.2009 Last Stand RPG Contest Awards
Introductory Statement by qPirateKing:Well, it took longer than expected, and many of the contestants have probably laughed this contest off and moved on with their lives... But, I'm still happy to announce the results have finally been submitted, counted, and compiled. Without further ado, your 2009 LAST STAND RPG CHALLENGE winners!
First Place
Tenebrous RPG by VraelSummation by CecilSunkure:
This map had the best presentation of any map I played during this entire contest. The terrain was brilliant and extravagant, the grammar was spot on, the atmoshpere was unique and constant, the storyline was dynamic and original. This is exactly the type of map I would encourage anyone to use as a reference for making their own. Great job Vrael. This map could very well score near perfect if it were only complete.
Second Place
90 kb RPG by AzalaSummation by CecilSunkure:
This is a classic example of a map well made for a specific target audience: b.net noobs. This map is very easy to learn, the gameplay is fast paced and simple, and the map is overall fun without the usual overcomplication many map makers produce into their maps. The gameplay is sort of a battle by battle basis, in which the players each use a group of units to combat a group of units, where each group of units represents a single unit on the actual "playing field". I felt that this map had a lot of thought put into its construction. Although the design had a ton of thought put into it, I didn't feel that the terrain did. The isom terrain was a quick and simple way to produce the map, and although this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it doesn't fulfill the requirements of a full score for the presentation category. The story seemed, well there wasn't a whole lot of a story from what I experienced
Third Place
After Earth by KilabyteSummation by qPirateKing:
After Earth is a map that does a lot of things well but does not necessarily excel in any particular area. The story may not be entirely original or noteworthy, but it is at least delivered fairly well and goes well with the map in general. The gameplay had some good points like some very tense moments, a good amount of variety, and cool boss fights. However, there are times when you might get bored as you are slowly pushing your way through waves of the same enemies that you were killing 40 minutes ago. Design-wise, I thought the game was quite solid. Each character has unique stats, a unique skill, and somewhat different play style. One thing I thought was great was that every single item and skill was actually useful. I also liked the upgrade system and the boss designs. In terms of the presentation, I was impressed. He really captured the feeling of an alien infested city quite well and tried to make some unique and interesting environments. The sound effects and visuals were very appealing. There were some annoying blocks here and there, but, overall, the presentation of the map was very strong.
Unfortunately, I ran into a game-ending bug at one point (after Zeus) where I could not move my character at all, and so I was unable to finish the map. This hurt the story category (since I never got to see the conclusion) and the design category just enough to drop what could have been a great map to a very respectable 3rd place.
-Special awardsBest Presentation
Best Story
Best Gameplay
Build-a-ship Workshop by TassadarZeratul and Madroc Best Design
CecilSunkure
Cataclysm by Fwop_Comments from CecilSunkure:
This was my favorite map of all. The gameplay in this map felt extremely natural and my attention was held constantly during play. The spells complimented one another, and I wasn't stuck in one place doing the same thing for too long, ever. The design was also great; Fwop allows you to hotkey a dropship or individual units to cast spells. There is also a great in-game menu using a dropship, that I personally felt was just brilliant. The presentation of this map was spot on; no grammar errors and the terrain was exquisite. There was a definite and underlying atmosphere to this entire map. As for the story, I really felt like I connected with the characters during the play of the map. In all honesty, I felt that Fwop did a great job of keeping his story from being too cheesy. 32/40
Psionic_Storm
Lost Souls by UltimoComments from Psionic_Storm:
Among all maps from the contest, this was probably the one I enjoyed playing the most. Presumably the map's finest asset is its well thought out and incorporated spell system, but other elements, such as a variety of side-quests and spells, as well as a nicely executed spawn system, make it prominent in design.
While the storyline itself is not too memorable without having a proper conclusion, some details are provided through the side quests, and the writing is also fairly adequate.
Apparently, presentation is the map's weak point. While some effects trying to make it look appealing are present, the map is rather unsightly in many ways. For instance, the menu area takes up an unnecessary amount of space, areas are visible that should not be, and the quality of the music loops and the sounds used is not pleasing, either. A good point, however, is that there are no grammatical errors, and for being unfinished, the map is reasonably bug-free.
Albeit a little confusing at first, once the players get used to it, the map's gameplay is rather entertaining. It has a convenient pace, difficulty, and the spell system is fun to use. There is also a certain teamwork element included, with players reviving and accompanying each other when necessary. On the negative side, the boss-battles are both confusing and tedious, and were more of a distress than the highlight of the map in my experience.
All in all, the map certainly has its faults, but is considerably original and well-made. Had it not been for the poor presentation and bosses, it could have received much higher scores, but it was still an exceptionally commendable attempt at creating something new.
qPirateKing
After Earth by KilabyteComments from qPirateKing:
I've already covered most of my thoughts on this map in my summation post, but there are a few things I want to add. This map is a classic example of an action RPG map, but it has a level of polish that many of its predecessors lack. It's a tried and true formula, but Kilabyte really adds a lot of fresh elements and flourishes that make this map something that I found to be both fun and technically impressive. If I were to sit down and play a map from this contest with a group of friends, After Earth would probably be the map I would want to play -- assuming it wouldn't cut us off at the end again.
-Additional InformationHow did we decide the winners? Open the box below to read about the methodology.
The Judging Process
Judges were asked to play all the maps and score them (on a 0-10 scale) in 4 categories.
- Story - Originality, scope, pacing, delivery, and engagement were some considerations that determined this score.
- Gameplay - Scores were based whether the map's gameplay was fun, varied, deep, engaging, etc.
- Design - Judges were asked to consider how well the maps were designed. Did the parts fit together? Were there a lot of bugs? Did the creator do a good job at meeting his goals?
- Presentation - Aethetics, attention to detail, spelling, grammar, punctuation, terrain, sound effects, etc.
A map's overall score was then calculated by adding all the points together.
After the individual judges scores were submitted, I averaged all the scores and the maps with the highest overall scores were declared the winners. Maps that scored the highest in each category were given the special bonus awards.
Curious about the actual scores and how each map ranked? Here's a spreadsheet with the scores.
Detailed Scoring
I want to give a shout out to all the people who participated in this contest. There were a lot of solid maps, and anyone who submitted a map should be proud of the work they put in. To you guys in particular, I personally apologise for the long wait. No real excuses there except for being busy with graduate school. Big ups to Psionic_Storm and CecilSunkure for being responsible and putting in the time and effort playing and scoring all the maps. It's not easy, people! Seriously! Oh, and SHAME on two of the judges who signed up to judge but completely abandoned their duties. Taking 3 months to get the scores done is bad enough, but Nude and TZ didn't submit a single score. At the very least, they could have told me that they were too busy or that they didn't want to be judges anymore. Instead they just blew me off, and, I daresay, disrespected everyone who took part in this contest. Not cool guys. Not cool.
-People's Choice Overall WinnerAnd congratulations to xYoshix (Fallen Memories) for People's Choice 1st Place Winner, Vrael (Tenebrous) as the 2nd Place Winner, and qPirateKing (Wonder) as the 3rd Place Winner.
None.
Kaias
At least I fixed my menu area + seeing everything in my latest version (that will never come out. 
)
I thought that map was superb.
<3
