Amateur Stage Design Trials - A New Mapping Contest!
- Thread starter CoatRack
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I think the OLDC got driven into the ground towards the end not because people lost interest, but because the OLDC itself ceased to be reliable or interesting. It was the same thing, month after month, with no variations, and people just got sick of it. Also, people seemed to be taking into it with the attitude that it was about entertaining them, rather than helping people get better at designing. Such thing as a "bad OLDC" existed, where all the entries were from newbie level designers who didn't have a clue what they were doing. It's like some people legitimately got angry over it.
I think CoatRack figured a contest with some better variation and organization than the OLDC had would do a better job, but ultimately it failed, as was seeking the same contestants that the OLDC already drove into the ground.
That being said, even if two entries is all we get, we're damn well going to give those authors some good criticism, because it's about the people who do enter, not the mass of those who don't.
I'm sure its moreso that nobody wanted to do anything because "2.1 is coming out soon!", and it has yet to do so. So nobody is willing to do anything or are bored with what the current version provides.
...As for why this contest in particular is also not gonna get anything, I still say it's the theme. "Scary WADs" is not all that promising.
...As for why this contest in particular is also not gonna get anything, I still say it's the theme. "Scary WADs" is not all that promising.
Why? There have been plenty of spooky levels in sonic history.
Hang Castle, Mystic Mansion, Pumpkin Hill, Red Mountain, Sandopolis Act 2, and Death Chamber.
Also, I find it pretty hard to believe that this community will come much more alive at all at 2.1's release. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think the community is "dormant until 2.1", I think it's just in its death throes entirely.
Also uh
Hang Castle, Mystic Mansion, Pumpkin Hill, Red Mountain, Sandopolis Act 2, and Death Chamber.
Also, I find it pretty hard to believe that this community will come much more alive at all at 2.1's release. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think the community is "dormant until 2.1", I think it's just in its death throes entirely.
Also uh
Promising for what? What are you expecting this contest to deliver on?D00D64 said:
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The OLDC got driven into the ground because the last update to the game is now three years old, and the last major revision (with amazing features such as NEW LEVELS!) is over four. This is a decision by Sonic Team Jr. which could drive a whole separate topic on its own, but the fact is people have no interest in messing with the decade-old engine when not even the game's developers are putting out anything palpable.
Then, basically anyone who WOULD be willing to make something new is like, well, why should I waste my time and effort into creating worthwhile content for this game when everyone that would care has long since moved on to greater things? And this snowballs until we reach the date someone decided was so awesome to release the new version on and Knuckles' sprites still look like shit.
all of which were created by professional game designers and not twelve-year olds in a sonic community
And none of them with the intent of being Scary, just... spooky.
When I think of "scary", I think of actually making a level BASED on the idea of invoking fear, and that's just not happening in a game like this. It's either going to be nothing but jump scares (which is the worst method of invoking fear), or just missing the point like you clearly did.
It may have something like Sandopolis' ghosts which are scary mainly through game mechanics, but even in that case, they can be fended off and tamed anyway. Hang Castle and Mystic Mansion are mostly based on trickery than fear, and the SA2 spook elements arn't really scary either. I mean, who'd be scared of King Boom Boo?
Who said they were ever going to come back? Most of the community is gone for good and 2.1 will probably not help much at all. It's 2013, who'd care about a fangame made out a port of Doom in this day and age? I don't expect things to get any better after 2.1, but waiting for it is why so many either don't do anything or gave up.
Absolutely nothing. As I said, Scary WADs are not all that promising. I doubt a community this lacking in experienced mappers willing to do anything would produce anything of value that's actually legitimately scary.
Ice
Pretty chill guy
Coming to think of it, I agree on the theme being crappy. SRB2 isn't very conducive to scary experiences, and hell, even Doom isn't very conducive to scary experiences. EVEN DEAD SPACE...
And so on.
Horror is one of the hardest emotions to evoke properly in games, even by professional developers with far better engines, so that's why this probably wouldn't have worked.
That, and lighthearted spookiness is lame.
Don't give up on the idea, though! I really quite like it...
And so on.
Horror is one of the hardest emotions to evoke properly in games, even by professional developers with far better engines, so that's why this probably wouldn't have worked.
