First Place: Ninja's Reprise
By
Airjoe
Result: Playable. Score: 9/10
Prize: BYOND membership, and $15.00 via Paypal, courtesy of Iccusion Entertainment.
Ninja's Reprise is Airjoe's response to the "Talk Like a Pirate Day" theme. The game is singleplayer. The goal is to collect several sacred Katanas while exacting revenge on the pirates who stole them. Like a true ninja, however, you can't just run around swinging a sword and call it a day; you must complete your mission without being spotted by either the pirates or the numerous search lights. Speed and style are also valued, and players are rewarded both for completing the mission quickly and for using style in their assassinations. No runtimes or bugs were encountered while testing. The presentation is excellent, better even than many BYOND games that have production times spanning months. The game is fully documented, and provides redundant means to execute commands (helpful for people using a laptop, for instance). Gameplay is good, but lacks any random element, so replay value is low.
Crispy says: I didn't have a problem with the replayability of this game, because I didn't manage to finish it in the first place! The moving pirates can be tricky to avoid, since you have no warning before they turn the corner and spot you, unless you've been studying their patrol path; and it's not obvious where to find safe places to wait and study the pattern. That, plus the instadeath, makes this a very difficult game. It would have been nice to introduce "lives"; perhaps you have a limited store of shuriken (throwing stars) that your ninja automatically throws at the pirates just as they're about to spot you, silencing them. Still, there's definitely a playable game in there, and for a 24-hour game you can't ask for much more than that. Nice work.
Second Place: Pirates in the Sky
By
Evi of Au
Result: Playable. Score: 9/10
Prize: BYOND membership
This is a very well presented game. Title screen is present, and though documentation is missing, the game is simple enough to figure out quickly. Players control a space ship which must plunder hostile planets of their gold. Players fight against both enemy players and the authorities using either their laser cannon or missiles. The player with the most loot after six minutes wins. The game is pleasing to the eye, and judges encountered no runtimes or bugs. Some aspects of the game were technically impressive given the timeframe. This entry delivers more than was expected of a game made in one day.
Third Place: ZombieLooter
By
DarkView
Result: Playable. Score: 9/10
Prize: BYOND membership
You're just an innocent citizen watching a movie when zombies attack the mall. Player compete with one another to loot the malls various goods; the player with the most loot after five minutes wins. This game was complete, in addition to being quite fun. There were no bugs, and only a minor packaging error where DarkView forgot to package map_demo.sav. The title screen was present, and the documentation was helpful. Another game which delivered more than we expected from one day's work. If you plan on playing this game, be prepared to hunt down DarkView for a copy of the missing map!
Fourth Place: Total War
By
Basik
Result: Playable. Score: 8/10
Prize: BYOND membership
Total War is a team capture the flag game with a military theme and a pleasing assortment of weapons, including a rocket launcher with a large blast radius. It is complete, and very fun when played with large balanced teams. There are a few minor bugs, such as bleeding turrets and being able to return your flag when it is already in it's normal place. Improvements to this game would mostly involve the interface; though actual gameplay is great, it would be nice to have options such as automatic balancing of teams, and more control over when rounds begin and end. Overall this is a strong entry, and is a prime candidate for revamping and releasing to BYOND gamers.
Honorable Mention: EPA
By
MikeH
Result: Playable. Score: 8/10
Prize: $10
EPA, which stands for Environmental Plundering Agency, is a gem of a minigame combining satire with frantic gameplay. As a member of the EPA, it's your job to pave the rainforest and build as much civilization as possible. You're be competing against other EPA bulldozers intent on making a buck off nature's bounty. But that's not all! Relegr8-esque eco-warriors have caught wind of your plan, and are swarming in from all sides to block your progress with their bodies. Though you'll lose money if you happen to run them over, I'll let you decide which goal is more fun. There are some runtimes associated with player joining, leaving, and starting the game, some of which can lock up gameplay. There are also some unexpected bugs, such as being able to place multiple houses on the same tile, or being able to trap yourself (or be trapped) with no way to continue playing. Social commands are present and working, and the graphics are highly enjoyable. A great multiplayer game, and a personal favorite of the judges.
IainPeregrine says: To bad you didn't place higher, you could have snagged yourself a nice BYOND membership.
