16 replies to this topic

[Jamian]

THE POLL IS NOW CLOSED. EXTRA VOTES WILL NOT BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.

 

If you don't want to cast a vote in all three categories, you are allowed to vote in only one or two of them.

 

For those who have submitted a quest, I'm not sure how to properly handle the issue of people having to vote for/against their own creations (I found the system we used in the first contest to be quite cumbersome). Voting for your own quest is permitted. However, if you feel uncomfortable casting votes in this situation, remember you can just null your vote. This is probably what I'd do myself, but if you feel you can be objective about it, I have no issue with it.

 

Download links to the entries can be found here.

 

The themes were:

 

Hollow Forest:

A horror game where you go to war with moustaches under the time limit

 

Rite of the Storm: 

A student project where you befriend the wind and you learn a thing or two along the way

An artsy game where you explore dungeons with nature in new exciting ways

 

Grinding Mushroom:

Epic Mushroom Explorer

An adventure game where you go to school with dwarves and it's very grindy

Edited by Jamian, 09 February 2017 - 06:22 AM.

[Naru]

How could I completely miss this. I only saw RitS in Polaris signature. Hope I manage to finish them before the deadline.

[Moosh]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, time to finally give my thoughts on the quests.

 

Hollow Forest:

I think my biggest failing in this quest was with the lack of direction. I didn't draw attention to stuff I should have and just expected people to explore, but then I did this in a quest with time pressure that doesn't really encourage exploration. I expected players to talk to Alba in pretty much every room because that's what I'd do, but they didn't and so they missed certain hints such as the one in the lantern room pointing out the hard to see upper path. And then just generally the resource management gimmicks overshadowed the accomplishment of Z3 scrolling. Important question: Did anyone experience significant lag in the last area?

 

Rite of the Storm:

This quest was just all around amazing. I was expecting something great, but nothing on this level. I loved the puzzles the graphics, the design of the areas, and the use of music. This is possibly an early Quest of the Year. I've already beaten it once 100%, watched someone else beat it, and I kinda feel like playing through it again.

 

Grinding Mushroom:

This was a pretty great quest for something made without the resources of the other two entries. In any other contest I feel it could've won Best Overall, but it looks like we both got Shanetaro Dunked. I think my one complaint is that most of the red upgrade tokens are obtained later in the game, meaning that if you miss the ones early on you'll find yourself hurting for health. A couple more available at the start would've been nice. I'm looking forward to the finished version with the final dungeon.

 

Best Overall: Rite of the Storm, for completely blowing me away. This is possibly the most polished two week quest ever.

Most Creative: Rite of the Storm, because it had some of the most creative puzzles I've seen in a quest.

Most Fitting of its Theme: Grinding Mushroom, because there sure were some dwarves and it did feel a bit grindy. As much so as you can do in ZC without becoming unfun at least. Mushrooms were there too.

[Eddy]

Best Quest Overall - Easily has to be Rite of the Storm for me. Like what others have said, this is definitely a good nomination for Quest of the Year, and I can't wait to see the database version soon

 

Most Original Quest - I know I said I was very mixed about Hollow Forest and I didn't like it as much, but I got to give it credit for some of the really cool ideas throughout the quest. The Z3 scrolling and the darkness ideas are really cool (even if the darkness gimmick did annoy me a lot). But yeah, Hollow Forest wins this one for me.

 

Quest Most Fitting With Theme - Got to give it to Rite of the Storm again. Wind everywhere, a rite near the end, seems to be the perfect match to me

 

Overall though, this contest had quite an interesting turnout, even not having a lot of entries. Looking forward to seeing another one in the future, and hopefully I can actually finish a quest for it too lol.

[Shane]

I nulled... however, I want to give out what I would of went for if I had not entered the contest:

 

Best Quest Overall goes to Hollow Forest. Let's face it, it's got Z3 scrolling so what's not to love? I actually enjoyed it a lot, outside it being somewhat difficult. The atmosphere, the music, the originality... speaking of which, it also would of won my vote for Most Original Quest. It's not everyday we see quests of this nature so I feel it wins almost by default. However, I can't help but give Quest Most Fitting With Theme to Grinding Mushroom. It was simple and modest enough to fit its theme more I feel.

 

Some additional, final thoughts: I really find it hard to believe Hollow Forest was made in such a limited timeframe as it has so much polish and thought placed into it. I also enjoy Grinding Mushroom and it reminds us that simplicity will never be a bad thing. I would of desired something more "complete" though, but hey, you did well! I really enjoyed making Rite of the Storm with Avataro and I'm glad this contest happened not just because I managed to finish something but because we have two fantastic quests that will be welcomed additions to the database. Great job Moosh and RedTribeLink!

[Naru]

Should I better update this post or write a new one for the other reviews? And just wanted to download Hollow Forest and the link didn't work.

Rite of Storm - awesome miniquest. In itself just perfect. Actually stuck in the room with the sphere to the right in the last area, no idea what to do there.

