Cheerful Science! (OROW entry)

[Akatosh]

I just noticed I never added the game to the database or started a thread for it as I intended to do... well, better late than never.


(clicking on the image downloads the game)


In this short game, you take on the role of Research Girl, trying to help Captain Discovery with his experimentations. Despite the fact that their results, as well as his sanity, could be described as "unreliable".

At best.

[CosmoQueen]

Cute game! I like these two. Think you'll make another game with them?

[ThreeOhFour]

Nobody else has commented in here? For shame.

I genuinely laughed at this game. "Captain Research" and "Discovery Girl" are hilarious characters just from the names alone. The story is what we expect of Akatosh - pointing fun at itself and good for laughing. The character graphics are as lovable as those from the Me Go games and haven't gotten stale yet, and the backgrounds function enough that one can see where they are and can go .

The high point of this game for me was just clicking everything to chuckle at the response I got. Superfluos Narration Machine = brilliant. The story is horrifically brutal, unacceptably cute and hilarious at the same time.

I enjoyed this game. I would love to see Akatosh bring his background art up a notch, but considering that this game was made in a mere week, it is a splendid game indeed.

[Neo]

I've just finished playing and must say it's one funny little game. The dialog is hilarious. And the pauses between sentences were just perfect to take the humour to another level.
Good work.

- Neo Jezh

[Akatosh]

Finally remembered this thread. Yay.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words. It's good to hear you like the dialogue and plot (well... "plot"), seeing how that area was the one most work went into. And yes, you will see another game starring these two eventually... even right now, I can't stop thinking up potential villains. :p

[CosmoQueen]

That's awesome! I can't wait!

[saluk]

I really enjoyed this game!  I also actually laughed out loud, which is pretty rare.  The puzzles, while easy, were also well done.  I felt a little stumped a few times but not too much.  It was short and sweet, and very funny.  The ending twist was great too.  Can't wait to see more.

[egamer]

I have a few comments:

The graphics aren't bad per se, but the two main characters have no arms or legs.  You could say that their lab coats cover their legs, but what about their arms?  Do they both have their hands in their pockets?  Research girl's lack of arms makes her breasts look like arms crossed against her chest.  And the lack of legs makes it look as though you are too lazy to draw a walk cycle.

Using text for the cursors, especially at such a small size, seriously detracts from the game because you have to stop and read each cursor as you cycle through them.  Graphical cursors, even badly drawn ones, can be recognized at a glance.  I like text games, but if you're going to use cursors, then you have to make them graphical.

And I didn't find any of the jokes funny.

This wouldn't be bad for a first game.  But you have at least thirteen other games listed under your name.  I haven't played any of the others, but I would expect more from a game fourteen.  Not necessarily in length, although the game was quite short; I think I finished it in under fifteen minutes, and I'm rather slow.  I think it takes more skill to write a short story than a novel, because you have to grab the reader in just a few pages.  This game simply didn't grab me.

[DanielH]

The graphics aren't bad per se, but the two main characters have no arms or legs.  You could say that their lab coats cover their legs, but what about their arms? 

And I didn't find any of the jokes funny.

This wouldn't be bad for a first game.  But you have at least thirteen other games listed under your name.  I haven't played any of the others, but I would expect more from a game fourteen.  Not necessarily in length, although the game was quite short; I think I finished it in under fifteen minutes, and I'm rather slow.  I think it takes more skill to write a short story than a novel, because you have to grab the reader in just a few pages.  This game simply didn't grab me.

Of course you're joking, right? It lasts fifteen minutes because it's an OROW game. Which, If you don't know, means it's a game which must be produced in one week. OROW games are almost all short because the game can only have one room in it.

The jokes were great, if you didn't get them, that isn't Akatosh's fault, don't berate him for it. Finally, look at Akatosh's avatar. Look at his other games. The legless, armless characters are his style !That's how he draws! It's fine, they look like cartoon characters, which is great for short, comedic games. If he tried to pull off a 12-hour saga of a game about a serious event, with murder, mystery and romance in this style, yes, you could call him out on it. But Cheerful Science, it's fast, fun and five minutes of my day I really enjoyed. egamer, sorry you didn't feel the same.

*Apologises in advance for angry rant.*

Also, Akatosh, think I found a bug-

Spoiler

If you use the penknife on the plate before using the tap, Research girl says something like 'not without a reason'.
But even after using the tap and hearing the noise, using the penknife on the panel yeilds the same result (she still says 'Not for no reason' , before getting the key anyway. Not a game crashing bug, but a bug none-the-less.

[close]

[egamer]

Sorry, I didn't know what OROW stood for.  But I still can't see the point of trying to complete a game in one week, expect as a practice exercise.  Even in a short game, I'd like to see some effort put into it to make it good.

And I still don't like the quadruple-amputee style of sprite drawing.  But, to each his own.

[ThreeOhFour]

Sorry, I didn't know what OROW stood for.  But I still can't see the point of trying to complete a game in one week, expect as a practice exercise.

It's a good challenge, it's fun to see what you can put together in a week, it's a competition with friends and it means that 6 months down the track you won't still be sitting on that same old game design wishing it was over and done with.

There were 12 OROW games this year and I don't think any of them had a play time of more than 15-20 minutes. Some of them (probably including my own, and at least 2 others) had playtime that was shorter than this one, and had more basic puzzles. Perhaps those games would grab you more? That's up to you. Nevertheless, for a one week game this game is definitely a good achievement.

Not meaning to gang up on you or anything, just voicing an opinion.

[Akatosh]

First of all, thanks for the input, egamer. Criticism and comments are always welcome, even if they seem a tad uninformed (didn't you wonder what OROW might mean?) and rather unfriendly. But as Ben and Daniel have already stated, the things you objected to are mostly a question of taste. If you didn't like the jokes and the graphical style - well, people can have different preferences, and yours needn't match mine. Daniel pretty much says it: it's just a certain style, and if you don't like it... well, tough luck.

But I still can't see the point of trying to complete a game in one week, expect as a practice exercise.

It's the point of the competition. That's just what it is about - trying to make a (small) game in a single week. That's why it's called "One Room, One Week"!

And I still don't like the quadruple-amputee style of sprite drawing.  But, to each his own.

As you said, to each his own. I'm not trying to draw realistic (I'll leave that to the ego-shooters with three-digit-million dollar budgets) and if you don't like it... well, again, tough luck.
But I've been receiving a lot of comments that suggest using bubble-esque hands visible in the walkcycle would be a good idea, so I might switch to double-amputee in the future. 

Using text for the cursors, especially at such a small size, seriously detracts from the game because you have to stop and read each cursor as you cycle through them.  Graphical cursors, even badly drawn ones, can be recognized at a glance.  I like text games, but if you're going to use cursors, then you have to make them graphical.

I'll consider that.