AG's Unofficial 4E6 Judging

Requirements

• Contains 3 of the 4 elements: Ponies, Accountants, Crystals, and Explosions
• Has some form of manual
• Not AO rated
• No obvious IP infringement
• Working entry

I've been very liberal with these: if there's accountancy (RTS management, buying/selling items) or plausible use of accountants, it counts. If anything expands quickly and feels like an explosion, it is. Crystals and ponies are more obvious, but they can't be too tacked on: they need to make sense and the average user needs to be able to recognize them. Any manual, even just an in-game control listing, counts, but I don't disqualify for a lack of manual alone. As far as a working entry, missing files or lengthy workarounds were disqualifiers, but not alone.

Results

1   9/9/9    27  Assault on Planet Equidon, Download
2   7/9/9    25  Bravehorse, BORDERLINE (Elements), Download
3   8/8/7    23  Ponyland, Download
4   6/8/8    22  Attack of the Mutant Ponies, BORDERLINE (Elements), Download
5   6/8/7    21  Shotgun Ninja, BORDERLINE (Elements), Download
5   5/8/8    21  Pwynz, Download
6   5/7/8    20  The Golderlands, BORDERLINE (Elements), Download
7   6/7/6    19  Libertine, Download WIN Download LINUX
X   7/7/5    19  Pony Adventure: The Golden Horseshoes (DISQUALIFIED (Elements), Download
8   7/6/5    18  Space Ponies, Download
9   7/3/6    16  Seven Crystals of Power, Download
X   7/6/3    16  Dungeon Pony DISQUALIFIED (Elements, Missing File), Download
10  6/5/4    15  Blood Feud TECHNICAL (Manual), Download
11  6/3/4    13  Siberian Sun, Download
12  7/4/4    12  Ninjas vs Accountants, BORDERLINE (Elements), Download
X   4/2/5    11  Demolition DISQUALIFIED (Elements, Manual), Download
X   4/1/0    5   The Nox Revenge DISQUALIFIED (Elements, IP Infringement), Download
                 The Adventures of Jason the Accountant and His Trusty Steed Jon, No Entry
                 Pony Mutant Crystal Eater, No Entry

Entries

Assault on Planet Equidon

Download Back to Results submitted by Team_Equidon Ponies aren't always that nice..... Crawl into the skin of THE accountant, as he executes his mission, fights for his fallen comrades, and slays hordes of ponies. Use 6 awesome weapons of accountancy destruction,spread over 7 levels, including, the almighty spiked briefcase! Take down several types of ponies and finally face off against the mysterious queen of Equidon! Show no mercy... remember, they killed your colleagues! Please extract before you start playing. 31 MB RAR Download, ReadMe Manual, 4 Elements (Accountants, Ponies, Explosions, Crystals) This was a fairly complete game with good graphics, fun and somewhat addictive gameplay, a sense of humor, and interesting use of all four elements. After a good introduction to the story (loved the Trojan Pony), the tutorial taught the controls and let the player get into the action quickly. The various accountancy-styled weapons were both interesting and effective (though the flying bomb/briefcase is a bit overpowered), and the difficulty of the levels was not quite insurmountable. The boss was a challenge, but fun and beatable. Music was appropriately playful, and the sound effects were mostly good (the explosion one in particular grated a little). A longer and more fulfilling ending would have been appreciated, and the control scheme messed me up more than was strictly necessary (bindable keys would be nice). Equidon is very complete. Technical: 9, Production: 9, Gameplay: 9, Overall: 27 First Place

