K graphics, but they were really refreshing. -I can't compare them well to other games, but I liked the look of the game, and I guess that's what matters here.
-The music was very suiting, and I didn't find it out-of-place at all. In fact, it was just subtle enough to set the mood of the game.
Playability
-There wasn't any bugs I could think of. Then again, there wasn't much gameplay, either.
-I didn't do anything, except talk to some people. It looks like its off to a good start, but I'm not sure what to expect from the gameplay yet.
-I didn't really see anything that stood out to me for mechanics.
-I liked using save-points, though. But the option to save was still in the menu (only darkened out), which was a little odd.
Ingenuity
-The story seemed to be unfolding into something nice. It wasn't complete, but I was interested in what was going on so far.
-As for originality...it didn't really stand out as "original" yet. The start was a little cliche, but I liked it anyways.
Entertainment
-I love where this is going. I enjoyed what I was able to play of it, but there wasn't enough to go off of yet.
Genre
-It was starting to lead up to what felt like a romance game, so the fact that I was able to get that vibe before the game took off was a good sign.

#5: Snowdrop's Journey (Miriam Blutleer)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-The windowskin is colorful. Does not fit with the font color, though...
-I like how I'm walking on clouds, but I'm confused about what those bridge things are.
-The maps are a bit too spacious, and seem a little unsuiting with the pony graphics.
-It's really difficult to read the font against the background on the intro.
-Snowdrop's character doesn't fit well with the background images. The coloring conflicts too much and its hard to see her, as well as the graphics being a different style altogether.
-Some of the faces don't match some of the other faces.
-I don't really think the music fits, especially in the classroom scene. It's a little too cheery, and it kinda makes the scene a bit creepy.
Playability
-Why the heck is there a snake lady in a house?
-I didn't see any bugs, so the playability was alright.
-I wasn't really sure what to do in the game.
-The game progressed in a strange way, usually by me doing something random (such as walking across and standing on some random cloud).
-There were a lot of scripts, but nothing that I was able to use in the short demo. I think the creator spent a little too much time collecting scripts, which can be a dangerous downfall.
-There were no mechanics that really stood out to me.
Ingenuity
-The conversations are a little awkward. By that, I mean how snowdrop and primrose randomly start talking about sad stuff for no reason. Then suddenly, I'm out on a journey.
-I don't even know what is going on with the ponies in the classroom, saying that snowdrop should...kill herself? Whoa.
-I wasn't quite sure what was going on.
-I'd say its pretty low on originality, because it was a game made after a tv show.
Entertainment
-It was too short to be drawn out, and it wasn't really frustrating to play.
-All I really did was watch a bunch of ponies talk about how sad life is.
Genre
-I can clearly see that this is a drama.
-It didn't really emotionally effect me, like I expected from a drama.
Comments
-It needs some work, but I know you only had a week to work on this.

#6: The Hands of Death (SamielTheMDS)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-The mapping was kinda off. There are graphics for clustered trees, right? They looked very weird as they were.
-I did really like the menu and game over screen.
-The music seemed pretty suiting for a horror game. No complaints there.
Playability
-There wasn't much to do. So, really, there's no gameplay yet.
-There wasn't very many mechanics that stood out to me.
Ingenuity
-There was some story to the game, so I give you kudos for that.
-It didn't really go far yet, but it seemed to leave a lot of room for mystery.
-I couldn't tell whether or not this was original or unoriginal, it didn't get far enough.
Entertainment
-I didn't really have any entertainment from running around in a little forest maze.
-The story seemed a little neat, and it did hook me a bit.
Genre
-I can tell that it was going to be a horror game. Still, it didn't really show it much yet.

#7: Memedroid ("Team Automotional")

Spoiler for:

Polish
-The maps were too spacious.
-The RTP was used really poorly. Some things looked really out-of-place.
-I know this is a humor game, but the troll face graphics and whatnot are kind of tacky.
-The music was decent, but it cut out way too awkwardly when switching over to another song.
-Some of the songs were very out of place and the "derp" song was annoying.
Playability
-There were a lot of bugs, such as playing the slenderman mini- game, and then returning to still have the black screen.
-The battles were difficult, to the point of being frustrating.
-I chose to cheat my way through the game (by making the enemies weaker and giving myself a bunch of gold), because I didn't want to spend hours farming levels and money. Actually, on that note, I just walked over to the last boss and killed her, then was able to complete the game, despite skipping so many bosses. That's a huge bug.
-I did like the set up of having to purchase keys to unlock the next house. Still, it would have taken forever for me to do things the right way.
-There were no special mechanics, really. This game just used the basic RPG Maker mechanics.
Ingenuity
-The story was very offensive and random.
-I guess I can't really say there was a lack of originality. By that, I mean the game was downright random.
-The game mostly consisted of a bunch of old memes.
Entertainment
-All the bugs frustrated me, so I wanted to hurry up and be done with the game.
-I had to cheat my way through the game because I got so annoyed and frustrated with it.
-The jokes didn't even make my lips begin to ascend into the lost figure that is a "smile". Will I ever get back that hour of my life...?
-I'll give you .5 for the slight amusement I got from "over 9,000". Because DBZ.
Genre
-I can see that you tried to be humorous, so I'll give you a point for good measure.
Comments
-You can be funny without constantly throwing out obscenities and insulting people.
-May this game burn in my Recycle Bin.

