The Week of Awesome IV ! - Fourth annual unofficial gamedev.net competition - Administration thread.

Tim · 2016-08-13T19:26:58

The Week of Awesome IVThe fourth annual week of awesome is here folks! and today i am here to announce the changes that are to come for this years competition. The major changes you can expect to find are a slightly modified judging system, secondly some changes will be made to how the theme is presented. Rather than one singular theme, you will be offered four themes, two of which must be implemented.You can find last years competition here: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/668847-the-week-of-awesome-iii-the-third-annual-unofficial-gamedevnet-competition-administration-thread/You can find the second years competition here: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/660249-the-week-of-awesome-ii-the-second-annual-unofficial-gamedev-competition/You can find the first years competition here: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/645699-upcoming-unofficial-gamedev-competition/The competition has begun!The competiton is over, see the afterparty/judging thread here: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/681331-week-of-awesome-iv-the-after-partyjudging-thread/Have questions, you can also find most gd.net and contestants at the gamedev discord chat: https://discord.gg/012hCxxdaFBl2U81jDates:[spoiler]This years competition will be held from August 8th, 00:01 (EST timezone) to August 14th (23:59 EST timezone).[/spoiler]Where:[spoiler]Right here, on gamedev.net will be where the majority of the competition will be handling updating, and information handling. There is also a twitter handle which can be used, #gdnjam![/spoiler]Rules:[spoiler]Some minor changes have been made to the rules this year(see the bolded rules): There will be multiple themes to choose from, 2 must be implemented for full points The theme will be announced at midnight when the competition begins; games must incorporate 2 themes in some way Games must be made during the 7 day period of the competition (i.e. you can't submit a game you made previously or are making now) 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)) however this does not mean you can create assets specifically for your game prior to the start of the competition, this includes outsourcing work to others, or making assets for what your general idea for a game will be. the bottom line is that if the asset existed before the idea for your game, it is ok to use, but it is not to ok to create something specifically for your game before the start of the competition. You may target any platform (but at least 3 judges must play your game, so if you develop for something the judges don't have, you can't be accepted as an entry; see the supported platforms list below for what can be developed for.) People may work in teams of up to 4 people (a person may only be on one team, though) Games must work on the judges' platforms (that is, if you have a bug in your program and it works fine on your computer but not on a judge's, you must fix it for it to be judged (during the 7 day period; no work/updates/fixes may be done after the 7 days); at least 3 judges must be able to evaluate it for it to be accepted as an entry) Games will be preferably distributed as stand-alone startables(this means your game shouldn't install itself on the platform. This allows for easier access to testing, and distribution of the games in large packages. Although this doesn't mean disqualification, it will be preferred. Any online game must be provided in an offline format when submitting the game. For each category of points, the top 3 judge scores will be averaged, dropping any lower scores for that category.Major highlight of changes: removed the requirement for the splashscreen, and changed expectations for what is expected from the theme, as well as a minor changes to how scores will be averaged from the top 3 scores of each category.[/spoiler]Supported Platforms:[spoiler]Supported platforms that are guaranteed to be used by the at least 3 judges: Windows 7, 8,(10 should support 7/8 binary's theoretically)please note that this list will change, and is just a preliminary list of what is supported. all platforms supported will be finalized at least 72 hours before the competition begins.[/spoiler]Judging Criteria:[spoiler] I believe last year we struck an excellent balance for what points go to each category, as such no changes will be made to this year's competitions. However, please note that the method of being awarded participation points well be further clarified. 