Posted by Derek Yu
Sun, 04 May 2008 13:42:00 GMT
Procedural content generation has been applied to video games forever to create random content and to reduce the space requirements for games. Roguelikes are a genre that generally depend on procedural generation for level creation. And recently, Will Wright’s Spore has put this idea in the spotlight, since the game is mostly procedurally-generated.
But all in all, I think this is a concept that is still relatively unexplored, and it could be applied creatively to every part of a game to do some really neat stuff! The focus of this competition is to develop a 4-week game that uses PCG to create compelling, new content every time the player starts a game.
Posted in Features, Community, Developers, Competitions | 32 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:06:00 GMT
The results are in! Voting for The VGNG Competition is now over, and our buddy Farbs caught 16% of the vote with his really-rather-brilliant ROM CHECK FAIL, followed close behind by Farmergnome’s excellent My First Skydiving Academy. All in all, the VGNG Compo was a huge success. It’s been said before, but all the entrants should be really proud of themselves for participating, and making some really good shit!
Regarding the next competition… keep your eyeballs peeled. You never know when or how it’s going to hit. But you can expect that it’s going to be a lot of fun!
Congratulations, Farbs, and all the entrants!
Posted in Features, Community, Developers, Competitions | Tags Farbs, Farmergnome | 42 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:32:00 GMT
Wow, amazing turnout for the Video Game Name Generator Competition – we have 48 hot hot entries for you to rub up against! A new record!
The quality and variety of the games is really just inspiring. I had a blast watching the development goin’ on, and the results met and exceeded expectations. I’m alternately excited and fearful by the prospect of later competitions – on the one hand, you guys are obviously honing your game-making skills like crazy… on the other hand, that means I’ll probably have to spend the rest of my life compiling the great games that are going to come out of the next compo!
I was also really happy to see so many new faces in the forums. Even if you joined just to participate in the compo, it was great to have you guys around, and I hope you stay!
Well, my blathering on isn’t really doing anyone any good. Just check out the games. And for everyone who participated, you should give yourselves a hearty clap on the back. This is legendary stuffs.
Special thanks to the creator(s) of the VGNG, ‘cause that thing rocks, and also to moi, who compiled the final list of games and made my life a lot easier.
Don’t forget to vote!
EDIT: Fixed Time Shark’s link and added BaronCid’s Super Mario Versus Programming in China to the list (it’s a pen and paper game!). Sorry about that, guys!
Posted in Features, Community, Developers, Competitions | 20 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:20:00 GMT
The results of this year’s Seven Day Roguelike Competition are in! There were 23 entrants in total, 9 of whom successfully completed their roguelike.
Some of the games are really interesting and well-executed, like Fatherhood (pictured above), a RL which has you damming up floods while taking care of your three rambunctious children. There’s also Numbers, an educational roguelike where you solve math problems to defeat monsters like the Pithon and the Minussaur.
Thanks to Slashie of Rogue Temple for the info. And be sure to check out his entry, MegamanRL, which I believe is the first side-scrolling platformer roguelike ever made?!
Posted in Roguelikes, Developers, Competitions | Tags Slash | 6 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:09:00 GMT
IndieCade is calling for submissions for their 2008 independent games festival in Seattle. The festival goes from July 10th to the 13th. The group also makes appearances at various gaming events around the globe (like E3 and PAX). Games chosen for IndieCade are also considered for those showcases.
The submission deadline is April 11, 2008, and the fee is $25.
Posted in Community, Developers, Competitions | 5 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:14:00 GMT
I thought to get people’s juices flowing I’d let the people decide what to make a secret, hidden boss. What you have to do is think of something completely awesome and then give that idea to me and I pay you absolutely nothing, but you get a credit at the end of the game (if you really want to).
Sounds like a pretty fair deal! But in all seriousness, it’s for the fun... what more reason do you need? Hit up Joakim’s site for more info. We’re also discussing it on the forums.
Posted in Platformers, Videos, Competitions, Previews | Tags JoakimSandberg | 18 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:31:00 GMT
Posted in Features, Unicorns, Competitions | 34 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Sat, 01 Mar 2008 02:24:00 GMT
Oh man, first a sweet World of Goo shout-out on their front page, now this.
Gabe and Tycho have announced that, in cooperation with the DigiPen Institute of Technology, this year’s Penny Arcade Expo will feature PAX 10, a showcase of 10 independent games selected by 50 industry experts (including the two main men themselves). The games will sit right on the expo floor, and attendees will be able to vote for one of the games to win an “Audience Choice Award,” to be announced on the website the next week.
You have until May 7th to submit your game here (it’s $50). PAX, in case you didn’t know, is an annual, 3-day orgy in Washington for video game lovers around the globe. This year it starts on August 29th.
TIGSource meet-up at PAX, anyone?
(Thanks, Alec!)
Posted in Community, Developers, Competitions | Tags PennyArcade | 44 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:33:00 GMT
The results for the 2007 Adventure Game Studio Awards are out! The big winners this year are Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy! (5 awards), A Tale of Two Kingdoms (4 awards), and Yahtzee, who won 4 awards (2 for 6 Days a Sacrifice and 2 for The Art of Theft). The award show can also be experienced as an AGS game (direct download), which is pretty awesome.
Holy crap, I had no idea there were so many awards for adventure games! Congratulations to all the winner!
Best Game Created with AGS Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
Best Innovation _Access
Lifetime Achievement Nick “Ashen” Mallon
Best Gameplay Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
Best Story 6 Days a Sacrifice
Best Dialogue Writing Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
Best Puzzles A Tale of Two Kingdoms
Best Player Character Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
Best Background Art Infinity String
Best Character Art Nelly Cootalot: Spoonbeaks Ahoy!
Best Short Game Murder in a Wheel
Best Non-Player Character Trilby (6 Days a Sacrifice)
Best Animation A Tale of Two Kingdoms
Best Programming The Art of Theft
Best Music Blackwell Unbound
Best Documentation A Tale of Two Kingdoms
Best Non-Adventure Game Created with AGS The Art of Theft
Best Use of Sound A Tale of Two Kingdoms
Best Demo The Marionette
(Source: The Gnome, via The Random Gnome’s Lair!)
Posted in Adventure, Community, Competitions | 4 comments
Posted by Terry
Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:38:00 GMT
Just a quick heads up: the nominations for 2007’s XYZZY awards are underway. If there are any pieces of Interactive Fiction from last year that you’d like to see get some recognition, you’ve got until Sunday the 23rd of February to vote. This year there are ten categories: Best Game, Best Writing, Best Story, Best Setting, Best Puzzles, Best NPCs, Best Individual Puzzle, Best Individual NPC, Best Individual PC and Best Use of Medium.
The voting form (as well as a full list of eligible games) is available on XYZZY news here.
Posted in Interactive Fiction, Community, Competitions | 2 comments
