So, I just read through the entire thread, and I have to agree with the majority of the posts. While there may have been some unhappy results, I do agree with the ordering of the games. Looking at the PDF, judge number 9 was actually harder on pretty much all of the games. In point of fact, judge number 9 is the source of the lowest scores for me as well. I was surprised that I was rated a 2 for marketing, especially as my thread was one of the examples on how to hype your game. That said, I understand the source of the scores.
I'm thoroughly impressed with most of the entries, and I'm honestly shocked I placed as high as I did, considering how completely unfinished my game is. To be honest, I'm also surprised I scored so highly in stability, because there is at least one game-breaking bug I think I never managed to squash, as well as at least two obvious but not game-breaking bugs that I encountered on almost every extended play-through of my game. (Though, if the scores in my thread are any measure, I'm guessing I'm far better at the game than most of the other people playing it)
I think, in part, some of my scores may have been influenced by the fact that I decided to host my game on one of my own domains. Specifically, one score that I'm pretty sure would have been affected is the Music one, as the biggest improvement when I switched hosts was the fact that audio loaded almost immediately. (Previously, even the tiny sound effects would take a while before playing the first time)
Overall, my biggest disappointment with the contest was my own inability to bring my entry to a finished or even partially finished state. I started about halfway through, after waiting for theory give me permission to recreate his older RM* game, and was surprised that when he did, he threw me a massive spec sheet for a sequel. However, due to time constraints, lack of activity from theory, and the fact that every day of the final week of the contest I had either a full day of college classes or a full shift, plus overtime, at work, I never managed to bring the game anywhere near the plans I had for it.
Due to my major disappointment with my own entry (I believe I placed far higher than I should have, considering the state of the game), I plan to continue work on it until I AM satisfied with it. The initial spec sheet theory sent me was very very light on graphics descriptions, but he later sent a revised one that also included a good number of graphical improvements to the game that do not affect the intended style. I plan to do my best to fully implement both spec sheets and release the full game at some point. Not only is this the first game I have worked on and brought as far as it is, but I will be learning a significant amount of new stuff while I work on it further.
Anyway, enough of that. Congrats to the winners, all of them! I'm sorry for those of you who didn't make it to the top twelve, but there's only so much we can do. I'm hoping that the next contest we hold can be this successful, and, depending on time constraints and medium, you guys might find me judging rather than entering the next contest.
