Hi guys,

I've just read your arguments for and against contests and free work vs paid work and found it quite interesting.

I agree with what Glaiel and Luis are saying; sometimes you should just be doing things for free to try out new wacky ideas which don't yet merit a full title and, probably more importantly, just to have fun working on something with your peers.

I also agree with Glaiel's thoughts on game contests for the most part. I think it is a shitty deal to perhaps end up with nothing over it, however I think it's a great way for new developers to get on the scene much like I-smel pointed out.

Having said all of this I must say that I-smel is right in that sometimes you need to be paid to work. Making games just for the fun of it is just about the most entertaining thing I know of, but I need to eat food in order to stay alive and continue making games when I can so sometimes work comes first. This strikes me as irrelevant in the context of this "game jam" you're talking about though.

Last thing; what is a game jam? Is it like one of the old "collabs" we did where each dev makes a mini game and we package them into one swf?

At 2/12/13 02:33 PM, Rustygames wrote: Last thing; what is a game jam? Is it like one of the old "collabs" we did where each dev makes a mini game and we package them into one swf?

Nah its usually, like a set weekend where people are given a theme, or sometimes its a limitation of some sort, and everyone spends 48 hrs making something relevant to it. And then you just submit it, if you find the time to look up past game jams and the ludum dare thing outside of newgrounds youll get a good idea of what its all about.

But yeah i think if the timeframe is low enough to where you dont feel like you've given up your normal bread and butter to experiment with something then youll find most people can probably put aside a weekend or whatever to just try something out.

At 2/12/13 02:39 PM, Luis wrote:

At 2/12/13 02:33 PM, Rustygames wrote: Last thing; what is a game jam? Is it like one of the old "collabs" we did where each dev makes a mini game and we package them into one swf?

Nah its usually, like a set weekend where people are given a theme, or sometimes its a limitation of some sort, and everyone spends 48 hrs making something relevant to it. And then you just submit it, if you find the time to look up past game jams and the ludum dare thing outside of newgrounds youll get a good idea of what its all about.

But yeah i think if the timeframe is low enough to where you dont feel like you've given up your normal bread and butter to experiment with something then youll find most people can probably put aside a weekend or whatever to just try something out.

Cool, I went and had a butchers at some. Some look pretty darn good for just 2 days work (I'm guessing non-stop ;)).
So do we team up with an artist? Are there artists keen to do it or do we have to "supply our own"?
Also is the point just to have fun and show each other our cool little mini-games or is there something else behind it? Maybe ad revenue could go to a charity which the game is themed around? Possibly some links to said charity? Just spit-balling here...

At 2/12/13 04:36 PM, Rustygames wrote: Cool, I went and had a butchers at some. Some look pretty darn good for just 2 days work (I'm guessing non-stop ;)).
So do we team up with an artist? Are there artists keen to do it or do we have to "supply our own"?
Also is the point just to have fun and show each other our cool little mini-games or is there something else behind it? Maybe ad revenue could go to a charity which the game is themed around? Possibly some links to said charity? Just spit-balling here...

It's alternated between choosing your own artist/team and randomly assigned teams. We're planning on doing random teams to make it interesting. I think there was another event where revenue went to specific charities; we could do that.

At 2/12/13 04:45 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 2/12/13 04:36 PM, Rustygames wrote: Cool, I went and had a butchers at some. Some look pretty darn good for just 2 days work (I'm guessing non-stop ;)).
So do we team up with an artist? Are there artists keen to do it or do we have to "supply our own"?
Also is the point just to have fun and show each other our cool little mini-games or is there something else behind it? Maybe ad revenue could go to a charity which the game is themed around? Possibly some links to said charity? Just spit-balling here...

It's alternated between choosing your own artist/team and randomly assigned teams. We're planning on doing random teams to make it interesting. I think there was another event where revenue went to specific charities; we could do that.

It sounds like fun, random teams sounds amazing, great way to meet new people. What do you do about time zones and such though? If I had only 48 hours to work with a designer I'd want us to be working in tandem the whole time

At 2/12/13 04:48 PM, Rustygames wrote: It sounds like fun, random teams sounds amazing, great way to meet new people. What do you do about time zones and such though? If I had only 48 hours to work with a designer I'd want us to be working in tandem the whole time

That's part of the fun...and frustration. It could be weighted or something so US are likely grouped with US, EU with EU.

