BATTLE SYSTEM HOV JUDGMENTS
by Hahn (hahn@verge-rpg.com)
17.JUL.04

INNOVATION

0 Remake or tribute game
10 Genre system. Derivation immediately clear
20 Interesting twist on a genre. Includes fresh elements
30 Breaking new ground in game design.

POLISH

0 Little or no interface. Minimal graphics.
10 Competent use of old art. Presentation unremarkable.
20 Slick use of graphics and sound. Plays smoothly.
30 Immersive, professional presentation

GAMEPLAY

0 Non-interactive or deterministic execution
10 Interaction, but contrived and clumsy
20 Decent response. Controls unobtrusive
30 Fun, satisfying, addictive

PIZAZZ

0 The above scores accurately summarize the product
10 Judge's discretion--special fondness

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(void*)static by Zara

INNOVATION: 17
Definitely unexpected. It reminded me both of Parasite Eve and House of the
Dead. VERGE in 3D! If the concept were any more fleshed out, this score
would be in the high 20s, but alas, for an RPG compo, we are not given only
implied narrative here. Nevertheless, the designer's extreme creativity is
apparent.

POLISH: 16
Music is great. Enemy sprites are great. Backdrop is great. Any nitpicking
about the wall or floor textures would be overlooking the adolescence of
VERGE's 3D capabilities. Some title screen or quick control summary would be
nice. Sound effects too.

GAMEPLAY: 10
The premise of the gameplay here is not a bad one: The combination of aiming
for a moving target's weak spot while monitoring your own HP is a good
recipe for excitement and tension. However, this isn't the RPG experience
that I believe this particular HoV is striving for.

PIZAZZ: 0
As fond as I am of this achievement and as much as I want to see it
developed further, it seems more appropriate for a different compo.


TOTAL: 43
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Geas by Kildorf

INNOVATION: 10
An HoV sequel! Familiar tone and setting. The character, equipment, skill,
etc. paradigms are canonical.

POLISH: 15
Music choices are very nice. The character sketches are pleasant, but need
color. The tiles are good, especially in the village. Naturally, more sound
effects and battle animations would help. I also managed to crash the game a
few times
via the menu and some map events.

GAMEPLAY: 16
The beginnings of a battle system here are exciting. I'll be eager to see
more abilities and tactics implemented. The modest quest activities are fun.
The world is coherent enough to give a sense of place. I look forward to a
future update in which there is more to do.

PIZAZZ: 5
The character interactions are thoughtful. I like the humble origins of the
main characters and the relative innocence of the world we see here.


TOTAL: 46
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Duskbane by Troupe

INNOVATION: 13
Not too many 'supernatural hunter' RPGs come to mind. It has kind of a
Shadow Hearts feel. I wish the demo were longer so we could learn more about
the protagonists and their areas of special interest.

POLISH: 16
The music and tiles work together to create an effective mood. The dark
periphery is great. I especially like the contrast between the 'dark' tone
and the cute 16-bit style walking sprites.

GAMEPLAY: 6
Sadly, not much more than walking and checking here. If there's a way to
interact in the spotlight scene after looking out the window, it is not
documented. A setting like this has the potential for some wonderfully scary
encounters, I would
think.

PIZAZZ: 5
The tone is coherent and compelling, and I'm fond of the setup. I look
forward to seeing more.

TOTAL: 40
---

Quest for Milk by Ness

INNOVATION: 14
Formula RPG, but a unique angle on the story. Moo cows are cute! The
implemented skill system deserves special mention.

POLISH: 14
The identical walking sprites are VERY distracting. The tiles are also
uninspired. Nevertheless, the experience as a whole is coherent and solid.
The music is simple and sometimes silly, but matches the overall tone of the
game. More original graphics
would definitely benefit this game.

GAMEPLAY: 22
The scenario was delightful. The battle system hasn't changed much from the
last HoV, but there's been some numerical
tweaking which makes it playable and fun. The sequence of objectives and
challenge level were just about right. The
final battle was very close and suspenseful. The map 'puzzles' are simple,
but the implementation of skills and items
make the experience worthwhile.

