Banana Man - the Video Game

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

if someone clearly asked you if you would like to use a motorcycle to jump 3 buses, would you think that there is any possibility that you might die? 

So "use motorcycle", in your book, equals "jump over 3 buses"?

[Nostradamus]

see vjamesv, I told you this will happen. People don't like to die with no warning. People got upset, people deleted the game and chose not to continue it.
And what do you do? you laugh about it, again.
I thought you'd like people to play your game to the end, do you really like people deleting and abandoning the game because of an annoying random death, do you really get such a kick from that that you want this to happen at this price?

[vjamesv]

funniest message board
ever

i had no idea people would be uptight on here!  seriously though, when you "use motorcycle" it does ask if you want to jump three buses, you don't just automatically die.  there is a 30% chance of living, and most people did figure out putting in 0 is an option. 

i have gone through and fixed all reported bugs now, and i am changing some of the music a little bit, so it is a much cleaner looking game.  adding animating doors helped a lot. 

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

vjamesv, I'll only say this and then I'll be quiet - and kindly notice how much my attitude in the matter changed since I first posted about this issue.

You're scorning your players? It has been brought to your attention that something in your game is a HUGE turn-off that has made some people give on on your game and you laugh at them and call them "uptight"? People want to have fun when they're playing a game - bottom line. The motorcycle thing caused some people to lose all their fun, ergo they don't want to play anymore. And they let you know, because the game maker should know these things.

And you keep on laughing at them, and call them "uptight"? My friend, there have been some good things in the game, but this attitude of yours is a real disappointment. I used to be looking forward for your next game. Not anymore - I mean, what's the point, if you can't listen to your players? And newsflash - if the players give up on your game, who'll play it, and who are you making it for?

[vjamesv]

ha, dude i think sometimes attitudes do not come across well in message boards, or at least this message board.  i certainly would never 'scorn' anyone that played my game, i am very thankful for everyone that played my game.  their input has helped me a ton, and i learned a lot by utilizing this message board.  and there were FAR more people that loved the whole motorcycle thing.  and maybe 3 that did not.  i mean, just because one person criticizes one part of a game does not mean i am going to change it for that one person.  i promise my attitude is better than, mostly thanks to posts like these, and i am definitely looking forward to making more games, but certainly not designed just for message board posters.  i do have other plans for my games now that i have some idea of what i am doing which may only make more dangerous so look out. 

[Stupot]

Personally, I thought the Bus Jumping seqeunce was an excellent bonus and very well scripted. Infact it was a lot of fun... It's not VJs fault if people don't save their games regularly.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

At the risk of sounding like a contradiction, I have to agree with Stupot, because things have to be said. It was a nice scene, it was fun, I actually went through it at every possible speed I could in order to see it all. And no one wanted you to remove that scene. I understand that "3 who did not" isn't enough to go and make a dramatic change, but consider how many OTHER people, who didn't say anything, did the same... and you know, it might be as simple a thing to fix as giving the player a "Try Again" button, to take him to the bus scene or to the parking lot, maybe even working in a new joke as you did. Again, what I disliked was your responses, but I agree that attitude does not carry well on text, sometimes. My advice for the future is, be a bit more forgiving. Ayuh, Sierra had tons of regular deaths and walking deads and whatnot, but games have evolved since then, and players now view them as an annoyance rather than fun. There's a reason why walking deads have tended to disappear.

[ManicMatt(At work)]

You tell me your game has unfair deaths in it, and I won't bother playing it.

Infact, hearing about this motorbike thing puts me off your game, mostly because of your attitude towards it.

So how many criticsms on the matter do you need to see it's generally bad design?

[vjamesv]

okay i am going to try to be serious, my previous posts have not been serious, frankly because i don't think i can believe some of these posts can be this serious, especially the last one.  is anyone's life that bad that a hilarious motorcycle animation that causes them to lose points ruins their day?  if you had 85 out of a 100 points which i believe is the most you can get before finishing the game, and you tried the motorcycle and died and had not saved, well that would be even funnier.  the game does not take that long to finish.  and debug mode is one so you can cheat.  and technically it does not have "unfair deaths", just the possibility of one unfair death.  okay that is my only serious post, i am going back to having fun if anyone still posts.  i don't know if you could tell, but it is not that serious of a game, it is supposed to be fun and ridiculous, like me.

[Nostradamus]

You don't get it. You're trying to persuade us to like it. We don't! And as the crowd who play your games, we're entitled to express it, for if not for the crowd who play your games, what and who is it for and what's the point?
The game maker should listen to his crowd if he wants people to play his next games, not laugh at them and tell them what to think and what to like.

