PUTT People's Choice Award and Comments

Couple of them are Ruby, I didn't really want to install Ruby so I didn't try them. Here are my comments (don't expect any kind of system, here):

Lucentbeam - This entry had a cool visual vibe, I like the clockwork look and theme. But the controls seemed wonky and confusing. Left and right didn't map directly to counterclockwise/clockwise, but instead seemed to toggle. If I pressed left once, it would go clockwise; press left again and it would reverse. Same with left. They seemed to switch meanings, and it confused me.

crow007 - While it doesn't look like much, it's actually the one I played for the longest. Ball speeds seemed kind of unpredictable.

Noctumus - Very smooth, very fast paced. A little too fast paced for my slow, creaky old reflexes. It looked decent, played well.

wintertime - Didn't play.

vortez - I really liked the updated/traditional look. True to the original, but with a modern upgrade to it. Played fast and smooth (again, a bit too fast) but the predictability was a snag. Ball always launches at the same angle. Of course, given the disparity between the ball speed and paddle speed, this is probably for the best.

shadowisadog - This one was pretty basic, visually. Biggest issue I noticed was that it ran very roughly, as if no smoothing or interpolation were being done on the ball movement. Made it very difficult to play for more than a few seconds.

segmented - Loved the style and look of it. Theme was pretty cool. Biggest issue was that the "splash" or explosion the ball makes when hitting the walls made it hard to know if my paddle was lined up on the ball properly. Made for a confusing play experience.

ml_ - Didn't play.

staunsholm - Didn't play.

mippy - "Hot balls!" This one made me chuckle, when I got the "Hot Balls!" message. Was a little bit confusing to know what was going on. I sometimes got blown up and wasn't sure why.

To me, it was between Noctumus, Lucentbeam and Segmented...

Segmented--Definitely an awesome throwback to the days of text-based games ^_^. That's one of the biggest things that I liked about this, as I said in the other thread--you showed you don't need to have graphics detailed enough to count the hairs on a rats @$$ in order to have a great game. Liked your whole matrix theme.

Lucentbeam--Your controls leave a lot to be desired, but aside from the Sticky Keys prompt, I can get over it. Your game was probably the most original spin on a decades-old concept. And I like your sense of humor. (Grandfather... clock... ba-zinga! [courtesy of Sheldon Cooper])

Noctumus, Yours was a good, smooth game, good cartoonish graphics (I'm a fan of that, myself) and had one pain-in-the-ass power-up.:-P Liked it a lot.

Unfortunately, I didn't really think Segmented fit the Time theme (just my personal opinion)... And, while I think Lucentbeam's game was definitely the best spin on the Time theme and arguably better gameplay (again, just my opinion), there was no win condition I could identify. So, I've gota give my vote to Noctumus.

Unfortunately, I didn't really think Segmented fit the Time theme (just my personal opinion)...

Haha, I was worried that "network time" and the whole ping thing might be too much of a stretch. Hope it still counts for the mandatory points tho =) Glad you liked the style, thanks for the feedback.

Not really easy to pull mine from github, since you need to setup a server to play it. Here's an online version:

http://test.staunsholm.dk/icecube/

(yes, needs webgl - but should work in all latest browserversions)

Mkkl.

PS! No, it's not finished :-)

Couple of them are Ruby, I didn't really want to install Ruby so I didn't try them. Here are my comments (don't expect any kind of system, here):

ml_ - Didn't play.

staunsholm - Didn't play.

Hey thanks for taking the time to check out some of the games and share your experience. For Staunsholm's game you should try the online version.

EDIT: We now have a packaged, tested executable of StickBall for Windows. Here it is: StickBallClone-master.zip

Just download, unzip, go into the StickBallClone-master folder and double-click main.exe.

