{"author_name":"JohanAR","cat":"LD #21","comments":[{"author_name":"","time":"August 22, 2011 11:41 pm","epoch":1314074460,"text":"What about escaping from an infinite map?","spam":"N"},{"author_name":"","time":"August 23, 2011 6:09 am","epoch":1314097740,"text":"Ha, my game is exactly that!","spam":"N"}],"epoch":1314074160,"likes":0,"metadata":{"p_key":"63720","p_author":"JohanAR","p_authorkey":"4989","p_urlkey":"99505","p_title":"How I rate your games for theme","p_cat":"LD #21","p_event":"LD21","p_time":"1314074160","p_likes":"0","p_comments":"2","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"4989","us_name":"JohanAR","us_username":"johanar","event_start":"1313712000","event_key":"7","event_name":"LD21"},"text":"

In case anyone is wondering, here’s how I reason when I hand out Theme-ratings.<\/p>\n

The main question is how important is “escape” to your game?<\/em> It’s very easy to start any game with a text box saying “you have to escape this XXX!”, but in how many of these games could you replace that sign with “you have to find the treasure” or the “…evil XXX hiding in his dungeon”?<\/p>\n

Many, you say? Indeed. If you could simply exchange one or two dialogs and the game would still play exactly the same, that’s going to give you a lower Theme score. Not necessarily a 1, but low. Notch’s game<\/a> is an example of this. Overall it’s a fun game and incredibly impressive for being made in 48 hours. But IMHO it’s more a game about killing monsters and gathering trinkets than an escape themed game. I’m not going to give him all 5s just because he’s Notch \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if something is so intimately tied to escaping that it would be an entirely different game without it, you get higher scores. If you look at ChevyRay’s Flee Buster<\/a> the escape (though technically, it could equally well be “chase” but I’ll let it slip this time) is very central to how you play.<\/p>\n

And I might have to add, if you write a story driven game and it’s about escaping, it’s of course possible to get a high score – if the story actually is about escaping. But I’m not sure there are too many of that kind here, most games I’ve played yet focuses on gameplay and mechanics. Nothing wrong with that though, there are a lot of good games where the story is unimportant! \":)\"<\/p>\n

Finally, what do I consider perfect (theme) score? I had a look at my ratings and the only game that has a 5-star theme so far is Gjarble’s Beyond the Fourth Wall<\/a>. In other aspects, it might not rate as high as Notch and ChevyRay, but it’s a solid mini-game 100% dedicated to an escape. Flee Buster could still be a cool platformer, but take away escape from BtFW and you pretty much have nothing left.<\/p>\n

So there you have it. Luckily there are many aspects to give points for, and personally I’m basically focusing on humor and theme (guessing I’ll have pretty low scores for overall and fun, because as a game it really sucks). If you’re going for a high theme rating, or perhaps got lower than you initially expected, hopefully this provided something to think about.<\/p>\n

Now I have to go back playing all your entries. Having great fun doing so! If you know any game that took good advantage of the escape theme, please post a link in the comments!<\/p>\n

UPDATE EDIT:<\/p>\n

I also rate [theme] based on how originally it is used. Bonus points for not using the most simple and common “escape from prison-like facility” and “escape from XXX chasing and trying to kill you”<\/p>\n \n

Tags: chevyray<\/a>, escape<\/a>, gjarble<\/a>, notch<\/a>, ratings<\/a><\/p>","time":"August 22nd, 2011 11:36 pm","title":"How I rate your games for theme"}