64Digits Completition SIGNUP

Posted by Castypher on May 3, 2013, 12:18 p.m.

It's time to stop waiting around. This will overlap with the Game-a-Phone contest, so set aside some time for that. For those whose school or plans will conflict with the time frame, contact me so we can work something out.

Starting on Friday, May 10th at 11:00 GMT, you will have two months to select and finish one game. The Completition will end on Friday, July 12th at 11:00 GMT.

This is not a competition against others so much as it is against yourself, though I do recommend using others as a frame of reference when determining your progress. In order to be declared a winner, your game must be complete by your own standards, and must have a substantial level of polish. Your final performance will be measured based on the game you post in this entry list.

Please note I am leaving an additional month open after the chosen ending date. This month may or may not be used as an extension for those who have proven that they are consistently making progress on larger games, or if enough people request it. This isn't a strict competition by any means, it's a motivating factor for those of you with unfinished games to work with others to finish them.

Rules

1. You MUST follow the entry guidelines in order to be considered a valid participant. Your entry MUST be approved (or at least not denied) in order to participate.

2. You MUST follow the submission guidelines at the end of the competition to be considered as a winner.

3. You MUST state your entry within the first month of the competition.

4. You MUST post on the progress check blogs released every weekend. By neglecting this rule three times in a row, you are subjecting yourself to public humiliation.

5. You MUST NOT submit any game that I or any of my appointed judges deem inappropriate. This includes pornography, tasteless and pointless controversial themes, and anything that could be deemed illegal. Some themes are subjective and if used within reason, will be allowed. IE - artful nudity versus outright pornographic content.

6. You MUST submit a completed game at the end of the competition. Incomplete games will not be accepted. Additionally, games which have not received any polish effort will not be included in the bundle.

7. You MAY team up with another user or help users on their projects.

8. All content in your finished game MUST be original, or you MUST have permission to use it in a commercial product.

9. In addition to rule 4, you MUST provide detailed feedback or publicity on others' entries, either through recorded playthroughs, fully-fledged reviews, or a rating system. Selfish entrants who neglect everyone but themselves will be disqualified. You won't be expected to review everyone, but you will be expected to give back what you receive.

FAQ

This list will be filled as time passes and questions come up.

So how do I enter?

Follow the submission guidelines below. Use the other submissions as a template to get started.

I don't have any past games. Can I start a new one?

Yes, but in doing so, you're greatly reducing your chances of finishing. In order to get the boost you need, it's recommended to use a game that you entered for a competition or otherwise made public, unless you're confident in your development abilities and have too much time on your hands.

What if I don't want my game to be in the bundle?

Seeing as that's half the point of this competition, I wouldn't advise that, but if you see yourself making changes later or just feel it's not up to your standards by the end, you can simply contact me to opt out of the bundle.

What happens when the deadline comes up?

During the week before the deadline, submissions will be open and all entrants will be required to submit their game by the deadline (with a little leniency). The game should be in a functional state by this point, and will be judged as to whether or not it is complete. Games that pass this test will have an additional month to focus on bugtesting and polishing.

I've finished my game early. Now what?

Are you sure your game doesn't need any more changes? Are you sure it's entirely bug-free and polished to professional standards? If so, consider the following options:

- Think again. Get people to test and criticize your game. Aim for at least five people. You may find that you have a lot more work to do on things you didn't expect.

- Help another entrant with his game. Unselfish entrants who both complete a game and support others will receive recognition.

- Are you especially confident your game will do well? Consider making a trailer for your game.

- If you have done or don't feel like doing any of the above, then just enjoy your time off.

Bundle Specifications

Please note that these specifications will change as I work with third parties to organize a 64Digits bundle. If you don't want your finished product to appear in the bundle, please contact me. However, I do recommend it as the point of this prize is to give developers a jumpstart on publicity.

1. If using Game Maker, your finished game CANNOT use the default GM icon, splash logo, or loading screen, in order to be eligible for the bundle.

2. If using Game Maker, I think it's fair to say that for professional reasons, you should not be using any free version.

3. You must show a decent level of professionalism in your game if you want it to be a part of the bundle. This means, aside from polish, typographical errors and bugs must be ironed out.

4. Your game must have a preview image or cover art. The latter is highly recommended.

5. Your game must have a gameplay video or trailer. If you can't do this yourself, ask someone to help you.

6. You are not allowed to release your game as freeware before or throughout the bundle duration.

7. You are asked not to release your game as freeware for two weeks to a month after the bundle is over.

I will add more to this list as I figure things out.

Prizes

- Every entrant that completes their game will receive a badge.

- Every entrant that significantly helps another entrant will receive recognition.

- Every entrant that completes their game and shows a substantial level of polish will have their game included in the 64Digits game bundle at the end of the competition.

- We will organize playthroughs for every finished entry.

If anyone would like to donate prizes toward a specific cause, please contact me.

Suggested Course of Action

Two months isn't a long time, and as the deadline looms overhead, you'll probably get pretty stressed. This section has some pointers for making it through and finishing your game.

- Plot out in a sensible way how you're going to go about this. DO NOT make a day-by-day analysis as things happen and plans change. Rather, set goals for the week. This will be covered in the weekly progress checks.

- Focus on completing the game before anything else. Don't add new features if you have a broken game.

