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Summer Solstice 2 week contest entries are out!


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#1 Avaro

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Posted 01 July 2018 - 11:51 AM

For those who don't know, there was a quest contest on the Vintage Dreams discord server.
 

The Summer Solstice two week contest has now reached the end of creation time! We got six submissions this time and it's now time for @everyone else to enjoy them!

As with last contest, the board of judges will be playing the entries and judging them to select a winner. But we will also have a community voted winner just like last year too! I'll be opening a voting channel in a day or two so stay tuned for that. In the meantime you can take your time and play all the entries!

Download: https://www.dropbox....ntries.zip?dl=0

 
The official place for this is the discord server. Posting them here so you can play the quests if you like. Cool stuff in there! (Also be a little cautious of some issues here and there, its a 2 week contest after all)


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#2 Cukeman

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Posted 01 July 2018 - 07:25 PM

How many quests, what titles and who created they?


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#3 Architect Abdiel

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Posted 01 July 2018 - 10:10 PM

6

Picross in a Day by Avataro
Fun in the Sun Mini Demo by DarkMatt
Nimono Solstice Dungeon by Nimono
Silver Solstice by Orithan
Prometheus: Flame of Hope by Shoshon the Elegant
Mage Quest 2 by TheBlueTophat
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#4 Anthus

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Posted 02 July 2018 - 05:17 PM

I played a little bit of a few of these, and here are my thoughts so far. Firstly, I want to say, I know that these were made in two weeks, so things can vary wildly in completeness, and consistency.

 

I played a little bit of Shoshson's, DarkMatt's, Orithan's, and Nimono's.

 

Shoshson:

I made it to the fifth area. I plan on finishing this, but I may wait till the updated version is released, since it sounds like it will address most of my major grievances here :P. I have to say, I found parts to be a bit obtuse, and I'm personally not a fan of hunting for blocks to uncover required keys, which can be really easy to miss. This had me spending a lot of time just kinda.. item spamming walls. Some of the enemies also had kind of annoying patterns. Mostly just the ones that sweep across the whole screen. It's not that they effect you directly, and dodging can be fun, but they can get stuck sometimes, or stay out of reach for a while which can make some kill all enemy rooms bothersome. With that said, I still enjoyed the quest. I like the wildly unconventional use of blocks as walls, but a bit more variety might not hurt. Especially if you had larger, or different shaped blocks. Then you could mostly reserve rows of blocks for those secret areas.

 

I don't mean to harp on the blocks, and secrets so hard, as I know you were going for a Yuurei/ Metroid style, and those both have lot of secret blocks, and paths. I just think it could have been executed a bit better.

 

DarkMatt:

Sadly, this started out as one of my favorites, but, I am not a fan of that save system style. :( I kind of forgot I wouldn't be able to save after dying, so I got careless after about 45 minutes with no save and died. Needless to say, I'm still salty, but will likely give it another go, and be more careful. I know this isn't the game's fault, and I should have saved, but yeah I just get annoyed by stuff like that in games. Other than that, what I played was solid. Simple, but solid.

 

Orithan:

I find the story, and dialogue to be kind of cringey, tbh. Thankfully, that doesn't take much away from what is otherwise probably the most polished entry here (so far). I like the level design, and the way you go through areas feels like it has the right pacing. Only other thing I didn't like as much was the new sword. I kind of think it feels slow, and not being able to turn will using it feels odd. Messing with something so ingrained in people's muscle memory as the sword can be risky. I think it is something that needs a bit more time in the oven.

 

However, I do look forward to finishing this one, and hope to see it expanded/ updated in the future.

 

Nimono:

I like the new weapons here. The dungeon itself is functional, but unremarkable. That doesn't mean it is bad, but it just isn't doing anything amazing, and it looks a bit rushed. A lot of the rooms lack detail, and I found the later half pretty confusing as rooms blended together. I think I'm almost at the end, but I took a break after wandering around in what felt like circles. edit: One other thing, I think the subscreen map is kind of misleading. It's cool that it shows chests, but they stay on the map once opened, which can be further misleading if you don't play it for a few days and forget.

 

 

Again, I know these all have Konami levels of rushedness to them. I think they are solid betas, or prototypes, or concepts or whatever. Just a bit jank in places. :P

 

Edit: If I record any of these at random, it won't be blind. It's just too much of a hassle to deal with cuts, and having wasted time of me just wandering around. I'd rather have a video recording be getting through the game competently. >.>


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#5 coolgamer012345

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Posted 03 July 2018 - 12:35 AM

You guys should play Magequest 2. It has a tophat.


