10.03.2019 - Round 1 results of our "A Love Letter For FreeBASIC" game dev competition have been published. Please be sure to check the results thread: http://games.freebasic.net/forum/index.php?topic=629.0. Don't forget that the competition is continuing with a round 2, lasting till 29th of April, 300 USD first prize. Stay tuned!

Author Topic: FBGD Gameplay Combo Competition (Nov 2010 - Jan 2011) - 200 $ 1st prize award!  (Read 95579 times)

Lachie Dazdarian

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FBGD GAMEPLAY COMBO COMPETITION

Hello. FBGD is back with another game making competition, this time sponsored with 300 $ (200 $ for the 1st place, 100 $ for the 2nd)! The theme of the competition is - GAMEPLAY COMBINATION. The main goal is to deliver a game that combines various gameplays/game modes in the most interesting and/or innovative fashion. You have a full freedom here to approach the theme on any given number of ways.

For example, you can make a story-driven game like Lodestar (a FB game), where each stage introduces a new part of the story and the stage gameplay is heavily connected to it, or in other words, expresses it. Or, you can go in the direction of Joan of Arc (an Amiga classic), a game that combines strategy (moving troops on the map) and arcade elements (defending/attacking forts), as well as segments that involve real-time tactics (full-scale army battles). Or, you can deliver something completely new and curious, like combine two gameplays happening simultaneously (just brainstorming, no idea how to make something like that). Oh, yes. You can make a World Games type of game, but that's one of the least innovative approaches.

More points goes to entries where the various gameplays are distinctively different, where there is more than 2 of them, where they are connected in a well though-out single entity (story, setting, theme), story-driven or enveloped with some main game mode. The more the different game modes feel lumped one over another, the more most of them appear pointless in the favor of one "main" gameplay, the less the score.

Competition rules:

* the entry must include at least two obviously different gameplays/game modes, connected in a single game
* source code must be provided with the entry
* all libraries wrapped for FreeBASIC are allowed
* the competition entries must be submitted via email or in this thread before the 17th of Jan (Monday), 2011, 20:00 GMT
* the winner will receive 200 $ cash prize paid via Moneybookers, PayPal or in goods payable with PayPal or Moneybookers; the runner-up will receive 100 $ cash prize
* all entries will be evaluated solely by me (Lachie Dazdarian), while one category will be consisted of community votes


Scoring details (same as in the last competition):

Game design (40 points max): The emphasis in this category will be put on how much the designer was imaginative and innovative in delivering different gameplays, how well they combine and play, how much sense they make in a single game, and how much they drive the main theme/story of the game.

Gameplay (10 points max): In this category I will evaluate how much the game is fun and challenging to play.

Progression (6 Points max): In this category I will evaluate the progression in the game (is it present and how much it enhances the play experience).  This will be used to award the entries that feature more depth in comparison to those that don't feature it.

Replay Value (6 Points max)

Graphics (7 points max)

Sound/music (7 points max)

Personal likeness (from 4 to 6 points max)

Community vote (up to 10 points): Depends on the number of entries. I'll try to separate the entries with at least 2 points, depending on their final placement in community vote.


You have about 2 and a half months to complete your entries. Plenty of time to deliver something coherent. You can even deliver something cool if you start in a month, but have in mind you will hardly end up in the first two places if you start developing something during the last week. I advise you to try to work out your entry in the next two weeks, because most likely, you'll need all the time you can get.

Questions and announcements of participation are more than welcomed.

Good luck, and thank you for participating.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2010, 05:30:57 PM by Lachie Dazdarian »
"Things like Basic and Free Basic provide much-needed therapy and a return to sanity and a correct appreciation of people. The arrogant folk really hate a word like 'Basic' - fine, and good riddance." ~ pragmatist

Ryan

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Excellent news, Lachie.  Should pull me out of my coding malaise... been meaning to make a platformer engine using HGE lately.