Bravehorse

Download Back to Results submitted by HandCraftedRadio The Pony Princess has been captured by horrible monsters. You are the only horse brave enough to enter their territory alone and face them head on, in an attempt to rescue her. 1.27 MB MSI Download, Readme Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Ponies, Crystals, Explosions) Holy surfing ponies! The difficulty of this game is fairly high, but not wholly unreasonable. The game itself hearkens back to an earlier day, with pixelated sidescrolling graphics, MIDI-esque music, and jump-and-slash gameplay. And it all works well together. The updated version (three days post-contest) fixes some minor problems (the initial dialogue character falls through the ground, some control bugs), but both versions are playable. Music and sound effects are appropriate, and the graphics and animation are good. It’s a fun game, can be finished in about five minutes (you can simply avoid many of the enemies), and it’s surprisingly addictive. The little things – the horse character, hitting back arrows/fireballs, and the ending – make this game worth more than a few plays. Regarding the MSI version, I would prefer an uninstall option without resorting to Add/Remove Programs. The explosions element is a little iffy, but considering the many fireballs and boss death at the end, I’m willing to count the explosions. If you do find the difficulty too high, or get stumped by the requirement that you jump into a normally lethal pit, there’s a YouTube video of it to see. Technical: 7, Production: 9, Gameplay: 9, Overall: 25 BORDERLINE (Elements) Second Place

Ponyland

Download Back to Results submitted by cyansoft An accountant is mysteriously transported into another world called Ponyland. Join him on his adventure as he makes new friends and foes while discovering the reasons why he was sent there and how to get back home in this action packed role playing game. 53.7 MB EXE Download, Solid Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Accountants, Ponies, Crystals) A full-size plot moves the story along with character development and decent dialogue, broken up by turn-based battles. Some of the particular skills are interesting and creative (and accountancy- or pony-based), and the UI is clean and easy to use, except that there’s no differentiation between identically-named targets (not a big problem). This game’s biggest fun-killer is its fight mechanics during the early battles. These fights are drawn-out and uninteresting, with too many instakill spells cast (Shatter) and full heal spells (Back in the Saddle), which make every early battle a boss-length chore; however, later fights allow you more creativity in choosing your powerups and attacks. These battles require a little bit of forethought and are just the right length. In fact, the whole game seems to improve markedly later in the game: length and quality of dialogue, plot pacing, and character development all get a boost in quality after you’ve finished a few fights. The game’s graphics range from poor to pretty good. The humans, for example, could stand to have at least one vertex set aside for a nose, and the textures aren’t great. The pony models are good, if untextured, and the trees and fences around Sage Luca’s look great for the game’s style. Animation is generally mediocre when it isn’t entirely absent. The music changes throughout the game, which is nice, but can still be repetitive especially in the lengthy early battles (allowing the user options to turn off music and sound effects should be included). The battle sound effects are a notable weak point, but can be overlooked. Technical: 8, Production: 8, Gameplay: 7, Overall: 23 Third Place

Attack of the Mutant Ponies

Download Back to Results submitted by valles You play an accountant who must save the world! 50 MB ZIP Download, Basic Readme Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Crystals, Ponies, Explosions) After a short but excellent thirty second introduction, the game. The ponies have been mutated by a meteor’s crystals, and they now shoot at you. Firing with the end key is awkward for anyone not using a laptop, the character is invulnerable on some playthroughs, directional controls and character direction can be iffy, and the game presents no challenge (in fact, you can beat the entire game in fourteen seconds). The sound effects in the game are mediocre, and there is no music during the playable sections. However – the graphics are pretty and the short game is surprisingly fun. The intro and credits have great music, and bookend the game well. Two of the elements are questionable: the only reason I know I’m playing an accountant is that the game description on GameDev claims it (though the game and readme do not), and there is no obvious evidence of even a single explosion – though presumably you are making explosions inside your rifle what with the bullets and all. The sound effects of your rifle certainly do feel like explosions, and it was only through a careful playthrough that I could notice the lack of actual explosions. Technical: 6, Production: 8, Gameplay: 8, Overall: 22 BORDERLINE (Elements) Fourth Place

