Shall we have a game coding contest?

[David Williams]

Shall we set up a game coding contest with cash prizes for the best entries?

I am thinking that it should be specifically a BBCSDL (BBC BASIC for SDL 2.0)-based contest largely because the language is freely available, and also because it will hopefully stimulate more usage and exposure of BBCSDL. It may also help Richard out in that the game programming process could expose bugs in the BBCSDL interpreter or an IDE.

A game theme or type can be agreed upon by consensus. I believe that significant emphasis should be placed on a game's playability and 'fun factor' rather than snazzy graphics and audio (others may disagree here, which is fine!). Perhaps 'fun factor' (as subjective as it may be) might get a triple weighting in the evaluation, whereas graphics & sound receive single weightings.

More thoughts...

I would say, provisionally at least, that at a minimum the game must be able to be run under the Windows version of BBCSDL, but all or most of BBCSDL's supported platforms could be targeted if the game's creator so wishes (as long as one of the platforms is Windows). There should be no obligation to support multiple platforms, although some will want to do this.

Should some assembly language be permitted (perhaps subject to a maximum assembled code size limit)?

Who would be willing and able to contribute to the prize fund? I for one am currently willing and able to do so.

And what size of prize fund should we be aiming for?

For those that don't know how to draw graphics or plot sprites with BBCSDL, there is loads of example source code available to peruse (Richard's conversions of my games, and the many example programs that come as standard with the BBCSDL package).

Anyone interested?

[Ric]

I think it is a fantastic idea, anything to spread the word about BB4W is a done deal in my book. I have just introduced my son to it PRINT, INPUT, FOR... NEXT sort of level at the moment I am not in a position to enter myself, but I am willing to contribute to a prize fund.

David, if you want to contact my privately to discuss amounts, please feel free to do so.

Kind regards Ric

[David Williams]

I think it is a fantastic idea

This is a positive start.

... anything to spread the word about BB4W is a done deal in my book.

Personally, I would prefer it to be a BBCSDL-only contest, but if there's overall agreement for allowing entries made with and for BB4W then I wouldn't oppose it. But then there would be the question of what methods people would use to get sprites or other graphics on the screen.

I am not in a position to enter myself

Not even if it's a 3 or 4 month competition?

but I am willing to contribute to a prize fund.

That's generous, are you sure?

What's your thoughts on a prize fund of, say, £500? I can front £300, and if others (preferably several contributors!) could chip in the remaining amount then perhaps the prizes could be structured as follows: 1st = £250, 2nd = £150, 3rd = £100. A bit arbitrary perhaps, but does this sound fair?

[Ric]

I don't see why it can not be just bbcsdl, I was just using a generic term with BB4W. The problem I have is work!! When it's mad it's mad. I might be able to join in if it were allowed to run over Christmas. I can contribute the other £200 and was thinking exactly the same distribution.

Any thoughts on agreement or otherwise anyone?

Kind regards Ric

[David Williams]

The problem I have is work!! When it's mad it's mad.

I quite understand!

I might be able to join in if it were allowed to run over Christmas.

I was suggesting a 3 or 4 month competition (personally I would prefer 4 which would place the deadline in March).

I can contribute the other £200 and was thinking exactly the same distribution.

Wow! That is seriously generous of you, thank you.

It looks like the prize fund is sorted then, if no-one else fancies chipping in to increase it?


So who apart from myself and Ric (time-permitting) would be interested in taking part?

Would anyone like to suggest a theme? Perhaps also suggest some requirements such as limiting the allowed number of colours to, say, 16, or limit the allowed resolution to, say, a nice chunky 320x240 or whatever? Or no such limitations at all? Personally I'm easy.

I would reiterate my preference that it be a BBCSDL-only contest, but I'm happy to be outvoted on this requirement!


David.
--

[David Williams]

From the Stardot forum (thread title: Re: New: Console Mode editions of BBC BASIC), Richard wrote this today (November 4th, 2021):

"If you say (and I wouldn't blame you) that code created that way, by somebody with no knowledge of the C language, is unacceptable, I will happily and without hesitation discontinue all my products built from that code base. It had been my intention to do that anyway on 1st October last, but I didn't go ahead with it then. I have been considering doing it (and closing down all my websites and other online resources) at the end of the year."

(I wonder if that includes his BBCSDL GitHub page?)

In light of that statement, perhaps a BBCSDL-only contest isn't such a good idea after all?

If this contest is to go ahead, should pretty much any version of BBC BASIC (including BB4W and Sophie's ARM BBC BASIC) be permissible? I'm beginning to think so myself. After all, we all have access to emulators (RPCEmu is brilliant) and many of us will at least have a Raspberry Pi or two lying around.

Any thoughts?

[Ric]

A bit of a tangent, but does anyone know what is going to happen to bbcsdl and or BB4W when Richard finally quits?

Kind regards Ric

[Ric]

With regard to the contest, if we are to show off any of the variants of BBC Basic then surely the more snazzy the games look the better.

Kind regards Ric

[DDRM]

Hi Folks,

I think a game competition is a great idea. I'll take part if I can, though I'm notoriously bad at starting things and not finishing them....

My suggestion for limitations etc would be to avoid them as much as possible, though I wonder if it would be a good idea to limit it to "pure" BBC BASIC. I guess by that I mean no assembler, and probably not even SYS calls. My reasons for suggesting that are:

1) It will mean most, if not all, programs should run happily in either BB4W or BBC-SDL
2) I hope it will encourage less experienced programmers to give it a go
3) It will highlight the abilities of BBC BASIC, in its modern incarnations, rather than the ability of people to use it as a platform to show off C coding/DirectX/Direct3D skills. On the other hand, if you want fancy 3D graphics, you'll probably need to allow (maybe library-mediated) access to something of the sort.... but then BB4W and BBC-SDL solutions will diverge.

Need to go to a meeting, but I'll add further thoughts, inc. on prize funds...

Best wishes,

D

[DDRM]

OK, back....

Prize fund: I'll PM you about this, David. Happy to chip something in, but my aversion to E-banking may be something of a challenge...
I liked the idea in the latest Syntaxbomb competition, where the prize fund was dependent on the number of entries - encouraged more people to enter, and avoids situations where there are only one or two entries, which might not be of suitable standard.

Ideas for titles/themes: my preference would be to make it quite open, so people can contribute whatever they fancy - especially for a first event like this (in this forum) - whether that be platform, board game, scrolling shoot-em up, text-based adventure, 3d role playing, or whatever. But maybe give a theme - what about "Climate Emergency"? I think you could stretch that to cover most topics - I might be tempted to try to make a sort of Sim-world type game - which would be so complex I'd never finish it - but would also allow adventure games, goo-flowing-through-pipes games, or....

What limits would you impose on who could enter? group-funding the prizes implies those people could also enter? Who gets to judge? Anyone on the forum who has actually played all the games?

Best wishes,

D