Professional Second Banana
RPG Limit Break 2016 Schedule: http://bombch.us/B3WZ (MDT/GMT-6) or https://horaro.org/rpglb/2016 (autoconverts to your local timezone)
Please refer to the RPG Limit Break 2016 main thread for marathon dates, location, and other details. This thread is for game offers & discussion.
Submission Guidelines (will be used to choose runs for the schedule):
Length - This will be a 6-day marathon (running roughly from noon on 5/9 to midnight the night of 5/14, for about 132 total hours). We decided to extend the marathon by 1 extra day compared to RPGLB 2015 in order to accommodate a few more longer (6+ hours) runs, while still staying close to 30 total runs on the schedule. We want to have as much variety on the schedule as possible (both for games and runners), so 6+ hour runs will need to be very strong in the below areas.
Donation Incentives - What we're here for (along with having a fun week)! Can you name characters? Are there storyline branches/character choices/optional bosses that work in a speedrun route? Are there in-jokes in the game that fans would donate to see (ie the Phantom Train Suplex)? Strong donation incentives will be especially important for longer runs.
Entertainment - Does the run have interesting tricks/strats that make for engaging commentary? Is there variety in the gameplay throughout the course of the run? What is the cutscene to action ratio like?
Game Popularity - One of the purposes of this marathon will be giving some RPGs that aren't popular enough to make a GDQ schedule a chance in the spotlight; but at the same time we want to have games on the schedule that a decent chunk of our audience has heard of and will stick around for. More obscure games also tend to have difficulty getting commentators besides the runner; and having strong run commentary throughout this marathon is a big focus for RPGLB.
Marathon Safety - How consistently can your run be finished within the estimate you give? How big of an impact does randomness have on the run? How likely would it have to be mercy killed to prevent going significantly over estimate?
Language - As our main audience is going to be English-speakers, English text is generally preferred over Japanese or other languages for text-heavy games. This will be much less of a concern for games with skippable cutscenes and/or where the speedrun is easy to follow through animations and other non-text means. Voice acting in non-English languages is always fine, and if selectable can make for a good donation incentive.
Defining what is/isn't an RPG is something I'm not going to attempt - I and the people who help me form the game list/schedule will decide on a case-by-case basis if any offered games aren't appropriate for the marathon.
Limit is 5 games/10 total categories per runner - co-op runs will count towards each player’s limit, and all participants in co-op runs/races need to offer the game individually. Please only offer games that you’d want to actually run at the marathon (possibly as your only game); but if you have a preference order among your games you can note that. Deadline for submissions is December 19th at 11:59PM EST (GMT-5).
It’s fine to offer a game that someone else already has - if that game is accepted we’ll sort out when making the schedule who runs it, or if the game would work for a co-op/team run or race.
We'll have basic NTSC-U consoles (NES, SNES, PS2, Wii, etc) and a gaming PC on hand - if you need any other equipment provided please note that. It is expected that all console-based games will be run on original console or a console-based emulator (ie Wii VC/PSN/flash cart). It is fine to use PC-based emulators (BizHawk, SNES9X, ePSXe, etc) for submission videos, as long as you will be prepared to run the game on console at the marathon.
To offer games, fill out the below form for each game and post in this thread - you are free to edit your post up until the submission deadline.
Submission Form:
Game Name:
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different):
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc):
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content):
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run):
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Possible Donation Incentives:
Sample run video (strongly encouraged but not required):
Sample Submission:
Game Name: Final Fantasy IX
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 9:45
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:35 (32 min ending/Melodies of Life sing-a-long + 3 min Blackjack card game)
Pros/Cons: One of the least glitchy Final Fantasy games, so the speedrun route is all about using the equipment/abilities that the game gives you in creative ways. Battle strats vary considerably over the course of the run due to frequent party changes. Game has some heavy RNG factors like the # of random encounters, enemy AI, and card tournament; but is completely marathon safe (poor luck generally just means a slower run, and there are save points close to the most dangerous sections).