Shotgun Ninja

Download Back to Results submitted by cactus This is a ninja game which focuses on getting a good highscore. Use your maneuvers to navigate and kill enemies. Ninja's accountant has taken all of Ninja's money and used it to buy a crystal fortress. It is Ninja's duty to go to the fortress and reclaim his money (and honour) through use of his shotgun. 1.6 MB ZIP Download, ReadMe Manual, 2 Elements Obviously Present (Accountants, Explosions) Pixelated graphics and old school music give us a treat in this ninja game. There are some problems: controls don’t always work right, and it’s difficult to make up for the slippery feel of the character. The difficulty level is nothing to laugh at, but the game is beatable after some mild frustration. The music, while good, gets old by the end of the game. Altogether, the game is a good flashback and fun to play through, with funny dialogue (reading like a poor Chinese translation). The whole game? Created in two days, presumably reusing tried and true mechanics (and engines) from cactus' other game work. Unfortunately, only two elements are present, with an accountant and plenty of explosions. According to the GDev page, the fortress is made of crystal, but this is not mentioned anywhere in the game or readme. edit: There is a pony, it's just eminently missable. Still, since I'm being really, really open with considering the elements, you're now tied for fifth place. Technical: 6, Production: 8, Gameplay: 7, Overall: 21 BORDERLINE (Elements) Fifth Place

Pwnyz

Download Back to Results submitted by OOBrad21 It was just a normal day at the accounting office, until something went terribly wrong. The accounting office, which handles the finances for a pony meat packing company, is soon to be attacked by waves of enraged ponies that want revenge. How long can you help your accountants survive the onslaught? 18 MB MSI Download, ReadMe Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Accountants, Ponies, Explosions) Pwnyz (best name, ever) is funny and fun. Depending on the floorplan you get and your experience, you may breeze through levels with no problem. But if you get a bad office layout and are not a Pwynz veteran, you will be slaughtered by the massive pony hordes - after trying to kite the ponies with your accountants (this is annoying). The accountancy-styled weapons are great (cubicle walls + filing cabinets rock), and the pacing is pretty good once you know what you’re doing. The music is excellent, particularly the music coming from the pony-laden elevators. The pixel graphics are good for the people and items, but some of the larger areas could use more detail (and a female character model). The dialogue could use a copy editor, but is a funny introduction to the game. Unfortunately, the game has some bugs: if it's installed on your system, don't delete it. You may not be able to install it again. The game crashes randomly throughout play, and crashes on every close. If your accountants die and you restart, you'll start at the beginning, except the first horde of ponies will be the horde of ponies you would have seen next on the previous game - and you don't have nearly enough supplies to kill them. Technical: 5, Production: 8, Gameplay: 8, Overall: 21 Fifth Place

The Golderlands

Download Back to Results submitted by ShaneHeres In the Golderlands you need to find items and use them to build weapons and armor which you use against the enemies of the lands. 1.9 MB ZIP Download, RTF Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Ponies, Crystals, Explosions) The Golderlands is addictive. The look of the game is consistent across the game, UI, and menus, and is what really makes you want to play the game more. The actual gameplay is simple, although much of the gameplay is undocumented in the manual. It’s also fun, and offers quite a bit of customizability (your people’s name, look, hair, weapons, and armor can all be hand-crafted). Unfortunately, most of the gameplay is also buggy, resulting in numerous crashes, glitches, and other problems. When things work, it’s fun: you can ride ponies, dash around and fight chickens, raise and eat wheat, and collect crystals to make weapons and armor. But the game’s bugs make much of the game tedious and frustrating instead of fun, and often crash the game entirely. Also, sound would be a nice addition. I’m granting the explosions element for the crashing meteor-crystals, but it’s not strong. Technical: 5, Production: 7, Gameplay: 8, Overall: 20 BORDERLINE (Elements) Sixth Place

