The deadline for CGDC5 has come and gone, and the entries are in.
Looking over the 25 entries we have so far, although impressed, we think we could be a bit more impressed. Some of the entries need a couple more coats of polish, and many of you wished you had more time to finish up and get your entries in.
The judges and sponsors have talked it over, and we have decided to allow a bit more development time by extending the competition deadline by almost 2 weeks.
New deadline: Sunday, March 16, 2008 11:59PM (GMT-4:00)
Remember, the theme of the competition is UPGRADE, so let's upgrade those entries with some polish. See you on the 16th!
Sweet! I had developed a concept and graphics, but realized I wouldn't have time to make it. Now I've got a shot!
Only downside is, I won't be able to play the other entries for another two weeks...
part of me says "yay!!!" because that means more games and better games. but part of me says "aaaah..." beacause i want to play them NOW!!!!!
I don't speak Polish :D
Nah, but seriously: altough I'm eager to play the entries for this competition, I don't mind having to wait two more weeks if that means the entries are better!
I hate to presume things, since it makes a "pres" out of "u" and "me", but can I safely presume that means those of us who fought to make it by midnight are invited to resubmit?
bdj - Of course! Everyone is invited to participate.
Is this a sign that there was not enough time between the competitions? Perhaps CGDC6 should start in August or even October.
I understand why it was extended but it seems a little unfair to those who developed based on the stated rules. Just thought I would express the other side of the fence. I still plan on resubmitting though and support the competition.
I don't really believe the length of the time period between competitions has any bearing on the results.
I believe one of the reasons for needing the extension might be due to the "upgrade" theme: it suggests multi-layered gameplay. Creating a game in 2 months is difficult enough; creating one with complexity, even more so.
Interesting trivia:
CGDC2 (held this time last year) produced the fewest number of entries we've seen in one of our competitions.
The deadline for CGDC2 was also extended by a period of 2 weeks.
If we do another competition in the future, we will pre-announce when the competition announcement will take place and the development period for it. We may even ask for a vote on a theme.
i would love to be able to vote on the theme of a competition.
What sad news!
I can't really understand why the developers who actually finished their game before the deadline are getting punished like this. What about those who planned their schedules so that they could enter? I always thought it was a part of a competition to understand the timeframe also - read: to design a game that could be finished on deadline.
But no: let's give the slower ones, the ones that didn't pay attention to the deadline, two more weeks to finish, or maybe four if they need it, who knows! What's the point in having a competition if you don't have to stick to the rules? Sadly it seems like a competition for the dabbler's.
Sorry to leave such a bitter note to you guys. Good luck to everyone! I too hope to see some top notch entries in two weeks. ;)
Taali from ooPixel
CGDC2 had a similar theme too... both 'grow' and 'upgrade' imply some sort of evolution/improvement during the course of the game.
Voting on the competition's theme is a great idea.
I hope that when you decide on the winners you take into account those who submitted their entries in time for the original deadline and those who didn't. I believe thats the only fair way to do it.
Good luck to everybody i can't wait to play the games!
Darn. I was really looking forward to playing some new games today in my break between classes. I guess I'll actually have to study now :(
But at least it does imply that the games would be better in two weeks.
The deadline thing really is a bit unfair for those who have struggled to finish the game in time, but even if this extra time means more competitors, it also mean more games to play and more fun to have, for the players and the competitors who are still players at heart! Also, the gamers who worked hard to get the game ready will have some extra time to make the game better and maybe put a few things they weren't able to do before. Two extra weeks means two extra weeks for everyone, and the people who made it to the deadline will have two weeks of advantage over the people who didn't. Improvement is not a bad thing, so people shouldn't be getting angry if they are being given more time to acomplish their projects. That's my opinion as a game maker.
Now, speaking as a player, WHY DID YOU DO THAT??? OMG, I SIMPLY CAN'T STAND THIS SUSPENSE PUNCTUATION GOING AWAY AND MY PHRASES ISN'T GOT MAKING SENSE BRAIN!!!!! MeLTinG... (blacks out)
And this is my opinion as a player.
Hope this "deadline extension" thing doesn't turn into a huge discussion which will disqualify the whole competition, 'cause that would be depressing. And sad. And many other of those dark adjectives.
