Stonking Great Game Contest Now Live!

[optioned]

After reading and watching the end of the latest video clip, I decided to join the forums and take a shot however a few questions did arise which weren't really explained on the contest page.

The first of which is, Does that game have to have anything (and I mean anything) to do with ZP or any other video game?

The second question was, How long was he really expecting, I mean someone could make 10 minutes worth of gameplay to an amazing quiailty, but then someone could make 7 hours of gaming time with an OK ammount of quialty.

The thrid and final quesiton that sprung to mind is, just how high is the lowest standard for conceiving? I mean I know that the entry numbers will be in four figures at the very least and probably about 100 will be even worth looking at, and then the last 20 probably be the last shining of hope to allow him to stick the game names to a wall and shot at one with a blind fold on, but was he expecting a simple 2d Shooter or something more dynamic like an attempt at a 3D sandbox with story lines that could choke even the best of writers.

I have minimal experience in flash in the sense that I can do animations, not exactly games but I'll give anything a shot even if that shot was like firing a spud gun at a brick wall.

 

[Spinwhiz]

so dose that mean a game where the objective is to collect blow-job dispenser's out the question?

also, can we make our own graphics or do we need to use , the ones I assume are in the donwloadable kit?

Yes, blow-job dispensers would fall under excessive. You are welcome to use all of the logos, art and music we have in the downloadable kit. You are welcome to create your own graphics, just not of our logos.

 

[TheFacelessOne]

I wish I had flash.

And I could make browser games.

Ah well. I'll just sit back and watch.

 

[Kamineko]

I'd like to concur with a concern raised by some of the other users. You're really asking a lot, requiring entrants to absolutely disown all interest in the content they produce.

I understand that it they be boilerplate terms as I've seen similar in other competitions, but very, very rarely in ones dealing in software.

 

[Spinwhiz]

Would we be allowed to include the names and possibly likenesses of other Escapist properties/video series?

Can we get an idea of what exactly the games are being judged on? Is it just purely based on 'fun'? How big of a factor are creativity, effective use of assets, replayability, length, story, accessibility, etc. I know its the one you think is 'best', but some more help on what exactly would lead you to think a game is good or best would be helpful.

We would like to keep any other brands out of this but you are welcome to use The Escapist

They will actually be judged on all of those but I would think FUN would be really high on the scale.

 

[Spinwhiz]

Hey guys.

Canadian Game development student here, a few of us are wondering if we can submit an entry as a team or if the rules state that it has to be one game per person.

You are welcome to submit as a team but the Swag Pack will go to the person who submits the game.

 

[Thundarbolt]

What they are saying is that if you submit your game, you can't go off and sell it later. They aren't taking credit away from you or selling it themselves, they just reserve the rights to the game itself. It's their intellectual property.

Edit: Thanks for the reply, that works out fine!

 

[Spinwhiz]

After reading and watching the end of the latest video clip, I decided to join the forums and take a shot however a few questions did arise which weren't really explained on the contest page.

The first of which is, Does that game have to have anything (and I mean anything) to do with ZP or any other video game?

It is a game based on Zero Punctuation, so that should be the main theme.

The second question was, How long was he really expecting, I mean someone could make 10 minutes worth of gameplay to an amazing quiailty, but then someone could make 7 hours of gaming time with an OK ammount of quialty.

There is no time limit connected to it. They will all be judged individually.

The thrid and final quesiton that sprung to mind is, just how high is the lowest standard for conceiving? I mean I know that the entry numbers will be in four figures at the very least and probably about 100 will be even worth looking at, and then the last 20 probably be the last shining of hope to allow him to stick the game names to a wall and shot at one with a blind fold on, but was he expecting a simple 2d Shooter or something more dynamic like an attempt at a 3D sandbox with story lines that could choke even the best of writers.

Anything and everything will be looked at. Be creative and innovative and that is all you will need.

I have minimal experience in flash in the sense that I can do animations, not exactly games but I'll give anything a shot even if that shot was like firing a spud gun at a brick wall.

It's definitely worth a shot! Good luck!

 

[cyrad]

As an indie developer, this sounds like a lot of fun and I even toyed with ideas of making a Zero Punctuation game.

Unfortunately, I don't have the budget to buy the $700 software that is Adobe Flash, and I'm not willing to pirate it like what probably 90% of Flash home owners did. Then, of course, I'd have to learn how to use it.

I do understand why it must be browser-based. It would be a pain to have to download and possibly install every fricken game.

Oh well, I'm curious how this turns out.

 

[Titanguy654]

Acts prohibited under law in any national, state or local jurisdiction in which The Escapist website may be viewed.

Wait.....are you serious? Even point and click adventures have some breaking and entering! What are we supposed to do? Ok, weapons are out of the question. driving cars over the speed limit is out of the question. Killing anything is agains the rules. How are we supposed to make the game fun? "Yahtzee Teaches Math"?

 

[Spinwhiz]

What they are saying is that if you submit your game, you can't go off and sell it later. They aren't taking credit away from you or selling it themselves, they just reserve the rights to the game itself. It's their intellectual property.

It says no Advertisements... But are we allowed to put our names or links in a "credits" section of the game or in the preloader?

