Pandora's Present

Byah
Thanks for the feedback, and glad you liked it!

I may have made it a bit too easy after watching a friend play it for 1 hour and 40 minutes with Mikki/Leo, obviously having quite some trouble. :X
But, eh, I'd rather this game be too easy than too hard.

I agree about an extra map before the boss, actually, but I do seem to have trouble creating more content for my games.
Need to work on that. Got any tips mr. 378973289-hour-games in 3 days? :P
Speaking of which, downloaded DEViL::ender, gonna check it out tomorrow!

Mikki/Leo is probably the least effective pairing, haha. Dora can hit hard and sorta-debuff (well, unbuff) enemeis while Mikki tanks, and Ralph can heal her/provide a damage boost for her awesome first attack. Leo has no way to really support Mikki, and vice-versa. thatbennyguy's review saying that the best strategy is "spam the highest-cost skill" is pretty accurate, but at least it changes a little based on the pairing and whether or not the first ability has a pump (like, again, Mikki's awesome teddy hug). Still, I used Dora/Leo for the final boss because they have the best single-target damage output, especially when together! (Drank milk a few times, though, haha....)

ANYWAY the first rule of making lots of content in a short period of time... is to not, haha. You inevitably have to cut and/or rush some things and the game is rougher as a whole because of it. Wine & Roses and Teenage Costume Squad were both created while I was very depressed; I took out my malaise on poor old RM* Ace, which is why they're weird and interesting but inherently flawed projects. I had a lot of time and emotions on my hands! It wasn't very healthy, and most people shouldn't be expected to put out so much in so little time.

Still, planning goes a long way. I always have index cards on my desk and google drive pinned in chrome while I'm working a game, because taking notes and jotting down ideas and making outlines is never bad. I have pages and pages of notes for games I haven't made that I pilfer from and look back on when I'm doing contest gam mak, and then I can use those ideas to form better, more usable ones for the current project. EVOLUTION, BABY

Speaking of evolution... cutting, changing, revising, etc. are not bad things. If you're going to make something in a reasonable amount of time, you're going to need to be willing to make some sacrifices and changes. More importantly (arguably), you need to learn to not feel bad about those changes! If you made a cool system for learning abilities, and then a few days later into the contest you realize that the rest of your gameplay contradicts that system, something's gotta give. Otherwise, you end up with a muddled, incoherent mess like Obelisk: Devilkillers (don't play it, it's horrible). I refused to throw any ideas out for that project, and it suffered terribly for it. Seriously. If I didn't believe in being open about my work I'd delete the game profile. (Same goes for Saga Mara Talon.)

so, tl;dr:
-you're not van gogh, so make sure you're in a good frame of mind for gam mak
-planning and organization are key
-don't be afraid of change or removal before something becomes too malignant for the rest of the game

final tip, applicable to non-contest games too (most of this is really, but w/e): seriously jot down every idea. i've said it like two and a half times now. you can always cross out the bad shit, but maybe a better idea will come from it. if you're making a game, it should be a giant brainstorming session from the minute you start until right before the final test run. and you'll be able to pull from a lot of options for content, hopefully! just... make sure it's good content. obelisk: devilkillers and saga mara talon are dreadful. don't make games like those... please.... cut out bad ideas.........

edit: two more thoughts haha

1) there CAN be a time when the kitchen sink approach works for a game. see: visions & voices and castlevania: symphony of the night (which was a major influence on v&v). this is the extreme, though, and is a case of being "so bad it's good," much like the 80s/90s idea of the "B movie." SotN isn't really a good game if you're going by the books, but it's a fun game in spite of how utterly bizarre half+ of the shit in the game is.

2) i hope you enjoy DEViL::ender! it's one of my most experimental projects, and is almost nothing like anything i've made before -- and, in fact, is pretty openly mocking it at the same time as making a modern critique of the oldschool classics! most of my games don't have a message, but ::end is special!

I hope you don't mind but I would really like to make a let's play walkthrough for this game <3 should be about four videos if its 40 minutes long with the recording program I have. I'll link you to it as well if that's alright so that you can use it as you see fit if you want to add it to things. but I just thought I would let you know of my intentions.

Surprised at how it is well organized the amusing graphics, equipment/skill-system, sliding and battling puzzles in a very efficient way.
If only it would have more levels/dungeons and interesting consequences...

Presents would often be small and happy, though.