Great work, teams! This Adventure has come to a close, but a new one awaits just around the bend! I'm going to read through the projects tonight, then re-read and write reviews early tomorrow. Podcast, barring any scheduling issues, should be on Friday evening. Not to spoil anything, but both teams made opposite choices. Between that and the lack of eliminations, there's no real need to wait for results before starting the next round. Would you want me to post the next prompt as soon as I wake up? Or would you rather have a bit of a break and wait till reviews/results are posted?
Hollywood Studios is very D/E-Ticket heavy. There's very little mid-level attractions that aren't shows. Pretty much everything there is either simple walk throughs/flat rides or showstopping experiences (Star Tours is arguably a C-Ticket at this point in its life but that is just due to age). This leads to it not being the most welcoming park since nearly every ride is backed up with crazy long waits. It could use a new C-Ticket. And who doesn't love a good dark ride?
Animation Courtyard has always focused on animation
(shocking I know). Either adapting animated stories or delving into the process of creating animated shows/movies. But the Magic of Disney Animation (the anchor for the land) was shut down in favor of the temporary Star Wars Launch Bay (based on a live action property) in order to get some Star Wars in the park as quickly as possible while they built Galaxy's Edge. That was nearly a decade ago.
In Echo Lake, the focus has pretty much always been on live action films/television of the process of creating live action films/television. There's been some mild changes here and there, but aside from the short lived Doug Live, Echo Lake stayed away from animation. That is until the American Idol Experience was shut down in favor of the temporary For the First Time in Ever: Frozen Sing-along Celebration (based on an animated property). That was nearly a decade ago.
--The Prompt--
Pitch a C-Ticket Dark Ride for Hollywood Studios
The definition of "C-Ticket" is fuzzy, up to interpretation, and is more used to describe the intention than any exact style. It's a mid-level attraction. Try to NOT get too caught up in semantics over ticket levels. Buzz Lightyear, Navi River Journey (arguably, it's very impressive but aside from the one single animatronic it's pretty simple/small in terms of scale), Fantasyland busbar dark rides, etc.
Team Boats will be making a C-Ticket Dark Ride based on a Live Action Film/Television Show or the process of making live action films/television for Echo Lake in the Hyperion Theater/Vacation Fun Showbuilding.
Team Birds will be making a C-Ticket Dark Ride based on an Animated Film/Television Show or the process of making animated films/television for Animation Courtyard in the Former Animation Building.
A member of the losing team will be Eliminated at the end of this round.
A Second Player may be Eliminated as well. This second eliminated player could be from either team. Making this the first (And likely only unless you count cutting down for the finals) Double Elimination Round
If your team wins, you will be granted immunity for the next Expedition
--Helpful Advice--
This Round is a simple Imagineering Concept! A dark ride in a Disney park! Doesn't get much simpler. Bread and butter type stuff. After two weirder rounds, this is taking us back to basics. Try not to get too caught up on Ticket Levels and instead use this round to hone your skills or learn some new ones.
--When is it due?--
This project is due Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 at 11:59 pm WDW Time (9 pm Disneyland Time, 11 pm Six Flags over Texas Time, 2 pm the next day Tokyo Disneyland Time)
Shout out to both teams for loading their games with environmental puzzles which @JokersWild knows is basically my gaming kryptonite. I appreciate the design ingenuity, but MAN am I bad at them. It's probably the single most common element that's stopped playthroughs of games dead in their tracks for me.
With three eliminations, were overdue for another DRAFT UPDATE!!
After taking an early lead via MVP wins and @Pi on my Cake's team having the first eliminated player, Disney Dad's exit along with a current MVP win from Pi's side puts Tiki's team on the board. As it stands now, if the next elimination comes from Tiki's team the points will be neck and neck. We'll be doing the podcast on the EPCOT festivals this Wednesday, so the MVP is going to really start to matter to the draft scores even between eliminations.
A very fun idea and one that is most in line with the kind of games I mostly play. The blending of gameplay styles and mini-games with optional, but encouraged, co-op feels like a great throwback to mid-2000s platformers. It gave ya'll a lot to work with and you used it to create something that really captures the spirit of Journey into Imagination!
This round wound up being a shorter timeframe which lead to some confusion among the players for specifics of what the game would be and who was doing what. Ya'll pulled it out nicely and if I wasn't in the brainstorming thread I would've had no clue there was an organizational/focus issues! Aside from occasional bits I'll discuss later that slipped through the cracks
Presentation
The IGN themed presentation is great! I've never been a regular reader, but they've been a great source for gaming and comic book movie news/reviews that I've been going to occasionally for so long that when I first found the site they were still putting photo shoots of women in geeky lingerie on their homepage weekly. Point is, I have enough experience with IGN over the years to say that ya'll nailed it. The review (including the slight errors and silly nitpicks effecting the score), the comments section, the walkthrough, the ads... you had it down pat yet also didn't let authenticity get in the way of actually presenting your game well. plus, the fake out links to stuff is a lot of fun.
