January 23rd was our 10th annual Pixel Day on NG. Here are the winners!
Top Four Pixel Art ($160, $100, $80, $50)
“This scene is really beautiful. Another piece where in one image the characters and environment make me want to know more about what’s going on in their world outside of this one festival. The lighting keeps everything warm and pleasant against the night.” -gatekid3
We loved the sense of adventure this piece evoked!
“The design and framing make this entity both imposing and interesting. The bright orange against the muted. Carrion’s art style always seems to tap into something that makes me want to ask a bunch of questions about the world.” -gatekid3
“I really love the palette chosen. Something about it draws me in. The shading is stylistic and eye-catching. I kind of want to see a game with this character and palette. I feel like it would be visually stunning.” -gatekid3
Thank you @gatekid3, @IvanAlmighty, @JohnnyUtah and @Spazkid for art judging assistance!
Top Five Games ($210, $120, $80, $50, $50)
“No surprise when coming from Jack, but a fun original concept where you can edit a platforming level as you go... but watch out for the giant rolling pile of garbage hot on your tail making you have to place tiles UNDER PRESSURE. Oozes with charm and cute polish! My only small nitpick is I wish it had the controls listed up-front.” -BoMToons
"Like Mosa Lina on wheels, this combination of an endless runner with imm-sim elements made me feel oh-so-clever when I got to use whatever was on hand to get myself out of a jam! While I don't think it nailed the concept as much as I'd like, the game was nevertheless incredibly addictive and fun, especially due to its very bouncy and lively vibes, and it sure made me hungry for a sequel!" -FutureCopLGF
"What a great short-and-sweet horror story! What really got me was how well-paced the experience was: it's so elegant in how it escalates the situation from subtle to overt and then ends at a natural high point. The gameplay segments never felt overly indulgent either, doing just enough to keep things fresh but not wear out their welcome. Some great craftmanship shown here: perfectly balanced, as all stories should be!" -FutureCopLGF
“Simple mechanics and graphics, but complex storytelling combine for an immersive adventure that kept me engaged to the end and even *gasp* made me THINK about life, technology, community, and communication.” -BoMToons
“Nice tower defense game. I liked that the enemies attack the towers directly as they pass and can destroy towers. It made for interesting dynamics where if you don't keep your towers "healthy" you can find yourself losing towers and needing to rebuild quickly. I thought the pixel art aesthetic was pretty unique too with bulbous tentacles fossily creatures mixed with some sci-fi.” -BoMToons
"I had a bit of a rough first impression with this game: I wanted to love it because of its energetic presentation, but the interface/controls were a bit rough and I didn't see the appeal of its mechanics, particularly the melee-based towers. Once I pushed through to the later levels, though, I was surprised at how chaotically tactical and fun it could be! Definitely some good potential here, buried under the dirt like a fossil! I'm looking forward to revisiting this in its final version!" -FutureCopLGF
“This game has a ton of potential with some balancing and an easier learning curve. I really like the concept of "only controlling the position" of your player while attacks are performed automatically. I could see this becoming a really engrossing casual game, especially if the controls were switched from keyboard to mouse.” -BoMToons
"It's easy for my eyes to glaze over upon seeing yet another Survivors-like, especially when it's not doing anything particularly new or interesting. In spite of that, though, SENTINEL still managed to pull off the fundamentals well enough to make even an old cynic like me get into that classic fun loop of blasting through hordes. In particular, I enjoyed experimenting with the different classes on offer, and thought that it had some good wave design and enemy variety to keep things exciting. Not too shabby!" -FutureCopLGF
"Absolutely love the grungy, punk aesthetic that is seeping through every pixel of this game: the vibes make me nostalgic for the early Grand Theft Auto titles. While the presentation is definitely the star of the show, the gameplay is no slouch either, boasting a satisfying escalation of difficulty through great enemy variety, and I love how you need to tactically juggle weapons and kill civilians for health to survive. It makes for a simple but fun arena shooter that I enjoyed going back to playing with different loadouts!" -FutureCopLGF
Honorable Mention
"I absolutely love it when art collabs get creative with their presentation, and Wanted exceeded my expectations greatly, creating a game that you'd think would just be a gimmick but actually stands toe-to-toe with any other game in terms of addictive fun and juicy feel, while simultaneously presenting the art in a way that interests the viewer to see it all much more than your bog-standard slideshow ever could!" -FutureCopLGF
“Though simple, really nice level of polish and easy to "pick up and play." I liked that some twists were introduced with moving heads and time speed ups. I would have loved to see more twists, but maybe I just didn't make it far enough! I thought the music/sfx were well done too. Nice to unite so many artists under one banner.” -BoMToons
"Sometimes I feel foolish, addictively playing a game so primitively simplistic as pace, but what can I say: fun is fun! I had a fantastic time looking at the hi-score tables, wondering how the hell someone got a time as fast as that, and then experimenting over and over with how I could possibly optimize my run to go as fast as that, course after course after course!" -FutureCopLGF
Thank you @BoMToons and @FutureCopLGF for game judging assistance!
Top Three Movies ($160, $100, $80)
“An absolute joy to watch as a diehard fan of Avatar. There was so much love put into every scene It's hard to point out anything without gushing about every detail.” -gatekid3
“Really ambitious idea, stylish, cool for the sake of cool and I love it (one might even call it rad). I’m also a sucker for things tied to its soundtrack.” -gatekid3
“Conceptually my favorite one. A simple idea but a really charming and effective one. I really loved the black hole effect. It was quite ribbiting.” -gatekid3
Music winners and more, below!
