Update: the competition is over. Thanks to all who entered!!
Following is a list of finalists into our 3rd Flash Game Design Competition (in order of appearance). Click the game icon to go to the review page for that game.
Note: Some developers have chosen to update their entries based on feedback they received from the community, indicated by "(updated)". Please refer to each entry's comment thread (link provided) for details.
Competition Finalists:
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Factory Balls ...by Bart Bonte | |
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Roll ...by Ben Gillbanks | |
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The Tall Stump ...by Team MAW (Adam Wilkinson, Alex May and Handre DeJager) | First Place & Audience Award |
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Absolute Awesome Ball Game (updated) ...by Felix Reidl | Second Place |
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Day of the Bobteds ...by Rob Allen | |
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Mr. MothBall ...by Mateusz Skutnik | |
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Save the Planet (updated) ...by Rob Gray | |
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The Perfect Shot (updated) ...by Dan Black | |
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Stranded ...by Bart Koning | |
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Angular Momentum ...by Robert Berrier and Roland Ariens | |
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Kaichou (updated) ...by Ali Maunder | |
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Koogel ...by monsterkodi | |
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Osmosis (updated) ...by Phillip Reagan | |
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Space Kitteh ...by Zach Archer and Miles Johnson | |
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Rmvblls ...by Eduardo Omine | |
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Contour ...by Sean Hawkes | Best Use of Theme |
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Sky Blocs (updated) ...by Tom Methven | |
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Ballonius (updated) ...by Aaron Cox and Graham Jans | |
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Balancing Act ...by Carl Foust | |
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Jig Easy, Sam ...by Matt Slaybaugh | |
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Ballrooms (updated) ...by Dom Camus | |
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Ballistic Wars (updated) ...by Wan Hazmer | Third Place |
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Chap Hai - Way of the Dragon ...by Wildsnake Software | |
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Particle Blaster ...by Gareth Thomas | |
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Fluke Ball (updated) ...by Andrew Paradise and Georg Pedersen | |
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Bug Bug in Sky Tower (updated) ...by Aqui Griffin | |
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Bisection Dominion (updated) ...by Guilherme S. Töws | |
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Entropic Space ...by Will Emigh, Ian Pottmeyer and Rory Starks |
Other entries submitted:
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Event Horizon ...by the_Corruptor | |
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Roped! ...by Damir Srpèiè | |
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Brownie Motion ...by Lopsidation | |
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Moon Duster ...by Jorge Goyco | |
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Backfire ...by David Durham | |
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Asteroid Pilot ...by Sebastian Mayer | |
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Jabo ...by Eugene Karataev and Artem Popov | |
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JayIsAdventure ...by Ugur 'tomsamson' Ister, Chris 'daydream' Hildenbrand, Aleksander 'T1ger' Mork Strand, Desi A.K.A. 'Psykopig', and David 'Phreax' Hansen | |
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Spin Ball ...by Rey Gazu | |
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Heavy Metal Goreblood Extreme of Death 800X ...by Martin Jonasson | |
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Decon ...by LTD Studios (Kevin Mintmier and Mutizwa Chirunga) | |
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Break Into ...by Derek Brandao | |
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Lynz (updated) ...by Eric Whitmire | |
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Explode Ball for High Score ...by Ian Barber and Ben Gray | |
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Mathematigolf: The CGDC Open ...by David Beers | |
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Bubbles 2 ...by Manuel Fallmann | |
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Bounce (updated) ...by Daniel Vandali | |
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Two Ball (updated) ...by Jerry Liu and Charles Zinn | |
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UFootball ...by Luís Lampreia | |
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Nightmare ...by wonderwhy-er |
(Wooty tooty flip-bam-booty!)
Here we go again: you, casual gamer / game designer / Flash whiz, design a game in Flash (at least AS 2.0) that incorporates our theme (see below). It doesn't have to be complex nor large in scope, in fact since you will have only 8 weeks to complete your design, simple ideas are probably the way to go.
For the 4th Casual Gameplay Design Competition, we are asking for entries that incorporate this theme: BALL PHYSICS. As before, you are free to interpret that any way you choose; however, the extent to which your game addresses the theme is left up to the competition judges to decide. Also, your game must not have been in general release (publicly available to play on the Web) prior to the deadline of the competition.
Use your imagination and be creative. We will create a collection of the best entries submitted to the competition just like we have done before. Impress us with your game design and production skills and you will score fame, recognition, prizes, as well as a proper review of your work by the JIG Casual Gameplay review staff.
