LIBERTY'S PROFILE

author=Faenon
Hey Liberty. The Cerebral Symphony was actually marked as "Complete" for the first time ever in February. (I know it was on last month's list, but so was Blue Skies II?)

Timezone shenanigans.

author=kentona
Is it just my work PC's firewall, or are the first few images missing?

E:
...and now they are visible. what the heck.

Timezone shenanigans.

I haven't tried as many games this month as I had last month so not as many recommendations, sadly. But that doesn't mean you guys can't recommend games for others to play! Let's do some discussing about what you liked, what you thought could have been better and what you think sounds/looks interesting and/or plan to play!

VIVA LA DEMO!

Seriously, this article is pure opinion and there's nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is trying to present it as a factual and unbiased account of why people shouldn't make demos, when it's very clearly lacking both facts and non-bias on the issue.

You, uh, do know EC isn't the be-all, end-all of references, right? They're one reference that schools use. There's more than just them used.

Besides, schools can be wrong and sometimes fuck you over when it comes to teaching due to relying on bad references and teaching, especially schools that are relatively new to teaching certain subjects (like, say, game design and development which is a relatively new field of teaching and of which there isn't as many references to pick and choose from as other fields which have proof and documentation up the wazoo to prove and disprove practices.)

You can't quote just one source as the only way.


Quite frankly, demos are great and have been used for years apon years. I still recall how they helped hype such big shot games as, say, oh, Tomb Raider and Doom and a thousand other games out there. They still exist today because they WORK - not only to hype up the sales, but also to showcase what you're making and, yeah, get feedback (yes, even big name companies get fucking feedback from their fans. You can bet the Andromeda team wish they'd put out a demo so that fans would point out the ridiculous faces and say "yo, fix this shit and take your time please. we want a good game not some shite" instead of the backlash they got on release (which did not help sales at all)).

Look at games like The Long Dark - a game that started out showcasing the beta and demo development of the game to widespread approval of the fans. Now the full game is out and they've gotten a hell of a lot more sales than they would have without having shown anything before full launch.

Frankly, demos are a good thing and anyone who says they're not are, imo, either a big enough name that they don't need to care about not having that hype build or just plain wrong.

Sorry, not sorry.

It wasn't marked as complete in January.


Okay, so in interest of getting talk happening:

Vermillion
The graphics are familiar since they use Mack and other resources available among the different sites, but the mapping is quite well done and the story is interesting. The characterisation is pretty good, too and while battles are a bit of a case of weakness-hunting they're not too bad. I kinda wish you'd do a bit more damage if you hit a weak point so it feels like a reward, but overall I thought the game was pretty good. (I did run across a crash, though.) The weapon changing could have been bound to a key, I think, so that you could fast-change on the map like you do in battle.

I'd probably nominate it for story so far.

The Seven Seals
It's like a low-budget Hero's Realm but there's enough differences there that it doesn't feel like an exact cut'n'paste. That said, it at least does well in the balancing and it's fun to play. If you liked HR, you'll probably like this too.

Nightkeep
This game is an argument for demos being in the running for GOTY awards because it's the whole package. It's a fun sidescrolling demon-hunting metroid-like game with great graphics, very good music and just has a great overall feel. Gonna have to nominate this for more than one misao. (Also, I found myself speeding through time while playing this. It's a 'can't put down' type game.)

Journey to Northpass
An interesting little game. Not sure I'd nominate it for anything but it was still interesting to play and while I didn't love it, I found enough in it to actively enjoy what I did play.

Icebound
I played the IGMC version of this as a judge and frankly, I thought it was quite well done. Luchi has made a pretty great boss battle and I found myself enjoying the gameplay. The story was okay, but a little lacking when it came to flow, I felt, especially with jumps between scenes, but overall it's a neat little game. Try it~

Day Dreaming Derpy
Hella cute and sweet, battle the greatest foe of all... work! With cute uniforms that give you different skillsets and a super adorable town to explore~