2014 "OFFICIAL" MISAO PREDICTIONS/DISCUSSION THREAD

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It's that time of the year again, and we're getting nearer to the Misao Awards. Whether you have played many or few games this year, feel free to discuss which games deserve to nab each award category, or explore the variety of games discussed. Don't forget to point out underrated gems, and explain their strengths/weaknesses. Provide exposure for games that would otherwise go under the radar. This is a free discussion; everyone's opinion is valued. Try not to self-promote or discuss your own games, and definitely don't hesitate to download and play some of the titles that catch your eye. Overall, have fun!


Note: Feel free to suggest new additions to the list.


One day, when Mary falls asleep, she finds herself in a nostalgic place very different from her other dreams.
Inspired by slow-paced games like those in the Harvest Moon series, World's Dawn allows players to experience life in a sleepy farming village off the beaten path.
A game about a kid and the monster under his bed.
HOME is a non-canonical fangame created with the permission of Mortis Ghosts, the creator of OFF - the game from which HOME was inspired.
Oneshot is an RPG Maker 2003 Puzzle/Adventure game where you, as the player, must guide a lost child through a strange world, utilizing items, characters, and the environment to progress.
You play Alyssa as she struggles through a bizarre birthday, completing puzzles and defeating demons with only your wits and hidden talents to help you.
Guide a young girl as she teams up with a renegade mage boy to search for the truth behind the castle, her unique magic, and a way to escape.
A game about a nurse in Midland Research Hospital Center, in the middle of a Hospital Zone - her name is Okay.
Shippu la Senpu is an arcade shmup (shoot 'em up) under the top-down perspective.
An 7.5 hour long labour of love 2.5 years in the making.
Allan is a young man that, after encountering a mysterious entity called Zu, submitted himself to explore his world, willing to fulfill a personal objective.
The history of a guy that hates snowy days after a incident in the past...
While the citizens of the world may have forgotten his efforts; in favour of the newer younger heroes, inside Zack's chest still beats the heart of his teenage adventurous self, longing for the past.
Ysmena and her entourage were having a winter solstice celebration in the middle of their quest to defeat a great evil when, suddenly, the Ice Queen Czarina interrupted their dinner and froze them all inside of her underground fortress!
Tess is a platformer run-and-gun game. It follows the story of Tess, an odd little girl who had a bad day.
In a society where having the last word means having power over others, a small party is disrupted by a gentleman who politely issues orders via one-way intercom.
Sunken Spire is a game made for the Indie Game Maker Contest 2014.
It belongs to the Arum universe and shares characters with Dead Moon Night, The Grumpy Knight and In Search of Immortality.
Clause soon learns the dark secrets of the circus troupe and comes to realize that it’s not only humans who bear two faces.
A little girl named Cinnamon sets out to find her parent, who works at a ship breaking yard.
Unravel the secrets of an underground fencing organization that requires members to wager their most precious possessions.
Exeunt Omnes is a rhetorical strategy game, where dialogue is the battleground and you fight for your life armed with Logos, Ethos and Pathos.
X-Noir is the story of Eddie Humphrey, once an up-and-coming City Councilor but now an alcoholic has-been making a living as a private investigator.
Soul Sunder is the story of Zero, a young woman whose life was shattered when she unintentionally sets in motion events in her childhood that left her village destroyed, her brother dead, and her best friend crippled for life.
You awaken after a dream in front of a giant tower. What mysteries lie within? Why are you here?
Almost two years have passed since God put an end to humanity, but one man unwittingly escaped the apocalypse when he locked himself into his house in the woods and didn't come back out.
Let's kick chickens and punt cows! It sounds cruel, but it's the only way to rescue lost farm animals in this adorable little adventure!
Your cat has ran away, and now you need to go and find him!
You are a brave prince who is trying to save the princess from an evil spell that forces her to sleep forever.
“This soufflé has sunk so far, it brought back souvenirs from Atlantis!”
Near the village of Appleby, a young and aspiring painter, Corbin, is prodded into the cathedral’s painting to cleanse the vibrant world from cultural extinction by the Pestilence.
A mischievous mercenary from wintry Garenia and her long-suffering sister set aside their differences to compete in a tournament of arms.
In the world of Alex Gets Oppai, there are rumors stating that any man who can overcome the Sadistic Challenge and reach the heaven beyond the sky will be granted one wish by the Goddess of Sadism.