That, and lighthearted spookiness is lame.
Don't give up on the idea, though! I really quite like it...
Ultimate
a scar in time...
Perhaps for the future some examples of more fitting themes (in a broad scope) would be the themes of autumn or winter, or transitioning from one to the other. If you wanted to the theme to be narrower, you could perhaps require the entrants to incorporate pumpkins or leaves into gameplay elements for the level, although this might be a little bit more difficult, given that some extra resources would have to be made.
Wow did you even read what I posted? It isn't about you being entertained, it's about offering a good environment in which the level designers themselves, so they can then learn how to make good levels. To be frank, I really don't give a shit about how much you enjoy the contest, unless you're actually one of the participants.
Also the irony is just dripping right out of my screen. Are you somehow possibly suggesting that Sonic Team is capable?
If that wasn't clear enough in the main topic, why do you think I wrote this?
http://mb.srb2.org/showpost.php?p=737926&postcount=35
Purely a matter of opinion. It's a theme like anything else. Also a bad one I might add, when we have things like this...
No, you apparently don't if you consider it "crappy".
Why do I bother posting if no one is going to read it?
"Scary through game mechanics"
I like the sound of that. Sounds like something that definitely could be done in SRB2 with a little imagination. You'd think the hyudoros in the title banner CoatRack made would communicate that approval. Trickery is definitely alright for a scary halloween themed contest. And as for King Boom Boo, he's delightfully spooky. I remember what a funny boss he was to fight, with his big evil laugh and all. I think it was Whackjood who was telling me the other day that when he first fought him, he figured you'd just circle around behind and hit him from the back. But when he did that, King Boom Boo turned right around with his laugh and began chasing the opposite way like a maniac. I think his reaction was a humorous "Oh no! He's got me now!"
"Absolutely nothing." I don't think you got what I meant. I asked what you expected this contest to deliver, as in what SHOULD it deliver. But really, don't even bother answering, because I already know what you're expecting, and my response is exactly what I told Scizor300.
I don't know when this community stopped being a center of creative forces, and instead became a center of jaded oldbies like you. You just expect the new kids (one of whom you used to be along with the rest of us) to actually make good levels for your entertainment, and that's bullshit.
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Gotta love all the negative reactions that shut everything down to when some people decide to just help a dead-ass forum
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Dude, calm down. It's not that big of a deal.
And for god's sake, don't go putting words in my mouth. While I was skeptical about the viability of a halloween-themed contest, that skepticism had nothing more to do with the entrants any more than the OLDC did; namely, that it's difficult for newcomers to compete with the more experienced mappers.
You're not helping.
EDIT: To be absolutely clear if it was not, this is not a topic about sniping at each other or at the community in general, and nobody should be derailing it into one. Let the contest continue, and if you don't like it or think it will amount to much, please do not actively get in the way.
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So, I have seen a lot of doubt on that how "horror" wasn't the best idea for a theme, and I agree to a small amount. But my question is, what makes you think everyone has the same horror level as you? Example, when we were little kids, we got scared of the dark easily, but when we are older we get over it. So what one person might call scary, you might not. So it is more how well they try to present their idea of horror, verses what the horror is. (as long as it is not blatantly obvious they didn't even try for horror)
That being said, I was working on a example level for this contest, but I got swamped with work to the point I didn't have time to get it done with so I could post it earlier. But what I have now is pretty much what I was thinking of how one would show a horror or scary feel in a level, but as I said that feel changes from person to person. You can grab the file here: Click me!
That being said, I was working on a example level for this contest, but I got swamped with work to the point I didn't have time to get it done with so I could post it earlier. But what I have now is pretty much what I was thinking of how one would show a horror or scary feel in a level, but as I said that feel changes from person to person. You can grab the file here: Click me!
Ah alright, gotcha. I disagree on spooky themed levels being a bad thing, for said reasons, but oh well?
There probably won't be another contest like this though. You may be right in the fact that it is a very nice contest idea, but frankly this community isn't the kind of place where we can have nice things like that and have them work.
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I actually think horror-themed stages could be done fairly well. I was gonna give a shot at it, but the SOC I was writing wasn't working out, so *shrug*
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