Every competition is a learning experience for us here at JIG, and we do listen to your feedback. Judging, however, is a highly subjective process and we work hard to score every competition fairly and to the best of our ability. You may be pleased to learn that we are going to try something new this time:
We are introducing an additional (and separate) prize to be awarded to the entry that makes best use of the competition theme...
- 1st place:
- $2,500
- (1) Adobe Flash CS3 Professional license
- (1) Swichball game from Sierra Online
- 2nd place:
- $1000
- (1) Adobe Flash CS3 Professional license
- (1) Swichball game from Sierra Online
- 3rd place:
- $500
- (1) Swichball game from Sierra Online
- Best use of competition theme:
- $500
- (1) Nintendo Wii* - (*subject to availability. If the prize is unavailable at the time it is awarded, a substitute prize or the retail value of the prize will be awarded instead.)
- (1) Swichball game from Sierra Online
- Audience award:
- as before, determined by JIG community popular vote and worth at least $200.
- (1) Swichball game from Sierra Online
See below for a list of judging criteria and additional specifications including stage size and a few simple API calls your game must support.
Like previous competitions, your game will appear in a collection for the site, so it must support our specifications and our very simple API listed below. If you do not know how to support our API even after reading the specifications below, you will need to send us the final .fla file 48 hours prior to the competition deadline so we can add the appropriate support for you.
By submitting an entry to the competition, you grant Jayisgames.com and CasualGameplay a permanent, non-exclusive license to host the game, either individually or as part of a larger collection. We will always include credit to the original author and display a link to you or your sponsor's site, if desired. Please provide us with your name, shipping address, preferred link (optional), and PayPal account name (for Audience prize voting) when submitting your entry.
Once you have your game polished and ready to go, send it to: [email protected]
The deadline for entries is
Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 11:59PM (GMT-4:00).
So, start the brainstorming and get ready to wow us!
Friends of Jayisgames: Please help spread word of this competition by posting a note along with a link to this entry on your blog or website. Feel free to use this banner to link back to us. Thank you kindly!
Our warmest appreciation and kind thanks to our other sponsors of this competition, all of them generously supporting the indie Flash game development community and helping to make this competition our biggest one yet:
Please help us by visiting each of them to show your support as well.
Judging criteria, specifications and the finer details of submitting an entry follow...
Each entry will be judged based on a set of rubrics, or metrics, that have been established for these competitions. The characteristics we look for and score on are as follows:
- How well does the game address the overall theme of the competition?
- How well does the game design show evidence that the designer explored methods or ideas that broke free from traditional ideas and concepts, thus showing imagination and creative expression?
- Was the game engaging? How well did it "suck you in?"
- Was the game compelling? To what extent did you find yourself going back to it until you completed it?
- Was the game fun? To what extent did you enjoy playing the game?
- How well does the game design promote or contribute to "replay value"?
- How well does the author make use of the visual medium?
- How well does the author make use of the aural medium?
- How well does the design address usability concerns?
- How well does the design address accessibility (deaf, hard-of-hearing, colorblind) concerns?
Each rubric is scored based on the following scale: (S) Exceeds expectations; (A) Very good; (B) Satisfactory; (F) Fails to meet criteria, or less than satisfactorily.
Your game will be loaded from an external swf into a common UI. Therefore, there are a couple of issues you must be aware of:- Your stage size must be the same as the UI, 640x480.
- The background color of the common UI will be black (#000000). Therefore your game must either look good against a black background, or you will need to include a rectangle filled with the color you wish to appear as the background, and of the same size of your stage, on your main timeline.
- Frame rate should be set to 30 fps, as that will be the frame rate of the common UI that loads the external game swf files.
- Preloading your game will be handled for you, therefore you do not need to include a preloader with your game (but having one shouldn't cause any problems either.)
- AS2 games only: Your game will be loaded with _lockroot set to true, which means references to _root in your game will continue to reference the main timeline of your game; however, you may not use references to _level anywhere in your code. (If you do not know what this means, you probably don't have anything to worry about.)
- AS2 games only: For Sound objects to function correctly in loaded SWFs, when instantiating new Sound objects you must pass a reference to the movieclip that's doing the instantiation, such as:
var mysound = new Sound(this);. If you leave out "this" your game will have no sound when loaded.
The common UI is designed to provide a consistent interface with which to easily navigate through each of the competition entries. To facilitate a smooth and functional common UI, your game must support our very simple API: applies to both, AS2 & AS3 games...
- start() - a function in the first frame of your game that gets called by the common UI (GameManager class) to start the game. This function will not be called until after your game has finished loading. Therefore, your game should remain on its first frame until it receives a call to start().
- reset() - a function in your game that is called to reset the game to its initial state/menu. It must exist so the GameManager can call it when the player selects "reset" from the common UI controls.
- quit() - a function in your game that is called to quit the game and return to the main competition UI menu. It must exist so the GameManager can call it when the player selects "quit/menu" from the common UI. This function must make the following call: GameManager.getInstance().gameDone(); // use this exactly as written.
If your game contains a win condition, be sure to create an appropriate ending to the game. Do not simply call the GameManager's gameDone() function without some congratulatory message to the player first, or the player will be disappointed and points will be taken off your entry. A few entries did that in our first competition and players were confused as to whether the game had been completed correctly.
Stub UI shells: The following zip files contain all the files you will need to test your game within the framework of the competition UI shell. Please use the one that corresponds to the version of Actionscript you are using:
For AS3 games, included is a .SWC library that you will need to compile your game with once the API calls are implemented. Instructions for including it in your game are also included.If you have any questions at all about these specifications, please post a comment here and we will address it quickly for you.
Update 1- Can a commercially developed physics package be used? - Yes, we see no reason to exclude these since we do not examine source code while judging. That being said, we also feel that the winner of the competition need not be the one with the best physics implementation. Please refer to the judging criteria to understand what we will look for in your entry.
- Can a game entry load external data or other SWFs? - Yes, your game may load external data or SWFs. However, if you plan to write data to an external site, as with a high score table hosted at your site, then you will need to add a Cross Domain Policy XML file to your site for it to work properly. See the comments for information about getting one set up. (Thanks, Daniel!)
- Are 2D circle collisions and reactions acceptable in this competition? - Yes, of course. Your game need not include realistic 3D ball physics like that seen in Switchball. As with prior competitions, you are free to interpret the competition theme any way you choose.
- How can we avoid name collisions with shared objects? - If you plan to incorporate saving of data to the local shared object, please prefix 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".
- Are new stubs available? - Yes! I have just finished readying new stubs based on the final UI from the previous competition. Get them here.
- Are there any file size restrictions for competition entries? - No. However, you should be aware that games that require excessive load times may be marked down in the usability category.
- Would a game requiring a webcam be allowed? - Yes. But again, you can expect some loss of points scored for accessibility as well as usability.
- My country does not allow PayPal withdrawals. Is there a way to send money by other means? - If your game entry is one of the prize winners, then we will make every effort available to be sure you receive your prize money. For Audience prize donations that cannot be sent via PayPal, however, there is a $25-$30 fee for wire transfers, depending on the country it is going to.
- Am I allowed to enter more than one game? - Yes, you may enter as many games as you like, as long as each entry follows the guidelines and specifications for the competition.
- Are we allowed to enter the competition as a team? - Yes, you may enter as a team. Please be sure to provide all names associated with the game upon submitting the entry.
- Are Mochiads allowed? May I use the ads that appear during pauses in the game? - The preloading of competition entries is handled by the competition UI, which effectively makes the Mochiads preloader redundant and useless. The ads just won't show up. As for ads that come during pauses, 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.
- For AS3.0 games: Is it okay for me to change the frame rate while the game is playing... and reset it when the game is exited? - Yes, you should be able to do that without issue to the competition UI. In fact, I can be sure the frame rate is reset back to 30fps once each game hands back control to the GameManager.
- Is there any limit on how early we can submit a game for the competition? - No, 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!
- If we have external files that our game uses, should we place them in a sub-directory? - Yes, if your game uses or loads external files (images, swfs, etc), then please place them in a sub-directory named the same as your game. While I don't anticipate any conflicts, it is possible. Creating unique sub-directories should help avoid any potential conflicts.
- Will full screen mode be supported? - Yes, your game may switch to full screen mode if you wish. The competition UI will reset back to normal mode automatically when the player quits from your game and returns to the competition collection UI.
- Are we allowed to change the right-click context menu? - Yes, your game may create its own right-click context menu for use during your game with no consequence to the competition UI.
- I'm concerned the console menu that drops down from the top may interfere with the gameplay of my entry. What can we do? - If you think the console menu may be an issue, we can disable it for the duration of your game provided that you create a Quit-to-menu option on your main game menu that calls the GameManager function gameDone(). If you think this may be an issue, please email me about it and we'll work something out.
YAY!
thanks jay..
let the games begin ^.^
That was fast! Most of out mainstays will be all designed out! But still, I can't belive this one's being sponsored by Sierra Games. An I must find a way to work "wooty tooty flip-bam-booty" into a conversation.
YAY!
but...
ball... physics?
images of playpen balls are appearing in my head... ahhhh!!!!
i hope we don't get too many similar games.
please no billiards
So if I wanted to make a game for this is there any specific flash game making program to use?
