N vs. Torchlight [Tournament]… Now With 2 Updates!
June 16, 2010
by Geoff Gibson
Without a doubt, this is the largest match up to date. While games like Shattered Horizon, Dwarf Fortress, and Spelunky all have large communities, no two communities have been more active in this tournament than the Torchlight and N communities. In fact, it’s almost a shame that we have to watch this play out now instead of in the semi finals or the final. It’s equivalent — in the indie game world — to watching Spain take on Brazil in the World Cup quarter finals…
Well regardless, only one is going to make it through to the semi finals. Here are your competitors for today:
Up first we have N, the hugely popular flash game that has expanded onto consoles and handhelds over the years. N has a relatively simple concept, but one that provides enough challenge and addictive fun to easily make it a contestant for being one of the best flash games ever released.
Next up we have Torchlight. Once again, this has been one of the few action RPGs to be considered as good, if not better, than the original Diablo and almost on par with Diablo 2. Hailed by critics and gamers a like, Torchlight has become an independent phenomenon.
The choice may be hard to make, but only one game can continue. Cast your vote now!
Check out the quarter final bracket!
UPDATE: There’s a lot of “serious” conversation going on in the comments, of which a few have asked or wondered similar things about why Torchlight is going up against N, or why this tournament is even occurring. Here’s the answers to those two popular questions:
1. Torchlight developers may not be independent anymore (they were bought by Perfect World), but when we first launched this tournament they were still independent. It wasn’t until after they had already won their first competition that news had come out that they’d been bought. Because of this, and the fact that they were an independent effort prior to being bought, we decided not to muck up the tournament and keep things going uninterrupted. In next year’s tournament, Torchlight/Runic Games will not be allowed to participate.
2. For those asking why we bothered with this tournament in the first place, we can only answer with two single words: for fun. This entire tournament is just for fun guys, relax. Gamers nominated every single game, they were randomly matched up, and now you guys are voting on the outcome so that a single developer can get this awesome rocket trophy. There’s nothing more to it than that. This isn’t the be all, end all of indie game tournaments. All you gotta do is pick your favorite. Easy-peasy.
Hope this clears some stuff up.
UPDATE 2… CONTROVERSY!
You guys are so sneaky. It has come to my attention that some people have found a loophole in our polls that allow for multiple votes per person for each browser. I don’t know who all is involved, and I don’t really care. It was my fault for not checking to make sure such things could happen. I apologize.
But in the end, this is a for fun tournament. There are no cash prizes, just a cool little trophy. Which means we don’t have to worry about disqualification, or other such means. Instead I’ve simply patched the loophole, and extended the match up by a day. There are still 4 days left in the tournament, which should be more than enough time to find a legit winner.
P.S. Vote on the other tournaments as well:
![Out of the Frying Pan… Radiangames Inferno [Review]](http://www.diygamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/inferno1-300x168.jpg)
![A Game Based on THAT Hoax… Balloon Boy [Review]](http://www.diygamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/balloonboy1-300x168.jpg)
![Say What You See [Review]](http://www.diygamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/icon.png){kind=icon}
![Fish Squid Time Machine Vs Fish Fish Bang Bang [Dual Review]](http://www.diygamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/fishie1-300x152.jpg)
![Revenge is a Dish Best Served Diced… Shank [Review]](http://www.diygamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/shank1-300x166.jpg)
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Go N!
Hell yeah
we have similar names. N!!
N!
Torchlight all the way. Is one of the best games I have played in all honesty
You guys are a ravenous bunch!
GO N!!!
Torchlight ftw!!!
Torchlight for sure.
I’m going to have to try out Torchlight, but I’m definitely voting for N.
This is shaping up to be a really close match. You’re right – this should have been the semifinals or finals.
N again!
Go Torchlight!
[...] You’ve got one week (starting June 16) to vote for your favorite here: http://www.diygamer.com/2010/06/torchlight-tournament/ [...]
Go go go N! :3
N! Yay!
Torchlight. Sorry I posted as a reply to someone else above.
N is clearly much better than Torchlight.
Ninjas unite!
Torchlight should win, I have never even heard of N and can’t find anything on it. Pick a hard enough name for google?
google “N game”
Umm, the first result that comes up when you google even just “n” is Metanet Software. :/
Exactly. Metanet software made N in the first place.
I haven’t played either of these games haha but I voted for N.
N is clearly the best. Just the best.
Torchlight! Though, if this is such a big match-up as it seems, it looks like I have a new game to try.
N is better. Period.
N is the greatest of them all
all my base belong to N
I’m playing N for almost 6 years already. You know, there are bad games, good games, excellent games. And I am sure, Torchlight is excellent game. But also, there are Games. And N is surely one of them. People was playing N when Torchlight don’t even exist yet. And they will play N when no one will remember what Torchlight looks like. So it seems pretty obvious to me, what should I vote for.
N, because Torchlight is just a stupid click game, and N is better than everything.
N is better than food, sex and my face combined.
Torchlight is good, but generic.
N is easily the greatest freeware game I’ve ever played.
The ‘N’atives are getting restless. Hee hee hee.
N: it’s just crazy awesome!
N is the most fun, creative, and addicting game I’ve ever played. That is all.
N makes other freeware games look like Superman 64
I played many blizz games and many others (EQI, EQII(not blizz, i know)War40K, WoW (stopped at WotLK), DI, DII, CoH, CoV, GW (anticipating GW2)AION and even runescape), but i always went back to N because it is just better.
Torchlight is fun and all, but it’s not pure, uncut gaming crack like N.
Go N !!!
Go Go N !!!
n is the best best best.