Libertine

Download WIN Download LINUX Back to Results submitted by XDigital Libertine is a space trading game. Choose your destiny - will you bring peace and justice to the universe as Technocrat, Miner, Police or as Pirate? Mine crystals in gloomy nebulas, shoot down enemies in space fights or earn money with trading. 72 MB ZIP Download, PDF Manual, 4 Elements Obviously Present (Ponies, Crystals, Explosions, Accountants) Libertine fails to install to any Windows location with a space, which includes the default (Program Files). This is nearly a disqualifier, but it’s a quick fix and presumably runs fine on Linux. The game isn’t completely polished, but there are two (but not four) lengthy quest and plot lines running through it. You start with an unarmed ship, and would theoretically be guided through a one-screen text tutorial (this bugs out a bit) and then fly around in patrol or mining missions to upgrade your ship (this does work). The game takes some getting used to, as there are gimbal lock issues and the mouse control is quirky, and the UI is surprisingly difficult to understand. Certain parts of the gameplay are unintuitive (seeker weapons don’t seek, to dock with a planet or station, click it and fly through it, the hyperdrive is manual-only, you can only save or quit after docking with a planet) and the quests don’t always complete correctly – the fix is to quit and restart. The game sometimes crashes randomly, and always crashes on exit. It’s also far, far too easy to get wholly and completely lost (keep track of where you’re hyperdriving to! The XYZ location reader isn’t easy to use). Otherwise, the plot is somehow interesting enough (the pirates one is particularly well-written) to keep playing despite the long, long time it takes to complete some of the quests (such as constantly flying around the whole asteroid field). The best part of the game, however, is some of the graphics. The planets look good, the asteroids are good, some of the ships look good, the nebulae are great, and the explosions are awesome (blow up a ship, and then sit around on the edges of the explosion). Music is okay, and the sound effects are fine. Oh, and the other ships never, ever shoot back at you (they may, however, accidentally fly through you and kill you – the only collision you can have in the game). Technical: 6, Production: 7, Gameplay: 6, Overall: 19 Seventh Place

Pony Adventure: The Golden Horseshoes

Download Back to Results submitted by Xylvan Help Lilly return to her homeland. 17.6 MB EXE Download, TXT Manual, 1 Element Obviously Present (Ponies) This game spans seventeen levels, has a number of tasks and sidequests throughout. However, the fun of the game totally fails to match the overlarge size of the game world. The collection quests are huge, and can only work due to the tracking mechanism (press 1 or 2). Unfortunately, you can’t do this for the equally large sidequests, which become even more frustrating as a result. In a game this size, there absolutely should not be a button that quits the game without saving (don’t hit the escape key instead of F1). The music of the game is really great, and it loops perfectly. However, in a game of this breadth, some more variety would be appreciated (eventually, I used the F3 key to mute the music). The sound effects, while nonsensical, were somehow both perfect and appropriate for the situation. Animations were so-so and had a few glitches (I killed something with my tail, and there is no movement animation for anything). Graphics are good, but perhaps not good enough in a game that forces you to explore so much. There is no collision mechanism. Frisbees were difficult to grab, and the day-night transition was, well, sudden. None of the elements really fit well, since they’re all actually bolted on to a completed game (Candy World). In that, you play a dog who hunts bones (crystals), pastries (horseshoes), and golden bones (golden horseshoes). Diamonds have been added to the rocks, which now explode when you press the undocumented M button. A couple of characters were replaced with an accountant. Technical: 7, Production: 7, Gameplay: 5, Overall: 19 Disqualified (Elements)

