Some rules

[Zeggy]

Just some things you should read first:

Post one topic per person/team, and explain everything you want in that topic. Feel free to make edits, double-post, triple-post or just keep replying to the topic as long as it contains updates.

What would be very nice is if, along with the game URL, you could keep some sort of development/update blog so we can all keep up with what/how everybody else is doing on their games. This isn't necessary, but I find that kind of stuff very interesting

[xintron]

I've got a question, will the design have a significant role in the judgment of the game? And what about validation? Is it fine if the code validates as it should but may look like hell in IE (in other words, correct coded but wrong rendered by IE)? Since I only care about following the standards and don't give a crap about IE people. Hopefully my sites looks good using IE, if not the ones browsing my sites should get themselves a working web browser.

[Zeggy]

Design probably won't make such a large impact. Of course, good looking games are fun to play, but plainly designed games without any images can also be fun.

As for validity, if you remember the criterion of the contest, it's just 'how fun it is'. So the judges will be playing your game and if it's fun, your game gets nominated.

I don't know what browser the judges will be using, so if they happen to use IE (just like a large number of web game players) and your game isn't playable in IE, then you might have a small problem

[xintron]

I don't know what browser the judges will be using, so if they happen to use IE (just like a large number of web game players) and your game isn't playable in IE, then you might have a small problem

hrmm... so I have to take into consideration if it's worth messing with getting it to work in IE just because I can reach out to a larger audience (and less knowing when it comes to the webstandards)? Well, it's not my style and if the judges might use IE, I don't really care. Lets just hope that IE will render my site correctly then (since it's correctly coded)

[Zeggy]

Well, that's how you should think when you're making a regular web game as well

It's not really practical for visitors to make them download and learn to use a new browser just to play your game. Generally you want to be able to get as many players as possible, and since people are very lazy, you need to make it easy for them to get started immediately.

[xintron]

Well, that's how you should think when you're making a regular web game as well

It's not really practical for visitors to make them download and learn to use a new browser just to play your game. Generally you want to be able to get as many players as possible, and since people are very lazy, you need to make it easy for them to get started immediately.

I rather have less players playing my game than users who just don't understand their own "faults" if I may call it that. But this is based on a long and very hateful M$ story and I don't really think it's fit to talk about it here.

[genmac]

Before I post my entry I wanted to ask about it as I have worked on a previous version before the contest.  However the entry for the contest would be 100% new game code, as I'm rewriting it from the ground up.  Which leads into my second question - I use the LoGD codebase (dragonprime.net) for this specific game, since I'm a hobbyist and writing the same old player login functions kills me inside.  Considering the above would my entry be valid?

[Zeggy]

You say you're using 100% new game code, but you're also using the LoGD code, so I'm a little confused.

If you're just using the player login functions, that should be fine. All (or most) gameplay aspects should be coded by you or your team though.

[genmac]

Yes, sorry, the LoGD code is only used for the login & navigation routines, none of the game logic (this is the original part).  I also ran across siegeserver and am tempted by that so this might be a more general "can I use an API someone else wrote if the game logic is original" kind of question.

[Zeggy]

Yeah sure, I guess that's okay.
By the way, it looks like siege server uses Java.

[RangerSheck]

By the way, it looks like siege server uses Java.

I think that might only be for administrating and running the server. I checked out spellsiege.com and tried to play the game that runs the siege server engine and it appeared to be all js/html.

(I say "tried" because I found the gameplay non-intuitive and the game's wiki is down, so I sat in battle a couple rounds and did mostly nothing...)

[genmac]

Yeah the server and plugins use java, but it outputs HTML.  The walkthrough on the wiki made it look amazingly easy, I've asked that he share some of the source for the plugins so I can see some of the api stuff in action.