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, 10 points are given for each theme implemented(a total of 20 points available)) 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!)for Participation you are free to post blog updates, dev journals, and twitter updates and such, but you must drop the link into the competition thread(That is not this thread, but a thread which will be running during the competition) two years prior i made alot of extra effort to track down blog posts from folks who didn't post very often what they were doing(although they made posts into their own respective blogs). so please remember to post at least the links into the competition thread! also, i've also written up few guidelines for our judges as well to follow: Remember each game is only built in the 7 days, so not all functionality may be straight forward, if you can't figure out a game, give them some leniency and contact the lead dev, this can reflect in the FTUE, or even the judge category, but should not spill into the other respective category's! I will generate the participation points i feel each team has obtained, each judge is free to figure out their own points, or simply use the numbers i distribute, expecting each judge to read through every persons dev blog, journal, and post is a daunting task, and I won't expect each judge has the time to dedicate to such a task, but you are certainly free to do so. don't normalize your results, yes this is a competition, but don't explicility boost/lower scores so that you have a linear worse->best of all the games, if we end up with ties in the prizes category's, we'll deal with how to resolve them then Please stick to whole points, and no half point system. I expect each judge to include at least 2 or 3 sentences about each game, so please remember to write down your thoughts on the games directly afterwards! eck has written up a great guideline on what expectations are for each category: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/2108/entry-2261430-ecks-unofficial-judging-officially-explained/[/spoiler]Prizes and sponsors:[spoiler]This year i will be putting up 300$ to the prize pool:First place 300$ USDSecond place 200$ USDThird place 100$ USDFourth place 50$ USDFifth place 25$ USDSixth place 15$ USDSeventh place 10$ USDSponsors: 300$ USD - slicer4ever 300$ USD - stormynature 100$ USD - iedocBecoming a sponsorTo become a sponsor, drop a message in this thread and i will pm you, or pm me directly. please note that if you wish to contribute with a monetary prize, i must have your contribution before the start of the competition.[/spoiler]Judges:[spoiler]At this moment, i'm aiming for 3 additional judges, as the judging system will see slight modifications(see the rules section). if we see a higher volume of interest, i may seek more judges. slicer4ever josh petrie nightcreature83 bacterius[/spoiler]Participating Teams: [spoiler] Team: New Old Things Members: Endurion Website/Whatever handle: http://www.georg-rottensteiner.de Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1966-new-new-things/ Team: Bytetroll Members: Bytetroll, Tetriarch Website: N/A Team: dmatter Members: dmatter website/blog: gilldave.co.uk/blog Team: mousetail Members: Mousetail Website: N/A Team: Grey army Members: Servant of the Lord, Artist Friend Website: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/862-pixel-?-tile-?-world/ Team: Thaumaturge Members: Thaumaturge Blog/Website: http://thaumaturge-art.com Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/EbornIan (@EbornIan) Team: SeraphLance Members: SeraphLance, +1 Programmer friend Blog/Website: N/A Team: Frango Digital Members: devn00b Site:https://frangodigital.itch.io/ Team: DH. Members DH. Site: <none> Team: 7 day masochists Members: IYP, newt Website: N/A Team: Stout Walrus Members: ArThor Team: Boona Members: EarthBanana + wife (not member) Website: www.earthbanana.com Team: Kseh Members: Kseh Website: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/878-ksehs-blog/ Team Aletheia Game Studio Members: Clint(cefleet?), Rick Team: TeamYAG Members: LEde Website: http://www.etekworld.com/teamyag/ Team: SilviuShader Members: SilviuShader YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvaqRjp1TcJFu9hcSicNJFw Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/2213-silviushaders-woa-iv-dev-journal/ Team: Perturbation Games Website: http://perturbationgames.esy.es Twitter: @perturbgames Team: Something Fun Members: Ryan20fun Website/Blog/Twitter handle: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1924-ryan20funs-journal-of-rasterisation/ Team Name: The Gares Members: GTEGares and CaveCrow. Site: None Team : needsugar Member : tommyasa Team: KodingNights Members: DKoding (just me) Website: http://darkdroid.com Team: Slaughterhouse Gaming Corp Members: Riuthamus, Jaden, MasterKG, iCompose Blog: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/1862-riuthamuss-freelance/ TeamName: Unicore Members: Orymus3 Website: http://www.gamedev.net/blog/2070-the-week-of-awesome-iv/ [/spoiler]People looking for teammates[spoiler]orymus3 Is looking for an artist to join his team.seraphlance would like any artist that would like to join his team.krisgamer kris is looking for any teammates who would like to work in c#/Java languages[/spoiler]This thread is both here for asking questions, and telling us you will be competing, as we like to get an idea of how many people to expect. so please post a team name for your team, as well as your members(and be sure to drop an update to us if the team members change) please try to follow the following format for declaring your team:Team:Members: , , ,Website/Blog/Twitter handle:try to be creative folks with your name!(please remember the sites rules still apply here!)

