2009 48 Hour Contest Games: The Good, the Bad, and the...Different?

Anyone who has been around the OHRRPGCE community for even a little bit of time should know about the 48 Hour Contest. Each year, a set of rules and regulations are formulated and contestants have 48 hours to complete a game from start to finish. Some may think, how could you possibly make anything worth a crap in 48 hours? You would be very surprised at some of the games that have been produced through this contest. That is why I felt the urge to continue the decade-long tradition this year.

To give you a quick run-down of this year's installment; contestants had three rounds from which they could start a game, with each round having a different theme. Round I had a Thanksgiving theme, Round II was Christmas-based, and the third and final round allowed contestants to choose from either Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Business themes.

I must say that I am quite surprised at the turnout. Some of the games ended up being pretty rad, while others left me a bit disgusted and proved to not be for the faint of heart. Regardless, I'm here to bring you my opinion on the good, the bad, and the different titles of the 2009 48 Hour Contest.

Here are your "cream of the crop" entries for the 48 Hour contest:

Maze of the Red Mage
by Moogle1
Download here

Like it wasn't a big surprise that Mogri's entry was among the best. If you are a fan of Rogue-like games, you will feel right at home here. If not, you will still probably enjoy the trip.

Your elf must cross the treacherous path of the unknown alive. Along the way, you will come across many foes and doors that have to be unlocked or bashed in (reducing your health), countless traps (that also reduce health), and Christmas presents, which generally give you a useful item (but may also be a trap).

Does it sound a bit difficult? Because it is, in my opinion anyway. In fact, I was never able to actually beat the game. I faced off with the final boss multiple times but he freaking tanked me every time. Luckily, the playing field was quite short, which made up for the fact that the game was quite challenging (if not impossible without luck).

You do have a choice of classes for your Elf at the beginning, and they all do have unique abilities that make each one distinct. I think Moog did a great job though making all the classes somewhat balanced, especially considering the steep time frame given for the contest. It seemed not one class could really get the job done easier than the other, which is nice.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game and it had a nice, polished feel to it. A great presentation!

King of Gourmet: Feast for your Life
by Hachi and Giz
Download here

Ever wonder how the early American's really won the Revolutionary War?

Strategy? Not really.

Teamwork? Nope.

The truth is that George Washington can single handedly turn the tide of the war by stuffing his face with a Thanksgiving meal. That is what King of Gourmet: Feast for your Life is all about: winning the Revolutionary War with the help of General Washington himself and a Turkey Day dinner. You find hostility crossing the Delaware, in Yorktown, and a special encounter at the end. Story-wise, I must say that I am very impressed with what Hachi and Giz came up with given the 48 hour period. It is very obvious that not only the story, but also the graphics and music, were heavily influenced by the theme of the contest, which is awesome. Not to mention it made for a very unique game.

You battle your enemies in an arena-type setup where you face off 1v1 to the death. If you are victorious, you continue your journey through the war. However, if you fail, you must start the game over from the beginning. This can also be a bit frustrating at times, but given the length of the game it isn't unbearable. Having a save feature would be pointless, so it is really just about how long it takes you to figure out what is best to eat before a certain battle.

You have many dishes to choose from, each giving you certain buffs to stats while reducing others. These buffs will last for only your current and upcoming fight. Afterwards, your stats are reset to their default state, allowing you to chow down appropriately for your next fight. Each opponent has different stats as well, so some foods may be more beneficial for a fight than others. It may take you a good while to figure out what is best for each fight, but I suppose that is the whole point of the game in itself.

Unfortunately, as time goes on, it is very obvious which selection of dishes works best and sadly the same combination can be used successfully to win all fights. Regardless, the idea of having options was really cool.

King of Gourmet has its strong points, but is definitely not a fast-paced, action packed game. 90% of the time will be spent trying to decide whether that last bear claw was worth it or not. Regardless, the fresh approach of this game, both graphically and game play-wise, makes up for it in the end. Overall, I think King of Gourmet is a good entry for the 2009 48 Hour Contest.

Turkey Killer!
by Spoonweaver
Download here

Turkey Killer is a very simple, Thanksgiving-themed shooter. I should probably warn those that are easily offended to stay clear though, for our poultry-crazed hunter doesn't just kill turkeys.

The object of the game is very simple: to obliterate any and all turkeys that you can find before the time runs out. Keep in mind that firing your blunderbuss at air reduces your points, albeit by a very minor amount. Therefore, you will want to make sure that you are at close enough to get a shot off before firing. Your trusty gun has a very short range, so keep that in mind.

You have two options for gaining points: you can either stay put and shoot whatever comes in your general area, or you can go on a killing spree, stay on your toes the entire time, and have a chance at scoring even more points by slaying fleeing Indians. Either way you approach it, you are likely to surpass the default high score, and have some fun in the process. It is very easy to pick this game up and play it at any time. The graphics have a nice touch and reflect the Thanksgiving season well and the music and sound effects just add to it.

Overall, I think Spoonweaver did a great job on Turkey Killer. It is very simplistic, but is still able to be an enjoyable experience. After all, this game is about killing turkeys, and was made in a 48 hour time period. With that being said, give Turkey Killer a shot and see how you like it.

The Bad

Are you ready for those games which we do not like to speak of? Prepare yourself, for it could be a rough road ahead (save for maybe the first title).

