A question for and about my competitors
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Hi guys, I'm kind of a noob on this site, but I like the looks of the 4E contest,and I have a question. I am a fairly competent C++/Directx programmer, although I'm not particularly advanced or largely experienced.
I have developed a small game engine which is a fairly good feat for me, and I was just wondering if you guys think its foolish of me to try at this stage in my,ermm, career.
I know its never foolish to try, but how much experience do you guys have? I won't have a team but I will have a custom engine... I would expect to get creamed, but do you guys think its worth a try anyway?
I can think of no reason whatsoever to not enter. Except for not having an entry.
So, I can think of no reason whatsoever to not seriously attempt an entry. It provides experience, exposure, satisfaction, (mostly) helpful commentary and suggestions from your peers. And quite likely other tangible and intangible benefits I have failed to think of in the last minute or so.
So, I can think of no reason whatsoever to not seriously attempt an entry. It provides experience, exposure, satisfaction, (mostly) helpful commentary and suggestions from your peers. And quite likely other tangible and intangible benefits I have failed to think of in the last minute or so.
If you are going to make a game anyways, might as well do it for a contest. Who knows, you might put together a great game and win. Either way you still get the experience and it's one more thing you can say you did.
I think it this case, as you said, it never hurts to try! I don't even have as much experience as you, but I'm still going to try. Fail or succeed, you're sure to learn something :)
I'm a teenager making my game in between homework, so I probably don't stand a chance anyways, but who cares? It'll be fun.
Quote:Original post by Rodin
I'm a teenager making my game in between homework, so I probably don't stand a chance anyways, but who cares? It'll be fun.
Hey, so am I. Don't feel discouraged about entering. The contest is judged on quite a few different aspects of gameplay, and even though graphics usually are huge in judgements, the people here on gamedev seem to respect gameplay a bit more. Take a look at some of the previous years' entries and you'll find that sometimes it wasn't the fanciest of games that won, but the most enjoyable. If you find your game fun, have a friend try it, and if they like it then you should most definitely enter(assuming the game follows the contest rules).
Don't feel let down on how advanced you are(or aren't). Have fun, because even if you don't take first place, you'll have a nice game to post on a future resume.
If you've got the time and the passion, just go for it! At worst it'll be a learning experience, but most likely you'll get a lot out of it.
A general tip: From my analysis of the entries in previous years, the most important thing is to pick a game idea that you can actually complete in the time frame available. A small simple game that is finished and polished up generally does better than a medium sized game that is unpolished and buggy, which in turn is better than a large game which doesn't get completed at all. If you can find a simple game concept that you know you can finish in the time rather than aiming far too high, you'll most likely do well even if you don't think you're that advanced as a programmer (but if you can complete a small engine, you're pretty well set in my view).
Best of luck, and I look forward to following your progress!
A general tip: From my analysis of the entries in previous years, the most important thing is to pick a game idea that you can actually complete in the time frame available. A small simple game that is finished and polished up generally does better than a medium sized game that is unpolished and buggy, which in turn is better than a large game which doesn't get completed at all. If you can find a simple game concept that you know you can finish in the time rather than aiming far too high, you'll most likely do well even if you don't think you're that advanced as a programmer (but if you can complete a small engine, you're pretty well set in my view).
Best of luck, and I look forward to following your progress!
Things will not be decided by your technical competence as an artist or programmer, though they will certainly play a role. The important thing here is your maturity as an engineer: apply the YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It) principle thoroughly to avoid feature creep, development delays, and generally to get something done as soon as possible, and avoid the NIH (Not Invented Here) antipattern to spend time on relevant things (the game) instead of irrelevant things (reimplementing algorithms or systems already available in either the public domain or as open source).
Me? I'm a 23-year-old law student. With some experience in C++ and DirectX. I will probably be programming a game in Objective Caml and OpenGL, just in case someone decides to award prizes for multi-platformness.
Me? I'm a 23-year-old law student. With some experience in C++ and DirectX. I will probably be programming a game in Objective Caml and OpenGL, just in case someone decides to award prizes for multi-platformness.
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