#8: Ebdomadae (shinynickel)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-The mapping was pretty decent.
-The music was ok.
-There were a few mapping errors, or things that simply looked out-of-place.
Playability
-What gameplay?
-All that the game consisted of was a couple of maps, really.
-There were a few bugs, though. I was able to stand on things that I shouldn't be able to.
-There wasn't really any mechanics, either...just the basic RTP.
-There was a car that kept driving by, so that was kinda neat.
Ingenuity
-I can't tell if the game was original or not, because it didn't have a story yet.
-The creator didn't have the chance to implement that stuff yet, so its impossible to score it.
-I think my character is a college student, but that's all I was able to pick up so far.
Entertainment
-There wasn't really anything entertaining yet, because the game didn't have anything in it.
Genre
-I wouldn't be able to guess this was a horror game from the maps I saw.
Comments
-Not really enough here to judge. The graphics looked ok, but that's pretty much all there was.

HARD MODE


#1: RMRKario Ware! (Zylos)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-Fantastic!
-The use of drawn-like scenes was cute, fun, and very loveable.
-The sound effects and songs were perfectly fitting.
-You replicated the games perfectly.
-The scenes were very well executed.
Playability
-There were no bugs, and the game was really simple and easy to play.
-There wasn't really much to do, other than save RMRK with random shit, though. Still, I would not have it any other way.
-There's several things that you did, as far as mechanics were
concerned, that were really complex and amazing.
-I honestly would not be able to tell that this was made in RPG Maker.
Ingenuity
-Although it was a small (yet really fun) story, it sure got the point across.
-There isn't too much originality here, because this is a remake of "Wario Ware".
-You managed to give it your own "RMRK" twist, and that turned out really well.
Entertainment
-Even when I lost the game, I still had fun.
-The game itself was really just 5 seconds worth of doing random stuff. But I had so
much fun with all the random, silly mini-games.
-It's short-but-sweet.
Genre
-Honestly, it was mini-game carnival enough for me.
Comments
-We saved RMRK from going downhill!
-I feel sort of weird for giving out so many 10/10s here.
-Simply, beautiful... *sniff*

#2: Heroes Line (TDS)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-After extended periods of time the music gets a little bit annoying, perhaps switching tracks based on what's occurring in the game at the moment (half the enemy reinforcements are gone, half your soldiers are gone, the enemy boss is at half health), could add some dynamic to the gameplay and make everything not sound as repetitive.
-Maps are simple, could use some variation of terrain on the ground (long grass, flowers, paths, cracks)
-Enemy variation is repetitive; some palette swaps could go a long way (sort of like the multi gendered player characters).
-Graphics-wise, the game was really just simple RTP graphics with an interesting side-like view battle style.
-The fact that this game used custom (scripted) windows was simply fantastic and made it look really cool with the RTP graphics.
-The music was catchy and fitting. Sometimes, I felt like the music didn't loop properly, though.
Playability
-It took a little while to get the hang of the game, but it was really awesome once I got used to it.
-The gameplay is pretty simple, but sometimes the game can become really difficult - due to not knowing what heroes are strong against which enemies as the game progresses.
-The mechanics of the game were amazing - certainly one of its highest points.
-The whole game pretty much runs off of scripts, made by the creator. Very, very detailed scripts.
-No lag when playing, the script seems efficient.
-The shuffle enemy side feature is pretty neat, definitely adds a new dynamic to the game play.
-The bomb key is in an awkward position, I've often accidentally bombed the enemy side instead of selecting a unit when moving my hands off the keyboard and back again.
Ingenuity
-I've never seen this implemented before, it's unique, plays well and is rather addicting.
-Story wise the game is a little weak and this deducted from the score.
-This wins some points for originality, as I've never quite played anything like it.
-There wasn't really much of a story, but the creator did add in some story elements.
Entertainment
-I had a lot of fun playing this, and it was a mentally engaging experience.
-I can see it becoming frustrating, especially when I'm not sure what heroes to attack the foes with.
-Entertaining, I played this game for about an hour, challenging myself on hard mode.
-Some of the battles do tend to drag on, it can become tedious and repetitive after a while.
-The battles themselves are repetitive a winning strategy often consists of cycling units to trump whatever the enemies have and repeating until the battle is won, there needs to be something else to break up the repetitive game play.
Genre
-While the game is a puzzle game, it also feels like an arcade game and is fun and intellectually stimulating.
-It was certainly a strategy-like game, but I'm not sure if this is what I would expect from a puzzles game at first glance. Still, aligning heroes to face off against enemies in the correct order was very puzzle-like.
Comments
-Well, this was fun! Mentally straining at some points, sure, but very fun!

#3: NeverNeverLand (cozziekuns)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-Great use of the RTP graphics! This proves that you don't always need custom graphics to make a game look good.
-The music was nice.
-One of the songs didn't loop very cleanly, as it appears to be more situational.
-The main screen looked fantastic.
-I love the HUD you had set up. I wish it was in the top-left corner, instead, though. It seemed to get in the way.
Playability
-There were some bugs, as the creator mentioned.
-Sometimes, I got stuck on things while trying to move.
-And, of course, there is the bug with trying to fight through objects.
-I love all the custom scripting you put into this!
-This game turned out way more complex than I was expecting - in a good way!
Ingenuity
-There's not much story going on here, but the text narration seems to hint that I'm a girl trapped in a fantasy world. It has a lot of interesting things to say, so that's a plus.
-I would have scored this higher for originality, but this game is mostly based off of something else's story, so there's not many points to be gained here. Still, I loved it.
Entertainment
-I had a lot of fun with this. It was a neat, new experience and the creator did a fantastic job.
Genre
-The whole thing is pretty much point-and-click. The creator seemed to put quite some attention to that, too.

#4: Cascade Paramour (Manodyne)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-Music is used when appropriate, it adds to the feeling of scenes, I particularly like the bar scene's music.
-Maps are good, a little detail here and there could go a long way.
-The shadows on the exterior maps are odd in some places.
-I wasn't a fan of your interiors with the RTP, but I did enjoy your outdoor maps.
-The facesets were a nice touch, and certainly win some points!
-The music was good and used well at first, but I didn't think the town song fit very well at all. Maybe that was intentional? I'm not sure. The town kinda went crazy.
Playability
-There wasn't any bugs, but then again...there wasn't very many things to do.
-It seemed to mostly just be an intro to the game, then with some randomness thrown in afterwards.
-The only mechanic that really stood out to me was the 3 traits that the character can develop. You did an excellent job with those!
-You gave the player an opportunity to enhance those traits frequently, as well as giving a purpose for player-controlled text, other than to "see what the player says". Very neat, and I loved it!
-Good use of scripts to modify $scene_choices, it looks and functions correctly.
Ingenuity
-The story is quirky, light hearted, and interesting.
-The game wasn't really original, other than the interesting way of controlling the player's personality. Certainly a cool idea to control the player's traits and dictate what the player can "get away with" based on his experience with those traits.
-The story didn't really seem to go anywhere yet.
-The scenes were done pretty well.
-The creator's writing was wonderful.
Entertainment
-Although the game was short and didn't contain very much actual gameplay, I really enjoyed reading the cutscenes. I know that the town was mostly just you goofing off, but it honestly added to the fun experience I had with this game.
-The game needs some work here and there, but it wasn't lacking in fun.
-The quirky characters are fun to speak to, I hope you keep a few of them upon continuing the development of this game.
Genre
-I didn't get to see the genre unfold completely, but I did like the closeness feature. If there was a way to view this in a more graphical way, that would be nice.
-I could certainly see how this was a Dating Sim. It just didn't quite get there...yet!
Comments
-I hope you keep working on this. Seriously. I'll play this game if you finish it!

#5: Ganbatte! ("Team Fireyfurs")

Spoiler for:

Polish
-Visuals and Audio were nice, but only 3 character faces in a week of work?
-The custom faces were adorable.
-The music was cute.
-The maps in the background were pretty nice.
-The custom font was a neat effect, and I found it to be worth the effort of installing it.
-I especially liked the use of images to tell the time.
-There were a couple of characters that I feel should have had faces, like Suzy and maybe even the moderator (since they are the only other characters that seem to talk).
Playability
-The game progressed simply, just a matter of selecting options and then watching cutscenes.
-No bugs that I could see, really. Well, except that my polls only changed after debates and not for campaigning, but maybe that was intentional? Not sure.
-I really liked the ability to view polls and the whole system behind the percentages and the three campaign topics.
-The way those three topics functioned in a help-this-but-harm-this sort of way (for a lack of a better phrase or word) was really interesting.
-Annoying how to find the special font...
-Even with the special font, it tend to fall off the side.
Ingenuity
-This certainly wins points for originality. I've never quite played anything like it. The idea of bringing politics into the game was really cool.
-There was actually a decent amount of story to the game, which was pretty nice. Although it wasn't really in-depth, it was very practical and I enjoyed that.
Entertainment
-The game was pretty short, which made it more enjoyable.
- had fun with the debates, honestly.
-The game lacked some excitement, but if anything, it was more mentally stimulating than anything.
Genre
-This doesn't seem much like a dating sim...
-I didn't really get the "Dating Sim" feel from this game. I could see elements of it, from the whole "winning the hearts of the people" and whatnot, but that's it.
Comments
-It was a very interesting game, and not at all what I was expecting. Very neat!

#6: Speed Dating ("The Best Team")

Spoiler for:

Polish
-The custom music is a plus and was fantasic. It was upbeat and interesting, and even funny in a certain location. Very catchy.
-The maps were quite spacious, though. I guess they needed the room for the random people walking around.
-The many carpets in the main map looked kinda tacky.
Playability
-Good. The game was simple and easy to figure out, and even included instructions at the beginning of the game.
-There were no bugs that I could find.
-The game is simple and clean (well, minus the occasional racial slurs).
-There was some text in Japanese.
-The mechanics of the game were really simple, and didn't really show off anything fancy.
Ingenuity
-The game gets a lot of points for originality in my books. It was a neat idea and I've never played anything quite like it.
-The creators went quite bold with this.
-There wasn't really any story to the game.
-All the points here pretty much go to originality.
Entertainment
-This game gave me a lot of laughs. I appreciate the fact that this game was made with light-hearted fun.
-It was difficult to get the numbers of the people in the first room. You never really know how they are going to react, and it seems more like a guessing game.
Genre
-Fits the genre quite well, due to the dating and stuff. It's very different than most Dating Sims, though.
Comments
-The writer did a fantastic job. He was able to depict different personalities pretty well. The musician did a damn good job, as well. What an odd team!

#7: Knight Down (Lord Stark & Caedo)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-I liked the music, it was pretty well done and suspenseful overall.
-I kind of wish there had been music while I'm running through the maps.
-The heavy metal song was a bit out-of-place.
-The first boss looked really, really blurry.
-The maps are a bit bland and lacking, but the fact that you use so many walls is a plus for me. It makes them seem less spacious and more "snug".
-There's quite a bit of spelling errors, but I'm not too concerned with that.
Playability
-The random stealth foes is a nice touch - it keeps the game from being too easy.
-Not sure why I see an axe pop in while swinging a sword.
-Not able to use the Leather Shield while its equipped. Also, I wasn't able to use certain skills, like Strong Attack and the whirlwind, I think.
-The boss battles are ok, but I really had to get in his face to actually be able to hit him.
-I've been poisoned for awhile. I ran out of mana, having to heal all the time due to the poison. I had to access the editor and give myself an antidote.
-The on-screen battles and lack of random encounters is a plus for me. I've seen these types of scripts, but I give you kudos for actually making one work out. I know they can be a pain in the butt to set up!
-Warning: Slime can hit you if your at their sides...and through rocks...
-When did I get an axe?
-Why do Blue Slime give me Green Ooze?
-If you're standing on the boss when he dies, you cant move on.
-Can't sell armor.
Ingenuity
-Despite how weird it was, and how little sense it made, the ending had me hooked.
-The overall starting idea for the game was a bit cliche. If the whole game had been as random and quirky as the ending, I think this could have become a very original, unusual game.
-Moving forward wasn't all too difficult. I never really got lost for too long.
-Just kept hacking n' slashing my way through the dungeons.
Entertainment
-Despite all the bugs and the length of the game, I found this game to be really entertaining.
-It was awkward at times, but I enjoyed the humor overall.
-I ran through all those crazy dungeon mazes and busted my ass all the way to such a weird ending. In the end, it kinda made it worth it.
Genre
-It matched my idea of a Dungeon Crawler pretty well. You can't go wrong with that.
Comments
-It said the fortune teller gave me a dagger, but she gave me a heavy sword...
-It had some rough patches that made me frustrated, but at other times it was really neat.
-The fact that I got to hack-and-slash was a nice change from some of the other games I've been judging lately.

#8: R-Pac-G (Little Psycho)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-I appreciate you making your own graphics - at least, that's what it looks like. -The color clash kinda hurt my eyes.
-The music was cool - that's to be expected with Pacman.
Playability
-I couldn't see any bugs, really.
-The game started massively lagging as I collected more pills. It was a little frustrating.
-The mechanics were pretty simple, but the captured Pacman pretty well.
-There wasn't any enemies yet. So, the game was a little too easy.
Ingenuity
-There was a little story thrown into this, and I found it to be quite neat.
-Since it is just a Pacman remake, it's lacking as far as originality is concerned.
Entertainment
-I had a moderate amount of fun with this. Still, it was too easy and the lag kind of ruined it for me. I know you didn't have time to make the enemies, though.
Genre
-Certainly an arcade game. You can't go wrong with Pacman.
Comments
-I'd make the colors less bright.
-Downloader gave me a Virus. R-U-D-E.

#9: Door of Zosha (Exhydra)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-Very beautiful game! The graphics are amazing, and the mapping looks fantastic (not to mention creative).
-I really like how I can see myself through walls that I'm walking behind. Simply
amazing.
-The title screen and logo looked absolutely fantastic, as well. Wow!
-The music was interesting, suited the game well, and seemed to be executed just fine.
Playability
-After you talk to the guard to get through the door he moves to the left, however if you are there the game gets stuck.
-There wasn't very much gameplay. So far, it's just the intro to the game.
-I can forsee the gameplay being wonderful, but for now it's (sadly) incomplete.
-I loved how the menu was a map of its own. Sooo cool!
Ingenuity
-There wasn't much story so far, but what little there was seemed very interesting. I liked the idea of being in a guise.
-This also wins some points for originality, because I've never quite seen a story like this.
-It's very mysterious, and leaves a lot of room for curiosity.
Entertainment
-I had fun with what I did play. Sadly, most of the entertainment came from the pretty graphics, and curiosity from what would become of the plot.
-I can't really say if I would enjoy it or not, because there wasn't any gameplay yet.
Genre
-It didn't have any of the "Dungeon Crawler" elements yet, because it was just a short intro to the game.
Comments
-Wow, this is certainly one of the games I want to see finished. It looks really amazing. I don't know what to expect as far as gameplay is concerned, but it looks interesting.

#10: There can only be one! (Solar Eclipse)

Spoiler for:

Polish
-I kinda liked the mapping, actually. Good work with that.
-The music was ok - it seemed to suit the scenes just fine.
-Form 4's face doesn't match the sprite.
-The text cuts off on the weapons description, so I can't read it.
Playability
-I have no idea what's going on in the first map. Why is the name selection in japanese...? I have to hit a certain button to make it go in english.
-I had to keep resetting, because I get stuck with a certain form and can't go back after the name input.
-"A" to swing...not "V"...?
-I don't like how there's save points, but I can still save in my menu. Wat.
-Also, apparently, I learned how to jump...but I don't know how.
-Kinda cool how my health is so small. It's a bit refreshing, compared to how people normally do health.
-In the future I would consider a graphical hud for the health bar, so it's easier to keep up with.
-I had to delete your bomb-things because I couldn't avoid them? What? I probably had to jump over them, but I was kinda never told how to do that, soo...
-Lots of minor passability issues - things I shouldn't be able to walk over, and things I should be able to walk over.
-The mechanics were decent. Lots of little puzzles and stuff.
-There was just too many confusing things, such as not knowing
how to jump.
-The enemies were really stoopid.
-It's really confusing to keep track of my health. I have to pull up the menu every time.
-Most enemies stopped being able to damage me.
Ingenuity
-Not much of a story going on here, nor originality.
Entertainment
-It was fun, despite the things that kinda confused me. I just attack way too slow.
Genre
-It seemed pretty "dungeon crawler" to me.
Comments
-Not a bad game - just needs quite some work. The combat system was kinda weird and sluggish.

#K: Speed Dating (Best Team)

Spoiler for:

Comments

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJyoXH7msXM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJyoXH7msXM</a>

Awesome! Good to get some feedback on certain elements of the games, some specific comments are really useful.

It was my first time doing parallax mapping, so it was a fun experience, but it was also pretty trial and error. Most of the maps that had layers were done right, (I think) but because of the lighting effects I was using in the Garden area, the layered picture on top was coming out as the normal shade, rather than the tinted effect to make the lights work I was planning on editing the top layer to match the same colouring as the tinted base map, but didn't have time for something that wasn't utterly game breaking.

As for the woman smoking outside, she should be integral to a little side-story that will be implemented. I won't give too much away, but I will say it has something to do with the Zed Shed's radio competition mentioned during the introduction sequence!

Thanks again for posting this!

Okay.

Progfox/Cloudfall: no problem! B)

I'm glad I finally got it out of the way. B) I hope you guys find it to be helpful!

