The Daily Click

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Download: Mina of the Pirates
News posted 17th January, 2010 by OMC
For those of you with memories that last longer than that of a goldfish, I have an update on that one game with the beauteous looks. Konjak posted the EXE for Mina of the Pirates on his site. The entire post consists of this: "Okay, here it is. Just make sure to read the splash screen at the start of the game so you remember not to contact me about this game. DOWNLOAD." In case you didn't catch the little bit of fancy formatting I did there, "DOWNLOAD" contains the link to the game. If you'd like to leave Konjak a comment, click here. Thanks to Eternal Man for the tip. Tweet

Posted by Ski

17th January, 2010

Downloaded this yesterday. Still a cool game but his art skills came a long way in 4 years when compared to Noitu Love 2 etc

Posted by RenatoDep

17th January, 2010

Definetly!

Posted by Asholay

17th January, 2010

Crud - I'm stuck in the cave! How do you get past it..?

Posted by alastair john jack

18th January, 2010

I'm glad his design skills have increased a lot.

Posted by Demon Lizardman

18th January, 2010

Stupid hidden entrance to swamp, I CAN'T FIND IT. Nice game though.

Posted by columbo borgi :C

18th January, 2010

ETERNAL MAN IS THE MAN

Posted by Eternal Man [EE]

18th January, 2010

Posted by Jason Orme

18th January, 2010

Its nice to see things getting released that we never thought would see the light of day. There was so much hype that surrounded this game, I hope even in its un-finished state people appreciate the time and effort that went into this project.

Posted by Rick (AntiMatter Entertainment)

18th January, 2010

The graphics are very nice and the animation is smooth. The engine is pretty solid and the design of the characters is interesting and varied. I like the fact that the music is original, although I don't think the first one suits the area very well. Having said all that, it really, REALLY pains me to say that this game fucking SUCKS.

I forced myself to endure the repetitive combat engine for ages, because I really wanted to see the first boss, the first item that changes the exploration mechanic, or even the first fruit. I WANTED to love this game. I really wanted to find something that broke up the run/jump/stab recipe. I got up to the Weegoo cave and wandered around for GODDAMN AGES looking for the way to proceed. I found a save point near two breakable-looking blocks but I couldn't destroy them or interact with them in any way so figured it was the wrong way. I went straight back to the start of the cave and tried every possible path I could find only to eventually lead to the same spot.

I feel like I've missed a crucial item somewhere that lets me break the blocks, but at this early stage of the game, that really shouldn't be possible. It's like saying, "Fuck you, new player. I'm going to let you go ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF THE CAVE before you realize you can't proceed."

I'm sure this game opens up after you find your first item(s) and I really shouldn't present my opinion until I have at least started scratching the surface of the metroid-vein exploration and items, but really, my first impression of the game was so intensely frustrating, repetitive, and downright aimless that I'm probably never going to even look at it again. I feel like I've wasted half an hour of my life.

PS. You should take off the "if you'd like to leave Konjak a comment" link. He specifically said in the splash screen for the game that he is not interested in ANY feedback for this game. I personally can see why.

Comment edited by Rick (AntiMatter Entertainment) on 1/18/2010

Posted by Dustin Gunn

18th January, 2010

No you don't break the blocks. There's 2 whole paths and you picked the wrong one.
Comment edited by Dustin Gunn on 1/18/2010

Posted by Hempuli

18th January, 2010

Rick: Don't worry, it doesn't get any different than that.

The bosses are really nice, the swamp boss was especially very cool. But yeah, no need to say anything but that it shows why it was abandoned and why konjak was hesitating to release the beta.

Posted by ELC_Games

18th January, 2010

@Rick:
I think this is why Konjak wasn't proud of the game. He said it was poorly designed and repetitive, and that was most likely the reason he abandoned the project.

Posted by danjo

18th January, 2010

its ok, but im glad he still released it.. far too much stuff goes to waste.

Posted by Dave C

18th January, 2010

years ago this game looked amazing, it's definitely not very much fun. but i guess he learned a lot making this.

Posted by Asholay

18th January, 2010

Dustin what do you mean - I didn't play for long, but I'm sure I tried every route in the cave, and one ended by the save point, and another ended by an area with a small left arrow on a sign? I assumed that meant go back to the start of the cave or something...

Posted by OMC

18th January, 2010

I left the link to the blog post in case someone wanted to put a "thanks" or something. It wouldn't be very complete without linking to the source.

Posted by Hempuli

18th January, 2010

Ashlay: that arrow points to a door.

Posted by The Chris Street

18th January, 2010

The area where theres a sign with an arrow on it leads to a hidden area with a switch that gets rid of the blocks. Press UP next to the sign with the arrow.

Demon Lizardman: press UP between two tall skyflyers (flowers) fairly near the start of the village
Comment edited by Chris Street on 1/18/2010

Posted by Demon Lizardman

18th January, 2010

How do I beat that robot turtle boss?

Posted by Ski

18th January, 2010

The music in weegoo caves reminds me of Bjork- Earth Intruders

Posted by Rick (AntiMatter Entertainment)

19th January, 2010

Ah, I did the same thing with that sign in the cave. It really looks like it's telling you that you chose the wrong way and you need to go back, and there seems to be very little discernable difference between the area that you can press UP in front of and the rest of the 'gaps' in the cave wall where you can see the parallax scrolling. Glad it wasn't just me. Anyway I got up to the swamp boss and died, still looking for something to make the game's mechanics open up but at least I can progress now. Wandering that cave for ages was making me boil in fury. I'll only play the same run/jump/stab scenario for so long though...

By the way, the swamp boss looks awesome and is animated damn well. My only gripe with it is that since you need to be directly above it for the spike bit to shoot up so you can hit it, there needs to be a bit more of an indication as to when it will shoot spikes out in all directions, because it's all but impossible to dodge when you're right above it trying to expose the weak point.

