WHERE THE RIVERS MEET JUDGING
Ephesos
As an epic newcomer, I have to give WtRM credit. However... I had to stop playing, though I only did so after being informed that it was legal for me to do so. WtRM has issues... and while I can excuse bad grammar and spelling, there are narrative techniques used here that make me cringe. "This wall is full of lava!" stood out, as did the various messages informing me that I'd apparently killed a leader, though I had no way of knowing so. I also love how the scenario hoses parties without nephil and/or mages... and there was one excellent moment where I had to crack open the editor and find a single space to trigger a door, only to find that the narrator wouldn't let me go there yet. Also, there are bugs... like mismatched dialogue nodes which led to me complimenting a cat's cooking. Gah, it was unpleasant, but it was basically whole... and don't get me started on the towns and outdoors.
Rating: 5.9
Stareye
Lengthy and promising, sort of reminds me of a lot of ambitious first efforts.
At the end of the day this was just another monster plague scenario and we've seen plenty of that. There were some high points, but it felt kind of rough. I found a few simple bugs that would have been easy to fix, the graphics were not all that great when better choices exist, and the scripting use was not overly extensive and episodic. While there are some areas I was genuinely impressed with, there were many others that made me less enthused. Definite potential, but uneven in quality. Be that it is a little rough around the edges, I would say this is a very good effort with sheer length factored in.
Rating: 7.0
Terror's Martyr
I think this one deserves to advance by the skin of its teeth. It's not BAD, and while it's not exceedingly good, it's okay. It does what it's supposed to do. I still don't like the Senarti graphics, and the plot confuses me still, but it does have some really imaginative bits at times. The machinery gets to be a bit much, but it's never as much as other designers will flood you with. Anyway, enough of my nattering. Where the Rivers Meet is suitable for a finalist in my eyes, but I'll leave it to the other judges with stronger opinions to determine the fate of this one.
Rating: 6.5
As an epic newcomer, I have to give WtRM credit. However... I had to stop playing, though I only did so after being informed that it was legal for me to do so. WtRM has issues... and while I can excuse bad grammar and spelling, there are narrative techniques used here that make me cringe. "This wall is full of lava!" stood out, as did the various messages informing me that I'd apparently killed a leader, though I had no way of knowing so. I also love how the scenario hoses parties without nephil and/or mages... and there was one excellent moment where I had to crack open the editor and find a single space to trigger a door, only to find that the narrator wouldn't let me go there yet. Also, there are bugs... like mismatched dialogue nodes which led to me complimenting a cat's cooking. Gah, it was unpleasant, but it was basically whole... and don't get me started on the towns and outdoors.
Rating: 5.9
Stareye
Lengthy and promising, sort of reminds me of a lot of ambitious first efforts.
At the end of the day this was just another monster plague scenario and we've seen plenty of that. There were some high points, but it felt kind of rough. I found a few simple bugs that would have been easy to fix, the graphics were not all that great when better choices exist, and the scripting use was not overly extensive and episodic. While there are some areas I was genuinely impressed with, there were many others that made me less enthused. Definite potential, but uneven in quality. Be that it is a little rough around the edges, I would say this is a very good effort with sheer length factored in.
Rating: 7.0
Terror's Martyr
I think this one deserves to advance by the skin of its teeth. It's not BAD, and while it's not exceedingly good, it's okay. It does what it's supposed to do. I still don't like the Senarti graphics, and the plot confuses me still, but it does have some really imaginative bits at times. The machinery gets to be a bit much, but it's never as much as other designers will flood you with. Anyway, enough of my nattering. Where the Rivers Meet is suitable for a finalist in my eyes, but I'll leave it to the other judges with stronger opinions to determine the fate of this one.
Rating: 6.5
DID NOT ADVANCE
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