7DRL 2014 Massive Videos Thread

[Game Hunter]

I was advised to post all the videos here at the Temple, so I'll do just that. I'll even do one better: along with links to each video, I'll write up a small, additional review of the game. (EDIT: not doing a "official" judging, at least not with the posts.) Feel free to either comment in this thread, or head on over to YouTube and comment there: I'll be reading both as I go.

I've decided to go in the opposite direction of "sometimes videos won't be available here" and instead make it so that the videos are unlisted until their standard viewing time on YouTube. In other words, you'll have a small period of exclusive access by checking here first! It's not really my intention to add traffic in that manner, this just happens to make things less time-demanding for me while I'm at work.

To 7DRL Developers:
If you want me to do some extra reviewing for your game, let me know and I'll strive for more than one paragraph: if you want me to target a specific part (like the graphics, controls, gameplay, mechanics, etc) specify that as well. You can even ask this after the post goes up, it's just a quick edit! (Of course if you wait too long, like a month or more, I might not remember enough of the game to be confident in a review, so please keep this in mind.)

Anyway, without further ado, I present to you the massive link list! (This will be updated over the course of the next couple months as videos are completed.) Listing is alphabetical by game name.

7DArrrL, by Paul Jeffries
Beware of Strange Warp Points, by Ed Kolis
Fida'i, by Pat Wilson
Hellspace, by Numeron
Impera, by kniiight
Northbound, by skeeto and netguy204
Rogue Station, by Pål Trefall & Kenneth Gangstø
SoulsRL, by pangaea
The Littlest Princess, by Joseph Bradshaw
VARIABLO, by Rat King

[Game Hunter]

This space will be left blank for now. A massive link list could easily max out a post, so I'm leaving extra room in case that happens.

[Game Hunter]

SoulsRL, by pangaea

Overall thoughts:
I enjoy the prospect of what SoulsRL hopes to accomplish, but unfortunately it isn't accomplished to the point where I can effectively enjoy it. To guess at the ideal, I imagine a giant battle arena wherein you kill things as efficiently as possible, setting up paralyzed enemies as walls and slicing down those behind with a giant magical laser or hammer or mid-sized sedan. It'd boil down to keeping yourself health and alert, preparing for unseen challenges to come. Certainly that massive wave of turrents makes me want to survive the ordeal! But, as I mentioned, it's not really doing any of that right now, whether it be due to overall imbalance, some scattered bugs, or some missteps in the implementation. I really do hope this game (or at least this idea) gets worked on some more, as it can be so much more. I think some thoughtful consideration on a little more content, combined with some rigorous and thorough coding, would do wonders for this one.

[PTrefall]

You're awesome Game Hunter! It's exciting enough to finish a game after 7 days of development, but then having you do video LPs/reviews on top prolongs the excitement even further! Best luck with your monumental quest! May your computer stay healthy and your throat never run dry!

[Game Hunter]

Impera, by kniiight

Overall thoughts:
For what's here, this is a very polished and complete game. Simple startup and controls, complex interactions, decisions between limiting movement and limiting your own: there's a lot to get out of here! Replayability is definitely here as well. Honestly, the only flaw I could conceivably give is meta: the game's great but, given the challenge of 168 hours, it probably could have accomplished some more. Don't get me wrong, it accomplished a fair amount, but aside from some interesting enemy AI there isn't a lot of "content implementation". I bet some other simple abilities, interactive terrain, and a slightly more varied reward system per level could have been figured out with a really good use of time (and possibly beforehand planning).

I'm only saying that because I'm fishing for something to describe how it could be better in the context of 7DRL: as a standalone game, regardless of the challenge, this is a very good work and should be considered as such.

[kniiight]

Thanks for the review, Game Hunter. As usual, you're right--the game could definitely have been more content-heavy. However, I discovered when the 7DRL challenge this year was starting on the day it began, so I didn't have time to plan. I spent precious programming hours brainstorming a concept, and the rest of the time was spent implementing and polishing what I could plan on the spot. Next year hopefully I'll have more of a head start.

