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ASA'S TELLAHVISION *SKYE REVIEWED!*
Posts
SuicideAngel
220
SuicideAngel
View playlists
CloseCan I add my game onto the list? It's just a demo though, are your reviews limited to Fullgame only? lol
Asalieri
200
No, actually. I do demos. In fact most of the stuff here HAS been demos!
I'll be happy to add yours in, SA!
I'll be happy to add yours in, SA!
Ba-dum-BUMP.
Hey, Asa, you still doing this? Or just get a tad side-tracked? There's still a bunch of eager folks who can't wait for you to rip their games a new one! Including me!
Hey, Asa, you still doing this? Or just get a tad side-tracked? There's still a bunch of eager folks who can't wait for you to rip their games a new one! Including me!
Asalieri
200
Well, if there is demand, I will have to provide, then!
(yeah, I did get very sidetracked, actually. I'll get off my butt now, though)
I've got a list of games to talk about, that's for sure. I shall return tomorrow, however.
My sig should give people an idea of how some fared.
(yeah, I did get very sidetracked, actually. I'll get off my butt now, though)
I've got a list of games to talk about, that's for sure. I shall return tomorrow, however.
My sig should give people an idea of how some fared.
Asalieri
200
The featured game this week is SkyE, a collaboration between Anaryu and Yaomei.
(whom together form the unstoppable Anamei, destroyer of puns everywhere)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye2.jpg
This is in every way you can imagine, a beautifully crafted game. There are some
issues with plot and ambience that hold it back from being truly great, however.
For starters, you'll pretty much NEED a controller if you want to really experience
this game to its' fullest potential. Alas, I had to make do with a keyboard, and
let me tell you, playing with a keyboard really takes a lot of the wind out of this game's sails. (see title of review) you will be pressing the Z and X buttons. A LOT. Then Shift to fly and the arrow keys to move, and well, maladroit hands (such as my own) will not make it far. If you're playing with a keyboard, the controls won't be forgiving.
Visually, this game is right where it's supposed to be; Anaryu's characteristic art
pervades the game and you get to see more art than say, Outlaw City, where I only ever saw THREE of his character designs. The designs themselves are nice looking, standard anime/manga fare, and work for what they're trying to portray. The battle graphics are out of this world. After SkyE, I fear I may be unfairly comparing future RM games to THIS standard, which is very well crafted. I like what he did in terms of when people are talking to each other; the characters are opaque, and whoever happens to be speaking is lit up so you know what picture corresponds to what character's name. The title screen? GORGEOUS. It definitely sets you up for good things to come!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye1.jpg
In the music department, well here I lost touch with his game. The title screen music is BEAUTIFUL. I write this in all caps to truly emphasize how much I liked this because it truly set me up for the adventure. The rest of the music, however, falls flat. It never truly seems to fit the mood, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the vocals themselves are nonsensical sounding. Example; here is a clip of the battle music, along with my translation:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/fxjeky
though wait no scout real lake on fire
scout meal lake on fire
stone me lonely tony's slowly closing
some man in black King Blasto now
lacking Blasto now, now
please call me meat so we slam a Chun dead yo dead
Totopos don't stink the ship (enema!)
Cannes yote with my own fair (enemies!)
Lots of patience! (What a dick!)
Scaned on your chinese tank
Kitsch, what a bitch.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye3.jpg
Kitsch, indeed. It's almost as if they KNOW it's really tacky sounding. The rest of the music fares no better; very distracting when you're trying to press Z and X over and over again in order to blast monster-ghost things away...and I found myself lacking LOTS of blasto in some fights. (there's also a problem with when you defeat them; they turn into little energy balls that you absorb. For a couple of minutes there I thought I was supposed to AVOID them, thinking they would hurt me. Not a good distinction is given between what is supposed to HURT you and what HEALS you, In my opinion)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye4.jpg
Speaking of which, what the hell ARE they supposed to be, anyway? Ghosts?
Plot-wise, nothing truly ever makes any sense. I never quite got what I was really
fighting for, what I was protecting and for what reason. All I knew was "oooo! new battle scene! gotta blast more ghost thingies!" What are Rayths? What is happening to my reality? who are we, and why are we here? You'll find yourself asking a lot of questions you'll never get answers to. When you die, you'll just skip it all anyway to get to the battles again, which are the crowning achievement of this game.
As I once said about Anaryu; I would hire this guy in a heartbeat to make an ingenious battle system and program a game; he's an ACE at this, But I'd never trust my writing to him.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye.jpg
In conclusion, the game is fun in terms of mechanics and visuals. I think if RM Action Game ever comes out, this one would be more suited to that program than standard RM. If you're looking for depth and plot in your games, this one's not for you. You'll miss out on the sidescroller-shoot-em-up goodness though, and that's your loss. Do play with a controller, though.
