Note: This is not an official announcement! Any sign-ups and theme voting will take place once an official announcement has been made. This is for discussing your ideas for the competition.Please take this poll to voice your opinion on how themes should be handled.
Competition Starts: Saturday, September 27, 2014 00:00 GMT
Competition Ends: Sunday, November 02, 2014 23:59 GMT
This timeline - while essentially a month - gives developers 37 days and 37 nights to make their games, which also means developers get a total of 12 weekend days (or 17 if Fridays are included).
Instability
Abandoned
Illusion
Emptiness
Grotesque
Imperfect
Madness
Deprived Senses
Omniscient
Alone
Macabre
Possession
Forbidden
Ruthless
Taboo
Shadows
Underground
Reanimate
Disaster
Black Magic
Haunting
Detention
Brokenness
Machines
Invasion
Hunted
Decay
Halloween
It's been a couple of months since the last competition here (I think Kilin did something with completition after the spring competition, but I don't think anything became of that), so I'm wondering how you guys feel about having another one?
You know the drill: one month, prizes, lots of entrants, not as many entries, etc…
We all know how competitions go: 100 people can enter, but only 15 or so actually submit entries. I want to try to combat this, but I realize that some people just can't get motivated to make something or just don't have the time.
Anyway, I'm planning on a late September start and an early November finish since Halloween falls on a Friday this year, which gives people two more weekend days to apply any finishing touches to their entries or to do as much work as they possibly can to finish them knowing some of you guys. The current schedule would give entrants a total of 37 days and 37 nights to create something magnificent and spooky.
There would, of course, be a theme to follow. With themes, I'm all for something completely interpretive, but not something that could potentially be restrictive; the spring competition's theme was limited color palette, which was completely interpretive, but I felt it would most likely be interpreted into the restrictive theme it sounded like to me.
I know open themes can sometimes be counterintuitive as developers have a hard time coming up with something to make when there are so many possibilities, and sometimes it's fun to see what everyone can do within a specific set of development rules; if you know Johnny's going to be making a game based on the same idea as yours, it can sometimes trigger that competitive spirit and motivate you to make the best you can.
In the end, though, it all comes down to this question:
are you interested in a Halloween competition this year?Thoughts, opinions, etc… are welcome.
I put up the timeline for the competition and the list of potential themes so it's easier for people to find.
Also, here's the logo I plan to use which is based off Mush's original design for S4D 2011:It already feels more solid and all you did was post one picture! :D
That's disgusting, Acid.
My vote goes to Possession!They don't think it be like it is, but it do!
Here's another thought I just had on the use of themes.
Instead of people voting for an overall theme, individual participants choose any number of the themes they want to use. When the time comes to make their game, they must use the themes they chose.Again, this is just a thought I had which I felt might please those who weren't too fond of a single theme or something.Nah, the theme should be Christmas instead.
I like possession as a theme but I doubt there will be a lot of variety in the final games concerning gameplay.
Taking control of something would be the obvious route, but if you get creative it could applied to pretty much anything.
- A football (soccer) game where the other team is zombies and they'll try to eat (instead of tackle) whoever has possession of the ball
- A werewolf murder mystery where you search through people's possessions for clues
- Cyrus's character for resident evil killer robots edition might have a pistol in his possession
Even if you did go down the route of taking control there is a lot beyond the obvious.Mairu's got it.
Anyway, I've made a strawpoll for your opinions on how the theme(s) should work in the competition: http://strawpoll.me/2447802/Please choose an option so I better know where the majority stands. I realize that not everyone can and will be pleased, but I want to better understand the feel of the community before making anything official.I'm way too early probably buuut: who wants to team up with me? Preferably someone who can sprite (and maybe program).