Flash Game Design Competition #4!

Hi Ben - the rule is that a game may not have been previously published on the Web and available to the public prior to the competition deadline.

Publishing a prototype is fine (since prototypes are, by definition, preliminary concepts and are not finished products) as is doing beta testing within a confined group.

We don't want to discourage anyone from entering, and yet we want to keep a level playing field for all those involved.

ah-ha! This time my game is done well before the deadline! Now I get to add sound, and work on additional ideas!

Jay: a question about directories. are we supposed to hide our files in a directory structure, or do we not have to worry about overwriting other people's files, because each game is in it's own subdirectory?
(I assume the second, because you would probably be clever enough to know everyone's going to have a ball.as file)

just wanted to check.

the_corruptor - excellent question!

Yes, please use your own subdirectory, and name it after your game, please.

But you only have to do this if you are loading external files.

Since your Ball.as file is compiled into your game SWF, there's no need to worry about that file hanging around or conflicting with someone else's files.

Ya, the monetary prizes are too big. (Not that I'll be complaining if I win. Which I won't. So there.)

how do you make a game? this may be a very pathetic question to all of you but im really clueless lol!

What about stuff like Shared Objects (Flash cookies). When all our .SWFs are loaded by the stub, won't that stub be generating one cookie for all games that use cookies? Or does it actually create seperate "sub-cookies" for each individual externally loaded .swf files?

Make the release date earlier, please!
I'm too exiteded.

That is another excellent question, Jon.

To avoid name collisions, please preface the name of your shared object with your game name.

For example, if your game is named "BallsOfun" and your shared object is named "savedGame1", then your shared object could be: "ballsOfun-savedGame1".

I'll add this to Monday's competition update. Cheers!

does "switchball" sound at all like a kickback to "within a deep forest", the windows-only downloadable game??

There's a bit of WADForest in SwitchBalls' design that you change the balls' attributes to get past obstacles, but that's about it.

I like Switchballs' concept except that I feel its pacing is a tad slow (however, I played the non-timed game). Of course in tight quarters on high ledges that's usually the norm. It's a good combo of physics puzzles and gray matter. Verrry nice graphics and details.

I liked the many graphics options except it didn't offer a 'windowed' option. (Pet peeve of mine.)

jay,

You might want to contact the writer over at VH1 Game Break, 'cause when reporting the story on CGDC#4 they say that "The theme to make your game is: Best Competition." possibly misinterpreting this from your post "We are introducing an additional (and separate) prize to be awarded to the entry that makes best use of the competition theme..."

Just a heads up.

Thanks, Jon. I saw that too and sent Harold an email about it. Perhaps he's not the one that does the editing for the site? =/

Well I have two more questions.
It just that it is not said so it seems that it is allowed. Can I then post my game on other sites like newgrounds after the competition? And if yes then when? Deadline is 1st of October. On that day or 2nd of October or when results are posted?

Second one is connected to the payment type… Thing is that I can’t withdraw money from PayPal in my country :( Is there a way to send money by other means? Like shipping the check or making a direct wired transfer to my bank account?

Wonderwhy-er - yes, you may publish your games online after the deadline has passed.

Wire transfers are available, but there is a surcharge (usually $25-30 USD). We can mail a check or money order, if you prefer, but since we cannot guarantee delivery internationally, you will have to absorb the risk. We will do our best with what ever options are available to us.

Hi Jay, this has me tempted. Would a game requiring a webcam be allowed?

IainC: I don't think it would be a question of "is it allowed?", but rather a question of "how many would I potentially alienate from this game by relying on hardware not everyone has?"

This is from someone without a webcam. I just see little point in buying one.

Cirr, I realise not everyone will have the hardware; I don't mind losing some audience, I just wondered if I'd still be eligible to enter a wc game.

IainC - I see no reason to disallow a game made for a webcam.

That being said, it is likely to score low in both the "accessibility" and "usability" rubrics.

Thanks, Jay. Actually I do have an accessibility blag - I get a sore wrist using the mouse :D

I really love your JayIsGames Flash Game Design Competitions. This encourage people to be creative and offers them a platform to launch their Flash Games and puzzles.
As person with love and passion for puzzles I really love the puzzles, but most of all your initiative to enable the possibility to anybody with program skills to enter the competition.
Maybe you can also offer the possibility to encourage people with game and puzzle idea's without any program skills and link them to Flash programmers.