Thanks, Donut. ^_^
We will, of course, consider those who did get their game in before the initial deadline during the final judging.
Another important thing to consider is the fact that these competitions attract a great number of visitors and game 'views' for each developer. To date, our first 4 competition collections have received over 5.5 million views!
Having a stronger lineup will benefit ALL participants.
Blaaah! I was looking forward to playing these games today!
Oh well, if some of them aren't ready, I suppose extending the deadline is worth it in the end.
I honestly don't see a single problem with extending the deadline.
As pointed out in the post, some people have apparently handed a product that wasn't quite up to par with what could be expected for a competition like this. I'm not talking about making professional games, but actually polishing off your game, and finishing those last important touches.
Also, a big assumption is being made here that the people who expressed to have more time for the competition, are lazy asses who couldn't be arsed to get started on development from the get-go. That does by no means have to be the case, it could be a matter of having bit over more than they could chew, or having an almost-finished product, which only needed to have the last few bugs removed and be tested.
I don't even see how this could possibly be a punishment to anyone, not even those who already handed in the product. Those who have handed it in time, get 2 extra weeks to add extra features, polish the game off more, test it some more, find some more bugs and stuff like that. Those who didn't get more time to do the above, or to finally get started with developing their game, and in the latter case well, their game will be judged as such.
So quite frankly, an extended deadline only has advantages. Besides, correct me if I'm wrong, but when the deadline for the next competition a while ago was increased to 2 months, people couldn't have been happier.
And just for the record, no I'm not one of those who handed in an un-finished game. I had an idea but never even started on it, and I don't see how I could within 2 weeks, so I'm not gonna submit it.
Jay,
In order to keep the universe from falling apart, I suggest you post a game - any game - any new shiny and distracting game. :)
slgalt - done. (And probably even as you were just posting that comment.) :)
wait... "presume"?
surely it's assume? ass out of you and me?
never mind
but this means we have to wait another almost two weeks? boo!
nah, I can wait, it means more games
^^
Good news and bad news.
Good news because I was working on a game. Maybe now I can finish it.
Bad news because I was hoping to see the new games :)
and my bad news is that I might not even have time to finish it in the next 2 weeks either, I just don't have much time at all.
The deadline extend? YES~~~...and NO~~~ TT^TT
It is great that I still has chance to continue on completing my game ( not polish ) since I only sent Jay my prototype XD
Unfortunately...I having short semester in my college now, which mean the assignment had started and need to hand out soon...
Why? Why the timing always not right?
You rock, Jay. :D
Sigh.. and here was me thinking I could play a string of upgrading games today and do absolutely no work.
On a better note... can one learn flash entirely, plan and develop a game to a theme and finish it in 2 weeks?
no.
Re-reading my post, it seems like I was criticising - I wasn't I think it is good to extend the dead line, if it means more games and better polished games (I do speak polish!?)... I meant that I would like to make a game - only I do not speak flash!
Does anyone else feel that this extension fits into the theme rather perfectly?
I mean, UPGRADE what you had to make it even better!
I would love to be able to say that this extension (or 'upgrade period') was what we had in mind all along. That would make it all seem so brilliant, eh? Yeah, let's go with that... ;)
Quick! Jay, UPGRADE the post to say that!
:D
The games were so unpolished because you squeezed out every last drop of creativity the developers had by holding five competitions in a row. You announced CGDC5 before you even finished reviewing the games for CGDC4. I mean, geeze. Maybe annual is the way to go? Let them have some cool down time for once.
Sorry, but I don't buy that. Do you know how many people are developing Flash games these days?
I'd be willing to bet tens of thousands.
Hi, given that we have some more time to improve our games, is it permissible to ask for play-testers via this site? I wouldn't post the URL, but could email the swf to people who ask for it.
It would help me identify the aspects of my game that need the most attention.
If this violates the terms and/or spirit of the competition, that's cool. Just thought I'd ask.
Matt
Hi Matt,
We have 7 reviewer/judges play-testing all entries and will be glad to provide some feedback for you.
In fact, we are in the process of compiling feedback for everyone who submitted their entry 'early', and yours is being prepared as I write this. I will send it to you shortly.
Extending the deadline is fine...not sure what all the fuss is about really. It's good for developers and sponsors...only bad for kids who don't want to wait a little longer.
Update