As always, it took a couple people reminding me before I remembered to plan this year's Game in a Day event [Click here to skip to more info on the GiaD]. This post is to let you know that it will be on the 24th and 25th of September; for the most part, the poll is a ruse. Please vote and comment about which date works best for you. If enough reliable participants can't make the date in question then I'll consider moving it.
Also, post some theme suggestions. We all know what happens when I'm left to pick themes.
I'm going to give prizes another shot, but with an important difference. This time, I will not announce a prize contribution until the money is in my BYOND wallet. If you want to donate $50 to the winner (for example) then get that money to me first. Too many people promise too much, and then disappear once the judging is finished.
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About the GiaD
The Game in a Day event is a programming marathon where developers attempt to create an entire game from scratch in one "work day". Because BYOND developers are from all over the world, the event actually runs for 48 hours; this allows everyone to fit their own normal 24 hour day into the allowed time. All libraries and resources (that you are legally allowed to use) are available for the competition, but you are not allowed to submit a previously worked on game. To prevent cheating, a theme is announced at the start of the event. In addition to other criteria, like level of completion and fun, games are judged primarily on creative use of theme.
This is the sixth straight year that the GiaD has been held on BYOND, and several of BYOND's currently active games had their start as GiaD entries.
Want to know more? Check out all the entries from previous years:
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Poll: If you plan to participate, which days work for you?
Login to vote.
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Personally, any date is fine by me, as long as I can use BYOND 490 (every year tendency to gravitate towards pixel movement screws me over, especially when I hit a wall and take an hour or two to figure it out).
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Question: If it happens before the beta becomes stable, will BYOND 490+ be allowed to be used?Just a question. (: Any publicly released version is fine by me. If I can download it from either of these pages, it's good: http://www.byond.com/download/ http://www.byond.com/developer/forum/?id=790864 |
I know the BYOND community tends to be pretty insular, but there are already a lot of game jams on the weekend of September 17th.
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SuperAntx wrote:
Theme: Pixel Movement I disagree. You've already proven tile-based games are more than capable, and this completely shatters a large fraction of games that can make decent use of a grid - Ultimatum & NESTalgia? |
SuperAntx wrote:
Theme: Pixel Movement Thanks for the suggestion, but I try to pick themes that allow each developer to interpret them in a unique way. For instance, "Flight" could mean "To Fly" or "To Flee", and both of those can be made into a vast number of game mechanics. "Pixel Movement" is more of a requirement than a theme. Also, the built-in pixel movement capabilities are still very new. I suggest that developers focus on their strong areas so as to save time, instead of trying to familiarize themselves with a completely new area of the language when they only have 1 day to do everything. That being said, I do hope to see some pixel movement enabled games from the developers who have been stress testing the new system. |
The other day I was telling someone on The Saloon that he should enter GIAD this year. Good to see I predicted it's arrival pretty well. :P
September 10th/11th would be pretty hard to impossible for me... If you end up settling on those I might have to chat to you about special arrangements. Themes: Progress. Limits. |
Well I would love to enter but the 24th is my birthday and I'll be out of town both days. Good luck to everyone!
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Consuming -- good for everything from eating contests, to fire, to zombies.
Settle -- to accept, to create infrastructure, to normalize. Momentum, Cheating, Scarcity, uhhh... Stalling, Harmonic, Fads. What else can I stare at in my basement for ideas... |
Theme suggestion from Fox: Virtual Polar Bears
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I don't know when I'll be able to do it as my work schedule isn't set in stone. Post a date, I'll book it off, and if I can't make it, I'll let you know and we can talk about a different time.
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Just a question. (: