Post by: Snarky on 01 Jan 2019, 09:26
Game Pitch Competition – Round 8: "Pitch It Like It's 2019"
The object of the competition is to present the best possible "elevator pitch" for an original adventure game.
Come up with a cool idea, and explain it very briefly to someone in order to catch their interest and make them excited about it. (Check out the last round (https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=56573.0) to see how it goes.)
You probably know the drill by now, but if you don't...
I'm looking forward to your pitches (https://goo.gl/forms/awX8I4Mjy4KNmpyi1)!
Post by: Snarky on 04 Jan 2019, 11:27
(Edit: It turns out that Word doesn't recognize words separated by / as two words, so counting fairly this entry is actually one word over the word count, and I've moved the end behind a spoiler tag.)
Dash & Nicky in: Serum Scarum
A rollicking adventure styled after classic European comics like Spike & Suzy, Tintin, or Spirou
Dash & Nicky are unlikely best friends. Dash, an orphan, is the head messenger boy at Madam Rammekin's Delivery Service. Alphonse Nicodemus Hildebrand St. John is the black sheep of the posh Addlepaight-DeRange family, and a professional gadabout.
When a package containing a strange serum goes missing, the search takes them around the world and brings them up against a dangerous foe. With them is Dash's philosophical pet fox, Ren.
Features varied gameplay based on teamwork and their individual styles
Post by: Snarky on 05 Jan 2019, 08:10
A game set in a during the dying days of a once magnificent dwarven fortress.
The once magnificent underground city of Steelhold is in its final days. Corruption has taken hold of the nobles, roads and buildings lay crumbling, people starve, and the trade caravans have all but stopped.
When the will of the people breaks, there will be chaos. Before that happens, you must convince your loved ones to leave Steelhold to forge a new future. Gather supplies, make deals, and use subterfuge to secretly escape the city and save the ones you love.
Post by: Snarky on 05 Jan 2019, 11:54
An innocent party game becomes dangerously real
A group of co-worker decided to play a little more thrilling version of the "Mafia" party game. They spend the day debating who the "Mafia" is and at the end of it they gather to vote who should be "hanged". All went well until in one of the sessions, the voted players started dying for real...
Play as a different player each day and try to influence the vote of the group, balancing objectives on multiple levels.
Post by: Snarky on 08 Jan 2019, 09:05
Bedroom Vigilante
Armed with only pair of binoculars, rid the city of crime... from your rear window.
From the vantage point of your bedroom window, you've witnessed a lot of crime. You've tried calling the police but they are corrupt and useless. You decide to do something about it but it's far too dangerous to go outside after dark.
Over the course of one night, armed with only a pair of binoculars, a telephone and your own wits, you must point and click around the city, gathering clues and manipulating your surroundings.
And rid this city of
Post by: Snarky on 10 Jan 2019, 10:02
A boy summons his dead mother to learn where his cruel father imprisoned his companion.
A crippled boy's cruel father imprisons the boy's miniature tiger in a hidden location. The father is assassinated, and the boy must find the tiger before she dies of starvation. While searching, he finds clues to the location of a long-dead wizard's secret chamber and a spell to speak to the dead. The boy wants to summon his dead mother; she'll know the location of the hidden cell.
Help the boy access the chamber and concoct the summoning spell.
Post by: Snarky on 10 Jan 2019, 11:04
Luck isn't just chance.
Some people are luckier than others. This is the work of the luck goblins.
Lately some devious goblins have gone rogue and kill other humans through bad luck and all other goblins have to ensure the safety of their human.
You play as Pip, a luck goblin. The rogue goblins are after your human, and it's up to you to keep him safe. In this game you cannot move from your human and control him only by altering the environment.
Post by: Snarky on 10 Jan 2019, 11:32
eat your way through an extended library
You control the bookworm that wants to get fatter and fatter by eating words out of the books in the library. Snake like controls make your worm grow while random words are spat at you and you have to build sentences that make sense and in the end your book will be converted to an ebook you can read and sell.
Post by: Snarky on 10 Jan 2019, 15:06
"Escape the room" game using a tool that do the work
You was kidnapped and locked in a abandoned store. You need some tools to escape and hey, the place is full of dozens of different objects. But only one is useful, others just "luxury items". You can carry only one item in a game, and use it in multitask way to escape before the kidnappers returns.
Different puzzles at every start of the game, the useful item is never the same.
Post by: Snarky on 13 Jan 2019, 15:05
Post by: TheFrighter on 14 Jan 2019, 08:31
I voted for The Cripple in the Castle, just 'cause it looks like an horror version of Calvin and Hobbes! :-D
_
Post by: Blondbraid on 14 Jan 2019, 16:25
Post by: cat on 14 Jan 2019, 19:53
Dwarffall
Serious Games
Bedroom Vigilante
The Cripple in the Castle
The Luck Goblins
the bookworm
Luxury item mayhem
Post by: Durq on 14 Jan 2019, 20:24
Different strokes for different folks.
