Game of the Week: Your Interest = I Restart It

[SamIAm]

Hi everyone.

For the entire year of 2014, I posted a weekly thread called "Game of the Week". I've gotten a couple PMs about restarting it, and if there's enough interest here, I will. Search the forum for threads with "Game of the Week" in the topic to get a better idea of what they were like. For example, here's one.

This is the concept, shamelessly copy/pasted from the original thread where I brought up the idea:

-------------------

I'm guessing there are a lot of people here like me. We've got so much going on in our grown-up lives that sometimes we're in the mood for gaming, but we come home tired after work, look at our collections, and can't quite commit to anything in particular. Then we just say to hell with it and do something else until bedtime.

A little extra motivation goes a long way, and a little more time spent playing on everyone's part would do a lot to contribute to the community here. That's where a Game of the Week club would come in.

Would you guys be up for this?

We could have everyone who wants to do so submit a game to an organizer (I'd be happy to do take care of that job) and then have the organizer post a weekly thread. The order of the games could be decided by the order of submission. Each week, besides of course playing the game, people could talk about it in the thread, help and encourage each other, and even post pics of the ending screen if they make it that far for some sweet, sweet forum cred.

The games should generally be short and accessible - the kind of games that people could play in a single day if they really wanted to. I remember the "plays well together" thread in the PCE section before, and while I loved the idea, I thought Legend of Xanadu was a little too much to ask given its length, difficulty and language barrier. Basically, RPGs are not going to be a good idea, though there may by room for exceptions.

Of course, TG-16 or PCE games, Hucard or CD games; anything would be fine. Maybe just not Supergrafx or Laseractive games.

So, if you're all up to it, if the mods will give it their blessing, and if you don't mind me being the one to post the weekly thread, send me a PM or post in this thread with your suggested game. If nobody else has suggested it, I'll add it to the list along with your username, and credit you for the suggestion when your game's week comes up. Heck, you can write up the introduction if you want to.

Sound good?

-----------------

Tell you all what: If I can get 15 people submitting 15 different games by Saturday, I'll start making the threads again. Games which were included in last year's GOTW will be fine. I think we can throw in more PCE and CD games this time around, too, thanks to the spread of Everdrives.

So it's up to you guys. Whether a newbie or an old-timer, each of you has the power to make one submission. Once we've played all the games on the list, we can do a reset and everyone can make another submission.

One last little thing, though: if you post something vague like "Maybe [game] would be good?" I'm not going to count it as your submission because it's impossible for me to judge whether you've really decided on it. Please use clear language. "I submit [game] as my GOTW entry" or something similar is best. Thanks!

[PukeSter]

Thanks SamIAm! I'm glad this is starting again.

I'd like to submit Override as my game. It's a pretty easy vertical shooter that's very fun as well.

[Sadler]

How about Kabuki Itoryodan? It needs an Arcade card, maybe not the best game to start with, but it's a lot of fun!

[o.pwuaioc]

I too am glad to see this starting again! I was starting to get worried. ;)

I'll just go ahead and nominate Rondo of Blood as this is my first time playing it through. Hopefully it's not too mainstream or overplayed to be undesirable.

Edit: If that's too long, then how about Super Star Soldier?

[Nec.Game.head]

I'd like to submit Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition. It's a classic and IMO it kicks the crap out of it's rival 16bit versions !!

[Gentlegamer]

I love the yearly community let's play. I think, though, that a new game every week may not give enough time for most people to dig into it, then the week moves on to a game they don't want to play or don't have.

May I suggest a two week period, perhaps with a voted upon game based on nominations?

[SamIAm]

We could do a two week period, but it's not always preferable to have more time. We talked about this last year: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=16000.msg327184#msg327184

Anyone who isn't in love with the current game will get quite bored waiting that long for the next one. Also, GOTW isn't so much about mastering a lot of games so much as it's about exposing people to a lot of games. It's also about just getting people to turn on their systems and talk to each other about PCE games, and I think that that happens more easily with a one week cycle that keeps things fresh.

Not to mention, since there's a new thread for every game, there's no reason why you can't keep playing one GOTW into the next cycle and keep posting about it. None of the topics get locked.

Voting on games is too much of a pain. I like the "everyone gets one game" system because it's simple and it gives a great sense of fairness and possibility.

------------

Current list:

1. Override (lukester)
2. Rondo of Blood (o.pwuaioc)
3. Street Fighter 2 (Nec.Game.head)

Sadler, I skipped you because of the above-mentioned clear-language issue. There's nothing wrong with the game you mentioned (nor you personally!), but I really want everyone to understand that they have to be unambiguous about their submission.

We saw some feathers ruffled last year because I skipped over some people who thought they were submitting a game while it looked to me like they were only discussing the appropriateness of certain types of games. Meanwhile, other people actually were discussing the appropriateness of certain types of games. It was messy, and I'd like to avoid it this time.

Thanks!

[Gentlegamer]

I nominate: Bloody Wolf

[Sadler]

Ha! Apparently my ability to read gave out before the last paragraph. Let me try that again: I submit Kabuki Itoryodan as my GOTW entry.

[crazydean]

Sounds like a great idea. One of the problems I have with the TG16 is figuring out which game to play.

