The Dink Network

Quest for Not Quite as Lame (The)

This could be you if you play
October 22nd, 2009
1.01
Score : 7.5 good
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metatarasal
Bard He/Him Netherlands
I object 
Usually I hate it if DMODs try to be funny, usually the effect is just horrible. Usually. This is an exception, this DMOD tries to be funny, and succeeds.

The story of this DMOD is in line with other DMODs seen recently: It's quest sized, and features references to the Dinknetwork. This is always a difficult thing to tinker with, as it is hard to make these elements into a good story that can be enjoyed and understood by people outside of the direct Dinknetwork community as well. 'The Quest for not Quite as lame' partially succeeds at this. I imagine it is hard for people to truly understand the role of some of the people in this DMOD, especially in the beginning of the DMOD. But it isn't important enough to bother you too much.

The mapping of this DMOD is mediocre. The map just consists of some rectangular parts bordered by a fence, a forest or water. There is little use of cliffs or walls in the center of these rectangular parts which means that finding your way around the map is quite dull, you can just scan every screen systematically for interesting elements. The decoration of the screens is sufficient, though it could do with a little bit more variation.

This DMOD doesn't excel in gameplay either, it just uses standard story elements with varying success. I liked the first part of the story in which you can find all kinds hidden clues to earn some nice goodies. But there are also very repetitive parts, for example when someone tells you 'Go talk to person B about this' and you'll need to go find person B. This isn't so bad if it really helps the story move forward, but too often it doesn't.

The plot for this DMOD is in fact quite lame: Pillbug, the author of a certain bad DMOD decides it is time to create a better DMOD. To do this he makes a DMOD about an evil DMOD maker who creates DMODs for his own enjoyment rather than for the player to enjoy. This evil DMOD maker is Pillbug himself, so there probably is some sort of paradox in this story, but I guess this DMOD isn't meant to be scientifically accurate. It's more about being funny, which works very well. Especially the first part is good as it has some new story elements (gotta love the rofl objects) and some funny cutscenes. The humor gets a bit weary later in the DMOD though, but you'll probably still have a smile on your face from the first part, so it's not that bad. If you make sure you play it in one go that is...

So, our final conclusion must be that this DMOD is better than the sum of its parts, or that humor can make up for a lot. Objectively this DMOD might not seem like much, but I sure enjoyed playing it. This is a mediocre DMOD turned good by not taking itself too serious.

7.5
October 6th, 2009
v1.00
Score : 8.6 good
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Robj
Jester He/Him Australia
You feed the madness, and it feeds on you. 
The Quest For Not Quite As Lame is a fun Dmod and I definitely enjoyed playing it. Also, the title fits the Dmod, especially considering pillbug's Dmod that was released earlier, titled "Happy Sunshine Land".

Story
Rather than giving a full run down on the story, I think it would be best to just play it for yourself, as it's definitely worth it. I'll just describe how well the story is put together.
It is a pretty well thought out storyline that fits well with the title of the Dmod and it kept me interested. However, there are a few parts that could be changed to make it a little more interesting. Also, at one part it took me a while to figure out where to go, to be more specific without ruining the story for anyone - 'The fence part', at one point Dink simply says "I have a feeling I shouldn't go there yet" (or something similar to that), and then when you pass a certain point in the story, you can suddenly walk through, without much direction given to the player, so this makes it a little confusing at first.... and can sometimes lead to boredom if the player can't figure out where to go.

Graphics
As far as I could see, there aren't any 'real' new graphics, only graphics made by other dinkers that have been included, and as far as I know, proper credit has been given where it should be.

Mapping
The Dmod was well-mapped - the mapping wasn't extensively detailed, but it worked well. It's easy to lose interest in a Dmod when it is full of pure empty, or mostly empty screens, as you can become bored, since it is dull to look at. I didn't lose interest playing this. However, like I said, it wasn't extensively detailed and it definitely could have been a little better in some places. An example of such an area is 'The Forest of Eternal Night' - this area wasn't empty enough to become boring, but it could have been better detailed with more time spent on it to improve it.

Sounds/music
The way in which the sounds and music have been used, and the areas and situations they are used in, fit perfectly in my opinion. They fit the areas well, and they set the correct 'mood' in the Dmod. The Final boss music obviously doesn't fit a 'battle' theme, but it fits with the situation and the 'personality' of the end boss (The theme was obviously intended for comedy purposes).

Conclusion
Overall, it was well-made Dmod that is worth the download. The storyline is interesting, the mapping is ok, and it is a fun Dmod to play.

Score: 8.6

October 6th, 2009
1.01
Score : 8.7 good
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DinkKiller
Peasant He/Him United States
The world could always use more heroes 
This is pillbug's long anticipated "The Quest for Not Quite as Lame"! This was quite an awesome D-mod, and a huge improvement over "Happy Sunshine Land".

Basic Info
Dink receives a letter regarding crappy files made by his world's creator, and he is determined not to let it happen again and sets off for the one called 'pillbug'. This D-mod is straightforward and simple, and very creative. There are a number of dinkers mentioned/in this D-mod, which is pretty cool. The bosses aren't too tough, and there is a lot of good humour in this D-mod.

Graphics
There was a few new graphics. There was a wasp enemy, ghost girl, and the title screen had different buttons. There was also one area of the game that was a tribute to "Happy Sunshine Land," and it didn't suck!

Map
The map was quite large, and it was well done. I felt the screens could have been more detailed, however. There were not any major tile issues. There were no major hardness bugs that I was aware of. Overall it was great.

Music
There isn't much to say about this. There was a good selection of midi's that fit the situations they were used in for the most part. He used one of the midi's in two different areas, which I thought was a bit odd and unusual, but maybe that's just me.

Cons
There is very little to say in this area. Most of the bugs were fixed with the help of all the beta-testers. If anything, I would say there are too many secret areas and potions, making it a bit too easy, and the "Scripted Steel" seems a bit overpowered. However, that is just my opinion. But other than that there is not much wrong with this D-mod.

Overall
This was a great D-mod. I'm sad to say it was better than my D-mod by far, in terms of creativity, and originality. This is such a great improvement over "Happy Sunshine Land", and I hope pillbug continues to create files of this awesomeness!.

"STUPID NEWBCAKE!" - pillbug
October 23rd, 2009
1.01
Score : 9.0 exceptional
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Erwin
Peasant He/Him Netherlands
Friendship is magic 
This D-Mod is one of the most amusing D-Mods I played in a very long time. It's filled with lots of humour that made me laugh out loud until I crapped, my pants!

Story: The story is interesting but not very deep. It isn't bad but doesn't make you scream in pain until the very moment you know what's going to happen next. The good thing about the story is that it's very funny. It doesn't seem to take itself very seriously making plenty of room for silly cut scenes.

Map: The map is looks quite good and there's plenty of room to walk around in. There are also a couple of funny things lying around so keep your eyes open.

Music: The music fits very well. It really enhances the fun of whatever you're doing.

The story, map and music fit together very well but all of this is just nothing compared to the humour in this D-Mod. It doesn't matter if you're progressing trough the story, walking around the map or pressing a certain button on your keyboard, it's everywhere and funny as hell!

The only bad thing about this D-Mod is that my chair now smells funny...