Space Ponies

Download Back to Results submitted by freshdev15 Ever since the beginning of time, ponies have relied on the power of crystals in order to live. These crystals give off an aura necessary to the survival of ponies. It is there life water... Now the year is 2988. Ponies have become an extremely intelligent and advanced species. They have traveled farther and farther away from the Earth. As they moved away from the Earth, crystals became scarce, only being found falling from meteors. Without crystals, the pony civilizations could not survive. Therefore, the pony civilizations created the Space Ponies. These genetically trained, heavlily armored pony warriors fight on specifically designed space stations, built to collect the falling crystals, for the remaining crystals in the galaxy. It's not going to be pretty... If you are looking for some old school, shared screen, "Ha ha, look, I just blew you up!" two-player action, this is the game for you. 8.82 MB EXE Download, In-game Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Ponies, Crystals, Explosions) Spaaaaaaaace Poooonies!!!! Space Ponies lets two players jump around a screen to collect falling crystals and generally blast the snot out of the opponent to steal some of her crystals. That’s really all there is to the game, but it plays well with no real control difficulties or glitches, and ends up being pretty fun. The graphics for the levels are okay, but the background, pony, and title/menu graphics aren’t great (the scrolling is nice, though). The sound effects are fine (the rocket launcher firing could be louder), and the music is great. What’s there works, and it works well - short and compact. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have more levels, and a greater variety of things in those levels. Technical: 7, Production: 7, Gameplay: 5, Overall: 19 Eighth Place

Seven Crystals of Power

Download Back to Results submitted by Lesan The whole island of Elgivera is in danger. Use various soldiers, monsters and powerful spells to defeat the invading Orcs. The game features a campaign of 19 levels, a single battle mode, a long story, 20 units and 5 spells. 19.7 MB EXE Download, Solid Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Ponies, Crystals, Explosions) Nineteen levels in campaign mode and a quick play mode with several options make this a fairly complete game. The gameplay can be fast and unforgiving to the newcomer, but the campaign mode has a great learning curve through the basics. However, some of the later levels are too difficult, and there’s really only one good way to beat most of the levels. Graphics are MS Paint styled and not good, which detracts some from the game, the music is good, the sound effects adequate, and the controls simple. Cheers for the explicit manual and solid install/uninstall system. Overall, the gameplay can be fun (and should be, as it’s nothing new), but the packaging is poor. Compared to other games of its type, including the one entered in 4E5, Seven Crystals seems weak. Technical: 7, Production: 3, Gameplay: 6, Overall: 16 Ninth Place

Dungeon Pony

Download Back to Results submitted by Kuroahiru Imagine a time when there was no hardware acceleration. Dungeon Pony recreates that experience using the newest technology available for game making. You take on the role of a fighter, given the task of retrieving a magical pony from the evil accountant Ziganot. 1 MB ZIP Download, ReadMe Manual, 1 Element Obviously Present (Explosions) This game is nigh unplayable in terms of the overarching goal, and far too easy to play in the micro-battles. The individual battles (called at your request by pressing r) involve you pressing spacebar and never losing. In fact, you level up by pressing r and spacebar at your leisure. Once you have enough hitpoints, you simply dig through the maze until you find the stairs going down to the next floor. You could, if you were dedicated enough, solve all ten levels of mazes by mapping them or taking every left, but that would hardly make the game any more fun (the controls and display make it difficult to keep track of your location). As it is, the game feels like an uninteresting time-sink built on top of another uninteresting and frustrating time-sink. It may, however, remind you quite a bit some older games, and is fully playable with cute avatars. The combat text, too, is a welcome surprise, with variety and spunk, which somewhat makes up for the lack of graphics and absence of sound. Since I have not advanced to the tenth level, I have no idea if the enemy accountant grants you a pony like the readme says. But since the elements play absolutely no role in the rest of the game and, in fact, make little sense where they are. The explosions element, in case you missed it, is in the Item menu, along with Slam, Heal, and Smoke. Technical: 7, Production: 6, Gameplay: 3, Overall: 16 Disqualified (Elements, missing file d3dx9_36.dll)