I submit R-Type as my GOTW entry.

[BigusSchmuck]

I nominate Wizardry 3&4 just because.

[jtucci31]

I'm so glad this is coming back!! I've been missing it and feeling bad that I hadn't participated much in the previous ones before (well towards the end that is).

I nominate Lords of Thunder as my GoTW submission Thanks! Can't wait to get started

[Gredler]

I nominate TV Sports Hockey, cheap and easy to attain and a really fun experience for everyone

To play through the game successfully you will need to win a tournament!

Honestly though people might hate on this game, so if you want to not include it I would understand. I would nominate Parasol Stars as an alternate. This is a game I grew up playing but never actually conquered, so I would love to join into a community playthrough of it.

Regardless, I am in!

[escarioth]

i nominateone of my ever favorite games on turbografx
Blazing Lazers/gunhed

i've played this one so much

[VenomMacbeth]

I nominate Genpei Toumaden.  :3

It may be super difficult & Japanese, but I still think it's worthy.  If this one's too esoteric, I could do the sequel (Samurai Ghost) instead.  They're both so awesome!

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I nominate Hyper Wars!  Hardly anyone has played it, and it's a cheapie on 'tehBay'.  You need a super system card or Duo to play it.

Good luck!

[turboswimbz]

Oh so many would be good, but I'm going to pick a pointless game few people ever talk about.  Drop Off - aka DROP ROCK HORA HORA.




 A strange data east arkonidish clone.  It should be at least tried by more people I think.   O:)

[grolt]

Totally down for this, and I think it's a great idea to get people exposed to new games and give us all a reason to fire up our systems.  I'd be happy to get people playing the underrated World Court Tennis, but I'd like to try playing a maligned game like Deep Blue and try to find the good and charm in it.  Or maybe an old friend in Fantasy Zone.  I'm down for a bunch, anyway.   Let's say World Court Tennis for my first one.

[seieienbu]

I figure rather than picking an old favorite I'll nominate a game I haven't touched in a long while to give myself an excuse to play it again.  How about JJ & Jeff?

[esteban]

I nominate Hyper Wars!  Hardly anyone has played it, and it's a cheapie on 'tehBay'.  You need a super system card or Duo to play it.

Good luck!

I have not played this game in years. And by "played" I mean scratched my head.

WORTH IT FOR SOUNDTRACK ALONE.

[SamIAm]

Hey, this is great! Thanks for the replies, guys.

Current list:
1. Override (lukester)
2. Rondo of Blood (o.pwuaioc)
3. Street Fighter 2 (Nec.Game.head)
4. Bloody Wolf (Gentlegamer)
5. Kabuki Itoryodan (Sadler)
6. R-Type (crazydean)
7. Fray CD: Xak Gaiden (Nulltard)
8. Wizardry 3&4 (BigusSchmuck)
9. Lords of Thunder (jtucci31)
10. TV Sports Hockey (gredler)
11. Blazing Lazers (escarioth)
12. Genpei Toumaden (VenomMacbeth)
13. Hyper Wars (JoshTurboTrollX-16)
14. Drop Off (turboswimbz)
15. World Court Tennis (grolt)

I'll make up a post on Saturday.

seieienbu, is JJ & Jeff your final choice? Sorry to be such a stickler, but if people don't make committed statements, we risk going through time-consuming cycles of retractions.

-------------------

By the way, guys, you may recall from last year that I wrote up little introductory blurbs for every thread. I don't exactly mind doing that again, but this is inevitably going to lead to low-substance blurbs. I would really like it if each submitter would write the blurb for his or her game. That will definitely get more interested in playing than another round of me going "How about this game here? Sure looks nice. Let's try it, eh?"

You could approach your blurb in a number of ways. Explain why you chose it...Hype it up like you're writing for the back of the box...Threaten people who haven't been playing...Anything and everything is fine. Just try to get at least 100 words, and probably no more than 400 max. Save your deepest comments for later in the thread.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I nominate Hyper Wars!  Hardly anyone has played it, and it's a cheapie on 'tehBay'.  You need a super system card or Duo to play it.

Good luck!

I have not played this game in years. And by "played" I mean scratched my head.

WORTH IT FOR SOUNDTRACK ALONE.

Listen to music, watch robots fight.  There is no reason not to "Play" this one!! 

[jtucci31]

I hate to do this to you, but could I possibly change my submission to Atlantean? Would love to see more people playing and talking about that!

And if not, someone else should submit it

[sirhcman]

why no Darkwing Duck? I vote Darkwing Duck

[VenomMacbeth]

If ever we get to do more than one gotw, I'd like my next one to be Shubibibman 2

[SamIAm]

Well, you'll just have to keep that in mind for when the "reset" comes around.

By the way, kudos to lukester for writing the blurb in the first GOTW. I hope that everyone will do that. I really will result in higher-quality blurbs.

[Otaking]

I nominate Hana Taaka Daka!?
One of the most under-appreciated PCE games.

I nominated it in the old GotW but it didn't get accepted for some reason, cant remember why.

[seieienbu]

Yeah, JJ and Jeff is my final choice.  I'm glad these are back; I'll definitely participate in (at least) every one that I own.