Rule-O-Matic

Don't read too much into the results of these sample spins! The method of picking rules is yet to be tweaked to its full potential, and until a good selection of rules have been added, it's rather meaningless.

Once the Rule-O-Matic has been spun for a final time, the authors of the selected rules will be contacted in order to add clarifications and last minute twists. They won't be allowed to do anything drastic, and to limit their advantage of a heads up, they won't know for sure which of the rules atually were selected. (For example, they may be notified that one of three specific rules have been selected.)

Here is a sample spin, with the following rules being chosen:

1. Genre requirements

   Despair Event Horizon (Great)

   In any good story there is always a breaking point when all is lost, the hero loses hope in him or herself, and evil's triumph seems inevitable. This is where your game begins. Your game must be about returning back from nothing, right from the breaking point of certain defeat, to achieve victory against all odds.

2. Technical requirements

   There is 1 technical requirement:

   Forgot all about that (OK)

   Take one game mechanic that is standard for the genre your game is in, and avoid using it. This has to be something important for the genre, preferably something that is present in nearly all games of that kind. A platformer with no gravity, a bullet-hell shooter in which the player cannot die/shoot, or an RPG with no levelling up possible are all fair game.

3. Artistic requirements

   There is 1 artistic requirement:

   Big and Small (Excellent)

   Your design should feature the contrast between big and small things. For example, ants and elephants, pebbles and mountains, etc.

4. Bonus rules

   There is 1 bonus rule:

   Act of Efficiency (Good)

   You may opt out of one other rule if the ZIP file of your entry is less than 150KB (153600 bytes)

5. Other Important Info

   All entries must comply with all requirements except where nullified by Act of Dog.

   All entries must be submitted on or before 12:00 UTC on Monday 25th July without fail. All entries must be supplied in a ZIP file equal to or less than 250 KB in size. All source code, makefiles, documentation, and references to additional libraries used must be supplied in the ZIP file.

   You can assume that everyone will have a copy of Allegro (standard installation) installed. You do not need to supply one. It is okay to use a more recent version of Allegro, but if someone is unable to compile your game because of that, it's your fault. You should consider uploading binaries for people who have problems compiling the source onto your own website. I will be checking that the binary and source match up, so adding enhancements to the 'competition binary' is not permitted..

   If source code is reused from legal sources (your own, GPLed, public domain) you should declare this and what changes have been made, so that your work can be assessed for the voting.

   People should keep a informative and interesting account of their development through the competition. This can be sent after the competition for those people with no Internet access over the weekend. This does not affect your space requirement.

   A web-based "blog" update page will be available. This will allow spectators to see what is going on :-)

   You can make use of all information sources, mailing lists as you see fit. This is not an exam! :-)