Judge 1's Results
10 Seconds to Dig a Hole
3
The core concept for this game is simple, but interesting. It has the potential to be fun,
but the difficulty curve is too steep, and cramped my fingers to try. In-game instructions
would have benefitted this as well. Graphics were basically placeholders, making the
game feel half-finished.
Action Newton
5
This game is somewhat rough around the edges, with a bug that froze my game, a
somewhat inconsistent graphical style, and a lack of true polish. However, its in-built
dialog-instructions were great, and the gameplay was creative and extensive in content for
the time allotted and for a newcomer.
Asteroids PLUS
4
The graphics and music all came together very well. Instructions were detailed and well-
represented, but the info-dump style is unintuitive and easy to forget. The game throws
too much at you too quickly, leading to frustration instead of fun. The controls take some
time to get used to, but all the asteroids and enemies hit you too quickly to get a hang of
it. The gameplay elements seem thought-out and potentially fun, given chance to learn
them. Ease the player in much gentler, and I feel this will be a very nice game.
BIDMAS
3
The graphics are simple but match the play, but some of them are rough or pixelly. The
game could use with more sound effects and/or simple music. The 'educational' type
gameplay is neat, and the function to 'read' equations is cool! However, the problems get
much too difficult too quickly, there are very few problems, and apparently some correct
answers do not actually work. I suggest 'padding' the difficulty between levels and adding
that bit of extra polish.
Blue Box
2
The graphics and music for this game are highly inconsistent and don't look or sound very
good. The puzzles also aren't too clever or difficult, and there is no 'end-screen'. The
game is a simple expansion of the Drop Blocks example kit, which is fine to help learn the
program but doesn't stand well on its own without more improvements and expansion.
Brocci's Beat Quest
4
The concept of a music portfolio in the form of a video game is a little unique, I really like
it, and the music itself is great. The gameplay is simple and easy. However, in terms of
eye-candy, the graphics are rather hodge-podge, and the atmosphere doesn't suit much
of the music. The actual level design could use some work, as there are a few places with
weird jumps or random dead ends that aren't fun or intuitive. It feels like something else
should change with the music, either the environment or the Player, but nothing does.
Cold Boot Demo
5
The graphics are a bit bare, but consistent and atmospheric, and the music suitable. The
controls feel a bit slippery and hard to control. The design of some levels could be more
well-thought-out, especially to cut out some of the need for constant reloading or suicide
when erring.
CrissCross
6
This game has retro-feeling graphics, music, and gameplay, and is relatively polished in
the details. It could use some music during actual gameplay instead of just the opening.
Instructions were easy enough to understand, and gameplay was simple but well-done.
The AI and variety of monsters could be improved, to add more challenge and interest,
and for now the scoring system seems somewhat cosmetic when the true achievement is
in finishing levels by attaining the keys.
Dangerous Dungeons Demo
7
The graphics look professionally done, charming and traditional, and combine with the
music and sound seamlessly. Levels were short and simple but challenging. I liked the
wall carvings that showed the controls for the game, it was clever, and the overall level of
polish is the best I've seen in the Jam.
Eurythmia Superlite...
3
The basic concept isn't unique, but it's popular, and some of the core gameplay seems to
have been worked out. The graphics are lackluster, and something more than a yellow
line could be happening in the background while music plays. Hitting or missing the notes
doesn't seem to actually effect the music at all, and often the music doesn't play. No
matter how many notes I miss, the game doesn't end, and the game only has one song so
far. The notes don't seem to correlate to the music in any way either. Overall, much of
the core features seem to be carved out, but it feels like a WIP tech demo.
jumping beans
4
A fun concept, easy to get the hang of and rewarding to play. Graphics look okay, fun and
colorful, but not great. The music and sound effects go well with the game. The timer
could be shorter, as I feel the game doesn't stand up well to long play sessions, and the
gameplay value is small with only 3 levels. The mechanics and extra bonuses are neat,
so adding more and shorter levels can make for punchier, funner gameplay. There is no
true 'ending' and no true 'goal', so the end kind of suffers with a feeling of 'what was that
for?'
