1MPUR1TY:
anyway, YAHTZEE! I don't care about the contest; can I submit one of my VB6 games for review? =D

The rules specifically state that this contest is for Flash games only. So no, Visual Basic games will not qualify no matter what version they happen to be.

If you've got the programming chops, you could always port your game from Visual Basic to Actionscript 3.0.

T.T see, I don't need it to be part of the contest.... can he just look at it?

even if I made it into an exe?

-.- time to learn flash

(Shrugs) No idea. I suppose idle curriosity can drive us to almost anything. But I'm fairly confident that Yahtzee is busy enough with games that he has to review anyway to look at every indie game that may be submitted. Still, I suppose it couldn't hurt for you to forward it along. You never know.

Back when Flash was all Actionscript 1.0 and 2.0, it wasn't really all that good for games. (largely because most programming had to be done within the Flash IDE) Once it upgraded to Actionscript 3.0, it became more of a proper programming language, and is much improved at developing full-on software. Thanks to Adobe AIR, you can even compile Flash games as stand-alone executables for any platform, with all sorts of stand-alone specific extras. (Basically, you can treat your game much more like a traditional Windows, OSX, Linux program, rather than just something that is supposed to be run in the Flash player)

I'd strongly recommend getting some Flash AS3 under your belt. It still has issues as far as monotized on-line games go. But for prototyping games, and general on-line multimedia, it is one of the very best options.

While I'm not talented enough to make my own game, I'm eager to see what other people come up with

I am psyched to be a part of this contest. I am working on sound design for my game and have been busy cutting up lots of Yahtzee sound clips and bites. Anyone who wants a sampling can pm me and if you are nice I'll hook you up.

ALSO is okay to link to an off site development blog with no advertisements on it?

Hello, me and my friends are working on a submission to the contest. We were wondering how important is the ZP theme. Can we stray off a little and use Yahtzee and ZP as indirect inspiration? What I mean is, what if my game is about fellating burly men because Yahtzee sends jolts of fire through my groin in passion? Basically, How wild can we run with this?

Thanks.

I'm pretty sure the Zero Punctuation theme is important, and should be emphasized. The game should focus on ZP in some capacity. If you only mention the show, or the character Yahtzee in passing, it could reduce your chances of winning.

I think there is plenty of opportunity to run wild within the constraints of a ZP theme. After all, the show is very random at times. Yahtzee is constantly making vague references and coming up with ridiculous similes.

If I were you, I would focus on innovating in the gameplay, as opposed to the theme. Keep it grounded in ZP, and there shouldn't be any worries. There is ample room for exploration.

Russ Pitts:

CaptainChaosify:
Sounds like a great idea as long as Yahtzee don't mind doing it, but I doubt I'll particepate in the competition. No surprise that Yahtzee didn't create this thread himself. :)

You are aware that he works for us, right?

In any event, I can assure you Yahtzee is 100% on board with this contest. He will even be judging ;)

When's this over? I'm curious to see the video of him judging them xD
Edit Fixed my mistake :P I made it a declarative, not a question :S

For those who are worried about the contest, and the fact you relinquish copyrights for that one game, consider this:

You sacrifice the rights of one game, but they don't own you.

What you get in return is millions of people playing your game. Forget monetary compensation. As a true game developer, money compensation should be the last thing on your mind. After all, doesn't the joy of just knowing millions of people are playing your game matter more?

Also, did you ever think about that maybe other game developers out there will see your work, and ask who made it? Escapistmagazine.com doesn't strike me as the kind of website that backstabs their fans; I am sure if the developers wanted to know who originally created the game, they would ask EM.com who made it. The whole theme of this contest is based around ZP. This is a guy who has made 101 videos for the fans. Without you guys there would be no ZP show. Without no viewers there would be no point in continuing, thus no more ZP, thus no more high traffic for Escapist.

