You might have noticed that http://www.udevgames.com is live. HOWEVER, many areas are not working as of yet, and I ask that you don't register yet.

Seth is right about the entry fee. We did this in 2004 and it worked out fine. I think it was either $5 or $10.
As he said it is to cover the costs of bandwidth, but also to cover costs that I might incur for shipping prizes (some sponsors insist on sending me prizes), it also pays for development. I think it also does a great job of weeding out the entries created in HTML.

Thanks,

In 2004 many entrants who found it difficult to pay were sponsored by other people. I imagine the same will go again.

Yep, that's a good point.

I'd be happy to sponsor a person or two that could show me they had a good start on a game and wanted to participate in the contest.

I dont know if the rules listed on the udevgames page apply but I read that the entries must release source, and must be licensed according to one of the licenses at http://www.opensource.org/licenses .

These licenses there are not just "open source" (as in for personal, educational use), they're free software licenses meaning that it will be hard to make money on your entry in a future expanded version (as some previous entries have) if everyone else can expand on your game based on your source and distribute it free (or even for a price).

You might consider allowing some more restrictive license on the source (i.e. for personal, educational use only), as you allow for the assets.

Edit: Besides I think we should distinguish "good game"-"good source". Thousands of lines of hacked up code from a time restricted contest are rarely of any use to learn. A good tutorial with scope-limited code is 100 times more useful. That's what we need from an educational point of view. I think free software license might scare away good games while giving no real educational benefit.

Check this out:
[link]
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/qtpl.php
[/link]

Quote:3. You may make modifications to the Software and distribute your modifications, in a form that is separate from the Software, such as patches. The following restrictions apply to modifications:

a. Modifications must not alter or remove any copyright notices in the Software.

b. When modifications to the Software are released under this license, a non-exclusive royalty-free right is granted to the initial developer of the Software to distribute your modification in future versions of the Software provided such versions remain available under these terms in addition to any other license(s) of the initial developer.

Take their modifications and release as your own!

One of the goals of the contest is to provide source code useful to others. For that to be the case, it needs to be properly open source, not some pathetic excuse like previous years' "uDevGames license" which gave no rights at all.

The goal is not to prevent future monetization of the game, so the assets are not covered. This currently works for eg. Quake 3 (GPL source, copyright assets). It should be fine for us here.

I was worried fees might possibly be in the realm of $100 or $500. $5 seems entirely reasonable.

kaolin Wrote:I was worried fees might possibly be in the realm of $100 or $500.

That'd kinda defeat the purpose of aiming to win, say, a $50 prize

So, I was thinking, do you guys think this should turn into an "official" uDevGames thread? (I.E. make a new thread titled "uDevGames 2008")?

Or maybe just continue to post to this one?

Quote:# Teams must complete the uDevGames 2008 Contest Entry Form by MONTH DAY, YEAR at
11:59 PM GMT.

Erm, is it starting in november 1? I have final uni exams in first half of november so I am not sure if I can squirrel enough time between dinner and sleep. Is it possible to join during the contest? (even though I have started working earlier.)

No it's not. Ignore any posted date until an actual announcement is made.

> not some pathetic excuse like previous years' "uDevGames license"
Please don't know knock that license. You must understand that in the year I started the contest, 2001, most developers didn't see the benefit of complete open source. In fact, I received a great many negative emails about asking for any source code at all. Times have changed, and the community understands open source more, and the benefits. So a license like uDevGames isn't needed.

You guys made the rules for 2008, but frankly, I'd have suggested picking 3 or 4 of the most accepted licenses http://www.opensource.org/licenses/qtpl.php and allow the devs to pick from them. Keeps things easier, and we could have summarized the major difference in the FAQ between them.

>So, I was thinking, do you guys think this should turn into an "official" >uDevGames thread
Feel free to do so. uDevGames' forum is strickly for Developer Diaries.

>No it's not. Ignore any posted date until an actual announcement is made.
Correct. I should be setting the date on Saturday. Typical length of contest is 3 months, so yes, a winner will be crowned in 2009. Keep in mind that uDevGames 2008 was hatched from my asking anyone interested in a contest.. I was thinking more like 21-Days, since uDevGames preparation usually starts in June to be able to launch in August/Sept. Ayhow, main thing is you all are happy to have a contest.

Don't fret you'll 'miss' the announcement of the contest. It will be announced here and many other places.

Cheers

Q. When will uDevGames 2008 begin?
A. I spoke with Seth, and he feels that December 1st would be a good starting date. I;ve gotten most of the hard stuff completed at uDevGames' website. Next week I will turn my complete attention to sponsors.

Q. December 1st! Only one month for a contest!?!?
A. No, uDevGames is 3 months. So the contest will of course finish in 2009. uDevGames 2009 will of course start in late summer as with past contests... unless a December start turns out to be a huge success. lol

Q. Can I see a glimpse of the rules?
A. Yes, go to http://www.udevgames.com/rules
Let me know if you spot ANY typos!

Q. I see some developers already on uDevGames' members' list! What gives?
A. I am adding previous developers of the contest to the site. At the same time, I am adding all of their previous entries. There's no "head start" here folks. Naturally, the ability to add an entryfor 2008 by developers won't be possible until the contest starts.

Q. Should I register then?
A. If you have entered in the past, it would be helpful. (I'll assign your old games to you as I add them.) Once the contest starts, your data will of course be safe and sound and you won't need to register.. simply add the info for your new entry.

Q. I see that uDevGames has Developer Diaries forum. Can I start to post in there?
A. No. Once your entry is created (when the contest starts), a forum thread will be auto generated for you. You'll use that to post your diary. It's optional but always a big hit with readers, and also a good source for writing up the postmortem.

Q. Some of the sections of the uDevGames site seem broken.
A. Yes, I am working on it day by day. I'm amazed that it is going so well. Many great battles being won each day... at long last... I have the system in place I need in order to properly run the contest.

Cheers

Woohoo! It's great to see this finally happening after so many years. Here's to a fantastic uDevGames and the revival of iDevGames's past glory!