PIZAZZ: 7
Definitely an RPG. Nostalgic and enjoyable. The only thing that got in the
way was the lazy graphics.

TOTAL: 57
---

Phobos Project by Technetium

INNOVATION: 15
Appears to be standard RPG setup, but the setting is intriguing with its mix
of goblins and police, dress shirts and
swords. The menus hint at interesting combat considerations in the future.

POLISH: 26
Excellent graphics and sound effects. The portraits, text boxes, menus, and
backdrops are all professional quality. I'm very excited about what this
game could turn into given this much attention to presentation, especially
in a battle system.

GAMEPLAY: 5
No meaningful interaction, unfortunately. The menus are great, but don't do
much until the rest of the game system is realized.

PIZAZZ: 10
Beautiful. Very promising.

TOTAL: 56
---

Parallel 7 by Interference22

INNOVATION: 23
Definitely unlike any other game that comes to mind. The setting is
intriguing, the tactical combat was unexpected, and the protagonist is not
the typical hero. Very fresh and imaginative.

POLISH: 21
Graphics and music are excellent. The menus and notice windows are slick and
unobtrusive. The inventory and status menus are also a treat. Nice portraits
and walking sprites, good backgrounds.

GAMEPLAY: 17
Tactical combat! My only complaint here is the difficulty. The second and
third battles required several retries. I might have missed some important
item of strategy, but there seemed to be no way to keep the weaker character
alive without removing her from combat altogether. With the addition of some
special abilities and sound effects, this could be a promising system. The
scenario is fun too, but brief and straightforward.

PIZAZZ: 10
An immediately likeable setting and amusing characters. Creative and
professional throughout.

TOTAL: 71
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Eine Verschmutzung by SDHawk

INNOVATION: 25
Extremely inventive combat system. I was fascinated for more than an hour
trying out different things. I'd be eager to see what sort of strategies
would be necessary for the player in a longer and more complex scenario. The
use of the mouse in this game is no small technical feat.

POLISH: 12
The menus and graphics are pretty simple. The music is good, but the
scenario isn't long enough to include much variety. The graphics during
battle are slick and display all the necessary information, but aren't
textured or flashy enough to call attention to themselves. Magic sound
effects would greatly add to this game.

GAMEPLAY: 18
I had a lot of fun here, trying out different configurations of circles,
crosses, etc. The varying speed of the enemies allows for just the right
combination of planning and reflexes. It was especially fun when enemies of
different types appeared, trying to form a spell that would destroy all of
them while taking into account their weaknesses and the character's limited
mana. The scenario, however, is straightforward and the story fragment we
have here is too vague to be compelling.

PIZAZZ: 8
I was very impressed by the creativity here. I wouldn't mind seeing a longer
scenario and more attention to graphics and sound effects.

TOTAL: 63

Story - 25 pts.

Is there, in fact, a story?
Is there an interesting atmosphere?
Is the tale told interesting?
Are there things to do, people to talk to, etc etc.

Ambiance - 5 pts.

Effective use of art, music, and sound effects?

Gameplay - 30 pts.

Is it fun?
Is there stuff to do?
If there are subsystems, are they integrated well?
Did I mention the fun?

Code - 15 pts.

Was it coded well?
Is the code easy to read?
Is the code documented?


Innovation - 15 pts.

Is it completly new?
Is it an intresting spin on old themes?
Is it more cliched than Admiral Ackbar catching mice?


Discretion - 10 pts.

How much did it impress me? ;)
Random other bits that amuse or annoy me.

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Eine Verschmutzung (Contamination)
=============

Story 15 of 25
Although it's mainly expository, and the entire game can be summed up in 3 exchanges, there is at least a sembalnce of something going on here. The three exchanges are somewhat over-the-top William-Shatner-style melodramatics, but hey, it's right at home in an RPG. :)

Ambiance 3 of 5
The music was well chosen, if sparse. The tiles were very very very reminiscent of C64/Spectrum/1980's computer gaming... which is near and dear to my heart. Hooray!

