Underrated! (a thread on unacknowledged talent)

[bicilotti]

In our life as adventure gamers and AGSers we stumble upon some hidden gems which are yet to be appreciated by the general public.
This community sees many games every year, and you may feel that one or two or them, for whichever reason, went, unjustly, under the radar.

So here's the the topic of this thread:

Do you know a fellow AGSer whose talent is a bit unaknowledged? If so, post your impressions here, along with why you have great expectations for him/her!

Since I'm the topic starter I'll go first. I like very much FSi's games which contain not only bloodshed and violence, but humor and interesting stylistic choices. Play CoMATtCEHoSVD or Alienation to see what I mean!

[Dualnames]

I love alienation a lot. Guess who got the mirror...

Well, I could go for Ponch his Barn-Runner games go unnoticed for what I could call Larry Vales incarnated.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Unsung heroes of AGS?  But there are so many (myself included!). 

I would probably have to say Logan Worsley, the guy behind Emily Enough, though I think Ponch is a good choice as well.  There are quite a few people that have made games that some people just didn't 'get' for one reason or another but were still well made.

[DoorKnobHandle]

Clearly Yahtzee.

BA-ZING.

[Dualnames]

HAHAHA, I was about to mention you,but you mentioned yahtzee

[Ubel]

I'm highly overrated.

[Jon]

I agree Pablo

[Dualnames]

I agree Pablo

woot again.

[GarageGothic]

Unsung heroes of AGS?  But there are so many (myself included!). 

And a link to prove it!

I think SSH made a good selection, and I'm not just saying that because I'm on the list myself. But I don't consider most of the people on his list underrated (ProgZ and Radiant have surely received a lot of a attention for their games), nor unsung (AGA had an AGS opera about him written by Grundislav!).

Personally, I don't think KhrisMUC gets enough credit for all the help he offers in the beginner's tech forum, though he was a bit of a dick towards Mirek the other day.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I don't really receive a lot of attention from my games, actually.  I think they have been reviewed by exactly (3) people, but I kind of like it that way.  I'm not really big on massive attention and I really don't want to fall into the Fanboy Syndrome (TM) Yahtzee has where he can churn out steamy turds and people will still shower him in adoration.  I'd much rather people liked or disliked my games for their actual merits and not because they were part of an internet phenomenon.  I'm not saying all of yahtzee's games fall into this category, but some of them are just horrible.  I guess it's just like stephen king; you know you've made it when people will buy your stuff even if it's only useful for wiping your ass with.

[InCreator]

On occasions like this, I always mention Framed.
It looks very much like someone's first game (which - if I remember correctly, was), has crappy (though fully functional) graphics and some weird choices for sound (of which, some are really good), puzzles that vary from very bad to ok, and a story that would be a gem if it were written by someone more experienced..

But just try this game. It has what most AGS games lack or disappoint with: atmosphere.
The thing that made Yahtzee famous, and which separates good games from bad games more often than we realize.

[Ponch]

Well, I could go for Ponch his Barn-Runner games go unnoticed for what I could call Larry Vales incarnated.

Considering that it was Larry Vales that drew me into the zany world of AGS to begin with, that's just about the nicest thing anyone could say about me and my games! Thanks.

I do feel like I'm often flying along under the radar here, but that's fine. My games aren't filled with devious puzzles of the sort that keep threads going for days and weeks. If anything, my games (to steal a line from Dr. Evil) are the Diet Coke of adventure gaming. But those are the sort of games I like: light, fun, and easy to pick up and play without dedicating all your free time to if you hope to complete it within a single lifetime.

Would I like to have a huge enclave of AGSers dedicated to all things Ponch? My own personal army, willing to do my bidding, and crush all who oppose me? You bet I would! But I'm content to keep telling myself that mine is the sort of questionable talent that will one day inspire lifelong devotion in the armies of adventure gamers that the machine overlords of the future will surely populate the world with once we're all connected to the Matrix. You know, the sort of marginally talented person who only becomes famous years after they died alone, unmourned, and in a manner that was extremely humiliating. (I plan to die in the men's room of an all you can eat buffet a few years from now, when I'm older and no longer give a damn about what size pants I wear. Roll on mid-life crisis!).

As for my vote on the unsung heroes of these forums, I'd say Rui was a really big help when I was new here. He didn't make many games, but he was a friend to newbies everywhere. Also Frodo. She's always in the Hints and Tips forum, offering, well... hints and tips.

And at this risk of this turning into some sort of group hug, ProgZmax doesn't get the love he deserves. (He's also right about Yahtzee, AGS's Stephen King -- runs hot or cold, but always lavished with praise.). MashPotato deserves a higher profile too, in my opinion, if for no other reason than that awesome bumble bee avatar of hers.

Just my two cents,

- Ponch

________
p.s. I would have said The Ivy too, but apparently people have suddenly started throwing money at her. Which, in the world of freeware games, is really an accomplishment! Woot!

[MashPotato]

MashPotato deserves a higher profile too, in my opinion, if for no other reason than that awesome bumble bee avatar of hers.

