Points from tuxinator2009

tuxinator2009 · May 23, 2020, 12:57am

Introduction

Hello everyone. I’m Justin (aka @tuxinator2009) and I’ve been an avid gamer since very early childhood. It was because of games like Final Fantasy for the NES that my brother and I learned to read by age 6. I’ve been an avid gamer my whole life and at age 10 was experimenting with making my own little games. At only 12 years old I started learning to program in C, then later moved to C++. I’ve been playing games for around 25 years and have been experimenting with game development for about 17 years now. My reviews of these games will be coming from both my love of a good game, and my joy as a fellow game developer. As such I understand first hand some of the hardships faced when making games and some of the challenges they can present.

NOTE: All of these games are amazing and well worth a try. Any criticisms contained herein are intended solely as constructive criticism on areas of improvement. These guys have done an excellent job in crafting these wonderful gems for us and I look forward to seeing more awesome games from them.

SteamDriller: 20 points

Overall this game is rather fun, but can be difficult to figure out how progress very far without dying. With a stellar soundtrack, gorgeous visuals, and simple, albeit challenging, gameplay its definitely going on my list of favorites and can’t wait to play it some more. I’m not one to shy away from a challenge and am determined to figure out how to play it better until I beat it and uncover every secret this game has to offer.

Gameplay mechanics: 2 points
Only reason I can’t give a solid 3 on this one is the difficulty curve. I like a challenging game, but this still needs a little bit of work to help balance it out. The tips at the beginning help a little bit, but sadly I still find myself in spots where going down means falling from a distance and taking heavy damage. I’m probably doing something wrong, but with no way of knowing short of asking the devs it can make the game difficult to get into.
Play time: 2 points
I will definitely be playing this game more as the difficulty of it is something I rather enjoy. Plus they have logs to collect and I simply must find them all.
Presentation: 3 points
I love the artwork and music for this game. Right from the moment you turn it on you’re greeted with a groovy beat and some beautiful artwork. From that point forward its nothing but stunning visuals, excellent sound effects, and a kill music track.
Story: 1 point
I can tell the game has a story and it gets revealed slowly through finding logs which is something I’m rather fond of. However, due to the difficulty of the game I can’t figure out how to keep myself alive long enough to find even one log.
‘Punk’ theme: 3 Points
Oh yeah it’s punk all right. Rockin’ the steampunk vibe with a soundtrack to match.
Community Involvement: 2 points
6.1 Opensource for game code: 1 point
6.2 all game assets graphics, music license allows others to use: 0 points
couldn’t find any info on the license for the art and music.
6.3 dev blog during jam: 1 point
uses TAS engine: 7 points
Examining the source code I can verify that this game does in fact make use of the new TAS mode.

Joe: 23 points

Joe is overall just a fantastic platformer with solid, easy to learn, gameplay and a decent story. I’ve really enjoyed playing this entry and my 16 month old was rockin’ out to the soundtrack while I was playing it. Excellent game, and I’m looking forward to possible sequels or similar games in the future.

Gameplay mechanics: 3 points
This game has really solid gameplay mechanics that’s easy to learn. There’s plenty of challenges and obstacles with a very light difficulty level making it a fun, semi-casual, platform game.
Play time: 2 points
Lots of enjoyment to be had and if you’re a fan of platform games this one will have you coming back for more. Its simple gameplay elements combined with a casual difficulty level and semi-short playthrough makes it a great game to play again and again. One downside to the playtime is a somewhat lengthy intro that can’t be skipped which can make it harder to play it again and again.
Presentation: 3 points
I felt like the game presents itself very nicely with it’s super retro 1-bit pixel art complete with a nice fading out of all color at the start. Coupled with an awesome soundtrack that got the approval of my 16 month old son who instantly started dancing to the beat.
Story: 3 points
The game has nice intro to the overall story (and you don’t have to read the manual to get any of the story). Couple that with a nice ending and you have a really solid short story for a short game.
‘Punk’ theme: 2 points
This game has some punk to it in the anarchist sense with punk written on some of the walls and the letters P-U-N-K as collectibles. Joe is also rocking a Mohawk which adds to the punk vibe. In the end though it does feel like punk part was added later as an afterthought to fit the theme.
Community Involvement: 3 points
6.1 Opensource for game code: 1 point
6.2 all game assets graphics, music license allows others to use: 1 point
6.3 dev blog during jam: 1 point
uses TAS engine: 7 points
Examining the source code I can verify that this game does in fact make use of the new TAS mode.

