Next competition ideas for theme and start date?

Started by Xerra, August 02, 2018, 17:37:12

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Derron

@ gameplay wins
"Das Auge isst mit" (Eye is eating too) is a German saying/idiom. So if the game does not please my eyes, I need much commitment to the competition to "force myself" to enjoy playing this entry.

So for me all parts of the game are important in some way. If a game catches me with an intro screen I am more pleased to hit "start new game". If the game has a thriving sound track, then I want to listen to that sound while "meanwhile playing". And so on.

If a game sucks at controls but has a nice gameplay, I wont recognize the gameplay as I $%&$%&§$ about the controls.


@ theming
Yes, some "do something in a maze"-game sounds cool - but with such a "specific" restriction where is no need for "hardware" restrictions (lowres, lowcolor, ...). Some people suck at pixel art and they might prefer using some public-domain sprites or so. And these sprites most often are not created for the very special "competition resolution/color-depth" (aka: it is easier to find stuff if you can build up your design _around_ the 3rd party stuff).


Aside of that it is always possible to use some already-made-stuff for your games. You already wrote some "tilemap"-stuff? Then it might be easier for you to prototype out some Pac-Man-ish-stuff than someone who has to write it from the ground up.
You have a scene manager at hand? Easy-peasy Menu-screens, intros, outros, .... others have to build it up from ground again.
I created plenty of little assets in 3D - and with 3D it is a matter of minutes to change textures (or paint some new stuff here and there). Change camera position and you got a little render which was not "existing" before. This gets even easier if you created some "components" - mix them and done. What about people being so experienced in creating music that they can come up with a cool song in an hour? Experience or past projects always help lowering the needed amount of time for such a competition entry.

So there is always a way to save some time. Happens and hey I do not worry about - all in all we do it for the fun, don't we?



bye
Ron

Steve Elliott

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Derron

or a "fly through cavern" ... remember to have played a "steer jet through cavern"-game on the KC85.

There are plenty of simple game mechanics - Digger/Boulderdash, Snake, ... or even Tower Defenses.
If you want to enforce creativity you could also have a "mini golf" thingy (it is up to you what "elements" you offer).


But "maze game" ... think there is plenty of stuff/twists you could "add" to create an interesting addition to the base game mechanics.


bye
Ron

Matty

You want retro....how about ' a game that uses a text parser '


Derron

"build barracks at 12,135"
"select units at 12,15"
"send units to 12,134"

Think an "RTS" can become tedious then ;-)


@ text parser games
While creation of such a game can be a challenge, playing these games with todays possibilieties wont be much fun (except for some adventures/rpgs - or some "interactive novels").


@ voting
I think we need way more active voters / users  as for now the low amount of potential voters also lowers the "equality" of genre-/style-/...favorites. Many here enjoy playing arcade-like games or at least games with some kind of "easy gameplay" (level based). So we fans of complex games (RTS, simulations, ...) are surely some kind of minority. We would like to see games made in these genres and would more likely give them better votes (same for the arcade fraction). I would like to see a simulation game compo - but I doubt that then were would be many entries :(


bye
Ron

Steve Elliott

Quote
Many here enjoy playing arcade-like games or at least games with some kind of "easy gameplay" (level based). So we fans of complex games (RTS, simulations, ...) are surely some kind of minority. We would like to see games made in these genres.

When there's a 6-8 week deadline complex games can be difficult to complete in time, so simpler fun gameplay has been the focus - although Tiny Pixel Wars proved a way to produce a RTS game in time.
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Derron

Within 6-8 weeks you can create simple simulation games:
- toilet manager (buy city toilets, set prices, hire cleaners, fight vandalism, ..., compete against other sh%% companies)
- wine grower (be the landlord in France/Italy, buy land, buy bottles, grow the right wine for the current years weather, collect at right times, ... sell wine for a nice win and grow your company)
- RTS as PixelPaladin did
- games like "Z" or "Battle Isle" in a basic form might be possible
- simple train simulation (place railroads and manage a "flow" of multiple trains at the same time, with passengers/items needing to get transported - that sounds pretty fun for younger people)
- remake "Oil Imperium" (if I remember correctly it haven't had much screens)
- someone knowing "Dynatech" - basic "trading items"-game ?
- Megalomania should be doable in a basic form too
- games with only indirect control of units are possible (some kind of "Ant hill"-simulation) as they do not require that much micro-management/balancing of these things
- simple simulation games: Remember Atari 2600's "boxing game"? Maybe give upgrade points for each win. Upgrades could be used to improve movement speed, boxing speed, boxing range ... and your opponents improve too. Could be surely done in a 2 weeks weekend-frame plus some weekends to create assets / improve things. Of course you could also just create a little boxing-sim (have two opponents fight each other) and add some "boxing club"-manager-things around them (hire boxers, fire boxers, have tournaments, training, ...)

Benefit of such stuff is, that most of us won't have prepared stuff for this while eg. tile-based games are more easily done if you have access to some tilemap-classes, tilemap-editors, ...

I could surely come up with plenty more stuff.

Xerra

So what we basically need to do is gag Derron and his unrealistic expectations of a quick game then we can all have a crack at a Maze themed game, right? :)

I do have an idea for a maze game in fact. Although it doesn't involve Pacman or munching dots...

As for the number of voters, we have enough to get some solid input on our creations. We're not even doing it for any financial incentive this time - just for fun, and the kudos of maybe creating something great.

Shall we do this, people?

Yes, please leave that gag on Derron, please.
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STEVIE G

Quote from: Xerra on August 22, 2018, 18:18:11
So what we basically need to do is gag Derron and his unrealistic expectations of a quick game then we can all have a crack at a Maze themed game, right? :)

I do have an idea for a maze game in fact. Although it doesn't involve Pacman or munching dots...

As for the number of voters, we have enough to get some solid input on our creations. We're not even doing it for any financial incentive this time - just for fun, and the kudos of maybe creating something great.

Shall we do this, people?

Yes, please leave that gag on Derron, please.

Yes.

Personally I hate simulation games so would have zero enjoyment making one.

Derron

But it is ok to suggest arcade games then?

Everyone of us has its favs.


Bye
Ron

TomToad

I would suggest that this time around, we don't limit the genre or style of the game.  Just pick a theme and let everyone interpret as they will.  For example, if we use "maze/labyrinth" as the them, one person can make a retro Pac-Man clone, another could do a 3d first person procedurally  generated find your way through the Minotaur's labyrinth game, and another could make a text adventure type maze game.  Just so long as it is recognized as a maze.

Or the theme could be even more general, like "sand" and now you must come up with a game in any genre and style that incorporates sand as a main game mechanic.

This would allow everyone to play on their own strengths while keeping everything to a common theme.
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Steve Elliott

#41
Quote
For example, if we use "maze/labyrinth" as the theme, one person can make a retro Pac-Man clone, another could do a 3d first person procedurally  generated find your way through the Minotaur's labyrinth game, and another could make a text adventure type maze game.  Just so long as it is recognized as a maze.

Precisely, it can be as complex or simple as you like.  The old Dungeon Master style games were mazes, a labyrinth, and had lots of complexity.

And before anybody disputes, labyrinth - a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.

Sounds like a good theme for a game too me!
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Derron

I reserve the game title "a maze'ing" for me ;-)

bye
Ron

Steve Elliott

Haha, I am guessing Derron is on-board with the maze/labyrinth theme?
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Xerra

Quote from: Steve Elliott on August 22, 2018, 22:27:21
Haha, I am guessing Derron is on-board with the maze/labyrinth theme?

Gonna make a game called "Maize" about a Corn production tycoon.
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