Happy Puzzling,
Marcel (p@ssion)

So... I think I'll throw my hat into this competition too, but question, at what point is a game disqualified for not having enouhg ball physics?

For example, if I make a fighting game (this isn't my actual idea, but think it raises a similar enough question), and one of the characters moves is a bouncing ball type attack, is that enough to make it into the competition? I know it'll probably score low on the use of ball physics... but I'm more worried about disqualification than losing... I enjoy making the games/getting feedback enough

Hi Maji - we would rather not disqualify any game, if possible. So, even if your game has only a slight implementation of the theme, then there is a good chance that it will be accepted graciously.

Ahh, cool, this'll be fun, >insert generic concern about keeping withing the time table<

am i allowed to use mochiads (http://mochiads.com/) in the game

hansa - another good question.

This actually came up during a previous competition, and this was my response:

Regarding the use of Mochiads - Although I unequivocally support Mochimedia and its revolutionary Mochiads system, the preloading of competition entries is done by the competition UI, which effectively makes the Mochiads preloader redundant and useless. The ads just won't show up. Sorry.

Is it okay for me to set the framerate to 24 while the game is playing... and reset it when the game is exited?

maji - yes, since you're using AS 3.0, I believe you can set the framerate on-the-fly (though I have not tried or tested it, I'm assuming it works fine.)

That reminds me to make sure the framerate is set to 30 upon return of control back to the GameManager at the conclusion of each game.

Thanks, if anyone else is using actionscript 3, I'm throwing in a frame rate manager class below in the spoiler tags if you're interested (it dynamically adjusts it... kind of counteracting artificial browser frame reduction done by some browsers as well).

insert into your document class var frameManager = new frameRateKeeper(24,this); addChild(frameManager); where 24 is the frame rate you want, then insert the following code into a file called frameKeeper.as package{ import flash.utils.Timer; import flash.display.MovieClip; import flash.display.Stage; public class frameRateKeeper extends MovieClip{ var requestedFrameRate = 30; var frameTracker = 0; var currentFrameRate = 30; var stageInstance; var secondTimer:Timer = new Timer(1000); public function frameRateKeeper(num,sI) { stageInstance = sI; requestedFrameRate = num; currentFrameRate = num; this.addEventListener("enterFrame",function(){ frameTracker += 1;}); secondTimer.addEventListener("timer", adjustFrameRate); secondTimer.start(); } public function adjustFrameRate(ext) { var curRate = frameTracker; if(curRate > requestedFrameRate) { currentFrameRate --; stage.frameRate = currentFrameRate; } if((curRate < requestedFrameRate) && (currentFrameRate < 90)) { currentFrameRate += requestedFrameRate - curRate; stage.frameRate = currentFrameRate; } //trace("stage set: " + currentFrameRate); //trace("actual: " + curRate); frameTracker = 0; //stageInstance.frameRateCounter.text = stage.frameRate; } } }

[Edit: I've uploaded the code to pastebin for easier access. -Jay]

okay two more question
1: am i allowed to enter more then one game??
2: the mochi ad that comes in pauses are those allowed??

hansa -

1) yes, you may enter as many games as you would like.

2) I don't know what you mean by "the mochi ad that comes in pauses". ?_?

with mochi ads that comes in pauses i meant something like this http://mochiads.com/games/base-jumping/

hansa - Ads placed outside of the flow of game play are fine. For example, showing an ad upon selecting "play" from your main game menu.

That being said, no one enjoys having a game interrupted by ads. So you might want to keep that to a minimum or chance having it negatively affect your game's overall score.

I don't have any software that will open .fla files (I'm using Flex to develop my game). Could you please post the code that's inside game1.fla?

raleigh - the code that's in game1.fla is just an example of using the API calls documented above.

