Modding Awards (Past Nominations and Votes)

I nominate Jenka's Nightmare, the ZarroTsu version of course!

 

guys seriously WTF isn't that great, not sure why you all love it so much

It's got a riveting story line, amazing music, awesome new levels, creative custom bosses, very good custom graphics, and assembly hacks that you have to see to believe.

 

"riveting"
well they are robots kind of maybe

 

Amamichi was good, at least for its few minutes of gameplay.

It was. It has a neat premise, so hopefully its creator keeps going with it. :3

That's not what I'm nominating, though. I vote Boss Rush by SeriousFace. I was considering Enemy Rush, but that can wait for another day. Boss Rush is a classic and it's still fairly fun to have a go with the Polar Star every now and then. ^_^

 

Fine then Hayden have it your way

It's got a riveting story line

I remember literally nothing about the story, which is indication of how "riveting" it is.

amazing music

Most of it is rather lackluster, especially compared to GIR's other works. I will admit I'm rather fond of Ice Cap, though.

awesome new levels

This is wrong but I am not the man to explain why. I'm gonna see if Matt wants to handle this one.

creative custom bosses

Weren't there like, two at most? Worm was cool, but the snowman was ehh. Creativity is lacking in the worm though; it's a fairly common kind of boss, just not in CS.

very good custom graphics

They really aren't that great. The facepics are not very good at all. Double-res certainly isn't doing that much for the mod; it would honestly probably look better without it IMO. The graphics are blocky and mostly boring. The best thing I can compare it to (though not nearly to that extent) is Haunted House Story.

and assembly hacks that you have to see to believe.

Besides double-res what else was there of note? The weapons and some enemies, I guess.

Every modder wishes their mod was as good as this mod.

Bullshit.

 

Haters gonna hate.

I vote Picnic by BombchuLink.

 

Haters gonna hate.

I'd appreciate it if you don't act like an immature loser who clearly can't rebut any of my legitimate points but is still so stubborn about their opinion that they simply refuse to listen to reason. I gave a completely legitimate critique, and you said that I'm hating. Don't get yourself into an argument that even you clearly know you can't win. Perhaps if you had some legitimate counter-arguments I'd be more willing to listen to you but you instead opted to go with popular opinion and rely on that for support.

Good luck doing that in the real world, buddy.

Also if I haven't already I nominate JN original.

 

I remember literally nothing about the story, which is indication of how "riveting" it is.

It's true, the story is definitely something most people do not remember about this game. Even someone like me who must have played it at least three times through can't remember much about it. It's harmless and silly though, so I think it's fine. "Riveting" certainly isn't the word I'd use to describe it, though.

[Music] is rather lackluster, especially compared to GIR's other works. I will admit I'm rather fond of Ice Cap, though.

This is where I have to strongly disagree with you. Music to me is very subjective, but at the very least I can argue that a good deal of these songs are better than their original counterparts.

["Awesome new levels"] is wrong but I am not the man to explain why. I'm gonna see if Matt wants to handle this one.

I remember the Skype discussion we had about this. The only part of the game that really sticks out to me as "wow I don't like this" is the beginning section of Chapter 3, as it feels too big and I don't like fighting those two enemies over and over. Besides that, I do have fun with the rest of the game. Maybe from an objective standpoint the levels need improvement, but if I'm having fun GIR must have done something right.

Weren't there like, two at most? Worm was cool, but the snowman was ehh. Creativity is lacking in the worm though; it's a fairly common kind of boss, just not in CS.

Not much I can argue with here. I remember the worm being the best fight probably. I don't remember much about the snow guy but what I do remember isn't all that pleasant.

They really aren't that great. The facepics are not very good at all. Double-res certainly isn't doing that much for the mod; it would honestly probably look better without it IMO.

The facepics aren't great, but I'd argue that 2x res really works in the game's favor. I remember seeing some footage of the game without 2x res, and I'd pick the 2x res version any day.

The graphics are blocky and mostly boring. The best thing I can compare it to (though not nearly to that extent) is Haunted House Story.

Graphics are blocky and yeah they could look better but I still think that it's fine. The visuals as a whole are great.

Besides double-res what else was there of note? The weapons and some enemies, I guess.

Weapons don't feel too heavily modified, but they're still cool additions and keep the game interesting. Bosses (already discussed) and enemies have good and creative modifications.

oh shit i meant LAWL H8RS GONNA HATE

 

I vote Picnic...

