OROW 9 - *Winner(s) announced!*

[Glenjamin]

3rd place and sound design award? AMAZING! Thank you guys so much! I enjoyed all of these games a lot and was glad I could contribute to the AGS community for my first time. I had a ton of fun doing all that improv voice acting and I loved reading your reviews! Thank you all so much. Contact me if you need anything.

10/10 best community. Would post again.

[Mandle]

I had a ton of fun doing all that improv voice acting

So it was improved! You, man, are a natural improv comedian! That whole routine had me cracking up constantly...

"...on the Unreal engine..." ROFL...that one really took me back...Made a few mods on that engine myself...

[Stupot]

If Mandle gets a medal for figuring out the Alien Escapades/Crash Course deception, I should get one for figuring out his Rogered lie. I PMed him during voting with my suspicions, which were largely based on the fact that the in-game OS is the Japanese version of Windows XP (there aren't many of us in Japan and I knew I didn't make it).

While I'm mentioning AE and CC, knowing what I know now about how they are connected, it kind of makes some of my criticisms invalid.

Spoiler

My main gripe with CC was that there were no puzzles to speak of, but as it turns out, playing AE kind of is the solution to CC which is it's own kind of genius. My main problem with AE wasn't really the game itself, just the fact that I couldn't understand what the hell I was supposed to do.

[close]

After having seen Bulbapuck's LP and read Wyz's explanation of how it ties to CC, I want to add a few retroactive points to my scores for those games.

P.S I'd love to play a version of AE where the text is in a more... traditional font. It shouldn't be too hard to make some kind of toggle key that switches between the alien language and English.

[MiteWiseacreLives!]

congrats to team party wagon. I didn't vote for you but hey, cramming that many puzzles and different and funny characters in there is amazing. I had lots of fun with it and was frustrated because I'm missing some $150 and tried everything! EVERYTHING! Somehow I saw an end though and I'm in debt now

Sorry for that, on behalf of Team Party Wagon.. The game is winnable despite that pretty major bug, you have to do well at the couch scrounging game though
The good news is that we are working on a rerelease that shouldn't be too far off!
No bugs (I hope) and more sweat, sweat content!

P.S.  Cat I am in awe that you made that game all on your own! Incredible, I really did like it a lot!

[Ponch]

Cat I am in awe that you made that game all on your own! Incredible, I really did like it a lot!

I know, right? Now that the truth is out, if I were her, I would demand a recount.

[Mandle]

If Mandle gets a medal for figuring out the Alien Escapades/Crash Course deception, I should get one for figuring out his Rogered lie.

Lie?! Lies, I say...LIES!!!

Erm....that didn't come out in quite the context it was supposed to...

And as they say: It ain't a lie if you know you're gonna get found out...

At least...I'm sure somebody somewhere says that...

[Vince Twelve]

Oh man, this all happened during a crazy busy time for me (selling our house, moving to Japan, releasing a comic book) and I'm gutted that I didn't have time to play these before the voting ended.  I will play these, though!  Probably a month late, but I WILL PLAY THEM.  I love OROW so much! I'll post comments for each game after I get my wife and kids off to Japan and finally have some free time.

[Mandle]

moving to Japan

Welcome to the land of the rising sun!!!

Hey Stupot...Is it just me or...do you smell another "Hello Kittens" meet-up brewing as well?

[Baron]

Wait wait wait....  All you have to do to get some free time is cart off the wife and kids to Japan? 

How much do the tickets cost, again?

[Vince Twelve]

Several grand

[cat]

As promised, here are some mini-reviews from me. I added some + and - for each game. As I was really amazed by the high quality of the entries, the - are mostly minor suggestions or issues.

Spoiler

Alien Escapade
+ Great graphics and music, the combination of them gave me a real DotT-feel. Bending the screen was an awesome idea and the win for best scripting is well deserved. My favourite in the graphics category.
- I had no idea what to do. The weird font was a unique idea and somehow fitted the theme, but it also reduced enjoyment. I even tried to run winsetup.exe again and looked for the language option "English" but alas, it was not there. Even with knowing that the games are interconnected the puzzle does not make sense at all. This is NOT a matter of upside down but the open vent was opposite the tent.

Crash Course
+ Super-cute graphics, funny story and great characters. That stereotypical politician was hilarious. This game also did the best interpretation of the theme, because it was really uncontrollable. The timer added a feel of time pressure.
- As much as the game fitted the theme there was no actual gameplay, which somehow reduced the fun it made. Also the move in the card game was completely pointless

Dislocation
+ I enjoyed the funny writing and interesting ending (to me it was clear, that this was the end of the game and not a crash). The graphics were nice although the room felt a bit empty.
- There were some glitches (being able to take the pink stuff twice, dialog for already solved puzzle, walkable areas) but nothing really important.

Flophouse Hijinks
+ Funny dialogs and I did like the characters with different personality. There was a lot to do and interact with.
- The graphics are rather sloppy and there are also several bugs.

Hybrid
+ Great retro graphics and music and a weird setting for a game. I enjoyed the classic puzzles and removing the brain with a spoon I voted for Hybrid as best game.
- Save does not work although it is mentioned in the intro screen and you can die.

Rogered
+ Best concept. Using the IME as apple made me crack up. The game reminds me a bit of META (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/653/) which is also the origin of Cuppit, who appeared in my game as Big Blue Cup. So in a way we made some kind of unintentional cross-over as well
- It feels a bit rushed and directionless with some random pixel hunts.

Sunrise Paradise
+ Interesting setting and moving story. The pretty graphics and facial expressions add a lot.
- I voted for this game in the "Worst abuse of the theme" category because it has nothing to do with "One room".

