Shadowing Practice: Best Scratch Games From Every Move Matters Jam - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hello fellow Scratchers!

What kind of game comes to mind when I say, every move matters?

Well that was this month's Game Jam theme in the Griffpatch Academy,

and you guys didn't disappoint with your submissions.

Now we're going to have a lot of fun exploring what you created,

and deciding on the winners.

And we'll begin with the Arcade Games.

This category was as popular as ever, loads of entries.

I've left a comment under each and every submitted project,

but before I reveal the finalists.

I want to give a special mention to Spew for creating a cool level selection world map,

Tanqr for clever use of scene hitboxes,

and the Gamerboy for their well balanced level progression,

and Kingpuff for their excellent art style and super fun difficult gameplay.

Love that.

Ok guys, let's see our finalists,

beginning with 3 returning champions.

Airtype by AdrianSood22.

Type the letter to fly,

if you fall off the screen you die.

A very well presented game that goes a long way to helping you improve your keyboard knowledge.

So I would have filed this under casual games if it wasn't so infuriatingly fast paced.

Wow, you really have to be good at finding those keys.

I love the minimalist art and smooth UI.

And those little wiggling legs.

Excellent, it's the little details right?

Next up, Pyromaniac by Not A School Account.

You leave a trail of fire behind you.

Don't run into it.

These handcrafted sprite costumes are simply amazing,

so colourful, adorable and delightfully animated.

Each enemy has two stages of development.

For example, the wood catches fire and the corn pops.

It's so clever.

I can't help but admire how tastefully that fire trail looks,

and then gracefully peters out.

Beautiful camera shake too.

Graphics aside, the gameplay is tricky,

as it's quite zoomed in,

but super fun and easy to pick up and play.

Zone Alone by Catweasel1972 This intro,

oh man it made me laugh.

Look at that little guy fixing the ship.

Sadly, he gets left behind and now it is your job to get them safely home.

Without suffocating, burning up in a star or floating off into space.

I very much enjoyed the use of gravity mats to slingshot the player around the screen,

but man it's really not at all easy with all the gravity fields being so close together a lot of the time.

All the same, a great effort,

and a game to be mastered.

So, out of these three previous jam winners,

which one will we crown Returning Champion?

Yes, it has to be.. not a school account with their awesome game Pyro Maniac.

Great job, you really are a master at creating amazing game costumes.

Okay, but still in the arcade games,

our previous winners have demonstrated their skill,

but what about our rising challenges?

Anthronis by NinjaAce8371.

You need to kill reds while dodging them.

A bit of strategy is needed to play this game,

as the enemy AI is rather good.

We can move two grid squares in any direction,

at least in the current game mode,

but so can the AI,

and whoever lands on top of the other wins.

Sounds simple, but you also have to factor in the next enemy ship

that will come into play as soon as the previous one is defeated.

I really love these clever game ideas you guys come up with, so inspirational.

Crazy Fighters by Clumsy Hamster.

In this atmospheric shooter, the green slimes are out to get us.

Luckily we have a very large magic blast that cuts through them with ease,

if only it didn't take so long to recharge.

So we do a lot of running away.

I mean stealthy dodging.

I really enjoyed the gurgling sounds emitted by the slimes, it's so cool.

What I would like to see is an indicator of the magic spell recharge.

And maybe a gradual increase in difficulty.

Every move can be your last by Elvin 2015.

Killer bats, and what is that?

A giant rotating light vomiting toad?

But whatever it is, it spells bad news if it catches you in its gaze.

So we dash behind a bush to hide our bright red t-shirt.

Now that is cool.

But those pesky bats, they won't leave us alone, so we dance on.

I love this simple game idea,

well executed and tricky to master.

Well well, the competition is fierce.

I really love the toad and bats,

but Ninja Ace, 8371, picks up the win,

with Ansonis really capturing the theme.

Every move matters, with their turn based battle against a cleverly coded AI.

Now we move on to casual games.

Which means we can let down our guard, at least touch.

Again many submissions featuring some really outstanding efforts.

A few highlights were Violet 2's colourful cat trail effects,

and Tennis Pro 123's delightful functioning piano,

and Wes Chow Wonsum 7's polished wall jumper.

But now, the top 4.

Floppy Birdie by Dimmy Polly.

On easy mode, it's a flap in the park.

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On hard, well, things start to get serious,

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and yet it stays enjoyable without that throw your device out of the window feeling,

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which is a nice change for a Flabby Burb clone.

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Circumference by HGO.

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Every move really does matter when you're trying to trace a perfect circle,

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not the easiest with a computer mouse,

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but I really appreciate the coding skills and math involved in detecting and drawing our circulatory efforts.

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You can see it changing hue as you move away from the current radius, I guess.

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And those celebratory fireworks are the icing on the cake.

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Motion Movie by Builderbooks is a rhythm based game taking cues from Friday Night Funking.

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It's got a nice track selection page and then you're off.

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The graphics are simple.

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But what matters here is the game is solid and… fun.

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Having the incoming notes drawn as arrows really helps get players engaged quickly,

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as we tend to already have muscle memory for where they sit under our fingers.