Possible Donation Incentives: Naming characters (Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger, Freya, Quina, Eiko, Amarant), showing Vivi/Quina wedding cutscene
Sample run video: <link to Twitch VOD with commentary>
Please refer to the RPG Limit Break 2016 main thread for marathon dates, location, and other details. This thread is for game offers & discussion.
Submission Guidelines (will be used to choose runs for the schedule):
Length - This will be a 6-day marathon (running roughly from noon on 5/9 to midnight the night of 5/14, for about 132 total hours). We decided to extend the marathon by 1 extra day compared to RPGLB 2015 in order to accommodate a few more longer (6+ hours) runs, while still staying close to 30 total runs on the schedule. We want to have as much variety on the schedule as possible (both for games and runners), so 6+ hour runs will need to be very strong in the below areas.
Donation Incentives - What we're here for (along with having a fun week)! Can you name characters? Are there storyline branches/character choices/optional bosses that work in a speedrun route? Are there in-jokes in the game that fans would donate to see (ie the Phantom Train Suplex)? Strong donation incentives will be especially important for longer runs.
Entertainment - Does the run have interesting tricks/strats that make for engaging commentary? Is there variety in the gameplay throughout the course of the run? What is the cutscene to action ratio like?
Game Popularity - One of the purposes of this marathon will be giving some RPGs that aren't popular enough to make a GDQ schedule a chance in the spotlight; but at the same time we want to have games on the schedule that a decent chunk of our audience has heard of and will stick around for. More obscure games also tend to have difficulty getting commentators besides the runner; and having strong run commentary throughout this marathon is a big focus for RPGLB.
Marathon Safety - How consistently can your run be finished within the estimate you give? How big of an impact does randomness have on the run? How likely would it have to be mercy killed to prevent going significantly over estimate?
Language - As our main audience is going to be English-speakers, English text is generally preferred over Japanese or other languages for text-heavy games. This will be much less of a concern for games with skippable cutscenes and/or where the speedrun is easy to follow through animations and other non-text means. Voice acting in non-English languages is always fine, and if selectable can make for a good donation incentive.
Defining what is/isn't an RPG is something I'm not going to attempt - I and the people who help me form the game list/schedule will decide on a case-by-case basis if any offered games aren't appropriate for the marathon.
Limit is 5 games/10 total categories per runner - co-op runs will count towards each player’s limit, and all participants in co-op runs/races need to offer the game individually. Please only offer games that you’d want to actually run at the marathon (possibly as your only game); but if you have a preference order among your games you can note that. Deadline for submissions is December 19th at 11:59PM EST (GMT-5).
It’s fine to offer a game that someone else already has - if that game is accepted we’ll sort out when making the schedule who runs it, or if the game would work for a co-op/team run or race.
We'll have basic NTSC-U consoles (NES, SNES, PS2, Wii, etc) and a gaming PC on hand - if you need any other equipment provided please note that. It is expected that all console-based games will be run on original console or a console-based emulator (ie Wii VC/PSN/flash cart). It is fine to use PC-based emulators (BizHawk, SNES9X, ePSXe, etc) for submission videos, as long as you will be prepared to run the game on console at the marathon.
To offer games, fill out the below form for each game and post in this thread - you are free to edit your post up until the submission deadline.
Submission Form:
Game Name:
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different):
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc):
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content):
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run):
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Possible Donation Incentives:
Sample run video (strongly encouraged but not required):
Sample Submission:
Game Name: Final Fantasy IX
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 9:45
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:35 (32 min ending/Melodies of Life sing-a-long + 3 min Blackjack card game)
Pros/Cons: One of the least glitchy Final Fantasy games, so the speedrun route is all about using the equipment/abilities that the game gives you in creative ways. Battle strats vary considerably over the course of the run due to frequent party changes. Game has some heavy RNG factors like the # of random encounters, enemy AI, and card tournament; but is completely marathon safe (poor luck generally just means a slower run, and there are save points close to the most dangerous sections).
Possible Donation Incentives: Naming characters (Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger, Freya, Quina, Eiko, Amarant), showing Vivi/Quina wedding cutscene
Sample run video: <link to Twitch VOD with commentary>
Thread title: