Castle Paradox

[Pepsi Ranger]

I want to say thanks to everyone who voted, and special thanks to everyone who posted comments behind their scores. I personally took something away about game design from these posts (like, there was a time in my life when I made mod levels for Duke Nukem 3D and actually designed my levels to expand beyond the playing field--as in, show a portion of the inaccessible world as part of the level design--but for some reason I don't do that with my RPGs, and I really need to start doing that, and Hachi's comments about Okedoke's cave walls reminded me of that (http://www.slimesalad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=72061#72061)). I suppose one could say that this contest was partially created to relive and/or rebuild the past. And we could definitely say that it was created to give the engine some purpose in 2010. But it also had the latent effect of community support for each game, which I sort of felt had been diminishing over the years. Thankfully, the community element was just as responsive this month as it had been in the early days of the engine. And I'm careful to say this because support seems to fly a little higher during contests, and despite the throwback nature of the Heart of the OHR, it's still a contest. But feedback is just as important to game design as the actual designing, and it takes a team to do that. I wish we were more active in constructive feedback for noncontest games (there is usually one or two helpful players out there per game, but typically no more than that), but I appreciate that most of us went above and beyond for the games in this contest.

As a side note: One thing we have today that we didn't have in the early decade (or, if we did, it wasn't being used) is real-time feedback, and Hachi in particular did an excellent job with it. Most things in life, especially in technology, eventually evolve into something better, and there does come a point when we have to bid farewell to the old days to embrace the new. Forum postings are still adequate, but now there's a new way to receive constructive criticism. For anyone who signs on with #slimesalad in IRC (Esper), you have a better chance at discussing your game in full. And if you're really lucky, you might even get to witness a livestream of your game being played...in REAL TIME. Perhaps if more people create livestreams of their playing experience, then forum feedback will provide backup to the user's experience. The Youtube Let's Plays are also good, but I have to admit that the livestream was the best form that I've seen. If you haven't caught that wave, sign in at #slimesalad in IRC and join the fun. It's the future of OHR reviews. So, I just wanted to put that information out there for anyone who's interested in stronger feedback.

In short, this was a success, and I thank you all.

So that's it. Voting's closed, and I thank everyone who found the time to share his scores. Results will be given to Surlaw later tonight and hopefully posted in Hamsterspeak #45 tomorrow.

Now, start working on your new masterpieces, or finish the ones you've started. Heart of the OHR 2012 will be here before any of us know it.
_________________
Progress Report:

The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition

Currently Updating: General sweep of the game world and dialogue boxes. Adding extended maps.

Tightfloss Maiden

Currently Updating: Chapter 2