GDNet Lounge Community

Started by slicer4ever May 28, 2016 06:53 PM

86 comments, last by SilviuShader 8 years, 5 months ago

slicer4ever

Author

6,773

May 30, 2016 02:48 PM

This confuses me:
"Theme: 20 pts (that is, how well the game incorporates the theme, 5 points are given for each theme implemented(a total of 10 points available))"

I think you said you are providing 4 themes (two art-related and two gameplay-related?). So do you mean each theme gets between 0-5 points based on how well that theme is implemented, for a total of 20 points?

Thanks for catching that, each theme will give you 10 points, not 5, it was my mistake to write 5. Theme will be fairly easy points to net this year.

I have a question:
Do I take it correctly then that including more than two of the themes would not confer any bonus points? (This does seem fair to me; if there were an advantage to including more themes, then the de facto maximum score involves doing so, defeating the point (if I gather it correctly) of having a choice of themes.)

no, there is no bonus for more than 2 themes being implemented, however i fail to see how this "defeats the point" of multiple themes? You are not limited to one gameplay/graphic combo, you can choose both graphics, or both gameplays, but only two need to be implemented.

Oh, one more thing: You give the starting time as 8 August 2016, 00:01 (i.e. the first minute of Monday the eighth of August), and the ending time as 15 August 2016, 23:59 (i.e. the last minute of Monday the fifteenth of August)--by my reckoning that's eight days, not seven. Did you mean for it to end on the 14th?

Thanks, it's midnight the 14th that i meant, not the 15th.

In line with the proposal that perhaps larger prize moneys had contributed to possible angst last year, I will simply match Slicer4ever's donation of $300 to double the current pool.

Thank you for another year of support! hopefully i can get you to compete one of these years as well :P

:( Was really hoping this would occur in the 15-26 august as I had specifically chosen my holidays for this period.
Will let you know whether I can participate, but in all likelihood, I'll be swamped with work then.

sorry mate, i'm trying to gun for the second monday of august as being the start of each contest. why the second monday? no idea, just trying to create a consistent date from here on out.

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

Lactose

11,696

May 30, 2016 03:05 PM

I have a question:
Do I take it correctly then that including more than two of the themes would not confer any bonus points? (This does seem fair to me; if there were an advantage to including more themes, then the de facto maximum score involves doing so, defeating the point (if I gather it correctly) of having a choice of themes.)
no, there is no bonus for more than 2 themes being implemented, however i fail to see how this "defeats the point" of multiple themes? You are not limited to one gameplay/graphic combo, you can choose both graphics, or both gameplays, but only two need to be implemented.

Does this mean implementing a theme either in terms of graphics or in terms of gameplay is considered enough to be worth full marks in this category? Or is there like 5 points for visual, 5 points for gameplay per theme? Or is this meant to be completely up to each judge?

This was the category my team had the most varied scores for last year, from 15% to 80% -- a difference I found somewhat surprising at the time.

---

Due to various deadlines at work, I'm also uncertain whether I can participate this year, but I'm hoping I can join.

Hello to all my stalkers.

slicer4ever

Author

6,773

May 30, 2016 03:15 PM

I have a question:
Do I take it correctly then that including more than two of the themes would not confer any bonus points? (This does seem fair to me; if there were an advantage to including more themes, then the de facto maximum score involves doing so, defeating the point (if I gather it correctly) of having a choice of themes.)
no, there is no bonus for more than 2 themes being implemented, however i fail to see how this "defeats the point" of multiple themes? You are not limited to one gameplay/graphic combo, you can choose both graphics, or both gameplays, but only two need to be implemented.
Does this mean implementing a theme either in terms of graphics or in terms of gameplay is considered enough to be worth full marks in this category? Or is there like 5 points for visual, 5 points for gameplay per theme? Or is this meant to be completely up to each judge?

correct, choosing to either implement both the gameplay, or both the artistic themes is enough to net full points.