Fall Be Kind
by Blue Train and TMC
Download here

Fall Be Kind isn't a bad game at heart (that is, the little bit of foundation seemed alright), it is just not really anything other than that. What I mean is that there is so little gameplay that there is not really much one can say about it. On the plus side, the graphics were okay and the controls were smooth, but that is where the goodness ends. Not to mention that the game really had nothing to do with Thanksgiving (save for the title and a glitchy turkey npc), which is mainly why I marked this a bad game in the first place. The whole point of doing a contest game is to focus on the theme. When you avoid that, it pretty much defeats the purpose of joining the contest in the first place.

This could turn out to be a cool game, then again, it might not. It is tough to say at this point considering that amount of content available at this time.

A Very Funkotronic Christmas
by Spoonweaver
Download Here

I am a religious man, but I do try and keep an open mind to pretty much anything. Regardless of my values, nothing could prepare me for what they call A Very Funkotronic Christmas. Do you like rape? Involving children? Animals? Elves? Do you enjoy hearing excessive swearing? Do you like hearing about any type of these things tied into the Christmas holiday season? Are you an adolescent who will giggle at anything?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, then Funkotronic may be your godsend. For the rest of us normal people, you are in for a real treat if you decide to play.

Sorry, but I just don't get it. There is nothing awesome or funny to me about a dong-crazed elf molesting everything in sight to some retarded rap song about Santa and getting busy under the mistletoe. The saving grace for this game would have been the Dance Dance Revolution-style gameplay. Unfortunately though, it seemed a bit broken, as you could just hold down the direction of the upcoming arrow and collect your bounty.

Not that I really cared though. I saw enough within the first five seconds of the game to know that it was time for me to move on to the next title.

Santa Bang Bang
by Rebobinar
Download Here

When I thought it couldn't get any worse.....Wow. Needless to say if you are easily offended you probably don't want to play this game.

It starts out innocent enough; Santa in a room filled with presents, elves, and children. Upon talking to the closest elf, he states that you have a "mission" and should stick to it. He tells you to visit another elf for briefing. Basically, you are to obliterate any and all children with massive candy cane. Okay, so I thought that was a bit funny. After slaying hundreds of children though it gets a bit monotonous. After a few levels of beating children senseless, the good Lord decides to smite you, and sends out angels commanded by Jesus himself to take care of the mess. In turn, you must beat the Godly bunch to remain supreme ruler of the Christmas season.

Wait a minute...you mean you actually beat on Christ himself?

That's where I had to draw the line. It is one thing to make a game about whacking children, but another to take a stab at one's religion. Regardless of whether this game was intended to be a joke or not, I was highly offended. There are some things you just shouldn't joke about in my opinion. I think that anyone who doesn't have a heart of stone will agree as well.

The...Different

Now that you've had a healthy dose of sacrilege, let's move on to the next series of titles. These games aren't necessarily good or bad, but there is something about them that just makes them a bit...odd.

Wilthawiya
by Gizmog1
Download Here

Wi-what? I actually googled this name to see if I was just stupid and never heard of it, but I don't think the title has any meaning at all (unless Giz made it up or it is an inside joke). If I'm wrong about this, please fill me in.

Wilthawiya manages to be a strange and somewhat disturbing game while supplying some underlying lessons on life itself. Most importantly, it manages to focus on its theme; Christmas.

You are Stephen and you suck. You are a big, fat geek that has no life and never been good with the ladies. Upset, you finally ask Santa to bring you a female partner that can offer you some companionship.

You get your wish, but unfortunately it really doesn't change much of anything. You and your newfound companion have three activities you can do together: eat, sleep, and take dump. She tells you she loves you and misses you, and makes you feel good about your lame self, but that is pretty much it. A never-ending cycle of eating, sleeping, and pooping with the love of your life. At least they have each other though, right? RIGHT?

Here's what I learned from this game: One, once you are a geek, you are always a geek at heart. Getting a wifey ain't going to change that. You still suck, and there's nothing you can do about it. Good thing your girl likes you (or acts like it). Second, life can be so monotonous at times. Wake up, eat, work, come home, eat again, deficate, go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

I suppose that is one good thing about this game; it leaves you with the feeling of purpose,"hey, I don't want to end up like that guy. I'm going to do something with my life". Maybe Wilthawiya isn't such a horrible game after all? It seems as though some people could learn important lessons of life from this gem.

Nah, it will probably just make you feel bad about your life. I already have enough things to deal with in real life that make me want to drive off a cliff without having a constant reminder from a game that I'm a geek and I suck. In all seriousness, if it had better gameplay, it wouldn't be that bad. I don't want to play a game that makes me suicidal and spend 75% of the time watching my character take a nap.

Wage Slave
by Gizmog1
Download Here

The Giz manages to hit close to home once again in this tale of a pig that wants what he cannot afford. That story of your life, huh? Mine too.

You initially start out with zero dollars, but come across a lone penny shortly after starting the game. You decide to invest in your best interest, which would be a roof over your head. You talk to the local mason who says you will need a little more to get started on building your dream home. That's okay! Just head back outside and--whoa, another penny! Maybe he will help you get started now! I'm afraid not. Would you another penny help? No. How about another? Nope.

I gave up after collecting five pennies because I couldn't take it anymore. Not only was is mind-numbingly boring, but I was constantly reminded at the fact that there are so many things out there that I would like to purchase in the real world, but I don't have enough pennies. And the sad truth is that I probably never will.

I suppose the moral of the game is that if you work hard you may be able to reach your goals. Then again, maybe not. I don't think there was much hope for the pig though.

I do appreciate the fact that both Wage Slave and Wilthawiya are pretty much safe to play for all ages. That is a refreshing thought considering the content of some of the other contest games.

Overall, I was quite pleased with content for this year's 48 Hour Contest, even though some games were a bit too much for my tastes.