Blood Feud

Download Back to Results submitted by garet The clan wars have gone on as long as anyone can remember, but it's up to you to put an end them. Harvest enough resources to build up your army in this real-time strategy game. 5 MB ZIP download, No Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Crystals, Ponies, Accountants) There is no manual, but the controls are simple enough to overcome this. The graphics are decent, and the animations are good. There is no sound at all. Pathfinding is simple, and often fails (the advent of walk-through walls, however, solves some of this…). Gameplay is simple: mine/harvest and build units. The map ends abruptly, but you can send units into the blackness. There is really no place to explore and there are no enemy units to fight. Yet the game’s feel is good, and the graphics are pretty. A completed version would likely be fairly fun! Technical: 6, Production: 5, Gameplay: 4, Overall: 15 Technically Disqualified (Manual) Tenth Place

Siberian Sun

Download Back to Results submitted by Darkstrike A game of economic management, where your orders finally don't travel infinitely fast! Hire workers, make them mine coal, risk your accountant's reputation and shuffle resources with wild abandon to make enough money to get out of your own chain of mines! 61 KB ZIP Download, TXT Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Accountants, Ponies, Explosions) If this game looks like a spreadsheet with downgraded graphics, it is. That’s not to say it isn’t a bit addictive, but there are some problems. First, you have to teach yourself how to play. Sure, there are some instructions, but they don’t cover half of what you need to know. Second, the game brags that your orders don’t move infinitely fast, which is fine. The problem is that the system makes it unfriendly to find out what orders you’ve given recently (scroll down to note the console messages: “Command type "ASSIGN" with parameters 5,10,5,1, to be executed in 2 day(s).”). The rest of the UI fares better, but there’s too much scrolling around when dealing with the mines: the whole game could be better designed to fit everything on one screen. You have to keep track of everything that’s happening, and keep track of what will happen in the future (again, real-speed information). The loss conditions are punishing, but it’s not difficult to avoid them once you’ve figured the game out. In fact, the game is a cakewalk once you figure out what’s happening, but that’s not to say you can win. I found myself on day 80 with NaN dollars and NaN lumber (NaN means Not a Number, which means a big bug). That essentially made the game unplayable, since I could no longer keep track of finances. There is no sound or music, the graphics are terrible but functional, and the bugs frustrating. The learning curve is off-the-charts steep, and then drops down to a low plateau (and then surprises you again during the winter). Only a few changes are needed to make this game a million times better: cleanse the bugs, improve the instructions (perhaps with some sort of tutorial), and improve the graphics. Technical: 6, Production: 3, Gameplay: 4, Overall: 13 Eleventh Place

Ninjas vs Accountants

Download Back to Results submitted by Xom Rival ninjas compete over ninjitsu-boosting crystals guarded by accountants in a warehouse. 2 MB EXE Download, ReadMe Manual, 3 Elements Obviously Present (Accountants, Crystals, Explosions) NvA is a fairly simple game combining Pac Man and Bomberman, but with ninjas and accountants. There is no music or sound included at all, and graphics are the bare minimum. Controls are a little unusual depending on which player you choose, and the multiplayer is difficult for me to test as my keyboard doesn’t allow that many keystrokes at one time. The game is geared for multiplayer, and single player offers a poor experience. Replayability is low in single player, but it is an interesting combination of gameplay mechanics that could be expanded on. The accountants element is tacked on, but explosions is a definite fit and crystals replace Pac Man’s pills. Technical: 7, Production: 4, Gameplay: 4, Overall: 12 BORDERLINE (Elements) Twelfth Place

