View Full Version : Competition 16 - TEXT!
dislekcia
04-09-2007, 02:26 AM
Comp 16: TEXT!
Graphics are the bane of our existance as experimental developers. How many fun ideas fall foul of the "If only I had the graphics to do it" black hole? No more. Competition 16 is all about the glories of text.
Build a game that only uses text as it's graphics. That's the only rule... We don't care how you do it: You might have sprites that are individual letters; You might choose to make a text-adventure adaptation of Bioshock; You might get incredibly sarcastic and use the names of all your objects as their graphics in a platformer; Maybe you'll make the RTS version of Nethack. Whatever. Everything has to be visibly descended from humble text.
Try something new. Ask yourself what would happen if you swapped storylines across genres or played around with how people interact with a game if they can change the spelling of the things they "see". The more creative and stylish your entries, the better... The hope is that you'll be able to generate graphics quickly and easily, freeing your efforts to go towards things that get neglected in game design these days: Story, well thought out settings and coherent, enjoyable gameplay.
Rules:
Competition starts on September 4th, 04-09-2007.
Deadline for entries is September 28th, 27-09-2007. Because of rAge!
The use of copyrighted material will not be tolerated. Do not steal!
Each entrant or team must work to improve their game to the best of their ability.
Use whichever language, tool or development system you are comfortable in. Downloading and using Game Maker is recommended for beginners and for prototyping.
Ask for help when you get stuck.
All your graphics must stem from text, use your common sense, but if you're spending hours on single sprites, you've missed the point.
Your game must contain all files needed for it to run and should not require other bulky systems to be downloaded or installed, exceptions are browser plugins like Flash and self-contained dlls distributed with the game).
Your final entry must include a readme.txt that EXPLAINS THE CONTROLS, RULES and any other information you want to get across to your users.
Competition is open to entry for South African citizens, current residents of South Africa and South African passport holders.
The judges' decision is final and no negotiation will be entered into. All risk or liability in case of copyright infringement or other legal issue resides with the entrant, Game.Dev and NAG take no responsibility for entered games.
Entering:
To enter the competition, start a thread titled "16: NameOfYourGame" and post your design ideas and game releases there. As you release files, edit your first post to point to the most recent versions available.
Other people WILL reply to your post with their feedback and ideas. Please report any offensive comments to me for moderation. Consider releasing your source code, it helps us pinpoint problems that you might be having and benefits the community as a whole.
Advice:
This is a short competition due to all the energy we're putting into rAge. Build smaller, fun ideas around the concept of using only text. Come up with smart ways to use text-based sprites. Always consider the possibility of a shmup with ships that look remarkably like letters of the alphabet ;)
Fonts in GM are your friend, as is colouring things using the draw_set_color() command! Don't feel that you have to stick with a concept if it's not working. Rather play with something you like than force yourself to work on something that doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. Experiment and prototype continuously, posting your results for feedback. You never know when someone else might give you that killer idea you were looking for.
...
Good luck and enjoy the competition, we hope to see some really interesting things come out of this (rather strange) limitation!
-D
Thaumaturge
04-09-2007, 02:40 AM
*grins widely* Oooh... very interesting! I have some ideas starting to fire off within the recesses of my mind already!
This would be wonderful for a spell system (and I have visions of spell effect particle systems, in which each particle is a coloured letter)!
What about a game which involves fighting words which represent negative things, perhaps even changing a word-formed world from composition by such words to composition by words that reflect positive things?
I do have a question: Would a 3D character textured to appear as though it were constructed of words and letters be valid, if it made sense in the context of the game? (Think of a situation similar to the one describe above, of a world formed from words, but presented in 3D, for example.) I'm guessing that the answer is "no", and I doubt that it's what I would choose to go for even if it were allowed, but nevertheless, it's worth asking, primarily for the sake of interest and clarification.
It would, I think, defy the point, however.
I think that I'm going to love this competition! ^___^
Hmm... it's a pity that it's so short a competition - I might consider using GameMaker otherwise, but I doubt that there's time to learn a new system...
I'll probably stick with OpenGL for now, but we shall see - I do have the Wintermute Engine as a possibility...
Note to self: A readme this time! ^_^;
[edit] Hmm... Since both the readme and the game are text-based, I wonder how merging them might work...
[edit 2] I'm still rather interested in the "guerilla learning" concept, and it seems to me that that idea might well work with the theme of this contest... another thought to consider...
Fengol
04-09-2007, 06:31 AM
This is interesting because I can use it to convince my .NET buddies to enter. I might just enter something in .NET
This is going to be fun!!
I cant wait to sort through my ideas and pick one.
Good luck to everyone who enters!
*goes and sits in my corner with a pen and paper to look at my ideas*
Hopefully by this afternoon I will have something to show for it :)
CiNiMoDZA
04-09-2007, 08:34 AM
Eish, that was a surprise!!! Was not expecting that!!! Nice idea though! Its gonna be interesting to see the entries?
FuzzYspo0N
04-09-2007, 10:03 AM
AWESOME idea, i love it :)
I got some ideas and for once i WILL finish in time and enter , mark my words :P
GReat to see variety in topics its the best when games arent generic
DrDeth
04-09-2007, 01:37 PM
Comp 16: TEXT!
