MSXdev’15 Final Report

MSXdevTeamWWW.MSXDEV.ORGINFO@MSXDEV.ORG

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JURY

Gameplay DavidFernández

Graphics DavidFernández PacoSantosRamírez JohnHassink

SoundandFX DavidFernández MaartenvanStrien

Polishing DavidFernández BartvanVelzen

Originality DavidFernández

RATING

There isarangeofpointsfrom0to9andalso0.5pointsasbonusthatcanbeaddedornotasthejurorwishes.

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Theextrapointsareshowninthetableofeachgameonlyiftheyarehigherthan0,inwhichcasetheyarecoloredinred.

Asyoucanseeinthetableabove,DavidFernándezistheonlyjuror involved in the 5 categories evaluated in this contest.The rest of the jurymembers give their points according tothecategorywhichtheyaredesignated.

Also, comments and explanations about their rating can befoundforeachofthefourgames.

DONATIONS

MSXUK 50£

SantiagoOntañón €50

@apolovald €20

FranPino €50

MarcoFrissen €82

Anonymous €150

JaviLavandeira €35

ÓscarToledo(@nanochess) €15

AAMSX €75

€544

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PRIZES Inthiseditionofthecontest,wehavethreedifferentprizes.Thetotalamountofmoney,kindlydonatedbyMSXlovers,willbedistributedasfollows:

• BestGameà€300

Thisprizegoestothegamethatobtainsthehighestaverageratinginallthecategories(gameplay+graphics,sound,polishingandoriginality).

• BestGraphicsà€122

Thisprizegoestothegamethatobtainsthehighestaverageratinginthegraphicscategory.

• BestSoundà€122

ThebestmusicandFXprizegoestothegamethatobtainsthebestaverageratinginthesoundcategory.

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Ratings and

Comments From The

Jury

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NINJA SAVIOR

WINNEROFBESTSOUND PRIZE:8

David Paco Maarten John Bart

Gameplay 5 5

Graphics 7 6+0,2 8 7

Sound 8 8 8

Polishing 6 7 6,5

Originality 7 7

6,7

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DAVID FERNÁNDEZ SAYS:

It'saneasytoplaygame,althoughitlackssomecomplexitytoavoidmonotonyandtomakeitmoreinteresting.

ThegamemakesagooduseofSC1mode.Graphicsarecute,asusualinRelevoproductions.

Musicisoneofthegame'sstrongpoints.It'sreally"Goemonesque",makingtheplayerfeellikebeinginthejapanesemedievalage.FXarefine.

Theoverallgameisprettysolid,althoughthereareafewissues(FXdon'tsoundgoodsporadically,andbossgraphicsaredisplayedagainforamomentafterbeingkilled).

Therearealreadysome"accuratejumping"gamesaround,butRelevo'simplementationseemsquiteoriginaltome.

PACO SANTOS SAYS:

Themostbalancedgameofthecontest,polishedinallaspects.Gamemechanicsareabitsimpleandrepetitivehowever.

MAARTEN VAN STRIEN SAYS:

Myfirstimpressionofthisgame,musicallyspeaking,was:“well,Konamiwould'vebeenproudonthisone!”Andnowaboutamonthlaterthishasn'tchangedatall.Whatsetsthemusicofthisgameapartfrommanyothergames,isthatitcloselyfollowstheKonamiformulafromthelate80's.

Itdeliverscleverwritingwithoutdoingtoomuch,andwithoutleavingunusedpotentialbehind.'Doingtoomuch'meanssomethinglikecrammingbass,drums,arpeggiatingchordsandmelodyallintothreechannels.

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Typicalscenechiptuneterritorysotospeak.Forinstance,whenlisteningtoUsas,allIcanthinkis:“Konamididn'tneedallthatzealoustrickery,theycouldperfectlycopewithonlythreechannelsandmademusicthatranksamongstthebest.”ThesamemethodappliestoNinjaSavior.It'sreallygoodthreechannelmusicthatdoesn'tneedtobemorethanthreechannels.Thetitle/storyremindedmeoftheendingofUsas,whilethein-gamemusiciskinofGoemon.

Thescoreof8iswellearned,andreallybasedonastraight8.Noaveragesbasedon'thisisthisandthatisthat',justasimpleandplainscore.