Gameplay 17 of 30
There's little in the way of non-battle gameplay here... nobody to talk to except for the plot-ghost. Nothing to examine, etc. However, the battles were, at the least, interesting. Although the docs seem to imply that different shapes to the drawing did things, I managed to spam my way through the game by covering everything in pink dots as much as possible. Still, an intriguing game.

Code 12 of 15
The code is well-formed, nicely indented, and easy to understand. The only fault is a comprehensive lack of comments to aid, thereby making it neccesary to read through the code.

Innovation 15 of 15
Full marks, just because I'd've never thought to combine MS-Paint and a battle system.

Discretion 8 of 10
Although short and lacking in story, I rather liked it. To tell the truth, I really like this, Parallel, and Milk equally, so I have no idea which way the numbers will come out as of this writing. Good job, SDHawk, Salamando, and Troupe!


Total: 70

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Parallel 7
=============

Story 15 of 25
I was going to score this much higher, but then I had to reconsider. Yes, it had ambiance and character and Savior-faire... but it kinda lacked an ending. It lacked most of the middle, too. An ending I can forgive as I'm a fan of Neal Stephenson, but the middle?
That said, I cannot award more points at this time for the story. However, I eagerly look forward to the completion of this game. The points it recieves are fully based on atmosphere and mood-setting dialogue.

Ambiance 5 of 5
Whoa daddy. This was the pole position in my heart for style and flair. It was the whole package, shiney, consistant tiles; slick, consistant chrs, appropriate music. Yay!

Gameplay 27 of 30
Short as it was, the level of detail put into the map made it a pleasure to explore. Combine this with a well-crafted, if currently unbalanced. tactics battle system and a slick-as-snot menu interface, and you've got something worth playing with.
Now... only if it was complete.

Code 15 of 15
The code is clean, well documented, and generally good. On top of that, it's got some of the best examples of general-use event scripting that I've seen in recent days. This demo, to me, felt totally like a good v1 demo

Innovation 9 of 15
The setting and trimmings are new and pleasing (there should be more space RPGs, darnit!). I question the wisdom of having a turn-based survival horror... kinda takes the impending and sudden doom out of it :D

Discretion 8 of 10
Rather good on all counts. If this isn't completed, I shall bludgeon you.

Total: 79

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Quest For Milk
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Story 20 of 25
Not particularly involving, but there are towns with people to talk to! This is a big bonus in my book. The story is very simple (cow recovery, yay!), but there's several plot checkpoints, cutscenes, and branches in the story to explore. Definitly the most complete RPG of this competition.

Ambiance 2 of 5
The music was probably the low point here, followed by the fact that everyone in the game was Darin. The maps were simplistic, but functional. Situations like this is why I particularly advocate lowres gamemaking: it's just less work to make something look nice. The higher res you get, the more detail you need to have to make it shiney.

Gameplay 24 of 30
The game has a few tricks up it's sleeve, despite it's simple looks. There are a few ways to go through the game, depending on your choices (gaining Banish, alternate 3rd party members, etc). There's a skill advancement scheme that was mostly a novelty here due to the excessive costs to raise a skill's effectiveness for an exceptionally minimal increase. This game also features two puzzles, which I think were the only ones in the competition.

Code 12 of 15
The code is well formatted, but generally lacks comments (excepting system.vc and the battlesystem).

Innovation 7 of 15
It's a fairly standard effort, although I'm always a sucker for decision gates in RPGs, which are sadly non-standard in any serious way.

Discretion 8 of 10
This was the third of my favorites here. I gave them all 8's. I do not know why I chose 8. I just did.

Total: 73

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Duskbane
=============

Story 12 of 25
There was a bit of atmosphere here, mostly related by NPCs and a lot of books in the final scene. However, other than a tragedy which one assumes is the beginning of the story, the demo ends before anything happens.
The dialogue was hit-and-miss, which I'm told is due to Toen running away at the last minute and Troupe finishing things up himself. The word "Vargwulf" creeped up a lot in a particular monologue.

Ambiance 5 of 5
Pretty-as-hell, and the darkness and flashlights added some novelty to the system. Hyptosis is a god.

Gameplay 15 of 30
What little gameplay there is is fun. Mostly this is a walk'n'talk with 2.5 plotpoint gates. I eagerly await the finished version, but as it stands it's not quite all there.

