Great Oportunity

#1 Who is "we?"
What is the contest criteria?
How does one enter?
What company is sponsoring this event?

#2 Michael, click around a bit...

His profile, help Add :)

And I also thing its This - guy

#3 Thank You Christian,

It's David Perry and Acclaim Games (not Acclaim Entertainment) that I was refering to as "we".
I'm member of project Top Secret Advisory Board

contest criteria & rules
http://www.videogameteam.com

To enter you sign up with our partner at modcenter.com (provide tools for developers absolutelly free). We also have forums and your team would get full support from our members (we can provide artists and 3D artists if needed - all volunteers)

I don't think you could call it sponsoring. At the end of this contest there will be a game that WILL GET published by Acclaim Games (topsecret.acclaim.com). This game is curently being designed by the largest design team in the history. As we speak it's over 52000 members. It is being directed by David Perry himself.
Day to day operations are under the direction of the Top Secret Advisory Board.
http://www.videogameteam.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

#4 I am a little confused by all the stuff on the site. So, to be a potential winner of this contest me must have:

a) a racing game with animals instead of cars
b) this game must support 1million people at a time
c) the game must function on Windows XP and Vista, and use DX9.0c


I know I am missing a few minor details, but thats the general idea, correct?

#5 There's some confusing contradictions in those rules. Like, how there is no entry deadline, but there is of course an end date to the contest, and there are milestones that appear to required. If there are no deadlines why the milestones then?

#6 The game is still being designed by the top secret community. Any one can join the community and participate in discussions and brainstorming the ideas and design itself.

To answer your question yes to all.

For any further question you can contact me directly at mjuricek@yahoo.com

If you interested you could join and make your apearence on our forums. We have a great team of mentors that will answer any of your questions at any time (usually withing few minutes). If you would need any other help there is alot of people willing to help as well.

There are 4 major milestones to be reached, but you can enter at any time.

This is the extract from the rules page

Milestone 1 - NOVEMBER 1st, 2007: Video of Concept - a 1-3 minute video... like a movie trailer, which shows the visual quality your team thinks they can achieve in the final game. The video should attempt to show simulated game play and reveal why this game is exciting and fresh.

Milestone 2 - MARCH 1st, 2008 - Simple Playable Demo (Minimum Spec*: One Track, One Beast, One Rider, Animations, Basic Interface, Basic Audio.)

Milestone 3 - AUGUST 15th, 2008 - Playable Demo (Minimum Spec*: Fully Playable - 3 Tracks, 5 Beasts, 3 Riders, Animations, Collision Detection, Player Interactions (fighting moves and effects), Sounds, Visual Effects, Network Code Working, Item Store, Music & Sound Effects.)

Milestone 4 - NOV 30th, 2008 - CLOSED BETA DEMO (TO BE JUDGED BY THE TOP SECRET COMMUNITY BASED ON A COMBINATION OF QUALITY AND FUN FACTOR.)

*Note: These are the Minimum specifications for the milestones. Teams are encouraged to exceed these requirements.

#7 Scott,

No team will ge disqualified if misses certain milestone.

if you would be interested to discuss further questions I could forward your questions directly to David Perry

#8 We are working on adding FAQ to the contest page, so if you guys have any questions we ill gladly answer them

#9 Just a note to "marketplace project add".

It is David Perry that is the Project Leader

#10 Wow... $1,000,000 ??? Thats a lot of money there...

I've got a couple of questions though... Windows Vista compatibility is a must, is it? And what if I tried to write it in OpenGL, wouldn't that do?? I can't code with DirectX ... :(

#11 Good question, I will surely find theanswer for you. Since nowdays most of the graphic cards support both DX and OGL. Let me get back to you

#12 Ok... I am still a little confused...

You're developing a game with the community, right? And there's a contest for game developers who can develop this game as well? Separately??

What about the milestones? Are they for you guys (who're developing the game with the community) or are they for the other game developers, who are attempting to develop this game separately? ( As in - coding the engine on their own and stuff)

I went through the rules on the website, and from the contest page, what I can gather is that the individual game developers have to unofficially adhere to these milestones ( so they don't become complacent), and have to end up with a game as per the design doc specs, and if Acclaim thinks its good, it gets published... Is that right? Or am I missing something?

Sorry to bother you with a post like this, but there was so much material on your website, that I was just a little too confused...

#13 Game design is done by community, and the contest will determine which dev team gets the contract to finish all the features. Ayy team can enter the contest, there are no other restrictions besides that they should follow the design done by community, however they can activelly participate on design as well.

Contest Milestones are there only to help the teams, that way teams can stay on track and get valuable ad important feedback and comments from community. But milestones are not required, just recomended. You don't have to code engine, you can use any engine you like. But the licence for the engine combined with $100k cash for the winner has to be under 1 million dollars.
Ad it will not be "if Acclaim thinks" David Perry will pick 5 finalist (5 dev teams) and then Top secret community will vote on the winner. So if the community is familiar (since you follow the milestones) and satisfied with your submission chances might be higher for you. And winning team will have opportunity to continue with developing the rest of the features.

Please don't be sorry I'm here to answer all your questions (btw I forwarded your other question to dp).
Don't be discuraged by the dates as well, we are considering to extend the dates.

#14 Thanks a ton for your reply, mate... Will definitely check out the forums (man, they're huge too)...

Personally, I think the idea is a little overwhelming at first... Nonetheless, it looks like a great challenge....

Think I might throw my hat in...

#15 To answer your question yes you can use OGL instead of DX
Remember if you decide to participate, regster on modcenter make your team public. Thta way we can contact you and help you in any way you need. Community is supporting all teams. If you need help finding modelers or concept artists letme know.

#16 Um, so have you actually got a million dollars to spend, right now?

#17 Not me lol
It's Acclaim Games (new one). Acclaim Entertainmet bankrupt. Former CEO of Activision Howard Marks purchased the "Acclaim" name few years back.

This is legit contest. If you wish I can email you contact for David Perry to verify

#18 This is legit contest?

You couldn't even add the A... Doesn't seem very legit to me.

#19 Neil, did you check out the website?
http://www.videogameteam.com

If you don't think it's legit, how can I prove you wrong?

#20 Wow, you mean all we have to do is create a complete game, and you'll pay us a hundred grand for the rights to it?

WHAT A DEAL!!!! I can't wait to spend a significant chuck of my life working my tail off for your benefit.