SFML community forums
General => SFML game jam => Topic started by: BaneTrapper on August 09, 2013, 02:15:36 pm
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Hello.
I have just few questions so am gonna trow them ASAP:
1. What is the rule set for "Game jam".
Do you make a theme (Ghosts, 2d) and you are supposed to make game using these 3 things to apply?
2. How much time is given for the game to be done? or how long "Game jam" lasts
3. Is it required to apply before to enter game jam? (As in, i am gonna make a game that is about banishing ghosts from mortal plane in 2d view...)
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1. Here are the first jam rules, please keep in mind that they're gonna evolve :
Rules:
1. You can work on a team of two, or by yourself. Must be stated when submitting.
2. You only have 72 hours to create both the code and the audio/graphic assets of your project. Pre-made fonts are allowed.
3. Game must be based on the theme ,but how the theme is interpreted is up to you!
4. Any programming language may be used, as long as SFML(or one of its bindings) is used.
5. External libraries are allowed, but not SFML's competitors, such as GLFW, SDL, Allegro, etc. The use of OpenGL is allowed, however.
6. We encourage the use any of the code posted in https://github.com/SFML/SFML/wiki/Sources, you may bind it to your language of choice, as long as you give credit to the original author.
7. Porting to other OS's after the 72 hour mark is allowed and encouraged!
2. The Game Jam lasts 72h, the first hour must be dedicated to theme reflexion and only after that you can start to code
3. It's nice to say you gonna participate (and you can do so several days before), but you don't have to say what you're going to do
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2. The Game Jam lasts 72h, the first hour must be dedicated to theme reflexion and only after that you can start to code
From the last jam, it was 1hr planning then 72hr coding.
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And I am going to post a sticky thread soon that will always have the most up to date rules and information.
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Good to know!
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What is the rule about personal codebases and engines that are made public before jam?
Do they fall under 'external libraries but not SFML competitors'?
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What is the rule about personal codebases and engines that are made public before jam?
Do they fall under 'external libraries but not SFML competitors'?
Assuming they aren't built on top of SFML's competitors, you are free to use your own codebase/engines as much as you like.
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Just a little thought/proposal:
I remember reading the question about a prize somewhere. How about an e-book copy of the SFML Game Development Book for the winner? As I said, just an idea that crossed my mind, no big request or something
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I also offered that last time, however the general opinion was that prizes might lead to a focus on competition rather than fun, as well as create more controversies about the judging. And to some extent I have to agree...
Here (http://en.sfml-dev.org/forums/index.php?topic=12267.msg85736#msg85736) is the original discussion.
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Oh yeah, thanks, I didn't think of that perspective before...
P.S.: This may be a little awkward, but I must say: I really like your logo and the website design!
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As a "competitor" of the first jam, I liked the fact that it wasn't really a competition. We were some participant to live stream and comment other's game, advising them and everything. The climate was more "we help each other having a great game/concept" than "I keep everything secret because I want to be the Jam Master Jedi".
Having a price may change that spirit. That said, I would participate either way.
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I agree. I really liked the spirit of the first jam, and I think introducing prizes would create a bunch of problems and ruin what made the first one so great.
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What is the rule about personal codebases and engines that are made public before jam?
Do they fall under 'external libraries but not SFML competitors'?
Assuming they aren't built on top of SFML's competitors, you are free to use your own codebase/engines as much as you like.
If you operate a slightly modified version of SFML (minor code changes), would it be pertinent to just note the few changes, or is the entire codebase of the slightly modified SFML binding to be expected?
Is using your own personal codebase permitted so long as you release the relevant code used when submitting?
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Hmm. That's a interesting question. I'd like the games themselves to be open source, but your own code base doesn't need to be released. We would just need some way to confirm that you are using SFML if it is hidden.
Modifications might be fine as long as they are started, depending on what they are I suppose. Either that, or they shouldn't be allowed at all. We're trying to showcase vanilla SFML after all. ;)
May I ask what parts of SFML you are modifying?
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Hmm. That's a interesting question. I'd like the games themselves to be open source, but your own code base doesn't need to be released. We would just need some way to confirm that you are using SFML if it is hidden.
Modifications might be fine as long as they are started, depending on what they are I suppose. Either that, or they shouldn't be allowed at all. We're trying to showcase vanilla SFML after all. ;)
May I ask what parts of SFML you are modifying?
Minor tweaks to stability in networking code regarding sockets in SFML 1.6.
My solution isn't appropriate to SFML (I spoke with Laurent before so he knows the score) but it's mandatory to ensure stability when connecting and polling websites, more specifically, non-blocking sockets don't connect (http://en.sfml-dev.org/forums/index.php?topic=7696.msg51876#msg51876), and blocking sockets freeze if there's no connection in 1.6.
