Hello once again and congratulations to all the participants of Zodiac Attack 2013, particularly the winners! The results are in and the prize-winning entries have been determined.
And here they are...
FIRST PRIZE: Cancer the Space Crustacean by OMC/Old Man Clayton OMC takes home a special Zodiac Prize, a CD with all included entries, and his choice of upgrades: MMF2 Dev or any Clickteam exporter!
SECOND PRIZE: Zodiac Ninja by LordHannu LordHannu takes home a special Zodiac Prize and 2000 TDC Points!
THIRD PRIZE: Celestial Kingdom by VGRaptor VGRaptor earns a prize of 1000 TDC Points!
Congratulations to all the winners! I'll be in contact with you shortly to spread around the prizes.
Reviews will be posted for all entries in this thread. Those entrants who would like more detailed feedback should contact me via PM and I'll accommodate you.
A GIGANTIC THANK YOU goes to Jeff of Clickteam, who offered up some truly impressive prizes from Clickteam as a reward. And of course THANK YOU to Rikus for donating his time and effort as a fellow judge for the competition.
Those of you who have played any of the entries and have some thoughts to share: please post them in this thread. I'm sure the authors would love to hear your constructive feedback.
CANCER THE SPACE CRUSTACEAN
By Old Man Clayton SUMMARY: A nice "Asteroids" style shooter with the added feature of attempting to create stars in a specific layout, dodging space rocks as you go. I personally appreciate shmups, and after a few practice rounds I felt right at home. The game could use some additional length, and failing that could benefit from a high score table to increase replayability, but it was a fine effort that looks swell and plays fairly smooth.
STRONG POINT: The graphics and eye-candy throughout the main game, as well as the starting and ending splash screens.
WEAK POINT: Noticeable slow-downs for low-end and even some mid-grade machines. The game doesn't need to be so resource-intensive.
ZODIAC NINJA
By LordHannu
SUMMARY: A well-done entry and exceptional adherence to theme in this beat-em-up by LordHannu. The entire zodiac was represented with distinct, well-drawn characters and unique challenges for each. Difficulty can be modified, character appearance can be changed, and there's even a secret boss to fight. If you're a fan of Street Fighter style games, then give this one a try.
STRONG POINT: The creativity and approach to the zodiac theme instantly won me over.
WEAK POINT: Include more sounds and background music to make this game even more atmospheric and enjoyable.
THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM
By VGRaptor
SUMMARY: The only Action RPG of the lot, this game was a breath of fresh air for Zodiac Attack - and Click games in general. Although still in need of some work, the skeleton is there and shows a lot of promise. With a large glossary, a customizable skill development tree, and unlockable attacks and skills this one will catch your attention.
STRONG POINT: I was impressed with the different routes of character development the author offered.
WEAK POINT: The core gameplay elements were there, but I wanted to see a finished, balanced game.
CITADEL OF THE STARS
By Indago
SUMMARY: When compared to the other entries in ZA 2013, this title is easily the most epic and polished title of the bunch. It spans all zodiac signs well, provides adequate challenge and length without being bland and overlong, and rewards the player with upgrades along with scaled challenge. As long as you possess the patience to practice the controls, you will enjoy this game for a couple hours.
STRONG POINT: Compelling, rewarding challenge for those with the patience for it, in a just-right-length package.
WEAK POINT: This game is essentially a re-packaged version of the author's previously-released title.
ZODIAC ATTACK/ZOE ZODIAC
By neeters_guy
SUMMARY: The best-looking game of the bunch, but woefully incomplete. I think that neeters_guy would serve as a fantastic team-mate for a solid coding developer who needs an artist to bring their creations to life. This author has the chops to make an eye-catching title, so put the word out there and share your talents!
STRONG POINT: The artwork is adorable. Even the bad guys are cute.
WEAK POINT: The game is unfinished and more of a showcase of artistic talent at this point.
ZODIAC ZOMBIES/DEMONS
By PKGamer
SUMMARY: "Big Game Fever" strikes again. With some planning and discipline, I'm sure the author - who obviously has a tremendous amount of imagination and ideas - can come up with a game that is a true showcase. Zodiac Zombies/Demons is not a finished product, containing many issues that keep it from being enjoyable and a front-runner in the contest. With a week of solid work, this can be turned into something great. So come back to it, work out some of the show-stoppers, and then build your big ideas around a solid, bug-free engine.
STRONG POINT: The plans for this game seem vast and epic: truly the stuff of memorable Click games.
WEAK POINT: The game is unfinished and riddled with massive bugs.
KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC
By Jack LeHamster
SUMMARY: I enjoyed the art style and music compositions that the developer was utilizing, but the game is simply too unfinished to be a worthy contender. The source material looks incredible (this was touted as the beginnings of a fangame for a long-running anime series), so let's see some serious effort in this title. STRONG POINT: The art style was fresh and stylized, and I wanted to see more.
WEAK POINT: Finish it, then we'll talk.
Big congratulations to the winners, and well done to all who entered - and of course thanks to s-m-r for organizing a very fun a successful competition
I'm almost 100% sure there will be a ZA2014...Coming up with additional prizes shouldn't be too difficult, but I'll definitely need to build up my TDC Points first.
Springtime seems like a decent time-slot for me to hold a compo, though I am devoted to a Halloween competition too...
Congrats to the winners! Enjoyed playing all the entries.
My favorite was Lord Hannu's fighting game, with selectable characters for all the signs (clever use of the constellations). I think this fit the theme best overall.
Originally Posted by s-m-r
ZODIAC ATTACK/ZOE ZODIAC
By neeters_guy
SUMMARY: The best-looking game of the bunch, but woefully incomplete. I think that neeters_guy would serve as a fantastic team-mate for a solid coding developer who needs an artist to bring their creations to life. This author has the chops to make an eye-catching title, so put the word out there and share your talents!
STRONG POINT: The artwork is adorable. Even the bad guys are cute.
WEAK POINT: The game is unfinished and more of a showcase of artistic talent at this point.
Final Score: 51.4
Thanks for the feedback, s-m-r! Yeah, I'm definitely coming at this from the art side. I've done some scripting, and have coded in DarkBasic, but programming is not my strength, which is why I prefer MMF. But even so, I've discovered, it takes some programming chops to really make it sing.
I'm happy to see so much positive feedback from this compo. I'll be sure to post a collection of "best practices" for others who are considering hosting their own competitions in the not-too-distant future. Each time I host a compo, it's a worthwhile - and definitely fun - learning experience.
Advertisement
Post Reply
FIRST PRIZE: Cancer the Space Crustacean by OMC/Old Man Clayton
SECOND PRIZE: Zodiac Ninja by LordHannu
THIRD PRIZE: Celestial Kingdom by VGRaptor
Edited by neeters_guy