Post by: Blondbraid on 14 Jan 2019, 22:36
I'm always fascinated by the fact that what excites one person will bore another. Dwarffall, for instance, popped out to me as the most exciting entry. It caused my imagination to roam.For me, I'd say that a concept such as Dwarffall would depend very strongly on the execution, because while it could be an interesting exploration of denial the inevitable and societies destroyed from within,
Different strokes for different folks.
it could just as easily devolve into a bunch of standard fantasy cliches and a Mary Sue hero who's the only one seeing what needs to be done and so on.
Post by: Snarky on 18 Jan 2019, 21:18
Dash & Nicky in: Serum Scarum
Dwarffall
Serious Games
Bedroom Vigilante
The Cripple in the Castle
The Luck Goblins
the bookworm
Luxury item mayhem
Post by: Durq on 18 Jan 2019, 22:08
Post by: Stupot on 22 Jan 2019, 00:01
I now have an embarrassing admission and public apology. My entry was Bedroom Vigilante. It wasn't until I saw cat's comment that I realized I had essentially ripped off Snarky's idea from the previous round. It's made even worse by the fact that I even voted for Snarky's pitch last time and thought it was brilliant. But had completely forgotten all about it by the time I came to write my pitch for this month. So sorry, Snarky.
In fact, Bedroom Vigilante wasn't initially supposed to be a Rear Window ‘em up at all. When I first started thinking about it I was thinking of the book “Sorry, Wrong Number” which I read last month. It's about an invalid woman on her own in an apartment who, due to some crossed wires, learns of a plot to murder a woman (her). The whole book (film, play etc) is set in one room and the woman makes a lot of phone calls in order to eventually find out the truth. It was from there that I thought I could combine it with Rear Window and have the protagonist solve a series of crimes with the telephone. So Snarky's pitch may have been in the back of my mind somewhere but I wasn't consciously thinking of that when it came to my pitch.
In answer to your questions, Snarky, I didn't actually intend for the character to be unlikeable. I actually envisioned him as just a downtrodden guy who's just had enough of being too scared to leave his room and decides to do his bit to make the streets a little safer. As far as examples go, I imagined there would be multiple solutions to every puzzle but you'd also be looking at routines. So, for example, you would use the phone to send a pizza delivery to inturrupt a crime or call a public phone box to warn a passer by of a mugger waiting just around the corner. That kind of thing but preferably with lots of little side-stories and mini-character arcs.
Post by: Durinde on 22 Jan 2019, 04:29
First off, congratulations to this rounds winner. Luck Goblins didn't really fall on my radar in terms of pitches, but I feel that it is a fun concept and could make an great game!
My vote went to Dash and Nicky. I felt it was a fun concept that lent itself well to the adventure game format. The pitch wore its influences on its sleeve which presented to me a clear picture of what the final product could be.
If I could pick a runner up, it would be Cripple in the Castle. There are so many elements giving a sense of the journey, and a clear goal at the end. It feels like the protagonist has gone through a lot, and there is a lot of "darkness" in the story, that I feel that I'd have to be in the right frame of mind to play the final product. I received a "I have no mouth and I must scream" vibe in terms of the world around the player being bleak, but there is hope at the end.
In terms of the extra questions asked about Dwarffall
I did write a couple of pages of backstory after I submitted the initial pitch. I enjoyed writing it, but I'm not sure I will take the idea much further than this point.
I know to some it the "gathering resources" bit may have shifted perspectives to more of a strategy game, and that is a weakness in the pitch... i pictured it more of adventure gamey thing where in the context of the story the economy is quickly degrading, so items and resources would be gained more by filling a request or a desire rather than plopping down a sack full of coins to buy the needed supplies.
The character would be a trader and one of the few dwarves that regularly leaves the safety of the fortress and interacts with other races. I thought the trading bit would tie in well in terms of bringing about a negotiation a conversation aspect to the game.
Why the family doesn't want to leave? Again this would be another "puzzle" aspect and would depend on the family member. Sister and husband are due for a new baby and worry about giving birth on the road.. so can you guarantee her the baby will be delivered in a safe space? Your Aunt died a few years ago and your Uncle is reluctant to leave her body behind. A brother is a member of the Dwarven guard and has taken an oath to defend the fortress no matter what. Etc....... Fail to convince them, and they will be left behind when you leave the fortress for the final time.
Anyway looking forward to the next round.
Post by: Snarky on 22 Jan 2019, 08:19
Snarky: Dash & Nicky in: Serum Scarum
Durinde: Dwarffall
artium: Serious Games
Stupot: Bedroom Vigilante
Durq: The Cripple in the Castle
Bulbapuck: The Luck Goblins
selmiak: the bookworm
TheFrighter: Luxury item mayhem
So congratulations to Bulbapuck!