Extended!?!

...by BombchuLink.

Oh... nvm

I guess I'll have to vote for it1 myself then (if that's allowed).


1"It" being Picnic - Extended.

 

First off, it should be noted that the praise I give for WTF? Story is largely based from a standpoint of "compared to other CS mods." If we were to compare games in general to WTF? Story, then it would be considered okay. Sorry if that was not clear. With that out of the way...

I remember literally nothing about the story, which is indication of how "riveting" it is.

What makes the storyline riveting for me are the two villains Excerpt and Interrobang.

To many, the whole "dark version of the protagonist" concept for the villain is rather cliche, and understandably so. But that's something that I'm something of a sucker for. I've always been intrigued by a story where instead of the protagonist facing a villain that is different from them where they have to exploit its weakness and use their skills to their advantage, they face someone with the same build, strengths, weaknesses, and skill set. And in order to beat that villain, the protagonist has to be the best at what they do. That kind of story is something that I have a bias for, as well as action sequences where the two similar skillsets clash. Also, I especially liked Excerpt because his personality just about mirrors what kind of personality I like to fill Quote with when I'm playing Cave Story, except evil.

Interrobang intrigued me because GIR did an excellent job of introducing her. I loved the flashback where Curly explains who she is, and it shows her destroying everything in her path. The dark visuals in that scene gave her a very menacing demeanor, and the icing on the cake was the music that played during that flashback. That cutscene gave me the feeling of "Oh my gosh, how are we even going to stop this villain?!?!" And if a villain can give me that feeling, then I'm hooked on the story from that point onward.

Most of it is rather lackluster, especially compared to GIR's other works. I will admit I'm rather fond of Ice Cap, though.

Going to have to disagree with you there. Not that I can exactly exploit fallacies in your logic though, considering I'm not good at explaining what makes good and bad music for me, and also that, like COOL said, music is subjective.

This is wrong but I am not the man to explain why. I'm gonna see if Matt wants to handle this one.

It is on this point where my "compared to other CS mods" disclaimer is most relevant. If you want to go in depth about professional level design and how WTF? Story's level design is inferior to that of a lot of commercial games, I won't argue with you. But the levels of WTF? Story face you with some fairly creative obstacles, and some not all-too badly mapped-out areas that are intuitive yet present you with a challenge. And that puts most all other mods to shame.

Weren't there like, two at most? Worm was cool, but the snowman was ehh. Creativity is lacking in the worm though; it's a fairly common kind of boss, just not in CS.

Don't forget that boss near the end of chapter 3, and also the brief fight with Interrobang near the end of chapter 4. So that's 4. Quite a lot of concepts in WTF? Story are knock-offs of concepts from other games. Sure, it's not creative from a standpoint of originality, but it's a pleasant surprise to see such foreign mechanics brought to life in a Cave Story mod.

They really aren't that great. The facepics are not very good at all. Double-res certainly isn't doing that much for the mod; it would honestly probably look better without it IMO. The graphics are blocky and mostly boring. The best thing I can compare it to (though not nearly to that extent) is Haunted House Story.

You know what? I take back what I said. I don't so much like the graphics as I like the asthetics. The first chapter makes you feel like you're inside of a computer. I guess the second chapter's asthetics weren't all that memorable. Chapter 3, I suppose okay, but not fantastic. Chapter 4, though, was sweet eye candy to me. The scrolling star background, the lit green platforms, I thought it looked really cool. And the snow area of chapter five brought me back to the days when I would play Sonic 3 & Knuckles over and over again, and it wasn't the music alone that did that for me, but also the asthetics. The carnival was also pretty colorful, I liked the look of it.

Perhaps the tilesets could use a little bit of touching up to get a bit more depth, but they still do the job very nicely. Again, this is compared to other Cave Story mods. Quite a lot of other games would beat out the asthetics of WTF? Story.

Besides double-res what else was there of note? The weapons and some enemies, I guess.

The Interrobang boss, the worm boss, and the roller coaster mini-game really took me by surprise. Not many Cave Story modders have the skill to pull that stuff off.

Bullshit.

That was mostly a non-serious statement said seriously, so I can't really back it up, nor can I prove you wrong. In fact, odds are that you are right. That being said, you can't deny that WTF? Story is a benchmark among the modding community, and, by the majority of people who play Cave Story mods, considered to be the best CS mod out there.