Amazing!, funny theme to.
awesome. Even though Jay foreshadowed this... just awesome.
Could it be that the theme was SOMEHOW inspired by GFB? Fortunately, I've already been inspired by GFB's physics myself, and started work on it. BTW: GFB is extra cool because it incorporates the simplest physics possible - yet, doing them realistically turns out to be hard. So I am more impressed with Wouter yet again, for both simplicity and difficulty.
ball physics tutorial: an excellent oft-referenced one is Pool Hall Lessons, at Gamasutra (or google cache here). Anyone found any other good ones?
I love the "incorporate theme prize", as a way to avoid the previous controversies. Surprising. Logical. Wooty.
I can't believe the increase in prize money (let alone the frequency!). How long til it is a monthly comp, with a $10,000 prize?
I hope it never gets to be that much money...
then you would have giant studios, whereas i feel this helps the independent game developer..
it would be better that there were just a bunch of prizes given out instead of big money prizes (like this competition :P)
Cynbel - Adobe offers a 30-day trial, unfortunately the development period is now almost 60 days, so that may not work for you.
As an alternative, Flash development can be done with the Flex 2 SDK available free from Adobe's website. There are excellent books available on AS 3.0 that even discuss these alternatives to working in the Flash IDE.
Thank you, yow. ^_^
Michael Battle has a nice AS 2.0 ball physics tutorial available, which is where I got the code I used for the theme SWF above.
And I agree with OfficiallyHaphazard. I would like very much to keep these competitions relatively small in scale to give the smaller dev teams and individual designers a place to strut their stuff. :D
Jay your coming up on the big life. Congrats. Sierra is sponsoring! I wish to all the participants luck and I wish to play all your games!
Oh man it's time to put my thinking cap on. That theme is rather specific and I feel like it suggests a certain type of game. Coming up with something that stands out as unique will be a challenge!
But then again, last time I tried something I thought would be unique and like four other people did the same thing.
Maybe I should do a BALLroom dancing sim. Try not to bump into the other dancers!
Jay, you rock; I love the theme. This is right in my field, I think I may have a fighting chance here. Good luck to everyone.
I'm a little worried that you put an award for best use of the theme, when there are really only two choices here on how to win that. You could go for a nice little pun, and, as Carl Foust mentioned, use the other meaning of the word ball, or you can use real ball physics, in which case, I dont see how you can judge which is the most.. physical or, most ballsey ;-)... Oh well, either way I'm sure we'll get another game as great as gfb and the decision will be clear.
Ball physics? Why can I imagine half the entries being either: pinball/gravity games, or physics games where you have to put objects in the right place to get the ball to the end of a course... The theme seems to immediately bring a mind set to this player's idea of the games. Hopefully I'll be surprised with something new and different!
Does anyone else feel that this theme is a little incongruous compared to the other themes? The previous two competitions were themes whereas ball physics seems to be a pretty specific game element...
@Na: anticipate the unanticipated!
Maybe this will help someone too:
http://www.tonypa.pri.ee/vectors/start.html
OMG! So soon after the last competition! i got home from holiday yesterday to find this sitting at the top of the RSS feed!
There are many ways to interpret this theme, from snooker/pool to the BRILLIANT Ball revamped type thing by JMTB02. i can see quite a few things like that coming out.
Thanks a bundle for these competitions, I love seeing the entries and it gives me something to focus my attention on (even if I don't make the competition)
Wow, a new competition already. I thought maybe this time I could participate but sadly no, this was too soon for me. I must now concentrate on my master's thesis. The subject would have been so great for me as I love mathematics and physics behind the games. I wish I can take part next time.
Oh, there has been some conversation about what to use to create games for these competitions as Adobe Flash is a commercial software and most of us do not have license.
As Jay already mentioned there is a 30 day license to try it freely but there is also totally free (no trial periods) alternatives that are quite rarely mentioned. One of them is MTASC which is simply a compiler for AS2. This means you can use any text editor to write your code and then compile it with MTASC. MTASC is almost fully compatible with Adobe Flash actionscript classes. Using swfmill (it's free too) you can also add stuff like images and fonts to library. Well, the best thing is that you can use MTASC+swfmill in Linux too :)
Waking Life Demo 2 that can be found on ooPixel's website is compiled with MTASC+swfmill. Sorry for advertising, but this is simply to show that you really can make games with it :)
There was a flash game I saw that would fit right in to this comp. Momentumn Missle Mayhem or some such. Let me find a link.
https://jayisgames.com/archives/2007/06/momentum_missile_mayhem.php
Thanks for the tutes, jay and tonypa (I really like your Flash animations of the concepts)
I'm excited to see two contests happening so close to one another! I missed the last one, but I think I'll be making a game this time around... this should be interesting!
