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Required Elements FAQ!

A topic by Human created Mar 01, 2023 Views: 590 Replies: 25
Viewing posts 1 to 11
HostSubmitted(+1)

1. Character: Harold

Harold must appear in some form, not necessarily as the protagonist, or as a playable character. This can't be any character named "Harold." It has to be the Harold from RPG Maker MV. Harold need not be named, or can be a variation of Harold (See hrld, Oldhar, etc. in previous games." In case of use in other engines in which Harold is not allowed, a variation of Harold like hrld, or an unnamed similar character can be used.

2. Line of Dialogue: "Go on without me."

This must be spoken by a character, exactly as printed. It can be placed anywhere within a sentence. Any character can say this, including NPCs. Punctuation can vary (e.g. you can toss an ellipsis in there), as can capitalization, like all caps. It can also be at the beginning or end of a longer sentence.

3. Location: An ascent, defined as "A slope, path, or road that goes up something."

The player must go there. This needs to be a physical location, and not a figurative one. For example, a mountain, a hill, or a pile of rocks with a slope, a path, or road are acceptable. An "ascent" up the ranks of the military is not. There are other definitions of "ascent" but please use this one. The slope, path, or road must go up "something." What that something is doesn't matter, as long as it is a literal and not figurative thing.

Although any game can easily force these in, the hope is that jammers interpret these creatively, and actively work them into their games as essential elements of plot, storytelling, gameplay, etc.

Submitted

Quick questions for clarification!


1. Is a "Harold-like" permitted on Maker engines where his presence would normally be acceptable?


2. Does the ascent need to be a relatively gradual one like the examples listed, or would things like staircases or elevators also fit the criteria?

HostSubmitted

1. Yes! Given the precedent of hrld in a submission, it is allowed. It should be obvious, which is a bit fuzzy, but hrld is a good standard. Not Harold, but obvious who it is.

2. Staircases are acceptable because they are a "path up something." Elevator is not really a path, road, or slope. It' s just a box, so I'd say that doesn't count.

Submitted

Would scaling a tower count as an ascent?

HostSubmitted

For the most part I'd say yes. As long as the tower is scaled via a path, road, or similar. Something like a rope straight up wouldn't count, nor would an elevator.

Submitted

What about stairways? I know you said yes to that earlier, just want to be sure.

HostSubmitted(+1)

A staircase up a tower will count as an ascent.

Submitted

Perfect. May even call the tower an ascent just to hammer it in. Thanks!

Does the ascent have to be increasing on height?

HostSubmitted

I would say yes, otherwise it would be level or a descent.

Submitted

Does the player have to actually climb the ascent? Or can they technically go to it, but walk by it?

HostSubmitted(+2)

Players need not ascend the ascent, but they need to at some point be somewhere at the ascent, even the foot of it.

Would climbing a rope to get somewhere count as the ascent?

HostSubmitted

I think a rope is not slope, path, or road-y enough for an ascent as defined.

Submitted

Here's a fun one on "Go on without me." Does the sentence need to be isolated, or could it be attached to a larger statement?

(Example 1: "I don't think you can go on without me.")

(Example 2: "I'm okay, go on without me!")


Are either or both of these acceptable?

HostSubmitted

Clever negation! They are both acceptable. As per the rules, they can be "at the beginning or end of a longer sentence."

Submitted(+1)

Question regarding Element #1 in the Jam.

Does Harold need to be included in the game Alive? Can he be dead? Like say attending his funeral or a cemetery with him solidified as a hero.

HostSubmitted

Oooh good question. Rules state that he must appear "in some form," so I think he does not need to be alive. However it has to be him "appearing" (i.e. visible), not a grave or a statue, so a dead Harold needs to be seen.

Submitted

me and the boys from stand by me pulling up in our bicycles to take a gander at harold's corpse

Submitted(+1)

Can the line "go on without me" be a choice, like in a choice menu, as long as it's framed as possible character dialog?

For example, the party comes to a mountain and the player chooses what Harold says to the party next:

  1. "Let's go up the mountain together!"
  2. "Let's go home!"
  3. "Go on without me."
HostSubmitted (1 edit) (+1)

Clever! Since the rules state that a character must say it, I don't think it can be left as an option. Otherwise it's possible a character may never say it, which would not fulfill the requirement.

Submitted

Weird question for you!
Let's say I have two entries, one that meets the criteria perfectly fine but another that is iffy. Would a disqualification on one project affect the other(s)?

HostSubmitted(+1)

Disqualification would be by entry. They're totally independent.

Submitted
Deleted 3 days ago
Submitted

I can actually answer most of these!


1. A figurative ascent is totally okay as long as the literal ascent is somewhere in the game at some point. You can put the ascent at the very end of your game if you want, and have multiple ascents, figurative ascents, or anything in between. The main important thing is that the literal ascent is present in all playthroughs of the game (so it can't be optional or postgame content)

2. We can submit as many entries as we'd like!

3. I'll let Human answer that one but from what I recall, there's no lower limit to playtime (5 minutes is a suggestion because it's difficult to have anything substantial under that amount)

4. I'll also leave this one to Human's discretion but I think as long as the player will see this ascent during their playthrough (which means including during or after the credits), it should be okay

5. The player does not need to be controllable during the ascent, but I think 'the player must go there' means that all players must see the ascent in some form.


If I got any of these wrong, Human can correct me!

Submitted
Deleted 3 days ago
HostSubmitted

I agree with Sawyer's answers for all of the above!

6- Yes! Just don't expect great "Gameplay" scores. Sounds like a good way to focus on story/graphics!

7. Wow! This is really pushing the limits of a "game" jam. I'd say as long as there is something controllable, it can count as a game, though a video file you hit "new game" to watch is probably the absolute bare minimum possible.

Submitted
Deleted 3 days ago
HostSubmitted

It can be kind of ambiguous what the "player" is in these, but I can stress that the location has to be a physical location, so it can't be a dream or a memory. However, if the "player" in the form of the 3rd person viewer of events goes back in time to an ascent, but none of the protagonists or antagonists are there or even existed, that could still count as fulfilling the requirement.

Submitted
Deleted 3 days ago