(whom together form the unstoppable Anamei, destroyer of puns everywhere)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye2.jpg
This is in every way you can imagine, a beautifully crafted game. There are some
issues with plot and ambience that hold it back from being truly great, however.
For starters, you'll pretty much NEED a controller if you want to really experience
this game to its' fullest potential. Alas, I had to make do with a keyboard, and
let me tell you, playing with a keyboard really takes a lot of the wind out of this game's sails. (see title of review) you will be pressing the Z and X buttons. A LOT. Then Shift to fly and the arrow keys to move, and well, maladroit hands (such as my own) will not make it far. If you're playing with a keyboard, the controls won't be forgiving.
Visually, this game is right where it's supposed to be; Anaryu's characteristic art
pervades the game and you get to see more art than say, Outlaw City, where I only ever saw THREE of his character designs. The designs themselves are nice looking, standard anime/manga fare, and work for what they're trying to portray. The battle graphics are out of this world. After SkyE, I fear I may be unfairly comparing future RM games to THIS standard, which is very well crafted. I like what he did in terms of when people are talking to each other; the characters are opaque, and whoever happens to be speaking is lit up so you know what picture corresponds to what character's name. The title screen? GORGEOUS. It definitely sets you up for good things to come!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye1.jpg
In the music department, well here I lost touch with his game. The title screen music is BEAUTIFUL. I write this in all caps to truly emphasize how much I liked this because it truly set me up for the adventure. The rest of the music, however, falls flat. It never truly seems to fit the mood, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the vocals themselves are nonsensical sounding. Example; here is a clip of the battle music, along with my translation:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/fxjeky
though wait no scout real lake on fire
scout meal lake on fire
stone me lonely tony's slowly closing
some man in black King Blasto now
lacking Blasto now, now
please call me meat so we slam a Chun dead yo dead
Totopos don't stink the ship (enema!)
Cannes yote with my own fair (enemies!)
Lots of patience! (What a dick!)
Scaned on your chinese tank
Kitsch, what a bitch.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye3.jpg
Kitsch, indeed. It's almost as if they KNOW it's really tacky sounding. The rest of the music fares no better; very distracting when you're trying to press Z and X over and over again in order to blast monster-ghost things away...and I found myself lacking LOTS of blasto in some fights. (there's also a problem with when you defeat them; they turn into little energy balls that you absorb. For a couple of minutes there I thought I was supposed to AVOID them, thinking they would hurt me. Not a good distinction is given between what is supposed to HURT you and what HEALS you, In my opinion)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye4.jpg
Speaking of which, what the hell ARE they supposed to be, anyway? Ghosts?
Plot-wise, nothing truly ever makes any sense. I never quite got what I was really
fighting for, what I was protecting and for what reason. All I knew was "oooo! new battle scene! gotta blast more ghost thingies!" What are Rayths? What is happening to my reality? who are we, and why are we here? You'll find yourself asking a lot of questions you'll never get answers to. When you die, you'll just skip it all anyway to get to the battles again, which are the crowning achievement of this game.
As I once said about Anaryu; I would hire this guy in a heartbeat to make an ingenious battle system and program a game; he's an ACE at this, But I'd never trust my writing to him.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Tellah/skye.jpg
In conclusion, the game is fun in terms of mechanics and visuals. I think if RM Action Game ever comes out, this one would be more suited to that program than standard RM. If you're looking for depth and plot in your games, this one's not for you. You'll miss out on the sidescroller-shoot-em-up goodness though, and that's your loss. Do play with a controller, though.
Anaryu
8848
Just woke up and a new review is here! Being a feature game sure brings the reviews in.
This is great feedback too, and I appreciate the time you put into this.
I would certainly NEVER argue about story being my strong-point, though I like to think I've improved over my earlier attempts, and SkyE's story was a lot of experiments.
One thing I tried was introducing a lot of (what I thought was) original ideas and structure without hammering background into people's faces since I usually have that stuff covered more, but it's usually really dull, boring, and most people don't care anyway. You and Max both seem to agree that there's concepts there that are really empty and need covering, covering history concepts without long speeches is now an item on my "Research how the heck writers do that." list (which is getting bloody long...)
I think perhaps adding vocals to the music was a poor idea, though I really thought it added a lot, but then again I tune out vocals and I treat them like an instrument in my own mind unless it's something where the vocals are what I'm there for (think Weird Al or Aquabats, etc).
The controls are an interesting point I'd like more feedback on, while I did test with a controller 1/3 of the time, I played mostly on my keyboard, especially I'm wondering about the "shift" key bit, did you try to hold it in? I'm wondering if it was too vague and if you were trying to hold the shift key in all the time? Also, Z and X should also be held instead of tapped repeatedly, unless you're mixing a lot of specials in between your stream of main attacks, or am I interpreting your statement there incorrectly?