They gain nothing by "stealing" your game, if that's what you are worried about. EM.com as well as the future of ZP depend on the fans. All it would take is for EM to actually steal the game and claim that they created the entire thing for the fans to realize how they really treat their fans. Truth be told, Stealing the game kills the future of the website. It would be a dumb mistake altogether.

Basically it boils down to this:

You developed the game, and they will let the world know it; but the game won't be "yours" anymore. Consider it an investment towards becoming more renowned as not only a developer, but all the extra doors you will open.

The sacrifice of one game and the reward is instant infamy and possibly one step closer to working for the big dogs.

That's how I see it.

Well, I'll be damned if I'm gonna trawl through the rest of this thread looking for it, so I apologise if this question's already been asked:

SpinWhizz mentioned a downloadable content pack with a bunch of music/graphics/whatnot for us to use. Where can I download it?

The content pack is availible from the contest rules and whatnot page. Direct link:
http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/sites/escapistmagazine/files/zp_game_design_contest_assets.zip

But dont expect too much, Its some logos, vids and screenshots you could rip yourself. The neat thing is the main theme song broken down in separate tracks!

K, thanks.

Would free games be allowed to As crossfire Subwar warmodg NofrreeFhigter
...the shity list gose on a on :\
I love crossfire and subwar xD Coz i have 6377425 kills and 4256 deaths XD I love nerdy old Ppl they easy to sneeky behide coz THARE TO NERDY TO KNOW THE WAY OF THE DUDE MASTER

Kamineko:

Well in the words of Yahtzee - <Enter Adjective Here> you!

...adjective?

Ugly you!
Dumb you!
Tasty you!

theZ:
But dont expect too much, Its some logos, vids and screenshots you could rip yourself. The neat thing is the main theme song broken down in separate tracks!

The logos in that pack are actually important. I am under the impression that the Escapist wants the contestants to use those logos specifically, and not to alter them in any way. They do come in PNG format, which is good for integrating into Flash.

As you pointed out, the rest of the content is fairly standard. There are no real high-res reference images to be had. For my project, I am constructing a vector version of some of the graphics to use as a source for rendering graphics and sprites.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't envy you guys though. I would love to get into the whole making games deal, but I would have no idea how to start or focus on building up a frame work to get started on the game.

Does one start on the coding of the engine, or the artwork? How does one even insert all the artwork into a game? How would someone go about crafting a soundtrack for the game? What about script?

I view video game designing as a 100,000 piece puzzle board and all the border pieces are so tiny and hard to find that just getting a start is pointless.

Hamster at Dawn:
One question: What font does Yahtzee use?

Same question, I'd really appreciate it. :D

It's easy to come close to, but I can't seem to find a match.

Thanks again!

SlySavvy:

Does one start on the coding of the engine, or the artwork? How does one even insert all the artwork into a game? How would someone go about crafting a soundtrack for the game? What about script?

Neither of those. You start with an idea, a concept, a DESIGN. The you develop that concept during pre-production and decide whether or not it's worth your effort to develop it into a proper game. This is when you make a prototype, a rouch sketch of your game with the most important game mechanics.

After pre-production you will know exactly what your game will contain and how to make the different parts, and then you develop the game. I usually mix it up, I do some coding for an hour, then some art, then back to coding (it's almost impossible to work like this if the development team consists of more than one person).

There is one more thing you need to make a game though, and that's drive. You need to be motivated, super determined to see your project through. Because it's going to get boring, and you're going to hit the point where you realize exactly how much more you've got to do until you're finished (one always underestimates the workload) and if you don't have enough drive you're going to quit, most people do.

I've been in your position, it is hard to get started. But once you've gotten over that hump and you've made your first game, and people play it and enjoy it, it's worth all the effort (even if it's just your little brother and sister and they're just trying to be nice :) ).

SlySavvy:
I would love to get into the whole making games deal, but I would have no idea how to start or focus on building up a frame work to get started on the game.

