you know something?… this looks f***ing awesome.

though i do agree with Kilin. most of your games seem like complete rip-offs of other games. Now i know that's fine for many but to me, as a game dev who strives for original content, i always hated fan games. (and remakes too)

Understood. I'm grateful for that decision, too.

- Do I have to send in an official submission PM and stuff, or have you already filed the game as an entry?

- When may I replace the current dud file with the real file again (and unhide the download links on other sites)?

I found it more logical to submit the game early (aka, before the deadline rather than after it) and didn't read the rules closely enough. Will do this in the future. I apologize for the inconveniences.

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Change of topic: this is the second time someone has gotten disqualified for rule breaking. This might be either because of people being bad on reading the rules, or the rules being bad on being visible.

As on the comments on the actual game:

- I am aware that music is my weakness. However, I have to real artistic ambitions with my music, I merely see it as 'mood-setting sounds'. Since I haven't gotten any real musical education (and the Swedish and English words for stuff are all different so that the good texts on the matter contain lots of stuff I have no idea what it is) my method of composing is, basically, placing random notes and listen/edit until it sounds good. I'm also pretty tone-deaf so I can't really appreciate what music is really good; I actually took classes in choir singing but got expelled because the teacher thought I was unable to learn to sing.

Getting a composer? All my attempts on collaborating with people has ended with them stopping to reply to my PMs, and often I don't even get the stuff they said they'd make. I'd rather work with myself, because I'm reliable.

- I don't really like the idea that indie games have to be so dang creative all the time. Many indie games are either based on gimmicks or story-telling. I like videogames that are based on gameplay. Gimmicks detract from the main gameplay, cutscenes are not gameplay. That leaves me with 'regurgiating' what I call "genre games". I don't decide to make a "game", I always decide to do a "metroivania" or a "3D terrain engine". Stating your goals before starting is actually quite important to reaching them.

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I was actually inspired by Kid Icarus when making this game, deciding to add in some stuff I liked and removing some things I disliked. The Zelda shop quote… heh heh. I'm hoping everyone chuckles a bit the first time they see it. I'm not overly necrophilic and saying that everything was better at the NES days, but back in those days silly japanese ideas was actually economically viable. That's what I miss from the games today.

Nobody's asking you to reinvent the wheel, and it's certainly okay to revisit existing genres if it's what really fits your game. But being able to come up with stuff that makes your game stand out is what'll get you attention. You say you want to focus on gameplay but you don't like how indie games have to be innovative, when you have to realize that most of the successful indie games are about their gameplay. Ignoring story is a crime, by the way, and while many games work without one, some of the ones that leave the deepest wounds are the ones with a talented storyteller behind them.

If you're stuck for ideas on how to make your game unique, come to me. That's one of the things I do best. If you want good music, we have tons of great composers on the site, but I'll tell you that learning to compose has been one of the best things I've ever done, and I've never taken any music theory or sat down and listened to Mozart. I've just tried and failed and learned what music I liked.

The only reason I was being so critical is because I see a lot of unfulfilled potential here. I'm glad you didn't take it too hard, but I can see that you're making every attempt to justify yourself. So let me give you one last piece of advice:

For your next game, whatever it is, I challenge you to try something new. Try a genre or setting you wouldn't normally do, and think about how you can expand upon it. Even consider mixing genres to make something unique. Let me give you some examples.

- Terminys is an action RPG that takes elements from the Mother and Touhou series and combines them with tons of character customization. Notice that I can still make references to existing series, but the gameplay is nothing like either of them.

- 64DCG is a shmup-RPG hybrid that focuses on collecting party members and utilizing their strengths to clear bosses.

- Lixim is an action platformer and life sim hybrid that puts you in a living world and requires you to simultaneously take care of semi-intelligent creatures while trying to keep yourself alive.

- Or in a game you're more familiar with but I can safely assume you haven't played (which is terrible sportsmanship, I might add), TTR was a bullethell/action RPG hybrid that required people to come up with a balance between playing offensively and playing defensively. Unfortunately everyone here is a pansy when it comes to bullet hell, so my balancing was a little out of place.

I'd suggest you try working in a small team, but I honestly can't see you as part of a team for various reasons. Again, you're not meant to reinvent the wheel, but having the ability to take an existing idea and put it in your own style is a talent that's crucial to any aspiring artist. Because everything's been done before, and your job is to do what's been done before in your own unique way.

I love my job.

Steven instead of trying to compose everything because you have too much free time, try to give other people chances as well :P

Looks good, keep it up :)