The following is AS 3.0 code

On frame 1:
import com.casualgameplay.cgdc.*
stop();
function start():void {
gotoAndStop(10);
}

And on frame 10:
stop();
function reset():void {
// I added this to show reset working
// (for example only)
reset_mc.gotoAndPlay(2);
}
function quit():void {
// use this exactly as written
GameManager.getInstance().gameDone();
}

Ah, I can see it's very simple. Thanks.

hello,

I have a problem with the API calls:
my entry is coded in haxe, but in haxe I can't write toplevel functions. Is it possible to call static functions of a class defined in my .swf instead?

thanks in advance, yours kodi

hello,

please ignore my last post.
i found a solution to my problem with the help of some nice people on the haxe mailing list.

happy coding to everybody participating,

yours kodi

Hi Kodi,

Would you mind posting the answer to your question for anyone else using haxe?

cheers!

hello,

here is how i implement the API in my haxe project:

first, the class methods are made available on the toplevel in the main class' constructor:


public function new () {
Reflect.setField(flash.Lib.current, "start", start);
Reflect.setField(flash.Lib.current, "reset", reset);
Reflect.setField(flash.Lib.current, "quit", quit);
}
// now these methods get called from the master film:
public function start () { /* application start code */ }
public function reset () { /* application reset code */ }
public function quit () {
// a small hack to call the GameManager.gameDone method:
var func = Reflect.field(Type.resolveClass("com.casualgameplay.cgdc.GameManager"), "getInstance");
var gm = Reflect.callMethod(Type.resolveClass("com.casualgameplay.cgdc.GameManager"), func, []);
Reflect.callMethod(gm, Reflect.field(gm, "gameDone"), []);
}


i hope that helps. please ask, if i you need more information,

yours kodi

[Edit: here's a link to the code archived in a code repository. -Jay]

hi jay,
Is it allowed to join the competition as a team ?
thanks

jon - yes, entering as a team is fine.

Is there any limit on how early we can submit a game for the competition?

the_corruptor - there is no limit to how early you may submit your entry.

And for everyone submitting an entry, please post a comment here, or email me directly using the email address at the bottom of the sidebar to the left, if you do not receive confirmation from us that your entry was received within 24 hours after you submit. Thank you!

Is it okay for two people to submit an entry together? IF so, how would prizes be arranged - the money could be split, but what about the Flash CS3 license?

Thanks in advance for your response.

axcho - yes, you may submit an entry as a team. Splitting the prizes is left up to you to work out, though.

Hi, Jay.

I've been trying to get my flash file integrated into your competition stub and I'm having a problem.
My game uses dynamic text boxes and input text boxes for a few things, one that are referenced to variables kept elsewhere in the code. When I load my game through your stub, however, they fail to read the correct variable and remain blank.

I'm trying to read in variables in the _root of the file.
I was wondering if you'd come across this before, or if there is something specific I should do with dynamic text boxes.

Thanks for your time!

P.S. Sorry, I forgot to mention I was using AS 2.0.

Thanks again for your time.

Sorry for the delay in responding, The First Door.

I have not come across any issues with dynamic text boxes or input boxes with loaded SWFs before.

Are you using _level0 anywhere instead of _root?

I'm not sure what to suggest you look at without knowing more about exactly what you're doing in the code and how it's behaving in and out of the UI. If you would like to send me your .fla to my private email address (bottom of left sidebar) I will take a look.

No, I've not using _level0 references, just _root ones. It's very odd! The dynamic text boxes are simply reading in from a variable that is being kept up to date with root level functions.

Thanks for the offer, what I'll do is take another look tomorrow and then get back to you!

Thanks for the response!

TFD

Ok. In the meantime, I'll try to work up an example of the same thing being done and post it here for you.

Well, I've taken another look at it, and can't see why it shouldn't be working. All the dynamic text boxes are simply pointed at a variable such as "_root.game.numberleft" in the Var box in the properties window of Flash.
Thanks very much for the offer of a working example.

I'll take a look at that, and if I still can't find fault I'll try to finish up the part I'm working on and put in more comments on where the code is referencing! It's not really in a very good state to be read by other people right now!

Thanks again for your help,

TFD

TFD - I've uploaded a simple example showing a dynamic text field being updated by incrementing a variable each time the user selects "reset" from the console menu.

http://jayisgames.com/cgdc4/dynamic_text_test.zip

I used the example game1.fla file included with the stub package, modifying it for this test. It's designed to be used within the competition UI stub.

