Castle Paradox

[Pepsi Ranger]

And it's wearing pants.

Having said that, we now have the results of the Epic Marathon -- Mynorety Whispers Contest. For those of you who have been waiting for it, here are the results. For those of you who haven't, here's a great opportunity to see what you missed:

Before I break these down, I want to reiterate how these were judged. Each contestant had two sets of scores to contend with. The first involved the traditional popularity contest. Every 1st place vote counted for 10 points, every 2nd for 9, etc. down to 5 (which was given to the unreleased contestant entry). The second set involved the accumulation of the Bonus/Penalty/Collaboration scores. At the start of the contest, a series of rules and design objectives were listed to assist designers in gaining credit or losing points toward their games. After playing through all the games, I went through the checklist of each item to determine if the game stayed within the guidelines. I also checked each file for supplemental items that potentially increased a designer's bonuses.

It's important to mention that I scrutinized each game for its attempt at maintaining certain rules and applying certain bonuses. I think my final judgment is fair according to the list I provided in August. However, if any contestant feels that my Bonus/Penalty judgment is inaccurate, you're free to dispute it. I'll give my reasons for judging the way I did later in this post.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, here are the final results:

6. Mynorety Whispers: Spies of the Cradle by Retrogamer
+5, +5, +5, +5, +5, +5
(Subtotal = 30)
Invalid Entry

5. Mynorety Whispers: Not in the Face by Rimudora
+6, +6, +6, +6, +6, +6
(Subtotal = 36)
Bonus: 0
Penalty: -10, -50, -50 (Violates Rules #1, #3a, #6)
Total: -74

4. Mynorety Whispers: Mynorety Report also by Rimudora
+9, +8, +9, +7, +7, +7
(Subtotal = 47)
Bonus: +10, +10 (Supports Missions #1, #6)
Penalty: -10, -50, -50 (Violates Rules #1, #3a, #6)
Total: -43

3. Mynorety Whispers: The Mysterious Rogue by LeroyLeo
+7, +7, +8, +8, +8, +8
(Subtotal = 46)
Bonus: +10, +20 (Supports Mission #2, Includes Supplemental Materials x2)
Penalty: 0 (No Violation)
Total: 76

2. Mynorety Whispers: Ties of Chaos by RedMaverickZero
+10, +9, +10, +9, +10, +8
(Subtotal = 56)
Bonus: +10, +10, +10 (Supports Missions #2, #7, Includes Supplemental Materials x1)
Penalty: 0 (No Violation)
Total: 86

And your winner:

1. Darkmoor Dungeon by Moogle1
+8, +7, +9, +10, +9, +6
(Subtotal = 49)
Bonus: +10, +10, +10, +20 (Supports Missions #1, #5, #7, Includes Supplemental Materials x2)
Penalty: -5 (Violates Rule #2)
Note: Rule #2 states that there must be a subtitle following the main title. This game provides the subtitle, but not the main title, therefore I’m giving a half-penalty since it only does half of the requirement.
Collaborator Bonus: 0
Total: 94

Scroll down to the end of this post for a quick reference of the Missions and Rules included in this breakdown.

The Prizes:

Even though I said I wouldn't award any prizes this year if the contestant turnout was less than eight, I changed my mind and decided that, out of appreciation to all the contestants who stuck with it this time (which I'm doing largely out of response to the dismal failure of last year's Volcanic Kings contest) that I will award all the entrants a prize.

That means everybody who had a Mynorety Whispers entry on the Game List as of December 24 will be awarded something.

Now here's the breakdown of those prizes:

1st Place (Moogle1) will receive a $25 gift card of his choice from either Best Buy, Wal-Mart, or Target sometime in February.

2nd Place (RedMaverickZero) will receive a $15 gift card of his choice from any of the above stores sometime in March.

3rd Place (LeroyLeo) will receive a $10 gift card of his choice from any of the above stores sometime in April.

4th & 5th Place (Rimudora) will receive a $10 gift card of his choice from any of the above stores sometime in May and again in June.

6th Place (Retrogamer) will receive a $10 gift card of his choice from any of the above stores sometime in July pending his game makes it on the Game List by then, and pending that he decides he wants it.

All these prizes are my way of saying thanks to those who stuck it out, but if anyone chooses not to accept it, it's within your option. Otherwise, PM your address by the beginning of the awarded month and I'll get them to you before the end of said month.

Finally, here is the quick reference sheet of the Rules and Missions used in these games for those who have stipulations over the final scores:

Mission #1:
Create an alternative battle style. Obviously the Zelda battle system would be most appropriate for this type of game, but if you have one better, go for it.

