I thought I'd post some observations made and see if anyone had something to share to make next year's entries better.
1. Test! Test! Test!
While I got a few people to test my game on other platforms, I did not get play testing data as much as compatibility testing data. If I would have asked better questions, I could have gotten more effective feedback. I ended up having a few glitches because I played my game like a pro and not a rookie.
For example, in Ice Snake, the music did not loop. No biggie as I could blaze through most levels in a minute. So, I failed to notice that new players and judges can easily take much more time to complete a level.
2. Make special bonuses and powers accessible.
If you have some cool powers and special effects, don't hide them and hope that the judges find them. Make your cheat codes known and accessible within the game. Post them in the readme file or perhaps create a special 'judge level' where they can see all the effects in a quick tour/tutorial.
I did something right in mentioning in the readme file that you could score extra points for sinking soccer balls or pool balls on some of the levels.
3. Give the judges more lives.
The judges are not elite gaming ninja that will intuitively master your game. Give them more lives (or a handy dandy cheat code) so they can experience more of the game.
I turned around blew it because while the judges may have known about the soccer field and pool table levels, they probably never got to see them.
4. Include the ability to skip levels.
Sometimes, extra lives is not enough if they get stuck on a given puzzle. Give the judges the ability to see all of your game.
5. Include designer notes.
All best intentions aside, often a judge will not see the blood and sweat that you put into a design decision in the name of game balance or fun. Include in your notes a section about the game design decisions you made and they might appreciate what at first looks like an artificial difficulty.
In Ice Snake, for example, it is more difficult to climb up hills. The idea is to force the player to navigate the valleys and slither around the berries, mines, and mushrooms and not that the brute force short cut over the hits and obstacles. I was so used to the feature that I didn't mention it in the readme file and I believe my score suffered because of it.
Thoughts?
--
TAZ
[edit for typos]
"Do you think it is wise to provoke him?" "It's what I do." -- Stargate SG-1
