The following is the 2020 series rule set, based on the original rules this contest was founded on plus the small additions and changes made during the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 seasons. In addition, this season encourages contestants to list all of the locations where their games can be downloaded, now that OHR games are also migrating to the Steam, Itch.io, and Android platforms.

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. In 2014, we basically bent the rule as far as possible with T4R4D1DDL3. In 2016, our winner, Surfasaurus was hotly contested for its interpretation as an RPG. In the end, I ruled in its favor. And, well, in 2018, I said “screw it” and let games like Asphodelus and Px in because, by that point, who cares? What you consider an RPG may differ from what someone else considers an RPG, so if you’re not sure, then defend your case for it! You might beat the naysayers. For a complete list of the games that made the cut in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018, 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).

• Games 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 and even encouraged.

• 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. Same goes for graphics overhauls. New playable content, people!

• 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 it discourages players from beginning your game halfway into the story.

Important Note: Historically, players are really bad about investigating new content and often replay the old stuff and vote on that without ever seeing the new content. This really skews the results at the end of the contest. This is especially true of long games. If you are submitting a rerelease and you care about doing well, please, please, please be abundantly clear about what’s new and give your players every possible incentive to play to the new stuff. This means improving the first 30 minutes of the game if necessary. This means making the whole game as fun and amazing as possible. Don’t turn your players off early or they may never get to the new content. Remember, just because you provide a save point or obvious information about where the new stuff begins and ends doesn’t mean your players will use it. If they end up just voting on the same stuff they played five years ago, your points may not count. Think about the whole game.

• Fan games and parodies discouraged, but not forbidden. Original stories preferred.

• As the only exception to the must-be-an-RPG rule, you may alternatively release a game that’s “in the spirit of 1999” and still be eligible for entry. This means that you may emulate the kind of game that was made for the OHR between 1998 and 2000. This rule was made possible by T4R4D1DDL3, so consult that game to see this rule in action.

• Like last season, I’m accepting almost any RPG type you can think of this year. This includes rogue-likes, walking simulators (with stat progression and level-ups), Zelda II clones, 3D mazes, etc. If the OHR can make it, and it still has classic level and stat progression, and there’s still a story attached, it should qualify. Use your slice collections and stat displays! Use your fancy animations! Use your procedurally generated maps with seeds! Just make it great! However, I do think the essence of Heart of the OHR has been fading since 2014, so even though I will accept most any game that qualifies as an RPG, I will be strongly encouraging designers to stick to the classic design for 2020. Certain games that bent the rules in seasons past may not get the greenlight this year. You can always ask if your game is eligible before you commit to it for this contest (and you shouldn’t be making a game just for this contest, so that should be a non-starter), but generally your safest bet is to design a classic RPG with the latest OHR features. That’s what I’d like to see this year. Want to put in that alpha transparency? Do it! Want to make a Defender clone with occasional stat increases? Er, maybe hold off on that one (unless there’s a lengthy campaign, great story, and really compelling stat gains attached).

• With platforms like Steam making it possible for indie game designers to put their games up for sale, we are beginning to see an uptick in OHR users designing their games for commercial use, including those that involve licensed characters like Kaiju Big Battel and Axe Cop. Any game released for commercial purposes can still participate in the Heart of the OHR, but either a key, or a demo, or some alternative agreement should be provided to players if it’s to enter the voting stage. Keep it accessible!

New Rule for 2020: Make sure we know how to find your game. This should be intuitive, but with the OHR popping up on multiple sites and platforms and becoming more commercially competitive, it’s easy for games to disappear in the noise. If you’re releasing to Slime Salad, then we should find it easily, as this is the first place we look. But if you’re releasing a version to Steam, Itch.io, or some other platform exclusively, make sure you alert your potential players (and me!) to its existence. Likewise, it’s a good idea to let me know your intention to release a game to Heart of the OHR 2020, anyway. Otherwise, I’ll have to email you about it at the end of the window, and that can slow things down come voting time. Lastly, I will no longer cross-post these announcements to Castle Paradox, so if you post your game there and not here, I likely won’t find it unless you tell me about it.

Release Categories:

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. In 2014, they were separate categories, but shared the same vote. We continued this trend in 2016 and 2018. We will be continuing this trend in 2020 but will also be adding a new category to account for a new type of game: the Remake.

Original and Rereleased Games:

Original games are the games that have never been publicly released prior to May 1, 2020. 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), 13 in 2012, nine in 2014, 11 in 2016, and 17 in 2018.

Note: These games just need to come with a Coke and a smile.

Rereleased games have been unleashed on the community before May 1, 2020, and are making a second-life appearance in the Heart of the OHR Contest. Any original game that was released for the 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, or 2018 contests will automatically default to this category if reentered for 2020. In 2010, we had four rereleased games. In 2012, we had three. In 2014, we had one. In 2016, all games were original. In 2018, we had four.

Note: These games must include documents or save files that inform the player where the new content can be found. See the rules above for more information.

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 “legendary” contestants. There are 12 games eligible for Level 1 Legend status and two (Vikings of Midgard and Okedoke) eligible for Level 2 Legend status. In addition to a potential win, these games also get a “level badge.”

