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The Official 5-Year Anniversary Contest

 


To celebrate our 5-year anniversary, HBGames.org (formerly RMXP.org) is hosting a huge game-making contest, bigger than any contest we've held in the past. Of course, we don't expect you to make games for us without rewards! But more on that later. :wink:




5YrAnniversary-z-gnrules.png

  • You can NOT use a project that was started before today!
  • You can work in a team! There must be a team leader, and you'll have to come up with a team name. You will be entirely responsible for this aspect, including how many people you'll have on a team, how you'll divide work, who will be on the team, and how you'll divide the prize you may win. Remember that the more team members you have, the more you'll have to split the winnings!
  • The contest will run for two months, starting today. So get working!
  • You may use any resources as long as you have permission. Rips are allowed, with credit for what they're from.
  • There are no restrictions on software used to create the game.

Q: What do I do when my team's done?
A: When you are absolutely 100% done, and you're the team leader, PM the finished product in a .zip file to Dadevster. (If you're not the team leader, do nothing). In the PM, include who's on your team, and what percentage of the winnings you think they deserve. We will round up to the nearest dollar, should you win. (example: You did 50%, Member2 did 30%, and Member3 did 20%.)

Q: What if I'm not in America?/How will this be paid out?
A: We're paying out via Paypal. It's strongly recommended you set up an account; all you need is a bank account. Paypal will convert it for us from USD to your currency. If you're in the United States and you can't accept Paypal, we can possibly send you a money order, but it will take several weeks (even still this is a huge inconvenience for us so please just get a paypal account). If you're outside the U.S. and you can't accept paypal ... We can't give you anything! So keep that in mind!

Q: Can I do this alone (no team)?
A: Yes. But still make a team name.

Q: I started a team, but one or more members have decided to stop helping, and I really don't want to split the prize with them.
A: It's up to you and your team to say who and who does not deserve what cut of the prize winnings. We take no responsibility in that matter. After the contest is over and the winners are decided, we're going to take the team leader's word for who gets what percentage. There will be NO DEBATE on the subject with the staff. You can change the team during the working period as many times and as often as you like.

Q: I don't like the themes! Can I just do something else, please??
A: NO! It has to involve one of the themes. Remember that you can get really creative with it! It doesn't have to be extremely literal, either, you can get as artistic with it as you like.

Q: Can I do anything else with my entry?
A: Yeah, you can distribute it however you want, paying attention to copyright laws as necessary. It's not up to us.

Q: How the heck can I incorporate the smilie and the other stuff?
A: Get as creative as you want with the little things you have to incorporate. They can be images that appear in the world. They can make up the main characters. They can be flashed on the screen like a picture. It doesn't matter. But remember, the amount of creativity you use to implement them will affect that particular point total, outlined in the "Scoring & Points" section.

Q: Can I ask for help from others not on my team on my project, like with beta testing, etc.?
A: Yes. Do whatever you like. It's up to your team leader to say who gets what when prizes are given out.

Q: I want to be the team leader/My team leader quit!
A: It is entirely up to your team to do everything involving your team! We aren't involved! Sorry!

Q: Can I contribute to the prize winnings?
A: Of course! PM an administrator about donating to the site with the purpose of increasing the amount of the winnings.

Q: Who do I send my project to when the deadline is up?
A: Send it to me. (Dadevster)

Q: I want to be a judge of the contest!
A: PM me (Dadevster) about it.

Q: I had a really good idea/concept for the game before the contest, but I never started it. Can I use that?
A: How would we know? Yeah, you can do that. Just so long as you didn't start the actual GAME creation before the contest.

Q: Can I provide a walkthrough and all that to help playability? Can I make my topic really stand out?
A: Yes, do as much or as little for your project as you can. However, note that the only thing we'll grade is your game.

Q: Do I have to use RMXP/VX?
A: Not at all! Use whatever you want. You can even use an engine you made. It doesn't matter to us - we only care about the game itself.

Q: Does it have to be an RPG?
A: No! It can be whatever you want. Shooter? Fine. Strategy? Cool. Adventure? Great. We don't care. Just make it fun.

Q: Can I use resources I've made for other games in the contest?
A: Yes! If you have graphics or music you've made previously, then you're welcome to include them in your contest project as well.



5YrAnniversary-z-quals.png

If you want your game to qualify as an entry, here's what it needs to have.

