12 Minutes to Save The World

[Ryner]

My entry for the latest contest is available here!. While it was made with VX Ace, it's a standalone .exe file that requires no outside program to play.

The Game
An ultimate evil is set to destroy the world. It's up to you to embark on a classic RPG adventure as a young upstart hero. You must recruit a team of the most original characters in gaming history (like the White Mage who is secretly a princess, and the androgynous Wizard) and traverse the world to find the villain, all while making sure you're strong enough to actually defeat him in combat.

The catch? You only have 12 minutes.

Race against the clock in this open-ended adventure in which discovering the perfect strategy is the key to success. You may fail, but each playthrough creates the opportunity to learn more and bring you one step closer to victory.

12 Minutes to Save The World, available at this link: Click!


Real talk:
Here's the thing. I've always been the biggest proponent here of selling your game, telling the potential player as much as you can to hook them quickly. But I'm not doing that here. Part of the game involves working with limited information and figuring things out for yourself, and I think my strategy for growing this project requires telling you the minimal about the game, my design ideas, and my plans. I will say that this is an overall idea that I really, really like, but I know the current execution needs work. This is very much version 1 of a larger premise but I have specific reasons for wanting to release this version, warts and all. So that's why I'm hoping to get some honest feedback. I'm crossing my fingers that the lack of information doesn't turn you off and you're willing to give it a quick download and play it as much (or as little) as you want. Just tell me what you think. Find it interesting? Awesome, tell me why. Hate it? That's cool, tell me why.

Here's the link once more to save you the trouble of having to scroll up:
Boom!

[dragaron]

Re: 12 Minutes to Save The World

I played two sessions. I love the concept, and the strict time limit really requires the player to learn quickly and avoid costly mistakes in subsequent playthroughs. BGM goes well with the theme of the game, and the change to the BGM for the last two minutes is reminiscent of Mario games where the tempo speeds up during the last minute.

Witty dialog, which I enjoyed. NPCs are likable.

I appreciated the time respite offered when the menu is opened, although that may have been more of a gift from the software designers than you due to some hardcoded limitation that doesn't permit subtracting time when menus are active. I am not sure if it was intentional, since I am unfamiliar with the nuances of the PC RPGMs. However, you subtract time for every other action, so I assume this was something that was unavoidable (thankfully for my sake, being the player).

Overall, the game reminds me of Half Minute Hero, except for the obvious difference of being 11.5 minutes longer per session. The frustration of games of that type is that players never feel a sense of accomplishing anything sustainable, since nothing carries over from session to session (other than knowledge, of course). It requires a different mindset than I am used to, since I tend to be a gamer of the completionist/OCD type, so it was difficult at times to rush through sections without fully searching them. This is probably my issue though, and not necessarily a specific problem with games of this type.

I quickly coped with and adapted to the game, and was getting somewhere, until I happened upon a particular enemy that stun-locked me for the duration of the entire battle. This happened right after I was beginning to feel good about my efforts in slaying a challenging boss. It was very frustrating to watch my beefy, well-equipped squire get pummeled with 7 or 8 unanswered hits until his untimely (pun intended) demise. Granted, I could've played a third session and avoided that particular enemy, but after 20 or so minutes of playing the game I found myself wanting to run through the beginning sections that I had already visited three or so times, but running is of course limited to using a special ability that can only be used by fighting a battle, which in turn wastes precious time.

I noticed a lot of recycled rooms, and default RTP (runtime package) resources, which didn't bother me since I am pretty unfamiliar with the software and haven't played too many games made with it. A lot of PC RPGM elitists may make this their first complaint about the game, though. But again, it didn't bother me or take away from my experience any, since the RTP graphics are aesthetically pleasing and fresh at least to my eyes.

Would an item that permits quick movement be a possibility? It could be a one-use, expendable item that allows, say, 15 seconds of fast movement, which in turn would permit players to blast through some of the preliminary areas to get all of the necessary equipment from chests. It could even speed up the countdown timer for all I care. I just would've liked to have been able to rush through the first few areas in order to continue learning more about the game prior to losing the battle to my waning interest. Then again, I am not sure how far I was, or how much of the game was left, so maybe an item of the type I am recommending would make the game too easy.

I enjoyed the experience playing the game. I will be sure to give it another go if you make revisions, since I infer revisions may be a possibility based on the "v1" after the game's name. Thanks for making it and sharing it, Ryner!

[Ryner]

Re: 12 Minutes to Save The World

Awesome feedback, Dragaron. I appreciate your time.

I appreciated the time respite offered when the menu is opened, although that may have been more of a gift from the software designers than you due to some hardcoded limitation that doesn't permit subtracting time when menus are active.