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#6 Architect Abdiel

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Posted 04 July 2018 - 02:00 PM

Avataro
Picross:
Quest Fullness:
Quest is definitely in a finished state. But leaves me wishing there was more to it. More levels, level select system, etc...
12/15

Theme:
Neither summer nor solstice appears to be in here.
0/5

Originality:
It was clever and never done in ZC before, however because it's a type of puzzle, it also isn't unique. Thanks for introducing me to this style of puzzle.
5/10

Mechanics:
Everything worked perfectly.
30/30

Aesthetics:
It did what it needed, but other quests make me drop a point for comparison purposes.
4/5

Flow:
Mostly this was fine, but there are a few instances where there is a sudden spike or dip in difficulty.
25/30

Bugs:
No bugs to be found.
0/-5

Enjoyment Factor:
This one had me going and going. Can't say it's the most fun I've ever had, but it is certainly one of the more enjoyable entries.
12/15

Overall:
88/100


DarkMatt
Fun in the Sun:
Quest Fullness:
I give credit for finishing a demo. But since it's just a demo with one dungeon, I feel this is about right.
5/15

Theme:
You used the theme, but not in a way that makes it especially interesting. The palettes do help show the theme though, so there is an extra point for palettes.
4/5

Originality:
On one hand, it appears as a typical Z1 style, but you did some things to make it stand out as yours. Own palettes, and save system in particular. Has a bit of a survival element, and I like mixing in crumbling floors.
6/10

Mechanics:
It works perfectly fine, and as intended. I take off a couple points cause I feel there were a couple places that could have had some better execution. Like a hint for the staircase.
28/30

Aesthetics:
It does what it needs to do. I take a point off for comparison.
4/5

Flow:
It does a fine job, but I almost would have prefered leaving the overworld out for the most part, since there wasn't much to do in it. And the aforementioned hint for the staircase can make the flow thrown off a bit. One room in particular with the crumbling blocks could maybe have some way out if you knock the blocks down.
25/30

Bugs:
None to be found.
0/-5

Enjoyment Factor:
It was enjoyable, but nothing more enjoyable than I am used to. The challenge helps.
7/15

Overall:
79/100

Nimono
Nimono Solstice:
Quest Fullness:
I know you mentioned this was just a demo, and I don't mind. But it still factors in for me.
3/15

Theme:
You had the name solstice in the title, which makes me feel that you intended for some connection, but I didn't see it.
0/5

Originality:
Items, and dungeon concept make me find this pretty original.
8/10

Mechanics:
Everything plays well enough, and I like the pitfalls. But, I find things a bit meh in some cases. A lot of it ties into the flow. The Poe Lantern is great.
27/30

Aesthetics:
Lots of empty looking rooms, and samesy colors. I do like the idea behind the dungeon though,and some screens had an interesting look.
2/5

Flow:
I found it very easy to get lost and confused. Particularly near the end. The map doesn't really help me much either. The majority is fine though, and I appreciate the couple of shortcuts.
22/30

Bugs:
No gamebreaking bugs thankfully. But I know there is at least a case of a pit not warping somewhere, and that torch room.
-2/-5

Enjoyment Factor:
Sorry, but I didn't have much fun with it. It just kept me interested enough to finish it, and to wish there was more.
5/15

Overall:
65/100

Orithan
Silver Solstice:
Quest Fullness:
I am giving you a little more than I gave for the one dungeon quests earlier, cause you gave a bit of overworld, with a few things in it, and such. As well as gave us a start to the story.
7/15

Theme:
I love the way you used the theme to make the villain.
5/5

Originality:
This is completely you. Ties into the way you used the theme, and made a story that makes me interested to see where this is going. As well as some unique items.
10/10

Mechanics:
Things work pretty well. But I'm not a fan of some of the jumping. Though I am quite more fine with it after my second playthough.
29/30

Aesthetics:
Every screen is nice and filled with stuff that shows off the enivornment.
5/5

Flow:
The story progresses too quickly. This has already been publicly discussed. Everything just seems to jump forward so fast. I already made my recommendation on what to do here. BUT, you do have an interesting story to work with. The dungeon was mostly fine, and I like the way the dungeon item opens new paths. At the same time, the rafts in the main room where it takes two paths did confuse me for a bit. Not a huge demerit though.
25/30