Although, if neither of you are planning on sleeping, time zones won't matter.

At 2/12/13 04:53 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 2/12/13 04:48 PM, Rustygames wrote: It sounds like fun, random teams sounds amazing, great way to meet new people. What do you do about time zones and such though? If I had only 48 hours to work with a designer I'd want us to be working in tandem the whole time

That's part of the fun...and frustration. It could be weighted or something so US are likely grouped with US, EU with EU.

Although, if neither of you are planning on sleeping, time zones won't matter.

Good point. I think you're right, it'll work itself out, thinking too hard about it will just lead to delays and confusion. So when is the next thing and what will the theme be? Or are you all still discussing that?

At 2/12/13 04:53 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 2/12/13 04:48 PM, Rustygames wrote: It sounds like fun, random teams sounds amazing, great way to meet new people. What do you do about time zones and such though? If I had only 48 hours to work with a designer I'd want us to be working in tandem the whole time

That's part of the fun...and frustration. It could be weighted or something so US are likely grouped with US, EU with EU.

yeah time zones make it really tricky, it helps if you literally set aside the whole weekend to do it. Like ive had australian teamates before and its very challenging being in the east coast. I'm all for a challenge but i feel like that sort of challenge is pushing it. I think if i knew id have like australian / japanese /indian / whatever teammates id probably just say fuck it and just try to marathon it. Its way disconcerting to pick up on discussions and stuff after theyve been discussed. Skype is helpful in that but i feel like you still feel lost the next day.

I guess it depends on the roster of the people interested. I dunno. Doing something for charity would be cool.

At 2/12/13 04:57 PM, Rustygames wrote: Good point. I think you're right, it'll work itself out, thinking too hard about it will just lead to delays and confusion. So when is the next thing and what will the theme be? Or are you all still discussing that?

I think the consensus was sometime mid-March. Theme will be announced the day it starts most likely.

Spring break, last jam was during fall break. I can't get a break here

At 2/12/13 05:06 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 2/12/13 04:57 PM, Rustygames wrote: Good point. I think you're right, it'll work itself out, thinking too hard about it will just lead to delays and confusion. So when is the next thing and what will the theme be? Or are you all still discussing that?

I think the consensus was sometime mid-March. Theme will be announced the day it starts most likely.

Spring break, last jam was during fall break. I can't get a break here

Cool, is there a hub page or is this it pretty much?
Who decides the theme?

Sorry for all the questions

At 2/12/13 05:10 PM, Rustygames wrote:

At 2/12/13 05:06 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 2/12/13 04:57 PM, Rustygames wrote: Good point. I think you're right, it'll work itself out, thinking too hard about it will just lead to delays and confusion. So when is the next thing and what will the theme be? Or are you all still discussing that?

I think the consensus was sometime mid-March. Theme will be announced the day it starts most likely.

Spring break, last jam was during fall break. I can't get a break here

Cool, is there a hub page or is this it pretty much?
Who decides the theme?

Sorry for all the questions

we can just appoint someone who cant participate or something but wants to be part of it to come up with a theme or something? If i know i wont be free to work on something on the weekend its going on, id be open to offering a theme or helping out with one or something.

At 2/12/13 05:10 PM, Rustygames wrote:

At 2/12/13 05:06 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 2/12/13 04:57 PM, Rustygames wrote: Good point. I think you're right, it'll work itself out, thinking too hard about it will just lead to delays and confusion. So when is the next thing and what will the theme be? Or are you all still discussing that?

I think the consensus was sometime mid-March. Theme will be announced the day it starts most likely.

Spring break, last jam was during fall break. I can't get a break here

Cool, is there a hub page or is this it pretty much?
Who decides the theme?

Sorry for all the questions

heres a full collection of jam based things:

http://www.newgrounds.com/collection/nggamejam5

At 2/12/13 05:10 PM, Rustygames wrote: Cool, is there a hub page or is this it pretty much?
Who decides the theme?

Sorry for all the questions

There will probably be a thread dedicated to it since many artists would never see this page. And probably an announcement that points everyone to the thread. Someone who isn't participating should come up with a theme, maybe Tom. Judging will be more on us as jammers rather than the score it gets in the portal since people don't vote with "48 hr game" in mind. Multiple categories to be judged on and multiple places like ludum dare.

