Time Remaining!!

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Rules and Regulations
Once your game is complete, send a zipped folder with the content to [email protected]. You are expected to send the .dmb, .rsc, a note of your BYOND key, documentation on the use of animate(), and a list of the theme(s) your project uses.

If you miss the deadline by a few hours or so, that's OK, but try to get the game sent in ASAP-- if it took too long, the judges may rule against allowing the entry-- so your best bet is to meet the deadline!

If your project has been altered and we're within the deadline, you can of course re-submit as many times as you wish (we will review the last entry sent unless otherwise specified).

Entries that do not follow the mandatory restriction and use at least one of the themes will be disqualified. If you are unsure as to whether or not your project is in danger of being excluded, please make sure to contact Writing A New One as early as possible. Any doubts should be immediately checked over to avoid time being wasted.

Use of public libraries is perfectly okay, however, all code excluding the libraries must be written from scratch.

All entries must follow the US legislation and be classed as legal. Using materials without the copyright holder's permission, such as art, sound, or stolen code, will result in disqualification.

Mandatory Restriction -- animate()!

All entries must follow this, which is essentially the reason the contest was made--to celeberate BYOND 500 and a big "thanks!" to Tom and Lummox.

The project should make use of animate() and provide documentation on the method used, preferably via a code snippet and commentary. The documentation should be sent within the zipped folder which also contains the game files.

Themes

Entries are required to use at least one of the following. Incorporating multiple themes into the project is always a fun challenge and is permitted, but will not result in extra points. Any questions on the themes should be posted in this topic, just in case others have a similar one in mind.

Evolution -- The gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form. Both genetics and technology are acceptable.

Play The Villain -- In most video games, we take the role as the protagonist. If you follow this theme, you're to do the opposite for your game -- instead of shooting space invaders, perhaps you'll be controlling them and laying waste to Earth's defenders!

Exploration -- The action of travelling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it. Whether it's a dark dungeon full of treasure, a new galaxy, or even a different dimension, using this theme means taking the player on a journey.

Recent News

Contact the contest organizer via the pager or Skype if you have any questions / enquiries. My Skype SN is askypetochatandstuff.

Any news / changes regarding the contest will be posted on the front page and dated to keep potential contestants in the loop.


30th September--Another donation of $50 from Zane444 puts the total prize fund at $550. Thanks Zane!

28th September-- Very kind donations of $200 from an anonymous user and $100 from Ter13 increased the total prize fund to $500. The prize structure is now: $200, $120, $90, $60, and $30. With five chances to win instead of three, contestants now have much better odds of walking away with a prize!

28th September-- Developers will now have 2 weeks to submit an entry once the contest begins. Any themes and restrictions will be announced one hour before the contest's start.

28th September-- There are now two judges besides myself. They are both respected throughout the BYOND community and should provide good insight into submissions. I am still looking for extra helpings hands, in case schedule problems arise.

Summary

Timezone Pending. Will be posted with at least 24 hours notice.

Start date: 10/04/2013 (Friday)
End date: 10/18/2013 (Tuesday)

14 days / 2 weeks to submit an entry


In lieu of the recent release of the very neat client-side animation features that Lummox has provided us with, and partly inspired by the work going on in this thread, I thought that it would be fun if someone hosted a contest to see what BYOND's developers can whip up. While I have little experience in these sorts of things, I'm hoping there will be others willing to pitch in with reviewing entries and the general organization.

The details of the contest are subject to change until it begins. Once it starts, however, things should be concrete unless I find a need to make changes if we believe they're required, such as a rule amendment -- hopefully this shouldn't be an issue.

I am looking for advice / assistance. If you wish to provide feedback or offer yourself as a reviewer / contest organizer, please do get in touch via the pager and I'll reply ASAP. Any help is much appreciated.

Prizes

Total prize pool: $550

First place: $215

Second place: $135

Third place: $100

Fourth place: $65

Fifth place: $35

BONUS!!: Submissions that myself and the reviewers believe to have a lot of potential to be popular games will be 'sponsored'. I'll personally donate to the project's funding -- what the developer does with this support is absolutely up to them, but if they're interested in being hooked up with good and affordable freelance artists, I can assist with that also. I'm still thinking on how this will work but I'll probably lean towards something like $1 per hub fan or a bi-weekly donation, assuming progress is made and the game is growing / shows promise.

I've seen a lot of contests where there's a bunch of neat games and after that... they kind of die out? I don't want to see fun projects go to waste and thus am hoping this will encourage developers to keep chugging on, and potentially even market their game in the future.


To be eligible for a prize, contestants must have a working PayPal. One can easily be set an account up even without a credit card, assuming your country allows registration... and in the event that it cannot be sent via PayPal, I can work towards finding an alternative means of sending (or perhaps provide the money as a BYOND membership).

Those wishing to contribute to the contest funding via money, BYOND memberships, hosting, or game subscriptions, can contact me through the pager.