JOHN HASSINK SAYS:

Veryclearandcrispgraphics,alongwithaconsistentandpolishedoveralllook.Theanimatedpyreonthebottomofthescreenactuallyservesafunctioninaddingtotheexperienceofplayingthegame,asitinvokesasenseofurge.Thefactthatitkeepsburning(animating)whenthesub-stageisended,onlyimprovesuponthis.Thevisualdifferencebetweenthemainstages’environmentisrepresentedbyasimplepallettechangewhilethetilesandthelayoutremainexactlythesame,butasthegameissupposedtotakeplaceinasingleparticularvillage,andasithasnoactualeffectonthegameplay,thisisn'treallyproblematic.Thesamegoesforthefactthattheenemiesonlyhavetwoanimationframes;itdoesn'ttakeawayfromthegenerallook,butevenconsideringthelimitedROMsize,itstillfeelslikeabitofamissedchance.Inspiteofthetypicalninja-themed8-bitgamesadoptinga'chubby'cutesylook,thecreatorsofthisgameobviouslywent

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foruniquedesignsofbothplayerandantagonists.Thereisavisualcuetosignalasuccesfulhitontheenemy,andevenamodest'explosion'effectuponitsdefeat,whichbothexpandthevisualqualityofthisgameaswellasitworksquitesatisfying.Conclusion:acleverlyandtastefullydesignedproduction.ThegamenamebeingwritteninJapaneseKanjicharactersonthetitlescreenisaniceextratouch.

BART VAN VELZEN SAYS:

Nicetransitionsbetweenlogo,titlescreen,storyline,andin-game.

Only4spritesareused.Morespritescouldhavebeenusedforextradetailintheenemycharacters.

Thefireatthebaseofthehouseshasablackbackground,insteadofblue.Additionalanimationtiles(orsprites)wouldhavebeennice.Youcan’tpickuppaperspellsandscrollsafteryouhavebeendamaged;notsureifthatsintended.Smallgrammarmistakeinthestoryline:"underattackof".

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BUBBO WORLD

David Paco Maarten John Bart

Gameplay 4 4

Graphics 3 3 6 4

SoundandFX 2 1 1

Polishing 5 4 4,5

Originality 5 5

3,7

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DAVID FERNÁNDEZ SAYS:

Simpleandcrazygameplay.It'sabitdifficulttopredictthebubbles’behaviourand,sometimes,alsotofindtheplayer'slocationafterusingthewarpoption...sodon'texpecttoplaylonggames,asyouwilldieveryoften.

GFXaresimple,evenusingtheMSXdefaultfont.Itreallyfeelslikethoseoldbasicgameslistedatpapermagazines.

TherearejustafewsimpleFXinthegame.Nomusicatall.

Everythingseemstoworkokay,however,there'snothingthatstandsout.

Thiskindofplatformgamesarenotoriginalatall,butcreatingladdersandthebubblesthingiethrowsomefreshairtotheconcept.

PACO SANTOS SAYS:

VerysimplegameinallaspectsbuttakingintoaccountthesizeoftheROMitdeservesaleastapositivecomment.

MAARTEN VAN STRIEN SAYS:

Look,it'snotlikea1outof10athighschool,butit'dbefairnottoawardanythingmorethanthatforjustafewsimplebeeps.EvenifI'dgiveasymbolic4points,it'dstillhavetoexplainthecomposerofNinjaSaviorwhyBubboWorldwasatleasthalfasgood.Iwouldn'tbeabletodothatanyway.

Solet'ssimplyagreethatthisgamewasnevermadetoimpresswithsound.Doesn'tmeanthegameitselfisn'tamusing,butthat'dbeadifferentcornerofthejuryroom.:-)

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JOHN HASSINK SAYS:

Veryminimalisticbutadequategraphics.It'sastraight-forwardgamewithgraphicsthatfitthatexactphilosophy.Havingsaidthat,acloserlookrevealssomesubtiledetailswhichmakethisgameabitprettiertolookatandmorefuntoplay.

