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The Week of awesome II! - The second annual unofficial gamedev competition!

Tim · 2014-09-29T04:02:13

one year ago, we did a gamedev contest known as the week of awesome: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/646780-the-week-of-awesome-unofficial-gdnet-competition/since cornstalk isn't very active these days, i thought i'd take up the mantle and run a second competiion, but i'd like to get a poll of those whom would be interested. The Week of Awesome IIFor Information about the contest, see this thread: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/645699-upcoming-unofficial-gamedev-competition The competition has started hereWhen is this years?This years will take place from midnight(00:00:01) September 22nd to midnight(00:00:01) September 29th. all times are EST GMT -5. Currently: Well be decided on Friday, the 29th.This is not currently set in stone, and is subject to change.[UPDATE: i've added a poll to get a feeling for the best week that people can do this, please vote on all the weeks you'll feel you can adequately participate in.Where is this years?It's still on the internet, right at this very site!What are this years rules?!They are still the same as last years:http://www.gamedev.net/topic/645699-upcoming-unofficial-gamedev-competitionWith exception to the available platforms, stay tuned to see what the judges can do this year!We have a list of our platforms for this year:-Windows 7/8-Linux-IE 11-Firefox-Chromeunfortunately we only have 2 judges capable of both mac/linux, which puts it out of the running for the 3 judges to test. also i don't want to discourage mobile games, however last year it was a slight problem with one of the games that were built for iOS could only be tested by one judge, so this year i'm going to remove the mobile testable platforms, however that does not mean you can't design your game for mobile system, just be prepared for it to be played on a desktop is all.we also have several gamepads available for use during testing, so don't shy away from making gamepad enabled games!What's the criteria this year?This year we are changing things up a tad bit in how scoring is to be handled:The contest will be judged by the following categories: Gameplay/fun factor: 25 pts Graphics: 20 pts (that is, does it look good, aesthetically, and do the graphics contribute to or detract from the game experience?) (note: it's not a contest of who has the most realistic graphics; rather, this category is about how well the graphics help the game express itself and create an engaging experience for the user) Theme: 20 pts (that is, how well the game incorporates the theme) Audio: 10 pts (similar to the above, but with audio) First time user experience: 10 pts (that is, is it easy to install and run and start playing?) (clarification: your game doesn't need an installer; in fact, a download-and-play (without an installing process) is probably even preferable; what I meant by "easy to install" is that it includes all the necessary dependencies (or has good instructions for obtaining/installing necessary dependencies) such that a user can easily run you game without having to fight it; you'll also want to include at least some minimal instructions or a tutorial/in-game hints/tips). Participation: 10pts(that is, you post to the relevant threads on your progress, post dev journals, and in general participate with the rest of us rather than locking yourself away until your done. you don't have to go overboard, but a post every couple days with what your doing/upto will likely net you these 10 pnts) Judges score: 5 pnts(this score is up to each individual judge, with no individual category to hold them down, overall it's up to each judge to define what criteria they will choose for this category!)Expect a grand total of 100 points, you'll notice that we've reduced the amount you get from First time user experiance, and increased the points to gameplay/fun. we've also added the participation and judging category. with the participation category i'm hoping to see more input from members throughout the week, and promote a greater atmosphere for us about the competition! and with the judging category, we give them a tiny bit of room to play with for their individual feelings on each person's game.How do i get participation points?Great question, when the competition is going on, by posting journals, pictures, or links to wip builds you will garner a certain amount of participation in the community. what we want to foster is an atmosphere of development over one where each participate is working quietly alone.you can also use the hashtag: #gdnjam on twitter to post images, but it'd be easiest for us to observe it when it's here on gamedev itself. their are many ways to gain participation points, so just be sure to post often!Who are the judges?! slicer4ever alleightup swiftcoder aurioch orymus3I have found all our judges!However Judging is not going to be dealt with in the same manner as last year. I personally felt like a big disappointment with last years competition was that we received no individual scoring of each category, as such we were given final scores, and that was it, no feedback, or anything. This year each judge is expected to compose something similar to this: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1587/entry-2258640-week-of-awesome-my-game-reviews/ this means individual scores to each category, and at least some form of