(Mynorety Report uses the "Zelda" style; Darkmoor Dungeon uses a complex strategy style)

Mission #2:
Successfully implement up to three landmarks within the game play (in other words, make them fit into the story, and make them fun to explore).

(Mysterious Rogue uses Castle Arsevus, The Town, Cetchacold Swamp, and Cave Antiphileo; Ties of Chaos uses Castle Arsevus, The Town, Herald's Peak, Cave Antiphileo, and Heartfire Forest)

Mission #5:
Elude to an era of time that you think the hero may have been active in, or will eventually come to, and give a brief back story of how he had, or will overcome evil. The intention here is to try to link your story to someone else’s.

(Darkmoor Dungeon refers to a past event centeries earlier when the Mynorety wasn't able to stop the Echo from destroying Arsevus--bends the requirement slightly, but not enough to make the mission void)

Mission #6:
Use NPC animation to show the story unfolding. For example, if the hero pulls a switch, show it. If the hero drops from a cliff, have him land on his head. If he goes swimming, show the splash in the water. Isolated events don’t count. All action must be shown, not told.

(Mynorety Report shows the hero jumping and swinging a sword while maintaining eight directions of movement)

Mission #7:
Implement a clever puzzle (that doesn’t involve NPC-pushing) to unveil a mystery.

(Ties of Chaos includes three segments where the hero must find the right objects or press the right switches to advance; Darkmoor Dungeon is designed as one big puzzle, and finding the "Mynorety Whispers" ending requires solving a mystery)

Rule #1: Failure to include the year of the game’s story in either the game, the “About Line,” or in a text file
Penalty — 10 points

(Not in the Face and Mynorety Report offer no reference to the story's year)

Rule #2: Failure to include a subtitle into the Mynorety Whispers title
Penalty — 10 points

(Darkmoor Dungeon includes the subtitle, but not the main title, so it receives a half-penalty)

Rule #3a: Failure to give proper credit for each major design element (graphics, music, story, and plotscripting)
Penalty — 50 points

(Neither Not in the Face or Mynorety Report come with any text files outlining the creator information)

Rule #6: Failure to include at least one landmark element from the “Story Elements” section
Penalty — 50 points

(Neither Not in the Face or Mynorety Report address the landscape of the game)

For the Supplemental Materials, Mysterious Rogue includes background information and artwork; Ties of Chaos includes story background information (summation); and Darkmoor Dungeon includes a fake email session and concept art.

And that's everything.

Congratulations to the winners, and stay tuned for the next contest to be held in August.
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Progress Report:

The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition

Currently Updating: General sweep of the game world and dialogue boxes. Adding extended maps.

Tightfloss Maiden

Currently Updating: Chapter 2

[Moogle1]

Hooray! I had fun with this contest. Big apologies to RMZ, with whom I had planned to collaborate to make Ties of Chaos super-awesome. It was a close matchup between our games.
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Slime Salad :: Independent Game Design

[LeRoy_Leo]

I made mention to Cetchacold swamp and cave antiphileo, but regrettably didn't come around to constructing them to their full glory. Cetchacold swamp is just a winding path and Antiphileo is just one room that you warp to and fight the boss. This was pretty fun, though, and invaluable experience.

Congratz to Moogle and RMZ, and the other contestants. When next time rolls around, I hope we'll all be able to try harder and do better. Woot for 3rd place!
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Planning Project Blood Summons, an MMORPG which will incinerate all of the others with it's sheer brilliance...

---msw188 ---
"Seriously James, you keep rolling out the awesome like gingerbread men on a horror-movie assembly line. "

[RedMaverickZero]

I will not be taking my prize. Do with it whatever you wish.

[Shadowiii]

Sore loser?

ps give it to me
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But enough talk, have at you!

[Pepsi Ranger]

Be nice, Shadowiii. RMZ's Ties of Chaos still won the popular vote. Darkmoor Dungeon won the overall contest from its bonuses...sort of like an Electoral College vote. It still counts, but RMZ can take pride in knowing he had the "Top 6" win.

Anyway, I'll pick up the gift cards as they're requested (per month). If any contestant decides he doesn't want it, I won't buy it. Simple as that. Again, my part here is to thank those who stuck with it.

Now, if anyone wants to give the second year's contest another go around, feel free.
_________________
Progress Report:

The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition

Currently Updating: General sweep of the game world and dialogue boxes. Adding extended maps.

Tightfloss Maiden

Currently Updating: Chapter 2