And I agree with everything Rui Pires said. Exactly what I said in the first place, there should be an option to retry and\or get back to the point you were before the scene.

It's too bad your attitude gives a real cool game bad rep. And it doesn't matter what kind of person you are in your real life, outside from these forums, the way you act here is the way we know you, and if you feel it's not who you are then act as who you think you are in here.

[auriond]

I've been following this thread, but I haven't played the game yet, partly because vjamesv, your initial reaction to the motorbike criticism did put me off a little until I saw what you were getting at.

I'm sure many people enjoyed the motorbike puzzle - from what I heard of it, it sounds pretty clever, just put  0! - and I can see why the more people complained they died, the more gleeful you would feel. But there's something you have to remember: the AGS forums is made up not only of game players, but game makers as well. That's why they were completely serious when they were trying to tell you either to hint somewhere to save the game, or put in a retry button or whatever. When these guys tell you something, it's because they want your game to be better, and they know about good and bad game design simply because they make games themselves.

So sure, laugh and have fun, after all that's what games are about. But I personally think that the attitude of a game maker (indie or commercial or whatever) should be that every player counts. So even if one person in a hundred tells you that your game design might be bad, I'd listen. Because there may be another hundred silent people who aren't bothered to take time to tell you so: they'd just delete the game.

On the other hand, I like that you're making games to please yourself and not other people. That's a healthy attitude - just don't take it so far that you laugh off people who are honestly trying to help you.

Now having said so much... I'm going to go download the game now and see what the rest of the game is like!

[vjamesv]

thanks, please let me know what you think, and be careful in the parking lot, it is dangerous out there!

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I'd just like to share with y'all, because people should know about these things before going ahead and buying, that after having bought many other AGS games I've now paid for Banana Man, and gotten the following e-mail:

Dear Pedro Pires

Thank you for submitting your order for Banana Man-Full Version using Plimus.
Your order is currently being reviewed by our staff for quality purposes, this
process is usually completed within a few minutes, however, please allow up to
12 hours to hear back from us. If you wish to expedite your approval, please
reply to this email with a phone number we can reach you at.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, your order will be processed
shortly. If you have any question about your order, please contact us at:
********@*******.com

Important: Do not submit another order through our system as this will further
delay the processing and may cause a double-billing to your credit card.

Thanks for your patience,

(obviously the asterisks are mine, just for security's sake)

This was just a few minutes ago, I just wanted to let people know. After all, this is hardly standard procedure. Well, I mean, I've bought EVERY other commercial AGS game just last week, and this is the first time this soret of hitch happens. It's probably nothing much, but I figure people should know about these things *before* they pay.

EDIT -



You've sucessfully made me think the thing I played before was but a demo, and that there was more to it. So tell me, *what did I just spend money on*?

EDIT 2 - Ok, I got a refund. Now I'm calmer. Now tell us - the FIRST game you set here for download, is it the full version?

[vjamesv]

not sure what happened with store as that is with the publisher whom i sent the full game to.  i will find out. 

the version that was posted here before was the beta version.  so it was a complete game kind of. i worked on it further to clean up a lot of things and get rid of any bugs and areas where you got stuck, and almost all the other issues that were brought up on this forum.  although i would still appreciate you buying the game...  thanks!

[vjamesv]

has anyone gotten a 100 points yet?  so that they can see the awesome animation?  it is ALMOST worth spending $4 to see it!

[ManicMatt]

So.. basically the people that played your game were actually used as beta testers before you put a price tag on essentially the same game?

EDIT: Ah, you didn't know your game would be picked up? My bad.

DOUBLE EDIT: Hmph, their website is awfully designed. Well good luck with that.

[vjamesv]

i think i was pretty clear that it was a beta game, and i had no plans to publish at the time.  and their site is improving...

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

At no time, before or after you published, did you let us know of your intentions to commercialize *the very same game you were then freely distributing*. And after you published you made the whole thing very unclear.

Well, at least it's all sorted out now. I guess.

[vjamesv]

i had no intentions of publishing it when i was making it.  i think i said that.  i could be wrong.  and i was freely dristributing a beta version.  i think i said that twice, but i may have not been clear.  i edited the original post and put it in completed games.  this is my first game so maybe that was not right.  i think everything is sorted now. i hope! 

[lostzac]

The new website is up, as well as the demo for the game....you are right our last design was not the look and feel we wanted to give. I hope you will give us another chance, as well as the game. There has been plenty of good feedback on it.

John C Leutz II
Mythopoea Games Inc
www.mythopoeagames.com