#K: Speed Dating (Best Team)

Spoiler for:

Comments

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJyoXH7msXM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJyoXH7msXM</a>

Quoting because I fucking love this. Thank you. B)

Thanks for the kind words yuyu. What is the bug that kills the game? Obviously I'll need to fix that

We were going to have more faces, but Gracie's Photoshop crashed early in the week and took all of her work with it.

That, and I really couldn't have put the font in a more accessible location.  What was annoying about trying to find it?

Lastly, about the polls not changing.  I should have explained in there, but I figured leaving the mechanics vague was the best option for a game like this.  The voters don't get very much from small single changes in your policy stats, they're looking for an overall trend.  You have to keep at it or they won't notice you.

Well I readed it so far and the most things I allready get told and seen it myself.
But the bug where the Chest are allready opened up didn't anyone noticed.
Polish
-The windowskin is colorful. Does not fit with the font color, though...
  > Well I inserted a font that must be installed before starting the game the first time and there was a file named "How To Install", were I wrote it down.

-I like how I'm walking on clouds, but I'm confused about what those bridge things are.
 > I didn't know how else I can show the player, that there is a passage to other clouds. Maybe some small smoke clouds would be better.

-The maps are a bit too spacious, and seem a little unsuiting with the pony graphics. Snowdrop's character doesn't fit well with the background images. The coloring conflicts too much and its hard to see her, as well as the graphics being a different style altogether. Some of the faces don't match some of the other faces.
 > I didn't got the time to make every costume graphic myself. I allready used only bases and edited them, the most aren't so in the internet.

-I don't really think the music fits, especially in the classroom scene. It's a little too cheery, and it kinda makes the scene a bit creepy.
 > Well I will change this classroom scene music, but the other I think wasn't that bad.

Playability
-I wasn't really sure what to do in the game. The game progressed in a strange way, usually by me doing something random (such as walking across and standing on some random cloud).
 > I wanted, that the player starts exploring the world, like it was done in Two Worlds. But later there will be a clear storyline in it, when you leave Cloudsdale, but there was
    unfortunaly the end of the demo.

-There were a lot of scripts, but nothing that I was able to use in the short demo. I think the creator spent a little too much time collecting scripts, which can be a dangerous downfall. There were no mechanics that really stood out to me.
  > Well the videolink should explain it.

Ingenuity
-The conversations are a little awkward. By that, I mean how snowdrop and primrose randomly start talking about sad stuff for no reason. Then suddenly, I'm out on a journey. I don't even know what is going on with the ponies in the classroom, saying that snowdrop should...kill herself? Whoa. I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I'd say its pretty low on originality, because it was a game made after a tv show.
  > The video explain much again and will explain, why she saying the sad stuff, if you clear this bonus scene shown in the Video, by the way it's the GIAW version, becaus I use a
     new battle engine now, because the old one was kinda buggy. The next point it only depends on the start of the short story, because at the middle point of the movie you
     start to guide the way things happen. I will post the original video here:
               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do6RDSwaWek

Entertainment
-It was too short to be drawn out, and it wasn't really frustrating to play. All I really did was watch a bunch of ponies talk about how sad life is.
  > Just look at the video below.

Comments
-It needs some work, but I know you only had a week to work on this.
 > Yeah, this was my major problem, by the way it was my very first thing I ever made with any RPG Maker for Windows, the last one I used was RPG Tukool 2 for the SNES. But
    here is a video that shows, that there was normally about 2 hours+ of gameplay in it:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm8U02Y16dA

I figured I'd add in here, I'm not disputing anything the judges said, just figured I'd clarify a few points that were not clear in my game.  I'm going to make it more clear if I do a public release.

Along those lines, how could I make installing a font be more clear?

In regards to font usage within VX or VXA, you can place a font you wish to use in the 'Fonts' folder in the root directory of the game. Then, simply change the value of 'Font.default_name' to include the font. Tis a great feature, but not listed anywhere in the help file.

EDIT: Actually, I guess it is. But, only one line under the 'Font' class.

I just put the font in the root folder and sent instructions to the judges to install it.

Not everyone likes having to install stuff. Putting the font in a folder is way easier for the player, even if it's harder for you.

Also, I can't really disagree with the points made about The visitor, but many of the problems were sadly due to time constraints (rushed end, repetitive puzzles, empty halls).
Guess it was the same for everyone so not really an excuse but I'm pleased that I finished the game, and I don't really plan to spend much time redoing stuff.
I'm already working on other projects and this was just something I planned to spend a week on. Feedback is always helpful, though, and I can't really blame it on the time
constraints only, ofcourse.