Love the logo by @Tegan pilots a chicken and the box art by @Brer Panther! Both are fantastic! The confusion of what era the game was meant to be made it is one of those little hiccups with communication I mentioned. You gave a hand wavey excuse as to why there's Wii box art alongside PS5 box art, but this is just a little sign of the behind the scenes confusion. Very very minor nitpicky stuff. Only pointing it out as a reminder for future communication so your writers aren't making a PS5 game while your artists are giving it PS1 box art.
Team Dynamic
This team works really well together. There's still some communication/organizational issues I'll talk about, but when it comes time for crunch time ya'll work like a well oiled machine to get it out the door and looking amazing!
I realize this was a weird round, but I would've loved to see more team members actively engaged in building the concept. Sharing what they'd like to see. Once the concept was decided, it seemed like half the team called it a day and just waited for jobs rather than helping to develop that concept into a cohesive team vision.
@Tegan pilots a chicken wound up not being as active as usual which wouldn't generally be an issue, but as the Skipper this round it lead to some issues getting everyone on the same page and clarifying who is doing what. Tegan usually doesn't have these issues when it comes to leadership, but everyone has off weeks. That being said, there was also a lot of other people on the team that could have started building off of each other or dividing up tasks too. The Skipper might be in charge of keeping things organized, but be careful not to just wait around for them to give you a job or wait for orders because this is still a team game.
There were a few people who just kind of said, "Looks like everything is taken, I'll sit this round out" until @spacemt354 came in suggesting things to do. Which sometimes there really isn't much to do in a round, but considering 3 or 4 people were scrambling in the last few hours to write everything up that wasn't really the case here. In case a confusion like that comes up again, here are some stuff that could be done for pretty much any project if you need something else to do in order to "plus" it. I know @Lord Fozzinator and @Disney Warrior struggled with this which is why they stuck to the intro/conclusion (Though you did both do a great job with that and I don't want to sound like I'm undervaluing those. they are important too and you nailed them!)
Things that can be done by anyone to "plus" nearly any project
Advertisements for your project. Either serious ads or jokey tongue in cheek ones. Can be made in any free art program or even just google slides
Scripts for Commercials for your project
Music. Original music is always great or editing together songs, but even just making a playlist of songs from Spotify or YouTube can go a long way towards elevating a project
Art! Good art, bad art, character art, environmental art, digital art, pen and paper, origami, sidewalk chalk, stacking shapes in Google Slides, editing pictures together in Photoshop or a free equivalent, whatever! It would be pretty tough for more concept art regardless of quality to ever NOT be a nice bonus. You might think you aren't good at it, but you'll never get better if you don't try!
Video! just a script for one, or editing one with a number of free services, filming one, whatever!
Fake ads and gags for your fake website to fill it out
These are just things that have been done by players in this specific competition in the first four rounds! "Plusses" (little things that elevate a project) like these are frequently what make the difference between winning and losing rounds and they can go a long way towards making you as a player stand out! Plus, like I said, there's always room for these pretty much not matter what you are doing! And there's so many other ways to "plus" a project from animation to art to even game design in the past. Players have built ride layouts in minecraft of planet coaster. whatever passions, hobbies, or talents you have this is a great way to show them off!
The review by the Boatman was a great way to give a strong overview of the game. Unlock more levels, find ways to delve deeper into the levels as you unlock more abilities, find the collectables, use the two character's unique abilities, toss in some mini-games for good measure. It's great! I love the changing art direction, the deceptively simple gameplay loop, and the idea that enemies can't actually be fought they have to be avoided or trapped. All neat stuff that keeps this from just being a palate swap of an existing game
Not sure if the comments were you too @Outbound but whoever did them: A+
The Story set up here is nice and simple yet very whimsical. Exactly what you want from a platformer. the upgradable Idea Bags is a neat mechanic and the Evil clouds of Un-Imagination are a fun antagonist.
The art by @spacemt354 is great! It might not always be your most detailed, but it captures the tone perfectly and really communicates exactly what you needed to giving me a sense for what the game would actually look like. Also, the level icons being Epcot buildings is a very fun detail
The mini-games by @Architectural Guinea Pig are great. Love the idea of having to paint platforms. Depending on execution it reminds me a lot of either Drawn to Life or Unfinished Swan. Both of which are great company to be in. I like that the mini-games despite them involving new bits of gameplay that shake up the formula still feel based around the same gameplay loop without completely derailing everything. Its a nice inclusion
The Monster realm by @ThemeParkPriest is a very fun one. Love the dark level that is almost always found in these kinds of platformers.
All the realms are great though and have a nice variety without being too detailed that it feels overwhelming to read. I appreciate the more uniquely "Figment" feeling themes rather than just going for the easy safe bet of Ice World, Fire World, Forest World, etc. The finale in the Void especially feels like something wholly unique and very very fun!
Final Thoughts
Some issues getting on the same page and getting organized. As well as some issues with players waiting for orders rather than taking initiative to help build the project together. But despite those struggles this turned out great and I REALLY would love to play this game!