PS. Hunting for that swamp key wasn't really all that time-consuming but it wasn't fun at all. In my opinion it was unnecessary backtracking just to try and flesh the game out. Anyway, I swear my aim isn't to just sit here and bash the game, but like I said I really wanted to love this game and so far I've been a bit disappointed. Suppose I'd better get back to it.

Posted by Edron

19th January, 2010

well, its abandoned for a reason. dont play it if you dont like it.

Posted by Rick (AntiMatter Entertainment)

19th January, 2010

No need to spring to Mina's defense, Edron. I wanted to share my experience with the game, and this is the exact right place to do it, considering it's the topic of the news post. Whether anyone cares about my experience or not is up to them, but I can't possibly know that I don't like it before I play it, can I?

Posted by Rick (AntiMatter Entertainment)

19th January, 2010

Exactly what I've done, actually.

This isn't a demo or anything, it's abandoned. That means the areas you're in at the start, the initial gameplay (until you get to the unfinished stages), the engine, it's all finished. Basically what I was saying in my comments is that for what was meant to be a more or less finished product minus some levels and some items (which would be pretty much endgame items anyway), it falls short, and I can see why it was abandoned. Joakim himself pretty much mirrors all my statements on the game, and I've at least tried to give reasons for my criticism. I think that what I have to say is just as valid as anyone else.

As for being better than anything I've 'mustard', it's completely true. But that's what you get when you compare the work of someone like Joakim Sandberg to someone that's never been, or never claimed to be, a veteran. He makes his games to a commercial standard and (as far as I can tell) successfully sells them. I just do this in my spare time. I wish people wouldn't get so defensive just because I gave a pretty game some criticism. The stuff I've released has nothing to do with this topic and there's no need to try and deflect my comments regarding my experiences and opinions with insults. Still, it's not going to keep me awake at night, I just felt that perhaps I should back up what I said because of the sudden influx of defensiveness.

Posted by Ski

19th January, 2010

Posted by Dave C

19th January, 2010

i'm with Rick.. you only have to play this game for 5 minutes and it becomes extremely obvious why this game got cancelled. the graphics aren't even very good. (besides the Mina Sprite) just look at that flower in the foreground of the screenshot up top... hideous.

also, anyone can critisize a game... they don't have to have made something better, that's like if i say the lord of the rings movie sucks and then that fat ass director says 'it's better than any movie you've made'.

Posted by Ski

19th January, 2010

I think to say it's "extremely obvious" why it was abandoned is a somewhat dramatic over statement.

You have to remember there are a lot of people on TDC who couldn't even reach these standards, and would like to.

I think Konjak is a perfectionist, and having to update the graphics all the time whilst trying to work on the game is too time-consuming, especially when new ideas for games run through your head, you just want to move on.

Posted by Introversity

19th January, 2010

I think the game is fairly decent quality... It's not much worse than Eternal Daughter really, it just needs a bit of work.

PS. My favourite Konjak game to date is still Ivory Springs.

Comment edited by Introversity on 1/19/2010

Posted by Rick (AntiMatter Entertainment)

19th January, 2010

You have to admit, Jason, that posting what you said straight after my comment without any indication whatsoever as to who it is aimed at is likely going to be interpreted - by anyone - as a response to MY post. Looking above, I can't really see any other posts that are in the right context for your comment to be a reply to anyone else, unless I'm not getting the obscure mustard reference. The only one that comes close is Hempuli or Dave C's first comment, and neither of them delved into as much critical detail as I did, so it would be odd for you to be defensive over what they said. If it wasn't meant for me, then I guess I should say fair enough and chill out. Personally, though, I think you're full of shit and backing out because you got cornered. Oh well, if I'm wrong you shall receive your due apologies. ^_~

Back to comments about the game! Adam, I second your opinion on Joakim being a perfectionist, because it really shows in his later work - especially Noitu Love 2 - that he didn't take a single shortcut in any aspect of the game. Every single thing was polished to the absolute highest standard that I've ever seen in a klik game. I'd say that his progression as an artist and a designer was a large part of his decision to abandon this project for the same reasons you have listed. After all that I've said though, for the most part I personally think Mina still looks pretty good. It's just a pity that it's not enough, in my opinion, to save the game from mediocrity. Nobody can argue the amount of work put into this game, though.

Posted by Eternal Man [EE]

19th January, 2010

We are finally reaching the level of TIGS with this site!

Posted by Rick (AntiMatter Entertainment)

20th January, 2010

Totally cornered. The "laugh and act like you don't care, throw in a wink" response is usually a pretty solid defense, but when you consistently respond, you kind of contradict the 'not care' aspect and your whole charade falls apart. I'm not interested in arguing with you further because you're obviously not on my level. I mean, seriously... dick? And you call me childish? Face it, you got burned and now you're masking your lack of any real response to my statement with passive aggression. This is the last post you'll wrangle out of me, because I aim to be a constructive member of this site and there's no glory in completely dismantling children like yourself. This is supposed to be a discussion thread on the Mina abandonware, so if you're not going to stay on topic, go somewhere where you're not completely out of your league to try your little game. Going back to /b/ might be best. Anyway, I refuse to feed your pathetic little fire any more than I already have.

Posted by Edron

20th January, 2010

goodness. how old are you guys? theres a very simple way to 'win': dont reply.

Posted by Del Duio

20th January, 2010

All this talk of mustard has me in the mood for cheeseburgers.

Posted by The Chris Street

21st January, 2010

Jason, enough please, you're trying to cause unnecessary arguments. Stop with the provocative comments or you'll be on a warning.
Comment edited by Chris Street on 1/21/2010

Posted by W3R3W00F

21st January, 2010