Well done. I loved the world you created in a couple of sentences, and you got my vote. I also really liked The Cripple in the Castle, so it came down to a tough choice between those two for me.
Thanks to those of you who voted for or said nice things about Dash & Nicky. I'm a big fan of Tintin and (particularly) Spirou, and think they would work really well as adventure games. It's actually a bit curious to me that there haven't been more adaptations or fangames of these and other classic Franco-Belgian comics. Or maybe comics that had their glory days in the 1940s-60s and never made it to the US are even more niche than adventure games in the first place. Anyway, since it has to be an original property for the contest, I came up with a slight spin on it (though in my mind's eye, the art is totally by Franquin). I had a lot of fun with the names; "Addlepaight-DeRange" as the name of an eccentric aristocratic clan cracks me up.
I now have an embarrassing admission and public apology. My entry was Bedroom Vigilante. It wasn't until I saw cat's comment that I realized I had essentially ripped off Snarky's idea from the previous round. It's made even worse by the fact that I even voted for Snarky's pitch last time and thought it was brilliant. But had completely forgotten all about it by the time I came to write my pitch for this month. So sorry, Snarky.
Oh, no worries. I think they're different enough, and these are just ideas anyway.
Quote
In fact, Bedroom Vigilante wasn't initially supposed to be a Rear Window ‘em up at all. When I first started thinking about it I was thinking of the book “Sorry, Wrong Number” which I read last month. It's about an invalid woman on her own in an apartment who, due to some crossed wires, learns of a plot to murder a woman (her). The whole book (film, play etc) is set in one room and the woman makes a lot of phone calls in order to eventually find out the truth. It was from there that I thought I could combine it with Rear Window and have the protagonist solve a series of crimes with the telephone. So Snarky's pitch may have been in the back of my mind somewhere but I wasn't consciously thinking of that when it came to my pitch.
I know it as a radio play, which might be the perfect format for it:
Quote
In answer to your questions, Snarky, I didn't actually intend for the character to be unlikeable. I actually envisioned him as just a downtrodden guy who's just had enough of being too scared to leave his room and decides to do his bit to make the streets a little safer.
He comes across a little Travis Bickle/Death Wish-y.
Quote
As far as examples go, I imagined there would be multiple solutions to every puzzle but you'd also be looking at routines. So, for example, you would use the phone to send a pizza delivery to inturrupt a crime or call a public phone box to warn a passer by of a mugger waiting just around the corner. That kind of thing but preferably with lots of little side-stories and mini-character arcs.
Cool, thanks.
Post by: Bulbapuck on 22 Jan 2019, 13:44
Didn't expect to win this at all, I thought my pitch was trying to bite off too much. I had to cut it down from about 150 words which meant cutting out some essential bits. I'm happy that I still managed to get the general idea across, thanks for the votes and kind words! ^^
The Luck Goblins
Some thoughts on the entris:
Dash & Nicky in: Serum Scarum
Dwarffall
Serious Games
Bedroom Vigilante
The Cripple in the Castle
the bookworm
Luxury item mayhem
Post by: TheFrighter on 22 Jan 2019, 18:32
Uff, no suspense this time! >:(
Well, my idea was based on two consideration:
1 - when you make a game is reccomended to create only objects useful for the puzzle solving, if not are just luxury item like the blue cups in AGS games :-*;
2 - A thing that I find frustranting is when two similar item don't do the same thing. For example: I have to cut a ROPE and in my inventory there's a SAW. But I must a KNIFE for this task. Why I can't cut that damn ROPE with my SAW?
So I imagined a game when in different scenarios you have to use only one item in the garbage in many creative ways to solve the puzzles and escape. A wodden stick could be used to break and then to start a fire, an umbrella could pierce something and then gather liquids... and so on.
The game is short but could be challenging due the time limit so you have to think fast to find the right item. Yes, it require a lot o work for the scenarios. :-X
Oh, I'm glad I have the same score of Selmiak! (laugh)
_
Post by: Snarky on 28 Jan 2019, 10:04
Oh, and also: Does someone else want to run it? Should we switch to the model used by some of the other competitions, where the winner hosts the next round (or at least has "dibs" on hosting it)?
Post by: TheFrighter on 28 Jan 2019, 12:43
Should we switch to the model used by some of the other competitions, where the winner hosts the next round (or at least has "dibs" on hosting it)?It could be funny! I say yeah!
_
Post by: Durq on 28 Jan 2019, 15:41
But first, I'd really like to hear how many people want to do the author-guessing game after the voting, and how many would rather just jump straight to announcing the identities once the winner is picked.I'd pick jump straight to announcing identities.
Post by: Stupot on 29 Jan 2019, 05:20
Post by: Snarky on 30 Jan 2019, 09:26
Post by: Bulbapuck on 30 Jan 2019, 10:30