Regarding writing the more I practice it the more I really feel the actual plot and ideas are more pointless and the more the presentation and characterization are ALL that makes a game great; I worked with a really good writer on the premise for this game, but I do feel that my implementation of the story and dialog was terribly weak.
You probably liked the music that was made by actual musicians and not the stuff we managed to make, this is another thing we'll work more towards as we form some better alliances with musicians. :)
Again, thanks for the review, these really do help me out a lot!
This is great feedback too, and I appreciate the time you put into this.
I would certainly NEVER argue about story being my strong-point, though I like to think I've improved over my earlier attempts, and SkyE's story was a lot of experiments.
One thing I tried was introducing a lot of (what I thought was) original ideas and structure without hammering background into people's faces since I usually have that stuff covered more, but it's usually really dull, boring, and most people don't care anyway. You and Max both seem to agree that there's concepts there that are really empty and need covering, covering history concepts without long speeches is now an item on my "Research how the heck writers do that." list (which is getting bloody long...)
I think perhaps adding vocals to the music was a poor idea, though I really thought it added a lot, but then again I tune out vocals and I treat them like an instrument in my own mind unless it's something where the vocals are what I'm there for (think Weird Al or Aquabats, etc).
The controls are an interesting point I'd like more feedback on, while I did test with a controller 1/3 of the time, I played mostly on my keyboard, especially I'm wondering about the "shift" key bit, did you try to hold it in? I'm wondering if it was too vague and if you were trying to hold the shift key in all the time? Also, Z and X should also be held instead of tapped repeatedly, unless you're mixing a lot of specials in between your stream of main attacks, or am I interpreting your statement there incorrectly?
Regarding writing the more I practice it the more I really feel the actual plot and ideas are more pointless and the more the presentation and characterization are ALL that makes a game great; I worked with a really good writer on the premise for this game, but I do feel that my implementation of the story and dialog was terribly weak.
You probably liked the music that was made by actual musicians and not the stuff we managed to make, this is another thing we'll work more towards as we form some better alliances with musicians. :)
Again, thanks for the review, these really do help me out a lot!
Asalieri
200
Yeah, your stories have yet to captivate me, Ana. As for improvement, this one was much fun to play in terms of blasting things!
Background isn't important in some cases, but in others it could make the difference between a good game and an awesome one. Taking some creative writing courses could help you find that "je ne sais quoi" you're looking for!
Vocals rarely work in RPG's. Dunno why.
As for your question about controls... I used 100% Keyboard. It never occured to me to hold the shift, X or Z... I just tapped away. I did indeed try to get specials and regular shots mixed to get by easier. I also found flying was rarely necessary.
I'd just sit on the ground and let them come to me while I blasted them to kingdom come.
I do indeed prefer original music, yes, but you'd be surprised what can work. Music really is about making it fit the mood perfectly. I suspect most of RM makers choose music based more on their own personal tastes rather than based on what FITS. May I suggest Harmonic? He's pretty known around here for his music. Not that I am really one to advertise for him, but asking is how you get places.
You're very welcome, Anaryu! Keep up the awesome work!
Background isn't important in some cases, but in others it could make the difference between a good game and an awesome one. Taking some creative writing courses could help you find that "je ne sais quoi" you're looking for!
Vocals rarely work in RPG's. Dunno why.
As for your question about controls... I used 100% Keyboard. It never occured to me to hold the shift, X or Z... I just tapped away. I did indeed try to get specials and regular shots mixed to get by easier. I also found flying was rarely necessary.
I'd just sit on the ground and let them come to me while I blasted them to kingdom come.
I do indeed prefer original music, yes, but you'd be surprised what can work. Music really is about making it fit the mood perfectly. I suspect most of RM makers choose music based more on their own personal tastes rather than based on what FITS. May I suggest Harmonic? He's pretty known around here for his music. Not that I am really one to advertise for him, but asking is how you get places.
You're very welcome, Anaryu! Keep up the awesome work!
Meep, the moment of truth! Hopefully you won't be so disenchanted as with PH4's demo (which I now know needs some serious help). Good luck, and if you get stuck anywhere, remember: I'm a living strategy guide.
demondestiny
889
Hey Asa whenever you get the chance can you give a review to my pacman game i created ages ago. I feel it is left out. :P
http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/594/
http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/594/
Asalieri
200
I would, DD except it doesn't work. Am I supposed to have Game Maker in order to play this?
Well, if there is demand, I will have to provide, then!
(yeah, I did get very sidetracked, actually. I'll get off my butt now, though)
I've got a list of games to talk about, that's for sure. I shall return tomorrow, however.
My sig should give people an idea of how some fared.
I demand you review every single god damn one of my genetically superior games...when you get around to it. ;)
Nightblade
2723
Nevermind, you did already.
Fidchell
6557
I would really appreciate it if you could try out Death Proclaimed and maybe the sequel if you are so inclined. http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/77/
