Game Pitch Competition - Round 7: "Pitch Black" (RESULTS)

Started by Snarky, Tue 23/10/2018 14:48:51

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Which entry is your favorite?

Parlour Game
1 (7.1%)
Tic, Tac & Toe versus Halloween
0 (0%)
Bad Soil
1 (7.1%)
The Aparture
5 (35.7%)
Theta
5 (35.7%)
The Riverman.
1 (7.1%)
This Is Sick
0 (0%)
Haunted by the occult
0 (0%)
Digital Zombies
1 (7.1%)

Total Members Voted: 14

Voting closed: Tue 06/11/2018 06:56:49

Snarky

Game Pitch Competition â€" Round 7: "Pitch Black"

The object of the competition is to present the best possible "elevator pitch" for an original adventure game.
So, 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 to see how it goes.)

Theme
This time around, in honor of Halloween, there's a theme: Scary games. Your entry should fit the theme.
(Thanks to Mandle for the suggestion for theme and title of this round.)

Apart from that, the procedure and rules are as usual, except I don't think we'll bother playing the guessing game with the authors: I'll just post the list once the voting is over.

Procedure

  • Submit your game pitch via this form.
  • I will post the entries (anonymously) as they come in. Hopefully this will inspire others to join.
  • Submissions close October 31st. I will then open a thread poll for voting.
  • Voting will last 5 days (until November 6th). Discussion and feedback on the entries is encouraged, but make sure to maintain anonymity.
  • After voting is over, the results and authors of each entry become public.
Rules

  • The pitch should be for some kind of adventure game (under a broad definition of the genre).
  • Stick to the word limits: An elevator ride is not that long! (If you run over, those parts will be placed behind spoiler tags.)
  • You may submit only one entry in the round.
  • The entry should be anonymous. Do not reveal your authorship until voting closes.
  • Do not vote for your own entry. It's not cool.

All clear?
Then start sending in those pitches vote!

Snarky

Parlour Game
Sometimes you just have to trust in the kindness of strangers. At other times, well...


I fought back the urge to panic. Everyone smiling, urbane, civilised…this was just a silly parlour game. Those distant screams must be fake, surely! I sat in the chair, was blindfolded like the others, turned round and led through one of the doors. A cold wipe on my hand and then a sharp scratch, and…oblivion.
I woke up in the back of an SUV jouncing along a forest track. Some murder mystery weekend this was turning out to be!

Snarky

Tic, Tac & Toe versus Halloween
A "Don't let enter this Halloween freaks in the house" adventure.


Tic, his brother Tac and his sister Toe plays the same game every Halloween: nastily stamping a mark (cross, circle or triangle) on all the trick-or-treat kids that bother trying to enter the house from doors or windows. Choose your playable charachter and manage to stamp with hiis personal tools more kids than the other two, at the end of the night who win give a nasty penance to the losers.

Snarky

Bad Soil
Can you survive the house of horrors created by another player?


One player designs a "horror house" adventure game via the game's "level builder" feature. This includes number of rooms, puzzles, traps, supernatural foes, story elements etc.
Each addition costs build points. Available points can be limited or open.
Another player can download this "map" and either create a new "party" of investigators with the same point total or use a pre-existing "party" of their own to challenge the house with.
Successful parties gain XP.
Death is permanent.

Snarky

The Aparture
“Alexa, let's make an adventure game inspired by Rear Window and Paranormal Activity”


Francis was just trying to freeload off his neighbors' WiFi in the building where he just moved in, but he ends up with access to all the cameras and devices in their highly automated smart-home apartment â€" able to see, hear, and control connected gizmos. As he descends further and further into voyeurism, he starts to witness disturbing behaviors and inexplicable things happening. Madness, or something supernatural? And will his attempts to nudge events remotely help, or make things worse?

Snarky

Theta
Psychological thriller where you unlock horrific secrets as you strip away your own mental facade.


A new technology allows for memories to be recreated in a 3d holographic space.

Psychiatrist Kat Crosby has been using these recreations to better understand and treat her patients. Exploring the recreation of the survivor of an attempted murder, Kat is overwhelmed with a feeling of deja-vu and must stop the session.

Now haunted by nightmares, Kat must delve into her own memories, unlocking details hidden by her own mind, and confront her own horrific past to catch a killer.

Snarky

The Riverman
Who is the riverman? A psychological horror mystery.


Near the forest of Chugach in Alaska locals speak of the riverman. Campers are told to beware this beast or risk being eaten alive.
Robert Cooke, FBI investigator has been on the case for 11 years and is certain a serial killer is on the loose. At the latest crime scene, Robert finds his lost phone in a torn apart tent. Chocked by this finding, Robert doesn't report this. It must be some twisted mind game, right?

Snarky

This Is Sick
A patient is stuck in the hospital when a monster is lurking outside


Recovering from surgery, Hannah wasn't really up-to-speed about the latest world events. That THING is everywhere, and killing everything.
But for some reason, it doesn't get into hospitals. Is it afraid of something?

