The previous competition died and you know what? It had a few flaws. Nobody chose one of the two formats, which kind of defeated part of the point. So this time lets just have one format. Ive written out a few rules so i'll post them here.
Once again we can discuss any changes, It would be better to vote for anything instead of asking me. It's all open for change ok?
Also I know there are a lot of competitions already but If I wait other people will just keep making new competitions wont they? And i'll never get around to it lol.
Misc graphics, no limits on objects but no transparency as standard. 1 layer only unless the layers perk is chosen, however tricks can acheive 'fake' parallax.
Sound
4 channel mod or midi (sound effects can be wav or ogg or whatever)
Game storage/Filesize = Cartridge up to 4 megabytes (anything under 2mb gets +5 points*)
Controller = 8 way directional pad + 2 buttons (two controller ports as standard)
Perks = addtional hardware inside each cartridge to add more power to the console (Choose one or choose none)
1 = 64 colours + transparency enabled.
2 = 8 channel music
3 = Ogg, Mp3 or Wav support
4 = mode 7, parallaxer, perspective or any other graphical Extension.
5 = layers enabled
6 = 8mb super cart
7 = up to 4 buttons (or mouse + keyboard support) + more than 2 controllers
8 = rotation + scale
Additional perk = you can choose to license an IP from another company at the cost of 5 points, basically if you make a fangame you lose 5 points*. You can still choose one of the other perks. Using other clickers' characters characters or IP but using your own characeter wont of course. (but don't forget to ask anyone for permission!)
Note* When i write about points i'm referring to the review score but i'm just assuming it would be a percentage.
I think it's nowhere near limiting enough - most of the games on this site would be eligible for submission already.
I'd suggest simplifying the rules to something like this...
Graphics:
Specified resolution (320x240?).
Choose one of a several specified 16-color(?) palettes.
No transparency, alpha channels, scaling, rotation, layers etc.
Yeah, i see the point in the limitations but... i dunno, i feel that it needs to be interesting.
320x240 and 16 colours and nothing else just doesn't seem interesting.
Ok we need something to make the particular console interesting. Double pixel width or colour attributes.
I guess we could go for a REALLY old early 80's system like the Zx spectrum and really make the developers work lol.
I really liked the idea they had at Pixelation, of remaking a modern game, but making it look as it would on a Gameboy.
They only did mockups, but we could do actual playable games...
The thread is here: http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=5016.0
I just... don't think that will work.
I would really hate the idea of just making a Gameboy game.
The plan is to make a unique set of specifications/limitations for a fake console/computer then make games for it. Mimicking a real console is defeating part of the whole idea.
Someone should set up some kind of behavior object for anyone to place in their game, that automatically decreases the frame rate of the game after you hit so many objects on screen at once. I'm not sure the technical aspect behind this, but for some reason a Sonic game never quite felt like a Sonic game unless the frame rate dipped below 15FPS with over 50 rings flying around the screen instantly.
Davince gave me a good idea yesterday. A limited amount of space for background tiles and sprites. So we could draw up a grid to fill with tiles and perhaps vary it's size depending on what colour mode or resolutions (assuming there will be more than one screen mode)
Your idea sounds good Brandon, but it might be a problem for anyone that isn't using TGF2 or MMF2.
I liked the idea of having two consoles to choose from. Imo, the problem is that they where way too unequal last time. If they were to seem like possible competitors and offer different but equivalent features, then I'm sure both would be chosen equaly. I also don't think limitations alone are enough to make your competition appealing. The console(s) would need to have some story/theme, and maybe even a "scenario" explaning why we never heard of 'em before, wich could be how they died prematurely.
Might seem lame, but here's some ideas.
Two late 8-bit consoles, doomed to fail in the first place due to the soon comming 16-bit generation.
1. One would be created to mimic the arcade experience at home.
*unlike the neo-geo, the games would be made exlusively for the console.
*GFX: good for an 8-bit console; Maybe it could still be restricted to a small palette(customisable 64 colors, one color reserved for transparency), but be allowed to use all of those colors on screen at once.
*resolution: 288x216
*inputs: (4 ports)
bulky gamepads with a 32 directions stick and 3 buttons
zappers
*save feature: 128 bytes memory. Mostly used for highscores.
*restricted to .mid, .mod or .xm music.
*most games to come on the console would be arcade or arcade-comilation titles, but other genres could still get licences, as long as the game would showcase the console's features, either 4 players-mode or shaded gfx to show the graphical superiority over the previous 8-bit consoles, wich where color limited.
2. The other[?novotronik¿] could be some kind of home computer/game console hybrid, hooked to a normal tv to lower the price.
*resolution: your screenmodes idea would fit well here, but in a 4:3 ratio, so...
0 = 320x240 - 1x1 pixel size
1 = 256x192 - 1x1 pixel size
2 = 160x120 - 1x1 pixel size + free rotation and scale enabled
4 = 640x480 - 2x1 pixel size
*GFX: 256 fixed palette, colors onscreen at once depends on the sceenmode.
*inputs: mouse & keybord
*save feature: 8mb hard drive wich would allow level editor, applications, creations sharing and such.
*sound: .wav, .ogg, .mid, .mod and .xm
How are they unequal? I'd pick the first one for sure.
I prefer a custom palette over a hard drive (did you ever tried drawing something nice in 16 colors mode?) and joystick support would be a big plus for me. It would all depend on what kind of game peoples would want to make.
Originally Posted by DMT Why not do Sketchy's idea?
It'd be way more fun with custom specs. With a GameBoy compo, we already know what submited games would look like. If someone would make a game too different(not everybody knows how to recreate gameboy sound), peoples would critisize, so nothing unique could come out of this.
Originally Posted by SiLVERFIRE Someone should set up some kind of behavior object for anyone to place in their game, that automatically decreases the frame rate of the game after you hit so many objects on screen at once. I'm not sure the technical aspect behind this, but for some reason a Sonic game never quite felt like a Sonic game unless the frame rate dipped below 15FPS with over 50 rings flying around the screen instantly.
That's possible in MMF2! You can use "total number of objects" for that effect
Always; set FPS to 60-("total number of objects"/x). x being some super huge number, or use a longer formula so it only kicks in if there are crap loads of objects on screen.
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Edited by Spitznagl