Woohoo! Very much looking forward to this. The theme is interesting, as it is far more specific than 'replay' (which seemed far too general for me), but offers more possibilities than you might think at first glance.
Woaw !
I really digg the "best implementation of the theme" prize :). It's going to be hard to imagine a very original use of the theme, but the challenge is deeply interesting :).
After all, if all entries are going to use alternative ideas on "ball physics", maybe a simple billard game will sound "original" ;) (just kidding).
Thanks Jay for this competition, and good luck to all entrants ! :)
Ball physics? That's kind of a lame topic.
I'd like to see a programmer make a game that fits the topic but doesn't involve actual physics simulations of balls.
I can not resist a game that involves balls.
madd
Man, I spend so much time already playing GFB...if this competition yields a game only half as addicting, I'll have to move back to my parents' basement and buy a case of Cheetos.
I think I'll enter this one. Looks like a very fun/maybe funny hehe competition. Of Course this is my first one so I may not do a very good job but at least I still have some time in my hands plus making a flash game will help me in the future. :D
Maybe I'm in the minority, but it seems like this site is 90% contests right now. They seem to have taken over, and I find myself visiting much less often since that has happened.
i have a GREAT idea for this but i don't know how to use flash. anyone want an idea? lol!
can't wait to see the entries!
DDams - the idea for 'best use of the them' prize was actually due to a conversation you and I had over email, so I cannot take credit for coming up with the idea. :D
So, my kind thanks for that. Your feedback was very helpful to me.
sounds like an awesome competition. I'm not sure if I'd try to enter this, cause my concepts are never even as good as the runners up.
lets hear it for some great ideas!
Whoa, Already! Man, it's like this: [cgdc #3] two or so games, cgdc4! wow!!!
Do we have to have a Paypal account to enter?
No, a PayPal account is not required to enter, but it does help me in disbursing any proceeds received from the audience voting.
If you do not have a PayPal account, the charge to wire transfer the money is $25 USD, unfortunately. If there is a less expensive means for sending money internationally, I'm open to suggestions.
I'd just like to note that whoever does a game about testicles for this competition will have my vote. :D
Erm, I don't understand the start() and reset() and gameDone() parts. Do you have to code those functions in, or does it mean it does it for you? Where would you code it in? Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I haven't learn't functions yet (only stuff like this._x and onClipEvents).
Ball Revamped developer has already won if he enters, the physics on those games are awesome.
Lopsidation - If you download the stub from competition 2, you will find an example file with the functions all coded properly.
Download the file and look at puzzle1.fla to see what I mean.
Let me know if you continue to have questions.
Evan - implementing good physics doesn't guarantee a win, an entry must also be fun to play and score well in other areas, too. Ball Revamped is ineligible for entry as it has already been published to the Web.
Furthermore, a precise physics implementation is not necessarily required for entry either. We have seen some very creative interpretations of the theme in past competitions, and I wouldn't want to narrow the mindset by suggesting that 'ball physics' implies a technically precise implementation.
This looseness of interpretation is the reason why we created a separate prize category, so that we have more freedom to reward creativity apart from the other criteria.
I hope to see physicists playing ball...
It's on!!!! I just don't know if I can wait 2 months to see all the entries. Good luck to everyone.
ZOMG.....I love sierra...they have created my favorite game of all time,"The Incredible Machine Contraption" series.Plus...my fave part about it...the ball physics!Other games I like...."Brain Strainer"...Line Rider...etc.This is gonna be the best one yet...and I can't wait to try the games out!
I just love these competitions, they inspire people to create new things that they would otherwise not attempt. The competitions also produce some of the finest games on the internet!
An interesting fact about the flash box at the top of the page with all the balls.
if you zoom in twice, the color will change from green to blue
Best games from Sierra are:
King's Quest Series
Space Quest Series
Leisure Suite Larry Series
Jones in the Fast Lane
I don't really get it, but OK...
I LOVE physics games, and it is gonna be great to see a bunch put together like this, easy to switch and find another.
Good luck designers, and happy gaming to all!
I don't think the contestants will all be "that and that". When the "grow" competition was out, we also all expected oh it will be a lot of like that you know "grow-series", but actually not a single contestant did that.
Yes! :D This is great! You know, the first word I ever said was "ball." And I love physics games! So I'm sure to win this contest! (maybe?) :p
Time to dig through my game idea folder and start brainstorming! :)
By the way, I just started a brainstorming thread for the contest on the Fun-Motion forums. Please feel free to go there and join in on the discussion.