If I had to try to find flaws, very few puzzles felt a bit pushed, as if you had no idea and just made something to have one there. Especially the one in the mirror area with 6 candles, it was a bit tedious and far too easy. I also had to backtrack in that level a bit because I did go once into the wrong direction and missed the key on the upper right. And for the blue/red switch again. But that are tiny unimportant things. Also, if you avoid to fall down in the pitsand in the sandarea you might get stuck there. Or miss the room with the upgrade. The dmg-curve in the sand area was also a bit too strong compared to the easy rest. Another thing would be that few rooms might get you stuck and you can only leave throuugh falling into a pit, not that it concerned me anyway. And in the grass area I had a bit troubles to see the color difference and was a bit confused for a bit. And the last area is entered through a whirl while left through a side warp (I would just remove the possebility to leave, you gave a warning after all). Even more tiny things noone cares about

While the items are just perfect, all whirlwinds push Link around beside the one circling him (L). And Your whirlwinds look identical to the other ones, but only your ones hurt the enemy. And I don't like it too much that also Angels can be shooters. But nothing of this is actually worth to be called a flaw.

The only thing that really disappointed me (but then again, can't call this a flaw) is the story. I mean it is awesome, but after the start area there are only few graves and the warnings at the mini-boss that remind you a bit of the story. I am sure the ending will be great and I know that few mini-games can actually keep up with your story, but I felt a bit lost storywise, the thrill after the start fades fast away.

[Avaro]

Actually stuck in the room with the sphere to the right in the last area, no idea what to do there.

Look for visual clues in the screen. Thanks a lot for writing down all your criticisms. There's some stuff in there worth fixing, and some stuff is already being fixed for the database release.

Important question: Did anyone experience significant lag in the last area?

Nope, no lag for me and I haven't heard anyone saying they experienced lag.

Also I was a bit too harsh on my comments on Hollow Forest in the other thread. I believe the reason I didn't like it too much is because the horror and survival genres aren't for me. xD

Edited by Avataro, 02 February 2017 - 03:28 PM.

[Naru]

Damn, it is really embressing I overlooked that, especially since I aim to use similiar things, only with less disturbance. And it changed the mood quite a lot if I realized the flying things were not just empty decoration. And you two make a good Team, from the moment I saw Avataro's name I knew it must be good, it felt a lot like your quests, everything I like about them and nothing of what I did not like about them

The ending was shockingly a let down. I didn't get any answers, learned nothing new. Caelum gave enough hints the first time he appeared to see that ending coming. It still was a very good story. And one of the best enemies in a ZC-quest I have seen so far, I can say the same for the mini-boss. It is just that it was kind of a happy (and open with a hopeful atmosphere) end in my opinion and after reading previous post I hoped for something more dark and deep.

[Edit] The download link works again for me. But from what I am reading I won't like it very much, the elements others spoke off are the kind I highly respect and support but also of the kind I can't handle with my underwhelming gaming skill.

[Edit2]
I take back what I said. I need to get the boots and the two hearts from above next and I think I have left out two books for safety-reasons. I abuse the continue option quite a lot and prefer to explore before trying seriously. I know that is not the prefered playstyle for everyone, but it works for me. And the exploring is rather easy if I use the bullets. I think the difficulty is really good, even I can handle it and for higher difficulty you just can ignore the hearts. Still have more to do, but I can say already that I like it as much as RotS.

Grinding mushroom is not my kind of quest. The graphics work out very well, something about their use let them fit perfectly together even thaugh they normally wouldn't. But I don't like the tileset in general. It is solid, there are quite a few nice and original ideas with potential, but also a lot of things that could need a overworking. To be honest I am in the pecci-dungeon looking for the 2nd boss key but kind of have no motivation to go on. Again, it is solid, but with RitS in the game not much chance.

So far I don't see what the game actually has to do with grinding. I was running around twice with full rupees and had to switch them for the blue tokens. The tokens are not bad, they are another collectable that feels like it is actually worth something. But I haven't found enough to use the blue ones for. Especially with free arrows and bombs. The red Tokens are most interesting if you can't get everything through them. If there are not enough of them I mean. To add versatility. The mushroom- and dwarves-topic is interesting but I can't really feel it. Oh, and I really don't like the bosses, the actual fight is super easy (for the first two) and the costum-fight afterwards is not soo bad but a timed warp and a bit more to think about would work better. I think I would rate it 3, 5 rounded up.

Edited by Naru, 04 February 2017 - 09:51 PM.

[Naru]

So I just started Hollow Forest. Like I feared I have rather huge troubles with it. Even with reaching area 2. Not sure if this is intended or not, but if you use spellbook 2 first you still continue at the staring area after death. But not after quitting. I think I try to finish this myself, but I doubt I will be able too.

Anyway, from what I have seen I really would like to have an easy mode, like having the candle areas as safe spots where most enemies cannot harm you and your health is slowly restored. I mean at least you have to sacrifice time for restoring health. And maybe add some good hidden savespots and make few of the more obvious ones useable multiple times with a slight restocking on cost of a heart container. Though that suggestion is based on me not knowing the rest from the quest and guessing it will get a lot more difficult.