Instructions: Just replace game1.swf in the latest AS2 stub with the game1.swf from the dynamic text test zip file linked to above.

As a note: variables for TextFields are no longer supported in AS 3.0, so it might be a good idea to begin using the .text (or .htmlText) property instead. However, as long as you stick with AS 2.0, the included example should work just fine.

Let me know if there is something more I can do to help.

Hi again, Jay.

Thanks very much for all of your help. I checked out your example and it seemed to work in the same way as mine, I really couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I've now got it all working, however, by using the .text style of updating the text fields and getting details from input fields. I'm actually much more comfortable with this style as it's closer to Java and C which I'm more used to.

Anyway, it's now all working perfectly!

Thank you very much for the time you took to help me and put together that bit of example code. It was a real help.

I look forward to (hopefully) submitting a game in a couple of weeks!

TFD

Glad to hear you've got it working, and that you've decided to ditch the TextField variable.

Now you're ready to tackle AS3.0. ;)

I'm not sure that I'm done tackling AS2.0 yet! ;)

Hi there everbody,
does anyone have a solution to the following problem?
If I run my game in the standalone flash player it runs at 30 FPS without a problem, but if I play it in the browser the FPS drop to ~25 (and to I noticed that effect many times before, but it is particularly annoying in action games involving physics since it disturbs the controls quite a bit :/

The only possible solution I could find so far is this one:
http://board.flashkit.com/board/showthread.php?p=3330768

Yes, I get the same problem when I run my game through a browser. I normally use Firefox, but I get the same issue in IE.

I'm afraid I've not seen a solution, however. I hope you find one if it is causing you problems!

The closest I could find was this:

http://www.actionscript.org/resources/articles/579/8/Flash-Hacks/Page8.html

TFD

Is it just me, or is Switchball an exact clone of Ballance?

The gameplay is indeed similar between the two games, but I don't think it's fair to say it's an "exact clone" since all of the levels and environments are different. Otherwise, Ballance could be viewed as a clone of Marble Madness, which it's not.

I'm not going to be submitting anything to this competition. I was not able to come up with any game ideas. I did come up with a few fun demos, though.

Since I'm not able to participate directly, and since I would still like to participate, I offer this hand: If anyone needs some assistance with beta testing, I'm free.

email

Just remove the spam.

This is ridiculous...if I set the framerate of my game to 30 I get like 20 FPS in the browser. If I set the framerate to 50 I get about 40 FPS in the browser - tadaa, fluent play-back!
I thought my game just eats too many ressources, but the dropping framerate seems to be a problem of flash, in fact. All the calculations COULD be done in a constant time (and it works in the standalone player), but as soon as you play it in any browser you'll get a lower flamerate than intended.

The link I posted before didn't really solve this problem, but here (in the last comment) is something that works for me:
http://www.kongregate.com/forums/4/topics/298

For those of you using actionscript 3, here's my solution to the frame rate problem, its a n object that constantly monitors/tries to adjust the framerate to what you want. It appeared a bit earlier (sorry Jie, I lost hte link/forgot what page it was on that you posted that code dump site thing)

Add the following code to a file called frameRateKeeper.as Then in your main controller, you can initialize it like this: var frameTracker = new frameRateKeeper(30,this); this.addChild(frameTracker); Where this refers to the main stage, and 30 is the frame rate you want.

package{ import flash.utils.Timer; import flash.display.MovieClip; import flash.display.Stage; public class frameRateKeeper extends MovieClip{ var requestedFrameRate = 30; var frameTracker = 0; var currentFrameRate = 30; var stageInstance; var secondTimer:Timer = new Timer(1000); public function frameRateKeeper(num,sI) { stageInstance = sI; requestedFrameRate = num; currentFrameRate = num; this.addEventListener("enterFrame",function(){ frameTracker += 1;}); secondTimer.addEventListener("timer", adjustFrameRate); secondTimer.start(); } public function adjustFrameRate(ext) { var curRate = frameTracker; if(curRate > requestedFrameRate) { currentFrameRate --; stage.frameRate = currentFrameRate; } if((curRate < requestedFrameRate) && (currentFrameRate < 90)) { currentFrameRate += requestedFrameRate - curRate; stage.frameRate = currentFrameRate; } //trace("stage set: " + currentFrameRate); trace("actual: " + curRate); frameTracker = 0; //stageInstance.frameRateCounter.text = stage.frameRate; } } }