"We are introducing an additional (and separate) prize to be awarded to the entry that makes best use of the competition theme..." ... well this has obviously sprung from the controversy around the replay theme, but you would have had a hard job deciding who to award this prize to in CGDC3... and would have had maybe just as much controversy. with such a specific theme this time around i can only wish the judges good luck!
Great to see another competition though, thankyou Jay and gang (and sponsors) for putting on this show for us, and best of luck to all competitors.
I really hope to see some sort of breakout type games in the future but, nonetheless, here's a welcome celebration to the 4th Flash Game Design competition.
Jay, ya need a banner thread started ASAP. It's hijacking this thread and I'm just as guilty as everyone else. The 4th competition deserves its own discussion.
Hooray! I've been waiting for this. This is the first one I'm going to join and now I finally have a good idea that's could really be awesome. I'm going to start designing right away!
I'm so excited I pretty much woke up and spent the whole day working on my game. I've got a ball bouncing around and I made a few animations for my player character, but the collisions are still a little wonky. The game itself won't be revolutionary, but I hope the style and setting will be endearing enough that people will like it.
tonypa: I've already made good use of that page and your tile game tutorial is helpful too. Thanks!
Great theme. I actually thought the theme of comp3 would generate more action games than puzzlers, I was somewhat wrong. Now I think it again. It could also attract a lot of different developers maybe to the show.
Ball physics could be a difficult topic though in terms of coding, which possibly means it isn't really a invitation to beginners. But I'm sure there are some nifty concepts in the air that don't use advanced collission systems and can create a wonderful game too.
It's not that I really want to use a existing engine, (but maybe, and maybe someone else), but I'd like to open the discussion on the use of fisix or ape . I don't know how easy it is to use these engines, but i can imagine developers could take benefit from it and use there time for creating graphics, storyline and levels instead of breaking their heads on math for 2 months. I mean it's about the game, not about the coding, is it?
so Jay, can we use these?
I hope to see an entry from Keith Peters too this time, so if you're reading this ... :)
Oh yeah, there's flade too, from the same developer of ape. Fisix and Ape are for as3, flade is for as2.
@Wouter: Fisix's demo of "Mona the Ragdoll" is amazing. omg.
awesome.
can we still enter more than one game?
I see no reason to exclude the use of physics engines, since a game must still be of good design and be fun to play to win.
And the winner need not be the game with the best physics implementation anyways, so use whatever you need to get the job done. :)
And yes, giftedweasel, you may enter as many games as you wish. :)
awesome :D
oh, and would the shadow hands, that I've posted a prototype of the engine on the internet (which I believe you saw)count as published online, and therefore un-usable?
Fisix is quite easy to use.
Is there a new game complience stub or should I use the CGDC2 one? (please say there is a new one, the old graphics are getting boring!)
Can we load external data? Like xml-files?
Ok. I have never programmed Flash in my life, but I am following jay's advice to Cynbel above and downloaded and extracted the Flex 2 SDK. In the readme, it instructs you to "Read the Installation Instructions on the Flex Documentation Resource Center." Which eventually leads to: http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/flex/2/install.html#installingflex2sdk
But I am confused by the following instruction:
5. Ensure that Java SDK is installed on the computer and that the java_home/bin directory is defined in the system path. JDK 1.4 or 1.5 is required. For JDK 1.4, JDK 1.4.2_06 or later is required.
Help, please. This contest really has me interested in learning Flash programming.
I'm not in over my head, am I?
giftedweasel - I'm not sure how to answer that one. If your submitted game is virtually the same as your prototype, then I would say that it has already been published. If, however, the prototype has little to no resemblance to your final submitted game, then I'd say you're ok.
T1ger - yes, your game may load external files.
Cornelius - Only you can answer that question. Pursuing Flash development via the Flex 2 SDK route may present a greater challenge for you than using the Flash authoring environment.
I highly recommend picking up the Essential Actionscript 3.0 book to get a feel for what you're up against.
I do all of my coding in FlashDevelop.
It's a great development environment and it's free. Can't beat that price.
Wow great competition. And it is in my theme too :) But I have questions. Will it be allowed to make a game that downloads some info from remote server? In my case levels. I had some plans for a game with level editor and possibility to send/save/load/rank levels...
I've been watching and enjoying these competitions since they first came out. I regularly read your reviews and was delighted when you started doing your own competitions. I just wanted to say thank you to Jay and the team for all their hard work organising them.
