Mod Story: Critiques from hell

Oh, thank you!
This is very interesting.
Guess I'll have to change lots of maps...

 

Like I say time and time again, get some paper and pencil out.

 

Draw a map before you make it, right?
Ok. I like drawing.

 

Well... not so much one map as in almost all of them. When you see things on a large scale, you quickly can see things like, "This type of place shoudn't be after this type of place" or, there's way to much of one direction going on.

 

*Incoming blah*

I have to say that if all the videos are going to be similar to that then this project isn't going to be very helpful at all. It's partly the snarkiness, but I'm not feeling a great deal of insight here either :/ To attempt to be of some use to this project, I'm going to deconstruct the deconstruction here (beware, may contain mildly negative language):

Spoiler

-First of all, why is the video so slow? Playing at 75% speed not only makes the mod easier but makes the whole process longer to sit through. I'm not trying to be a bitch about the technical quality but If you're going to be playing through entire mods constantly reviewing them all the while (when did critiquing turn into LPing?) this is something that should be fixed first.
-The tone throughout sniffs of trying too hard to be funny. This is neither constructive nor particularly amusing, because it makes a big deal out of things that aren't and as a consequence dulls the criticism that actually matters. It also promotes making fun of of 'easy targets' like the art/music/patchy English, which comes off as needlessly fawning over the obvious. It's pretty easy to tell that Randolf wasn't trying his hardest, and while that should be acknowledged it shouldn't be treated as a make-or-break deal. Especially yakking about the projectiles in the boss fight for a whole minute jesus christ they're just bullets with an outline get over it already
-Some of it is straight-up contradictory. Case 1: Saying that the G-Gun renders the sword pointless and then a minute later complaining about the ammo recharging. The sword is still there for a reason; this is not something that objectively needs improvement. Case 2: Complaining about the zombie skull sfx. One of the very few moments a CS mod has actually made me jump was when I first heard that sound, and it's one of the few effective 'spooky' things HHS actually does. Labelling a positive as a negative, even a minor one, is literally the worst thing you can do.

I really don't see a lot here lining up with the discussion about constructive criticism going on in the other thread. If you (Matt) are serious about this, you're going to have to raise the brow a bit, if you know what I mean. Over time I've avoided attempting this type of in-depth reviewing as a personal decision, but if you really want to take mod feedback to the next level your key aim should be to try and assist others in the way(s) that will be most helpful to them rather than trying to fit everything into your own framework. In Randolf's case, for example, I would judge that it would be better to start by giving him tips on level and enemy design before worrying about anything else. (And I don't mean things like complaining about the very first room being flat. It's a passable introduction to the enemy types and how to deal with them at their most basic level. Work from the top of the problem pile down.)

This is a lot of criticism for one video, but it doesn't help that the style that you've chosen (essentially making-it-up-as-you-go-along) is probably one of the worst for focussed reviewing. If the question is then "what, am I supposed to put high-quality deconsructions of obscure Cave Story mods that maybe 20 people care about on YouTube?" it should become "why am I using video at all?".

Let me make it clear now that I'm not trying to stamp on your parade. What I'm trying to gauge is how serious about this you are (which judging by the complaints thread I thought was 'pretty serious') and what you're really wanting to achieve. Currently I would personally find it difficult to derive any meaningful insight from this style of approach.

And maybe Schism. There is no way you could tear that one apart with criticism.

Good thing I'm not doing any of these

 

Can I post the rest of the vids first? I I went making it up as I went along so I could show that anybody could see these issues present (the player's eye view), and because people are familier witht his format they'd find it less irritating. I spent a while thinking about the way I'd do this and I must admit this first half doesn't get into the issues as much until they start to make playing the mod more tedious.

The inconsistencies from the other thread really exist because if I were to talk like that, on my own, for 45 minutes, I'd seem like an asshole and no one would take it to heart, which would be a waste of my time. Everyone here seems to appreciate this, which is a sign of success, because it's much easier to do this when your entertained, and watching the video isn't a boring chore to get the info.

 

Could you do CA next?
http://www.cavestory.org/forums/posts/147337

 

Updated with part 2 of 3.

 

Yes please post every video as an embedded YouTube vid on the first post of this thread. That makes it 100 times easier for everybody.

 

carrotlord chill

 

carrotlord chill

Yes please tell every person on these forums to chill. That makes it 100 times more chill for everyone. We might even get hypothermia!
So sexplosive, what have you done to chill your pills?

 

I could have fixed it awhile ago, but Carrotlord's reaction is making me have humor.

 

So sexplosive, what have you done to chill your pills?

i started smoking marijuana

 

(Literally)

The inconsistencies from the other thread really exist because if I were to talk like that, on my own, for 45 minutes, I'd seem like an asshole and no one would take it to heart, which would be a waste of my time. Everyone here seems to appreciate this, which is a sign of success, because it's much easier to do this when your entertained, and watching the video isn't a boring chore to get the info.

I don't think it really matters whether or not it's entertaining when any given mod review is going to be of little value to anyone aside from the creator in the first place. I feel like I should also point out that HHS isn't/wasn't Randolf's first mod; that was Hero's Return (which is/was actually better in a number of ways IIRC).

My opinion on the matter of putting "Story" in mod titles is that Cave Story doesn't have a monopoly on the word and people can do what they want It's a simple starting point that can easily be changed up later if the creator is properly invested in their work *coughking'sstorycough*.

 

Well, the new video is even better than first. But why you haven't collected the Blastgun? It's helpful for the Terminaltor fight.

Looking forward for the last part.

 

If I recall he said that he missed it and made it a Lost Forever. You should probably fix that.
Also I should be updating Amamichi soon so if you do play mine it'd be great if you could play the updated version.

 

I realize now that it might not nessecarily be lost forevr, but the sign implied it and with all those enemies, I couldn't see a reason to go back.

DoublThink, I'd much rather everyone who watches take value from this than one person. Those moments where you realize you made the same error as this guy are pretty significant.

 

I don't think it really matters whether or not it's entertaining when any given mod review is going to be of little value to anyone aside from the creator.

the idea behind these is that they are supposed to be entertaining for the community, as well as being a useful (if not scathing) critiquie.

 

Finally done. Now I can move onto better things.

Okay so, sorry it's been taking so long. There was a debaucle with WTF Story and long story short I have to pick a new mod. I would like to heavily stress that you must have plans to improve upon and continue making your mod before asking that it be recorded. So I'm going to put a little questionnaire here and on the first post for any one who wants their mod recorded.

1. Name of your mod?
2. It's general length. (By DT's system of short, medium, long, extra long.)
3. Why do you want this?
4. Do you plan to continue creating the mod for at least another significant release?
5. Will you, even if you disagree, take the advice and jokes given seriously and thoughtfully?
6. How do you blanket?

 

Is my mod still in the system?
Or do I have to submit a new application?