MSXdev’15 Final Reportmsxdev.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/msxdev15_final_report.pdf · 2 JURY...
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Transcript of MSXdev’15 Final Reportmsxdev.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/msxdev15_final_report.pdf · 2 JURY...
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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.