I hope that I'll be able to submit something in this competition, with the longer development time! I've got something on the go for this competition and I hope to get it finished.
Thanks again, Jay.
I want do enter this with my idea, but like i said above, i know exactly > < that much about flash (just a little, i can do uber basic things)
i just found this site while looking for tips for making games
http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Flash/Games/1
just thought i'd throw it out there for any n00bs like me wanting to give this a shot!
-rob
I am full of fail.
I've downloaded and installed Java SDKs, JREs, Flex 2 SDKs, IDEs, Adobe Flash this and Shockwave that, and even tried that FlashDevelop that l0ser suggested and I can't make heads of tails out of any of this. God I miss the days of DOS when everything you needed was wrapped up into one .EXE file. Now I need to download .NET framework and who knows what else. I give up. I'll leave this to you professionals. I wouldn't stand a chance in this competition anyway. Good Luck to you all.
My two cents about developing without flash: don't.
Sure, you can easily code outside of flash ( which I do, since flash really sucks at that part ). But just try to integrate a simple animation ( or creating an animation, for starters )! Sure, displaying or drawing some primitives is no big deal, but if you want your game not to look like 80's-arcade-wireframe-style you'll have to go with flash.
I wasn't sure about Flex, but I watched some tutorials and screwed around a bit with it - and I don't see how game development could be done smoothly with it. Flex aims more at displaying data in various ways for web applications, but programming a game with it would plainly suck ( perhaps I'm missing some aspects of Flex, but so far I can't even see a decent workflow to create a game ).
That leaves this simple advice for non-owners of flash: get your concept done, try some "simulations" ( make a paper-prototype! ), think about the coding-structure ( can't stress that enough... ), think about the design ( make some concepts with the image software of your choice ) and then get the 30-day trial.
Grosie - sorry I missed your question. There is not yet an updated stub. I am working on that now, and I hope to have an announcement up soon about new versions available.
wonderwhy-er - yes it is possible. Daniel, author of 3rd Competition entry, Music Dodge, set up a high score table on his site by implementing a Cross Domain Policy. Basically, it's an XML file that contains the domains that might host your game. The list of domains that could host the 4th competition will be as follows:
jayisgames.com
casualgameplay.com
mirror1.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror2.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror3.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror4.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror5.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror6.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror7.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror8.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
mirror9.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com
Perhaps we can get Daniel to explain in greater detail what he had to do to get it functioning properly.
jay: That's great. I think i will participate. Physicas simulation is one of my favarite experement theme in flash anyways :D You can find "Ball world" and "Ball world 2" experiments on my DA account (site link).
Well if someone else is interested in explanation of cross-domain scripting in Flash then shore. I my self already did it few times so may be not in first version but I will make it work :)
I have another question. There are two physical engines. APE and Fisix... I am not planning to use them. I'd like to do everything from scratch or based my previous works. But is it possible for others to use such add-ons? I mean that I will spend much time on rewriting my physical engine to AS3(for more speed) and to create some editors for it... And if it is possible to use APE then it means that others have huge advantage over me :D
Wonderwhy and anyone else interested, here's the cross-domain policy you need to place on the server you're going to be downloading from.
I think it just goes in the root directory, but maybe also the folder you're grabbing from? I'm not sure about that, I actually ended up throwing it into both just because I didn't have time/means to test it.
Here's the code, it has to be saved as "crossdomain.xml" exactly. If you run into any problems/any other questions feel free to drop me an e-mail at maji at majidesign.com
<?xml version="1.0"?><!DOCTYPE cross-domain-policy
SYSTEM "http://www.macromedia.com/xml/dtds/cross-domain-policy.dtd">
<cross-domain-policy>
<allow-access-from domain="*.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="*.jayisgames.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="*.casualgameplay.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror1.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror2.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror3.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror4.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror5.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror6.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror7.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror8.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="mirror9.cgdc4.fizzlebot.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="casualgameplay.com" />
<allow-access-from domain="jayisgames.com" />
</cross-domain-policy>
Hi,
I'm really interested in participating in this competition, as I've become addicted to your site over the summer. However, I only have experience in AS 1.0 and have little to no experience using anything in AS 2.0. I was wondering if it's possible for me to simply make my entry using only AS 1.0 and publish the swf under AS version 2.0. If that breaks the rules of the competition (or somehow prevents the movie from being correctly loaded), let me know and I'll have to go invest some time in learning about AS 2.0. Thanks.
- Bean
Hi Bean!
Yes, it is possible to recompile AS 1.0 code into AS 2.0 code and then add the proper API calls, which are very easy to implement.
