quick thought: I hope that at least some games *avoid* portraying Yahtzee as an ultimate-protagonist-akimbo-chainsaw-minigun-wielding-game-reviewer-badass.
Stonking Great Game Contest Now Live!
- Thread starter Spinwhiz
- Start date
Heh. I was planning on putting a minigun where his dick ought to be. (clearly I have watched this show far too many times...curse my boring day job)
I'm kinda curious as to why Java based games aren't allowed?
To me they seem to fit just as well as flash based games.
Both can be run from within a browser.
Java has the benefit of not having to spend ridiculous amounts of money for the program to develop.
Java is also much more friendly to alternative browsers. ie; Opera.
So could anyone give me an answer as to why Java isn't allowed?
To me they seem to fit just as well as flash based games.
Both can be run from within a browser.
Java has the benefit of not having to spend ridiculous amounts of money for the program to develop.
Java is also much more friendly to alternative browsers. ie; Opera.
So could anyone give me an answer as to why Java isn't allowed?
Bluntknife, BECAUSE RULES.
Well, my guess as to why it's Flash-only is;
Narrowing it down. If Java is allowed, then the Silverlight enthusiasts arrive and whine; then the people who wants X arrives etc., resulting in a less than user-friendly contest where you have to download a truckload of plugins to try out the games.
(Oh and the "ridiculous amount of money" is zero; FlashDevelop [http://www.flashdevelop.org/wikidocs/index.php?title=Main_Page] is free!)
Well, my guess as to why it's Flash-only is;
Narrowing it down. If Java is allowed, then the Silverlight enthusiasts arrive and whine; then the people who wants X arrives etc., resulting in a less than user-friendly contest where you have to download a truckload of plugins to try out the games.
(Oh and the "ridiculous amount of money" is zero; FlashDevelop [http://www.flashdevelop.org/wikidocs/index.php?title=Main_Page] is free!)
A big motivation for the use of Flash is most likely that The Escapist website uses Flash for all of its multimedia. That means that the Escapist is familiar with Flash, and how to get it to work. They probably have someone on staff who can code AS3, and would be able to effectively test and appraise the submitted games. The Escapist already "knows" Flash, so they wanted the games submitted in a medium that they are comfortable dealing with.
After all, Zero Punctuation itself is shown using the Flash player, despite the fact that it is constructed using Microsoft Movie Maker. There is also the fact that the Flash player is the most widely distributed on-line multimedia solution, more so than Silverlight, or even the Java run-time.
And as many of us have pointed out, you no longer need the Flash IDE to construct Flash games. You can download the FlexSDK, and use it in conjunction with other free programs like FlashDevelop, without dropping a single penny. That's the route I'm going for my entry, and it is working out magnificently.
After all, Zero Punctuation itself is shown using the Flash player, despite the fact that it is constructed using Microsoft Movie Maker. There is also the fact that the Flash player is the most widely distributed on-line multimedia solution, more so than Silverlight, or even the Java run-time.
And as many of us have pointed out, you no longer need the Flash IDE to construct Flash games. You can download the FlexSDK, and use it in conjunction with other free programs like FlashDevelop, without dropping a single penny. That's the route I'm going for my entry, and it is working out magnificently.
Spinwhiz, "looking into"?
I'm kind of surprised that this isn't a definite YES.
I believe that most people who make games want to show them to people- if the games are only sent to the judges, then there's essentially no purpose for making a game for this contest, besides a vague promise of being featured on ZP and a neat little pack of stuff.
I also believe that the contest in general would benefit greatly from having the games freely available- the best games of contests often get linked to from other websites, and the opinions on the games would go from "they're bad, we'll just have to take their word for it", to "they're bad/good, and I know because I played them".
I'm kind of surprised that this isn't a definite YES.
I believe that most people who make games want to show them to people- if the games are only sent to the judges, then there's essentially no purpose for making a game for this contest, besides a vague promise of being featured on ZP and a neat little pack of stuff.
I also believe that the contest in general would benefit greatly from having the games freely available- the best games of contests often get linked to from other websites, and the opinions on the games would go from "they're bad, we'll just have to take their word for it", to "they're bad/good, and I know because I played them".
I am excited to PLAY the game... It will have to be pretty good if ah, Yahtzee approves.
I think a point and click adventure game where you control Yahtzee, and maybe the imps are like little helpers?
Perhaps I should knuckle down and put some effort into this.
I think a point and click adventure game where you control Yahtzee, and maybe the imps are like little helpers?