I really love how kind of esoteric and weird ya'll got with it. Nearly every theme park (and by extension most non-disney IPs) were available to you to make whatever type of game you wanted and ya'll went with "Talking to random people at Luna Park in the 1920s with occasional puzzles just as a way to talk to more people." Unironically I adore how weird and niche you went with this
Birdman returns!
My one real complaint is I wish you had kept the pitch of the strong, weird art style inspired by Don't Starve that you discussed. With this game being what it is, a distinct visual would've been great. But that's a minor nitpick, not a deal breaker
presentation
I was getting Game Informers for years back in middle/high school. Loved them! I kept the issue where they unveiled Epic Mickey for years! Seeing it here is a fun touch. FlipHTML is one of my favorite presentation styles to see and goes a long way towards making this stand out. @AceAstro (and everyone else involved, I'm pretty sure @Disney Dad 3000 did a lot with it) did a great job with the Game Informer!
I would've appreciated credits just to make it easier to do reviews. Even if they were in your forum post and not in the magazine for the sake of keeping the illusion of the magazine in tact. Not really a knock against the project. They just help make sure I'm properly crediting everyone
The map by @Disney Dad 3000 is great as always. Feels very authentic for a video game like this. The 3D box art is a really fun touch too!
Team Dynamic
I think there was again some minor issues getting on the same page, but unlike last time I think it had less to do with any team work issues and more to do with this being a weirder concept for a game. I've played What Remains of Edith Finch or Stanley Parable and other oddball indie games where the primary gameplay loop is just exploring a place to find more dialogue or stories or characters. But I think some players were looking for a more traditional guest or puzzle based game and took a bit to get what ya'll were going for. Once everyone did get on the same page though you nailed it and did a great job executing a cohesive vision!
@tcool123 was doing an excellent job as Skipper, but had to step away for personal issues for a few days. @JokersWild and @AceAstro did a great job stepping up to help keep everyone on track.
Once again formatting is going weird on my end while writing your team's review. Apologies for it looking less polished. I have no idea what is happening and everything looks write with the BB Code
The blending of real historical "characters" with the original ones is a fun mix. I love the simplicity of the story. Simple, yet sincere. It feels instantly nostalgic despite the facts that few if any players would have visited Coney Island in the 1920s themselves. It still feels like revisiting a childhood memory. Surreal and dreamlike. I love the idea that by interacting with the characters you also repair the park and bring it back to its former glory. Very nice detail and gives a good sense of progression even for a very esoteric kind of game.
Love these! It really is a natural fit for your talents with elaborate personal stories. If you have any programming knowledge this is the type of indie game I could legitimately see you excelling at making. Olga who won't share her true story until you help all the other performers in the "freak show" is a perticular highlight. Along with the Handyman who you need to solve puzzles to help repair stuff in order to get him to talk which I feel really encapsulates what the game is about.
I was a bit skeptical of the 100s of characters claim that it might be overkill, but seeing the sample and how simple (yet poignant) these stories can be really makes it work in my mind. Short vignettes like this that all build together to tell the tale of Luna Park is perfect! The almost haunted vibe and the ghostly disappearance give it a timeless, melancholic vibe. I love how this turned out
While the focus on the game is discovering the stories and characters scattered about, a bit of actual gameplay is nice for a game to have. You do a good job keeping these subtle and mostly tied to the environment. The art is unsurprisingly great. The maze through the Japanese Garden and the riddles of the gondola are particular favorites. These are a good addition to keep it from just being a walking sim or visual novel
Fun Fact: I mentioned this competition was originally going to be One Little Spark 4. If that had happened, I had plans for returning to Digital Kingdom (which started in OLS 1 and then was expanded in the OLS themed section of SA7). Love seeing the easter egg here
Final Thoughts
This was definitely the more ambitious of the two games and that ambition had me worried that you wouldn't pull it off leading to a final product that is just confusing or boring. It didn't help my worries how long it took the team to all get on the same page about what exactly the game would be. But after seeing the final product my worries that it would be too weird were unfounded and if anything I am left wishing it was weirder. A unique concept done well! A game I would love to play!
Both team excelled in different areas. Boats nailed the IGN presentation and had some very fun ideas that captured Figment's essence. BUT Birds had a more cohesive whole, went with a more challenging idea, and were able to pull off this more unique vision. Ambition can sometimes backfire, but Birds stuck the landing!
And for winning, the prize they will receive is...
Their Choice of Location for a Studios Dark Ride! More details shortly And by "shortly" I mean last night ya'll are already working on this
For being the Skipper of the winning team, @tcool123 has won immunity for the 5th Expedition
Based on nominations from fellow players on Team Boats (with hosts breaking any ties) during this unique round, @Outbound has won immunity for the 5th Expedition
Based on nominations from fellow players on Team Birds (with hosts breaking any ties) during this unique round, @PerGron has won immunity for the 5th Expedition
As a reminder, a double elimination looms at the end of this Expedition, and 3 of the remaining 16 players having immunity. Now is the time to give it your all! One player will be eliminated from the losing team. a second player may be eliminated from either team.
