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If you’re new to these Contest Archives, then welcome to the Heart of the OHR’s 2014 contest page series. If you’re taking the archive walking tour, then welcome back. On these next five pages, you’ll find curated information, as well as access to original information for everything related to the third Heart of the OHR contest. These pages will modify original content layouts to make the best use of this format, but all relevant information can be read or accessed through this page series. For the sake of preservation, along with curated content, this page series will provide links to forum threads and articles related to this contest for anyone who wants to relive contest history.
Formatting Note: To prevent text clutter, I’m using yellow pop-up buttons to contain extra information about contest rules, prizes, and time periods, as well as definitions for the “achievements” each game received. Likewise, I’m using red buttons to link to the original sources of this information in case you want to read everything about it or experience what contestants of that time period experienced. All links are active as of this writing, but links are known to go dead over time. If you encounter a broken link while viewing this page, please send me a message letting me know. Be sure to mention which contest year you’re viewing and which button leads to a broken link. Thank you.
Format Notes
Long before this site existed, I had to communicate contest rules and results through message boards and magazines, each subject to the standards and formats of their hosts. I’d post either plain text or a generic Microsoft Word document with a rough table designed to communicate layout without having any real control over the final presentation. In 2014, that was an OHR community norm, and many like me who hosted a contest or presented results without owning their own website or blog had the same limitations.
But now that I can customize the look however I want, I figured it’s time to adopt an official standard for the Heart of the OHR’s announcements and results. The designs for the following page series represent that standard.
I’ve done my best to make these pages exciting, but do note that I don’t want to make them crazy or resource intensive. So, I’ve decided to limit how much content I share about each game. To keep things simple and authentic, each game will reuse its original screenshot for the results section (with one exception*), and only through exceptional cases will I add more. That said, unlike the original articles where I first posted the results, you can click on each screenshot to enlarge it.
Also, this page series will defer certain content to other pages to streamline the current theme. In other words, this page series will cover rules and results but not statistics. For statistics, I recommend checking out the official Heart of the OHR statistics page.
This page series may also present content that either stirred up interest or paid homage to the contest. This can include videos, teases, or exclusive games. In some cases, these elements were not part of the original announcements.
Finally, please be aware that I will not post links to any of these games simply because I want to respect the right of each author to display his or her game in the spaces or forums he chooses. That said, most games can still be found on the Slime Salad game list, and links posted in the original contest thread may still be active. But given the decisions of each author, some games may no longer be available, and it is not up to me to make them available. Please understand, and thank you for understanding.
*I’m using a new screenshot image for Okédoké: La Leyenda Mexicana! because the image I’d used for the original 2014 results page was almost identical to the one I’d used for 2010, and I try to make a point to use new images to represent new entries, even if they’re rereleases or OHR Legends.
Additional Note: These contest pages were originally designed to contain all relevant content on a single page per contest year, but thanks to intensive page resources crushing delivery speed (in one case making it impossible to load the page without suffering a timeout error), I had to spread content across multiple pages to make viewing more manageable. Hopefully this change to a page series will improve your reading experience, as well as offer you more breakpoints to continue where you left off should you need a rest. And thanks again for reading. I’ve put an unreasonable amount of time into building these archives, time I could’ve spent writing books, so thank you for taking the time to revisit history.
The following content represents the original article announcing the 2014 contest results, first published on community member The Wobbler’s OHR site, Super Walrus Land (host of the now-closed HamsterSpeak Magazine, which debuted the 2010 results). But if you’d like to learn more about the conditions leading to these results, please click on the respective pop-up buttons explaining each contest component so you know what guidelines each contestant was expected to follow.
2014 Contest Rules
The following is the 2014 series rule set, based on the original rules this contest was founded on. Most of the original rules have been preserved for this season with original releases and rereleases folding back into the same voting category after the 2012 season proved that separating them wasn’t the best of ideas. This season is also stricter about a rerelease’s requirement for entry. OHR Legends are also allowed into the regular voting stream, but they still can’t collect on the winning prizes.
Rules:
- Must be an RPG. This is a zero rule. What categorizes as an RPG can be left open for debate, but at the end of the day it must be an RPG. In 2010, we saw one game stretch the limit of what we considered acceptable (Do You Want to Be a Hero?), and I would argue Silhouette from 2012 pushed the boundaries, as well. For a complete list of the games that made the cut in 2010 and 2012, consult the following link.
- NonRPGs not permitted. (See Above)
- Joke games not permitted (though funny ones are okay).
- Special scripting is okay (as long as it doesn’t turn the RPG into a nonRPG).
- Game must have at least 30 minutes of playtime with a good chunk of that devoted to story (in other words, 30 minutes without level grinding).
- Updates to previous RPGs permitted.
- Updates to previous RPGs need at least 30 minutes of new content to be eligible. Changing a textbox to an old two-hour game and re-releasing it doesn’t make it eligible.
New Rule for 2014: If you are posting a rereleased game for the contest, you must provide either a readme (or some document) discussing where the new content starts (if it’s a continuation) or what the new content is (if it’s integrated into earlier previously released sections), or you must supply a save file that begins the game just before the new content kicks in. If you fail to do this, your game will not be entered into the contest.
Note: I prefer the former since it’s clearer what’s new and discourages players from beginning your game halfway into the story.
- Fan games and parodies discouraged, but not forbidden. Original stories preferred.
2014 Contest Release Categories
Release Categories:
Note: This category has been updated for 2014.
In 2010 every entry was lumped into the same category and judged under the same conditions regardless of originality versus the rereleased. In 2012 they were divided into three categories: Original, Rereleased, and OHR Legends. This year, due to popular demand, I will be combining the Original and Rereleased categories together again, with one small change.
Original and Rereleased Games:
Original games are the games that have never been publicly released prior to June 1, 2014. These are the easiest to judge since the ground is fresh. We had eight original entries in 2010, including the Game of the Year winner, Motrya, and 13 in 2012.
Note: These games just need to come with a Coke and a smile.
Rereleased games have been unleashed on the community before June 1, 2014, and are making a second life appearance in the Heart of the OHR Contest. Any original game that was released for the 2010 or 2012 contest will automatically default to this category if reentered for 2014. In 2010 we had four rereleased games and in 2012, we had three.
Note: These games must include documents or save files that inform the player where the new content can be found.
OHR Legends:
This special category is reserved for the games that have been submitted as rereleases in previous Heart of the OHR contests and resubmitted this year as “honorary” contestants. There are six games eligible for Level 1 Legend status and one (Vikings of Midgard) eligible for Level 2 Legend status. These games will receive only one prize.
Note: Authors have freedom to choose how these games are released since they are separate from the prize pool, but they can still be inclusive with the general vote to see how they fare against new blood.
New Category for 2014:
Bonuses:
Entrants can now receive bonus points to their lowest scores for meeting these optional goals:
- Finished game (bonus: 5 points on top of lowest awarded score)
- Three or more towns to explore (bonus: 3 points on top of lowest awarded score)
- Two or more hours of gameplay (bonus: 2 points on top of lowest awarded score)
- Flavor text for objects (bonus: 1 point on top of lowest awarded score)
- Off-the-beaten path locales (bonus: 1 point per side area, up to three)
Any bonus that brings the lowest voter’s score up to 10 will roll over to the next lowest voter’s score.
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Retrospective Note: Even though the idea for the special bonus conditions was to improve the overall ratings for any game that took advantage of them, thus incentivizing the production of better games, none of this year’s games actually earned the bonuses. I don’t think this was due to a lack of fulfillment on their part, though, but a lack of memory on mine. Given that this year had the lowest average contest score of the series, they probably could’ve benefited from these bonus conditions. But if the game designers were demotivated to work hard for their scores, then I was demotivated to work hard in giving them better ones. Given the general lack of complaint, I don’t think anyone noticed them missing.
2014 Contest Window
Release Dates:
Unlike traditional contests, “Heart of the OHR” will not require a start time or an end time per se. Rather, this will adopt the “release window” technique made popular with Game-a-thon, in that any RPG released within the window is eligible (provided it meets the above standards).
Window begins June 1st and ends November 30th.
New to 2014: I will allow a two-week grace period for bug-fixing (Note: this grace period is not reserved for adding new content). Entries must be ready for voting by December 14th.
All deadlines will expire at 6am EST the following day.
2014 Contest Prizes
Prizes:
Because RPGs are harder to come by these days (especially in contests), I thought it’s only fair to combat the odds with prizes that don’t suck. Therefore, various members of the community have agreed to give special bonuses to entrants and the winner.*
Just by entering a game into the contest, the contestant will get to choose a bugfix or feature request to be put on the December 1st bug bounty.
Here’s how it works:
During a time frame decided on by James, you may post your bugfix or feature request here so that he can start working toward implementing it. You may only choose one, so pick wisely. Once you choose your request, you are then expected to release a quality RPG (fitting the above standards) by November 30th to receive your entry prize. The prize, of course, is a ransom for the bug or feature request you posted here if it’s not implemented by December 1st. If your bug is not fixed by the deadline, then you get whatever James decides to pay for ransoms. And that’s just for entering the contest!
Note: James is in charge of how the bug bounty system works, including what to pay out for failure to implement, and when requests will no longer be accepted. For questions regarding this prize, please ask him for clarification.
Note 2: Unlike the last two contests, James will not be giving an extra bounty to the winner this year.
You may view the current requests here.
And the old archival requests here: (2010) (2012)
Additionally, anyone out there can add to the prize pot if he or she has something to offer, so feel free to help make this into a treasure trove of winnings if you want to, and if you have the resources for it.