And it's intelligent. It floats outside, patiently waiting for their supplies to run out, and haunts them through the window, smiling.

The hospital is almost empty. Some tried to run, some just gave up on life.
Hannah's weak, but she will not give up.

Snarky

Haunted by the occult
A band of soldiers puzzling their way through dungeons, but time is limited


A mercenary band sacking Prague during the 30 years war stumbles into a maze of catacombs built by Rudolf II. Looking for treasure they unwittingly release an occult golem that chases them trough the catacombs. Fortunately the creature moves slowly, but in order to get out the band of different soldiers have to solve various traps and puzzles in order to escape. Each failure to solve a puzzle in time will result in someone getting killed by the golem.

Snarky

Digital Zombies
A deadly virus is changing humanity.


In the future, everyone is connected to cyberspace through cybernetic enhancements of varying degrees.

A computer virus has been infecting people and turning them into digital zombies.

You work as a software engineer, and you come home to discover that your husband has become infected.

Now you must work to track down the source code to stop the infection and save his life.

Snarky

OK, the time for submissions is over, and it's time to vote.
I've added a thread poll at the top, so choose the scary entry you like best!

Mandle

Voted!

Was a tough choice! There wasn't a single game that I wouldn't love to give a try!

Durinde

Quote from: Mandle on Thu 01/11/2018 11:54:25
Voted!

Was a tough choice! There wasn't a single game that I wouldn't love to give a try!

Agreed, really had to mull over my vote for this one. Best of luck to everyone who entered!

dactylopus

I voted.  It came down to 2 for me.  Really good entries this round!

Blondbraid

I had a very hard time deciding, but I've voted. It'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on the entries.


Stupot


Snarky

I'm not a huge horror fan, but also had an easy choice given my tastes and preferences.

cat

Easy decision for me. Am I allowed to write short reviews now or should I wait until voting closes?

Snarky

Go ahead whenever, as long as it doesn't compromise anonymity. :)

Edit: In previous rounds I was a bit apprehensive that early reviews or people announcing their votes would bias later voters, but maybe that's OK? I'm pretty sure most of the votes are in now, anyway.

Snarky

OK, voting is over and the results are in.

This time around I thought I'd try skipping the guessing game and just revealing the identities of the people behind each entry straight away, so with five votes each, the joint winners are:

Theta by Durinde
and
The Aparture by Snarky

Congrats on another win, Durinde, and thanks to everyone who voted for my entry.

Here's the full list:

jahnocli â€" Parlour Game
TheFrighter â€" Tic, Tac & Toe versus Halloween
Mandle â€" Bad Soil
Snarky â€" The Aparture
Durinde â€" Theta
Bulbapuck â€" The Riverman.
tzachs â€" This Is Sick
Blondbraid â€" Haunted by the occult
dactylopus â€" Digital Zombies

Nice work, everybody!

TheFrighter


I was sure that Haunted by the occult is Blondbraid's! :-D
_

Stupot

Quote from: TheFrighther on Tue 06/11/2018 08:22:05

I was sure that Haunted by the occult is Blondbraid's! :-D
_
Me too. Blondbraid is our resident European history expert.

Well done Snarky and Durinde. An emphatic draw, if you can have such a thing. I voted for Snarky's. This is such a cool idea for a game.

TheFrighter


I voted for Jahnocli's Parlour Game. I'm not sure what is aiming for, but that is the kind of game that make me curious in how it ends!

Sigh, none voted for me! :~(

I'd like to ask to  Mandle: your Bad Soil is inspired by Tecmo Deception saga? ???

_

jahnocli

Quote from: TheFrighther on Tue 06/11/2018 11:33:49

I voted for Jahnocli's Parlour Game. I'm not sure what is aiming for, but that is the kind of game that make me curious in how it ends!

That was the idea! Thanks for the vote. I had an idea for last month's MAGS based on the "Incredible Shrinking Man" but it mushroomed into something a bit too complex for this poor noob...
Life is a puzzle, a quest and an adventure

dactylopus

Congrats to thewinners, both very good pitches.  And thanks to everyone for participating.  It was a lot of fun to read all of them, they are all so different.

Whoever voted for my game, I appreciate it!

I voted for The Riverman.  It seemed like a darker and more mysterious story.  Who, or what, is the Riverman?  Good job Bulbapuck!

cat

Right, now that voting is over, quick reviews:

jahnocli â€" Parlour Game
Reminds me of the movie "The Game", but I don't know how the game or gameplay would be like.

TheFrighter â€" Tic, Tac & Toe versus Halloween
This could be a nice casual browser game, but not an adventure.

Mandle â€" Bad Soil
I like the idea, but unless this comes with a set of pre-made scenarios, you have to rely on a large community of players.

Snarky â€" The Aparture
My favourite. I like Rear Window and the setting allows for creative puzzles (make the fridge order milk so that the delivery guy arrives at the right time etc.)