New for 2020: The Remake:

Now that the OHR has been around for over two decades, the time has come for older classics to get the remake treatment. Because these games are completely overhauled from their original versions, it’s unfair to call them “rereleased,” as they are not the same game. At the same time, they’re not entirely original. So this category will give them a comfortable place to sit. They should be judged as originals, played from beginning to the 30-minute mark or beyond, even though they’re familiar.

Classification Update for 2020: Typically, I’ll categorize a game as a “rerelease” if its original release happens before the contest window. I also hate trying to determine a game’s originality under this pretext, so I will likely bend categorization a little to include any game first released in 2020 as “original.” A game must still have a new release or updated release within the window to qualify for the contest, but I will classify it as “original” if its first official appearance happened in January 2020 or later, and was not first released for another contest. Any game released for an earlier contest (before May 1, 2020) that gets rereleased for Heart of the OHR 2020 will get the “rerelease” classification and will need the supplemental materials outlined in the rules section to qualify.

For the first three seasons, I wanted to maintain an open window that could accommodate most authors’ active development period based on historical references (usually revolving around schoolwork). In 2016, I wanted to experiment with an earlier window to see if more people might participate.

They didn’t. So in 2018, I went back to the usual window. This year continues that trend.

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 May 1st and ends December 31st, with a one-day grace period for special cases and accounts for time zone differences.

Traditionally, I end the contest in November and allow a two-week grace period for bug-fixing (Note: this grace period is not reserved for adding new content, unless that new content is required to fix a bug or to tie a loose thread). This year, I’m including the bugfix period as part of the deadline and extending it through the holidays, so try to have your games done by November 30th and bugfixed by December 31st.

Entries must be ready for voting by 6am EST, January 1st.

Prizes:

Note: New Prizes for 2020.

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.*

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)
• gifted games
• etc.

You may view talked about prizes or add to the prize pot discussion here or in the “Prize Pool 2020” discussion thread.

I’ll update the prize list here as new prizes are offered. New prizes can be added until the end of the contest.

Potential community offered prizes include:

(Service Prizes)

• Video playthrough of all games (up to the first 30 minutes, or more if I’m enjoying the experience), to be posted on my YouTube channel.** (Pepsi Ranger)
• Livestream (separately) the top five winning games from start to finish on Baconlabs’s Twitch channel (achinlabs), providing commentary and critique along the way, pending creator comfort to public review. Possible livestream blitz of lower-ranked entries at 5 to 30 minutes each, also pending creator comfort to public review. See this post for details. (Baconlabs)
• “Draw a thing” in pixel or crayon, according to the winner’s preference. (Bob the Hamster)
• Some art or poetry (perhaps). Note: This seems nonspecific and may need more clarification. (SwordPlay)
• Front page advertising on Slime Salad for the winner. (Mogri)
• HeartBugs feature requests and bugfixes. Available to all entrants. No need to request any feature or bug from the 2018 list as those are still getting worked on. Full details here. (TMC)

(Food Prizes)

• None yet. Entry awaiting participants.

(Stuff Prizes)

• OHR Mousepad (one left!) for the winner. (RedMaverickZero)
• Free copies of any e-book with my name on it (my actual name) to all entrants.*** (Pepsi Ranger)
• Physical trophies for winners. (Spoonweaver)

(Game Prizes)

• Product on Steam Wishlist (up to $60 value) for first place winner. (Baconlabs)
• Steam game ($5-$10 value) for first three to five winners. Note: This prize may default to a cash award of the same value. Consult this message for details. (SwordPlay)
• Pepsi Ranger’s Steam Favorites for the winner.**** (Pepsi Ranger)
• A copy of the commercial version for the OHR game of your choice (first three to five winners, to be satisfied each month one or two at a time until June 2021).***** (Pepsi Ranger)

(Cash Prizes)

• Cash award of $20 to the cash pool. (Bob the Hamster)

Note: This list will remain open to new prize additions from now until December 31st. 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: Until I get someone to draw the trophy and Mogri to provide a location for it on the game’s dedicated page, this trophy will be in spirit only. I know, lame. We’re working on it!

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.

*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.

**I reserve the right not to record a game or post it to YouTube if I think the content is unsuitable for my channel. This will include games with excessive cursing, any sexual content above a PG-13 level, excessive gore, offensive themes (or anything I think will anger people, which could be anything these days, so I’ll use discretion), demonic themes (this is a personal choice, as I do not want this theme on my channel), or games with unlicensed content (commercial music, characters, etc. used without permission).

***This prize is backwards compatible with previous Heart seasons and anyone who has entered a Heart of the OHR from any year and has not collected this prize (per entry) may still take advantage of this prize. Each entry is good for one book, so if you want two free books, then submit two entries (or collect on a previous entry from a previous year that you have not yet claimed).

****Prize is conditional on my financial status as of March 2021 and may be satisfied over the course of two or three months rather than immediately. This prize is based on my running favorites on Steam, and will include either Kenshi (currently $30 value), Factorio ($30), RimWorld ($30), Prison Architect ($30), or Stardew Valley and Terraria combined ($25 value). I may include more than one of these games if the prize is satisfied during a sale and these games qualify for it (Factorio and RimWorld each have a “no sale” policy, so that will not be paired with a third game). In the event that the winner already owns these games, I will make a substitution of equal or lesser value. Also note that my actual list of favorites will contain more options than these. This is just a sample. I’ll discuss it with the winner when the time comes.

*****Must have a Steam account. I’ll award the first five winners if my budget allows for it.