$10,000 Game-In-A-Year Contest
Well. The indie game world just keeps heating up. A new contest geared towards indie game developers (particularly RPG and MMO developers) has been announced - this one with a $10,000 grand prize!

MyDreamRPG.com is running an "Dream Game in a year" contest that started yesterday. In spite of the odd contest start date, it's apparently no April Fool's Joke. The idea is to create an RPG in one year (actually 13 months, according to the contest rules).

The rules seem a little fuzzy, but also very broad and inclusive (IMO, overly so) --- with one major, telling exception: The game you make must be based on one of the four Torque game engines (the original TGE, the TGB 2D game engine, the new "TGEA" advanced-technology engine, or the XNA-based Torque-X).

What's very curious about this contest is the judging criteria. Apparently, its going to be based more on the actual development process than on your final game quality. While the final criteria haven't yet been announced (those have been promised to be announced in 2 weeks) - but Dave Young has provided a post which gives some idea of what they are going for. According to him, "We are going with a point based system this time around, with points being awarded for the completion of various milestone tasks. The idea behind this is that the contest is covering the whole game making process, and not just the final result. In the end, the point totals will determine the winners."

This makes me a little leery, as in his post he mentions things like "backing up smacktalk" (so you have to smacktalk to get those points?), adherance to design (You'd better make sure your design is perfect when you start, I guess, or they'll dock you for changes), and update blogs on the GarageGames site.

As for me, I don't think the timing could have been more perfect. I had already planned on beginning full production of the RPG this month, regardless of the status of Apocalypse Cow. I might be doing double-duty a little bit halfway into the month, but I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for Apocalypse Cow. If I enter the contest, I'll have to spend at least two weeks pulling my scattered notes together into an actual design document anyway. And apparently I have to do some things to increase my visibility.

I really don't know if I have a prayer of finishing the RPG by the end of April 2008. But I've got nothing to lose by trying, right? After all, I've created a (lame) RPG in only a week, before, without any game engine or commercial tools at all. A year, plus a budget, plus a game engine... that all sounds like LUXURY.

So - if you were mulling over whether or not to take the plunge -- if you've been talking for YEARS about how you would make an RPG that was so much better than anything else out there.... well, now is your chance. There's a $10G reward for doing it, and apparently handling the production in a professional manner and hitting your deadlines. And whether you win a prize or not - the prizes are only the beginning. You'll have a (hopefully) sellable product at the end of the process, not to mention a ton of experience, your own IP, and... well, something worth MAJOR bragging rights.

If you have NEVER created a commercial game before, I strongly recommend taking a look at Torque Game Builder. It's far easier to use and learn than the 3D technology. If you have any doubts as to whether a 2D-based RPG is commercially viable, I invite you to take a look at Aveyond and Cute Knight - both are based on 2D gaming technology, and from what I have heard, both of them made some pretty serious money last year --- and continue to do so. Or take a look at GameTunnel's 2006 RPG of the year, FastCrawl. Which is also apparently selling pretty well. And all three are a heck of a lot of fun, to boot. There's still a lot of games waiting to be made that aren't dependent on the latest graphics processors.

And hey, I think the time is right for an Ultima VII-esque indie 2D RPG! Somebody get to it! I'll buy it!

Opportunity is staring you in the face.
[F]ight, [R]un, [T]alk, or [C]ast Spell?


UPDATE: While the organizing website is MyDreamRPG, and the community is focused on RPGs, it should be noted here (something that I overlooked, shame on me) that they have very pointedly avoided restricting game entries to Roleplaying Games - even calling it a "Dream Game" contest. So if you are starting ANY kind of Torque game project between now and the end of June, and you expect to be completed by April 2008, you've probably got nothing to lose by entering the contest.

(Vaguely) related shooting the breeze:
* Torque 2D Game Builder Quick Review
* Give 2D a Chance!
* RPG Design: The "Brute Force" Problem
* Interview With Amanda Fitch, Indie RPG Developer (Creator of Aveyond)
* Interview With Georgina Bensley, Creator of the Indie RPG Cute Knight
* Torque 1.5 and a Torque Wish-List
* Forrest Gump Meets the Avatar of Virtue
* How To Get Me To Buy Your Indie RPG
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Labels: Frayed Knights, productivity, Roleplaying Games, Torque

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