Tobementionedinthisregardare,forinstance,theladderswhichactuallyarevisuallybuiltupwardsinfrontofyoureyes,insteadof(whatmayhavebeeneasier,orlaziertoprogram)simplybeing'calculated'beforehandandinstantlyappearingasawhole.Orthatthemaincharacteractuallyhasacutelookingrunninganimation.The'warp'animationisstrangelyexcitingtobeholdaswell,althoughthatmayhastodowiththeanxietyofwhereonthemapyouwillre-emerge.It'salsonicethatthegameutilizesadedicatedtextfontandmulti-colouredtiles.

However,thegenerallookofthegame,intermsofmovement,couldwellbedescribedasadecidedlychaoticone,whichismainlyduetotherapid,seeminglyerraticmovementsofthe'bubbos',andthefactthattheymoveper8pixels.Itcanactuallybedizzying,attimes.

Asstatedbefore-thegraphicsservetheirpurpose,andnotmuchmore.

Conclusion:Itiswhatitis,andwhatyouseeiswhatyouget.

BART VAN VELZEN SAYS:

Nofancygraphics,nointro,nostoryline,justplainandsimplegaming.

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Thegreenblobsmovingrandomlyandrapidlyleftandrightlooksabitchaotic.

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WING WARRIORS

WINNEROFBESTGRAPHICS PRIZE:8,2

David Paco Maarten John Bart

Gameplay 6 6

Graphics 8 8 8+0,5 8,2

Sound 6 7 6,5

Polishing 7+0,1 6 6,5

Originality 6 6

6,64

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DAVID FERNÁNDEZ SAYS:

Controlresponseisgood.Thegameisquiteeasyandtooshort(thefirsttimeIplayedIreachedthelastboss,andthesecondoneIdefeatedhim).Greateffortmadetoincludelotsofbullets,butthatmakesthegamesufferfromseriousslowdowns.

GoodworkregardingpatternbasedGFX(thosemaincharacterportraitsareverynicetoo),butenemyspritesarenotthatgood.TherearealsospritesvisibilityproblemsbecauseofthebackgroundGFX(bearableinstage2,butseriousinstage3).

Musicisokay,andthefewFXdotheirjob.

Everythingseemstoworkokay,apartfromtheaforementionedslow-downs,however,therearethingsthatmakeyoufeelthegamewasplannedtobebigger&better,butthatithasbeenfinishedinitscurrentstatustomeetthedeadline.

Wehavealreadyplayedlotsofverticalshooters,butit’snicetoplaytheroleofthose"angellike"characters,eachofthemwiththeirownstory.

ThisistheonlygamewhereIusedthebonuspoints,justtobreakthedrawwith'NinjaSavior',becauseIthink'WingWarriors'isamoreambitiousandcomplexgame.

PACO SANTOS SAYS:

Apureold-schoolshooterwithnicefeatureslikeverticalscroll.

NegativeassessmentbecauseofthelackofFXsounds.

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MAARTEN VAN STRIEN SAYS:

Thescore7isbasedontwocomponents:8and6.First,the8.It'sdecentlargescalemusic,notjustatypicalloopofsomethirtyseconds,andIcanalwaysappreciatethat.Themusicinthisgameshowsithasacertainscale,forthemusicmindedlistenerthere'sreallysomethingsubstantialtochewon.Attheveryleastitopensdoorstocoverversions.

Artisallaboutthedetail,andwithinmusicit'sallaboutperformance.TheperformanceofthemusicinWingWarriorscould'vebeenmoredetailed,morealive,morearticulated.Avibratohereandthere,avolumeenvelope,somedetuninghereandtheretopreventidenticalnotes(evenwhenoctavated)creatingaphase-lockedsound...itwould'vegreatlyimprovedthepresentationofthemusic.Asitisnow:greatmusicalconcepts,butwithastaticperformance.Hencea6,bringingtheaverageto7.

JOHN HASSINK SAYS:

Vibrantandimaginativegenerallook.Theportraitsand-moreimportantly-designsofthethreedifferentplayercharactersarevariedanddistinct,aboonthatsurvivesthetransitiontothein-gamegraphicsreallywell.Thethreestagesalsoallhavetheirownuniquelookandfeel,whilethecolourlayoutofeverysingleoneofthemensuresthatbothplayercharacteranditsenemies,aswellastheirprojectiles,areeffortlesslydiscernedfromthebackground.Therearesomeexceptions,however,suchasmeetingslowmovingandground-based,butpurple-colouredenemiesonaredbackdrop,butconsideringtherestrictionsoftheMSX1pallette,thisispassable.