N: addictive, simple yet complex.
N will win. It is supreme.
Torchlight might as well be getting beat by pong.:P
It just has to be N. Millions of different level possabilities catering to any difficulty, nothing else can compete!
For anyone who can’t find it, download from here:
http://www.thewayoftheninja.org/n_downloads.html
Torchlight wins with a clutch comeback.
51%-50%
What’s N?
w/e, i vote for it
No kidding. At least Torchlight is mainstream. N looks like something from a strongbad e-mail.
I respond to that with ellipses.
I have no idea what that means.
“At least Torchlight is mainstream.”
Er, if you hadn’t noticed, this is an *indie* games tournament :/
Also don’t judge a book by it’s cover; N is capable of producing great beauty, even if you do (for some bizzare reason) think it looks bad.
This Torchlight community isn’t especially bright
ellipsis is “…”
La la la if you have not played N it is hard to understand what is so great about it. Simplicity can be a really great thing guyz
also, haters gonna hate
Seriously?…two COMPLETELY different games. N has barely any graphics to it and is a basic flash game. Torchlight is an epic beautifully rendered fantasy RPG…this tournement makes no sense. I’m obviously voting for Torchlight….srsly why even ask. LMAO
You probably don’t know what NED is, so you couldn’t be expected to understand why N is the best indie game out there. I’m sure Torchlight is beautiful and all, but it’s probably something along the lines of fight monsters, do quests, fight monsters, do quests, next level. And hey, simplicity can be beautiful too!
I played N/ninja and I wasn’t very impressed. I’ve regularly visited newgrounds for many years now and have seen thousands of games similar to N as well, whereas I know the time and effort it takes to build a fantasy world like torchlight has…I’m also a game design student so I appreciate N as a work of art in and of itself. Just not my cup-o-tea.
Aw, REALLY? You can’t play N any way except downloaded; doing it through your browser is like trying to eat steak through a straw. In-browser knock offs jerk around like crazy which is DEATH for a game that relies on smoothness and fast reactions.
Yeah ROFL!!! Like, Torchlight is, like, the only fantasy rpg in existence, I mean, like, there are no other games remotely like it at all, since Torchlight is, like, the only game ever made that is about going underground to, like, fight a great evil beneath the surface, where you can, like, choose different classes to play as, where you can kill monsters to obtain drops and buy and sell items and, um, well, what I am saying is that is definitely in no way similar to Diablo, World of Warcraft, Runescape, or any other extremely similar, I mean not similar, game.
N on the other hand is far from unique. There are so many other games like it, like, er, that one, y’know, that game that is like it, oh wait that *is* N, but basically what I’m saying is that everyone knows that there are so many other games like N, right? And that Torchlight is by no means an unoriginal fantasy RPG that recycles overused gameplay and storyline concepts, and although reasonably fun, is really nothing new at all!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!!
Forget Blizz games. Kablizzy games, such as N, is where it’s all at.
Torchlight is a great game but I don’t see how it fits into this competition… By the very rules of the competition it should be disqualified on a couple counts. Most of these games are made by a couple dudes in their basements or college dorms living off pizza. Torchlight was made by a company of 15+ veteran developers who received a couple million dollars of funding from the giant Chinese publisher Perfect World, who also marketed and distributed the game… how is that indie?
So N, made in 2005 by two guys on their own dime is put up against publisher funded TL? …
Torchlight was created and funded by veteran developers, yes, but it was also an indie effort when it was made. Torchlight had already been nominated (by gamers like you in our nomination process) and won it’s first competition by the time it was announced that Perfect World had acquired Runic Games.
Because of that, we decided to keep Torchlight in and not disqualify it. There was no need to muck up the tournament.
That said, Runic Games will not be allowed to compete in next year’s tournament.
Sorry if this, in any way, inconveniences you.
I guess I have to respect your decision but personally I still can’t agree with it. I just did a search and Perfect world announced that they were publishing Torchlight in April of 2009. Has this contest been going on for over a year? Technically, while they were not publisher owned at that time, the were publisher funded and that violates your rules. I mean you might as well throw Gears of War and Borderlands into the competition.
Ahem. Mare is a *girl* So it’s not made by 2 /guys/. A guy and a girl.
Also, Torchlight is just plain boring, whereas N is refreshing and exciting. Also, the replayability is much much higher with N. And I played both, so this is not totally subjective.
I don’t get it..the games aren’t even similar in any way, besides being made by indie developers. I don’t get these competitions, anyways…it’s all ‘who’s fav game is better than who’s’…when the fact is, they’re BOTH great games, with great communities behind them. TBH, they both win, as well as the rest of us.
Crikey, enough with the serious discussion.
N FTW.
Yeah like, why not just vote for the game you like? I mean… wtf, what point is there in trying to compare two completely different games anyways? I mean, no matter which one is better, the game with the awesomer community behind it wins anyways? Like what’s happening right now?
Well, because it them becomes a competition not between two games, but between two communities…the fact is, niether community is better or worse than the other. We’re ALL gamers, we might enjoy different games, but i’m sure we can all agree that indie game developers need our support, and that both of these games are good games.
I prefer Torchlight, N’s not really my thing, but if it brings someone enjoyment, who is anyone to begrudge them that? I guess I just think that game competitions are kinda silly, seeing as peoples enjoyment of games is entirely subjective.
“the fact is, niether community is better or worse than the other”
Only a Torchlight fan would say that.
N will still win though. We want bragging rights. We LOVE bragging rights.
@byky – No hate, but seriously? are you really trying to be so presumptiouis as to say that ONLY people from the torchlight community would ever say that? That’s ever so offending.