tepples wrote:
Here's a quick comparison:
Attachment:
Haunted_School_versions.ogg
It is slightly less annoying. But only slightly. The whole soundtrack would need an overhaul. Just because this game has "Haunted" in the title does not mean it needs to sound like a ghost that's chasing you. "Castlevania" and "Ghoul School" don't have those shreaking sound effects either.
tepples wrote:
Yes. I was as confused as you are, but that's how it was explained to me when I was given the platform map.
Good thing I wasn't hired. (Apart from the fact that I couldn't have managed such a project on the NES anyway, but that's beside the point here.) I'm pretty sure I would have told the designer off many times.
Espozo wrote:
Yes, but in that situation, it wouldn't effect gameplay.
I didn't say it does. But it hurts the inner consistency of the scene. It's a visual fault and a very amateurish one. My graphics designer would kick my ass if I proposed something like that for my game to her.
Espozo wrote:
As if a 14 year old thwarting the zombie apocalypse is much better?
No, but some 18 year old jock. I mean, seriously, these kinds of stories always have teenagers as protagonists. And now we're playing with a guy that is the same age as Bart Simpson? Nah, this just doesn't feel right for this setting. "Ghoul School", "Zombies Are My Neighbors" and "Boo - Haunted House" did it right.
Besides, this totally eliminates the possibility of some eyecandy/fanservice girlfriend for the hero in the sequel or in any additional material. Unless the next part is "Haunted Halloween '93".
The game has potential, but there are just too many things that have "homebrew" written all over it. And ironically, it's not the technical/coding stuff, like sprite artifacts or the gameplay physics. Instead, it's the design choices which, after all, ultimately have nothing to do with programming. There is no
need to use a totally out-of-scale room. There is no
need to do logic-breaking perspective tricks.
tepples, you really should have had a word with the designer of the game. (Unless you did and he was just stubborn.)
darryl.revok wrote:
However, I just have to say, how is nit-picking every aspect of this game helping anyone, or the NES homebrew community?
I'm not nitpicking. And even if I do: Well, it helps the community because when they read it, they might not repeat the error.
Not criticizing anything wouldn't help the community.
darryl.revok wrote:
Everybody's been on tepples to make a platformer, and he makes something in a few months with really impressive collision detection and an advanced CHR-RAM loading technique, and now that's not good for anybody?
As far as I see it, tepples is not the one to blame here. Yes, it's impressive what he did.
But whoever did these strange design choices really has no excuse: These things that I "nitpicked" have nothing to do with technical limitations, nor with coding skills. So I can mention them even if I think that the technical implementation is great.
But the problems have nothing to do with anything that's related to techniques of NES programming.
Not to draw a usable platform like that or putting the character and the environment to scale, that's just a matter of design competence.
Or to say it like this: If you get a competent NES programmer to make a
real game, make sure that the quality of your design choices are equally competent.
darryl.revok wrote:
Sure there are flaws. Every game has flaws. But it's done. How is this helping? I almost feel like people are justifying not being willing to spend the money to support the community and the work of someone who's undoubtedly ten times a better programmer.
Believe me, I didn't think for one second about money when I wrote this.
Firstly, not at all would I need a justification
not to buy a game. If I don't want to buy a game, I don't.
Secondly, I
wanted to buy this game. Why do you think did I ask so eagerly for a gameplay video?
darryl.revok wrote:
I kind of wish the "put up or shut up" guy from a few days ago would show up so I wouldn't have to be the one to say this.
First of all, this is a stupid argument to begin with, unless the critic explicitly says "I could do better." But as long as he doesn't say it, he can criticize as much as he likes.
According to your logic, nobody is allowed to criticize, for example, the "Star Wars" prequels because: Can you create a better "Star Wars" movie?
Secondly, I'm indeed working on my own NES game. Shouldn't take too long anymore until it's finished. It won't be a full-blown jump n run, more a highscore game. From the complexity, think about slightly more complex than "Kung Fu", but still much less complex than "Super Mario Bros.".
And yes, if you see the game, you're free to criticize everything that I did wrong.
Although, I'd ask you to do this when I publish the prototype, not only when the game is on cartridge. Because I'm planning to take suggestions and to implement them when I think they're resonable.
This is also something that the guy from this game could have done better. (And where I can only answer your "put up or shut up" with a simple: "Yes, as soon as my time comes, I will "put up" something, namely a prototype ROM.) He could have shown something from the game before it was finished, so that people can give their input. I'm not even talking about a ROM, just some videos.