Monday, April 27, 2015

Episode 99: 7DRLs 2015

This is episode 99 of Roguelike Radio, where we have a look at some of the highlights from the Seven Day Roguelike Challenge 2015. Talking this episode are Darren Grey, Paul Jeffries and Alan Charlesworth. 

You can download the mp3 of the podcast, play it in the embedded player below, or you can follow us on iTunes.





Roguelike News:

Topics discussed this episode:
  • 128 successful 7DRLs, woohoo!
  • Reviews of all the 7DRLs
  • Trials and terrors during the week, and the ultimate redemption of success.
  • New trends this year:- Lots of 1HP RLs and games with very stripped down controls. No mobile games. Many games with an old-school / arcade-y aesthetic, and more graphical games in general. More use of Unity, partly thanks to the new Unity roguelike tutorial. More in-browser games.
  • General praise for the high quality of completed games this year, with lots of stand-outs and few that are terrible or hard to get running.
Games discussed:
  • Hellion - 3D, turn-based, grid-based Star Fox-esque game (and yes, it's as cool as it sounds)
  • Void Sanctum - story/atmosphere focused roguelike
  • FireTail - hex-based roguelike with a lot of originality and tactical depth
  • Second Stepper - semi real-time arcade game where you control two characters at once
  • ducksoup dungeon - cute Gameboy-style roguelike platformer
  • Into the Darkness - brain-teaser-y roguelike where battle is manipulated using a deck of cards
  • RoyaLe - arena roguelike with gritty and intense battles
  • Phage - hex-based possession-themed roguelike
  • DUMUZID - tricky positioning-focused roguelike where you change shape as you absorb enemies
  • Heart of Morning - traditional style of roguelike, but you start with awesome gear that gets degraded over time
  • Seven Day Band - lets you decide mid-game how you want the different game elements and behaviours to be
  • Rogue Space Marine - very detailed and balanced roguelike with ability cooldowns and fun shot-dodging
  • Synthesizer - fight enemies in a giant synthesiser, coordinating your attacks to the beat
  • RUNNER_PUNCHER - dash to pick up items and kill (or avoid) enemies
  • MineClimeR(L) - turn-based Terraria with interesting climbing mechanics and resource use
  • Quaff - brew potions to power up your pet pig as you hunt for truffles
  • Rollgue - throw dice at dice
  • A Rogue Harvest - farming simulator with roguelike combat
  • Huge - a small hero vs a giant boss
  • Sneak - stealth game with vision cones
  • Combat Chess - arena-based tactics game with chess-like moves
  • Fall girl - roguelite where time gets slower as you progress
  • Edwin's 7DRL - possession-based roguelike with multi-tile movement
  • Heavy Axe - fight foes with an unwieldy giant axe

Join us next time for our 100th episode spectacular, where we talk about YASDs! Submit your YASD to get featured on the show.

8 comments:

  1. Dead Blinger was great, what could you possibly have against it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey graspee just wanted to say I played your game and I really liked it. I did die quite a lot but that's roguelikes. Kudos for going the distance and finishing I have had 7drl failures 3 years in a row. Anyhoo the waveform mechanic is a really original idea I dont know how you manage to pull it off. Cheers Ozymandias79

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Graspee I feel your pain. I too am very sensitive to criticism. Once you put something out there you have to be prepared to be dumped on, praised and ignored. It's very hard not to take it personal.

      Good luck in the future man. You will be welcomed back if you decide to come back.

      Delete
  5. Obviously there is some overreaction here, but I agree with graspee's original point. Criticism is literally useless when a developer can no longer work on his game after the 7 day period. (of course he could continue to update it, but then it would be a regular hobby game and not a 7DRL) The object of a 7DRL is not to make the best possible game, but to make a complete game that is different from what has come before. Everyone who finishes making their game is a winner, right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For a formal review, sure (though developers still definitely benefit from criticism for future projects). But this wasn't a formal review, it was a podcast episode about the whole process with an audience of roguelike fans. Some games will get criticised, just as many games get criticised in general on the show. We all express opinions and experiences and we can't do that without saying some negative things. In general we try to have a balance with numerous opinions, which I think was perfectly well achieved in this instance.

      Delete
  6. Well, it looks like I missed quite the shit storm here by not checking the comments for a couple of days.

    I understand the sting of having someone dislike your (unpaid) work. As a YouTube content creator I never go for long without being told I'm awful and I should stop. I've also been told I should kill myself. I understand that criticism isn't easy to hear, especially when it's cursory.

    Would I ideally have given a more detailed view? Certainly. Had I been writing a full review, I'd have done so. In this case, though, we were covering a lot of ground in a brief time and Darren did a good job of championing the game. Perhaps I worded my remarks poorly, and if so it's probably because I'm an inexperienced podcaster. In that case I apologise. It was intended as more of a "this game just isn't for me, I personally didn't enjoy it".

    I think it's also important to take criticism on board. I made a game this year too, and it fell badly short of what it meant to be. People have complained that it lacks substantial gameplay and, while it's disappointing that the game had that effect, it's a fair criticism. For my part, playing Synthesizer, the idea seemed intriguing but I found the tiny play area aggravating. Whether the developer agrees or not is beside the point. It's a valid criticism.

    Again, I apologise if my podcasting inexperience led me into a blunder. I'll try to be more conscious of the way I phrase things should I have the opportunity to appear again at some point. At the same time, it seems quite juvenile to have a huge temper tantrum and declare that the community isn't worthy. There's no need for that.

    ReplyDelete