Durinde â€" Theta
Reminds me a bit of "The Cell". I can imagine some really surreal puzzles in this game.

Bulbapuck â€" The Riverman.
I get a strong Ben Jordan vibe from this. My runner up when voting.

tzachs â€" This Is Sick
The setting is too contrived for my taste and I don't see what game play would be like.

Blondbraid â€" Haunted by the occult
The first part of the setting sounds fun (a group having to puzzle their way out of a maze). But I don't like the idea of a "super slow moving golem" and I don't like timed puzzles.

dactylopus â€" Digital Zombies
Reminds me a bit of Among Thorns (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2011/ - play it if you haven't!)

Snarky

Thanks for your comments, cat. Pushed me to also give mine:

Parlour Game
Even more than The Game, this reminded me of the recent comedy Game Night (my Mittens in-flight movie!), where a murder mystery game gets interrupted by real kidnappers. Same as cat, I like the premise just fine but want to hear what the game is like.

Tic, Tac & Toe versus Halloween
There's something wonderfully weird about this gratuitously sadistic concept that I like. I remember seeing a (Kickstarter?) trailer for some indie-game where you play as a serial killer slaughtering a bunch of teens invading your cabin in the woods or whatever, all in a sort of Minecraft-y style, and this reminded me a lot of that. But yeah, not an adventure.

Bad Soil
I question some of the mechanics in this also-not-an-adventure game (wouldn't it take ages to wait for the other player to build a level?), but if you decouple the parts a bit (maybe do a thing where you have to survive other horror houses in order to unlock/earn stuff to put in your own) I can see this working well, assuming it's picked up by a community.

The Aparture
This is the first round where I came up with my entry specifically for the contest, rather than pulled an idea I had already. So there isn't really much more to it than what's in the entry (in fact, my first draft of the pitch was way short: under 70 words). I have no idea what the spooky stuff would actually be, or really how the game would play â€" I kept trying to come up with ideas for what to do with a Roomba. I like cat's puzzle idea, though!

Theta
Delving into repressed memories feels like great material both for storytelling and gameplay, so this entry had my vote. Is The Cell worth a watch, BTW? I really like Tarsem's The Fall.

The Riverman
Somehow the names of the Chugash forest and "The Riverman" really appeal to me, and I think Alaska is a great setting for an atmospheric thriller. The bit about the watch put me off slightly; it feels a bit cheap to me, and reminded me Christopher Nolan's inferior, Alaska-set Insomnia remake.

This Is Sick
It's just a bit... much, you know? If a monster has killed off everyone in the whole world except those sheltering in hospitals, maybe it's time to call it a day and just give up. At least there should be plenty of suicide options conveniently at hand.

Haunted by the occult
Love the setup, but rather than timed puzzles (which I don't really care for) I would be interested if it were in the style of a dilemma-based survival drama, like The Walking Dead.

Digital Zombies
The premise doesn't grab me all that much personally, but I suppose it depends on where you go with it. I tend to judge high-concept sci-fi like this on how creatively it extrapolates from the basic idea. Digital zombies, sure... But then you put a twist on it, right?

Durinde

Interesting round with some great ideas!

Once again here is my (subjective) hot take on the entries:

Parlour Game:

Kidnapping from a "harmless" game is a great setup for an adventure and has tremendous potential, but I wanted to know a little more about the gameplay.

Tic, Tac & Toe versus Halloween


I'm picturing a very Tim Burton-esque world for this one. Has some great visual potential, but as someone else mentioned, feels more like a mini-game.

Bad Soil

I'm very curious on how the mechanics of this would work. I'm guessing there would be a lot of pre-fab components and items that you could use in the level editor? It's a great concept for an engine, but it feels more like a tool than a game at this point.

The Aperture

This one got my vote. It simply was a great pitch. It wore its influences on its sleeve and gives a nice summary of both the gameplay and the story elements.

Theta

My own pitch, so I won't comment



The Riverman


A little surprised this one didn't receive more love. It was definitely my runner up. I can't think of many adventure games that take place in Alaska. Has potential for great visuals and I'm sure there is all sorts of wonderful folklore that you could pull story elements from.

This Is Sick

Reminded me a lot of "The Mist" or "Dawn of the Dead" in that there are a group of survivors that are trapped and face certain death if they go outside. Great fodder for storytelling and could be a great game.


Haunted by the occult

This one was top 3 for me. Very unique setting and I like the idea of a Golem (honestly I've been toying with different ways you could integrate a golem into an adventure game for the past couple months, I'm glad somebody else had the idea). I'm a little wary about losing characters if I screw up though... make's the concept feel more like a roguelite than an adventure game.


Digital Zombies

I'm picturing a cyberpunk-ish "Ghost in the Shell" world for this one. Great potential for visuals and you could have some unqiue tools and gadgets in the story. I think it's a good setup for an adventure. 


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