Posted by Tim
Mon, 14 Aug 2006 06:53:00 GMT
The latest Shmup-Dev competition results are out, but with very little to cheer for as most participants either dropped out of the contest or were disqualified.
Still, there are seven playable entries though many are not particularly striking either. Plus the innumerable delays had caused a loss of interest when the actual winners were announced.
I was also expecting to read different views for best graphics, sound and most unique category but we’re left with vanilla reviews which is slightly disappointing.
Could the uninspiring prizes be the reason for a lack of success this time around? Or the contest frequency itself? We can only wonder.
A round of applause goes out for of all the contestants. Finishing a game can be a rather daunting task and they deserve credit for the attempt.
Posted in Shoot-em-ups, Competitions, Freeware | 7 comments
Posted by Tim
Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:51:00 GMT
I had thought long and hard (probably a minute) about posting a screenshot from Organic Units but nude portraits and caricatures have made their way to several renowned web sites, so why not. TIGSource didn’t get to where it is now by playing it safe.
cactus of Illegal Communication fame is currently working on a new project to be released next week as a Game Boy competition entry (we sure have a lot of competitions lately). Here’s the description:
“You are hired as a tester for a mysterious company, who wants you to try out some weird machinery made out of flesh. But the tests are not exactly safe, you have to put lives on the line (one of them being your own), and soon you realize that the machinery is not what’s being tested, but yourself.”
Expect to have your brain turned to mush in a few day’s time.
Posted in Competitions, Previews | 2 comments
Posted by Tim
Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:16:00 GMT
JIG’s flashy game competition. Are you guys excited about playing flash games all day long? So many competitions to write about…
But let’s begin with the Retro Remakes Competition, a contest consisting of entrants mostly in their 30s (and serious enough to code until the end). I mean, look at the list of entries. I’ll attempt to play every single entry but there’s no possible way for me to write about all of them. No, sir. 150 games! Madness, these old fogies.
Perhaps I’ll talk about one, since I’m in the mood to mention some shmups today. Just a sampler of the flood of games to come. A remake featuring Vic Viper, yes…
Well, there’s no demo yet so we just have to be content with gawking at the limited screenshots. Looking pretty faithful, I must say. And if you’re thinking that it’s just another Gradius remake, note that it’s done by the guys from Ovine by Design – master of remakes. I suppose we can expect reasonable quality from them. Plus that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Posted in Remakes, Shoot-em-ups, Windows, Competitions, Previews | no comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 09 Aug 2006 18:52:00 GMT
Our buddies at Jay is Games (well, at least I hope they are still our buddies after the NHP thing) are hosting a casual flash game competition for fun and prizes including but not limited to Flash 8 Professional and a black DS Lite. Check out the page and the comments for the deets.
The deadline is Friday, August 25th. Get crackin’.
Posted in Competitions | 2 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:36:00 GMT
Wow, the Experiment Gameplay Project has really grown since last time I checked up on it. Started by four grad students at Carnegie Mellon, the project’s aim was to prototype over 50 new game ideas in a short amount of time. Each game was made in less than 7 days, by one person, and was based around a single theme, like “gravity,” “vegetation,” etc.
Two semesters and 50-plus games later, and the site has been completely redone. Now anyone can join the project, and each member will have their own page where they can showcase their games and receive feedback. Great job, guys!
Oh, and to top it off, they’re holding another competition: design a non-dance game using a dance pad by Red Octane (publishers of Guitar Hero).
Posted in Community, Competitions | 13 comments
Posted by dessgeega
Sat, 01 Jul 2006 02:23:00 GMT
“shmup”, being some ungainly contraction of “shoot-em-up”, is a fairly dumb and ugly word we inherit from the european videogame press. let’s opt to use better terms instead, like “shooting games” or “shooters” or “stgs”.
anyway, the dragon stg competition over at the stg-dev forums is now closed to entries. the goal for entrants in the competition (which offers many fabulous prizes) was to produce a shooting game of any variety, with the one stipulation that the protagonist be a dragon.
all of the finished entries can be downloaded on the competition forum. (you may need to be logged into the site.) my favorite is smark’s lair, which plays the way a game starring a dragon should play: like rampage. smark the dragon endures an assault on his treasure horde by pesky humans. he can unleash flames to fry the meddling creatures or swoop down to snatch them up, then either toss them at their comrades or chomp them for health. munching the (well-defended) princess will restore all of smark’s health, but will also invoke the wrath of a powerful dragon-slayer. a pretty solid shooting game.
Posted in Shoot-em-ups, Competitions | 19 comments