At 2/12/13 05:23 PM, Luis wrote: we can just appoint someone who cant participate or something but wants to be part of it to come up with a theme or something? If i know i wont be free to work on something on the weekend its going on, id be open to offering a theme or helping out with one or something.

I thought about that, too. What's AustinBreed's schedule looking like?

At 2/12/13 05:28 PM, MSGhero wrote: Multiple categories to be judged on and multiple places like ludum dare.

I do like the ludum approach .. where its more like superlatives rather than 1st place - whatever place.

Something we could do is just have everyone come up with theme ideas ... like the week before or something and then on the actual day draw one out of a hat, or have someone pick one or something. I dunno i think it might be a sloppy the first time we do it but itll naturally get better over time.

Tom also proposed the idea of using a specialized tab in the collabinator or something, where when a jam was going on, people could fill in blanks and no-shows quickly or something. So someone casually visiting looking to collab could be like oh theres a jam going on maybe i can jump in.

And then that tab would go away until the next one or something.

Its all spitballing atm like everyone else. So yeah.. it atleast has this place more alive than times past.

I need some opinions on choosing a ground style for Joe 2.

http://puu.sh/21QDR

Thoughts?

At 2/13/13 07:07 AM, PSvils wrote:

At 2/13/13 05:27 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: I need some opinions on choosing a ground style for Joe 2.

http://puu.sh/21QDR

Thoughts?

I'm digging the green ones. I don't like the Classic one.

I'm the only one who likes the retro look :'(

As for game jams,

The whole reason they started, and the definition Austin always used to describe them, is a community project to rapidly create video game designs and inject new ideas into the industry

So a successful game jam is one where you end up with information on whether this mechanic works or not, and why it doesn't work. So if you make an innovative mechanic and people love it, well congrats, you invented something new-ish. If people hated it, well now you know why. So the only way to lose in a game jam is by not making anything new.

Whenever I talk about game jams I always like to mention examples of games that were prototypes in 48 hours and later went on to make it big or even get onto Steam. I think mentioning these when introducing the jam would be perfect to inspire and affirm that, it's not a competition.

At 2/13/13 07:07 AM, PSvils wrote:

At 2/13/13 05:27 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: I need some opinions on choosing a ground style for Joe 2.

http://puu.sh/21QDR

Thoughts?

I'm digging the green ones. I don't like the Classic one.

Yea i agree, the green adds some nice pop to it.

At 2/13/13 05:27 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: Thoughts?

I like the darker-green.
Why not just add an option to re-skin in the menu?

At 2/13/13 12:07 PM, egg82 wrote:

At 2/13/13 05:27 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: Thoughts?

I like the darker-green.
Why not just add an option to re-skin in the menu?

I think it comes to a point where even though you could theoretically make a game that gives the player the option to personalize and customize all sorts of inconsequential aspects of the game based on their preference, it is sometimes better to just be assertive in your creations, and let the choices you made in your art direction, whether they be perfect or not, define a personality for your game. In my opinion this is one of the situation where too much choice can be a bad thing - even if all the element of choice is provide you with alternatives you might like better and doesn't force you to change anything if you don't like them better.

As for which color scheme to go for - I'm having a hard time deciding which one I like best. I feel like the fact that all the image samples are cropped into small portions is giving me a hard time getting a feel for it. I don't like the retro one, though.

At 2/13/13 05:27 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: I need some opinions on choosing a ground style for Joe 2.

http://puu.sh/21QDR

Thoughts?

I sorta like the retro look.....

I have a puzzle game that I have practically done i just need an ending cut scene animation (I am not great at art and animation, but I could make a half decent one). So far I have made all the art (as a place holder to begin with), but now I am looking for advice cause it may look terrible to some people. here is one level and the basic color scheme/art that i made for the entire game. Should i push through, and make an ending cut scene? Or is this crap and should I have an artist come in and save my ass? Thanks in advance for your opinions.

At 2/13/13 04:50 PM, swishcheese wrote:

At 2/13/13 05:27 AM, 4urentertainment wrote: I need some opinions on choosing a ground style for Joe 2.

http://puu.sh/21QDR

Thoughts?

I sorta like the retro look.....

I have a puzzle game that I have practically done i just need an ending cut scene animation (I am not great at art and animation, but I could make a half decent one). So far I have made all the art (as a place holder to begin with), but now I am looking for advice cause it may look terrible to some people. here is one level and the basic color scheme/art that i made for the entire game. Should i push through, and make an ending cut scene? Or is this crap and should I have an artist come in and save my ass? Thanks in advance for your opinions.

