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[iffi]

I don't want to be the guy.

The part I don't like about IWBTG is that if you took away its difficulty it really wouldn't be worth playing (or at least I don't see anything notable about it besides its difficulty). At least other games known for their difficulty such as bullet hell shmups have solid and fun mechanics that are enhanced, but don't entirely rely on, difficulty, especially Fake Difficulty and "cheap" deaths to be entertaining.

[Nillo]

The original IWBTG had the novelty of being the only game to completely mess with the player and cheaply kill them in every way possible. Now that the novelty is wearing off, I'm less excited about this sequel but I'll probably give it a try later anyway.

[SirNiko]

IWBTG's greatest strength was the incredible variety of the levels and situations. Syoban Action had a lot of funny, unexpected deaths, but they didn't vary nearly as much as the humor of suddenly shifting tetris blocks, upward flying applies, or the moon crashing on your head and chasing you through several screens.

The downside is that the really precise platforming, paired with insta-death and lots of obstacles between save points that makes the game incredibly tedious to play. The apple-flying-up is funny until you have to do it twenty times in a row, and then just when you've managed to master it, the next unexpected death makes you start over.

If IWBTG was just a smidgen slower so you had a little more time to dodge things, or you had just a little higher jump so that the margin of error wasn't so razor thin, it would be a fantastic game. As it is, it's just something you watch on Youtube because the real thing is a tedious timesink between the jokes.

[deathtotheweird]

I found the game quite boring. suppose it's due to the extreme trial and error nature.

and I don't find any bit of this game funny or challenging, just needlessly frustrating. maybe if I were retarded I would have found the game funny, but I'm not so I don't. it comes off as if it's trying too hard to be funny, when it's actually just being really lame.

[Razz]

Tried playing it, for some reason buttons wouldn't map properly on my PS3 controller so I had to use the keyboard. I found the map screen kind of entertaining, but the first level made me stop playing altogether. The sequence where you fly into the level takes forever, and you have to watch it a few times before you make it to the first checkpoint. I stopped shortly after that because I realized I wasn't having any fun any more.

So in other words, it's a step above IWBTG because I actually got past the first screen before quitting out of boredom.

[Superb Joe]

somebody should make one of these stupid terrible games but it records your actions when you successfully complete an area and if you complete the whole game the ending is just the recording of the game being completed in a minute and 30 seconds by you to hammer home how little you've accomplished and what a massive dumbass you are

[iffi]

Super Meat Boy produces a similar effect by showing you all the times you failed along with your one successful run.

[phubans]

Super grateful that I'm not the only one who isn't impressed with this gimmicky bullshit, that's utterly insulting to game design(ers).

[ThemsAllTook]

somebody should make one of these stupid terrible games but it records your actions when you successfully complete an area and if you complete the whole game the ending is just the recording of the game being completed in a minute and 30 seconds by you to hammer home how little you've accomplished and what a massive dumbass you are

That's a fantastic idea. I'm totally stealing it for a future game.

[Nix]

But it should go in reverse and then the very end is just you back at the beginning

[noah!]

somebody should make one of these stupid terrible games but it records your actions when you successfully complete an area and if you complete the whole game the ending is just the recording of the game being completed in a minute and 30 seconds by you to hammer home how little you've accomplished and what a massive dumbass you are

Not long ago I dedicated 3 months of my life to beating a game that can be cleared in 30 minutes. It was a valuable experience and one I would recommend to anybody. It teaches you valuable life lessons like the value of persistence and dedication. I feel proud that I can do the impossible, even though the impossible largely consists of pushing my thumbs against a piece of plastic for an extended period of time.

[Blademasterbobo]

so difficulty is a gimmick and phubans is a girly wimpy man

[Radix]

IWBTG's greatest strength was the incredible variety of the levels and situations. Syoban Action had a lot of funny, unexpected deaths, but they didn't vary nearly as much as the humor of suddenly shifting tetris blocks, upward flying applies, or the moon crashing on your head and chasing you through several screens.