Aww... and can I just say that I've always loved that dancing cow avatar (and bizarrely, was actually going to comment on it the other day, but I thought it wouldn't have been interesting, helpful, or funny enough to meet the posting criteria here )

Back on topic... I know I'm forgetting loads of games that deserve some extra lovin', but off the top of my head one of the AGS games I've laughed at the most that is rarely mentioned is Chicken vs Road by Strange Visitor

[SSH]

* SSH takes notes for future pick-of-the-months

[ThreeOhFour]

The fact that Revelation has only 434 downloads on the counter makes me very sad inside. There's a built in level editor, people, MAKE ME SOME LEVEL! 



Also yes, Ponch's games seem to be very under the radar, but he knows that a whole bunch of us love his games so hopefully he'll keep making them.

Also, the fact that ProgZ's Hillbilly Burger Bastards was not considered superior to ROM Check Fail made me confused. How is a practically unplayable game that relies on the novelty of the Worst Gimmick Ever (tm) considered an example of what we should be praising? HBB was so good that I've played it through 3 times (I never play adventure games more than twice). I don't mean to offend any RCF fans, but the novelty wore off very quickly for me in this game.

[Dualnames]

Oh, forgot to mention Le Woltaire, the only man who knows how to use 3d models in ags..

[blueskirt]

Also, the fact that ProgZ's Hillbilly Burger Bastards was not considered superior to ROM Check Fail made me confused. How is a practically unplayable game that relies on the novelty of the Worst Gimmick Ever (tm) considered an example of what we should be praising?  HBB was so good that I've played it through 3 times (I never play adventure games more than twice). I don't mean to offend any RCF fans, but the novelty wore off very quickly for me in this game.

For 2 reasons:

The politico-voting-analysis reason: action games are more mainstream than adventure game, RCF would please to all fans of reflex based genres, HBB would please mostly to adventure game fans (who aren't that numerous in the first place), people who don't like adventure games won't like HBB. Also, unlike HBB, RCF and many other games in the competition were advertized on Indiegames.com prior to the voting, which gave them a visibility advantage over the rest of the competition.

The brilliantness-factor reason (which explain its victory over My First Skydiving Academy): RCF was bloody unique, and that's something that can be recognized by much more people because when a game feature something that is unique, you don't have to be a fan of a game or its genre to recognize the genius behind it, just like you don't have to be a fan of shmups to appreciate Joakim Sandberg's Chalk. The game also brilliantly handled the title "ROM CHECK FAIL", which was probably the most abstract and difficult title to envision gameplay speaking.

I am not an hardcore fan of RCF, I didn't play it more than 20 minutes, compared to the 3 hours I spend on HBB, but I instantly recognized there was something great in it and it most certainly deserved that award.

-edit-
Complete rewrite

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I didn't really like RCF.  The gameplay was all but broken and the concept just didn't appeal.  That doesn't mean I have a problem with it winning, though.  Let's not forget that it was also advertised early on a massive NES fansite, which no doubt got it a shitload of votes (if you look at the vote spread it got way more than made sense). 

Anyway, people are allowed to like what they want, it doesn't really bother me!  And let's get this thread off of me and back onto something important, like the topic .

[Frodo]

I have to go with Ponch as well.  I love his Barn Runner games, and Prick Peckard is definately one of my favourite computer game characters.  And Ponch's dedication has to be admired   

I also want to mention the LongLife Software team.  They made Conspiracy Of Songo, and The Next Curse. 

[blueskirt]

I'd say Ponch is hands down the most underrated AGS game maker out there, with many
great AGS games under his belt and still managing to be virtually unknown. Kinoko too I think is underrated, Cirque De Zale was a great AGS game that managed to win no AGS award, and since the download link has been broken since July 2007, I am begining to think it is the most unnoticed game too. How come nobody reported that to Kinoko?

The next few names, I am unsure if they are truly underrated of if it's simply because they posted 1 or 2 great games and left the forum long ago (or just don't post on the forum very often) that we don't seems to talk about them as much as we talk about other makers. Underrated or simply forgotten, you decide!
AH! Production (Tiltor)
IceMan (Da New Guys)
Duzz (Grrr! Bearly Sane and many others)
aussie (Chick Chaser and many others)
Greg Edwards (Jessica Plunkenstein and the Düsseldorf Conspiracy)
Logan (Emily Enough)
Michael Evans (Perils Of Poom)
Wretched (Magsic, Crave and many others)
CMonkey (Just Another Point n Click Adventure)
Mordalles (Duty and Beyond, Hallway of Adventures, Mordy)

ProgZ: I am not sure if you are underrated or simply too discreet for your own good. You've spend the last 2 years working on other people's games and the few games you released weren't promoted a lot. I found Ace Starkiller in the VGNG competition thread, it's because I decided to check the MAGS website this month if I stumbled on Our Finest Hour, and I had to search real hard just now to find the Drug Bust and Boyd Quest demos. I think submitting your games to the database/completed games announcement forum would help you a lot since your latest game there is Wooly Rockbottom.

PS - This little searching in the database made me notice Buloght's games have even been removed from it, sad day! :'()