Demolition

Download Back to Results submitted by Dark Adept Destroy a building and turn a profit! Strategically place your bombs to destroy as much of the building as you can, while minimizing it's footprint! Be careful, though. The building is made of a special, flexible type of brick... 1.1 MB RAR Download, No Manual, 2 Elements Obviously Present (Accountants, Explosions) This game has some serious flaws in its current form: there are no instructions or obvious goals (you can infer a goal after playing it once. Otherwise, you have to visit it’s GDev page to have any idea), the ‘Ek!’ button is, well, not in English, and there are only two elements (as is, I simply can’t accept TNT’s crystalline structure as an element, since it’s (a) not expressed in the game and (b) irrelevant to the game). Also, the close button is disabled, so you’re forced to play the game and then, inexplicably, press ‘Ek!’ again to kill the game. Most of the post-explosion action is tedious as it occurs well off-screen, the graphics are sub-par, and there is no sound at all. However, the ‘tech demo’ part of the game works well enough, and is surprisingly interesting. I’ll admit that I’ve strategically placed more than a few bombs to blast the bricks while limiting my destruction of the surrounding countryside. Technical: 4, Production: 2, Gameplay: 5, Overall: 11 Disqualified (Manual, Elements)

The Nox Revenge

Download Back to Results submitted by AllenTeam1 (It's not completed yet) Set in the Stargate Universe, you (the Tau'ri) will come across a planet of Nox Ponies, and befriend them. While helping them with smaller tasks, the Ori try to convert the Nox Ponies world. Naturally the Nox Ponie's resist, and the Ori Prior decides to destroy the Nox Ponie's homeworld. But the Prior also steals the Nox Ponie's greatest piece of technology; their master crystal that allows them to recreate an entire world. You must gather tech crystals from the galaxy to successfully take back what belongs to the Nox Ponie's. 6 MB ZIP Download, ReadMe Manual, 2 Elements Obviously Present (Ponies, Crystals) This game is anything but finished, and is really more of a camera demo at this point. The four identical units (named Units 1-4) are difficult to select, even with the simple controls (+ and -), and there is little you can do with them (hold backspace to watch the people slide across and occasionally through the map). The camera pays no heed to the mountains or land, and is hard to control. The graphics are not good, with moderate to low-poly graphics but terrible textures. There is no music or sound. Lastly, the exit option doesn’t actually work, instead sending you to a blank yellow screen. The game obviously is unfinished, and could be something more given more time. Of course, the biggest problem for this contest is the obvious IP issues of including content from the Stargate franchise. Also, there still aren’t enough elements – there are no explosions or accountants. Technical: 4, Production: 1, Gameplay: 0, Overall: 5 Disqualified (Elements, IP Infringement)

TAOJAHTSJ – The Adventures of Jason the Accountant and His Trusty Stead Jon

No Entry Back to Results submitted by Zeophlite The Crystal Empire is up to no good. They have kidnapped the Queen's Mother from the Land of Green and Leafy, for ransom to finance their over-inflated Empire. But there is one problem: The queen of Leafy doesn't understand "ransom". So she's hired the greatest accountant in the land to help - Jason! Now, make your way through 4 distinct settings (forest, lake, mountain, empire, and maybe more...) as you collect crystals to pay the ransom. Its up to Jason and his trusted stead Jon, to fight through and rescue the Queen's Mother from the horrors of the Bureaucratic Nation! No download available

Pony Mutant Crystal Eater

No Entry Back to Results submitted by Tree Penguin Imagine you're a pony, genetically engineerd to eat crystals and convert them directly into money. Any numbers loving person would want you. An accountant has put you on a magical crystal planet where you have to hurry through a dangerous world full of exploding enemies, in search of crystals. No download available

Judging Process

I played each game for quite a while - a half dozen or dozen playthroughs for the very short games, a couple of playthroughs for longer ones (like Equidon, Shotgun Ninja), and spent at least an hour and a half if not longer on the very long games (Siberian, Pony Adventure, Dungeon Pony). This could get extremely frustrating and boring, but it was worth it: some of the games got better over time and yet others weren't fun until you really got into it. I tried to look at everything listed in the official judging section when I converted my prose into numbers, and didn't alter those results when I ordered the eighteen games. I hope that everybody who entered can get some useful suggestions out of this. It's a lot of work to enter, and maybe this can hold you over until the official results. I do have specific suggestions for future entries, too. In almost all cases, it's worth it to create more fun and completeness at the expense of length. Please, please, give the player a full list of controls and mechanics: it's frustrating to try and figure this out without help. 2D and 3D were both successful here: so long as the graphics were appropriate and well-crafted, I could enjoy the game fully. Sound and music can add a lot to the entries, but can also become annoying if repeated too much (so include an option to mute this). Few gameplay mechanics here were innovative, but that didn't stop many of them from being fun, or even seeming new. Lastly - follow the rules! It's not hard to not infringe on obvious IP, it's easy to include a six-line long text manual, and it's certainly worth it to check that the requisite number of elements are actually included in the game. Congratulations to everyone who entered, learned something, or otherwise enjoyed the contest! See you back for 4E7. [Edited by - Avatar God on August 6, 2008 11:31:33 PM]

