04 Aug 07 Dream. Build. Play. Where is the real innovation?

First of all! A big congratulations to all those who made the top 20.

I am a bit dissapointed that my game did not make the finalist list of the Microsoft’s XNA compo, Dream. Build. Play.

I would not have minded if I lost to truly innovative and fun games, but after browsing through the list of games, I am a tad dissapointed at the finalist list. There is nothing that I can do about it, but hey, I am here to rant, and if I can, I will.

So judging by the screenshots of the finalists and some YouTube vids, etc, here is my very superficial and subjective view on the top 20!

Big Sky:

It looks quite interesting. It doesnt look like a rehashed idea. Its a fellow South African too, so kudos to him/her!

Blazing Birds:

This game sadly looks like a badminton clone with some added candy. Not innovative.

Burning Angels:

Ive seen this vid. It looks very graphically awesome, but thats that. It looks like just another *yawn* shooter.

Chaos:

Cant really judge whats going on in the screenies, but it looks interesting… Hopefully its not a Geometry Wars-type clone.

Gravitron Ultra:

This actually looks really cool. I would definitely like to give this a try.

Gunstyle:

Hmmm… Pretty cartoony graphics! Does it look like another platform shooter? Perhaps.

Hasta la muerte:

Love the style and actually looks innovative.

Hippocrate’s Dilemma:

This looks innovative enough.

HurricaneX:

Can’t really judge the gameplay from the screenshots, but hopefully its not a rehash of RPG idea.

Little Gamers:

Interesting title… Cant judge the gameplay, but would love to try it.

Magic Crystals:

Looks interesting, hopefully it aint a match-3 clone.

ProximityHD:

Apparently this is based on a popular flash version. It looks innovative.

Ragu:

I would have gladly lost to this. Its style is crap, but strangely like-able. The gameplay also looks interesting. Will have to give this a try.

Rocketball:

*Cough* Dodgeball clone *cough*.

Samurai Soul Hunters:

The style looks great. It looks like Space Harrier (for those that can remember it).

Shuggy:

Looks quite puzzly and innovative.

Sprockets of Strife:

Is this a robot wars type thing?

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai:

Yep, looks very interesting.

Viduce:

Wow, now this looks very innovative, or perhaps I have not seen something like this before.

Yo Ho Kablammo:

Looks very wanna-play-this. Possibly innovative? yep.

Final Comment:

Well well. This is a biased and subjective post. Would this have been here if my game was on the top 20? Probably not, but I am just human… Judging from my comments above, I would say 11/20 are actually innovative.

P.S. Here is my game. Tell me what you think!

Its very small, because my internet at that time couldnt handle uploading 30mb, with 29mb being audio.

Roach Toaster: XNA