Contest: Ultimate Challenge

Willy Elektrix · Post by **Willy Elektrix** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:13 am

I'm hosting a contest to motivate you. I'll be the judge.

Your Mission: Make a game that is incredibly difficult but still fun.

Deadline: 11:59PM PDT on 5/19. Late entries will not be judged.

Prize: $30 cash to the winner. The prize will not be awarded if there are less than 3 entries or if all entries are pathetically bad.

Suggestions: I respect games that are carefully planned and executed. Spend as much time as you can to make something really great. If you only used 2 days to work on your game, you probably won't win the prize.

Post if you intend to participate. Use this thread to discuss the contest.

EDIT1: Updates to games already released are not valid for entry. Sorry!

EDIT2: Games made without OHR are welcome!

Meowskivich · Post by **Meowskivich** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:55 am

Will you accept games that are technically already "out"? Or at least a completed game that was once a demo? Cuz I could maybe finish up Munch-Meow for this contest if you want. I'm not sure though, as this is rather short-term, and I do have homework what needs doing.

Post by **TMC** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 9:02 am

Will a game not make the grade if it's not difficult enough? Or is difficulty less important than fun, careful planning and execution?

RMSephy · Post by **RMSephy** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 12:55 pm

Count me in. Pretty sure that Vorpal Florist is going to take the contest, but it's worth a try anyways.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:15 pm

RMSephy wrote:Count me in. Pretty sure that Vorpal Florist is going to take the contest, but it's worth a try anyways.

I dunno, I don't think I will be able to reach my next release milestone by the deadline.

This is a nice contest idea. I am looking forward to seeing what people create

Meowskivich · Post by **Meowskivich** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:32 pm

Yeah, it's that short-term deadline what makes this a hard contest to submit for.

Gizmog · Post by **Gizmog** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:56 pm

An entire month is NOT a short-term deadline. TMC's question is interesting, but I think that's half the fun of the contest. How difficult can you make your game before it becomes unfair? Unfun? That's a challenge we face as game designers every day, and it'll be nice to see how people handle it.

Meowskivich · Post by **Meowskivich** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 6:32 pm

Oh, herp, I thought it was said 4/19 and I was like "you want us to make an entire game in 3 days that's challenge and fun? uh, okay, I guess."

Feenicks · Post by **Feenicks** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:52 pm

Time to make a gigantic warp maze filled with terrible enemies!

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:41 pm

Pheonix wrote:Time to make a gigantic warp maze filled with terrible enemies!

All the enemies should be CLOWNS. That will guarantee that the game is FUN

Willy Elektrix · Post by **Willy Elektrix** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:40 pm

Pheonix wrote:Time to make a gigantic warp maze filled with terrible enemies!

Bob the Hamster wrote:All the enemies should be CLOWNS. That will guarantee that the game is FUN

This could easily win.

RMSephy wrote:Count me in. Pretty sure that Vorpal Florist is going to take the contest, but it's worth a try anyways.

Good to hear! We have our first participant!

TMC wrote:Will a game not make the grade if it's not difficult enough? Or is difficulty less important than fun, careful planning and execution?

A good approach to this contest is to explore the line between challenging and infuriating. Ideally, creators will try to make a game that is as difficult as possible, while still being enjoyable.

Meowskivich wrote:Will you accept games that are technically already "out"? Or at least a completed game that was once a demo? Cuz I could maybe finish up Munch-Meow for this contest if you want. I'm not sure though, as this is rather short-term, and I do have homework what needs doing.

Updates to games already released may not be entered. There are a few reasons behind this. Adherence to the theme is really important to this contest and games started before the contest will likely not fully embody the theme. Also, it is hard to compare games for judging if one has been in development for much longer. I hope no one is upset by this.

Meowskivich · Post by **Meowskivich** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:49 pm

Not even my Munch-Meow game I literally put a demo of one level out of just a few days ago?

And does it have to be on the OHRRPGCE? Because if you won't accept Munch-Meow, I have an alternative.

Willy Elektrix · Post by **Willy Elektrix** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:21 am

Meowskivich wrote:Not even my Munch-Meow game I literally put a demo of one level out of just a few days ago?

And does it have to be on the OHRRPGCE? Because if you won't accept Munch-Meow, I have an alternative.

If I make an exception for you, I've got to do one for everyone. I'm really sorry man.

However, if you want to make a game without using OHR, you are welcome and encouraged to do so.

Meowskivich · Post by **Meowskivich** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:30 am

Alright, you asked for it. Prepare for Mario Bros X madness then.

Post by **Mogri** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:11 am

How do you quantify difficulty?

As a good example of why I'm asking this question, consider the seminal I Wanna Be The Guy. It has several difficulty settings, which change the number of checkpoints but nothing else. It is exactly the same game on Impossible difficulty that it is on Medium, except that losing sets you back further. The game's challenge has not increased, but it punishes failure much more harshly.

As another example, suppose I released a game that was identical to Dragon Warrior, except that each step you took on the overworld map conveyed a 1% chance to encounter the Dragonlord as a regular, inescapable battle. The game becomes harder to win, but the increased difficulty arises from factors that are outside the player's control.

So what are you looking for when you ask for an "incredibly difficult" game?