Yeah I originally intended to have the clock going non-stop. But I quickly realized having it pause at least in the menu is good for the player. I'd prefer one to be able to stop and think if necessary, and it makes sense to let the player look over the different skills for the characters or new items they get. I do, however, eventually want to keep the clock running in the shop menu.

The frustration of games of that type is that players never feel a sense of accomplishing anything sustainable, since nothing carries over from session to session (other than knowledge, of course).

I totally get that feeling. The entire cornerstone of player progress for the game is meant to be the knowledge the player gets, but there were originally intentions of a type of progression system for extra stuff. Maybe not necessarily things to make the game easier, but I had some ideas. This is something I plan on going back to later.

I quickly coped with and adapted to the game, and was getting somewhere, until I happened upon a particular enemy that stun-locked me for the duration of the entire battle.

That's awful and is not supposed to happen. Sorry you had a run end that way. I found where the mistake was for that enemy and fixed it. Thanks for the catch.

Would an item that permits quick movement be a possibility? It could be a one-use, expendable item that allows, say, 15 seconds of fast movement, which in turn would permit players to blast through some of the preliminary areas to get all of the necessary equipment from chests. It could even speed up the countdown timer for all I care.

This is a really good idea. I wouldn't want to speed up the clock because that could mess with a person's internal timing, but what about an option for a speed boost at the beginning of the game in exchange for a reduced clock at the start? I think that could be a good work around to try to reduced the feelings of burnout you experienced.

[dragaron]

Re: 12 Minutes to Save The World

Yeah I originally intended to have the clock going non-stop. But I quickly realized having it pause at least in the menu is good for the player. I'd prefer one to be able to stop and think if necessary, and it makes sense to let the player look over the different skills for the characters or new items they get. I do, however, eventually want to keep the clock running in the shop menu.

I liked the pause during the menu, but I could see some players preferring not to have the break. It drives me nuts at times playing games from the Souls series because you can never safely pause the game, but some players do prefer that type of added pressure/stress when gaming. Might just be a matter of taste or preference.

I totally get that feeling. The entire cornerstone of player progress for the game is meant to be the knowledge the player gets, but there were originally intentions of a type of progression system for extra stuff. Maybe not necessarily things to make the game easier, but I had some ideas. This is something I plan on going back to later.

I understand, and I do think that having knowledge compound could be enough. I just think it irks the completionist in me. I am not sure if other gamers are like that, where they feel the need to accomplish everything, so maybe it's something that will only frustrate a small population of gamers.

That's awful and is not supposed to happen. Sorry you had a run end that way. I found where the mistake was for that enemy and fixed it. Thanks for the catch.

No worries. Glad it's fixed for any future playthroughs.

This is a really good idea. I wouldn't want to speed up the clock because that could mess with a person's internal timing, but what about an option for a speed boost at the beginning of the game in exchange for a reduced clock at the start? I think that could be a good work around to try to reduced the feelings of burnout you experienced.

The option to boost speed for a reduced clock is a great idea, and one I would have readily chosen, but would that affect the whole idea/concept of having to save the world in 12 minutes? The game could even be called, "Save the World in 12 Minutes or Less!" or something like that, which would give the player a sense that it could be done in less than 12 minutes with or without the reduction in clock time. Just an idea. I love the gimmick though, which again reminds me of the same quirkiness of the Half Minute Hero game (that's a good thing). A reduced clock for increased speed would have helped to reduce burnout early on, and would have encouraged me to try a few more times to get things right, but maybe you want to wait to see what others say about what they prefer. I wouldn't want you to make too many adjustments based on my preferences, only to find out that a larger population of gamers prefer the game just the way that it currently is.

[TheHonorableRyu]

Re: 12 Minutes to Save The World

Downloaded this and will give it a try in the next week.

[dragaron]

Re: 12 Minutes to Save The World

Ryner, I hit the game pretty hard again today with six more runs. I think I found a game-breaker, so check your private messages for details on that and the runs I did.

[Ryner]

Re: 12 Minutes to Save The World

I'm gonna name a sword after you.

[Ωbright]

Re: 12 Minutes to Save The World

This is funny, entertaining, fun to play, and a great idea. I played through a couple of times yesterday, and will play more again when I can get in the right mindset. Though it's not meant to be a "serious" game, it's pretty intense! It's one of those games that annoys me a little bit, like every game with a timer (think 'perfection'), but I find myself HAVING to beat it, like a dog playing with a hot pepper. It's also one of those games that makes my brain go into overdrive, and those are honestly few and far between these days, even in an age with a ton of new and intriguing indie games coming out all the time. I've thought about it a lot since playing last, and just typing about it is making me want to try again.