- Focus on polishing when the game is complete. Make it look nice. Presentation often goes a lot further than sheer level of content.

- Be creative in your progress checks and posts about your game. Generate some interest and ask for feedback. This will help motivate you to keep working.

List of Participants

Entrants

Kilin with The Twilight Realm

Cesque with Firebug

CyrusRoberto with JTMK

Daggerhog with Magical Castle

Rolf_Soldaat with Undead Rampage

SpectreNectar with N0tt3r's Journal

MMORPGguy with No Future

Taizen Chisou with Lunacy Star

Mega with Hunter

Pirate-rob with The Journey of a Blob

Charlie Carlo with Credence Filter

Toast with Celeste

SteveKB with Project Blue

Purianite with Kizuna

eagly with Frank

JuurianChi with WileyGear

hel with ?

Support

Iasper for music

Entry Guidelines

In order to properly sign up, you will need to follow these guidelines.

1. State the name of the game you are entering with.

2. Link to a demo, video, or screenshot of the game in action.

3. Describe in a short paragraph what you plan to accomplish over the next two months.

4. State the approximate percentage of completion the game is already in.

5. State where the game came from (whether it was a competition entry and what competition it was for, whether it was announced on 64Digits and a link to the first or last time it was mentioned, or whether you'll be entering to collaborate or start a new game).

If you're stuck on what game to enter, I highly recommend following this list from the top down.

- Enter a game that you submitted in a previous competition. Not only do you have much more of an attention advantage, but your game will already have significant progress, making your job easier.

- Enter a game that you mentioned, in detail or in passing, on 64Digits or another site. This gives you the benefit of having people know about your game, rather than having to generate interest with no product.

- Enter an obscure game that is significantly developed. Your current progress on it will make finishing it easier.

- Collaborate with another entrant. You will need their permission, and if the game is theirs alone, you will need to adhere to their wishes.

- Start a new game just for the sake of completing. This game will likely be short and simple, but I'm not going to deny people entry just because they don't have a game to show.

As stated by another user, this might be the hardest competition for some of you, which is why I'm integrating everyone by forcing progress checks.

If you have any questions or concerns, leave a post or PM me.

Treat your game as if you were going to sell it, because that's exactly what we intend to do. Again, if you wish to opt out of the bundle, let me know.

ENTRY IS NOW OPEN.

Off-topic comments will be deleted.

Comments

Castypher 11 years, 6 months ago

Follow the dogganm template, Toast.

Toast 11 years, 6 months ago

You already know I won't take it seriously anyway

Fill it in for me

Castypher 11 years, 6 months ago

To be fair, I am looking for serious people to go through and finish this. If you're not going to put in at least a decent effort, there's no reason to sign up. I'll put you on the list anyway, because you reminded me that I need to finish my disturbing jam entry, which I also haven't touched since the first week, and because a game meant for a week-long jam should be fairly easy to finish in two months.

And Toast, I'm glad you're here, because if there's any way I could get you to sniff around and find more potential publishers, that'd be great and I won't pay you.

On a side note, we have a lot of good entries here, though I'm a little bugged that so many people are starting at <10% progress. Ah well, if I can find a way to keep you guys motivated, I certainly will.

It's called "Embarrassing Teamspeak Readings", which brings me to the question of whether the Teamspeak server is even up anymore due to recent events.

Cesque 11 years, 6 months ago

Goddammit Charlie, I was counting on you finishing that one game with the club scene and rave music.

Quote:
What class did you beat him with and what were the other ones you tried? I realized what I need to do is push class moves a little more, like the temp invulnerability melee classes get when using their get-up-in-your-face moves. I noticed a lot of people had issues with that boss but most got past it, so I need to find out what the primary issue was – whether it was misinformation on my part or whether it was just plain hard, and I'll take a high difficulty.

Okay, okay, I'll play it again… soon…ish.

Snakeman 11 years, 6 months ago

I wish JakeX was around and he entered this compo with ST. :B

Pirate-rob 11 years, 6 months ago

Do indie bundles expire after a while? As in, people can't get them anymore?

Castypher 11 years, 6 months ago

Panzer, stop posting dumb jokes here. Just because Rez is gone doesn't mean someone needs to pick up for him.

EDIT: Panzer pls

Quote:
I wish JakeX was around and he entered this compo with ST. :B
If I could find out how to contact him, I'd make this happen. Sadly I don't see him on Messenger or Skype anymore.

Quote:
Do indie bundles expire after a while? As in, people can't get them anymore?
That's a great point actually. I'm not exactly sure how this works but I'm pretty sure they promote the bundle for a short time and then no longer make it available. If we can find someone who will do the bundle permanently, with or without a promotion, that would be just as effective.

Charlie Carlo 11 years, 6 months ago

Quote:
Goddammit Charlie, I was counting on you finishing that one game with the club scene and rave music.
I was working on that with Taizen and he's doing LS.

SteveKB 11 years, 6 months ago

Project Blue (temporary name)

over the next two months I'll finish the story elements and make the game playable however bugs and typos/graphics may be polished (as well as the music) over the additional month

5% complete

started this game a few months ago but didn't have too much time to work on it because of school. Decided to make it after learning how to use SMFL with C++ and learning how to make this will improve my skills with the language.

Juju 11 years, 6 months ago

Me n' Cesque are thinking about working on a game together.