For Liberty's 2014 2-Day DO SOMETHING Challenge, Craze designed a community game and asked for RMN users to submit characters. A deluge of interest was generated and thirty characters were born!
The world trembles at night, wildlife's becoming more and more aggressive and one by one, humans are turning insane.
Four imperfect heroes. One terrible threat from the past. This time, it's personal.
Stray Cat Crossing is an indie horror adventure game, much like The Witch's House and Ib, with additional inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, Spirited Away, Pan's Labyrinth, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
A story of intrigue and war.
Rita swore to protect the people. But what is she protecting them from, exactly?
With new friends aiding him, Zephyr seeks to put an end to the rising hostilities between Lindblum and the Espers, led by Ramuh, before the conflict engulfs the entire globe.
Karuna and Aurelie were friends. Then Aurelie went off and found the infernal armor of Ellicide and became the Evil Overlord Darkloft. Karuna is the only one who can stop her. But Karuna loves Aurelie, even now.
A Smash Bros. game packed with characters and stages from the most memorable video games of all time.
Who I think should win the Misaos:

Best Storytelling and Direction - Unraveled.

In terms of Unraveled telling a story through bold surreal imagery about a girl in a ship breaking yard, I believe the game succeeds in showing rather than telling. The thought provoking imagery coupled with the hopeless yet relatable plight of the lead character caused Unraveled to tug on my feelings, hard.

Best Characters - Sunken Spire

Indrah and Fomar pair up with MakioKuta and Rachael to create an engaging game with fun characterization.

Best Setting - It Moves.

This game lives or dies on the basis of its settings, and It Moves has plenty of beautiful yet terrifying dreamscapes through which you must travel.

Best Atmosphere - It Moves, or Dreaming Mary.

Both of these games crafted a relentlessly dark atmosphere that makes the player feel in a constant state of unease. But they accomplish this through two entirely different ways, yet both kept me creeped out throughout the entire thing.

Best Graphics & Artwork - Oneshot, It Moves, Unraveled, or Dreaming Mary.

I can't even decide. All these games are exquisite.

Best Sound & Music - Dreaming Mary.

I'm not sure this can be beat in terms of sound design. It Moves was close, but Dreaming Mary's use of creepy vocals echoing through the radio and other indistinct groans throughout keep you on edge.

Most Technical Prowess - World's Dawn or Shippu la Senpu.

It takes a lot of technical prowess to be able to create a full Harvest Moon-like game, with all the robust features involved, but also in Shippu la Senpu's case having Yami script the shmup engine is a huge undertaking as well.

Best Level/Dungeon/Puzzle Design - Oneshot.

Worlds and levels within Oneshot are structured non-linearly, causing the player to be in a sort of freely explorable world that gives rewards in random turns. The design of Oneshot's world is one to be admired, if only for its unconventional structure.

Best Gameplay Mechanics - World's Dawn.

World's Dawn features a host of gameplay systems that merge together nicely. Last Word isn't far behind, simply for the originality of the concept and the new system that is being employed.

Best Interface Design - Unraveled.

The menus are professional, the UI is polished to near perfection, just as is almost everything else in this game. Very nice.

Most Promising Demo - Luxaren Allure

Love this game, it is so balanced and it's everything a good RPG should be. It's being upgraded with fantastic art and it's absolutely well-designed by a frequent user on these forums. A surprise hit.

Best Non-RPG - It Moves

Or Oneshot or Dreaming Mary. It's very hard to decide. But It Moves felt like the most compelling experience start-to-finish in the end.

Game Of The Year - Unraveled.

Unraveled is the most beautiful RPG Maker game I have ever played. The reason why it didn't top the majority of these categories, is because it is the sum of its parts - every quality of this game may not be the best in its genre, but it is so polished and so good in very many of the areas that count, that the full package constitutes as nothing more than fantastic. Thoroughly recommended. Other options would be It Moves or Dreaming Mary.
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6280
Is it that time of the year again already? Let's see, I haven't played as many games as I would have liked to, but I do have some favourites.

I think you could consider adding Fleuret Blanc and Exeunt Omnes to the list of Notable Entries.

By the way, I think you forgot the "Most Promising Demo" category in the list of your own suggestions.


These are my favourites so far. The list is far from complete, though, and I can only name games I have actually played, so this may be very much a matter of subjective taste.


Best Storytelling and Direction - X-Noir


Best Characters - Mayhem Maiden

Sunken Spire and X-Noir are also awesome in this regard, but the incredibly quirky, funny and still interesting cast of Mayhem Maiden won this for me.
Edit: And of course, how could I forget In Search of Immortality?!