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Good job and bang on theme.

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Finally, Where is the Mummy by scratch user 133.

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Where's the mummy?

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Love it.

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But how does it fit the every move matters?

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Well, you have to watch very carefully because one of these sarcophaguses will twitch.

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Is something inside?

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Yes, it's your mummy.

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Excellent idea and excellent game.

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What a clever idea.

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Right, time to pick a winner.

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None of these have won a game jam before,

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so it's all up for grabs.

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And the winner is… HGO with Circumference.

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Congratulations to you for great pen work and keen coding skills.

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I love this kind of project.

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It's the kind of thing everyone should take a stab at coding at some point in their coding journey.

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Now, often with less coding,

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but bursting with creativity, best animation is next.

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Box by Handstand Ninja.

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Why do some products take so much effort to open them?

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Oh come on, it's time to get the big guns out.

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Mwahahahaha.

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Well maybe this is a little overkill?

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I really love the sense of humour,

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and that you put in the effort to voice act it too.

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Great job, that really lifts the whole presentation.

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Drap That Clock, Part 2, by Justavut Burr.

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We continue from where we left off in the previous jam,

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and this might not be the most detailed looking animation,

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but hold on, do we have any chess fans here?

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Yes, we get to watch a full game of chess unfold.

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How cool is that?

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And the end is really entertaining.

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Max vs Bob by the leader of the map.

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Well, it never rains, but it pours.

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Another game of chess, but this time we get to see the action from different angles.

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Wow, I love the detail.

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Each piece is placed perfectly from the top,

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and from the side view.

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How clever.

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I really appreciate that.

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But unlike the previous game of chess,

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this one is over in no time at all.

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Wow, is this the fastest checkmate in history?

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The Forgotten Scientist by Balik Vassanet.

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This project puts our awesome text dialogue box tutorial to excellent use,

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to tell a long and twisted detective story.

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I was impressed with the writing,

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and how the tale unfolded.

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Witty and surprisingly long.

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I had my suspicion who was the culprit,

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but it kept me guessing right till the end.

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And finally, Unbeatable Every Move Matters,

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Episode 4 by Binky Beaver.

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Now this guy, he's topped the animation category for the last three jams,

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and with good reason, the animations are top notch.

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This unbeatable beatroot has only gotten stronger after their encounter with the microwave,

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and now every move matters as our protagonist tries to make their escape.

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I really love how Binky Beaver likes to experiment with the different camera angles, so cool.

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Yes 5 fabulous animations, all of them worth watching if you have a moment to spare,

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but now we need to pick the winners.

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Yes we're going to have 2,

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we have a returning champion and that has to go to… yes Binky Beaver,

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it seems this man is simply unbeatable,

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sorry about that, but we also can award a rising challenger and that is…

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The leader of the map with Max vs Bob.

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I was super impressed with their eye for detail with the multi-angled chess game board in particular.

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OK, time for something completely different.

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Best platformer.

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ArcPo Hard Mode by GabTheGamer 2024.

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They really embraced the theme.

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Every move matters, right from the off.

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This game is packed with really difficult moves,

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hence the name I guess.

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So if you fancy a challenge,

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then here it is guys,

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at least for the first 4 scenes.

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After that it's a bit of a walk in the park.

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Echoes of You Final by TechTornado9.

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This is a very enjoyable blend of graphical styles,

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and great use of this scrolling Mario tutorial.

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But you didn't stop there,

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you added some excellent concepts of your very own.

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The clever rewind action is magic,

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and we need to use it to complete each level,

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so we can literally be in two places at once.

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An excellent mechanic, and I was left wishing we could see more of that throughout the game.

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Supernatural Events by Winter Melon Boss.

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We've seen this game many times,

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in many jams, and it continues to boast an amazing arsenal of wonderful element bending graphical effects.

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But oh my gosh, can they even get me through scene 2?

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I seriously tried everything I could think of,

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and I got close, but I can't take it anymore!

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Rage quit!

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I'm sure it was just me.

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I need simple instructions to guide me through.

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Cave Dive by Hyperherobrine This was the most awesome game menu,

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an arcade machine in which we play our game.

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It's so cool!

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Now we collect coins, and travel from left to right, screen to screen.

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Also, if you remember to read the instructions,

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we can use the space key to dash, smash through blocks.

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That really does help getting us from one side of the screen to the other.

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I really do love those particle effects and the retro sounds.

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Now, how do I pronounce this?

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Zinnik the Alien?

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By one bazillion and one.

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It begins with an exciting story about how you're an alien whose ship crash landed on Earth,

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and you must escape the humans,

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and then transitions into this excellent strategic scrolling platformer.

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We have limited bombs, and must use them wisely to blow up sections of the wall.

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If we choose poorly then we'll be softlocked and have to restart the level.

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This was surprisingly fun, especially as we begin advancing through the levels,

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with new bomb and wall types being introduced.

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So ok, ok, we have our finalists,

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5 platformers to choose from,

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but who is today's winner?

