Torque for IGF Entry?
by Gareth Davies · in General Discussion · 07/08/2002 (5:58 am) · 11 replies
Having been working on my game ideally for entry into the IGF (be a good trick to make this years now though ;) ) it only recently dawned on me that I might not be able to use torque for it! The IGF requirements take on 3rd party engines is...
Use of third-party game engines: Games that make use of previously released commercial engines or technology are only eligible if they could be legally published as-is. For instance, if you do not have legal right to commercially release a game using the Quake III engine, it is not eligible for the Festival. On the other hand, games using DirectX are eligible (because Microsoft permits developers to license their technology at no cost), as are games that have already paid a license fee to use the Quake III engine.
Now how exactly does that interact with the torque license? Does that fact i'd have the 'legal right' to publish the game for free / via GG mean that you can use torque for an entry?
Any clarifaction would be good, sorry if this has been covered before, couldn't find it on the forum search. Thanks in advance.
Use of third-party game engines: Games that make use of previously released commercial engines or technology are only eligible if they could be legally published as-is. For instance, if you do not have legal right to commercially release a game using the Quake III engine, it is not eligible for the Festival. On the other hand, games using DirectX are eligible (because Microsoft permits developers to license their technology at no cost), as are games that have already paid a license fee to use the Quake III engine.
Now how exactly does that interact with the torque license? Does that fact i'd have the 'legal right' to publish the game for free / via GG mean that you can use torque for an entry?
Any clarifaction would be good, sorry if this has been covered before, couldn't find it on the forum search. Thanks in advance.
About the author
Professional Procrastinator. Currently playing around with cloud based MMO systems (specifically Scala on Google App Engine) Meh, i'll finish this later.
#2
and hey, whats your project? I'd be interested to check it out
07/08/2002 (6:23 am)
hey gareth, I also dream of entering IGF (check my image of the day, its atomico!!!!!)..... I read all the rules pretty closely too, and my understanding is... its alright to use the torque game engine as well as any other engine as long as you payed for it yourself and you are not being sponsered to use it by a publisher that then tends to publish your game when its finished.... so you should be alright and hey, whats your project? I'd be interested to check it out
#3
So I'm not really sure about that...
07/08/2002 (6:29 am)
hm, but isn't GGQuote:??
...tending to publish your game when its finished...
So I'm not really sure about that...
#4
07/08/2002 (6:37 am)
ya stefan, but that is kinda like part of the payment for the game engine, along with the 100 dollars (from my understanding), it is a way for GG to profit from you using their engine.... the rules prohibit GG from actualy funding your specific project in expectation of having exclusive rights to the game 
#5
If the IGF does not allow GG games to be considered for the contest, I think it would be extremely lame.
Jeff Tunnell GG
07/08/2002 (11:01 am)
Actually, it seems to me that any game published by GG would qualify for the IGF. I mean, after all, what is GG but indie games?If the IGF does not allow GG games to be considered for the contest, I think it would be extremely lame.
Jeff Tunnell GG
#6
07/09/2002 (11:55 am)
You just can't have a publisher, i.e. someone that's giving you loads of money to hire massive amounts of developers/artists to help develop the game. They just don't want someone huge like Blizzard, Microsoft, Westwood, etc. to submit their games. All of those guys have lotsa money behind them from publishing deals, I'm sure.
#7
He said the use of Torque was allowed, the only restriction being that you cannot release before March 15th of the year of submission. That means, anything not sold through or funded by a publisher or company on their list of "non-indie" (GarageGames is not on that list) folks after March 15th of this year can be entered this September.
For next year, same thing goes. As long as you release your game after March 15th 2003 you can enter in the 2003-2004 competition even as you sell it.
I hope to see a handful of IGF entries using Torque in 2003-2004, because I know the project I haven't publically announced is based around it.
I mean, if simplistic card games can get in three years in a row... something using Torque and some creativity should be guaranteed :)
07/09/2002 (12:25 pm)
I've already spoken with the head of the IGF board about six months back.He said the use of Torque was allowed, the only restriction being that you cannot release before March 15th of the year of submission. That means, anything not sold through or funded by a publisher or company on their list of "non-indie" (GarageGames is not on that list) folks after March 15th of this year can be entered this September.
For next year, same thing goes. As long as you release your game after March 15th 2003 you can enter in the 2003-2004 competition even as you sell it.
I hope to see a handful of IGF entries using Torque in 2003-2004, because I know the project I haven't publically announced is based around it.
I mean, if simplistic card games can get in three years in a row... something using Torque and some creativity should be guaranteed :)
#8
07/11/2002 (12:34 pm)
I remember reading in the IGF rules that you had to develop your own engine to be qualified for entry... or was this just for the student showcase?
#9
I also just received a letter from the Independent Games Festival asking if I would sit on the Jury again. And in my reply (yes) I asked about Torque Games. As soon as I have an answer I will post it here.
The Deadline is Sept 1. Anyone planning on submitting their game?
--Rick
08/01/2002 (3:39 pm)
I read over the IGF terms and it seems like Torque Games would qualify for the IGF. I also just received a letter from the Independent Games Festival asking if I would sit on the Jury again. And in my reply (yes) I asked about Torque Games. As soon as I have an answer I will post it here.
The Deadline is Sept 1. Anyone planning on submitting their game?
--Rick
#10
Oh and Rick, don't vote for the card game!
Every year it seems as though some unoriginal card game gets in... and it never makes sense. A card game? How can a card game be better than the stuff that got turned down?
I know a couple of projects were wanting to use Torque to submit to this year's IGF, but I haven't heard much from any of them over the past few months.
A few projects are shooting to be ready by next year's IGF, and my own team actually has our schedule based around it.
I didn't ask about student showcase stuff though, so I don't know the technical requirements on it. All stuff I've said applies to the IGF.
08/01/2002 (4:03 pm)
The only restriction in the IGF on a licensed engine is that what you produce can be legally sold. The main reason for this is to ensure that people aren't using unlicensed engines, or submitting mods. This info is direct from the guy that handles the submissions to the IGF.Oh and Rick, don't vote for the card game!
Every year it seems as though some unoriginal card game gets in... and it never makes sense. A card game? How can a card game be better than the stuff that got turned down?
I know a couple of projects were wanting to use Torque to submit to this year's IGF, but I haven't heard much from any of them over the past few months.
A few projects are shooting to be ready by next year's IGF, and my own team actually has our schedule based around it.
I didn't ask about student showcase stuff though, so I don't know the technical requirements on it. All stuff I've said applies to the IGF.
#11
--Rick
08/01/2002 (4:32 pm)
Just got word back and it looks like Torque games do qualify for the IGF! Let the competition begin!--Rick
Torque Owner Ben Swanson