Best Setting - Remnants of Isolation


Best Atmosphere - Soul Sunder


Best Graphics & Artwork - In Arcem Miseria


Best Level/Dungeon/Puzzle Design - X-Noir


Best Gameplay Mechanics - Sunken Spire, Soul Sunder or Mirror Boy


Best Interface Design - Sunken Spire


Most Promising Demo - Wyrm Warriors

I'm looking forward to the full version of this game so much! Also high on my list are World Remade and Mayhem Maiden


Game Of The Year - Sunken Spire

Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
I haven't played any of those games, so I guess I can't say much on them. :P
Definitely agree with your categories for It Moves, especially Best Setting and Best Atmosphere. I love its sound design as well. That was the stuff that really made me not want to play the game while playing it, since it was so terrifying. :''')
The only one of those games that I've played is OneShot, and I hated it.

But hey, having played one game puts me ahead of last years total!
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6280
This must sound kind of ridiculous, but perhaps around this time of the year, there should be an event with the goal of playing games for once instead of making them. After all, we sometimes need to be each other's audience as well, and games with no players are a sad thing.
@Never That's actually a really good idea!
CashmereCat
Self-proclaimed Puzzle Snob
11638
I second that. Another review drive would be welcome.

Or just a "play" drive, if that can be measured.
author=NeverSilent
This must sound kind of ridiculous, but perhaps around this time of the year, there should be an event with the goal of playing games for once instead of maing them. After all, we sometimes need to be each other's audience as well, and games with no players are a sad thing.

Yes, yes! I highly recommend an event like this. RMN shouldn't be just all about gam mak. What's the point of gam mak if there's no showcase of gam pla?

EDIT: Oh, and I actually want to nominate The Logomancer, but too bad it was released last year.
Pom was last year. It can't win stuff this year. Right? Right?
Seiromem
I would have more makerscore If I did things.
6375
author=NeverSilent
This must sound kind of ridiculous, but perhaps around this time of the year, there should be an event with the goal of playing games for once instead of maing them. After all, we sometimes need to be each other's audience as well, and games with no players are a sad thing.


Yes please!
nhubi
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
11099
There's a bit of that going on with Revive the Dead with the feedback thread that is active, letting the developers know what people thought. Perhaps there needs to be a Misao version of that. Benny, your list is a personal one, but is there an official list of who the current nominees are? I mean some of the one's I've nominated aren't on your list so I know it's not comprehensive. The Misao tab says there is currently 785 nominations, but I'm assuming that is across all categories and included multiples of the same game.

A thread may be easier than a review event (not that I'd turn one of those down), but then isn't this what this thread is, a place for people to list those games they think are worthy of winning? Highlighting the reasons you think so may give people the impetus to go and try out the games which may or may not be on the official list yet, which is what the nomination period is for, right?

For example my most promising demo in my personal list is Deimos, simply because I really like the concept, the game itself still needs some work but I like the idea behind it and am really interested to see where the developer takes it, that is followed closely by Radiant Chain, which is much more professional and polished but is a collaborative effort so I may be waiting a while before I get to see the end of the story which intrigues me no end.
Wait a minute, what if someone uploads a game in December? You are eligible for next year?

Sorry if this question is kinda off-topic
nhubi
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
11099
Nope you are eligible for the year the game is uploaded, so you could upload on December 31st, then 2014 would be the year you were eligible. Voting opens in January for the previous year.
SunflowerGames
The most beautiful user on RMN!
13323

Actually, Pom could be eligible if it updated the game. ie. released a different version.
author=NeverSilent
I think you could consider adding Fleuret Blanc and Exeunt Omnes to the list of Notable Entries.

By the way, I think you forgot the "Most Promising Demo" category in the list of your own suggestions.

Thanks for pointing that out. I added those things.

author=NeverSilent
Edit:And of course, how could I forget In Search of Immortality?!

That was completed in 2013, I'm afraid. ;)

~~~

Can anyone think of any good demos?

Edit:

author=nhubi
Benny, your list is a personal one, but is there an official list of who the current nominees are? I mean some of the one's I've nominated aren't on your list so I know it's not comprehensive. The Misao tab says there is currently 785 nominations, but I'm assuming that is across all categories and included multiples of the same game.

You can nominate any game for a Misao. But I've just tried to get the most prominent ones. Feel free to suggest new ones as we go, I'll add them.

author=nhubi
For example my most promising demo in my personal list is Deimos, simply because I really like the concept, the game itself still needs some work but I like the idea behind it and am really interested to see where the developer takes it, that is followed closely by Radiant Chain, which is much more professional and polished but is a collaborative effort so I may be waiting a while before I get to see the end of the story which intrigues me no end.

OK I'll add both of those.
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