[p-ond]

Submission: Click Below!!! :>

We can't talk about benjeep's entry without talking about research. The thing that strikes me most about this document is the precision. We have a precise date, a precise area, and a very precise story premise.

I love the in-world setting of this game, and the world building outside of the game environment with the 'creation' of your own games company. You went beyond the brief in many regards, including with sharing the ethos and motivation for your specific game idea. The character profiles have great depth and feel fleshed out and real- characters I already feel I can interact with. You've also laid out each of the characters' motivations really well which gives great realism to the game. The 'tutorial' / beginning steps of the game are clearly defined, as is the overarching plot- beginning, middle, and end, in fab detail.

Loved the inclusion of the contemporary fashion poster for the character customisation section- nice touch- and this is what I mean about research! Excellent application.
The camera plot point is great and provides a wonderful progression path for the player, and again we see great use of research and sources in this section. The camera mechanics are explained well and the film stock detail is another very nice touch.

Gameplay mechanics have been given clear and considered thought, from the way the camera and photography works to the equid categorisation & rarity, to the day/night cycling, to the RNG events and Sundance's interaction. Great work there. The whole project is very easy to read with a clear writing style.

As for visuals and audio, great, straightforward description of visual direction and incredible detail in the UI sections. User-made UI mockups are stunning with a clear & consistent visual style. Audio is well considered and we have research and sources again (!) for lovely examples of period-relevant music. Love the use of diegetic sound.

Excellent production plan and references list, we have budget, roles, team sizes, a timeline, and detailed production stages.

Stunning title art, in depth characters and story, a visual and audio design beautifully selected to match the setting and themes, fantastic research and fully fleshed production plan, this entry has has it all. Jessie Lee Wildlife Photographer has a clear inspiration, but develops upon the genre in an interesting, very well considered way.

[p-ond]

" Enter the World of Saegul- "

Wow! Another beautiful entry. Another example of a coherent audio/visual combination, The World of Saegul is a breathtaking multi-platform sim game that feels like a Lioden x The Endless Forest lovechild.



What really piqued my interest to start with was the equid stat bars being oriented around emotion, rather than physical characteristics. The game's goal for exploring character development is a really unique approach, and I like the idea off the bat.

I really like the 'one character at a time' approach; really great for encouraging depth of progression with a character.

The document has a nice aesthetic with a handy contents overview, and the UI mockups provided are clean and professional looking. The game has a clear artistic direction, with a beautiful selection of music (really, stunning cinematic choices) that combine gorgeously with the earthy, warm palette and natural vistas that legend has chosen. I am so intrigued by the world of Saegul, and I would love to dive into it and learn more. I think this game concept could be adapted really well into a forum based role-play game too, and I for one would BE there if it were.

Another great part of this submission is the NPC characters. Legend has made original character art and fleshed out the NPCs with personality and sample dialogue, and I love the grumpy couple npcs included-- great twist on a common motif.

The flavour of this game tickles me in a most satisfying way. You've hit a series of perfect spots with the language and fantasy-style names chosen, the palette and style, and the mystical vibe of the world you've created. Very beautifully described setting overview, lovely choice of images to complement the writing. Legend also included some sample quests-- an excellent addition that helps describe the sense of the game. Another entry with a life-cycle aspect, I really like the way legend has described this mechanic, as combined with the character-development angle of this game, allows for a great sense of the player's entire character and their stages, all the way from life to death.

This entry also strikes me in a personal way. I really can't overstate how beautiful the whole vibe is, and working as I do irl with elderly people, I get a sense of their lives and stories and the many people they have been throughout their journeys on this earth. The world of Saegul really reflected that feeling back to me, as a game that reads with great respect to life itself, to souls and to the infiniteness and flexibility of being. It reads as a project that really understands beauty in all things living and feeling. I hope that makes sense lol.

Really beautiful natural fantasy vibe. An entry that seems to speak from a great place of passion and creativity. 10/10 would play without hesitation. PLEASE go check out the document in the link above, and stick some of those soundtracks on in the background for extra immersion. ( I want your music taste leg )

[p-ond]

okay are u ready ( get ready )

[Shadowhunter,]

I’m not ready

[jensen ackles]

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EEP

[p-ond]

GAME JAM RESULTS — TOP SECRET

Guys I cannot stress enough how wonderful all these entries are. What strikes me most is how everyone seems to have a strength that shines through in their work. It was a real gift to be able to judge this competition and I want to thank you all again for being so patient with me. This was a great close-out to my tenure with wild mountain equids and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to participate in this fun lil community with you.

Special thanks goes out to Hobbit Geek and OddlyShaded who offered help with the judging, and a big thanks to Copper, to Skelelm, and to everyone else who reached out to check up on me. You (yes, even the girl reading this) people are beautiful (also the boys and enbies reading this too. Big fat sloppy hugs for all of you).

I used a mark scheme to help me judge, but the final winner was not based entirely on the score system. If you’d like some critical feedback on your submission, you can check it out here, the marking criteria and judging guide is also linked above for reference.