You could spend the next three or so years of your life developing your own Flash game engine. Or you could be very smart, and use an engine that already exists.

I'm not going to say any more about that, because it would give you an edge that I don't want most of the competition to have. But there are numerous options at the moment for Flash game designers who don't want to start their journey of discovery at square one.

Of course, any option is going to require a certain degree of coding. Coding is how you really make a game your own. It is necessary for refining play mechanics, and all of the best games have play mechanics that gleam in the morning sun.

I will now attempt to answer some of your questions directly...

1. Start with the coding, and use filler artwork initially. Getting your game in a playable state is more important initially than making it look pretty. Even when people come for the graphics, they always stay for the gameplay. The eyecandy is really only important for attracting attention. Focus on coding initially, use place holder art to start with, and refine the art gradually throughout the development process.

2. In Flash, you insert art into the game by embedding the graphic resources into the flash movie itself. It is possible to reference and load in external files dynamically, but for the average Flash game it just isn't worth the trouble. There is a specific syntax for embedding different kinds of resources into swf files. This can be done with code, and you don't need the Flash IDE to embed graphic, sound, or text files.

3. You are on your own for the soundtrack. Any music or audio mixing program would suffice. Garage Band is a usual suggestion for Mac users. Audacity is a free audio program, but I wouldn't necessarily suggest it for music. If you are having trouble finding something, remember that public domain music is free to use for this sort of project. (this would include most classical music, Brahms, Mozart, Bach, etc...) Encode some of this as an MP3, and then embed it in your Flash game the same way you would graphics.

4. Scripting is a bit more difficult. I commonly use custom-designed XML files for my scripting. Flash has all the tools necessary to load and parse XML, and XML files can also be embedded into flash. (like the aforementioned graphic and music embedding) XML files are great for defining levels, scripted sequences, etc...

I just wanted to mope about this flash-only thing. Initially, when I saw the contest, I thought I could put something together in XNA - AS I OFTEN DO, thank you - but sorry, I don't have time or will to learn another gamedev language & environment...

If someone has decent skills with programming in flash, I would be more than happy to enter this contest with them :) Heres and example of my graphics and animations http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/150809/45499_bouy2.php

Shad0wFlame:

Hamster at Dawn:
One question: What font does Yahtzee use?

Same question, I'd really appreciate it. :D

It's easy to come close to, but I can't seem to find a match.

Thanks again!

Actually, the font should be "Impact".

I downloaded the 30 day trial of Flash Pro this weekend. I now have 28 days to complete this project. It is a good thing I did all the class descriptions, and graphics ripping prior to starting the trial. That was a good week's worth of work completely unrelated to the flash authoring tool.

Spinwhiz:
Actually, the font should be "Impact".

Thanks for the reply, Spinwhiz. :D Though, unfortunately, I doubt any iteration of Impact matches.

First is Yahtzee's actual font, taken from an image.

The second is the closest I've come to a match, and it's Arial, set to bold, vertically stretched 115%, horizontal tracking set to-3.

The third is Impact [horiz. tracking between letters set to +100 to try to match better].

Think Yahtzee would be kind enough to bestow upon us his great font secrets? :P

Anyway, thanks again!

Try Arial Black.

i dont know much code, and i'm not to keen about legal issues (documents, legal information, user agreements, etc...) but isn't

"Any entry becomes the property of Themis Group, Inc. and will not be returned. Entrants surrender copyright and all interests therein of their submissions to Themis Group, Inc."

i bit rediclous? i might be understanding it wrong but, if so can someone please explain?

"Or you could be very smart, and use an engine that already exists. I'm not going to say any more about that, because it would give you an edge that I don't want most of the competition to have. But there are numerous options at the moment for Flash game designers who don't want to start their journey of discovery at square one."

I was under the impression that you had to be able to claim all code submitted to the contest as your own, but im not sure where i got that from. Thats why ive been staying away from Box2d and such, since their license does not permit this. Am i wrong? Are people allowed to use libraries/engines written by other people for their game and submit?