Or maybe I can just recreate Dwarf Fortress between now and the middle of January!  ; )

For an example game, you might point to Tile Massacre SHMUP.  It's a fun combination of vertical shmup with a little bit of top-down action a la Gauntlet where you have to survive the level you just created and dodge the baddies:

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=9722.0

Brick Break

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This competition kind of reminds me of Superman 64, how they masterfully mixed the gameplay elements of picking up cars and flying through rings. Maybe I'll do something similar.

KristopherWindsor

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I might be in. Maybe. Won't spend the whole winter break on it though. :P

N3trunn3r

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I have a lot of time! And I gonna work 24/7!
I was so waiting for this! :D
« Last Edit: November 03, 2010, 10:29:23 AM by N3trunn3r »

Ryan

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I'm toying with the idea of a "stratformer"... a strategy / platformer combination where your adventures in the platformer level give you resources to build a city in administration levels between each platformer level.  My working name of the game is simple "Outpost", and you will play a squire in the court of some duke who has distinguished himself as an able administrator and adventurous spirit.  The duke sends you off to establish an outpost on his frontier, and with some luck and good leadership you should be able to grow it into a bustling city of commerce / culture / whatever-fits-your-fancy to get promoted to a court baron and awarded the land around your outpost as a hereditary estate.

I'm on the fence between a Metroid style world where you can explore anywhere you are able to complete missions in the platformer levels and a more linear Mario style world.  I want the missions to have some bearing on the general story of the game (i.e. go save this guy so he can help you build your outpost), but given the timeline I'm not sure I'll be able to do enough level design to make it interesting.  Definitely interested in feedback... one thought I had was to keep definite stages representing areas along the frontier but revisit them in later missions with differences in the level itself and in your character's physical abilities.

For the city building strategy part of the game, you'd use resources and personnel gained in the platformer levels to build up some aspect of your city.  I haven't figured out how time will progress yet, but I think it will have to do with how long it takes you to complete missions.  The personality of your various workers will affect how much work they get done while you're away, how good they are at staying on task, how much initiative they take when they've gotten to the end of your explicit instructions, etc.  I'd like to see NPCs have unique names / sprites / personalities, with attributes like Initiative, Endurance, Creativity, etc. and specialists like Soldiers, Engineers, Architects, Artists, etc.  Common laborers can perform well under different specialists, so it behooves you to assign personnel wisely to build the kind of city you want to create.  I'd like to have multiple winning scenarios for the different types of towns this can create.

Any thoughts?

Brick Break

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I'm toying with the idea of a "stratformer"... a strategy / platformer combination where your adventures in the platformer level give you resources to build a city in administration levels between each platformer level.  My working name of the game is simple "Outpost", and you will play a squire in the court of some duke who has distinguished himself as an able administrator and adventurous spirit.  The duke sends you off to establish an outpost on his frontier, and with some luck and good leadership you should be able to grow it into a bustling city of commerce / culture / whatever-fits-your-fancy to get promoted to a court baron and awarded the land around your outpost as a hereditary estate.

I'm on the fence between a Metroid style world where you can explore anywhere you are able to complete missions in the platformer levels and a more linear Mario style world.  I want the missions to have some bearing on the general story of the game (i.e. go save this guy so he can help you build your outpost), but given the timeline I'm not sure I'll be able to do enough level design to make it interesting.  Definitely interested in feedback... one thought I had was to keep definite stages representing areas along the frontier but revisit them in later missions with differences in the level itself and in your character's physical abilities.

For the city building strategy part of the game, you'd use resources and personnel gained in the platformer levels to build up some aspect of your city.  I haven't figured out how time will progress yet, but I think it will have to do with how long it takes you to complete missions.  The personality of your various workers will affect how much work they get done while you're away, how good they are at staying on task, how much initiative they take when they've gotten to the end of your explicit instructions, etc.  I'd like to see NPCs have unique names / sprites / personalities, with attributes like Initiative, Endurance, Creativity, etc. and specialists like Soldiers, Engineers, Architects, Artists, etc.  Common laborers can perform well under different specialists, so it behooves you to assign personnel wisely to build the kind of city you want to create.  I'd like to have multiple winning scenarios for the different types of towns this can create.