I'm going to answer these questions to the best of my ability, because those comments aren't just mine. o.o Most of them are copy + paste from what other judges sent me.

...Ok, so maybe I don't have much to say on the MLP one. Except just one thing (because I'll admit that this one was my comment):

-The windowskin is colorful. Does not fit with the font color, though...
  > Well I inserted a font that must be installed before starting the game the first time and there was a file named "How To Install", were I wrote it down.

I did install the font. What I meant was that the font's color clashed with the windowskin's color.

Along those lines, how could I make installing a font be more clear?

I felt like removing the comment about the font, because the judge that sent it to me told me that was their first time installing a font and they were a little confused.

Honestly, that was my first time to install a font, too, but I had no qualms about that. I think it made it worth it. After figuring out how to install that one, it was a piece of cake for the others with custom fonts (just had to google it and it wasn't that hard, lol). So, you're fine. Just some confusion there.

On that note: I'm going to do custom fonts for my game now. I get so sick of the RPG Maker font. D:

Spoiler for:

readed

But the bug where the Chest are allready opened up didn't anyone noticed.

The game was so short, I didn't need gear.

Polish
-The windowskin is colorful. Does not fit with the font color, though...
  > Well I inserted a font that must be installed before starting the game the first time and there was a file named "How To Install", were I wrote it down.

"Color of Font" and "Font" are not the same thing, Color of Font DOES NOT come from your Font.

-I like how I'm walking on clouds, but I'm confused about what those bridge things are.
 > I didn't know how else I can show the player, that there is a passage to other clouds. Maybe some small smoke clouds would be better.

Considering how your main character doesn't have wings, that would be best.

-The maps are a bit too spacious, and seem a little unsuiting with the pony graphics. Snowdrop's character doesn't fit well with the background images. The coloring conflicts too much and its hard to see her, as well as the graphics being a different style altogether. Some of the faces don't match some of the other faces.
 > I didn't got the time to make every costume graphic myself. I allready used only bases and edited them, the most aren't so in the internet.

Thats okay, because graphics dont wear costumes.

-I don't really think the music fits, especially in the classroom scene. It's a little too cheery, and it kinda makes the scene a bit creepy.
 > Well I will change this classroom scene music, but the other I think wasn't that bad.

You would think that.

-I wasn't really sure what to do in the game. The game progressed in a strange way, usually by me doing something random (such as walking across and standing on some random cloud).
 > I wanted, that the player starts exploring the world, like it was done in Two Worlds. But later there will be a clear storyline in it, when you leave Cloudsdale, but there was
    unfortunaly the end of the demo.

I would not try to copy Two Worlds, I sold that game in two days.

-There were a lot of scripts, but nothing that I was able to use in the short demo. I think the creator spent a little too much time collecting scripts, which can be a dangerous downfall. There were no mechanics that really stood out to me.
  > Well the videolink should explain it.

THANK GODS FOR THE VIDEOLINK, WHICH I NEVER GOT! 

Ingenuity
-The conversations are a little awkward. By that, I mean how snowdrop and primrose randomly start talking about sad stuff for no reason. Then suddenly, I'm out on a journey. I don't even know what is going on with the ponies in the classroom, saying that snowdrop should...kill herself? Whoa. I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I'd say its pretty low on originality, because it was a game made after a tv show.
  > The video explain much again and will explain, why she saying the sad stuff, if you clear this bonus scene shown in the Video, by the way it's the GIAW version, becaus I use a
     new battle engine meow, because the old one was kinda buggy. The next point it only depends on the start of the short story, because at the middle point of the movie you
     start to guide the way things happen. I will post the original video here:
               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do6RDSwaWek

I have to watch a BONUS scene to understand the game?

Entertainment
-It was too short to be drawn out, and it wasn't really frustrating to play. All I really did was watch a bunch of ponies talk about how sad life is.
  > Just look at the video below.

No.

Comments
-It needs some work, but I know you only had a week to work on this.
 > Yeah, this was my major problem, by the way it was my very first thing I ever made with any RPG Maker for Windows, the last one I used was RPG Tukool 2 for the SNES. But
    here is a video that shows, that there was normally about 2 hours+ of gameplay in it:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm8U02Y16dA

Focus on Scripts when you NEED them.
I don't care to watch a million videos, especially if it makes me sit around for 2+ hours.

dayum

*Snap*
*Snap*
gurl, u told her

I did install the font. What I meant was that the font's color clashed with the windowskin's color.

I don't wanted to brag about a better score, I'm sorry, if it comes out like this, but as you all can clearly see, my english is pretty bad. :'(
Well I tried to make the font color so, that it is clearly to read. I really don't know, which color would fit better, I'm sorry. :'(

Spoiler for:

- "Color of Font" and "Font" are not the same thing, Color of Font DOES NOT come from your Font.
   = > I'm so sorry, for miss understanding.