I don't know what Laurent has done for 2.0 or 2.1, but I had to work in a solution that gives the non-blocking sockets a poll-delay so they can connect, so my version of SFML is slightly modified. It's not fundamentally different from SFML overall but it wouldn't function stably on default 1.6 DLLs.
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If that's all it is, then that wouldn't be a problem. You should definitely try to get 2.1 up and running to see if it is fixed though.
To be honest, I seriously doubt anyone is going to have time to put multiplayer action into their jam games. :P
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To be honest, I seriously doubt anyone is going to have time to put multiplayer action into their jam games. :P
You underestimate the people. :P
It's hard but if you're perpaired in knowledge (and framework), it's doable. Nexus did all the networking for the DevMania contest and we had only about 20h - well okay maybe Nexus doesn't count. :P
SFML 1.6... jep you definitely want to upgrade. ;)
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but if you're perpaired in knowledge (and framework)
Don't forget to mention that we were not... :P
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To be honest, I seriously doubt anyone is going to have time to put multiplayer action into their jam games. :P
Well, if people have their own codebase to work from, anything is possible. My own library includes things ranging from compression functions, router reset and IP rotation, automatic imageshack URL uploads (under registered accounts) to (now non-functional) SMTP email, to pulling image links from the GOES satellite weather website, earthquake data from USGS, efficient text parsing systems, 'conversation' text generator (that works by script), basic musical instrumental script system (that can play multiple instruments in parallel).
In-fact, part of the codebase is used to post to a forum to demonstrate how false information can be broadly propagated by automated systems (which combines the automatic image uploading, etc). I've had to reconstruct some fundamental classes (being able to access, read and remove header fields from a HTTP request is highly important in uploads, SFML has it set to private and therefore inaccessible to even subclasses). I suspect people's ingenuity is unlimited. I mean, imagine a forum based computer game?
I'm planning to offer up the compression algorithm to SFML (no licence, public domain) at some point after I clean up and finish testing the recursive functions. It's not a fantastic algorithm (don't expect it to be on par with gzip), and it's written using C programming style (so it would probably need to be encased such to be C++ in classes or namespaces), but...
...It'd have no licensing terms (public domain, no need for credit or anything or additional license bulk), works with pre-existing std::string, configurable settings (so if it's taking too long, you can simplify the pattern search, and if it's not compressed enough, you can increase the complexity). Settings don't affect the receiving end (so you can decompress a heavy level search compression just as you would a light search, no need to communicate settings). It can handle machine code and text code alike, so you can feed in file data raw and it'll spit out the compressed version (however, it's optimised towards text-based data: the more randomised the data stream, less returns you get, and if there are no returns to be had, it doesn't compress the data stream).
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I did add multiplayer in a Ludum Dare 48h Jam, so yes people are crazy enough to do it, and if I can I know I will at least try.
Multiplayer games are always much funier than solo.
Concerning personnal code, I used it for the first one (some kind of framework based on SFML book) and I put it on GitHub and tell people I will use it some time before the Jam. So I'm in favor of it
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1. What about content generators, such as sfxr that was created for LD? LD explicitly allows and encourages sharing them.
2. What about premade music, such as Kevin MacLeod's or any other royalty free music or one that is under CC0?
3. What about premade assets of all kinds actually, graphics, music, effects, such as OpenBundle or other CC0 graphics?
4. Are there tools restriction (apart from programs that are covered by question 1)?
5. If using something like Garage Band, FL studio or LMMS etc. we are of course allowed to use the samples that code with the program to make own music, right..? LD allows that too.
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The rules say:
You only have 72 hours to create both the code and the audio/graphic assets of your project. Pre-made fonts are allowed.
1. What about content generators, such as sfxr that was created for LD? LD explicitly allows and encourages sharing them.
If the audio is created during the Game Jam it doesn't matter whether it's randomly or manually.
2. What about premade music, such as Kevin MacLeod's or any other royalty free music or one that is under CC0?
3. What about premade assets of all kinds actually, graphics, music, effects, such as OpenBundle or other CC0 graphics?
It violates the Game Jam rules, so I'd say no.
4. Are there tools restriction (apart from programs that are covered by question 1)?
I don't see a reason why there should be one. Of course one has to actually have a license to the software. It may give an advantage, but then again effective software usage isn't learned within a few hours/days - those the know how to efficiently handle a specific software will always have an advantage over others.
5. If using something like Garage Band, FL studio or LMMS etc. we are of course allowed to use the samples that code with the program to make own music, right..? LD allows that too.
Good question, intuitively I'd say yes, because samples are essentially similar to having preset to a synthesizer or even more if you use a e-piano, you might actually be playing based of samples and while recording it, it would be very hard to argue that it wasn't created during the Game Jam.
Thus I think it's important to make a difference between, music, sound effects and samples. While music and sound effects are what bring a game to live via audio, samples are only building blocks, they don't make up the music itself.