Bugs:
None to be found for me.
0/-5

Enjoyment Factor:
I enjoyed it for the most part. But not being a fan of precision jumping and the story going too fast, and just something not clicking the way it did for me with other entries, knocks this down. The music for the dungeon is just ugh to me.
9/15

Overall:
90/100


TheBlueTophat
Mage Quest 2:
Quest Fullness:
You did a good job at making this feel full. Though I do feel like it can use more.
13/15

Theme:
No summer or solstice theme to be found.
0/5

Originality:
Like Orithan, you made this uniquely you. The spells, the way the sword interacts with things, it's lovely and brilliant, and this is the one I most want to play as a finished product.
10/10

Mechanics:
Mostly fine, but I don't like the ice spell being temporary, and the teleportation spell can use work.
26/30

Aesthetics:
Beautiful, everywhere. There are some pretty empty screens near the beginning, but you fleshed it out where it needed to be, and at least most of those screens were in the fields.
5/5

Flow:
Flows excellently. Could use a little more direction. Particularly, the path to get the flippers. Not that I got stopped long with it. But I kind of, accidently figured it out.
28/30

Bugs:
This is where this quest falls a lot. The grove continue screen, the ice spell, and the teleportation spell, and the fact you start in the main town with the wrong DMap when you save and continue in multiple areas all need work. Thankfully, I am not too picky on bugs in a two week contest, and you know where these issues are.
-5/-5

Enjoyment Factor:
This was hella fun and makes me want to play more. Only goes down cause of bugs. Finish please.
14/15

Overall:
92/100

Edited by Shoshon the Elegant, 04 July 2018 - 02:14 PM.

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#7 Shane

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Posted 04 July 2018 - 05:07 PM

I have played them all and I have to say everyone did a good job. For the contest, I personally felt Shoshon the Elegant's and TheBlueTophat's was objectively the most complete and most fulfilling experiences so they get bonus points for that. Avataro also gets bonus points for making something in a day too. :P I definitely know how hard it is to get something big finished in 2 weeks, you're not going to get the most polished and perfect product unless it's a very short and contained experience.
 
I have to say, Avataro's, Nimono's and DarkMatt's were fine to play. Out of the three, Avataro's was the most finished product  but it was due to the scope of the project but still impressive, it's just I'm not a fan of these kinds of things. :( I wasn't really as invested in any of these entries unfortunately. I liked the simplicity of DarkMatt's entry and I liked the items in Nimono's. But it was clear there is some unfinishedness to them, you may even see it in some areas. Overall, these aren't bad entries, but a solid start, and I hope to see these finished!
 
Orithan's is sort of inbetween for me. The lack of completeness in a contest setting was its true downside. Overall, I had fun from what I played. I caught some oversights here and there but didn't really detract from the experience. My biggest suggestion would be to change Level 1's song. I genuinely thought the song was bugged for a bit. From what I've played, I'm interested in seeing more and good luck finishing it. :)
 
Shoshon the Elegant's and TheBlueTophat's were the most ambitious and most complete of the bunch IMO, and they delivered the best they could. Shoshon's presented a blocky metroidvania which was pretty challenging and had variety. Sometimes it got a bit too tricky, but it always made sense in retrospect. TheBlueTophat's entry was my personal favourite and had elements I enjoyed from almost every other entry crammed in. My only genuine problem is the ice platforms but otherwise, this was a pleasure to play through (also electroball for best item of 2018). Sadly both were slightly dragged down by bugs/oversights but given they delivered the most finished products, I can let this slide. Both entries knew where to cut content that would bog down the chance of completing them and I hope to see these expanded upon! :D
 
Overall, no entry was bad. It all came down to the fun factor and IMO, which entry used their contest time the most effectively. :) I apologize for the messy review style. :P

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#8 Architect Abdiel

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Posted 04 July 2018 - 08:45 PM

Appreciate the feedback. Though we covered most of it on Discord. I'll definitely be doing a lot of polishing with this quest. It may be ready for a full release at the same time as Eternal Hero.

For those who are curious, I have a list of things that I want to do on my Dev channel for the project on Discord. You may wish to wait until the final release if you aren't gonna vote in the contest channel on Discord.
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