However, AS 1.0 allows code syntax that will cause unexpected behavior in AS 2.0, so it's also possible that your game will not run as expected.
I don't mind helping to get your game up and running in AS 2.0, as long as you submit your game 48 hours prior to deadline along with the .fla.
Thanks for the speedy reply, Jay!
That's definitely nice to know that I don't have to spend additional time learning how to use AS 2.0. I'll be sure to get my fla to you with plenty of time before the deadline. I'm more accustomed to FlashKit's 48 hr contests of yesteryear (shoutout to Tonypa, hey :) ), so having over a month is a much different pacing than I'm used to. Thanks again for the reply.
- Bean
No worries, Bean. Good luck with your game design. ^_^
wonderwhy-er - your question was answered earlier in this thread.
To reiterate: Yes, using a physics package is allowed. However, the winner of the competition need not be the one with the best physics implementation. Please refer to the judging criteria above to see what we will look for in your entry.
okay, so. I am trying to make a game, and I'm not doing so hot (Ive never done this before-- yipes!) I'm having a bit of trouble getting my start button to go to the game, and not just go past it and to teh end screen (this might be a prob with my game frame, as it's definately not up and running by itself yet) but any help that can be offered would be wonderful. (or better yet, someone with lots of free time who wants to be my flash tutor for the next few days :)
Allegra - Try using the 'gotoAndStop(frame)' function or the 'stop()' function on the frame you want to stop on.
If ANYBODY is struggling with the GUI communication part of their game, download the CGDC2 stub and open the example (puzzle1.fla) file and have a look at it.
grosie, i tried that, but then i can't get it to play. Like, it will stop on the frame but you can't click anything. like i said though i need to work on my game itself (probably should have done that first) so we'll see.
btw, does anyone know if theres a way to test a single frame rather than the whole movie/scene?
When the game is finished, can I send it to some select people for beta testing before submitting it to the competition or does that qualify as publishing it in the public domain?
Allegra - stopping on a frame does not stop it from running. Not being able to click on anything generally means you don't have the event handler set up properly. Do you have instance names on everything you're trying to click? That is a common pitfall for people just learning Flash.
Jon - yes, of course you can send your game around to beta testers.
The "must not have been previously published" requirement is to discourage people from sending in their old games that were not created expressly for this competition.
Allegra, there are some very good flash tutorials on Kirupa.com and gotoAndPlay.it. Check them out if you are still struggling.
Is participating from outside of the USA possible?
Just wondering because of the shipping adress...
Yes, the competition is open to anyone (though void where restricted.)
In our previous competitions we have had winners from: Argentina, New Zealand, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the US.
I was already working on a physics-based game before I saw this competition. My game is coming along very well and I'm definitely going to try to enter this.
Jay - no winners from the UK yet? That surprises me.
Do you know roughly when the AS2 stub will be released as i am spending far too much time on this webpage?
Hi Grosie - I'm working on it now. Hopefully I'll have something for you in a couple of days.
It really shouldn't hold you up, though. The stub from competition 2 has essentially the same code, it just looks different.
thanks jay and grosie! i've posted to a couple of forums, but so far nothing is as helpful as good ol' mom'n'pop. ...er, jayisgames :)
Thanks Jay.
And it's my pleasure Allegra.
I have a good idea for a game, but I don't have Flash. Is anyone willing to collaborate with me?
I'm in!
http://www.grapefrukt.com/blog/more-balls/
I'm thinking about entering this comp, but I have a question.
If my game involves circle collision detection and collision reactions (similar to the little demo in the main post), but doesn't strictly involve balls (i.e. perfect circles) in any way, will my game still be accepted?
Great competition Jay =) this is the first one I have considered entering, although the previous ones have been great too. Keep up the good work.
Ali
Hi Ali, thanks very much and I'm pleased you are considering entering this time.
Yes, I'd say that your game qualifies, since balls in 2D are simply circles (just as in the demo above.) :)
Martin! I read your blog post about 20 minutes before you commented here, and I'm pleased to learn you're planning to enter as well!
Good luck to all! :D
Jay,
What are the rules around posting development updates (and prototypes of the game itself) on our blogs? Does that count as previously publishing the game?
I was hoping to blog the development of the game I'm making for this competition, but I won't if it means I can't enter!
-Ben.
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.
https://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.
https://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 [email protected]
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
[email protected] 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
Is this still open?
I was curious for the closing date for this game design competition.
Best wishes,
Lets Design
http://www.letsdesign.co.uk
[No, this competition is over. A list of the entries we received, as well as the winners can be found at the top of this page. -Jay]
Update