Nano Phage Zero: 23 points

Nano Phage Zero is a solid game with an interesting story, simple gameplay, and somewhat relaxing vibe. Overall this game has a lot of different pieces that have been cleverly put together just right so that each piece fits together contributing the overall gameplay and story. I’m going to really enjoy this welcome addition to my Pokitto.

Gameplay mechanics: 3 points
The gameplay is really great, challenging without being too difficult. The 3 different hacking mechanics that tie into the setting add a nice touch to it. Overall really solid design from start to finish.
Play time: 3 points
This game doesn’t take too terribly long to beat, but with several hacking logs to find and 3 different endings to see it had me coming back for more. Even after seeing all 3 endings I still feel like playing it again immediately, which is a difficult thing to achieve especially for smaller games.
Presentation: 2 points
The soundtrack, while a bit repetitive, is not too bad and has a nice vibe to it serving as good background noise that helps set the pacing and tone of the story. The graphics could use some improvement, but overall not bad.
Story: 3 points
The story presents itself nicely in a fashion that reminds me somewhat of BioShock in that you have a brief intro and epilogue, but the majority of the story is optional and requires finding logs. Having the story slowly reveal itself in the logs comes across really nicely and helps put you in the shoes of the protagonist as he uncovers what’s happening. While the story isn’t terribly deep and lengthy I do feel it deserves a small bonus for having 3 different endings.
‘Punk’ theme: 3 points
Oh yeah its got the cyberpunk theme, cyberpunk story, cyberpunk music, it’s a jamin’ cyberpunk game.
Community Involvement: 2 points
6.1 Opensource for game code: 1 point
6.2 all game assets graphics, music license allows others to use: 0 points
couldn’t find any info on the license for the art and music.
6.3 dev blog during jam: 1 point
uses TAS engine: 7 points
Examining the source code I can verify that this game does in fact make use of the new TAS mode.

Pandemic: 16 points

Pandemic is a really nice start of a game. While it may be lacking in some features, it has great potential for a really awesome game. My recommendation is to have the arrow always visible. Normally this would make the game far too easy, but add a few different minigames for it to pick at random to deliver the cure (possibly being able to collect power ups or something in the minigame), as well as maybe a minigame to get more medicine, and it could turn into a really awesome game. The geography nature of it renders some difficulty if you’re not familiar with geography, but it also creates the potential for a nice educational game that adults can enjoy as well. Overall solid concept with a great start to what could be a really impressive game.

Gameplay mechanics: 2 points
Not bad gameplay overall, but I feel like it needs something. Perhaps a random minigame when you reach a destination to deliver the cure. Otherwise it’s very repetitive and if you’re not really good at geography (or look it up on maps) it can be quite difficult to get to each location in time.
Play time: 1 point
There isn’t too much in the way of replay-ability. The gameplay is very repetitive, but is off to a great start. Maybe with a little more work, possibly some minigames, this could turn into a really solid piece of work.
Presentation: 1 point
The graphics are not amazing, there isn’t music, and the sound gets repetitive, but none of that does anything to hinder the overall experience. Definitely room for improvement, but not terrible.
Story: 1 point
The story is there, but like some retro games you have to read the manual to get the story. Could use an intro screen explaining the story.
‘Punk’ theme: 1 point
It’s sort of punk in a robin hood type sense. Only the rich can afford the cure, so you’ve stolen medicine from the rich and distribute it to the poor.
Community Involvement: 3 points
6.1 Opensource for game code: 1 point
6.2 all game assets graphics, music license allows others to use: 1 point
6.3 dev blog during jam: 1 point
uses TAS engine: 7 points
Examining the source code I can verify that this game does in fact make use of the new TAS mode.

