Gaming For The Animals 3: The Water Level [EVENT BEGINS MAY 21ST]

[MissShake]

Welcome back, animal lovers, to another year of Gaming for the Animals! But this year we're gonna be switching it up a bit, so I ask that you please read the rules thoroughly.

 

Here's a rundown of how this event works: I am yet again looking to symbolically adopt an animal, but it's up to you guys to help me decide which one! How are you gonna do that? By platting some games! In previous years the goal was to plat games that featured animals, but this year I want you to platinum games that have a water level in it!

 

This is how the event will go: every completed game counts for one vote towards the animal we will (symbolically) adopt. You do not have to donate anything to participate in this event, I will be the one paying for the adoption kit at the end of the allotted time.

 

You may ask: what's in it for me? Well not only will you get to have input on how I spend money, but if you complete three games you'll get a nifty badge to show that you participated!

 

Start Date: May 21st (your own timezone)

World Ocean Day: June 8th (extra vote day, see below!)

End Date: July 30th, midnight (also your own timezone)

Animal choices here! (Deadline to vote for a new animal is July 23rd)

 

Current Standings:

x

 

Questions? Maybe the FAQ below will answer them. (If not just comment here!)

Spoiler

1. What do you have to do? Plat a game that has a water level in it! To do this I will need you to link a picture or video of said level so I can review it. The level can be a beach level or a level where you're fully underwater, as long as water is a prominent and important part of the level or game. This can be games like Final Fantasy X or Chrono Cross or even Assassin's Creed 4 since these games seem to prominently feature water. It could be that one surfing game I almost bought at like four in the morning because I was making poor life decisions. That doesn't mean the water has to be the MAIN aspect of the game though! If you can show me a level where water is a centerpiece (think the water temple in Ocarina of Time), I will probably count it. It can also be a level like the one in Dead or Alive 6 where the girls are by a beach, I don't care! I just ask that you don't pick games like fishing games since we want the animals to stay in their natural habitat!
2. Ice levels do not count. Rain does not count. A single glass of water does not count. A character crying does not count. Stepping in a puddle while walk and talking does not count. The level must include a LARGE body of water that you could physically swim in if the level was real life. This obviously means the ocean, but lakes also can count!
3. Sewer levels are also a bit complicated. Some look like crap, others are actually pretty gorgeous. So here's what I'll say: if the body of water was presented to you, would you find the water too dirty to jump in? Then no. If it's nice water, then it counts. Use your best judgement on sewer levels, I'm going case by case on every game this year.
4. Every game you play does NOT have to feature the animal that you want to vote for!
5. EZPZ games will not count. What does this mean? If the player uses Autopop, OR if the fastest (not obviously Autopopped or cheated) time on the Fastest Leaderboard section is under 30 minutes, OR the 50th place on the 'Fastest Leaderboard' is under one and a half hours, it will not be counted. That being said, this year there are three exceptions to this rule: Abzu and both Subnautica games will count despite them not fitting in for this rule. They're just too perfect for this year!
6. When you complete a game be sure to let me know what animal you are voting for! Here are the options in case you're on the fence!
7. You will need to have completed three games for this event to get a badge!
8. Plats that were achieved before May 21st will not count. It's cool if you want to continue a game you already started, but for it to count the plat must be popped between May 21st and July 30th.
9. You can play a game that does not have a plat, but in that case you will need to 100% the game, including DLC. If the game has a plat, however, you just need a plat. DLC alone will not count for this event
10. Do you want to vote for more than one animal? Well... Sure! You're welcome to vote for multiple animals, but to get those votes you'll need more than one plat. Remember: each plat = one vote.
11. Please wait a week after a game is released before claiming it! This gives me an idea of how fast a particular platinum is
12. You are limited to ten votes in most cases. However I am trying something new with this year. World Ocean Day falls on June 8th, and to celebrate it I am allowing people who platinum up to three games on this day to get two votes for that game! So if you're clever with your planning you can get a max of thirteen votes this year!

 

Examples of levels and games that do count:

 

• Final Fantasy X
• Kingdom Hearts 1, 2, and 3 (Atlantica levels in 1 and 2, Port Royal in 2 and 3)
• Beyond Blue, Abzu, Subautica, any game that is almost always underwater
• Sonic games (Adventure's Emerald Coast, 1's Labyrinth Zone, CD's Tidal Tempest, 3's Hydrocity Zone, Adventure 2's Aquatic Mine, Colors' Aquatic Park, etc)
• Alice: Madness Returns (Deluded Depths)
• Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (Dead Men Tell No Tales)
• Bioshock 1 and 2
• Spongebob Squarepants games
• Tchia
• Lake

 

The big things to consider this year are as follows: could I physically swim in the water if this was real life? Is the water habitable or is it too dirty?

 

Participants:

Spoiler

 

@Beyondthegrave07

@Breakingthegreen

@Copanele

@DoctorDrPepper

@Dry

@Han_the_Dragon

@MattbluePT

@MAUSZX

@pelagia14

@ProfSeajay7

@shadaik

 

 

Edited Monday at 05:49 PM by MissShake

[MattbluePT]

I just can't deny an event focused on animals. Sign me up once again!

 

Really liked the changes made, it is interesting to relate the ocean day with the water levels.

[MissShake]

Hey everyone! As you can probably see, this is posted early, but this is for a very good reason: we're switching things up again! Here's the big stuff to remember this year:

• I am switching the theme and company I am donating to. This year is water themed, so instead of playing games solely based on having an animal in them you'll be picking water based games or games with water levels. I think this will allow for a bit more variety and less weird borderline cases like previous years have had. See above if you need more clarity on what counts and doesn't count.
• There's a way to up how many votes you're allowed! Your limit is usually ten votes, but this year you can get up to thirteen votes! This is possible by finishing up to three games on World Ocean Day, June 8th, your own timezone.
• The best way to figure out if a game counts is to determine if it's possible to swim in the level if you were physically there yourself. This does mean that ice levels do not count despite ice being made of water, but I think you guys can manage that

And finally I do have one big announcement to make in regards to Gaming For The Animals: I have decided that this will be my last year hosting the event. I have enjoyed GFTA a lot, but I feel like it's time for me personally to move on. That being said, if someone here wants to host next year that's fine! Please PM me if you're interested in maybe taking over next year.

[Breakingthegreen]

You know I'm in this year too. I already told you that you were gonna cause me to get a panic attack playing Subnautica.

 

Just because I know it's the question on people's mind's with it being very popular at the moment, will Dave the Diver count, I doubt it since you said no fishing games, but let's check early.

[MissShake]

1 minute ago, Breakingthegreen said:

Just because I know it's the question on people's mind's with it being very popular at the moment, will Dave the Diver count, I doubt it since you said no fishing games, but let's check early.

 

I'm gonna say no to this, iirc you make sushi in Dave the Diver right? If so, yeah I don't think it fits.

[Breakingthegreen]

1 minute ago, MissShake said:

 

I'm gonna say no to this, iirc you make sushi in Dave the Diver right? If so, yeah I don't think it fits.

I didn't make the sushi, I just shot the fish with the Harpoon... I'm not selling this well, am I?

 

Also just some general clarifications

• How about when water is an obstacle would it still count? Sly Cooper can't swim but Wales and Haiti have a of water that raccoon could drown in?
• What about man made pools or a fountain that'd be big enough to swim in?
• If there is a fishing minigame (like in Spiritfarer, Stardew Valley, or Persona 4 golden) which is definitely not a major focus, would that count?
• Last year Sea Turtles were exempt from voting since they won year 1, is that still in place this year?
• Also you said no sewer levels, so Watch Dogs Legion doesn't count then, I've got a map of what Thames Water have been doing to our rivers, including all the sewage it's pumped into that river. JK (But seriously the water companies in the UK are pure scum.)

[MissShake]

1 minute ago, Breakingthegreen said:

I didn't make the sushi, I just shot the fish with the Harpoon... I'm not selling this well, am I?

 

Also just some general clarifications

• How about when water is an obstacle would it still count? Sly Cooper can't swim but Wales and Haiti have a of water that raccoon could drown in?
• What about man made pools or a fountain that'd be big enough to swim in?
• If there is a fishing minigame (like in Spiritfarer, Stardew Valley, or Persona 4 golden) which is definitely not a major focus, would that count?
• Last year Sea Turtles were exempt from voting since they won year 1, is that still in place this year?
• Also you said no sewer levels, so Watch Dogs Legion doesn't count then, I've got a map of what Thames Water have been doing to our rivers, including all the sewage it's pumped into that river. JK (But seriously the water companies in the UK are pure scum.)

• They count!
• I'll count these too, but I'd really prefer natural bodies of water!
• My big thing is that Dave the Diver and fishing games have a big focus on stuff that's harming the animals. I think this goes against the theme of the event, so those won't count. Mini games are just mini games, yes we're doing them for the plat but they aren't the biggest part of the game.
• Sea turtles are available again this year!
• Oh I can't say I'm shocked! Sewer levels are a weird one, but basically if you think man fucked up the water in a level too much then it won't count. I know some games do different artistic directions with sewers though, which is why I'm asking for links to the level so I can kind of see what they're doing

[Dry]

Sly 2: Band Of Thieves was kind of a drag to play (IMO) which is one reason I didn’t boot Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves at least shortly after completing the former. Guess I’ll do that to coincide with this event.

Edited April 23 by Dry
Sly 3 subtitle correction.

[DoctorDrPepper]

I dont if I have anything on my docket that will fit but i'll sign up just in case.

[Copanele]

After skipping the past events, finally it is time to tackle the water levels. Sign me up!

[shadaik]

I think I'll be getting my feet wet on some new water levels this year. In other words, I'm in!

[ProfSeajay7]

I didn't have any good idea what to use for last year's event, but I am going to join this year because I have the perfect games for this event! Two were started but haven't gotten very far into their content and I probably won't be able to play those games for a while as I will be busy doing the Kill Your Completion 2024 even on May, and I will be in Utah on the 21st but one of the KYC games is one I will be doing. Right now, the games I plan to platinum at the start are:

 

Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm (If you played Oceanhorn, this game is set in the same world, an archipelago of islands, so there is a lot of ocean to travel.)

Dark Cloud: The third place you visit is a seaside town and you explore a sunken shipwreck. (They even show you diving to it in a submarine!)
Dark Cloud 2: The fourth place you visit is a beachside bay and you explore undersea caverns and oversea caves.

 

I'll be a bit busy in June but I will try to see if I can get those games done before Ocean Day. This event is similar to RPG Limit Break, an event supporting a noble cause, and I want to help you out in any way possible!

Edited April 25 by ProfSeajay7

[ProfSeajay7]

On 4/23/2024 at 5:50 PM, MissShake said:

Sewer levels are a weird one, but basically if you think man fucked up the water in a level too much then it won't count. I know some games do different artistic directions with sewers though, which is why I'm asking for links to the level so I can kind of see what they're doing

The first level of Dark Cloud 2 is an underground water channel but the way it looks, I am thinking it might not just siphon water into Palm Brinks(the only city in the game) but it also siphons... stuff... out of the city. Not saying the first dungeon is a sewer, but it looks a lot like one if you saw it.

 

Luckily, if this is part sewer, you don't see any indication of the sewage.

Edited April 25 by ProfSeajay7

[MAUSZX]

Damn, I was saving some animal games for this event... Oh well, I am in.

I don't know if I have games with water levels... But if I get one of those I will add that to the list, hopefully is not traumatic lile Zelda Ocarina of time was back in the day.

[Han_the_Dragon]

I'm in.

 

And I guess this is a nice incentive for me to get around to play Riptide and Alice in Madness...

[pelagia14]

Neat twist this year - sign me up!

[Beyondthegrave07]

Color me in as interested and sign me up. I should be able to come up with something... maybe. 😅

[ProfSeajay7]

I can probably hack Oceanhorn 2 for Ocean Day because, having played the original Oceanhorn, I am predicting the sequel will be quick. I already cleared the first boss (for the A-Z Slayers Club) and it only took me an hour to get to. And there are four more bosses, including the titular game's namesake, so I should not take longer than a week if I play most of each day. (I have to play FFXIV too to get ready for Dawntrail.)

 

If I underestimate the speed it takes me to complete the game and miss Ocean Day, I will make up for it after the event, but I should be able to make it.

Edited Wednesday at 02:42 AM by ProfSeajay7