»

[Cammy]

Hi everyone!

Due to the overwhelming success and response to the Festive Amiga Game Making Competition, the team at Underground Arcade has decided to host quarterly competitions which means you will be given the chance to enter four different Amiga game-making contests each year and win some amazing Amiga prizes!

So, are you ready for it now? Our next competition theme is... RETRO REMIX! The challenge is to remake any game you like for the Amiga. It doesn't have to be an exact remake or clone of the original game, but could be more like a "Deluxe" or "Lite" version, or perhaps a sequel.

This time you'll have two months to complete your entry, starting now. All of the entries must be uploaded and ready to play by March 31st 2010. We will be announcing the full list of really cool prizes over the next few weeks so stay tuned! I can say that the prizes we have so far are really fantastic! I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this competition's prize pool and if anyone wants to donate any more prizes, please let me know by private message or email, thanks!

The rules of this "Retro Remix" competition are here:

1. This time, we're giving you two months to work on your game. If your game isn't finished by the end of the time limit (March 31st), upload it anyway but have at least one playable level or a demo of the game completed.

2. The game you make for this competition must be playable on either classic OCS or AGA Amigas. This way, it'll reach more people who have classic hardware, or have access to UAE. If you want to port your "remixed" game to another system - AROS, MorphOS or OS4, feel free to as long as your final competition entry will work on a classic Amiga.

3. The game you "remix" must be based on an already existing game on any system (including Amiga) and you must clearly state in the ReadMe file which game you are basing it on too.

4. Ripped graphics are allowed, but keep in mind that enhanced or new graphics can sometimes improve your chances in the competition.

Feel free to use any software you like to create your game, including the use of game editors such as Backbone, SEUCK, GRAC/GRAAL or program it yourself if you like. If you need any help getting started on your game, please let us know and we'll try our best to help you.

If your talent lies mainly in one particular field, such as music arrangement and composition, or perhaps you're a coder or graphic artist who doesn't feel up to creating an entire game on your own, why not consider teaming up with others and sharing the prizes. Post away and let people know about your skills and ideas, and maybe there'll be someone else who wants the help you have to offer.

That's all for now! Good luck everyone and don't forget to keep checking back for news on prizes and more!

[Cammy]

Oh, I just thought I'd let everyone know that the remake can be of any game, from the arcade, consoles or other computer systems, as well as a remake of an Amiga game if you want.

[crawff]

Somebody please remake "Terry's BIG Adventure"...please!!

[motorollin]

What a great idea for a competition. Thanks for organising it! I'm looking forward to trying the submissions

--
moto

[fishy_fiz]

Think I'll most probably go for Rodland. If not that maybe Double Dragon... hmm, so many good options

[hbarcellos]

I would only disagree with the deadline.
Create 1 contest per year. That way you'll have several advantages:
* Developers would not rush to develop something
* You'll probably receive more polished games
* More chance of ppl creating C or ASM games instead of Basic and/or using game creation tools. Over the years, these developers would end up creating reusable engines, what in the long term will increase even more the games overall quality
* Would be easier to get prizes. By doing several contests it would became difficult to find ppl wanting to donate more prizes.
* Will give you more time to organize the contest
* You'll have time between contests for, maybe, trying to organize boxed versions of the winners and finding a good online store to sell them
* You'll have time to find a good soul that would create a nice and fancy website to host the competition

etc... etc... etc....

[rednova]

hi:

I stick with Cammy. I believe a contest every two months is good. This way, every year we will have many new games for amiga. The original defender of the crown was created in 2 weeks, and I can easily make an amiga remake in 2 weeks. Many new games for amiga = more fun for everyone.

rednova

[Moto]

What a great idea for a game contest! I'm really going to try and make something. I do wish it was a little longer time frame though. Those 3am coding sessions happen less often than they used to. I might end up with only a single level of one of my favorite games.

[trip6]

A Super Metroid on the Amiga would be Awesome... So would Streets of Rage II....

[rednova]

Dear Amigans:

What a great idea guys and gals for making this game competition a reality !!!
I am looking forward to create new amiga games for everyone to enjoy.
Miss Cammy...please keep organizing these contests !!!
The games competition is perfect for bringing all amigans together.
And will result into many many new games for amiga !!!
Please keep organizing more game competitions !!!

rednova

[hbarcellos]

Originally Posted by rednova

I stick with Cammy. I believe a contest every two months is good. This way, every year we will have many new games for amiga. The original defender of the crown was created in 2 weeks, and I can easily make an amiga remake in 2 weeks. Many new games for amiga = more fun for everyone.

That's called the "Student Syndrome" and will happen anyway. Doesn't really matter the duration of the contest.

Student syndrome refers to the phenomenon that many people will start to fully apply themselves to a task just at the last possible moment before a deadline. This leads to wasting any buffers built into individual task duration estimates.

The problem is: Prizes. While the contests are fresh news that's fine. But having one contest every two months makes me think that maybe it would became tough getting 6 Amiga 1200 every year...

[desiv]

2 months? Luxury!!!
IGDA 48 hour game making competition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuk7IfKhrtE

(You don't actually see any games until 5 minutes into the vid btw)

Makes me think I might actually be able to do something in a few months.. Hmmmm

desiv

[rockersuke]

Originally Posted by hbarcellos

* More chance of ppl creating C or ASM games instead of Basic and/or using game creation tools.

IMHO, dismissing entries made with high level languages or creation tools (which I guess is not surely hbarcellos intention, anyway :-) ) has resulted in the past years in classic Amiga homebrew games creation being close to zero, specially when compared with the activity shown in other less versatile 8-bit contemporaries machines groups. We were all waiting for the coding gurus to make those ultimate C++/asm routines which would push the Amiga hardware to its limits... which almost never happened ^_^'

That's why I appreciate this comp spirit of "Don't be ashamed, just do your best with the tools of your very own choice". It worked! And it gave us a fistful of games to play with!

While I understand potential authors complaining about two months beeing so little time to write a whole game (but then, rules explicitly allow just for some playable levels or demos), I think a one year deadline is waaay to extremist to the other side and would make people get relax and lazy.

Btw, I would like to enter the comp this time too, my real trouble is I cannot make my mind up among those all games I would like to try to make a remake of! XDD

--

[inoel]

Its the Competition part and the time frame part that i am interested
in (more then wining )
As i have had Amos pro for years and never been able to use it.
As i am not very good at programming i am hoping this will
push me a bit Even if i can not get a game i am hoping
to tech myself amos and this must be my 100th time lol !

[skurk]

Originally Posted by hbarcellos

The problem is: Prizes. While the contests are fresh news that's fine. But having one contest every two months makes me think that maybe it would became tough getting 6 Amiga 1200 every year...

People are doing this for the prizes..?