Specifically I’d like to see:
- cash prizes
- fan art
- theme song about the winning game(s)
You may add to the prize pot discussion here.
Potential community offered prizes include:
- Cafepress T-shirts or swag for winner (courtesy Spoonweaver...and maybe Fenrir-Lunaris?).
- Funding for the swag site (courtesy Mystic). Note: This one’s ambiguous to me.
- Custom Mousepads with a group image starring some of the OHR’s most popular characters (courtesy RedMaverickZero).
- Reviews for each entry (courtesy Meatballsub)
- Cash prize of undetermined value (need confirmation) for winner (courtesy Meatballsub).
- Pizza delivery to winner or favored game (courtesy Willy Elektrix).
- Poster and icon for winning game (courtesy Ichiro).
- 100 dogecoins...”fake Internet moneys” with dog memes (courtesy Bob the Hamster).
- Slimebucks of extremely low but increasing value to the top three winners (courtesy Meowskivich).
Note: This list will remain open to new prize additions from now until December 14th. I will update this list as I get new volunteers.
Special Prize for OHR Legends Releases:
Any game categorized as an OHR Legends release will receive a special trophy classifying it as such. This is strictly a prestige award, but it will remind future players of the game’s longevity. This trophy will receive “levels” each time it’s awarded to a specific game. OHR Legends releases should still meet the 30 minutes of additional game time rule to be eligible for the trophy.
Note: In the event that an OHR Legend wins first place, then the second place winner (or first-place original or rereleased game) will receive the top prize(s).
So, as you can see, it would be crazy not to join and make something for the Heart of the OHR Contest, so take the chance. Nominating a bugfix or feature request confirms your intention to join. Just remember that there will be no ransom paid on unresolved bugs if you drop out. So make something and stick with it. Don’t procrastinate, either. Games that don’t meet the above standards will also forfeit the ransom.
*Because prizes are awarded by members of the community, and because community members come and go like the wind, all prizes are subject to change.
2014 Contest Tips
Tips:
Release the best game you’re capable of making. The community doesn’t want to see or play throwaway titles anymore. Do your best to make a quality game. While you shouldn’t be intimidated by this, you still need to be aware that games like Wandering Hamster and Motrya are just as capable of making an appearance during the contest window as any game, so make it your best if you want the winning prizes.
Heart of the OHR Contest Results
2014 Edition
From June 1, 2014 to November 30, 2014, the OHR community was once again given the opportunity to relive the days when random battles were accepted and game design was about visiting towns and crawling through dungeons, and then get rewarded for implementing the throwback design into their games. The contest, called Heart of the OHR, had a simple rule: make, add to, or finish a traditional OHRRPG. We’ve done it before. We’ve done it again. But did we want to relive tradition for the third time?
This year we shuffled the pot again and decided to toss every category we offered from 2012 into a single melee free-for-all where every game entered had to contend with the next, fighting against veterans, newbies, Legends, rule-breakers, and titles that some authors had never actually entered on their own. Heart of the OHR was down and dirty this year, and with the new two-thirds rule in effect (meaning any game that receives fewer than two-thirds the maximum number of votes gets the empty spaces filled in with fives), the competition was really anybody’s game. In all, eleven authors entered into the arena, three of which had no idea they were competing (around here, we call them “unofficial entries”), with one author throwing in two games for double the carnage, bringing Heart of the OHR 2014’s total game count to 12, matching the game count that had supplied the inaugural Heart of the OHR in 2010. In a year that boasts the OHR’s weakest number of releases in its 16-year history (at 24 new releases and a handful of updates for the whole year), that’s impressive. But, as usual, the contest has not gone on without its controversies. With the addition of two games that possibly violate the ground rules, endless deadline extensions to ensure the voter outcome is fair, and general interest in this year’s entries escaping quickly with the breeze, it’s easy to question if the Heart of the OHR is merely beating with a murmur. Add to that this year’s abysmally low contest score average of 4.43 (from both pure and 2/3 rule inspired votes), almost a full point and a half below 2010’s average of 5.8 and more than a point and a half below 2012’s average of 6.14, it’s easy to see that Heart of the OHR has had a difficult year in 2014.
But nonetheless, Heart of the OHR 2014 beats on, and to celebrate its continuance of life, we must crown a winner. It was a tough battle, and with game rankings changing positions like lottery balls in a wind tunnel with every new vote to come in (from 14 voters in total), it was difficult to gauge which of this year’s titles would actually take the crown. But like all things in life, the voting period had to come to an end (as many as three separate times), and with it, a final vote. The ending may be controversial, for the true winner might’ve been damaged by the two-thirds rule. But that’s why we have a two-thirds rule, so voters will have a reason to vote for all and leave no game behind. In such a difficult year for the Heart of the OHR, it only makes sense that someone would ultimately get screwed. As I said, down and dirty. But why would we play if there was no drama attached?