- Considering how your main character doesn't have wings, that would be best.
  = > Well, I know you all hated MLP but in Cloudsdale there are only Pegasus and Alicorns and I will make a flying animation for these parts, but I really don't got the time for all
        these stuff.

- Thats okay, because graphics dont wear costumes.
   = > I think it's not really funny, to make fun about people who aren't that good in english. I meant custom graphics, I'm really sorry for this one. :'(

- You would think that.
   = > Well I have really thought about many tracks and songs but I really don't messed totally up except for the class room. I guess this one is much more worse:
         http://www.darkkyshadow.com/Download.html
         There is only real party music in it, no balacing, no story and everything is total random.

- THANK GODS FOR THE VIDEOLINK, WHICH I NEVER GOT! 
   = > I know that, because I made it yesterday, I'm so sorry. :'(

- I have to watch a BONUS scene to understand the game?
   = > I know that wasn't the smartest idea. I really tried to make the player explore everything.

- Focus on Scripts when you NEED them. I don't care to watch a million videos, especially if it makes me sit around for 2+ hours.
  = > I only made one with 7 minutes, to show where it can be found, not the whole map. :'(
        I needed them and I used them, not every single in the demo, but there will be all used in the full version...
        I allways collect first the scripts to make sure there will be no errors from them, because often happens, that scipts are disabling standard tint screen or other things. To
        avoid these errors, I allways collect scripts first, so I'm really sorry for my working style...

Well I say it here again, I never wanted to brag about higher score, I only wanted to show the judges, that they have missed a whole map, nothing more.
And I found it really mean to make fun about my bad english. I'm really sorry for miss understanding it with the fonts. I only slept 2 hours yesterday, so I was really tired were I wroten it. I don't figured it out what you mean, so I'm really sorry, if I offended anyone... :'( (\s/)

I just put the font in the root folder and sent instructions to the judges to install it.

This message was also passed on to the judges, which is why I had installed it. Of course, not everyone knows that they can simply copy and paste the font file into the Windows/Fonts folder to install it. I've installed a million fonts over the many years, so it's almost second nature for me.

Exhydra has the best way to use custom fonts without a person having to require installing it to their Windows/Fonts folder, and then using a small script to change the default Font class settings.

This message was also passed on to the judges, which is why I had installed it. Of course, not everyone knows that they can simply copy and paste the font file into the Windows/Fonts folder to install it. I've installed a million fonts over the many years, so it's almost second nature for me.

Well under Windows 7 you simply have to double click the file and everything is done.
I didn't know about the Font folder thing, so I didn't done it that way. (\s/)

Glad to see the detailed feedback.
The music used anywhere after the intro was basically placed randomly, so they were right in thinking about that. I can't take credit for the main town outdoor map because it's actually a Sample Map, which one of the NPCs does point out, but I find it hilarious that no one noticed that.
I'm happy that the judges liked my trait idea and that they dug my writing. Honestly, as I repeatedly looked over the scenes, I thought "People are either going to immediately like this or hate this," given how shamelessly corny it is.
I'll be sure to clean up the maps a bit and definitely continue working on it. Thanks everyone!

I don't know what you're all still doing here.
It's over. We all lost, okay. Just go home.

Spend what little time we have left, with your family.
When the world ends, I won't be here to see it happen.

KAMZAM!

I likes your avatar, Lord Stark me gusta diego/godot

Thanks for the kind words yuyu. What is the bug that kills the game? Obviously I'll need to fix that

I forgot to respond to this. It's right after the scene with the cliff. I think there was some problem with the transition to the town map. D: I dunno, both Dr. Mc and I ran into that bug, I don't know if anyone else did, though.

I don't figured it out what you mean, so I'm really sorry, if I offended anyone... :'( (\s/)

It's just that you came across like the judges were stupid for not watching a video and understanding your game. It's like Logan said, we judge what's IN the game, not outside of it. Also, the judges took their time to write that criticism, just so you can improve your game. If you disregard everything we say, then that will all be in vain.

It's just that you came across like the judges were stupid for not watching a video and understanding your game. It's like Logan said, we judge what's IN the game, not outside of it. Also, the judges took their time to write that criticism, just so you can improve your game. If you disregard everything we say, then that will all be in vain.

No, it's okay, I will improve what I can. Maybe I wasn't in the best mood the last past days. I will redo the most stuff and make the game more logic and with a better and clearer storyline. It was my bad, not yours, or of any other judge. Well I'm really sorry for causing so much trouble. :'( (\s/)