48 hour contestant: Virtual Hobo Simulator
By
bobthehobo
Result: Playable. Score: 9/10
Prize: Six Month Hosting Plan from DigitalBYOND
Bob's Virtual Hobo Simulator allows players to experience life as a hobo, or something like that. The game's theme, though slightly vulgar, fit nicely with the event. As a hobo, the player must use all his (I'd say 'her', but they all have hobo beards) wit to earn money for booze; the player with the most money after five minutes wins. Methods of earning money include begging citizens (equip the harmonica and hat), mugging people (equip the dirty hobo knife), and breaking and entering (equip the cinder block). The game is complete and very competitive, with nothing that could really stop gameplay; no errors or bugs were observed. There is sufficient documentation for a game of its scope. A strong entry.
JpGameInADay
By
Jp
Result: Playable. Score: 8/10
Jp's entry is an arcade styled deep space game after the spirit of "Asteroids". To prove your worth as the newest member of the deep space pirates, you must defend the pirates' worm hole from being used by money grubbing merchants. Unlike other games submitted for this event, the merchants are not helpless; this time they've enlisted the help of mercenary ships to protect their trade route. The game is well made, with no errors or bugs encountered. The player's ship is easy to control, and the custom movement system is very well executed. AI is slightly lacking, being easily stuck to asteroids, and loot was hard to collect because it shot across the screen at the same rate as the destroyed ship that carried it. A little bit of imagination went a long way in both the extensive documentation and the imaginative names for loot. The game could benefit from some polish in the start and finish interface.
Data Thieves
By
Gerdan
Result: Playable. Score: 8/10
You're a hacker with a computer! You travel the net hacking firewalls and stealing data, with various tools by your side, but be careful, as other players can steal your data! However, you just might have a chance if you manage to steal data from other databases and make it back to your computer with it. You can even enjoy some hot Player vs. Player action with the attack program! Just a few bugs with the limited firewall and with downloading data, but all in all a complete, and fun, game. The judges encountered compiler errors associated with the Spuzzum.s_missile library, so be prepared to root through code should you want to try out this game.
Booty
By
D4RK3 54B3R
Result: Playable. Score: 8/10
You play as a pirate out on the seas in this turn based strategy game. The goal is to collect the most loot in a set number of turns, while defending your docks from other pirates. Players use cards, which are drawn at the beginning of every turn, to hire units, attack enemy units, build ships, and other execute other actions. There are some bugs, and the interface is confusing. The documentation is largely absent, so it takes a (very) long time to discover how each action is supposed to be executed. This game could have score much higher had more documentation been included. This game could use a little bit of polishing, and it would be a perfect addition to the list of BYOND strategy games.
Crispy says: Add some documentation and fix the runtime errors and this could potentially be a great game. It's very pretty!
spacepirate
By
Crispy
Result: Playable. Score: 7/10
spacepirate teeters right on the edge of being a complete game. On the one hand there are no errors, no bugs, and everything in the game functions flawlessly. On the other hand gameplay starts as soon as the window opens and there is no natural end; players play until they die. The style of graphics, content (such as computer controlled ships yelling "Please don't hurt me!" when fired on), and gameplay are all very reminiscent of early arcade games. This would be a great game to finish with the addition of both start and finish interfacing.
Crispy says: Boring. No stars.
Plunder Gnome
By
IainPeregrine
Result: Playable. Score: 7/10
This was a fun and complete game. It just had a few gameplay problems that were a bit deterring. You're a gnome and competing against other players. Your goal is to collect the most radishes before 2 minutes is up.
IainPeregrine says: Almost unplayable in this version. Radishes cause deadly runtimes!
Circles Seekers
By
Gooseheaded
Result: Playable. Score: 6/10
In Circles Seekers players have 120 seconds to run into a castle, dodge the guards, and grab all the loot they can find in the open or hidden in objects. At least, they should have 120 seconds. Due to a typo in the game's programming, players only get 20 seconds to do their plundering. Once this typo is fixed, it's a very fun game. Combat is present, including an attack delay to prevent macro abuse. It's not very useful, though, considering that the guards attack in groups of 10 or more. Perhaps with enough players, the castle could be taken... This game, though very simple, had a lot of potential, and the judges recommend that it be revamped and released. One bug in particular that needs to be fixed deals with choosing a winner; in our experience, the host is always chosen, regardless as to wether or not he even joined the game.
