Upcoming Dream Game Contest
by Dave Young · 03/05/2007 (6:09 am) · 23 comments
The Dream Games, Inc. Build a Game in 90 Days contest was a lot of fun, with SgtFlame's Fractured Universe taking 1st place and setting the bar. We have been brainstorming a concept for a new contest and have drafted some preliminary ideas for it.
Every team will need some time to brainstorm and prepare, so I thought I'd post this now to get the ideas flowing, we will be firming up the rules and making them 'official' in the next couple of weeks, and I'll post when that happens.
Build your Dream Game in 1 Year
*Start Date: 4/1/2007 (Changed to allow for more time to prepare)
*Length of contest: 12 months
*Deadline to Enter: 3 months after the contest begins
*1st Prize: $5000 (this might be increased if we can find other sponsors)
*Technology must be based on one of these Torque engines (TGB, TGE, TGEA), and can include other Content Packs made by 3rd parties
*Team Entries must be established on our website formally
*A running Team Roster must be kept updated
*Design Document must be submitted within 1 month of contest entry
*Game must have a testing phase (Alpha) to begin no later than the 1st day of the 11th month
*Game can be single or multiplayer
*If multiplayer, Team must host game on server for testing, provide a client to the judges
*Patching is allowed during judging
*Game must not already be in significant stages of development
We are going with a point based system this time around, with points being awarded for the completion of various milestone tasks. The idea behind this is that the contest is covering the whole game making process, and not just the final result. In the end, the point totals will determine the winners
Here are some examples
Points awarded for monthly status updates
Points awarded for game update blogs on GG site
Points awarded for creation of game associated website
Points awarded for GUI design
Points awarded for concept art
Points awarded for cross-site promotion and hype-building (fanbase/community)
Points awarded for adherance to design in final result
Points awarded for launch process and response to player feedback from alpha phase
Points awarded for community response to the final result
Points awarded for game documentation
Points awarded for originality
Points awarded for sound design
Points awarded for backing up smacktalk
As you see, this is meant to cover the bases for game creation. We will provide a custom forum area for the contest once it begins. We hope to teach each other a lot of lessons about the whole process of game development. These teams are going to show the Indie community how it's done, and how it gets done using Torque! We hope people will make good use of content packs and products sold by companies like Garage Games, and Dream Games, Inc. as well to get a leg up on development. It's the smart thing to do :)
The tentative start date is 3/15/2007, we will open up the forum area for Team Entries at that time.
If you are interested in co-sponsoring this contest, contact me! There is going to be a lot of cross-pollination going in once we get rolling, so this is a great opportunity for exposure and advertisement. We will be frontlining the contestants whenever possible.
www.mydreamrpg.com
Contest Discussion
Every team will need some time to brainstorm and prepare, so I thought I'd post this now to get the ideas flowing, we will be firming up the rules and making them 'official' in the next couple of weeks, and I'll post when that happens.
Build your Dream Game in 1 Year
*Start Date: 4/1/2007 (Changed to allow for more time to prepare)
*Length of contest: 12 months
*Deadline to Enter: 3 months after the contest begins
*1st Prize: $5000 (this might be increased if we can find other sponsors)
*Technology must be based on one of these Torque engines (TGB, TGE, TGEA), and can include other Content Packs made by 3rd parties
*Team Entries must be established on our website formally
*A running Team Roster must be kept updated
*Design Document must be submitted within 1 month of contest entry
*Game must have a testing phase (Alpha) to begin no later than the 1st day of the 11th month
*Game can be single or multiplayer
*If multiplayer, Team must host game on server for testing, provide a client to the judges
*Patching is allowed during judging
*Game must not already be in significant stages of development
We are going with a point based system this time around, with points being awarded for the completion of various milestone tasks. The idea behind this is that the contest is covering the whole game making process, and not just the final result. In the end, the point totals will determine the winners
Here are some examples
Points awarded for monthly status updates
Points awarded for game update blogs on GG site
Points awarded for creation of game associated website
Points awarded for GUI design
Points awarded for concept art
Points awarded for cross-site promotion and hype-building (fanbase/community)
Points awarded for adherance to design in final result
Points awarded for launch process and response to player feedback from alpha phase
Points awarded for community response to the final result
Points awarded for game documentation
Points awarded for originality
Points awarded for sound design
Points awarded for backing up smacktalk
As you see, this is meant to cover the bases for game creation. We will provide a custom forum area for the contest once it begins. We hope to teach each other a lot of lessons about the whole process of game development. These teams are going to show the Indie community how it's done, and how it gets done using Torque! We hope people will make good use of content packs and products sold by companies like Garage Games, and Dream Games, Inc. as well to get a leg up on development. It's the smart thing to do :)
The tentative start date is 3/15/2007, we will open up the forum area for Team Entries at that time.