And now the winner…

Equid Name: Sundance
Submission: Click Below!!! :>

Everybody give a big congratulations to Benjeep!

It is without a doubt that this entry has one of the most detailed, most researched stories in the contest. From the depth and consideration of the theme, the setting, the detail on the characters and their backstories, to the UI graphics, the referencing of sources, and the depth of thought put into the gameplay mechanics, this entry was an exceptional submission all round. Reading this project was immersive, the game idea is engaging, it’s unconventional but posed perfectly to bring a nonviolent vibe to an open world genre by the likes of red dead redemption. I want to play it already, I want to talk about it with my friends, I want a sequel. If you haven’t given it a look yet I absolutely urge you to go and dip your toes in the world Benjeep created here, and we can collectively picket rockstar until they fund and build the project.

Points mean Prizes
Everyone who entered will be eligible to receive a breeding slot from one of my equids! [link to their pages here] Just post your selection in this thread, and you can use this message as permission. No time limit on this, you can choose later or gift/trade the choice to someone else if you’d like to. I have no plans to sell my equids or give out any other breeding slots just for your info! Your slots will be safe.

Kitsyn has very kindly offered to make a prize for the community selected winner. They will be running a poll in the fanclub discord, and I believe they are offering a breeding spot or custom. The prize will be up to them and what they are happy to provide!

It’s not my place to offer HMs since I’m no longer an artist, but know that if I were on the team still, all of you would be getting honourable mentions for your work. Really cannot overstate how much talent this community attracts.

Reflection on the process:
If I were going to run this kind of contest again, I’d definitely set the marking criteria at the start of the contest and I’d make it available to you so that everyone is more on the same page. I’d also set out some runner up prizes from the start- I didn’t anticipate how many of you would put such depth and effort into your work here. Goes without saying I’d also judge it sooner. I underestimated how much time and energy it might take to give all the entries proper consideration. Can’t thank you guys enough for having patience with me while waiting for the results (life got in the way a little bit and I am undeniably imperfect as a person, you guys are very flexible and forgiving <3 ).

Keep on gaming gamers <3 here’s some outro music courtesy of jeep x [link]

[jensen ackles]

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MASSIVE congrats benjeep!!! and soooo well done for everyone involved. this competition was so much fun, and i absolutely plan to move forward and develop my concept further anyways hehehe

as for slots.... im trying to cut down, but i'd love to tosd my herd in as well for reward slots !! w a few exceptions
.. feel free to post here or dm me and ill send perms out <3 love this community and love all the hard work everyone put in. so much to be proud of !!

[the legend leg]

wow first off congrats benjeep !! an incredible win for the books~

thank you pond and everyone who you helped judge. i appreciate the time you took to critique our entries and provide feedback (: the point system was for sure the most interesting- never did i expect to see a grading guide outside of the classroom LOL!

[benjeep]

oh my goodness, it's taken me a hot second to try and compose myself to type up a reply, so incredibly grateful to be able to take Sundance home, feeling pretty stunned at the moment ;o; She will be greatly treasured and loved!!

Thank you pond for all the time, effort, and thought you poured into creating and judging this competition. It was really special to be able to read your feedback for every game, your encouragement and care for the community is greatly felt! <3

I also wanted to express my congrats to all the incredibly talented entrants for their wonderful entries!! Each was so unique and creative, I wanna play all these games so bad!!

I'd also really like to contribute to the prize pool, so I will be organizing a giveaway to hand out several of Sundance's slots, slots from my other equids, and some art, so that everyone who entered this comp can come away with a little prize from myself as well! I'm not 100% sure how I'm going about it yet, and it might take a bit to get organized, but please keep your eyes peeled! Will be posting a link in this thread and on possibly on discord once it's set up.

** EDIT - Check out my giveaway here!

[song&storm]

Congrats benjeep!! Well deserved. Thank you so much p-ond and the judges for your thorough analysis on everyone's entries too. This could not have been an easy comp to judge!! This was fun and I'm happy I participated!

I majored game development in college and I worked as an in-house video game designer for a few years. I've switched careers since then, but this game dev holds a special place in my heart. My entry is in no way professional-level work anymore, but creating my submission brought me back to those fun days. The level of depth, detail, mechanics, assets, concept art, and prototypes of everyone else's entries genuinely blew me away 💗 This community is so ridiculously talented. The scoring criteria reminded me of my game design thesis finals too, well done!



I can't help but feel like song&storm read the unconscious minds of 90% of the wme community with this one.


This is one of the best compliments I'd love to hear about my work. Thank you!

If anyone would like to make a WME dating sim a reality, please feel free to run with my pitch, make it your own, and make it happen in whatever way, shape, or form! There are many game engines out there for all skill levels, including Ren'py, Godot, GameMaker, RPG Maker, Unity, or even Unreal. If anyone wants to talk abt game dev my discord DMs are open!