 

First off, it should be noted that the praise I give for WTF? Story is largely based from a standpoint of "compared to other CS mods." If we were to compare games in general to WTF? Story, then it would be considered okay. Sorry if that was not clear. With that out of the way...

You do bring up a good point. However, I do think there are a couple points where certain other mods do it better.

What makes the storyline riveting for me are the two villains Excerpt and Interrobang.

To many, the whole "dark version of the protagonist" concept for the villain is rather cliche, and understandably so. But that's something that I'm something of a sucker for. I've always been intrigued by a story where instead of the protagonist facing a villain that is different from them where they have to exploit its weakness and use their skills to their advantage, they face someone with the same build, strengths, weaknesses, and skill set. And in order to beat that villain, the protagonist has to be the best at what they do. That kind of story is something that I have a bias for, as well as action sequences where the two similar skillsets clash. Also, I especially liked Excerpt because his personality just about mirrors what kind of personality I like to fill Quote with when I'm playing Cave Story, except evil.
Interrobang intrigued me because GIR did an excellent job of introducing her. I loved the flashback where Curly explains who she is, and it shows her destroying everything in her path. The dark visuals in that scene gave her a very menacing demeanor, and the icing on the cake was the music that played during that flashback. That cutscene gave me the feeling of "Oh my gosh, how are we even going to stop this villain?!?!" And if a villain can give me that feeling, then I'm hooked on the story from that point onward.

I'm not going to argue, because you've explained my points fairly well. It is rather cliche, but if you have a personal bias for you there won't be any convincing to be done.

Going to have to disagree with you there. Not that I can exactly exploit fallacies in your logic though, considering I'm not good at explaining what makes good and bad music for me, and also that, like COOL said, music is subjective.

I'm really being serious when I say lackluster — I really do mean they don't have that shine that a lot of GIR's other works. Not to say that's the case for all, of course; I already said that I'm fond of Ice Cap, and it is a perfect example of what I mean when I say "shine". Most notably, his transcriptions were kinda boring to me.

It is on this point where my "compared to other CS mods" disclaimer is most relevant. If you want to go in depth about professional level design and how WTF? Story's level design is inferior to that of a lot of commercial games, I won't argue with you. But the levels of WTF? Story face you with some fairly creative obstacles, and some not all-too badly mapped-out areas that are intuitive yet present you with a challenge. And that puts most all other mods to shame.

Jenka's Nightmare. That's my counter-argument. JN (both the original and Zarrot's) have what I consider to be some of the greatest maps in all of CS modding. Namely the Genesis maps (and whatever Zarrot calls them,) most notably Genesis: Sky and Genesis: Light. The effort put into those maps using only the vanilla engine and the beauty of the maps themselves when played outshines the maps of WTF any day, in my opinion. I will admit that the Tetris level was similar in terms of effort, but it doesn't have the visual aspect that the Genesis maps did.

Don't forget that boss near the end of chapter 3, and also the brief fight with Interrobang near the end of chapter 4. So that's 4. Quite a lot of concepts in WTF? Story are knock-offs of concepts from other games. Sure, it's not creative from a standpoint of originality, but it's a pleasant surprise to see such foreign mechanics brought to life in a Cave Story mod.

Right, forgot about those bosses. Perhaps you should have considered a different adjective to describe the bosses, because while they certainly are well-done, they're far from original.

You know what? I take back what I said. I don't so much like the graphics as I like the asthetics. The first chapter makes you feel like you're inside of a computer. I guess the second chapter's asthetics weren't all that memorable. Chapter 3, I suppose okay, but not fantastic. Chapter 4, though, was sweet eye candy to me. The scrolling star background, the lit green platforms, I thought it looked really cool. And the snow area of chapter five brought me back to the days when I would play Sonic 3 & Knuckles over and over again, and it wasn't the music alone that did that for me, but also the asthetics. The carnival was also pretty colorful, I liked the look of it.

Perhaps the tilesets could use a little bit of touching up to get a bit more depth, but they still do the job very nicely. Again, this is compared to other Cave Story mods. Quite a lot of other games would beat out the asthetics of WTF? Story.