AVAILABLE THEMES:
5YrAnniversary-theme1.png
5YrAnniversary-theme3.png
5YrAnniversary-theme2.png


  • You'll have a choice of 3 themes to work with: Underground, Giant World, or Music. You MUST use one of them. Trying to submit your game about vampires looking for crystals in a church won't work. Unless it's an underground church. Or a ridiculously large one. Or it's a musical and the vampires sing. See, you can incorporate the themes in a variety of ways.
    Underground: Anything that has to do with being under the earth, i.e. in a tunnel, cave, etc.
    Giant World: Involving your character being really small, and the world around him/her is enormous.
    Music: Involving music of any genre or type. It must be the central focus of either the point, plot, underlying meaning, or visuals.
  • The game MUST contain a cog (of any type or graphic), the :boo: smiley, and the term "Rec Room", somewhere visible! This not only shows your dedication to the site, but how well you incorporate these things can merit you up to 5 points.
  • The game must be a MINIMUM of 1 hour. There is no maximum length.



5YrAnniversary-z-scorng.png

We'll have 5 judges who can award each entry 50 points each, so your goal is to get the 250 point maximum! Here's how the scoring will be divided:

15 points - Fun and Gameplay
10 points - Originality and Innovation
10 points - Graphics
5 points - Sound and Music
5 points - Game Flow (consistency, how well it follows a theme, battle difficulty, etc.)
5 points - Forum Items Integration



5YrAnniversary-z-prizes.png

So what are you working for?

The first place entry gets $150 USD!
The second place entry gets $50 USD!

If you need a little extra cash in your pocket, consider giving this contest a go! Also, the first place team will get their own membergroup, which will include a specially colored name (of your team's choice), a custom badge (the thing underneath your avatar), and the ability to lock and delete your own posts and topics!

(Want to increase the amount of the prize winnings? PM an administrator about it!)



5YrAnniversary-z-mnwhl.png

Alright! You've started on the game. What do you do now?

You may have noticed this topic is inside its own forum. You can use this forum for the following:

  • When you've decided to start your project, post a synopsis or concept in this forum, along with a list of all your team members.
  • You can ask for help on minor things from non-team members, and for beta testers.
  • You can drum up interest in your project by advertising it in your signature and offering ads for other people to put in their sigs!
  • You can create topics inquiring other teams about what strategies they're using.
  • You can post screenshots in the screenshot thread posted here.
  • You can get critique on screens and things in the Visuals Improvement Thread in this forum.



*NEW* CONTEST DEADLINE
DECEMBER 31ST, 2009
 
Are new(bies) people welcome? The last RPG maker I used to create a game was RM2k some years ago. I'm loving RMXP and the possibilities that rgss holds for game tweaking.
 
Important question that should be added to the FAQ:

You can NOT use a project that was started before today!

If I have resources that I have previously made myself for other projects, I can use them here, right?

That being said, hopefully I'll be able to enter. I've been around for too long not to celebrate five years somehow.
 
figment68":46cagbc5 said:
Are new(bies) people welcome? The last RPG maker I used to create a game was RM2k some years ago. I'm loving RMXP and the possibilities that rgss holds for game tweaking.

I don't have to be staff to say that you definitely are welcome to enter. Though remember that you'll be up against some pretty experienced people. Don't let it discourage you. Have fun. :)
 

mawk

Sponsor

If I have resources that I have previously made myself for other projects, I can use them here, right?
seeing as people are allowed to use premade resources (with proper credit) you should be able to use your own premade stuff, no problem.

also fuck yes I am in like flynn
 

mawk

Sponsor

also, what would you say the rules are to commercial music? as is the case with rips, the songs are commercial property, and I'm unlikely to be able to get in touch with the creators for their permission.
 
mawk":p1d8o3im said:
also, what would you say the rules are to commercial music? as is the case with rips, the songs are commercial property, and I'm unlikely to be able to get in touch with the creators for their permission.
It's like with ripped graphics - you need to credit where you got it from or who made it. Obviously we don't expect you to create the entire soundtrack to your game by yourself, so commercial music is expected. (however, the more original music, the better! :wink: )

Also, good point noise. I've added it to the FAQ.
 
We're not selling these. I'd personally say, do what you want, unless you plan on selling it or distributing it in a really big way, then pay a lot of attention to copyright laws. It's not up to us to police what and what's not used according to the law.

Though yeah of course still credit, that's just doing what's fair.
 
This sounds like fun. I think I may give this a crack myself. Besides it'll give me something RMXP related to do whilst I wait for my scripts to be finished.
 
Heey, I've actually started a concept about an underground dungeon crawling with more RPG elements in my game, I'll give this a GOOO!

Yes.

Also, do I have to PM Dadevster about this?
 
no, just pm him with the finished product when it's done (if you're the team leader), or if you want to be a judge.

when you pm him with the finished product you have to say what's the team name, and who did what and who deserves what percentage of the winnings, should you win.

but hold off on pm'ing the finished product until it's super absolutely done.
 
yeah it'll all be done thru paypal and i'm pretty sure it converts the money for you.

that's a good point--if you can't possibly set up a paypal account, and if not you can't accept an american money order, then you probably won't be able to receive the money :)
 

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