OCEAN'S PROFILE

Also, you have to consider what type of difficulty it is. Sometimes you really get no margin for error, or no alternative way to do something, or that the difficulty is because of something stupid like controls, not because it's genuinely difficult. This is especially true when a game of a certain genre tries to add elements of other genres then fails at it. Like Stealth minigames in non-stealth games (which have the added bonus of the player having to wait for just the right time to move on). If a task is difficult, being sent to the door right outside it rather than getting a game over would be my personal choice.

... But if we've learned from a mistake and became better for it, shouldn't we be rewarded for the learning, rather than punished for the mistake?

Ironically that was a quote in the game Braid.

It's a valid criticism. If every person that played the game thought it was boring, then it is a good thing to learn from. Better to learn that from an amateur game than sinking in thousands of dollars and then learning that.

Here's a pretty well known quote I think: "Your first 10 games will suck. Get them over with". Now it's not meant to say that no ones first games would ever be good. But they are learning experiences. If it sucks, why does it suck? What can I do in the next game to improve? What am I weak in? What am I strong in? I think it's not really too helpful if everyone says "it's good". It's motivational, sure, but it doesn't help you iron out the problems the game would have. Someone only saying "It's a horrible game" doesn't really help too much if they don't say why.

That's what I think I like about game making the most: You learn new things, and can experiment with what you've learned. "Ah, this check point system I put in really annoyed everyone". So what do you do for the next game? See what works and what doesn't about it. Maybe the check points were too far away, and all you needed to do was add more frequent and closer check points. Maybe the idea fails totally and you replace it with a different saving system. This is a problem for many people, and I'm talking from experience here: It's not always easy to look at your game objectively. You know how it works. Others who play it may not realize that you have to use the Orange key on the green door, yet you do it without thinking, then they get frustrated on that part. So any advice and feedback you get from others can be really helpful.

What I like to do is work on the systems and stuff first, after planning. If I find the idea isn't entertaining, or wouldn't really be entertaining for a long game, then I ditch it. This is why I tend to avoid advert topics: I cannot always say if the project would end up good or not, a lot of things sound good on paper but don't in function. I've scrapped a ton of projects, but if I'm going to stick with it, then I start showing people for feedback and how I could improve it.

Wow, I thought that Lost Sanctum thing was an exaggeration. I just saw the movie, and I cannot believe someone made a dungeon that bad. With one exception of an RM NOOB who made billions of dead-ends in a dungeon with random encounters, I've never seen them make a dungeon this bad. I think they probably purposefully did it just to annoy people, because I can't see how anyone could think that is a good idea.

Well, I was already fixed on not getting this, and I'll just go play the SNES version if I want more CT.

It's amusing how many people are saying they don't like ATB.

1. Which do you prefer? Do you like to strategize and take your time, or do you like to shoot terrorists in the crotch while things blow up around you? Or do you prefer hybrid systems such as most Final Fantasy games?

- Action whenever action is needed, but whenever there needs to be a non-instant choice, I want all the time in the world to think of it. Either or for me, it just depends on how well it's done.

2. Which game has your very favorite implementation of turn-based or action gameplay?


-Final Fantasy X for turn based. It stopped for an eternity to wait for you to take your action. The characters speed and their action determined when their turn would take place, and you can see how much your action delays you and who is up. That way, you can actually plan out what you want instead of choosing Attack or getting hit 5 times trying to find the spell you want.

-For action, something like Secret of Mana is nice. Nothing like Kingdom Hearts stupid menu thing. I like it to actually pause when I'm in the menu.

-Mario RPG and Mario superstar Saga were good too. In the menu, you had all the time in the world to think of what you wanted to do. Then, after that, you had to time your attacks/blocks, which made it more interesting than just "Press x to attack hey you won". That would be a good example of a hybrid in my opinion.

3. Is there a style you hate? Some people get anxious and bored in turn-based games. On the flip side, some people get bored if they don't have time to make strategies.

- ATB. If it's slow, then you're waiting there doing nothing until your turn comes up. If it's fast, then you're trying to scroll through your items/spells while the enemy attacks and slays you.

-Too much action. There's only a certain amount I can keep up with before it becomes impossible to manage. Things like 50 billion arrows being thrown at you in the harder stages of DDR, for example.

4. Which game's implementation of turn-based or action gameplay do you hate?

-Star Ocean, where it was just "Press X and you win" type of crap. Same goes to Kingdom Hearts, which is worse when the enemies constantly respawn. I played a demo of Tales of Vespaciansomethingorother, and that was another horrible one. The stupid AI decided to heal me when it was too late, or decide not to do anything when I needed the help.

5. Even in styles you prefer, do you have boundaries? Many people like turn-based games, but don't have the patience for two-hour-long turns in the late stages of Civilization 4. Or, some people like action games but can't keep up with the frantic pace of Wipeout.

- I don't have much free time so battles that take long are pretty much out of my list. Bahamut Lagoon I'll make an exception for, and maybe a few others like Starcraft, but generally I hate really long battles. Just generally things that are too difficult or require you to grind for hours. I'd rather spend my free time doing things that are fun and not a chore to do. I like forgiving games.

Also, what annoys me are games where you pick a difficulty and the Easy difficulty is still hard or impossible.

Some people have download/bandwith limits so they can't go freely downloading 3.1 GB RPG Maker games or whatever.

Otherwise, I don't think it matters much, but come on, it's an RPG Maker game. A lot of the times you're downloading a 500 MB RPG Maker game just to find out it's because of the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack. If you have no real download limit and have tons of space, go ahead and feel free, but not when you do have those limits.