There is now a compiled exe of my team's version which you can try out. We didn't have it ready at the time of the game deadline, so you should probably disregard this for voting purposes, but I'd be interested to know what you think of it, so here it is: StickBall (main.exe)

EDIT: I just found out that the exe has to be placed INSIDE OF the entire StickBall folder and then executed to work. I will repackage it entirely, and post it tomorrow after personally testing it on Windows.

Hey thanks for taking the time to check out some of the games and share your experience. For Staunsholm's game you should try the online version.

The online version was cool. I liked the moving background and the music. I didn't see any powerups though. The Top and Bottom Borders are hard to discern as well.

Hey thanks for taking the time to check out some of the games and share your experience.

And thank you for being such a good sport.

I tried the compiled version, but unfortunately it is not working for me on Windows 8. It dies immediately, and doesn't produce an error message, even from the console.

And thank you for being such a good sport.

I tried the compiled version, but unfortunately it is not working for me on Windows 8. It dies immediately, and doesn't produce an error message, even from the console.

The problem is that everybody else just needs to be on Linux like me! lol

Well, I got trigger happy about sharing the exe, and I failed to realize that it needs to be placed inside of the StickBall repo folder with all the media and code and stuff in order to work. I am going to repackage it completely, but if you've already cloned from github, placing main.exe inside the StickBall folder ought to make it work.

EDIT: StickBall is now fully packaged with the executable and the dependent files: StickBallClone-master.zip

For those interested in playing the final package that was made for my game, but don't have a Mac, this is it:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7949526/lucentbeam.putt.win32.final.zip

This was the final version that made it to the Mac app, I just didn't have a chance to sit down at a Windows computer and compile it until after the weekend. The win/loss screens are minimal, but at least there. That's the primary difference.

I am going to repackage it completely, but if you've already cloned from github, placing main.exe inside the StickBall folder ought to make it work.

It does! Cool game

For those interested in playing the final package that was made for my game, but don't have a Mac, this is it:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7949526/lucentbeam.putt.win32.final.zip

Yours is among those I have not played yet. I will try it out later today when I have access to a PC.

I am going to repackage it completely, but if you've already cloned from github, placing main.exe inside the StickBall folder ought to make it work.

It does! Cool game

Thanks, glad to hear it worked!

Hello all.

Unfortunately, some of the judges have had RL happen and have not gotten to judge all of the entries. So I'm going to have to delay the results until the 17th. I know it's awhile. But you know... things happen. Thanks, for your patience.

Sorry, i will have them all judged tonight! for sure!

Here are my thoughts:

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Mippy: ( total score: 135 )

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• 10 - Start Screen
• 10 - Win/Lose Screen
• 20 - Graphics for the background, ball, and paddles (ie. not just a monochrome rectangle and ball)
• 05 - Scoring
• 10 - Sound effects
• 10 - Music
• 10 - Exit (key and screen)
• 05 - Theme
• 15 - Power ups
• 05 - Score limit

So all the mandatory points were given!

• 10 - Timer
• 10 - Variable score limits (ex: 5, 10, 100, infinity)
• 15 - Animated background

Judges Comments:

I really like the unique feel of the game. While parts of it seem buggy ( obviously not suppose to be polished perfect, just saying ) I thought it was original enough to stand out. I did not like how you can get killed from just having bad luck/timing. Seemed as though the game was overly random with that feature but I certainly liked the concept of it.

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Seg: ( total score: 220 )

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• 10 - Start Screen
• 10 - Win/Lose Screen
• 20 - Graphics for the background, ball, and paddles (ie. not just a monochrome rectangle and ball)
• 05 - Scoring
• 10 - Sound effects
• 10 - Music
• 10 - Exit (key and screen)
• 05 - Theme
• 15 - Power ups
• 05 - Score limit

So all the mandatory points were given!