feedback for the game being played. If you believe you can do this, send me a pm then!As for submitting games for judging, once again see the original thread: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/646780-the-week-of-awesome-unofficial-gdnet-competition/Note: Being a judge does not bar you from participating, however it does mean you are exempt from claiming any prizes! as such, if for example you come in first, instead of receiving first prize, that prize would instead go to second, second go to third, etc.So what do we get if we win?Current prizes are:1st place- 150$ USD*- 150$ USD* - Thanks to stormynature- 100$ USD* - Thanks to lactose- a special gamedev title to reflect your winning!2nd place- 50$ USD*- 50$ USD* - Thanks to stormynature- 50$ USD* - Thanks to lactose3rd place- 25$ USD*- 25$ USD* - Thanks to stormynature- 50$ USD* - Thanks to lactose4th place- 25$ USD* - Thanks to orymus3 5th place- 10$ USD* - Thanks to 0sok- all participates will receive some rep as well!I am currently looking for anyone whom wishs to donate to the prize pool, if you'd like to add to this, please send me a PM.*All money payments well be done via paypal, if paypal is not possible we will attempt to reach an agreement with something like a steam gift card, or w/e can make it work for you. cash payment will be divided among members in a similar way as last year*So who's doing this?If you are interested, please drop a post below, as it stands these are the currently known interested members:Servant of the Lord Blog: Pixel ? Tile ? Worldminibutmany Blog: -endurion Blog: -ryan20fun Blog: -navezof Blog: -riuthamus Blog: http://www.riuthamus.com/?project=the-harvestdsm1891 Blog: -stu_pidd_cow Blog: -eric rufelt Blog: -geartreeentertainment Blog: -sugavanas Blog: http://kks21199.mrgoogleglass.com/gamedev/mousetail Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1931-journal-for-week-of-awsome/saen t mcbeth Blog: -td25 Blog: -orymus3 Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1927-the-week-of-awesome-ii/0sok Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1929-0soks-journal/thaumaturge Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1923-the-week-of-awesome-ii-thaumaturge/mussi Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/803-journal-of-mussi/themasterrat Blog: http://weekofawesomeii.tumblr.com/d000hg Blog: -stenol26 Blog: http://sjs-studio.com/en/dmatter Blog: http://www.gilldave.co.uk/blog/Night Lone Blog: -garrett hoofman Blog: http://teamopifex.com/aldacron Blog: -jackoatley Blog: -fusoy Blog: -b boy 212 Blog: -yellowkitsune Blog: http://thoughtsofakitsune.blogspot.com/technogoth Blog: -cefleet Blog: http://aletheiagamestudio.com/?cat=4johnnycode Blog: -newtechnology Blog: -dixus Blog: -gezegond Blog: -lootheo Blog: -trueerror Blog: trueerrors Journey through insanityeck Blog: Eck's Journal - Still Flyingshadowisadog Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1928-the-week-of-awesome-ii-shadowisadog/m_juststarting Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1934-new-syntax-blog-for-week-of-awesome-ii/xaer0 Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1926-xaer0s-journal/Captain Coffer Blog: -erraticvelocity Blog: -madeso Blog: -phil_t Blog: -multiparadigme Blog: http://www.multiparadigme.org/doboss Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1933-the-week-of-awesome-ii-herd-of-nerd-star-participation/thesikaoz Blog: -gurgehx Blog: -erraticvelocity Blog: https://trello.com/b/UCfBXYNs/week-of-awesome-iisethhope Blog: http://thewireboundpony.tumblr.com/geoffreys Blog: -sketch99 Blog: -line Blog: MoonlitHouse.comxai Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1941-xais-awesome-living-toys/do note that you do not have to be an interested member to participate, nor even drop any sort of message at all. so long as we receive your game submission before the end of the competition, you will be entered!Are there any teams?Servent of the lord is himself and one friendGarrett Hoofman and his teammate Kirk.Roerig are competing as Team OPifexRiuthamus is competing with two others as Slaughterhouse Gaming!dsm1891 has notified me he's looking for a special team member to work with!0sok is competing with his girlfriend as graphics!mussi is looking for an artist to team up with!themasterrat has teamed up with a few folksnight lone is competing with a composer friend!Jackoatley is competing in a team!b boy 212 is competing with a friend!sugavanus has formed a 2 man team!, competing under the team banner "Rocket-Powered Operatives"newtechnology is looking for some folks to be on a team.Eck will be competing under the team banner of "Sill Flying"m_JustStarting is competing with Davidjo and adamc762 under the team banner of "New Syntax"Xaer0 is competing with a designer friend under the team banner of "Ghostware Games"doboss is competing with supervacanea and makokvak under the team banner of "Herd of Nerd"Line is competing under the team banner "Moonlit House"I encourage team names, so please drop one in when your announcing your teams!also, please remember that: "you may leave your team at any time (though I suggest you don't be a jerk and leave your team stranded). You may join a team at any time before the competition. Once the competition starts, you may still leave your team, but you may not switch to a new/different team. Additionally, once the competition starts, you may join or form your own team at any time, provide that you (and your members) were not previously on a team."

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Started by slicer4ever August 25, 2014 12:04 AM

278 comments, last by slicer4ever 9 years, 9 months ago

slicer4ever

6,773

Author

August 25, 2014 08:15 PM

I'm tempted to dip my toes in it.

don't be tempted, dive right in, the water's warm!

Check out https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGames for some great games made by me on the Playstation Mobile market.

stu_pidd_cow

3,149

August 25, 2014 09:46 PM

We can use Unity, right? I've never done this sort of thing (gotta start some time) and I'm a tad busy with uni at the moment, but hopefully I'll find some time to get something in.

slicer4ever

6,773

Author

August 25, 2014 09:50 PM

We can use Unity, right? I've never done this sort of thing (gotta start some time) and I'm a tad busy with uni at the moment, but hopefully I'll find some time to get something in.

Certainly, the overall key thing is that the game logic itself is only constructed during those 7 days, from the rules:

"You may use any library, game engine, tools, art, or audio to develop the game, provided you have the appropriate license to do so (if licensing is required for what you use); note that this means you may use code, art, and audio that you or others may have made in the past (the explicit limitation is that you may not use existing game logic (i.e. you may use libraries and engines, but you still have to actually make the game during the 7 day period))"

so anything you want to use, feel free to use it!

edit: i've updated the first post, and we've gotten some additional prize pool's added, now we are upto 350$ for first, 100$ second, and 50$ for third! thanks to lactose and stormynature thanks a ton for the additional prizes guys!

Check out https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGames for some great games made by me on the Playstation Mobile market.

Erik Rufelt

5,903

August 25, 2014 10:01 PM

I'm in! Won't be able to put a full week on it cause of work, but a few days hopefully.

slicer4ever

6,773

Author

August 25, 2014 10:31 PM

I'm in! Won't be able to put a full week on it cause of work, but a few days hopefully.

awesome to hear! the more the merrier.

Also, lactose has gratiously increased his prize's, bringing 1st place to 400$, 2nd to 150$, and 3rd to 100$

Check out https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGames for some great games made by me on the Playstation Mobile market.

GearTreeEntertaiment

807

August 25, 2014 10:57 PM

I'm a total noob, but I'm up for a challenge.

~GTE

slicer4ever

6,773

Author

August 25, 2014 11:35 PM

to try to choose the best week that can meet the most people's capabilitys, i've added a poll to this thread for voting on the week that you can most comfortably participate in.

Check out https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGames for some great games made by me on the Playstation Mobile market.

Erik Rufelt

5,903

August 26, 2014 12:04 AM

to try to choose the best week that can meet the most people's capabilitys, i've added a poll to this thread for voting on the week that you can most comfortably participate in.

You should probably make the poll for what weeks people are unavailable instead, and choose the week were fewest people are unable to attend.

EDIT: Missed that I could vote on all weeks already :)

Stormynature

5,198

August 26, 2014 04:29 AM

Given that we might have some participants unable to do one particular week but possibly another. Splitting the competition into 2 separate week run with different themes for each might be a thought.

Navezof

1,764

August 26, 2014 09:34 AM

Getting back to the choice of the theme. The Ludum Dare GameJam use a system of poll to determine the theme. I'm not sure there is enough user for this method. But maybe letting the user vote for a global theme and the judge will be able to choose a smaller theme depending on this global theme.

For a maybe bad exemple : the participants chose the global theme : Sea, and the judge chose the smaller theme : pirate.

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