FOUND IT:
"So, please check the legal text for the developers/distributors of any type of software you a looking to use and make sure that they (the developers/distributors/original creators) ALLOW you to own your work. If for any reason they state that your game is not 100% yours, we cannot accept your submission."

Thats where i got it from, one could not claim 100% ownership of the games code if for example zlib licensed libraries was used, since it states: "you must not claim that you wrote the original software". So i guess it depends on the license of the whatever-it-is you are going to use =)

Box2D License says:

Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose,
including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it
freely, subject to the following restrictions:

1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not
claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software
in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be
appreciated but is not required.
2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
misrepresented as being the original software.
3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.

fireman2555:
i dont know much code, and i'm not to keen about legal issues (documents, legal information, user agreements, etc...) but isn't

"Any entry becomes the property of Themis Group, Inc. and will not be returned. Entrants surrender copyright and all interests therein of their submissions to Themis Group, Inc."

i bit rediclous? i might be understanding it wrong but, if so can someone please explain?

It's very simple. It means anything you enter they can do anything with.

Including but not limited to.

Changing any part of it, including removing your name.
Selling it for any price without you ever getting a cut.
Removing all ZP references and turning it into anything they like.

Basically you're saying you don't mind getting potentially reamed. In their defence it's not an uncommon clause in commercially run competitions.

theZ:

"So, please check the legal text for the developers/distributors of any type of software you a looking to use and make sure that they (the developers/distributors/original creators) ALLOW you to own your work. If for any reason they state that your game is not 100% yours, we cannot accept your submission."

This is true. However, most open-source liscences DO permit you to own your own work made using such projects. They allow for full use of their code in a private or commercial capacity. They even allow you to transfer ownership of your project from yourself to someone else. (in this case, from you to the Escapist)

Naturally, open-source liscences aren't all the same. It is important to check a given AS3 library to see whether or not it is viable. And any commercial AS3 library or engine would of course not be usable.

Let's just throw out an example, shall we?
http://code.google.com/p/tweener/
This is a link for the Tweener Actionscript library. It is an open-source flash library developed under the google code initiative. It would most likely qualify for use with this contest. The advantage of the Tweener library is that it makes it possible to create Tweening animations using code, rather than using the Flash IDE. It automates the process of creating animations based on fixed time intervals. This is extremely useful for creating cutscenes, menus, and any number of other operations within a Flash game.

It is usually advisable to add some credit for the library or original author within your game or application. This is just a common courtesy, and should be observed no matter what you intend to do with your software. Including them in the opening credits is a good idea, or just listing them in the end credits. Having an "About" splash screen in the main menu is also a good idea.

I finished my game RIGHT before The Escapist released the art assets. DAMMIT. (If Yahtzee decides to review my game, expect him to rage about how the art and the fonts are wrong -_-')

OTOH, I managed to finish a game in 72 hours. Woot.

Shame about the Flash requirement, I bet there could have been some good Silverlight entries. Still good luck to everyone entering - will be interesting to see the games that come out of this competition.

So, I'm a bit confused. When you say it's supposed to be a game based on Zero Punctuation, are you basically implying that the main character should be Yahtzee or something? Do we have the game be about going around and destroying games? I'm just curious.

Hamster at Dawn:
One question: What font does Yahtzee use?
I'm trying to create a true Zero Punctuation experience here.

Definitely Arial Black. Thought it might also be Helvetica Black, but I compared both to one of the titles. The "G" was a dead giveaway.

TSW:
So, I'm a bit confused. When you say it's supposed to be a game based on Zero Punctuation, are you basically implying that the main character should be Yahtzee or something?

That was my interpretation, but if you can think of a brilliant way to subvert this and still have the connection be obvious, he may reward you for your sheer creativity.

This'll be good. Can't wait to see what kind of ideas people come up with.