[Edit: And here's a link to the code on pastebin.ca. -Jay]

Hey Jay,
Just letting you know that I will unfortunately not be submitting an entry for the competition. School work got way too busy, so I'm glad I'm at least not behind on that. I did get relatively far in developing my game, but it's nowhere near the level of polish I would require before submitting. Also, I was the guy whose file you said you would convert from AS 1.0 to 2.0/3.0, so no worries about that anymore. Perhaps I'll be able to join in contest #5 or 6.
Looking forward to the entries!

- Bean

No worries, Bean!

I understand how busy things can get. Good luck with school, and I hope you're able to spend some time learning AS 3.0 soon, it should make some things in Flash much easier for you! :D

hello,

i have a few questions left:
is there any rule about the context menu?
is it allowed to modify it?
also, is it allowed to switch to fullscreen?

thanks in advance for the answers.

happy coding to the contestants.
i am looking forward to play all the entries,

yours kodi

Man, the heat is on!
Less than a week to go!

All the best to everyone! me included :D

monsterkodi - about the context menu, I need to run a few tests before I have an answer for you. For example, I don't know what happens to the menu if a loaded swf modifies it and then is unloaded without reverting it back to the way it was.

As for full screen, yes, full screen mode will be supported, but I intend to have the GameManager revert back to normal when a game finishes.

I hope to have one last update soon to give a more comprehensive answer to your questions.

Hey guys, what's a good maximum size for my .swf ? My entry is almost ready, but I have some elaborate music cooked up; I want to be sure the download doesn't take a painfully long time.

Thanks! Can't wait... this will be my first entry to the JIG contests. Long-time reader, first-time competitor...

Z - good question. I think that 1 or 2 megabytes is fairly common for Flash games, but I've also seen some at 5 or 6. If you're working within the Flash IDE, you can use the "Simulate Download" function to experience for yourself downloading your game at various speeds.

Although there is no restriction on filesize, I would suggest no greater than 5-7MB.

I'm joining Bean in the category of developers who were going to but end up not entering the competition. I scrapped my entire game a week ago, and the new game finally has 2.5d ball physics working... annnnnd no gameplay...
So best of luck to everyone else still in the runnin!
-Daniel

Per request, I have added two public functions to the GameManager for enabling and disabling the console menu.

Use these only if you feel it will interfere with the gameplay of your entry and if you wish a more dynamic approach to disabling it only during gameplay.

GameManager.getInstance().enableConsole();
GameManager.getInstance().disableConsole();

So far, I have only an updated version of the AS2 stub available. If you are using AS3 and wish access to these functions, please let me know.

Along with the new stub available (at the same link as before) the included game1.fla example file has been updated to illustrate the use of these functions through the right-click context menu.

An updated AS3 Stub is now available with support for enabling and disabling the console menu as mentioned above.

http://jayisgames.com/cgdc4/CGDC4_AS3_stub.zip

(Note, this is optional. Use these new functions only if you believe the console menu may interfere with the game play of your entry.)

If you do wish to use these new functions, you will have to update your cgdc.swc library with the new version, also included in the stub zip file.

I'm trying to work out a sponsorship agreement for my game (in case I don't win anything). It's likely that I won't close a deal before the deadline on Monday. This is kind of a long shot, but would it be possible to submit my entry before the deadline, like normal, and then if I get a sponsorship deal in time, give you a branded version to replace it with before you put the contest entries online?

Thanks and good luck to everyone frantically working to finish their entries this weekend!

Yes, that will be fine, axcho.

Really? Wow, thanks, that should really help in getting a sponsorship. :) What day will the entries be published?

Now all I have to worry about is the contest deadline... X(

i sent my games to competition4@jayisgames.com
and i received those tow emails
Delivery Status Notification (Delay)
Delivery Status Notification (Failure)
i will try send them from yahoo

axcho - entries will be rolled out one at a time as we have done before beginning shortly following the deadline. It's safe to assume the first entry will be published on Tuesday.

abbas isa - I have heard reports from others as well who have had trouble mailing in their entry. You may connect to anonymous FTP and upload your entry if you continue to have problems with email.

ftp.jayisgames.com

Create a new directory in the "incoming" directory, and then send an email to the competition4 address notifying us that your game has just been uploaded.