[Game Hunter]

Northbound, by skeeto and netguy204

Overall thoughts:
It's not bad at all for a prototype: many of the concepts-to-come are obvious and the pacing of gameplay is solid. There's really not much content except the graphics and music, though, so I can't speak much on how much fun I had: it's more pretty than engaging. Hopefully more work will be done, because it needs work, but almost any new efforts into adding content should turn out positive. Ramping up the number of resources necessary to survive, making use of the terrain for those resources, occasional obstacles "thrown" by the encroaching shadow to hinder you, and adjusting the stamina system to account for long-term fatigue, to name a few. The aesthetics have been built up nicely, all you gotta do is get the game down!

EDIT: New video's up. My overall thoughts from this post haven't changed, but there are more accurate comments in the new video description.

[Game Hunter]

7DArrrL, by Paul Jeffries

Overall Thoughts:
What an eclectic set of controls! I'm rather fond of mixing up control as a part of changing gameplay, and this one seems to make the jump easy and intuitive: wind can be hard to see, but other than that I had no issue trying to control. Whether or not I could control well is another matter, but figuring out the right timing and adjusting to the enemy's movements is the main reason for real-time games (or rather, whenever it's a reasonable choice between that and turn-based). But, well, it's just not a roguelike! Right now it's uniform combat, so after you figure out how to beat one ship, you're set beating them all (or doomed to eventually lose if it's impossible to do so flawlessly).

Of course, I never actually killed a single ship, so there may be some sustainability in the form of getting more crew. But unless there's a goal and/or a stark increase in variety (different ships, ways to improve your own, weather fluctuations) it's just a fun sea combat simulator, which does not a roguelike make. Definitely play it a little, it's fun anyway.

[Game Hunter]

Rogue Station, by Pål Trefall & Kenneth Gangstø

Overall Thoughts:
Completely different approach this time around, and I think it paid off handsomely. While there could be some bits and pieces added, making a really nice 15-30min game overall, Rogue Station performs the various tasks of building a roguelike admirably, and it plays well to boot! Ultimately the gameplay is pretty simple, but you have to be constantly aware of your semi-invisible surroundings and approach each area with caution and restraint. The "countdown timer" seems awfully long, though, especially given what's available to throw things off after it begins, but it's a good idea with the right combination of additional obstacles. I hope to see this fleshed out over time!

[Game Hunter]

The Littlest Princess, by Joseph Bradshaw

Overall Thoughts:
It's less ambitious than KlingonRL, but it's far more polished and aims for completely different objectives as a game, which I don't mind at all.  The ghost is the real challenge of the game but everything else can and will get in the way, so there's a lot to think about. At the same time, the game board is small and the number of pieces are few, so it's easy to learn the patterns required to handle things. After that, you just gotta watch the next board and see what has to be done! I think it can work well as a roguelike for less experienced players (not that I show any indication of being good in the video) so fun may not be there for long depending on experience. I want to see more "board game" roguelikes, though, and this is a gem for that list.

[jere]

You're aware those last two are unlisted, right?

[Game Hunter]

You're aware those last two are unlisted, right?

Sure am! I've found that viewership is generally better on YouTube if I space out the recordings. You'll get to watch 'em here slightly earlier, and I imagine if you're checking this thread then you're interested in these videos specifically, not just whatever videos are available in some giant list of subscriptions.

[jere]

Ah, ok. Makes sense.

[Game Hunter]

Golden Krone Hotel, by jere

Overall Thoughts:
Yeah, the intro to Golden Krone Hotel is awesome. Especially because it only takes ten or so moves to do! This game should be used as an example of great tutorial design.

As for the rest, I think there are more than enough elements to occupy the player for a while, and the situations can get complex very fast, leading either to tense and exciting gameplay or extra preparedness in future crawls. Having to balance the brawler and mage classes in the same character at different times changes the normal "pick a class and stay with it" perspective, and I expect that the pace of this game makes that work without feeling too forced on the player. Additionally, dual-class flipping means you won't get tired of doing the same actions, because you'll have to switch over at some point to stay alive! Some great execution in design, here.

[guest509]

Crap Gamehunter I was going to warn you off of my game, it's not nearly the serious roguelike KlingonRL was.

I'm happy with how it came out as I was going for a simplistic game for my nieces. I might need to tone down the difficulty for them though. I nearly didn't release it as it ended up not being a very serious game.

Realizing that the rooms wrap lowers the difficulty. I added instructions so people will know that when they play it.