Nintendo SciFi City Review
Been a long round and will for sure be a difficulty decision in the end - just want to take the time to acknowledge everyone's work not only this project but throughout the season. From multiple people getting sick, to an innovative yet restrictive prompt, you really just kept moving forward and pumped out another brilliant project to add to the catalog of the season.
Nintendo SciFi City with NickToon Landing across in IoA seems like if the Universal creative board all grew up in the 90s/00s. While NTL allowed everything the flexibility of going wild with their prompts, each aspect of this project was carefully crafted location-wise pre-prompt, while accelerated the brainstorming a bit since there was less focus on where and more focus on 'what' would go into the attractions.
The opening logo and commercial were two great additions to kick off the project. I really love commercials as I think they just provide a level of realism and I always tip my hat to those who can efficiently create TV commercials in the span of the project time.
I think a Google Doc was a good choice for the presentation. A site would have worked a bit better in my opinion given the length as it allows more accessibility moving around the land, but this sufficed. I am not a big fan of the green on dark blue color scheme though. Perhaps it's just my desktop but especially in long paragraphs/dialogue portions I had a hard time focusing.
The intro is well captured...an aura of foreboding, nice. And the map is very well done, an OSU specialty at this point - really lays everything out in an organized fashion.
Super Smash Bros: Invasion
Creating an air-conditioned enclosed space was a smart move. As for the show itself, it felt like it captured the spirit of the game well. While I haven't really played a lot of these games myself, I have played Super Smash Bros and seen others do it as well. Having a variety of acrobatics, lasers, and pyrotechnics, combined with a multiverse spanning villain to control it all I think was a great way to encapsulate it.
And perhaps this goes back to the aesthetic choice for the font color, but reading these paragraphs was a chore on the eyes. I'm always a fan of detailed description, however I do feel that this one could have used a few images to support it, and thus much of the descriptive text could have been reduced in the process.
Metroid Phobia
Naturally you can tell the spirit and love that comes from the writer for this franchise. While this aspect of the project has been hyped up for the last few rounds, while the scale of the Metroid infusion perhaps was reduced based on the restrictions of the prompt, this still delivered in a way that would blow the current version of the attraction out of the water.
Much of the ride embodies a more ominous tone compared to some of the other components of the land, and it's great to see that variety. Having never played the game (I know, I know) I don't have much to say about the accuracy other than I assume based on the writer this might as well be canon to the video game series. Nonetheless, solid effort all around!
StarFox: Defense of Lylat
While on one hand it's definitely appreciated halfway through this project to have one that jumps right into the queue without an elaborate preamble explaining the franchise's importance, on the other I do wish there was just a small intro before the queue. More to get your bearings as to what this is replacing and what the exterior looks like.
Moving past that I think the dialogue is on point and very in line with a Universal style pre-show. Replacing the Simpsons isn't a small task and neither is writing a simulator attraction with realistic dialogue and scene progression, but I think you did an excellent job in that department. This is another section though, where I know it would have extended the page length, but some images would really help just to reinforce some of the dialogue mentioned. Keeping a face to the name so to speak.
Nevertheless, the Andross fight scene descriptions were very well made and kudos for coming up with a simulator script that is professional and as detailed as those in Universal itself!
Corneria Confections attempting to snag the same level of obsession as Gideon's is a great comparison to make. The variety of cupcakes, cookies, and other items is a nice replacement for the original Kwik-E-Mart.
Luma Lookaround
Really nice flat ride and love the concept art to this, both pieces! This is a nice little transition piece that doesn't need much else to say. The description is sufficient and gets the job done and the attraction itself would be fun for all ages.
Pikmin Treasure Collector
A really nice touch of an interactive element. Like the original concept art and the little icon on the iPhone for the app to download. I think this does the job of wrapping up all the sci-fi elements of the land in a way that will naturally transition from one attraction to the next as you travel through the scavenger hunt.
Earthbound: Super Saturn Rescue!
I like how accessible this attraction description is to everyone, whether you have a passion for it or are only hearing about it for the first time. The colorful concept art also plays into the style of the game and I love how the map looks like a map from the game itself. It adds such a layer of organic realism to the project.
As for the simple dark ride attraction, I think what this did well is knowing its limits. Much of the gags, simple motions, and busbar design kept the blue sky elements to a minimum which to me is appreciated. Small note on the gift shop - well done!
F-Zero: GX Racers
Love the Dynamic coaster aspect to this. Since this attraction is supposed to be the premiere addition to the park, this definitely will do it. It's subtle, but I really like the map changes in the final day or so elaborating on the track, as I think the vista of this from the other side of the lagoon and from various vantage points of USO will really stand out from the previous rendition. As for the attraction write-up itself, despite not ever playing this, I felt like I had a great sense of what to expect and what was happening throughout the attraction. Nice job!
Overall, a truly valiant effort throughout the week. Pi as PM did a great job at assimilating the big hitter attractions while focusing on the smaller items in order to balance both effectively. And everyone contributed to their roles making this another episode of So, You Don't Want To Eliminate Anyone?
Congrats on everyone making it this far and good luck to those in the semi-finals next round!