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This was a close call,

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but after much deliberation, it is… 1 bazillion and 1 with their game Xenic.

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The game really smashed the theme, every move matters.

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Every bomb placement having consequences and leading to success or failure.

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Excellent work and congratulations to you.

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Which brings us to the last game genre of the jam,

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the final tussle for best puzzle game.

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And the competition has been fierce.

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I'd like to call out a special mention to Emmet MMS for taking on a challenging project,

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seeking help in the academy and sticking with it,

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and Luminara with her delightful hand-drawn backgrounds.

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Wow.

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But now let's see the shortlist projects starting with our rising challenges.

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Chess by MikeyJ1012 Of the many chess games submitted for this jam,

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this one was one of the best.

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With its clean board and pieces,

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this project goes on to begin to validate the correct moves each piece can make.

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That's so clever.

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What happens next is a little unconventional,

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but I think this is perhaps a work in progress,

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and I hope to see more soon.

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The Noble Path by CoolGuy1086 Beginning with an engaging story,

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you are then plunged into a puzzle of single use platforms,

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lasers and triggering doorways.

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You just need to find the correct path.

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It's very engaging and well worth a play.

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The last level has a clone of yourself to move as well,

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and that was especially fun to figure out.

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Cats vs Dogs by Trollmaster123 You play as the cat,

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so be careful of the dog.

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It's a chase around the tiled grid to find your way home.

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Only your home is randomly zipping around the board too,

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which makes it very tough.

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Did I mention the board is randomly changing too?

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And then you'll find things get complicated,

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with all sorts of strange tiles that affect your movement and the flow of the game.

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It's wild!

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So, some awesome ideas and a showcase of great coding,

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but who will be our new rising challenger today?

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The award goes to CoolGuy186 with The Noble Path,

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for a well designed puzzle game that was simple and fun to pick up,

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had nice clear levels, a well defined goal, and good level progression.

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Congratulations!

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But that is not the end of it,

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no, we still have our puzzle offerings from the previous winnings,

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vying for returning champions.

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Let's see them now.

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Mimic Neon by Benrex13.

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This is one of those Simon Says type games,

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but instead of colours we must memorise the order of the directional chevrons,

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emitting from the central cube.

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I really appreciate the layout as it maps directly onto the arrow keys used to control the game,

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and again that helps with our muscle memory.

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The visuals are fun, and I like the shimmering star backgrounds and smooth animations.

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A little more audible feedback might be a nice touch,

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otherwise an excellent game to stretch your brain.

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Cereal Shuffle, the MM demo by GamerWolf Studios.

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Wowzers, how do you do it?

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have such a flair for creating addicting polished games.

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Once you get over the awesome interface and into the game,

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it's a simple matching game.

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Swap tiles to try to make runs of 3 or more of the same type.

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The more you can clear at once, the bigger the bonus.

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I love the thought you put into the user interface.

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The integrated help walks you through the game without interfering,

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and there's even a savecode that pops up when you stop the game.

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Amazing.

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That leaves us with… War Tactics by Wurta4.

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And this one has got me beat.

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It's not your normal game of tic-tac-toe.

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Wurta has reimagined the game over a 9x9 board,

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with some really devious rules that require some real tactical thought,

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and I today, at least, appear to be lacking.

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Because the exceptional AI in this game was able to outplay me on every match,

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and I played quite a few,

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and no, this was not even on hard mode.

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Visually, the game is good,

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with clever fog of war around the game areas that you have not yet got access to.

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And you really have to plan ahead,

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and watch out for what the AI is doing too,

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as otherwise your game will end very quickly,

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and not in your favour.

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Wow, I simply cannot say enough about the quality of these puzzles.

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You just have to play them, really you should.

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But I have to pick a winner,

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and it's very tough, But the theme is every move matters,

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and that sways it for me,

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the winner has to be...

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Weta4 with War Tactics.

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It may not have the same crazy exceptional polish shown by Game Wolf Studios,

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but it's a close second there,

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and it has such strong AI coding that it is a match for any level.

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I'd love to spend more time learning the tactics of this game.

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So congratulations to you.

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And a huge thank you to everyone who took part,

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returning champions, rising challengers, and anyone jumping into the game jam for the very first time.

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These jams are such a great way to put into practice what we've learned in the Griffpatch Academy,

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and push ourselves to become better coders and game creators.

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Indeed, if you love building games like these and want to take your skills even further,

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you can join me inside the Griffpatch Academy,

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my online learning community where I teach you step by step how to make full games,

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level up your scratch skills,

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and learn alongside hundreds of other young creators just like yourselves.

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There's a link below if you want to find out more.

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And together we can learn to build your favourite games.

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Have you heard of the game Hollow Knight?

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This summer we are starting work on a metrovania scroller.

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So excited about that.

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So this is the perfect time to jump on board.

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But that is it for me today,

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so until next time, Have a great week ahead and Scratch on guys!

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Shadowing Practice: Best Scratch Games From Every Move Matters Jam - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Shadowing Practice: Best Scratch Games From Every Move Matters Jam - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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About This Lesson

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What is the Shadowing Technique?