Rule-O-Matic

Don't read too much into the results of these sample spins! The method of picking rules is yet to be tweaked to its full potential, and until a good selection of rules have been added, it's rather meaningless.

Once the Rule-O-Matic has been spun for a final time, the authors of the selected rules will be contacted in order to add clarifications and last minute twists. They won't be allowed to do anything drastic, and to limit their advantage of a heads up, they won't know for sure which of the rules atually were selected. (For example, they may be notified that one of three specific rules have been selected.)

Here is a sample spin, with the following rules being chosen:

1. Genre requirements

   Massive Controlling (OK)

   The game must be about a person/place/thing controlling lots of people/places/things.
   Doesn't matter if it's in the first, second, or third person.

2. Technical requirements

   There are 2 technical requirements:

   Speedy Gonzales (Good)

   The whole game must consist of fast-moving characters or objects. Look at Sonic the Hedgehog's original Sega Genesis adventures, for example. Whatever leaves the player's head spinning!

   Charged (Great)

   The player must be able to execute some type of action, move or attack that takes some time to charge up to maximum potential.

3. Artistic requirements

   There are 2 artistic requirements:

   Gameplay type (OK)

   The same level should be played in different modes.. like handicaps, in reverse, or with different enemes.. it should give the game character good opportunities to USE character-specific skills and environmental factors.

   Give Peace a Chance (OK)

   In this uncertain world, with violence and ill feeling between nations, wouldn't it be good to spread a little love and harmony to everyone and mellow out those negative vibe merchants?
   
   Your entry should exude a message of peace, love and mutual respect. Heaven knows we could do with it right now.. If John Lennon had been alive today..what would he have put in a computer game to get the message across?

4. Bonus rules

   There are 2 bonus rules:

   Act of Genesis (Good)

   You may omit one other rule if your game does not use any external data files.

   Act of Chameleon (OK)

   You may change one (and just one) of the rule for another one taked from the Rule-O-Matic. Just state which one you changed and which rule you'd used as a replacement.

5. Other Important Info

   All entries must comply with all requirements except where nullified by Act of Dog.

   All entries must be submitted on or before 12:00 UTC on Monday 25th July without fail. All entries must be supplied in a ZIP file equal to or less than 250 KB in size. All source code, makefiles, documentation, and references to additional libraries used must be supplied in the ZIP file.

   You can assume that everyone will have a copy of Allegro (standard installation) installed. You do not need to supply one. It is okay to use a more recent version of Allegro, but if someone is unable to compile your game because of that, it's your fault. You should consider uploading binaries for people who have problems compiling the source onto your own website. I will be checking that the binary and source match up, so adding enhancements to the 'competition binary' is not permitted..

   If source code is reused from legal sources (your own, GPLed, public domain) you should declare this and what changes have been made, so that your work can be assessed for the voting.

   People should keep a informative and interesting account of their development through the competition. This can be sent after the competition for those people with no Internet access over the weekend. This does not affect your space requirement.

   A web-based "blog" update page will be available. This will allow spectators to see what is going on :-)

   You can make use of all information sources, mailing lists as you see fit. This is not an exam! :-)