Of course. I would put your name and username and anyone who helped you in the credits. If you want the title screen to have something on it, I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem. Now, if you are going to run a page of credits before the game even starts, that you should shy away from.

Turn on any game from any publisher and see how they do it. Most put up a screen of their company and then right into the game, with credits after you have completed it.

 

[GeEom]

Now like many programmers and game design programmers I know ive never learnt flash,

partly because it represents the potential ability of inadequate half people to atleast create a temporary veil of ilusion the looks like a cool indie game, which turns out to be realy very very poor and probably produced by filling out a questioninaire (probably also done in flash) and then copying the pathetic dribble output of source code returned and doing their best to blind people like myself who actively hunt for fresh indie awesomeness with it.

partly because its insasiously hard to DRM and as such one cannot actualy make anything worth selling and then actualy be able to sell it.

and as such its kinda very anoying to actualy be put in the position of sitting here, as someone who vaugely manages to rely on game programming,
along with the charity of strangers who think that my face must be result of some horrific disease and therefore give me infeasibly small amounts of money in inpossibly small increments (half pennys dont exist anymore ffs!) as I sit on the street...
to make a living, who doesent know flash, and is a HUGE ZP fan, to know that if I try and learn flash all I'm going to achive is degration of my brain tissue and a second rate game full of holes, which wont make it.

can we not run a second competition for people who can programm im C++ or delphi, even java etc... to alow the people with stuff to strut to strut it.


on a sub note, whoever asked that they cant be serious about the legality side:

what the escapist mean, what they want, is a good game, which in itself does not break any laws, for instance copyright breach, direct depiction of murder, manslaughter or rape etc etc
whilst your example of breaking an entering as an act is ilegal, its depiction is not, and as such you can show people breaking and entering all they want.
Furthermore though you say the only other alternatives are 'yahtzee does math' I'd have thought that a ZP game would have some focal spin about game review, prehaps the best spin would be along the lines of an RPG where the player (yahtzee avatar?) skits between real life aqnd gameplay, forced by ingame events to make 'moral choices' that are goodgame/badgame as oposed to good/bad, climaxing to a conclusion of the quality of the players life as a game, in a way that in no way includes numbers
except maybe a four, for FOURK YOU!

 

[augustlilleaas]

I'll try again. I want to submit a javascript based game. Why is Flash a requirement?

 

[Archon]

Acts prohibited under law in any national, state or local jurisdiction in which The Escapist website may be viewed.

Wait.....are you serious? Even point and click adventures have some breaking and entering! What are we supposed to do? Ok, weapons are out of the question. driving cars over the speed limit is out of the question. Killing anything is agains the rules. How are we supposed to make the game fun? "Yahtzee Teaches Math"?

What that rule prohibits is acts that *even if performed in the context of a game* are prohibited under law. For instance, imagine a game that involved:
* Viewing child pornography
* Entering the email addresses of people, with the game sending them threatening messages
* Active encouragement of the commision of hate crimes ("and when you're done playing, go kill some [whatever]")
All of the above is what we are prohibiting.

Breaking and entering into fictional environments with virtual avatars is not prohibited by any law that I know of, nor is possession of fictional video game weaponry, nor is driving virtual cars in simulated environments. etc.

 

[scarybug]

I understand that you're not trying to run a completely evil contest, and that this is supposed to be a fun thing. I love the Escapist and Zero Punctuation, but any serious Flash Game Developer will recognize this contest is a BAD DEAL.

You are basically getting a free video game made about ZP, and the developer of the game gets nothing. Even worse, the losers of the game end up working spec.

If you want to run a contest for browser games, let anyone enter a game they've already made, and don't claim any copyright to it except to reproduce it on the site along with images from the game for promotional purposes. That's what IGF and PAX do.

If you want a Zero Punctuation game, pay a good development team to make one. That's what Cartoon Network and Aardman Animation do.

If you're thinking of entering this contest. Why not instead use that time to make a game that you keep the rights to and try to get a sponsor on Flash Game License or even just make some ad money using Mochi Ads? A good flash game can make thousands of dollars, but not if you give it away.

 

[Spinwhiz]

I'll try again. I want to submit a javascript based game. Why is Flash a requirement?

That's what we chose for our first contest in this manner. Perhaps in the next one we'll widen the scope a bit.

 

[Thundarbolt]

You are basically getting a free video game made about ZP, and the developer of the game gets nothing. Even worse, the losers of the game end up working spec.

The exposure from having your game featured on a popular website based on an extremely popular series is a huge help to anyone looking to get their names out there, plus having a published game online looks great in a portfolio. Thats the angle I'm looking at it from.

 

[augustlilleaas]

That's what we chose for our first contest in this manner. Perhaps in the next one we'll widen the scope a bit.

It's self evident that you chose that scope. I'm interested in knowing why you chose that scope, though.

 

[GeEom]

scaryburg its realy not that malicious, frankly there are enough talented (though not people working in flash in my opinion) new people out there who are desperate enough to get inot the light with their skills, and for a fan, how better than through ZP?

the escapist is not the multi million and in CNs owners case now multi billion pound/dollar/simolleon earning companys that you quote, and this is not some flagship for their marketing war to become staggeringly rich, its just a comp to celebrate ZP!