Here again is the story of that battle for the Heart of the OHR:
Please note that rankings are listed from worst to best, and based on average votes, not rosters or quantities of total players. For this reason, abstained votes did not count against games, but in many ways helped their averages. The two-thirds rule requires that all games receive at least two-thirds the maximum votes, as set by the top-voted game, in order to receive a ranking based on its pure votes (those values given entirely by voters). Any game receiving fewer than two-thirds the maximum vote receives a score of 5 for every missing vote below the two-thirds range, thus keeping voters accountable and the ranges from suffering from too many spikes caused by too few opinions. This year, the top-voted game received 12 votes, so the two-thirds rule required all games receive a minimum of 8 votes to be ranked according to its pure average. Games utilizing the two-thirds rule (in 2014, two games were forced to succumb to this rule for having fewer than 8 votes representing their final scores) were ranked according to their 2/3 rule score.
Voting Standards
The following is an excerpt from the original announcement thread (in 2010) informing voters how I expected them to vote. Until Heart of the OHR, the average OHR contest required voters to rank their favorites from 1–10, giving scoring priority to the higher ranked items. This usually involved a Top 3, Top 5, or Top 10 vote, depending on the size of the contest, or an “include all” in the case where each voter couldn’t vote until they played all the games. But this often left the worst games unranked or with a huge disparity from the more popular entries.
Heart of the OHR didn’t want to leave anyone out in the cold, nor did it expect all voters to play every game. So, it adopted a scoring system based on average ratings to decide the difference between winners and losers. Of course, this system had its own flaws, and I’d spent the next ten years trying to perfect it. But this is how the scoring system began.
Below is a clip from the original thread. I’ve also placed a link to the entire message if you want to see the whole story, including how I expected voters to treat rereleased games.
Note: Because voters didn’t understand why I’d removed OHR Legends from voting in the previous season, I allowed their votes to count this season. This trend continued for the rest of Heart of the OHR’s lifespan (and will continue if I ever bring it back).
Remember, we will not be voting in the usual Top 10 rankings that we're used to doing in contests, but rather scoring each game on a scale from 1–10. Scores for each game will then be averaged by number of voters for that game.
For example, if Ignatious the Happy Walrus Who Sat Upon His Enemies and Smote Them earned scores from five voters at 3, 5, 6, 4, and 7 respectively, the average score would be 25 points / 5 voters or 5.0 points for the game. Conversely, if only three people vote, and those scores are 6, 4, and 7, then the average score comes out to 17/3, or 5.6—a higher average than if it had five voters.
So, as you can see, the fewer votes a game receives, the higher its grade point average may be, and the more likely it could climb the ranks, so it pays to vote, for the game that only gets one vote, a 10, can easily win the contest. Do you want that single vote to sway the results? No. So do your part and vote. You don't have to vote for every game, but for every game you don't vote on, the more likely you'll inadvertently send it to the top. And something tells me that Ignatious the Happy Walrus should not outrank the gems that made this contest, so be sure to vote.
You can view the entire “How to Vote” message here.
Note: I modified the scoring system this season to include what I called “the 2/3rds rule,” which I’ll explain in greater detail in the articles portion below the contest results section. Bear in mind that if you check out the statistics page, realize that games in 2010 and 2012 may end up with different scores and rankings under this rule than they do here.
But the following shows how I presented it to the community in 2014:
The gist of this year's changes will include the adoption of the 5-point average, the peak vote target range, and the two-thirds vote system.
Five-point Average: Any game that falls short of the peak vote target range will receive however many fives it takes to reach the two-thirds margin.
Peak Vote Target Range: Identifies the game with the most number of votes and uses its vote count as the determinate for the contest average.
Two-thirds Vote System: Caps the required voting minimum at two-thirds the value of the peak target. Any game meeting this minimum cap will not receive additional fives to pad its average.
I will get more in-depth with this system in December.
You can view the entire message here.
2014 Voting Window
Every season, I attempt to give voters a fair block of time to play all of the games and figure out what scores they’re worth. Most of the time, I undercut that estimation by several weeks. In 2014, I had to extend the voting period twice by two weeks each to ensure fairness for everyone. Below is the original voting announcement.
________
Note: This category has been updated for 2014.
Voting will run from December 16 - December 31 (I'll extend this to a few extra days in January if any holiday vacationers need the extra time.)
Note that I will not close voting until I have a minimum of 10 votes, so if the deadline comes and goes and I have fewer than that, voting will remain open until the minimum is met. I want all contestants to have a fair playthrough and comment/critique/score for their games.
The way we handle votes will change from the 2010 and 2012 contests. One day we will lock in on an effective system. I hope this could be the one.
For full details on how it used to be, consult the following post.