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Addinguptothis,theenemy'sprojectilesrapidlyalternateincolour,andlookverydifferentinshapefromyourownshots,makingitallthemoreeasiertonavigate,avoidandtacklewhatisbasicallyaprojectilestand-off.Obviously,quitesomethoughthasbeenputintoavoidingproblemsasmentionedbefore,whilestillkeepingitallverycolourfulandvaried.Aspecialmentionhastogotothebeautifullyanimatedflappingwingsofthemaincharactersandsomeoftheenemies.Althoughitofcoursedoesn'tinfluencethegameplay,it'sreallyprettytolookat,andbooststhealreadyattractivegraphicsofthisgame.

Despiteofallthis,theactualmapdesignsofthestagesmayappeartolackvariation.Again,thisdoesn'thaveanyeffectonthegameitself,butthewaryplayer(orobserver)maynoticethis.Dispatchedenemiesleavethescreenwithanexplosionspriteanimation,that,evenbeingitthesamehardwarespritesforanyofthem,workswell.Anotherdownside:theflickeringeffectwhenlandingahitonanenemy,yes,anyenemy,apartfromthebossfights,merelyworksdistractingandisreallyunnecessary;nottosay,undesired.

Bonuspointsfor,essentiallybeinga'bullethell'gamedesignedforMSX1machines,showingremarkablyfewslow-downsorspriteflickering(theyoccur,butnotdisturbinglyso),whichcanbeaddressedtocleveruseandmixturesofhardwareandsoftwaresprites,andsomereallysolidcoding.

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Conclusion:anintenselookinggamewithclearlyalotofheartputintothedesignsofthecharacters,enemiesandstages,butwithsomeflaws.

BART VAN VELZEN SAYS:

Killingthefirstbosstakesalotoftime,couldhavebeenalittlebitlessstrong.

Level2,gettingkilledbyenemiescomingfrombehind(Inevercouldhaveseenthatcoming).

Musickeepsonplayingwhengameisover.Nogameovertune.

Hitboxofplayerisincorrect(youdieontherightsideofmaincharacter,butnotontheleftside).

SoundFX'hangs'inbetweenscreens.

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BITLOGIC

WINNEROFBESTGAME PRIZE:6,79

David Paco Maarten John Bart

Gameplay 7 7

Graphics 7 6,5+0,3 7+0,5 7,1

SoundandFX 6 7,5 6,75

Polishing 8 6 7

Originality 6 6

6,79

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DAVID FERNÁNDEZ SAYS:

Controlresponseisverygood.Notallowingtheplayertojumpisariskydesigndecision,butitaddsapuzzlingtouchtothegame.However,notallowingtheplayertocrouchmakestheplayertotallyvulnerabletolittleenemiesnearby,becausetheycan'tbekilledandsometimestheycan'tevenbedodged,whatisawrongdesigndecisionIMHO.

ScenarioGFXaregood,recreatingacooldarkatmosphere.Regardingsprites-whiletheplayeriswelldone,someoftheenemiesdon'treachtheoverallquality.

There'sonlyonetuneinthegameandit'sok.RegardingFX,theyarescarce...MaybeImisssomemorehereandthere.

Theoverallgameisprettysolid.Everythingseemstoworkperfectly.

Thiskindofplatformgamesarenotoriginal,butthecyberpunkatmosphereandtheno-jumping&puzzlingfeaturesaddsomeoriginalitytothegame.

PACO SANTOS SAYS:

Greatatmosphereachievedandcolorselectioninaccordancewiththestoryline.Aniceplatformgame.

MAARTEN VAN STRIEN SAYS:

AwholedifferentballgamecomparedtoWingWarriorsorNinjaSavior,musicallyspeaking.Whileitleansmoreonthechiptunesideofthings,it'sexecutedquitewell.

Thein-gametunehasadrivethat'squitecatchy,slightlyremindingmeofMichaelJackson'sSmoothCriminal,buthey.

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Aboveall,themusicisaperfectmatchforthesomewhatstrangeandmysteriousatmosphereinthegameplay.It'sveryhardtocompareapplesandoranges,andthat'swhatBitLogicandWingWarriorsare.Onthemostbasiclevel,WingWarriorshasthescale,yetBitLogichastheperformance,themoodandthefun.