• 10 - Powerups
• 10 - Timer
• 10 - Pause functionality
• 20 - Level progression
• 20 - Different backgrounds and graphics for level progression
• 10 - Variable score limits (ex: 5, 10, 100, infinity)
• 15 - Animated background
• 15 - Difficulty settings (ie. Easy, Normal, Hard, Legendary)
• 10 - "implicit" saving ( not a fan of this since nobody knows off the bat unless somebody sends you a message...)

Judges Comments:

The fact that it didn't work in firefox was annoying! After installing Chrome ( was at work ) the game was simple and easy to play. The style was unique and powerful, although could be confusing to some and annoying for extended play. I feel that the originality overwhelmed that though and more or less made it worth the effort. The computer is too smart and never moves unless it needs to.. this makes the computer feel like the russian dude from rocky ( unbeatable ) and can detract from continued play. The powerups were fun and enjoyable ( unless you get firewalled ). Overall a great game and with a bit of polish it might be something worth playing for an extended period of time.

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Lucentbeam: ( total score: 175 )

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• 10 - Start Screen
• 10 - Win/Lose Screen
• 20 - Graphics for the background, ball, and paddles (ie. not just a monochrome rectangle and ball)
• 05 - Scoring
• 10 - Sound effects
• 10 - Music
• 10 - Exit (key and screen)
• 05 - Theme
• 15 - Power ups
• 05 - Score limit

So all the mandatory points were given!

• 10 - Timer
• 10 - Variable score limits (ex: 5, 10, 100, infinity)
• 15 - Animated background
• 20 - Level progression
• 20 - Different backgrounds and graphics for level progression

Judges Comments:

Without clear instructions the game was odd at first. I was unaware of what the center was doing and what the purpose of the middle parts were. After 3 of my core's had been destroyed I started to catch on. This game certainly has some love put into it. The design is nice and unique and the sounds reminded me of some old nintendo game ( so of course I had nostalgia for it! ). I love how the outside doesnt matter and the center does. With some effort and polish this game could be good as well.

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crow007: ( total score: 50 )

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• 10 - Start Screen
• 10 - Win/Lose Screen
• 05 - Scoring
• 10 - Sound effects
• 10 - Exit (key and screen)
• 05 - Score limit

Judges Comments:

The game certainly had some basic stuff but it really felt unfinished. Background was flat green and everything seemed rushed together. Ball was horridly slow and more or less seemed dinky! I did, however, love the start screen. Despite the horrid graphics you did an amazing job and laying out controls and configurations. So bravo on that part.

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Noctumus: ( total score: 145 )

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• 10 - Start Screen
• 10 - Win/Lose Screen
• 20 - Graphics for the background, ball, and paddles (ie. not just a monochrome rectangle and ball)
• 05 - Scoring
• 10 - Sound effects
• 10 - Music
• 10 - Exit (key and screen)
• 05 - Theme
• 15 - Power ups
• 05 - Score limit

So all the mandatory points were given!

• 10 - Powerups
• 10 - Timer
• 10 - Variable score limits (ex: 5, 10, 100, infinity)
• 15 - Animated background

Judges Comments:

Hands down the most polished game so far. Sadly, missing some of the points for the secondary things. The art is nice and compliments the overall theme. The start screen, exit, and other ui menus are clean and simple. Navigation is easy and its overall feel is that of a well thought out product. The speed of the ball is annoying (in a good way) and the scoring system is interesting as well. I enjoyed this one very much, just wish he would have added more secondary things. His score does not reflect my overall thoughts but I couldnt give points for style and for art.

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shadowisadog: ( total score: 45 )

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• 10 - Start Screen
• 20 - Graphics for the background, ball, and paddles (ie. not just a monochrome rectangle and ball)
• 10 - Music
• 05 - Theme

Judges Comments:

Looks like you started out strong but ran out of time. Game was missing some very key core elements and thus I couldnt grade it past what it had. Was fun though and I liked that I could control the speed of the ball by hitting it in different areas. The most annoying part was that my mouse could go off screen and I would lose control. Sorry but low score because of missing elements.