Your game must contain all files needed for it to run and should not require other bulky systems to be downloaded or installed, exceptions are browser plugins like Flash and self-contained dlls distributed with the game).
Does this exclude .NET and XNA?
What if the game was packaged with an installer that installs the required components?
dislekcia
04-09-2007, 01:56 PM
I do have a question: Would a 3D character textured to appear as though it were constructed of words and letters be valid, if it made sense in the context of the game? (Think of a situation similar to the one describe above, of a world formed from words, but presented in 3D, for example.) I'm guessing that the answer is "no", and I doubt that it's what I would choose to go for even if it were allowed, but nevertheless, it's worth asking, primarily for the sake of interest and clarification.
Building an entire 3D model and texturing it with text would go against the idea of the competition... Probably the only way you wouldn't be doing too much work on graphics in 3D would be to make everything quads or boxes with text on them. Even then, that's still a lot of setup work.
Also: Saying that you don't have time to learn GM just shows that you've never played around with it ;) You can learn GM in less than a day. That's why I suggest it for rapid prototyping. The fact that you can ALSO do really advanced stuff in it just means that it's awesome for long term development too...
-D
Gazza_N
04-09-2007, 02:12 PM
This is an awesome idea, but I'm giving it a miss this time round. I shall spend the month lurking moar and working on Deathbringer when I can. Good luck to everyone!
Nandrew
04-09-2007, 02:59 PM
Oooooh.
Oooooh.
I'd really like to see what I can do about entering this one. I tend to pride myself on using more esoteric graphics for my games.
Thaumaturge
04-09-2007, 08:12 PM
Building an entire 3D model and texturing it with text would go against the idea of the competition... Probably the only way you wouldn't be doing too much work on graphics in 3D would be to make everything quads or boxes with text on them. Even then, that's still a lot of setup work.
Heheh, fair enough - although in terms of textured quads I'm pretty sure that I already have a lot of the base code from previous projects.
Also: Saying that you don't have time to learn GM just shows that you've never played around with it ;) You can learn GM in less than a day. That's why I suggest it for rapid prototyping. The fact that you can ALSO do really advanced stuff in it just means that it's awesome for long term development too...
Heh, you are right - I haven't gotten around to trying it out yet, I'm afraid. I was going largely on previous experiences with engines (especially, come to think of it, the Wintermute Engine).
Maybe I'll give it a look then, once I've settled upon an idea to work on.
does it have to be "graphics" as such?
Can this be a command line only game with little or no graphics? (plain text :P )
Banlam
04-09-2007, 10:45 PM
sorry, not quite sure, but as far as limitations of the project go. Can you do the game in Java? or does the fact that you need the Java Runtime Environment mean that it is disallowed. Thanks
dislekcia
05-09-2007, 12:29 AM
does it have to be "graphics" as such?
Can this be a command line only game with little or no graphics? (plain text :P )
Yes.
sorry, not quite sure, but as far as limitations of the project go. Can you do the game in Java? or does the fact that you need the Java Runtime Environment mean that it is disallowed. Thanks
Yes, you can build the game in Java.
-D
Thanks dis :D
Looks like I can use c++ for this comp!
DrDeth
05-09-2007, 08:23 AM
I specifically went and downloaded Borland Turbo C++ for this. Dont have a concept yet, so not sure if I'll be entering...
grigi
05-09-2007, 08:43 AM
Hmm, Perl seems ideal for this, it is a language designed to parse/process/output text easily.
Hmmm, MUD - style text adventure anyone?
cairnswm
05-09-2007, 09:22 AM
I think this is a very interesting idea for a game. To me there seem to be four options really on the style of game to make.
1. A text based game, as suggested above a MUD or word adventure
2. An old style game from when only text existed (like Fengol Frogger, or the Alpha Snake game)
3. Creating a Word game, so effectivly the text actually IS the graphics for a proper game
4. Just replace graphics of any game with text, so make a platformer with '=' as the ground and 'A' as the character etc.
So far I've had ideas for each of these categories. Its very interesting to see how such a simple concept 'TEXT' can create so many different options :)
DrDeth
05-09-2007, 10:24 AM
To me there seem to be four options really on the style of game to make.
Thats the problem, isnt it... ?
I have a nice 'different' idea, but I'm not sure if I could made the timeline...
Cyberninja
05-09-2007, 10:32 AM
The simple theme makes sprite creation, extremely easy. I've already created most of my object sprites using text. I r happy. I might actually make the deadline for this one. ^_^
FuzzYspo0N
05-09-2007, 11:20 AM
haha yea cyberninja im hoping to make he deadline but im pretty certain i will :)
dislekcia
05-09-2007, 01:47 PM
Hey, if you guys all want longer to work on this comp and don't mind the results not being done by rAge, then we can extend it ;)
-D
CiNiMoDZA
05-09-2007, 02:10 PM
Im basically done!!! Don't know about the others though!?!
FuzzYspo0N
05-09-2007, 02:33 PM
i think lets have two deadlines/dates.
