Best of BYOND

Lately I've been writing some negative reviews, so it's time for a positive one.

Gameplay - 9/10

As you enter the game, you're greeted with the rainy outside of a mansion, with a "Click here to play button". In the background is music that sets the mood for the game. Then, you're thrown into a gigantic mansion- or, in some cases, a hospital, or a camp.

I decided to start a game, without hosting- which is made possible because of Murder Mansion's surprisingly intelligent AIs (aside from the repetetive dialogue, that is). There are many modes to choose from, including Classic- there's a murderer in the mansion, and you have to find out who; Clue- find clues in various rooms to find out that Mr. Green did use the candlestick in the kitchen; Escape- find what you need to be able to get out of the place; as well as many more. To find out about those modes, you'll have to play for yourself.

Aside from a wide variety of choices with maps and game modes, you're also given choices for your character, and for what weapons you'll use to slaugher your victims.

Now, about the interface. At first it seems a bit complicated to use, and I'll admit, I had to play a few games to get used to it. However, after you play a few times, you'll be able to quickly navigate through the "hands" (including the punch, push, and interacting one), and it'll make it much more fun to play.

Presentation - 9/10

The graphics are very beautifully done. Everything goes very well together, and the fact that they're all original is even better. They may not all look amazing, but they work very well for the type of game it is. The thing that really won me over in this category is the sounds. To really enjoy this game, you absolutely need to turn your sound on.

Whether it be the rain outside, the thunder, the eerie background music, the scream of a victim... they all fit the game very well, and luckily, they don't get annoying either! The sounds really amaze me, though. Out of all the games I've ever played on BYOND, this one has the best audio.

Originality - 8/10

For BYOND standards (being a site that has mostly games based off anime or pre-existing games), it's very original. However, I couldn't give it a perfect score because I always (even without the mode) saw it based on Clue, even if only a little.

Overall - 9/10

Murder Mansion is an amazing game. You can play it a hundred times, and not get bored, with all of the things you can change around. There are numerous possible outcomes of the game, and no two rounds are exactly alike. In my opinion, the game should be much more popular than it is now. To sum the game up, it's similar Mitadake High, with a more controlled community, built in maps, less popular, less "RK", and a more interractive environment.

If you like Mitadake High, those classic horror films, or are just in the mood to beat someone to death with a shovel, Murder Mansion is most definitely worth a try.

(I didn't add any screenshots because the hub has PLENTY.)

I released Apples to Apples today. It's simple yet fun gameplay to pass the time. You can download it, but to play you need to host it, as there's a three person minimum to be able to play. It's not perfect, especially considering I coded it all today, because the old version was crap. http://www.byond.com/games/SabakunoKira/A2A

No more new members can submit games, and only long time members can submit blogs for review. The same people submitted the same game again and again and again for about a month, and I'm getting tired of it. That's all, pretty much.

Though, on a random note, DNO2's going into it's third launch of Closed Alpha pretty soon.. so that's some good news.

Just a little update.

Slowly but surely I've been moving files from my main computer to my laptop, which I use much more often. All I have to do is move a few more project files over here, including- Surprise- Code Lyoko: BYOND!

So, I'll get back to work on DNO2, and CLB. I'd say it's safe to say in a month or so, CLB would be alright for closed testing, and the same for DNO2.

I'm also planning to start a few new projects in the future.. by that, though, I mean in a few months- have to get DNO2 and CLB in the alpha stages first, before I take on too many projects at once.

Just to see the results, I'm curious about how many BYOND-ers have actual skill doing what.
Please be honest, it's fine if you can't code or icon, and can barely get to level 100 on -insert game name here-. I'm just curious.

Also, when I say 'iconner' or 'coder', I don't mean 'can you recolor a base icon', or 'can you change around admin'.. I mean an actual iconner or programmer, with decent skill, that you can make your own game in full. Same with mapping, etc.