Game challenge #8 has Started!!

[pseudobot]

...and now you have 72 hours from this post to complete a game!
The genre and object/theme has been decided:

***Hint Hint****






In other words:
You have 72 hours to make a shoot-em-up in which apocalypse plays a roll.
For example, you could make a save-the-world-from-a-gigantic-meteor type game. Or you could make a post-apocalyptic game where only a few humans are alive and the world is infested with zombies...

To help you out, here are some links to read up on:
Apocalypse
Shoot-em-up

PS: How you incorporate apocalypse is up to you. Be creative!!

=====================

***Judging***
You will be judged in the following categories:

•Best graphics/eye candy
•Most fun game
•Most original game

"Another GTA game!? Oh please, games should be “out of the blue” and completely random at best.
If the topic is Almonds and you make a tic-tac-toe game with almonds and nuts, you’ll have less of a
chance of winning than if you made an intergalactic conquest based on the adventures
of Sir Almondalot and that he is traveling to save his fellow nuts from becoming crazy(quite ironic).
Well this category is pretty self-explanatory, so just see what game is different from the rest(in a good way)."

•Category winner
Awarded to the person who wins in most categories

and

•All around goodness
This category will be voted by YOU! What game did you like the most?
Can't vote for yourself!



*****Prizes****
The prices are bragging rights and a picture prize. Plus your game may be good enough to get sponsors if you develop it further!


****Lastly****
Good luck!
And remeber, have fun!


PS: Please announce that you are participating here! And feel free to show off/discuss what you have made so far in this thread aswell!
-Pseudo

[Pazil]

I'm in and participating!

[pseudobot]

^Sweet! Good luck!

[Pazil]

I'm just thinkin' up ideas right now...should it be a guy runnin' around killing zombies/monsters, or should it be a space ship shootin' up alien ships and asteroids...?

[pseudobot]

^Why not be more creative? Good devs take their time to come up with something new, something most people have never seen before. i mean, there are tons of Zombie/alien/monster shoot-em-ups, that don't bring anything new.
And asteroids is far from original.
Here is an example of something original:
Player shoots up High-speed particles in thee LHC (large hadron collider) before the particles will impact in each other, thus causing the destruction of the world...

[Xploder]

I'm in . I got a question though, do we need to use the image you attached or was that just for inspiration?

[Pazil]

Yeah...I guess so...but I've got a few ideas...I don't know...

I'm thinking something where a) the environment changes quickly, or b) it's totally generated randomly, and you can wander around endlessly...

[pseudobot]

I'm in . I got a question though, do we need to use the image you attached or was that just for inspiration?

They where just attached for inspiration.

[pseudobot]

Since PhobiK asked me last time why I didn't join in the competition (#7) I'll join in on this one.

[Never_land:(]

I'm in. .

[ColbyCheeze]

Hmmm, if I can think of an idea that I'll have time to do I may enter.

[pseudobot]

Lil screenie of the particle generator I just wrote. Im going to start working on the actual game now, instead of the eye-candy...


PS: You guys, feel free to post what you have so far.

[bluemagica]

Wow, looks like i saw this pretty late! Anyway, i am not sure whether i can make it in time, plus there are some good designers entering already, but i will try entering anyway, but i need two questions answered first:

1) What is the exact definition of a shmup?(i already looked up on wiki, and didn't like the definition there)

2) What type of controls is preferred? keyboard, mouse, or both?

[ColbyCheeze]

Was talking to Incrue and had a question...are we aloud to use any libraries / classes made previously such as Box2D etc?

I was thinking of using the code from the game structure articles I've been writing on my website to make a game and so I could post the source and an article showing how to make a game with the code I've been writing about.

[pseudobot]

Wow, looks like i saw this pretty late! Anyway, i am not sure whether i can make it in time, plus there are some good designers entering already, but i will try entering anyway, but i need two questions answered first:

1) What is the exact definition of a shmup?(i already looked up on wiki, and didn't like the definition there)

2) What type of controls is preferred? keyboard, mouse, or both?

1)Basically any game that you shoot things with bullets. Be it in space, microbial....Here are a few eaxmples of a shoot em up: Asteorids, Geometry Wars (multidirectional)...
NOTE: Your game doesn't have to be retro.

2)Controls could be anything, it's up to you. For example, if you are doing a multidirectional shooter (you can shoot in any direction, regardless of what the player's mc rotation is) you could use WASD for moving, and mouse to shoot. If you are doing a tunnel shooter, or a asteorid-type game, you could use WASD/Arrow keys and Space bar to fire.
Really, it's up to you.


Here are some pics for different type of shoot-em-up's for ideas:
Platformer Shmup [Metal Slug]:


Multidrectional Shooter [Geometry wars]:


Scrolling Shmup [Darius]:


Isometric Shmup [Zaxxon]:


Or all those zombie-shooters out there. Halo could be considered a shmup, just in 3d.

[pseudobot]

Was talking to Incrue and had a question...are we aloud to use any libraries / classes made previously such as Box2D etc?

I was thinking of using the code from the game structure articles I've been writing on my website to make a game and so I could post the source and an article showing how to make a game with the code I've been writing about.

It depends. If it is a huge library/class that gives you a huge advantage over everyone, the no. If it is only a small bit of code 100 lines or less, that you can use it. I is however perfferd hat you could everything from scrath, so noone has an advantage/disadvantage over others.
Hope you understand, and that this dosen't make you withdraw from the comp.
-Pseudo

[Pazil]

Does my small, tiny, as2.0 3d engine legal then? It's only 7 classes (Plus I'm adding another Sprite2D class so I can actually make a game that will run moderately fast...)...I'm not even sure if I'll use it, since actionscript 2.0 is so slow, and I only have Flash 8...

P.

[pseudobot]

^3d, probably not as it gives you a huge advantage. I don't mind the Sprite class though. Just think for yourself: Have you got a [unfair] advantage over the others if you use it?
-Pseudo

[Pazil]

I don't think so.

3D Classes are like the built-in graphics classes, as 3d is a format, just like 2d. But since we Flash people can't use built-in functions, we need to make our own. It's not an unfair advantage, it's more like just another tool to make your game look better. If anyone wants my 3D classes, then just give me a shout, and I'll happily hand them to you!
(I've got to make a thread and post them sometime...)

P.

[pseudobot]

^If it ise freely available for everyone, then go ahead and use it.