Plunder on the High Seas
By
Gakumerasara
Result: Playable. Score: 6/10
Players compete in 30 minute rounds collecting bounty by digging up buried treasure, sinking enemy ships, or selling all the cannons on their galleon. The third option seems most profitable. The movement system in this project is ambitious, including velocity, acceleration, and turning, and what looked to be some form of friction (for the slowing of cannon balls). The game also featured a second pixelized movement system for non-boat objects, and use of the standard atom movement system when inside towns. It is certainly playable in it's current form, with no show stopping runtime errors. Unfortunately, the game's controls frustrate any player interested in combat, keeping player interaction to a minimum. Aggravating this is the game's duration, which is much longer than any player wants to deal with the controls. With more responsive controls, and a shorter time limit, this game could score very much higher; and despite these problems, the technical aspects of the program are impressive given the time frame.
ViKing
By
Elation
Result: Playable. Score: 3/10
Users play as a ViKing (who knows why the K is capitalised) with an itch for gold, or a need to kill, or a slightly eccentric desire to litter the world with ship parts... or something. This game is pretty much open ended, which isn't always a good thing; collect gold, if you want, it's not like there's a time limit or anything. Combat is pretty fun, especially when you consider that there's nothing you can do to influence the outcome. Winning a battle results in various stats belonging to your ViKing being raised; looking through the code, though, we find out that these stats do nothing. There is a shop in the game, too, but it seems unfinished. It seems all of this game's various systems were half finished when it was submitted, and the other systems experience various show stopping runtime errors. At one point a ship, or the various mangled parts of a ship, can be navigated under an island. This game slips in only because the main foci of gameplay (killing, plundering, building ships) are present, in some form at least. Though there really isn't much to be done here, there is a simple pleasure in sailing the seas, raiding houses of gold, and watching your viKing slaughter left-tenant Foots. Playable, but barely.
Pirates Plunder
By
Deathstar175
Result: Unplayable
The central aspect of this game, naval warfare, seems to be non-functional; the judges could not determine how to sink an enemy ship, even after shooting most of the their ships' cannon balls directly at it. The town interaction looked interesting, and was quite in-depth in comparison with many other systems developed during the event, but without working combat it's usefulness could not be determined.
Pluder/Thief
By
Pepi
Result: Disqualified
Pluder/Thief (we're not sure which is the correct title) was one of the contenders for first place in this event. Unfortunately, it makes unauthorized use of copyrighted music from Final Fantasy 7, and therefore had to be disqualified as per the rules of the challenge.
Pluder is a complete, and very fun, sneaking game. Players must sneak into a facility past the numerous guards, steal the documents, and then escape. The introductory sequence is technically and stylistically superb (though a bit lengthy for those who've already seen it several times; an option to skip would be appreciated). This is definitely a game which you should try out.
Plunder of the Souls
By
Archfiend
Result: Disqualified
Plunder of the Souls is a fairly complete mini-RPG, complete with character creation, combat, leveling, and skill systems. However, there were a few problems: When a player is killed while fighting a base's leader, the leader would then wander to other parts of the map where he becomes very had to find. If a soul attack is used and no enemies are around, the player will target itself, committing suicide. Unfortunately, the game makes use of images copyrighted by Square Enix, and perhaps other sources, and must be disqualified as per the rules of the event. Nevertheless, it was a good effort, and, for the most part, a playable game.
Plunder
By
Falacy
Result: Disqualified
A multiplayer raiding game. Players choose one of three teams, and one of three skills, and then compete to raid gold or protect the town. Full documentation and a title screen are both present, and the judges encountered no runtime errors (though there was one bug associated with the "build" ability). Combat seems to be of the 'click madly to win' type, though there are some nice squad commands. The biggest problem with the gameplay is that it doesn't end naturally; play continues until all players give up and leave. The game was disqualified for use of some icons belonging to other BYOND members.
GIAD
By
Hiead
Result: Disqualified
Hiead's entry was disqualified because it is not a game. However, this doesn't mean that it isn't a lot of fun. The presentation is very clean, and technically impressive, too. It is certainly an appreciated contribution to this event.
Crispy says: This was probably my favourite entry.
plunder
By
SuperAntX
Result: Disqualified
This entry consisted of one command which output the phrase "You plunder." As such, there was not enough material to consider this a playable game.