Are you kidding? I thought it (Ponyland) was great!

The worst part was when I was trudging through the Nightmare/Diamond battles and thought the whole game was going to be like that. After that point, though, the battles were excellent and fun.

Definitely made it all the way through the game, too. It was worth it to see my planned Life Insurance spell pay off in the last battle and to stick it to... the man. And then to the boss-man.

No worries on the graphics or sound - I certainly understand why it's like it is. That's a pretty constant issue for creators every year, so don't sweat it. Still, it is part of the judging system, but only worth a couple of points.

Regarding the --nosound, I just muted it from Vista's sound manager until I got passed the Nightmare and Diamond fights (which, since I didn't realize I could save, I played several times each. I still think that 175 HP would have been more appropriate than 250).



There were only three games I didn't beat out of the bunch.

Pwnyz and Siberian Sun consistently crashed before I could get anywhere near the ending, and Pony Adventure had fifteen more levels to complete before I would finish (and I'd already spent two hours of no-fun time on the game at that point). Bravehorse was the most difficult game of the whole bunch, and I swear I only finished by luck. Equidon took a bit of work, but it was easy once I started over and bought the guided bomb first.

Thumbs up. Thanks for the judging. However, I had hoped to receive a better ranking. But unfortunately you are absolutely right with your estimation. Thanks AG.

Dev Blog

From what I recall, one of the levels in Shotgun Ninja did indeed have a pony enemy in it [smile]

Quote:Original post by XDigital
Thumbs up. Thanks for the judging. However, I had hoped to receive a better ranking. But unfortunately you are absolutely right with your estimation. Thanks AG.

Dev Blog

Man, I definitely liked the game. A little more work on the controls and gameplay would go a long way, since you've got so much already in the game. I even opened it up again the other day just to go shoot up a ship and watch the explosion. Maybe simplifying some of the UI would be nice, I guess. You should feel great about Libertine - to put something of that scale together, much less with gameplay and some dang pretty stuff sitting around, plus all the writing you put into the plots... that's impressive for a 4E contest.

Quote:Original post by ViLiO
From what I recall, one of the levels in Shotgun Ninja did indeed have a pony enemy in it

Seriously? It didn't register at all. Don't tell me the boss vehicle was a pony!

...Okay, played back through it. There is a pony, it just didn't register because I so totally avoided it the first time. (It's in a level that requires you to make a lot of leaps of faith, which easily skip much of the level). I must say it still feels tacked on - like the accountants in Ninjas vs Accountants. I don't really think either game meets the requirements, but since I'm being real open with the elements considerations, I'll count it. Shotgun Ninja - despite being created in 2 days and really only containing two elements, you're now tied for 5th.

In retrospect, I probably should have issued a two point deduction or something to the games with really borderline elements. Instead, I just put big yellow text next to them :/

Please excuse the necropost...

Quote:X 4/2/5 11 Demolition DISQUALIFIED (Elements, Manual), Download

No less that I expected. That'll teach me not to spend hours on the physics and minutes on the UI. On the upside, the delay in official judging doesn't bother me a bit now.

4E7(whenever it happens) will be different. I won't make the same mistake twice.

Nice job with the judging AG.