Code 15 of 15
Clean, commented, and even has some reusable bits for other people (like the flashlight system)

Innovation 12 of 15
It's fairly neat, and I approve of the flashlight and notebook features. I hear the final version will have limb-exploding zombies, which I also approve of.

Discretion 7 of 10
I really liked this one, but it was far far too short. If there was just a few more plot points done, it'd've been a top contender to me. However, I pretty much finished it the first run in 7 minutes, including the longish intro.

Total: 66

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Phobos Project
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Story 10 of 25
Phobos is just an intro, without any interactivity once it's stopped. It's a very pretty intro, but there's no backstory or interaction once it ends. That said, it's a standard setup, and I wonder if any twists to this pattern will emerge once we see more.

Ambiance 4 of 5
Quite pretty. Very unique character design.

Gameplay 10 of 30
As it's an introductory sequence, there's not much in the way of gameplay other than

Code 10 of 15
Technically impressive, but daunting to be sure. Large unweildly blocks of code with very little commenting outside of system.vc make me wonder how easily this code will be to revisit.

Innovation 8 of 15
Seems to be a standard RPG,

Discretion 7 of 10
Despite it's lack of length, I really want to see more of this. More, Technetium!

Total: 49

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Geas
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Story 8 of 25
Sadly, this is also just an intro, and even less of an intro than Phobos'.

Ambiance 4 of 5
Pleasing to the eye with a unique tile and entity style (which I especially like), The music is also appropriate and upbeat, and the Field->battle->victory transitions are nice.
The only demerit is for near-magenta pixels remaining in the speech ports.

Gameplay 14 of 30
Absolutely nothing there RPG-wise, but the battles and menus

Code 13 of 15
Well formed and easy to read. Comments were sparse, and I have to dock out of fairness to the others for this, but at a cursory glance, it didn't really look like the lack of documentation was that much of a hunderance since there was good functional decomposition, very obvious function names, and very clear parameter names.
But then again, that was just at first glance.

Innovation 9 of 15
Looked standard, but laid down some atypical things I approve of (in-map battles). Also, the idea of a VERGE sequel tickles me. Tee hee.

Discretion 9 of 10
High discretionary points because even though it was an incomplete entry, it met all the requirements of the rules, was pretty, and damn it, I want to see more of it.

Total: 57

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Void
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Zara, you did know this was a RPG HoV, right? :D

30 points for being very neat, but you still got last place and a disqualification for not meeting most of the requirements. ;)

Ehehe. That's silly.

Well done all, it was a good contest, I had good play time out of all the entries, and I hope to see the completion of those that remained unfinished. :D

Zip

Yes. Please finish it!

Everyone should finish their incomplete games! Please? :(

Every single one of the games that were not completed I want to see and play! And I will hunt down you, Interference, Toen, and Technetium if there aren't newer, more complete versions of your games in a few weeks.

Hunt. You. Down.

;)

Zip, and Technetium (and anyone else who was in this competition), please email me avatars so I can put them up for you.

You don't get hunted because yours was a complete game!

But it'd be cool if... you know... everyone wasn't Darin ;)

Quote:Originally posted by Interference22

Christ, we were first AND disqualified! I feel.. perculiar. Happy and confused at the same time. Hmm. Nice work, everyone.

So, when are you completing your magnum opus?

The dialogue was hit-and-miss, which I'm told is due to Toen running away at the last minute and Troupe finishing things up himself. The word "Vargwulf" creeped up a lot in a particular monologue.

The monologues were copied almost entirely from a script given to me by Toen. The only thing I take credit for is "that storeroom" becuase the actual location wasn't implemented. Also, the word is "vargulf".

Take that.

Thanks to all the judges, the entrants, VERGE community, etc. I won the most of anyone in this competition ;) but it was really thanks to Interference, Zip, SDHawk, and Salamando. Great games you guys, proud to be a part of your respective teams.

I was quite disappointed that Parallel 7 was disqualified. However, I really loved most of the entries for this HoV. Keep going, guys! XD

Great job, guys. This batch of games...is awesome. Bring on the newbies and let them say you don't have content!