Let’s keep this conversation civil. Instead of saying that a game was a poor rip off, offer advice in how to make it into a better game.
because some people had many mission based exploration and others(Like EMS) has EXPLORE-type exploration.
Indeed, there are different types of exploration. Just as with any theme, there is lots of variation in potential ideas. I consider a story an excellent incentive to explore, and both Undertow and Horsey Adventure and more besides used this.
Despite being in dead last every contest I am ready to start on the next.
Actually, you’re second to last in this one.
Keep at it, hopefully next time we can find a way to notify you sooner (I’d recommend removing your email from the above post as you’re likely to get a lot of spam now)
I use my email for alot of stuff, making it already a spammed email.
By poor I mean in the graphics, that look like an early PS-One game rather then the PS3 and Xbox360 counderpart; Bioshock
If I painted a Monialisa, all that people could focis on is what is different, and not quite right. and that was the case with UnderTow
It´s interesting to see how different opinions on good games can be. I also took my time to play each game for at least 10 minutes and even more if needed for completion. Sadly I couldnt finish a video version of my feedback in time for the end of the challenge, but maybe it will still be relevant in a few days. Otherwise I could offer my written thoughts on each game, if anyone can´t wait for the narrated video.
In some ways the judges perception differs substentially from mine, and I don´t want to question the judges opinion, so I think this boils down to personal preference.
My biggest surprise is that “terminus north” scored so badly, since it was one of my favourites (graphics, sound and gameplay wise)
I´m hoping to release my review of all games as quickly as possible, and I´m looking forward to future BGMCs.
If there will be judges in the next BGMC again, I´ll be willing to be part of the other judges, should I not create a game myself.
Great job again to everyone! It is easy to see that BGMCs help everyone a lot for creating better games.
I myself made a planet hopping game where you delviered packages in the past, but I did not place enough emphasis on one single part of the game controls, and I lost to a title that was a dumpster flying through space.
it was not polished and kinda raw, and the controls were a bit strange - but it was the most ‘Edgy’ entry displaying the most technical achievment.
‘Dumb and fun’ win to the masses where -‘complicated and intricate’ - tend to become cult classics after the fact.
I lost to a dumpster flying through space, because my game was a tech demo and his game was a game.
I would say the best judges would be the real players…and I mean Steam/itch.io players that will play our games with no strings attached.
From my experience with real players most of our(bge) games will be overwhelmed with negative comments and I mean really negative comments with very abusive language in them.
There is very thin line between a very good and a very bad game. Sometimes a game can jump on the other side just by changing only one feature. It is very,very subjective when it comes to who would like or not your game.
However, there are some milestones that every “complete game” should cover and that is what I was judging in this competition, keeping in mind the short deadlines.
Complete game means - clear objectives,clear end game/level/achievement states,clear UI, addictive gameplay,proper(not top notch) visuals and sounds. An example for that kind of game is Besiege, Super Pacman, Flappybird…etc.
For the next BGMC I would say to participants - keep your games simple in terms of gameplay and visuals and try to make a complete game in the given time.
Oh wow thanks! I’m personally happy with how I placed, the comments I was given are helping me refine some of the game play which was much needed but I’m glad you liked it anyways
Wow my first official BGMC win :D, it was a close one!
This is my 6th BGMC (3 of which I came 2nd in), so don’t give up!
I think the best part about a BGMC is having fun and also adding a finished game to your CV!
A massive thanks to sdfgeoff for organizing the competition and the judging panel!
Hopefully we can make BGMC 23 just as great :).
Its sad to see how corrupted and hostile people become once money is involved in the competition…
A note on making BGMC games (+1 for haidme’s post):
-Make a game (not a tech demo)
-Add obstacles (add the ability for the player to lose/die!)
-Keep it simple at the start (build on it with leftover time)
-Maintain simple controls (unless you plan on having a tutorial level)
-Optimize!
-Don’t leave sound for the last day (I have made this mistake too often before)
A simple mini-game that is well polished, entertaining to play and involves some sort of skill can easily win a BGMC (see previous BGMC’s).
Congrats to 2nd and 3rd place as well, next BGMC we plan on having prizes for the top 3 places!
I agree, all my previous winning games were pretty much finished gameplay wise by day 2. The remaining time was spent adding graphics and sounds and testing for bugs.
All the games I made which didn’t win or which never got entered failed because they were too ambitious or because they prioritized technical complexity over fun.
A game should be challenging and fun. There should be an immediate feeling of success (“you found a gold coin! Get ten more to win!”) Within the first minute or so. From there it should get harder slowly until it matches the player’s skill level. Getting to this second stage requires quite a lot of playtesting and you need to include that time in development.
I’ve seen lots of great games get poor scores because they were too hard or too easy.
BTW… It is possible to get a good score with a tech demo, but it should do something that makes you think “wow! How did they do that?” It has to be something no-one has done before. A walk in the park was a great example, though it didn’t win.
Yes I agree, unfortunately that has happened quite a few times.
Yes perhaps it is possible to get a good score but not necessarily win. It is, after all, a GAME competition so there should be some characteristics of a game in it.
I think its also crucially important to make sure you know what criteria you are being judged by.
The best game entries balance tech-demo with gameplay, giving you something enjoyable to play and something to be amazed by.
(Lone-Photon from BGMC 19 is a prime example of this).
The winning entry is always going to be a game IMHO. But that shouldn’t discourage people from entering something more experimental, just to get some feedback and have fun.
I think that if you want to win a game contest the key is to take some things you already know how to do successfully, combine them in an interesting way and frame it all within the theme of the contest. Usually if you try to do something you’ve never done before you end up running out of time.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t experiment and try to learn new things, but a game contest is more about project management and creating a finished project to a deadline.
Yes I agree, I think that people should experiment, learn new things as well as develop their own skill set and have fun. However it appears like some people expect a tech demo to win (at least for this competition) rather than an actual game.
I think the underlying structure should still be that of a game and “tech-demo” elements can be used to make it more impressive/unique.
From my experience with real players most of our(bge) games will be overwhelmed with negative comments and I mean really negative comments with very abusive language in them.
I don’t think that it’s necessarily the fact that our games are made with BGE, but rather the fact that making a good game, that appeals to mainstream gamers, is very difficult.
I think this is what you meant.
To everyone:
When people buy/download a game, they expect to play a game.
Specifically, for this contest, I think most developers completely missed a major fact: the more emphasis you put on exploring a world, the more interesting you need to make that world. This is why most people love the first few hours of “No Man’s Sky”, but hate the rest of it. People don’t feel satisfied with the few hours of fun out of the possible 50 that you need to finish the game.
It’s difficult for the casual gamer to understand what makes a good game, well, good. It’s very easy for them to understand why a bad game is bad. That’s why negative reviews are often so much more harsh than positive reviews are extremely good - it’s simply easier to say what’s bad than what’s good.
While I agree that making a game everyone enjoys is difficult, I also think that bge’s poor performance as an engine has some weight to the problem also (hopefully UPBGE will fix this).
An example of this is ‘I will escape’ which got lots of negative reviews because of performance issues.