I think the text at the bottom should be the same font as the text up top, plus pushed down a few px. I'm not sure if it's the blocks or the tiles, but I get distracted by one of them. Like, I look at the game and I can't focus and start to get a headache.

At 2/12/13 07:22 PM, Luis wrote:

At 2/12/13 05:28 PM, MSGhero wrote: Multiple categories to be judged on and multiple places like ludum dare.

I do like the ludum approach .. where its more like superlatives rather than 1st place - whatever place.

If, one day, the NG jam gets as many participants as Ludum Dare, it would certainly be great to do that! :)

@4ur: I like the green one too, I'm afraid. (Crust + fade stripe no body tiles) The retro one would come a close second, though.

so today I learned that
A) We have a "gay, straight, and bi" club - it's quite neat, and
B) A Game Design and Develop club just came about this semester

I suppose i'll be teaching peoples code for the rest of my college years. I'm fine with this :D

At 2/13/13 05:02 PM, MSGhero wrote

I think the text at the bottom should be the same font as the text up top, plus pushed down a few px. I'm not sure if it's the blocks or the tiles, but I get distracted by one of them. Like, I look at the game and I can't focus and start to get a headache.

Thanks for the feedback. Does this give you less of a headache? changed the text, and I could center it, but sometimes there
will be two lines of text, so idk.

At 2/13/13 07:33 PM, swishcheese wrote: Thanks for the feedback. Does this give you less of a headache? changed the text, and I could center it, but sometimes there
will be two lines of text, so idk.

Yeah it does. I don't think you have to remove the color completely, just the pattern; but yeah it looks better like that anyway.

At 2/13/13 07:38 PM, MSGhero wrote:

At 2/13/13 07:33 PM, swishcheese wrote: Thanks for the feedback. Does this give you less of a headache? changed the text, and I could center it, but sometimes there
will be two lines of text, so idk.

Yeah it does. I don't think you have to remove the color completely, just the pattern; but yeah it looks better like that anyway.

Yeahh, Im still debating. Cause this game has that retro feel and gradients were really used. I might try out some different colors or patterns tho without the gradient. When I do, Ill post link to em here.

Hey I brought up Game Closure (HTML5 dev tool) at the office and Luis mentioned PrettyMuchBryce was trying it out. It reminded me of something that I REALLY WANT TO DO and we can actually start really soon on this...

I'd like to try a monthly challenge where each month we present a different development tool that people can make a game with. So everyone who is interested can make a game with that tool. You can get it sponsored, or just run ads, or whatever... But you've learned the tool that month.

The plan was to start with Construct 2 because I've already been talking to the creator of that and he can give out some codes for full versions for the winners.

Next up I was planning Axel, a Flixel-like framework that uses hardware acceleration. I also talked to the creator of that and he's into it.

Month three could be Game Closure and maybe by month 4, Stencyl 3.0 will be out.

Doing this would let people learn and evaluate all the different tools and find their favorite.

We could also pop a 48 hour game jam between each one, just to open the field to everything.

So I guess my question is - do you guys want to try doing a 48 hour game jam before something like this kicks off, or should I just get moving with launching a Construct 2 Challenge?

At 2/15/13 01:40 PM, TomFulp wrote: I'd like to try a monthly challenge where each month we present a different development tool that people can make a game with. So everyone who is interested can make a game with that tool. You can get it sponsored, or just run ads, or whatever... But you've learned the tool that month.

This would be really cool for helping people get into coding. I know some of the frameworks are in the wiki, but nothing beats a frontpage post. "So you want to make a game" or something to pique interest. Plus that's less AS2 posts we have to answer :D I don't visit the programming forum much, but I assume questions about the html5 tools would go there, and stencyl/flixel would go here.

So I guess my question is - do you guys want to try doing a 48 hour game jam before something like this kicks off, or should I just get moving with launching a Construct 2 Challenge?

Whichever option reschedules the game jam from my spring break weekend. What would the challenge be? Like make a game before xx date with this tool? Will there be a theme?

At 2/15/13 02:16 PM, MSGhero wrote: Whichever option reschedules the game jam from my spring break weekend. What would the challenge be? Like make a game before xx date with this tool? Will there be a theme?

When your spring break weekend?

Also I'd much rather see a classic game jam first. To bring back everyone together again.