48 Hour Game Programming Contest

[strangelife2k]

Originally posted by senocular
30% f6 player penetration
about 94% f5

seno, ive got flash player 6 but i haven't got flash MX, so the competion should be flash 5 type files

[sspskater]

Originally posted by emo_boy
good idea, but how could you tell that it was in 48 hrs, someone could cheat.

Originally posted by mattGuest
That's why there's no prize, it's just for fun. If you think about it the challenge is really against yourself, to see what you are capable of given the time restricions and not knowing the theme until just before start time.

Also, the theme is a kind of safe-guard. No one knows what it will be until all the votes are tallied up just before the contest begins, you can't really start working on stuff until you know what you have to make.

-matt

That's way if it limitless it would be better. You see no prize so if they cheat they cheat them self on seeing how good they actually are. Must people would agree if they were forced to make a puzzle game for instance some my drop for lack of interest. If the themes were limitless then we can see all types of different games instead of the same theme.

[senocular]

the trick is to make everyone think that there will be a definite to-stick-to theme when the contest begins so that they wont know what to do until then. At that point we can say "ok do whatever the heck you want" but if we say that now, people will start now!

[mattGuest]

My connection was down all day, so I wasn't able to keep up with the discussion here. Here are my thoughts, tell me what you think..

Flash 5 vs Flash MX
I know that some will disagree, but I think that mx should be submissible. You can do a lot more with mx than flash 5 in terms of games, and I think it would be great if some of the entries show off the advancements. There would be a good mix of flash 5 and mx, and if mx is so little used than the majority of entries should be flash 5. Maybe seeing cool mx entries will convince some of you to upgrade

Theme
The theme will be voted on by the participants, so if nobody wants to make a puzzle game then no one will vote for one.
The theme is there for 2 reasons:
1) To keep people from working on their entry before the contest
2) To make it a bit more interesting. It will be fun to see how different people interpret the theme.

File restrictions
I will set a max file size, but only so it doesn't take all my web space.
As for a stage size, I don't think this should be limited. I want to keep the contest as open as possible so that we see a variety of different entries. Part of the fun is seeing what other people can come up with and if someone feels like being original and making a game that's 20x1000 pixels then I'd like to see it.

Voting, signup, entry
I just signed up for a new webhost and will be putting together an official page tonight and tomorrow. strangelife2k, I appreciate your help, but I think I'm going to put together a system for sign up and voting combined. That way no one can vote a thousand times for the theme they want, also it will be a bit more organised. I will host all of the entries on my server and provide a permanent home for them unless anyone objects.

I'm pretty excited about this, a lot of people have shown interest. Remember, this is just the first run. If it goes well then I imagine it will become an ongoing thing and we can refine the rules as we go.

I'll let you know when the site is ready.. I don't have time to design anything spectacular, so if anyone has any layout ideas then feel free to send them my way.

-matt

[Edited by mattGuest on 08-21-2002 at 09:27 PM]

[tommysalo]

A great idea.
Count me in!

[jorosdaman]

this is coming along really well, and i look foward to the contest. as for the things which are being said, im in agreement with mattguests ideas. there should definatly be a theme, otherwise this wouldnt be so original, and stage size shouldnt be limited.

as for the actual date - does anyone kno of any global time websites? 31/1 are different days for people in australia to people in america. i think it is important that we work that out.

8x8 games sound good - there would be tonnes of room for variation, though still limiting it enough to be able to compare entries.

anyway, keep posting.

[dinner dog]

the 31st-1st weekend suits me fine, it begins just as all my school sh*t winds up and what better way is there to unwind then diving head first into some codeing. as for the Mx F5 debate i think it would be easier to have a mix because flash Mx users wouldn't constantly have to referance to see what will work in F5. My last comment for the moment is don't make the theme too heavy for example lots of physics as i am only just getting into that and so, im guessing, alot of other people and this would encorage the use of base fla's and tutorials which would unlevel the playing field and force a lot of drop outs.

anywho, im in and like i said any time after the 31st-1st weekend is fine although it will be hard to get a set date as about 8am in NY is about 11pm here in OZ so if i am to take part im going to have to talk to my parents and arange something.

keep us informed

[MTEV]

Hey Matt,

That's a great idea!!
I would love to say: "count me in" but im working the late shift that weekend, but maybe I can install flash at work

[jorosdaman]

hey dinnerdog, where ya from?

[dirtymonkey]

the only way someone could cheat is if they rape the voting on the topic to a game they have already created then submitting it...which is really retarded when there is no *real* prize
i would try this contest but i cant draw(well it takes a while) and i dont like making stick figures=/

[mattGuest]

It's ok if you can't draw. I imagine that a lot of the entries will contain "programmer art" (ie bad stick figures). The contest is based around gameplay, not polish.

Go check out some of the entries at ludum dare and you'll see what I mean.
http://ludumdare.com/user/viewentries.php


-matt

[dirtymonkey]

which one won? or does it say and i didnt see

[mattGuest]

here are the results from the ludum dare contest
http://ludumdare.com/articles/?link=v&arid=37

-matt

[ziplockkitty]

I'd like to be a part of this too, school is starting soon, but I think I could get some time in that weekend. I like the alien thing, but the skateboard game sounds cool also. Maybe a skateboarding alien, lol.... Anyways, I'll be around waiting for updates and stuff...

[dirtymonkey]

id rather it be snowboarding than skateboarding

[sspskater]

I'm up for it that weekend should be fine for me

[senocular]

Originally posted by sspskater
Screw skating....get a life!

lol

statistics show "loads" of people would disagree

[fospher.com]

even if there is a contest - it would be no fair game - almost all of the games board posters are no competition for ed mack's(and probably a couple others) code. so basically the winner is decided before the contest even starts.

[mattGuest]

Everyone is at different skill levels and that's fine, the object isn't really to win, it's to see what everyone comes up with. It's just for fun.

-matt

[fospher.com]

yeah that'd be cool - i think a week's better then 48 hours... everyone has their own schedule - that way it can be easily distributed