I believe there's a Cat Mario sequel/fangame/something unrelated that I've confused with it which is more of an exploratory platformer, and which is pretty much exactly the IWBTG experience (down to a sudden Guile hurricane kick out of nothwhere). I can't remember what it's called, someone educate me.

I haven't played this or the other sequel(s), and I didn't like the original IWBTG much. But imo it's kinds of pointless to trash it, since it was never meant to have broad appeal or follow any sort of sensible design conventions. It's like ripping on a retarded kid: yeah, he sucks at everything, but his parents love him, he has a few friends, and he doesn't care what you think anyway.

Edit: you know what, it also broke some ground when it comes to Western independent masocore, even if it wasn't wholly original. It deserves a bit of credit for that, regardless of what you think of the game itself. (I don't know if this game is the same author, if it is then from the sounds of it he hasn't improved much, but he's also an amateur making an unexpectedly popular game and not making money out of it).

[shig]

biggest challenge of the game is to make it not freeze right at the fucking intro screen

[SirNiko]

I believe there's a Cat Mario sequel/fangame/something unrelated that I've confused with it which is more of an exploratory platformer, and which is pretty much exactly the IWBTG experience (down to a sudden Guile hurricane kick out of nothwhere). I can't remember what it's called, someone educate me.

http://king-soukutu.com/flash/owata.html

You're almost certainly thinking of The Big Adventure of Owata's Life.

It features an IWBTG tribute level at the end which is ironically much easier than anything in the original game.

[s0]

I haven't played this or the other sequel(s), and I didn't like the original IWBTG much. But imo it's kinds of pointless to trash it, since it was never meant to have broad appeal or follow any sort of sensible design conventions. It's like ripping on a retarded kid: yeah, he sucks at everything, but his parents love him, he has a few friends, and he doesn't care what you think anyway.

Yeah it's a bit like complaining that an Ed Wood movie has bad cinematography. I don't think anyone seriously believes IWBTG is a "good" game.

[phubans]

Did you see the developer's response to my criticism?

First off, I don't think I actually call it "8-bit" or even "retro" anywhere. The game is obviously not an attempt to do what games like La-Mulana did. It's a game about games. It's a game about the tropes of games. You say things like "Lastly, never make the player wait (like how you have to wait 20 seconds on the parachute scene) every time you die." as if I haven't heard or know that. That is EXACTLY why it's there. The game's are popular because of the strong psychological warfare aspect and comedic timing. I'm lampshading things like unskippable cutscenes. This is why IWBTG has been used in actual game design classes -- it's hyper aware of what it is and it both teaches you not only what not to do, but how you can also ignore those rules in clever ways as a positive benefit.

I don't bemoan a 1 rating at all. I made a niche game. I know it's not going to click with everyone. It's not for everyone so that's cool. I'm not going to say the non-target audience shouldn't touch or or have opinions or anything because not only is that their right, it's part of the fun.

But don't act like I don't know, because based on the response both games have got in terms of popularity, I clearly know something and do it better than any of the imitators who came after me do it.

[Uykered]

Instead of him spending 6 months making an intentionally bad game, I'd much rather see an intentionally well designed game!

[Kayin]

That's right, Phubans, what part of that isn't true? If you disagree with any of that, just say so and I'd be GLAD to partake in discourse with you!

Though you mostly just seems like your butthurt over how popular me and my game are.

And like I said, I don't mind or take offense or anything to anyone who doesn't like the game. Obviously it is, by design, not meant for everyone. But if you have any real criticism(and by far, there are plenty. The inconsistencies of the grapple hook haunt me in my sleep), I'll gladly comment on whatever you have to say and either defend my self or take it like a man.

[Zaratustra]

I'm just enjoying the contorted logic which makes these games GOOD and ABIDING OF THE INDIE SPIRIT but not IWBTG:

Passage (limited options in game, you always die at the end no matter what)
Karoshi (die repeatedly through the whole game)
Depict1 (Game actively trolls you throughout)
VVVVVV (merciless retro platformer)