Perhaps I should knuckle down and put some effort into this.
Only about a month left now before submissions for the contest close down. I hope everyone is hard at work on their entries. I'm not quite as far along as I would like to be, but I have made considerable strides in the past few days.
The code for two of the playing sections of my game is ready to go. I still need to add enemies to both of them, but the player movement and camera handling are done. I've also rigged up the camera to properly allow for animated cutscenes, so I'll probably start work on that this evening. (I wanted to make me an intro sequence) The main menu needs to be expanded with more options, but the graphics and animations for it are already in place. (I do still need to incorporate the intro music though) I found a good application for producing sound effects, so I'll start incorporating those this weekend.
The graphics for the first section are already complete, and mos of the graphics for the second section are also ready to go. Still need to finish up the main character's animations in the second section, but the source graphics are ready and waiting. The code for the third section's gameplay won't be as difficult, it is much simpler in concept. The last section could prove something of a challenge, but I'm not too worried. The z-sorting is the one big hurdle.
I've already scaled back the scope of my game. (I had originally planned for five sections, and a menu to move between them) Depending on the level of challenge in the fourth section, I might have to nix the third section. (although I'd rather not)
The code for two of the playing sections of my game is ready to go. I still need to add enemies to both of them, but the player movement and camera handling are done. I've also rigged up the camera to properly allow for animated cutscenes, so I'll probably start work on that this evening. (I wanted to make me an intro sequence) The main menu needs to be expanded with more options, but the graphics and animations for it are already in place. (I do still need to incorporate the intro music though) I found a good application for producing sound effects, so I'll start incorporating those this weekend.
The graphics for the first section are already complete, and mos of the graphics for the second section are also ready to go. Still need to finish up the main character's animations in the second section, but the source graphics are ready and waiting. The code for the third section's gameplay won't be as difficult, it is much simpler in concept. The last section could prove something of a challenge, but I'm not too worried. The z-sorting is the one big hurdle.
I've already scaled back the scope of my game. (I had originally planned for five sections, and a menu to move between them) Depending on the level of challenge in the fourth section, I might have to nix the third section. (although I'd rather not)
I am mildly depressed at how much this thread has slowed down. I've noticed that most of the forum threads around here tend to keep up a rather quick clip. I suppose most people's answers have now been satisfied in regards to the contest. But working on an entry in an apparent vacuum can put you off your game. I would have expected a bit more conversation vis-a-vis the nature and progress of entries.
Surely I'm not the only one still working on an entry for the contest. (crickets)
Surely I'm not the only one still working on an entry for the contest. (crickets)
I feel your pain Richard. I am also still chugging on my entry. The 2 month dev period is taking its toll on my some what short attention span. I will probably go in to cram mode a week before the deadline. Right now I am coasting, adding little features but not tackling the main elements like I should.Richard Kain said:
I am afraid if I post WIP screen shots and the like, my entry will loose its novelty prior to judging.
Holy stonking crap-on-a-stick! That is a very impressive list. A lot of big names from serious development studios. I can't help feeling that a lot of these developers are hungry to finally get a little payback for the many years of criticism that they've had to endure. At the same time, having my work march before such prestigious game-dev eyes definitely sweetens the pot, win or lose. I'm actually glad that I recently began devoting even more time to my entry.Spinwhiz said:
If you guys can get Jeff Tunnell to judge, I promise I won't sleep until my entry is finished. With just under a month left, that is obviously an exageration. But seriously, Jeff Tunnell is one of my favorite developers of all time. If you get him to judge, I will cut back on sleep significantly and devote most of my free time to this contest. He currently works at PushButton Labs... http://pushbuttonlabs.com/ Since the company he presently works for develops a Flash game engine, I would think him a natural fit for the judges bench.
I had actually asked about this earlier, and Spinwhiz had advised strongly against it. So you made the right call there. Apparently they don't mind if you show off your game to a few friends locally. But they don't want you pimping screenshots on-line, and posting the game itself on-line mid-development can get you disqualified. (issues with copyrights and such) It can be a lot harder to work this way, but I'm afraid that's the name of the game this time around.hamster mk 4 said:
And yeah, it is a bit of a danger to give away too much of what you are working on. I'll use any edge I can get to improve my title. (without violating the rules of the contest)
In fact, it would actually be a bit of a help for anyone who ISN'T working on an entry to throw out ideas. It doesn't matter if they are actually good ideas, sooner or later something will stick. All you looky-loos on the sidelines could lend a hand just by telling us competitors how you would have done it right.