Thank you!

Did anyone get the swc's working with flashdevelop? I keep getting a "no value was found for required element uri."

I wish I could help you, grapefrukt, but I do not use FlashDevelop myself, although I have read great things about it.

The best I can do is point you to this page, though I am uncertain whether it will help you at all (note instructions in 3rd post down)...

http://www.flashdevelop.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=292

Good luck with it. I hope you are able to get your game compiled using the SWC library.

i uploded my games on
ftp://ftp.jayisgames.com/incoming/abbas%20isa/

i was trying to send my games in last 4 days on
competition4@jayisgames.com but it didnt work

i dont get all the api so i uploded the fla files
so maybe my games need some api changes

am i in?
please notify me

thank you

It would seem that I need a Flex compatible swc. But exactly how to get one of those out of Flash CS3, I don't know.
I'll be back once I know a bit more what I need.
If worse comes to worst I guess I could move the game back to CS3 and compile it in there, but that would be a bit of work.

abbas isa - entry recieved. Thank you!

grapefrukt - as far as I know, the SWC library is compatible with Flex. In the book, Essential Actionscript 3.0 by Colin Moock, there are instructions for using .swc-based class library in Flex Builder 2.

I can send you those instructions if you think that will help.

Hey i was just wondering as I was testing my game in the AS3 stub I realised that when you exit the game the music for it doesn't stop playing but if I stop it in the quit function it just throws an error. Is this fixed in the new one or is there something I should do.

2 days :)

thepp - how have you implemented sound in your game? What type of error are you receiving?

I have not heard of this happening before.

I'd be happy to take a look at what you're doing in the code if you want to send me some examples.

Thanks for the quick reply Jay but I fixed it :)

And good luck to everyone entering

Entry submission update

There is a problem with the SMTP server on Jayisgames at the moment and the issue is being looked into.

In the meantime, please send your entries to my email address at the bottom of the left sidebar.

And please make sure you receive a confirmation from me that I have received your entry.

Thank you!

Thanks for the new email address Jay. Please tell me if you received my game this time.

Kind regards,
Bart Koning

Hi Tsuken, yes, entry received!

Thank you for resending your entry, and again I apologize for the mail server issues.

Hi, Jay.

This is going to sound really odd, but I've got the game pretty much finished and working in your stub code, but it seems like it is stretching the pieces a little for some reason. It's not a big deal, just looks odd as I'm so used to seeing them slightly differently!

TFD

TFD - your game shouldn't be stretched by the competition framework, it simply loads in the game and doesn't apply any scaling to it.

Do you care to send me a couple of screen shots so I can take a look? Please use my gmail address in the sidebar.

Hi, Jay.

I've just sent off the pictures now!

TFD

Thanks for all your help, Jay.

I've submitted my game to your competition email address. Is that right, or would you prefer it sent straight to you?

TFD

Thanks TFD!

Please send your entry directly to my gmail address. The mail server issues are still not worked out yet, unfortunately, and no mail is getting through at the moment.

Thanks!

Good god. That was horrible. But, it's "done" now.

(that's my way of telling you that I submitted a game)

Hi everyone,

I created this game for my Computer Graphics class to learn OpenGL: http://www.cs.rit.edu/~rjy2985/Gnopv1-0.zip I would have liked to enter it for this competition, but it is in C++, not Flash.
I really want to learn Flash, but I don't think I would have time to learn it in the hour before this competition ends. :) So feel free to download the game and enjoy! (Just try to ignore the somewhat buggy collision detection. :) )

-Rob

Jay: I just uploaded my team's game, "Space Kitteh". Please acknowledge that you got it! Thanks :D We are very proud.

Hi Jay! Didn't know about the email error earlier. Got bounced back. I just sent the game swf to the gmail account. Please acknowledge receipt. Thanks!

Good luck everyone :D This is the first time I've entered. How long does it take before the games are online at JIG? Are the winners chosen before they are put up or afterwards?

"Wooty tooty flip-bam-booty!"
lol XD