Flight of the Steam Rocket Glider: 14 points

This game is enjoyable and reminds me of some of the older flash games where you try and launch something and get it to go as far as you can. Definitely feels like there’s plenty of room for more mechanics and it’s got a nice solid foundation to build off of. Maybe some power ups to collect along the way that can help increase your distance, or something the add bonus points even. Overall its feels like a great early prototype/demo of a work in progress game and I can’t wait to see if the developer adds more content to an otherwise nice foundation.

Gameplay mechanics: 2 points
The gameplay is solid without any setbacks, but it definitely feels like its still in its early stages. Perhaps the developer might add bonuses to pick up along the way (like ways to increase your fuel slightly). Right now the core is sturdy enough and has lots of potential.
Play time: 1 point
Sadly I can only give 1 point as it’s very simple and there isn’t any depth to it (yet). Still fun and interesting though.
Presentation: 1 points
The graphics are stellar amazing, super polished with a beautiful soundtrack, but that doesn’t really stop this game from being enjoyable.
Story: 0 points
There isn’t a story at all, but I’m of the opinion that not all games need a story to be fun and exciting. Personally I’d rather have solid gameplay and no story than solid gameplay and a half-baked, overly cliched story that only kind of makes sense. Points lost for story as per the scoring criteria, but that doesn’t lessen the game in any way.
‘Punk’ theme: 1 point
It’s sort of punk-ish since it’s kind of steampunk. Without any story, and not too much detail on graphics, it’s hard to really match a theme that’s only really shows itself in the graphics and story. 1 point of effort though.
Community Involvement: 2 points
6.1 Opensource for game code: 1 point
6.2 all game assets graphics, music license allows others to use: 1 point
6.3 dev blog during jam: 0 points
Sadly no dev blog during the jam, would have liked to follow the progress of the game as it was developed, but its still a welcome entry nonetheless.
uses TAS engine: 7 points
Examining the source code I can verify that this game does in fact make use of the new TAS mode.

torbuntu · May 24, 2020, 4:59pm

Curious how Nano Phage Zero didn’t get a point here. The license for the whole game is MIT and I added an explicit line indicating that this extended to all graphics and audio assets.
Did I forget to do something? Not trying to earn more points where undeserved but this confuses me.

tuxinator2009 · May 24, 2020, 5:11pm

I’m not sure if artwork can be covered under MIT or not (it was my understanding that it’s similar to GPL in that it only really covers code). Usually artwork is one of the many CC-* licenses.

I didn’t see any mention of the artwork in the provided LICENSE file, was it somewhere else? Apologies if I missed it.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2020 Tor (torbuntu) 

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

torbuntu · May 24, 2020, 5:26pm

Is that from the sources zip on itch.io?? The one on github reads this:


MIT License

Copyright (c) 2020 Tor (torbuntu) 

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software, audio and graphics assets, and associated documentation files 
(the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without 
limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, 
sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom 
the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

per discussions:
Yup, I botched the sources zip on itch.io and didn’t include the updated github LICENSE file. Shucks

tuxinator2009 · May 24, 2020, 5:30pm

That would explain it. I was looking at the one in the sources zip on itch.io. I think what we could do in the future is a criteria such as this we should have an easier way to collectively reach out to the devs to make sure we’re not missing anything. I was also rushing to finish up the reviews cause of getting called into work for an extra day (the day I planned on wrapping everything up), so my final reviewing was typed up very late.

torbuntu · May 24, 2020, 5:32pm

No this was totally on me for screwing that up. I just really needed to know where that point went and now I do! All good

Pharap · May 24, 2020, 5:59pm

You shouldn’t really try to modify licences like that anyway.

Somewhat paradoxically, an open source licence might not be open to modification itself, so you might not actually be allowed to modify it.
- Some allow you to add extra terms/exceptions as long as the original licence isn’t modified.
- E.g. you might add a clause stating “for the purpose of this licence, all audio and graphics assets shall be considered part of the software and are thus licensed under the same terms”. (Though I’m not sure whether that’s legally permissable.)
Once you start adding bits it’s not longer “the MIT licence”, it becomes something else and it’s no longer correct to refer to it as “the MIT licence”
You’d have to modify it in all places, not just the first instance

Ultimately you are best off just using an open source licence for the code and a Creative Commons licence for all the assets, because that’s unambiguous.
The closest CC licence to MIT in terms of restrictivity is probably CC BY.