Last Man Standing
3
The graphics are okay, but pretty basic. Music and sounds would really add more impact
and atmosphere to this game's experience. The game is very simple, but potentially fun.
Shooting could be quicker, and the game quickly seems to become unreasonably difficult,
so it has a short play time. The game also doesn't tell you your score when you die.
Linear Man
3
The graphics are unattractive, there is no music, and the controls and movement is stiff
and unintuitive. The concept is interesting, but it seems it could be taken so much further.
The drawing mechanic could be expanded upon, and the level design more inventive and
planned out. This game is slow and not fun to play, and often requires reloading should a
bad line be drawn.
Neon On
4
The simple neon shapes and fast-paced futuristic music go well together. The gameplay
is simple but quick to ratchet up in difficulty and speed. It can be easy to become quickly
overwhelmed by enemies, but with some practice one gets the hang of it. Powerups
are helpful, but they are easily destroyed and disappear very quickly. It is overall solid
enough, but a very small-scale concept and could still use a touch of extra polish.
Planet Green
4
The graphics look somewhat mismatched, and the planet background seems to
distracting, making the ship and debris harder to see. The music is fine, though the loop
could be longer so as to be less repetitive. The gameplay concept is classic, but it could be
better balanced. When I got the power-up for quicker shots, the game got boringly easy
to shoot going back and forth, and levels just felt longer. More elements like powerups
could be added, and more levels.
Planetai 2
5
This game's graphics look beautiful, and especially add to the experience because of
the wonderfully genuine astronomic-atmosphere it creates. This has a nice long music
loop too. The concept and gameplay is pretty original, but the controls move objects
very slowly, which feels like it cripples the user control over the elements, and thus the
gameplay.
Portal Maze 2
2
This game's graphics are garish and crude, and there is no sound at all. The mechanics of
the game are overly simplistic, compounded by uninspired and tedious level designs.
Roll
3
Graphics are colorful and full, but often inconsistent and sometimes ugly. There is no
sound, and the game is somewhat buggy. The extra little story to explain the premise was
a charming extra though. The interactive-instructions is a good idea, but the door didn't
open for me and they did not explain the strange jumping mechanism. The controls are
difficult to get a hang of, unintuitive and creating needless frustration. The actual level
designs were often strange or almost impossible to finish.
Spring bot
6
The graphics look good, though not great. The concept is original and well-suited to a
physics game. The game was fun and challenging in the good way, quick and easy to
get into, with some captivating gameplay elements and decent level design. However,
sometimes there is too much pure guess-work involved and not enough cleverness
or calculated measurement, when it comes to making shots. The lack of sound is
disappointing.
The Righteous God
4
Graphics are extremely simple, but clean and consistent and have their own charm. The
sounds are minimal, but passable. The concept is amusing and the dialog tips humorous.
Controls are very slippery, making it hard to control the player, and the levels needlessly
difficult. Frustrating, but not very fun. It's a game that requires precision controls but has
horrible precision.
Up, Up, And AWAY!
2
The graphics were bare and bland. The music was nice enough. The gameplay was
simple, had potential in its core concept, but the level designs were boring, simple, and
unintuitive. There was no real sense of urgency, goal, or thoughtfulness in this game.
Super Bubble Bounce
5
Graphics were somewhat simplistic, but clean, consistent, and well-suited to the game.
The game could use some sound to match. The core gameplay of a bouncing ball
collecting coins is simple, and a weak framing concept, but there were tons of levels
and many quite different from each other, with varying levels of challenge. The actual
gameplay functioned well enough, but some levels seemed overly difficult.
OVERALL
We had a lot more games submitted this Jam than we've ever had before, and the variety
is great! Unfortunately, I'm not the best or most avid gamer around, so I often couldn't
finish a game to its end, and my personal judgment may not agree with many others. One
of the biggest things I noted is a common mistake I've heard new game makers fall into--of
unintentionally creating a very difficult game because to the developer themselves (who
knows the game best) it does not seem as difficult as to a new player. I hope my feedback
can be of some use to new game developers out there.