If you are interested in co-sponsoring this contest, contact me! There is going to be a lot of cross-pollination going in once we get rolling, so this is a great opportunity for exposure and advertisement. We will be frontlining the contestants whenever possible.
www.mydreamrpg.com
Contest Discussion
About the author
#3
03/05/2007 (7:37 am)
Sounds good, will be good for the us all I think, finnaly give us the kick we need to get things done 
#5
03/05/2007 (8:13 am)
When is the planned start date for this contest?
#6
03/05/2007 (8:17 am)
Tentatively, 3/15/2007
#7
03/05/2007 (8:29 am)
You may want to give it more time from the annoucement of the contest to the actual start. It will give the people more of a fair chance to get teams going instead of waiting precious contest time doing it.
#8
03/05/2007 (8:35 am)
We might consider moving it to 4/1 pending feedback for this very reason, hence my judicious use of the word tentative :) 
#9
03/05/2007 (9:00 am)
Cool Idea. This should generate some interesting projects.
#10
03/05/2007 (8:03 pm)
I'd lean toward a 4/1 start, too - gives people almost a month to think about entering. A big contest like this, you want to get a goodly number of teams in the running, I would think!
#11
03/05/2007 (10:29 pm)
3/15 is pretty short notice especially with this being GDC week =P
#12
Surely it's much easier to think 'end of June entry deadline' and 'end of march 2008' completion date than the middle of a month ;-)
You'll definitely need a countdown clock running live on the gg site (counting down in 32ms ticks, naturally :-P )
03/05/2007 (11:29 pm)
Add my vote to a 4/1 start. Surely it's much easier to think 'end of June entry deadline' and 'end of march 2008' completion date than the middle of a month ;-)
You'll definitely need a countdown clock running live on the gg site (counting down in 32ms ticks, naturally :-P )
#13
03/06/2007 (7:56 am)
well this should be fun~
#14
03/06/2007 (12:08 pm)
This could be really interesting! I better keep my eye on this one. :) 
#15
03/06/2007 (11:40 pm)
Mmmm... I love contests :D 
#16
03/07/2007 (1:38 am)
Erm... so when you say Team... can it be a team of 1? You see I don't have any friends :) I would like to enter this, but as a lonewolf if that's okay? 
#17
Sounds like fun. Blessings to you all!
-Sparkling
http://www.visionsgame.com
03/20/2007 (9:35 am)
Awwwww "*Game must not already be in significant stages of development" most likely excludes my game. We've been working on it for over 2 years (over 3.5 years if you count the first year of me working on the design concept by myself), I've spent the last year composing all my notes and ideas into a more formal Design Document (that is 190 pages and growing), and we are working on getting the basic components implemented right now so that we can start work ont he next phase of development. I'm afraid my experience has been that it is impossible to make a MMORPG in a year, so we wouldn't be able to enter this contest. I have some other game ideas too that might be more suited to this, but I don't have the time or the suprlus team members to make more than one game at once.Sounds like fun. Blessings to you all!
-Sparkling
http://www.visionsgame.com
#18
03/22/2007 (1:19 pm)
I'm seriously thinking about it, too Andy. Even if my concepts are not multiplayer or Massive.
#19
03/22/2007 (3:19 pm)
oh... I was thinking of making a single player experience, perhaps with co-op later on. Does it have to be multiplayer/MMO then? I think I missed something.
#20
03/22/2007 (5:29 pm)
Doesn't have to be multiplayer, just incredible! 
Torque Owner Christian S
Oak-Entertainment
Cant wait to see who else pops by.
-Thumbs up!