Link’s Awakening-Inspired Indie Game Wins $50,000 Prize in IGN’s Rogue Jam Series
Posted on May 17 2022 by Rod Lloyd
Last month, IGN, in partnership with Rogue Games, debuted a new game jam competition series titled Rogue Jam. Indie developers from around the world submitted unreleased games late last year for a chance at publishing opportunities with Rogue Games as well as big cash prizes, including a $500,000 USD grand prize. Rogue Jam‘s panel of judges — including former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé — have spent the last few months picking the show’s top contenders, and each new episode has awarded a winner for each contest category.
Rogue Jam‘s finale episode released yesterday, spotlighting the three finalists in the Audience Choice category. Audience members cast their votes to help whittle hundreds of submissions down to just three finalists. These finalists then proceeded to the final judges round, where the panel ultimately selected the $50,000 USD cash prize winner. While all of the three finalists were undoubtedly impressive, one in particular may look familiar to The Legend of Zelda fans.
Mysplaced is extremely reminiscent of the recent Link’s Awakening remake, but there may be a bit more to it than meets the eye.
It’s also one of the contenders on this week’s Audience Choice episode of Rogue Jam. You can watch the full episode here: https://t.co/1DwERVc9J9 pic.twitter.com/2Kj4b6aocr
— IGN (@IGN) May 16, 2022
No, the above tweet is not showing footage from the 2019 Link’s Awakening Switch remake. The tweet is, in fact, showing gameplay footage from Rogue Jam Audience Choice finalist Mysplaced.
Mysplaced, developed by Clear Sky Games, joined fellow finalists I’m Not Jelly and Cold Fortune as contenders in the recent finale of Rogue Jam, where the judges panel assessed each game in order to settle on the Audience Choice winner. Panelists were quick to note that Mysplaced wears its Link’s Awakening influence heavy on its sleeve, as the art style, world design, and gameplay seem “extremely reminiscent” of the Zelda remake.
The judges, as well as co-developer Soheyl Ghiami via video call, did discuss how Mysplaced strays from its Zelda inspiration. Unlike Link’s Awakening, Mysplaced features a more non-linear, Metroidvania progression system and a “more robust” combat system, as well as meta elements planned for later in the game’s story. The gameplay footage featured throughout the episode does illustrate a few of these distinctions.
Despite — or perhaps due to — its heavy similarities to Link’s Awakening, Mysplaced was ultimately named Rogue Jam‘s Audience Choice champion, awarding the developers $50,000 USD and a Right of First Refusal from Rogue Games.
Mysplaced had also been considered for Rogue Jam‘s Overall Winner category, but it didn’t make the cut, partly because it did not differentiate itself enough from its Legend of Zelda inspiration.
As a casual Link’s Awakening speedrunner, I would argue that Mysplaced borrows more than just an art style and gameplay system from the 2019 Switch title. There are many assets, maps, and animations that appear ripped straight out of Link’s Awakening. Frankly, to me, it looks much more like an expansion mod than an original game. Even if Mysplaced is, from the ground up, completely original on a technical level, its surface-level similarities to Link’s Awakening are so strong that I have trouble appreciating it on its own merits.
According to IGN, Ghiami and Clear Sky Games plan to use the $50,000 USD won in Rogue Jam to expand their studio to further develop Mysplaced. I certainly hope that the developers can use that money and extra manpower to invest in more original assets and animations, making the game as seen here more like a proof-of-concept than a finished product. Recent Zelda-like indie titles like Tunic have shown how a game can bring something new to the table while still holding strong to its Zelda influences.
In discussing the game with the other judges, Reggie Fils-Aimé wisely pointed out that “the community can be harsh” when they see a game replicating something that has already been done. If Mysplaced sticks with its current aesthetics, I can certainly see it turning off members of the Zelda community in this way.
According to IGN, Clear Sky Games aims to release Mysplaced on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
You can watch the full finale episode of Rogue Jam right here.
What are your thoughts on Mysplaced? Do you think it deserved the Audience Choice win? Do you think either of the other two finalists deserved the crown? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: IGN
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
