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Welcome to the DBPro Minimal Media Christmas Challenge 2007! The challenge is a bit of fun for anyone who feels the need to exercise their brain in between mince pies and re-runs of Indiana Jones this Christmas. Below you will find all the rules and information relating to this years competition. If you have any further questions, please visit the competition forum thread here.
Prizes
1st Prize: $100 TGC voucher + GUI Studio
2nd Prize: $50 TGC voucher + GUI Studio
3rd Prize: $50 TGC voucher
Find out more about:
- GUI Studio from Andromedus Software
- The Game Creators
Dates
The competition will run for three weeks from Sunday 16th December 2007, to Midnight on Monday 7th January 2008. The competition will take place on The Game Creators forum in the competition thread here.
Aim
The aim will be to create a game or demo in DarkBASIC Professional which makes creative use of the media provided below. No other media (or plugins) are allowed other than what is provided - all other elements in your entry must be created through pure DBPro code. Your game/demo can be anything you like - although you may be inspired by the Christmassy theme of the provided media! Your entry can be in 2d, 3d or a combination of both. For a more detailed explanation of what is meant by ‘no other media’, see below.
The Media
A big thank you to professional graphic artist David Gervais who has provided the media - a gift wrapped Christmas pressie! It’s minimal, as the title of the competition suggests - and that’s its beauty, as it will lend itself to a whole range of possibilities, from a pick up the boxes sleigh ride game, to a Christmas themed version of break-out, it’s all down to your imagination and coding prowess. It consits of two files - a model in .x format, and its texture in .jpg format. They can be downloaded as a zipped file here: media.zip (14Kb)
To load the model into your program, make sure both the model and the texture are in the same folder as your DBPro project and simply use the command ‘load object’ - the model will be textured with the image automatically. What you do with it then is up to you - so long as you use it in some way. (Note: if you intend to make a 2d program, please see ‘Additional Information’ below)
How to Enter
You may enter your program by posting it at anytime between the start and end date in the competition thread on the TGC forum. Your entry MUST BE IN THE FORM OF A CODE SNIPPET, which is done by pasting your source code into your forum post between [code] and [/code] tags. No additional files are allowed - we only want to see pure DBPro source code. We DO NOT need you to post the media provided above with your entry - just the code. Anyone who wants to try out your program (including the judges) will then simply copy and paste your source code into their project folder containing the provided media.
You may post ‘work in progress’ code if you wish in the competition thread. However, if you post more than one version of your program in the competition thread, you must make it clear which is the final version to be judged.
Judging Panel
Steve Vink (aka Batvink): TGC Newsletter Editor and forum moderator
Ric: Andromedus Software/DBPro Coding Challenges coordinator
What is meant by ‘No other media is allowed’?
You may not:
- load any files of any nature into your program with the exceptions of the provided media, and any files which have been created by your program itself.
- do anything which attempts to ‘get around the rules’, for example, converting a .jpg picture file to a stream of data and pasting it in your code as data statements.
- use any additional plug-ins which do not exist as part of the DBPro language, such as physics or collision plug-ins. The one exception to this is the Advanced Terrain plugin, which is allowed as it is included with DBPro and is effectively part of the language. (If you wish to use AT, you will have to make your program create and save the necessary files in order to load them back into the program for use with the plugin).
- use any code which is not pure DBPro code.
You may:
- use your skill to write code which creates it’s own media. By using, for example, the 2-d drawing commands, 3-d primitives and the ‘get image’ command, you can easily produce textures for sprites and objects. Or by using the memblock commands, you could even write a program which creates it’s own sounds.
- create a level editor as a separate program for producing level data, such as the positioning of objects or sprites. This data may then be manually pasted into your main entry’s source code as data statements, so long as the editor is also written in pure DBPro code, uses no media, and is posted along with your entry as a code snippet. If that’s got you all confused, then just don’t go there!
- use a reasonable amount of data statements in your code so long as the data has been hand coded or produced by your own level editor as described above.
Additional Information
Just because the media provided is a 3d model doesn’t mean your entry must be in 3D. If you want to make a 2D program, it is perfectly acceptable to use the model as a source of getting 2d images, by using the ‘get image’ command, for example. Alternatively, you may load just the texture as an individual image file and grab portions of it for 2d work - in this case, there is no requirement to use the 3d model.
Please keep in mind that just because a program runs well on your machine does not mean it will perform the same for others. Other people who may wish to try out your program (including the judges) may have machines with different specs from yours - you should keep this in mind if you want other people to see what you do - don’t go over the top just because your machine can handle it!
Rules
1. The competition is open to all users of Dark BASIC Professional, except for TGC staff and contest judges. If you don’t have DBPro then grab a trial version from the TGC website.
2. The deadline for entries is Midnight on 7th January 2008 in UTC-8 Time. (That is midnight in Los Angeles, and 8am the following morning in the UK.) To avoid any confusion over time zones, there is a countdown timer at the bottom of this page which shows the absolute time left in all time zones until the deadline.
3. Apart from the provided media, all entries must be in pure DBPro code. Entries must be in the form of a code snippet posted on the competition thread on The Game Creators forum. If for any reason it is not possible to paste your source code as a code snippet (this can sometimes happen if the code is very long), then the code must be attached to your post as a text (.txt) file.
4. All entries must make use of the provided media in some way. This media will reside on the users PC and should not be posted with the entry.
5. Entrants are permitted to enter as many times as they like.
6. The judges’ decision is final.
7. No alternative prizes will be awarded.
8. In entering the competition you agree to abide by all of the rules.
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