Thank you @riuthamus for your scorecards. Even though my game apparently didn't make the cut, I was cheering for all the other guys as I read over your scoring and comments.

Let's see here.... it is now November 17th, so I guess this means that any minute now like seven more judges are going to be suddenly posting all kinds of scores and results. It would be really cool to see some more judge scorecards.

This has been a great competition with a really great concept, and lots of fantastic entries. Thanks to gamedev.net and Alpha_ProgDes for putting it together.

Some of the other contestants have mentioned the possibility of working together on a future project as a team, and I would say definitely count me in. My ideal game development dream team would include all of the participants in this contest, including zomgbie, wintertime, Noctumus, Aspirer, crow007, segmented, shadowisadog, Mippy, LucentBeam, vortex, staunsholm... everyone. Or at least as many as possible. Just imagine what we could create if we made something together. This brings me to an important question:

If such a dream team were to be formed, what type of programming language would be best to work in?...

My vote would be pixi.js, which is basically a javascript game engine which works in all browsers as well as working on mobile devices (if configured properly).

I created a simple website with a bunch of pixi.js examples which should work in any browser, and some of the examples work on iPhone Android etc. Just viewing the source code on some of the examples should provide a basic overview of pixi.js, but if you want a more detailed look, here is the github version. Pixi could be an interesting platform for developing a team project. I would also be down to work on a different platform if people have other preferences.

Also, what would the game concept be? I would say that simple is better than complex..... although.... it might be cool to make a platformer.... or a RealTimeStrategy game........

Does anyone have any game concept ideas to share?

I'm on mobile right now, but I'll have my scores posted later tonight when I get home!

Thank you @riuthamus for your scorecards. Even though my game apparently didn't make the cut, I was cheering for all the other guys as I read over your scoring and comments.

Let's see here.... it is now November 17th, so I guess this means that any minute now like seven more judges are going to be suddenly posting all kinds of scores and results. It would be really cool to see some more judge scorecards.

This has been a great competition with a really great concept, and lots of fantastic entries. Thanks to gamedev.net and Alpha_ProgDes for putting it together.

Some of the other contestants have mentioned the possibility of working together on a future project as a team, and I would say definitely count me in. My ideal game development dream team would include all of the participants in this contest, including zomgbie, wintertime, Noctumus, Aspirer, crow007, segmented, shadowisadog, Mippy, LucentBeam, vortex, staunsholm... everyone. Or at least as many as possible. Just imagine what we could create if we made something together. This brings me to an important question:

If such a dream team were to be formed, what type of programming language would be best to work in?...

My vote would be pixi.js, which is basically a javascript game engine which works in all browsers as well as working on mobile devices (if configured properly).

I created a simple website with a bunch of pixi.js examples which should work in any browser, and some of the examples work on iPhone Android etc. Just viewing the source code on some of the examples should provide a basic overview of pixi.js, but if you want a more detailed look, here is the github version. Pixi could be an interesting platform for developing a team project. I would also be down to work on a different platform if people have other preferences.

Also, what would the game concept be? I would say that simple is better than complex..... although.... it might be cool to make a platformer.... or a RealTimeStrategy game........

Does anyone have any game concept ideas to share?

I'm definitely interested in a team project. I'd be okay with learning pixi.js; I've been using Unity, so of course that's my favored option. In terms of general programming, I've got experience in C++ and C# (though my game-dev knowledge with them is essentially nil.) In terms of projects, I'm down for anything (nothing too simple, I prefer to gain something with each game). Anyway, just so we're not clogging this topic up, go ahead and message or email me if you're interested.

I'd be interested in a team project, too. Like Aspirer, I like to learn something new with a game... But that being said, there's a lot I can learn. I have only really used C++ and python, and I'd be happy to branch out. I've also never really used much version control (just very basic mercury), and have never been a part of a team project, so just being a part of something is already a win on my end.

very nice games guys!!