Chapter 4 and 5 were no doubt the best looking parts of the game. Chapters 1-3 really were not great. But if you want to say that WTF is one of the best looking mods there is in terms of aesthetics, I would have to disagree. The mod I have in mind is Xaser's Schism. Now /that/ was a nice-looking mod.

The Interrobang boss, the worm boss, and the roller coaster mini-game really took me by surprise. Not many Cave Story modders have the skill to pull that stuff off.

Yeah ok that's a good point.

That was mostly a non-serious statement said seriously, so I can't really back it up, nor can I prove you wrong. In fact, odds are that you are right. That being said, you can't deny that WTF? Story is a benchmark among the modding community, and, by the majority of people who play Cave Story mods, considered to be the best CS mod out there.

I figured you knew you were exaggerating, so I didn't bother with more than one word for that one. And you're right, I can't deny that it's a benchmark. But so are the other mods I've mentioned. The big difference between WTF and other good mods is that while most good mods do a few things really exceptionally, and everything else about average, WTF does just about everything above average. WTF is more rounded in its qualities, but in nearly every category another mod outshines it. I regretfully have to say that I can't think of any mods with better music, but that's because almost everyone transcribes their music and I have a bias against transcribed ORGs when composed ones are available.

While I'm at it, if I'm able to nominate more than one I'd like to nominate Schism.

 

I'm really being serious when I say lackluster — I really do mean they don't have that shine that a lot of GIR's other works. Not to say that's the case for all, of course; I already said that I'm fond of Ice Cap, and it is a perfect example of what I mean when I say "shine". Most notably, his transcriptions were kinda boring to me.

Not really sure what I can say other than that I disagree with you. Furthermore, while I thought Ice Cap was good, I felt that a lot of GIR's orgs in that mod were better than that one. Putrid 2, Miracle Matter, and Light were all better in my opinion, just to name a few.

Right, forgot about those bosses. Perhaps you should have considered a different adjective to describe the bosses, because while they certainly are well-done, they're far from original.

Noted.

The big difference between WTF and other good mods is that while most good mods do a few things really exceptionally, and everything else about average, WTF does just about everything above average. WTF is more rounded in its qualities, but in nearly every category another mod outshines it. I regretfully have to say that I can't think of any mods with better music, but that's because almost everyone transcribes their music and I have a bias against transcribed ORGs when composed ones are available.

My thoughts exactly. If I specifically stated that I thought WTF? Story was dominant in every single category, then sorry for that. I guess in most instances I used the phrase "other Cave Story mods" which somewhat implies that, but at least at the end of my spiel for level design, I did specify compared to most. WTF? Story isn't the absolute best at everything it does, but it's still, like you said, above average in pretty much all areas that mods that surpass it in one aspect or another do averagely. I do not at all disagree with your points regarding JN having better level design and Schism having better asthetics, which is why I didn't address those parts of your post.

I believe that WTF? Story surpasses most other mods in all areas, just not all mods in all areas. But it's WTF? Story's consistent strength in all of those categories that makes it my, and quite a few other people's, favorite mod.

 

While I'm at it, if I'm able to nominate more than one I'd like to nominate Schism.

That's something I'm already considering for next time, but for now we'll stick to just one nomination per person.

 

So, question:

When this whole thing gets started, will:

(a) The games themselves be promoted in the voting topic, and

(b) Voters be expected to have actually played all mods in question before voting, ie. explaining their vote?

Or is this gonna be a thing where everyone votes for themself and everyone else votes for the most popular one?

 

The voting cycle is simply a poll containing up to a maximum of ten of the most nominated mods. Of course once you discard all the one-nomination mods from this thread you are left with just two or three mods (though I intend to change things up to double that figure next quarter).

 

Only two mods have made it through to the voting process. Those mods are:

WTF? Story by GIRakaCHEEZER
Jenka's Nightmare by ZarroTsu

This part is pretty simple, just vote for which you want to win via the poll. At the end of the month voting will close and a winner will be decided.

Voting is now finished. The winner is Jenka's Nightmare by ZarroTsu.

 

Nightmare on the grounds that it actually happened this year.

 

WTF? Story is not so popular anymore : o
I'm not going to vote yet because it's a hard choice...

 

This is quite a surprise for me. I anticipated it to be close all throughout, but it looks like it's going to be a landslide. It's very early on in voting, so the current votes are not very conclusive, but already it's not looking good for WTF? Story.

 

Whole lotta silence here, as I suspected.