[Edit] Just planned to play further and thought about how to do it best. Hmm, make a copy, play to the next save spot, save, explore, start the copy, get everything based on my exploration and save afterwards, than copy again. Maybe a good solution for exploration would be to make it something like if you reach a new book you can write your name in it to get the 10 minutes and start from there after death. To really save your progress you have to get a second time to the book and burn it. Before the actual save the game checks if your remaining time is too short or if you missed an important item and warns you decently in that case. That makes it not really easier but a lot more handier.

Anyway, best quest overall is out of obvious reasons RotS.

Most original is also RotS. Not the quest itself, in that regards I think Hollow Forest is most original over all and Grinding Mushroom has also a lot of original ideas while staying close to typical ZC-Quest. But the Focus around one item/attack and the awesome way how clever it was used just stuns me.

Regarding the theme I go for Hollow Forest. Like said before GM has some interesting elements but the quest itself - world, enemies, dungeons - are just very standard. RotS lacks even more, you can understand the whole quest as a Rite, but in that regard you just don't get enough info. And through your item, the characters names, the final fight and the whirlwinds the storm theme is also found throughout the whole game, but I don't really see a direct connection of the rite itself or the areas to the storm theme. Hollow Forest feels just far more atmospheric, the talking to the fairy also adds up to this.

Edited by Naru, 03 February 2017 - 05:35 PM.

[Jamian]

I think you may be misunderstanding the "most fitting its theme" category. It does not refer to the quest title, but to the themes that were given out. RotS's themes were : A student project where you befriend the wind and you learn a thing or two along the way / An artsy game where you explore dungeons with nature in new exciting ways

[Naru]

Ohh, I indeed misunderstood that, but it doesn't really change my opinion. I am a bit confused about "a student project", not sure how to translate that into german. Wind is certainly a big thing, but if I read "befriend the wind", I can't really agree, it might sound nice but for me I have other expectations if I read this. Same for "dungeons with nature". It is indeed artsy and if I overdo it I can call it exciting, but I am not sure if I learned anything.

I think it should be obvious, but I just read the theme (or title at first), think what kind of elements I expect from the game and compare it to what we got. RotS fits it theme well, I don't complain about it. But it still is very different from what I would imagine from reading the theme so I rate it last in that category.

And I think I mentioned often enough already that I love that game. It is a two-week-contest and it is not my game, who cares if there are a few things I personally don't agree to 100% with, it still is a great and awesome game.

[Edit] more thoughts on RotS. It is really great how you have to think around the corner. There were three times I got stuck. The glass block and the ice/fire flame-riddles because of the hints being placed somewhere else. Nothing to complain about. The room before the final boss mentioned above. It is indeed really obvious, but if you just stand and observe the room after the hint is gone... also there are a few times with alternate solutions that ruin it just a little bit. The two I remember are both in the sand level. The one with the green upgrade near the start, you can cancel out the first storm with a sandblock and pass through two of the next storms. That confused me a lot later since this is not possible later with the three lines of storms. And the other room is the one with the glass-block, I managed to lit all torches without using the block. Though because of that I remembered the weird block even better.

Also, about the themes again, I based my decision on the whole description, not on the short one here. The discrepancy between the short and long one for Hollow Forest is huge. The long one creates an image of a end-of-the-world-mood, dark forests with monsters lurking in the shadows and a unknown threat. Resident Evil 4 comes to mind. And all these elements are met in my opinion. The short one says pretty much nothing, horror can mean a lot and the mustaches mentioned let me assume some funny and bloody and mad game with a brutal difficulty. Can't say that this expactation is met.

The description of RotS lets me think of freedom, where you travel with the wind, in a world filled with life and secrets to discover. It has a really positive tone. The actual game though throws you in some weird place, you don't understand a thing and there is a direct threat to your life. No freedom. You less discover secrets but try to find a way out. There are obvious nature-elements, but the world itself feels really unnatural and a bit mad. And the wind feels more like a tool. From the facts mentioned everything of the quests theme is found in the quest, but the mood of the description is "an exciting adventure" while the actual game feels more like "a somewhat depressing horror", in other words the complete opposite.

Edited by Naru, 04 February 2017 - 12:23 PM.

[Avaro]

Well I'm really glad you think it's great and awesome, even if you don't agree with many aspects

 

About "student project" ... well, that confuses me too, but a student project can basically be anything.

[TheLegend_njf]

I believe the pull should last much longer. I heard that it's closing soon, and some people like myself who's only playing these titles once a week will take a few weeks to get through all three. I feel the pull should be technically available for at least a month to make sure that everybody has their fair share of getting through the games and voting fairly. 

[Jamian]

I'm not firmly opposed to extending the voting deadline, but: 

- The "contest" itself is just for fun, IMO the best and most important part is to see what people will come up with when trying to make quests using their arbitrarily attributed random themes.

- I believe extending the deadline will only gather a few more votes at best.

- We already have a clear winner for the best quest category.

[Avaro]

Should we wait for someone to break the tie for most original quest or could we go ahead and close the poll? We don't want to submit the quest to the DB until the contest is over.
If the poll has been extended though, it's fine. I can live with that xD Just let us know.