The Quiet Game
+ Hilarious voice acting and fun concept. Loved those random rants.
- There is no winsetup.exe and the game is buggy.

UNCONTROLLABLE
+ Pretty graphics and funny
- Actually, it was not random at all. I started the game several times, hoping that I would get a different screen but it did not happen. It should interchange with the pony cuddling the hero or something like that

[close]

[selmiak]

thanks for your reviews and nice words on Hybrid cat
But save does indeed work. F5 is save, F9 is LOAD!
We'll polish it up some more and making the font in the controls screen more readable is on the list now. Well, it was before, but time was running out...

[Mandle]

Alien Escapade
This is NOT a matter of upside down but the open vent was opposite the tent.

I also thought that the double-triangle on the map was supposed to be the tent at first, but I think it was just an arrow supposed to indicate that the asteroid would move in that direction. An unlucky coincidence of similar shapes I think. Perhaps the double-triangle should be moved away a little from the surface of the asteroid? Or made more arrow-looking?

[Ghost]

UNCONTROLLABLE
- Actually, it was not random at all.

That is true, and I felt a bit bad for not keeping a promise. But to be honest, the game is not even uncontrollable. It's quit by a mouse click, which counts as control. So not only did I abuse the theme, I technically also defied it.
And maybe defiled it too.

[Baron]

Alien Escapade
This is NOT a matter of upside down but the open vent was opposite the tent.

I also thought that the double-triangle on the map was supposed to be the tent at first, but I think it was just an arrow supposed to indicate that the asteroid would move in that direction. An unlucky coincidence of similar shapes I think. Perhaps the double-triangle should be moved away a little from the surface of the asteroid? Or made more arrow-looking?

Yeah.  As the artist responsible, I have to say that this was a somewhat muddled but deliberate attempt to get the player turned around.  The arrows on the map are indeed just directional arrows, which happen to look a lot like the tent (which logically could be set up anywhere).  Our original concept called for the map to be upside-down, with the hint indicating that you needed to  flip it for it to make sense coming from the Crash Course game (which attentive players would see as linked through all the bread crumbs mentioned above).  So the idea was to pair that knowledge with the sequence of stacks in the map (they are in sets of threes and fives) to realise that you have to leave the left-most stack of the opposite cluster of five unplugged for propulsion.  In retrospect, I think you have a point that this probably turns the player around one too many times (it's a good thing in wasn't a Blind Man's Bluff simulator... ), but in the heat of the moment during our frantic design session it sounded like a good idea at the time.

[Ponch]

Flophouse Hijinks
+ Funny dialogs and I did like the characters with different personality. There was a lot to do and interact with.
- The graphics are rather sloppy and there are also several bugs.

We bit off much more than we could chew. We were attempting (via skype) to debug it literally an hour before the deadline. In hindsight, maybe we should have aimed smaller, but without that frantic panicked screaming and yelling at the end, OROW just isn't the same.

[kconan]

That is true, and I felt a bit bad for not keeping a promise. But to be honest, the game is not even uncontrollable.

It also answers the age old question of whether or not Iron Man is a Brony.

Sorry to anyone who experienced a game-ending "money bug" in Flophouse, but thanks for playing!  As Ponch said, we bit off a giant chunk and developed right up until the last minute.

[SilverSpook]

You totally violated that theme, bro.  But it was into it, too.

Uncontrollable +1 worst abuse of theme.

I guess I'll do a few quick reviews too!

Spoiler

Alien Escapade
Best technical achievement with AGS, as far as I can tell.  Great art style.  Had no clue what to do, but it was fun running around the planet and talking to all of the denizens.

Crash Course
Got stuck in Solitaire, but that's my own bad for being dumb, possibly.  I like the mouse-based scroll effect.  Looked pretty interesting!

Flophouse Hijinks
Solid writing and funny writing, could be the start of a Tarantino movie or an HBO talkie. 

Hybrid
Pixel art guru over here!  Really nice evocative lo-fi gore.  Blood dripping creeped me out!  Liked the soundtrack too, it fit right in. 

Rogered
Sorry I couldn't quite figure this out but looked like it was going to be a really out-of-the-box fourth-wall-breaking fun fest.

Sunrise Paradise
Favorite of the bunch.  I bought the characters, especially with the comic-style facial expressions.  The little nuances like the condoms and the kid's specific degree of naivete sold it.  Even the cold corporate witch lady was believable.  Also the sci-fi concept was really well-thought-out and thought-provoking.

The Quiet Game
FRICKIN HILEEEEEEEERIOUS BRO.  HILEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERIOUS.

UNCONTROLLABLE
Cuteness award!

[close]

[Cuiki]

Favorite of the bunch.  I bought the characters, especially with the comic-style facial expressions.  The little nuances like the condoms and the kid's specific degree of naivete sold it.  Even the cold corporate witch lady was believable.  Also the sci-fi concept was really well-thought-out and thought-provoking.

Aww, thanks, I'm really glad you liked it!
I knew we were sort of making a niche-type game, but just reading comments like yours makes it totally worth it.

W-wait, what? I don't remember putting anything like that in the game. I'm not sure those were what you think they were.

- I voted for this game in the "Worst abuse of the theme" category because it has nothing to do with "One room".

Haha, you saw right through it! I probably would've done the same if voting for my own game was an option.

[cat]

@Cuiki, on the other hand, there is no room restriction in the AGS game database - you could (and should!) add an extended version of the game there . The OROW entry feels like it is the intro to a much longer story.