Any thoughts?

Let's just play this out in subroutines...

Code: [Select]
do

movementcode()

if collision(player,item) then addtoinventory(item)

if gotallitems() then achievement()

if gotallachievements() then print "YOURE WINRAR LOLOLOLOL"

loop

I don't mean to be harsh, but this makes me think of Simon's Quest or Sim City or some stupid Kingdom Hearts game. It may work, it may even win you the competition, but I don't know.

Personally, I'm just going to make a highly simplified side scroller / tank combat game and call it good. I'm not even going to bother with story. I say, don't pretend to be something you aren't.

Ryan

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Bah, you're no help. :P I don't care about how feasible the project is - I rarely ever finish games for competitions.  If that's your only thought, that's fine, but I'm obviously looking for thoughts on integrating the two types of gameplay, how to think about city building progression, etc.  It's not that much work to make up a few character traits, randomize 'em for different NPCs, and use them to affect the rate of different aspects of outpost development.  I can balance as much as I want once the competition is over.  :)

Brick Break

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Well, as far as winning the competition goes, your competition isn't going to give you honest help and anything you do after the contest won't help. Maybe I'll make a rape simulator- that will be fun.

LordBthry

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Interesting,
I got the link for the competition in my mail yesterday and I think I'll give it a try. If I can think up something descent that is..

I've never programmed a game before in FB. I used FB only for small tools once or twice and that was about 2 years ago. But, I've been thinking of making a game for quite a while and with my very dusted programming skills it will be a nice challenge.

The mandatory source providing part could be embarrassing though.  :P

Brick Break

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Interesting,
I got the link for the competition in my mail yesterday and I think I'll give it a try. If I can think up something descent that is..

I've never programmed a game before in FB. I used FB only for small tools once or twice and that was about 2 years ago. But, I've been thinking of making a game for quite a while and with my very dusted programming skills it will be a nice challenge.

The mandatory source providing part could be embarrassing though.  :P

Welcome to the forum! I can guarantee you that whatever you make will be better than mine.

LordBthry

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Welcome to the forum! I can guarantee you that whatever you make will be better than mine.

Thank you.
IF I make something that is functional before the 17th of january. As yet my ideas are much too complex, I better start thinking of something similar to the games they made in the Atari 2600 era.

vdecampo

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IF I make something that is functional before the 17th of january. As yet my ideas are much too complex, I better start thinking of something similar to the games they made in the Atari 2600 era.

If you have been away from FB for two years I recommend upgrading to the latest version 0.21.

-Vince
Cheers!
-Vince

ssjx

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I'm in too. No idea at the moment what i will make though. It's tempting to do something and stick a puzzle game between levels but that seems a bit too lazy, i ideally want to integrate 2 game types as much as possible (e.g. solving something whilst shooting something!).

@ryan, i like the sound of your idea, sounds very complicated though! I'm not sure how you are thinking of implementing it but to me it sounds like a mash of maybe:

Platform - To get resources/people
Lemmings (or that sort of direct control) - To direct the people to make something for the outpost.
SimCity/Theme Park  - To maintain/build on the resources/people.

I am not sure how you would do missions, you could do timed sections where you have to collect as much resources which then effects a certain threat/obstacle (collecting materials for a wall for example).

Anyways, a very interesting idea! 

Like the previous comps,  i will post various updates throughout.

Brick Break

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Welcome to the forum! I can guarantee you that whatever you make will be better than mine.

Thank you.
IF I make something that is functional before the 17th of january. As yet my ideas are much too complex, I better start thinking of something similar to the games they made in the Atari 2600 era.
Sounds like a good idea, being that FB doesn't have sprite scaling. May I toss around a few ideas?

- Mario meets Contra
- Night Driver meets Adventure
- Yahtzee meets Wolfenstein
- Anything where you have both a top down view and a side perspective