One for rage, and one for after, cos my idea will be small but can be epic
ShellShok
05-09-2007, 02:44 PM
I'm gonna try to make a game for this compo. :)
ShadowMaster
05-09-2007, 03:02 PM
Is this type of thing OK?
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z250/ShadowMaster_2007/Test.png
It's just my way of trying to subvert the rules.
The rest will be normal labels and ascii art, but I need solid bodies to make deformable terrain.
If it is, I wonder how many people are going to copy me?
Miktar
05-09-2007, 03:09 PM
That looks... like you're being very lazy and uncreative.
ShadowMaster
05-09-2007, 03:24 PM
That looks... like you're being very lazy and uncreative.
Yeah your right I will make use of Gs for the grass and make deformation more granular.
Evil_Toaster
05-09-2007, 03:43 PM
Quite a fun topic this. The temptation to enter something comes upon me! ;)
After some further ruminating on my "made while I was bored at training" design, I shall announce something. My personal challenge here will be to complete the game in say, no more than 10 hours. The rest of this month's dev time needs to go to the CC commercial version and other Retrotoast setup stuffs...
Thaumaturge
05-09-2007, 09:53 PM
Another question, if I may: Are we allowed to use more than one character set? One of my current thoughts for my entry includes the use of a second set of characters, these being intended to be something along the lines of "dark symbols". They would be handled in the same way as normal text, but would not likely resemble the standard Latin characters...
[edit] A second question: Is it acceptable to use a standard image cursor, given that it be designed to resemble one composed of ASCII characters?
dislekcia
06-09-2007, 01:46 PM
Another question, if I may: Are we allowed to use more than one character set? One of my current thoughts for my entry includes the use of a second set of characters, these being intended to be something along the lines of "dark symbols". They would be handled in the same way as normal text, but would not likely resemble the standard Latin characters...
[edit] A second question: Is it acceptable to use a standard image cursor, given that it be designed to resemble one composed of ASCII characters?
Yes.
And yes too.
-D
kRush
10-09-2007, 08:18 AM
Man i like this idea for the comp. I wish i had time to enter but have been so snowed under lately with work, agasa, bioshock, moha .... excuse excuse excuse. Im just trying to say i wish i had time to enter. Good luck to u all entering.
Dislekcia, i just need to check: is it ok if i give you my entry at rAge when i arrive there? I dont have an internet connection that i can use to upload it till the monday after. :) keeping up to date using my phone.
dislekcia
25-09-2007, 12:17 PM
Dislekcia, i just need to check: is it ok if i give you my entry at rAge when i arrive there? I dont have an internet connection that i can use to upload it till the monday after. :) keeping up to date using my phone.
As long as you give it to me on the friday.
-D
Okay, I've hosted the latest file, but should have it 100% complete by friday, thanks dis.
CiNiMoDZA
26-09-2007, 10:27 AM
Hey Dis, does our entry have to be posted by the end of Thursday, or the end of Friday!
dislekcia
26-09-2007, 11:12 AM
Hey Dis, does our entry have to be posted by the end of Thursday, or the end of Friday!
Thursday please, unless you're going to give it to me at rAge on the friday.
-D
CiNiMoDZA
01-10-2007, 05:05 PM
Any update on how the judging is coming? Or maybe still recovering from the many sleepless nights of rAge fever?
dislekcia
01-10-2007, 09:52 PM
Any update on how the judging is coming? Or maybe still recovering from the many sleepless nights of rAge fever?
I still haven't slept yet...
-D
Chippit
01-10-2007, 10:12 PM
Ninjas need sleep? :O
dislekcia
02-10-2007, 01:24 AM
Ninjas need sleep? :O
Apparently not...
Cyberninja
02-10-2007, 04:10 AM
Ninjas need sleep? :O
Yes. It helps keep the mind sharp. A sharp mind, is much more useful than a sharp sword. ;)
CiNiMoDZA
04-10-2007, 10:57 PM
Any update? Have you managed to regain consciousness and get some oxygen to the brain?!?
CiNiMoDZA
11-10-2007, 10:43 PM
Anything new to report?!?
Chippit
12-10-2007, 11:29 AM
Good young lad, patience is a virtue. When the results are ready, we'll know.
dislekcia
13-10-2007, 07:56 PM
Yar. Am to be sorry. Am being busy very with boardgame. Am to be sayink that comp 16 is on list for next week of doing.
Am to be saying that this comp 16 produce awesome play time fun games. BTW.
-D
dislekcia
04-11-2007, 12:38 PM
Quick update: Comp 16 hasn't fallen off the list of things that I'm busy with, it's just that the list is getting horribly long :( There are some things going on that I'm very excited about indeed...
Also, Comp 17 isn't starting until exams are mostly over and it'll run for longer than normal.
-D
Thaumaturge
08-11-2007, 02:50 AM
That's fair enough. ^_^
I'm glad to hear that you're so excited about those things that you have going, although I'm sorry to hear that your list of things to do is getting so long. ^^;
FuzzYspo0N
08-11-2007, 02:53 PM
lol i wudnt expect my entry to get me anyhwhere so its easy to be patient...
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