PurelybecauseofthatI'llgiveit0.5bonuspointaddedtotheregular7score,resultingina7.5score.JustkeepinmindthatIhadmybraincrackingoverthisgamevsWingWarriors,musically.

JOHN HASSINK SAYS:

Thegraphicsnicelyconveyanappropriateatmosphere.Thedesignsoozetasteandasenseofstyle.Theslightlyavant-gardetextfont,the"Matrix”-likeeffectof'code'runninginthebackgroundduringtheintroduction-itallsynergisticallyworkstogetherincreatingawholedifferent,interestingworldfortheplayertoimmersein.Althoughthebackgroundsinthebeginningofthegame(especiallywhenventuringunderground)canlookabitrepetitive,laterpartsshow,forinstance,veryprettyandinterestingvistasofskylinesrichwithfuturisticbuildings.ThefactthattheICstobecollectedslowlyswayupanddownisanicetouchandausefulvisualhinttotheplayer.Adownsideisthattheenemysprites,whileservingtheirpurpose,arenotveryinterestingtolookat.Theysometimesalmostseemtobeabsorbedbythebackground,evenwhiletheyaredifferentlycoloured.

Also,mostoftheirmovementpatterns,whileadheringtooldschoolplatforminglore,seemrigidandstilted.It’sopentointerpretationwhethertheymovethatwaybecausetheyare

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pre-programmedrobots,orifthis‘feature’actuallybreaksthegeneralatmosphereofthegame.Some,forinstance,slightsinusmovementwouldhaveaddedmorelifetotheentirepackage.

Ontheotherhand,dispatchingofanenemydroidlookssomewhatsatisfying,astheyshortlyappeartobemalfunctioning,orshort-circuitingbeforedisappearing(whichinturnisadownside;theyliterallyjustvanishupondefeat).

AnotherpointthathastobetouchedbrieflyisthemoreorlessfunnylookingspritewhenBit(themaincharacter)fireshisweapon.Generally,thesprites(andtheiranimations)usedforBitarequitegood.

Bonuspointsfortwothings.

Firstoff,forthegreattitlescreen.Butespeciallyfor,consideringmapdesign,theextraeffortthatseemstohavebeenputinthelightfallandshadowsthatlightsources(suchasstreetlights)shouldorshouldnotcast,makingthein-gameworldlookevenmoreconvincing(asstrangeasthisstatementmayseemwhenaddressedtoan8-bit'cyberpunk'game).Itworksreallywellandcontributestothegeneralimpression.

Conclusion:Obviouslymadewithavision,whichsucceeds,asitshowstheintendedcyberpunkfeelallover.Howthisgamelooks,andmoves,isalreadyasuccess,butabsolutelyeligibletoimprovement.

BART VAN VELZEN SAYS:

Niceusageofspritesintheintro.Unfortunatelynomusicduringtheintroorin-game(thefinalversionwillhaveanambientalsoundtrackin-game).

Grammarmistakesatthestartofthegame:"Idontknowwhatisthere",and"nice!goodshoot!".

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Unfortunately,theintrodemowhenyoustartthegamecannotbeskipped.

Thein-gamegraphicscreateareallyniceatmosphere.Attheendoftheintro,spritesdisappearfirstandonlythen,therestofthescreen.

Reallyniceandsmoothinteractionwithladders.Theplayerinstantlylocksontoaladderwhentransitioningbetweenwalkingandclimbing.

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STATISTICS

Theselistsaremadeforinfoonly.

TOP GAMEPLAY 1. BitLogic2. WingWarriors3. NinjaSavior4. BubboWorld

TOP POLISHED GAME 1. BitLogic2. NinjaSavior|WingWarriors3. BubboWorld

TOP ORIGINALITY 1. NinjaSavior2. BitLogic|WingWarriors3. BubboWorld

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, the MSXdev Team would like to thank theparticipants in this edition of the contest. We greatlyappreciate their effort in developing videogames for ourbelovedMSXstandard.

Congratulations to all the participants.We hope to see youagaininthenexteditionofMSXdevcontest.

Wealsowould liketogiveabigthankstothejurymembersfortheirworkincommentingonallthegames.

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WritteninJune2016