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

Thaumaturge

3,902

May 30, 2016 10:43 PM

I have a question:
Do I take it correctly then that including more than two of the themes would not confer any bonus points? (This does seem fair to me; if there were an advantage to including more themes, then the de facto maximum score involves doing so, defeating the point (if I gather it correctly) of having a choice of themes.)
no, there is no bonus for more than 2 themes being implemented, however i fail to see how this "defeats the point" of multiple themes? You are not limited to one gameplay/graphic combo, you can choose both graphics, or both gameplays, but only two need to be implemented.

I meant to say that if there were bonus points awarded for additional inclusion of themes, then it would defeat the point of there being multiple themes.

As I understand it, the idea of having multiple themes is to allow more freedom to entrants in theming of their games. If bonus points were awarded for the inclusion of theme-options beyond the first two, then any team not including more than two would be at a disadvantage, as these "bonus points" would add to the de facto maximum score. This seems likely to discourage people from using only two themes, and thus runs counter to the point of having a choice of themes.

In short, I'm glad that there are no bonus points for the inclusion of additional themes.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

My Twitter Account: @EbornIan

Orymus3

18,866

May 31, 2016 04:54 PM

On second thought, would love to probe interest for a potential partner. Especially an artist if at all possible.

SeraphLance

2,613

June 01, 2016 03:35 AM

~~Count me in, as a programmer looking for artist teammates (or going solo if I don't get any).~~

Two programmers, myself and a friend. We'll be glad to pick up any artists that need a team.

slicer4ever

Author

6,773

June 01, 2016 11:13 PM

I have a question:
Do I take it correctly then that including more than two of the themes would not confer any bonus points? (This does seem fair to me; if there were an advantage to including more themes, then the de facto maximum score involves doing so, defeating the point (if I gather it correctly) of having a choice of themes.)
no, there is no bonus for more than 2 themes being implemented, however i fail to see how this "defeats the point" of multiple themes? You are not limited to one gameplay/graphic combo, you can choose both graphics, or both gameplays, but only two need to be implemented.
I meant to say that if there were bonus points awarded for additional inclusion of themes, then it would defeat the point of there being multiple themes.

Ah, ok, i misunderstood that.

On second thought, would love to probe interest for a potential partner. Especially an artist if at all possible.

~~Count me in, as a programmer looking for artist teammates (or going solo if I don't get any).~~

Two programmers, myself and a friend. We'll be glad to pick up any artists that need a team.

I'll put you both under the looking for members category.

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

devn00b

320

June 07, 2016 07:34 PM

+1 to the party! :D

Team: Frango Digital

Members: devn00b

Site:https://frangodigital.itch.io/

DH.

108

June 11, 2016 04:12 AM

Team: DH.

Members DH.

Site: <none>

First jam I'll try, not entering to win, but for the challenge and to receive feedback.

Thanks for this competition in advance and for Josh to link this topic.

slicer4ever

Author

6,773

June 11, 2016 04:03 PM

+1 to the party! :D

Team: Frango Digital
Members: devn00b
Site:https://frangodigital.itch.io/

Great to have you guys return, can't wait to see what you'll come up with! :)

Team: DH.
Members DH.
Site: <none>

First jam I'll try, not entering to win, but for the challenge and to receive feedback.
Thanks for this competition in advance and for Josh to link this topic.

I hope the experience will be quite enjoyable, jam's are a great way to test your strengths, and where your abilities lay. I recommend to remember to stay focused on what you want to make when the time comes, and to not fall victim to feature creep. Overall good luck!

I'd also like to direct any contestants to the discord gamedev.net chat: https://discord.gg/012hCxxdaFBl2U81j where you will find me and many members of gamedev(including other contestants).

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

The Week of Awesome IV ! - Fourth annual unofficial gamedev.net competition - Administration thread.

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The Week of Awesome IV ! - Fourth annual unofficial gamedev.net competition - Administration thread.

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