GameDev.net contest

General Discussions
#1

GameDev.net has announced a new contest. The latest version of Java will be availalble on the judges’ machines, according to the discussion thread.

#2

Tempting: Pirates, Ninjas, Robots, Zombies.

Thinks Pirates & Ninja’s would work in a Japanese setting.

#3

Zombie pirates worked very well in Monkey Island 2. =D

#4

There was a robot ninja in Metal Gear Solid as well. =D

#5

June to the end of October; sheesh, that’s no challenge… ::slight_smile:

They’ve had these contests before but I’ve never seen any results for them. But you’d think there’d be some good entries.

#6

The previous ones I’ve seen have been heavy on cheesy particle effects and code ripped direct from the NeHe demos. :frowning: I’d be interested, but a theme like that is much more art heavy than programming heavy.

#7

I had a look at GameDev’s previous contests. Most of them are demos rather than games (i.e. eye candy). Looking at the 4 element III contest (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water), the top ten entries were batting above my current skill level in special effects. However to make a game requires a wider range of skills so there’s hope. I also looked at the bottom range of the entries. No risk of coming bottom me-thinks.

June till end October is about 5 months, a bit on the long side really. I really prefer shorter and more focused. Arghh! look at the time. must go…

#8

I must be going blind, do they actually mention a JVM being installed somewhere?

Kev

#9

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=324010

[quote]Can we use Java, and if so what version will these machines have ?

…You can use Java, and it would be the latest version.
[/quote]
Wasn’t that easy to find, but it’s there ;D

#10

I have seen several staff from there who bash Java, so I don’t know if Java would get a fair shake.

#11

I’ve seen one staff member make a negative comment about Java, and that was from a programming perspective - not a user perspective. And there was nothing malicious (i.e. no bashing) behind it. I know you got a bit irate in that thread, so just to be fair - I disagree with you. The staff doesn’t care one way or the other what language you use. As long as it runs on the judges’ machines without difficulties, you’re in. With that in mind, I’d stay away from WebStart. After seeing how many people over at IndeGamers had problems with the WebStart demos Cas posted (which no one here had), I wouldn’t have much confidence in the contest judges getting them to run.

#12

I was not irate about the negative comment. I was irate over a staff trolling in the Java forums. I don’t care if he thinks he earned the right or not and whether he is staff or not. If the staff doesn’t observe their own policies on trolling, other people won’t . We already get enough trolls in the Java forum without the staff contributing.

Also Oluseyi always makes it known when the subject comes up how “inferior” Java is.

#13

* blahblahblahh mostly stopped reading GD.net aeons ago because of poor moderation and stupid bugs in their proprietary system

#14

Thanks for sharing, blahblahblah, I was just wondering if you read GD.net or not.
fwiw, I don’t read it either, but I find this competition interesting and think it was nice of aldacron to post about it here so I could learn about it. =)

#15

Uh…it was just a tongue-in-cheek commment (although it’s true - life is just less annoying if you mostly avoid reading the crap you often see on GD :)). FYI I’m hoping to enter the comp!

#16

I’m thinking of joining with just a silly small flash game. it won’t stand a chance of winning, but it’d be cool to participate. =)

#17

While there was a quote on the GameDev forums saying the Judges’ computers would have Java, I kinda wonder how firm that is. I have sometimes posted java elsewhere & peeps had difficulty running it. An Applet in tags should be a reasonable bet, but that means no OpenGL, so only a 2D Java game would really be competitive. So it’s either risk webstart or maybe cough C++ cough.

Alan

#18

Just embed a JRE in your game. They’ll never know.

#19

I’m going to code a gameboy (4 color original) game using the gameboy z80 port of the lcc compiler and submit it in a web page using the Javaboy gameboy emulating applet --> Got to make things interesting… :-*

#20

Whether to go 2D or 3D, that is the question. Thoughts:-

  • 2D Java Applet Platformer (relies on to fetch JVM if required)
  • 2D Flash Game (My Flash skills are rudimentary though)
  • 3D Java Application + Embedded JRE + LWJGL
  • 3D C++ Application

The top two entries in the last 4 Element contest were 3D, but on the other hand that means lots of modelling. Would my usual low polygon count stuff cut it? Still look at Tribal Trouble, thats fairly low poly and pretty neat and was embedded JRE + LWJGL I think.

Now gameplay…What are the defining qualities of the potential elements

  • Pirates: Ships, cannons, swordplay
  • Ninjas: lots of different swordplay moves, high jumps
  • Robots: Lasers, spaceships
  • Zombies: slow lumbering, hand-hand weapons, respawn, disease

I fancy a medieval japan setting (sorry robots). 2D or 3D, 2D or 3D…