Thank you all for taking an interest in the 2nd PGD Challenge! The second challenge's theme will be 'The Journey'. You goal will be to make a playable game or demo that features multiple locations each with their own style and feel. Of course your game can be of any genre, but it should feature traveling from location to location. You can have the game play take place at the location it's self or traveling from a location to a new location. The design will be totally up to you!

There is a minimum limit of at least three locations, but more may be included. You will be scored on five main categories from two judges just like the previous challenge last year.

We've created a new event forum for you to create a new thread to post your progress, if you choose to do so and to discuss the competition with other competitors. You can access that right here.

Be sure to read the full rules listed below. Failure to follow these rules, could disqualify you from the challenge or cause you to perform poorly. Please read them carefully. If you have any questions please post them in this thread provided in the 2nd PGD Challenge event forum.

You may receive bonus points for extra effort. Should you add extra locations to your game, you will receive a bonus for each extra up to a maximum of 5 extra locations. As with the first 3, each must as well have their own look and feel.

Your submissions will then need to be uploaded to an FTP account before the end of challenge date at: April 29th. After that date judges will begin scoring, adding bonus points and tallying up your scores.

RemObjects Special Offer: RemObjects Software is offering a free digital copy of Oxygene for Java to any entry that uses Oxygene to create their game. This includes Oxygene for Java and Oxygene for .NET. (also called Delphi Prism or just Prism XE2) You can get the free trial versions or learn more about Oxygene at www.remobjects.com!

Good luck to everyone and have fun creating your entries!

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The Rules:

REGISTRATION: All competitors must register to compete. Unlike the PGD Annual events, we do not need your (real) full name or mailing address, but an email address to be able to contact you and send you any prizes that you win. Though including your (real) full name is highly encouraged. You may register as a team or as an individual. We will ask the team leaders how they want their prizes split in the case of teams' winnings. All this information will be kept private and will not be used for anything other than this competition! ALL teams, without exception, agree to our DISCLAIMER by registering for the competition!

To register all you must do is include a simple readme file in your submission file. It should contain your name and contact information (email address) and a basic set of instructions on how to play your game. You can include any other information you deem fit with regards to your game as it will be visible to others who try your games after the competition as well.

PASCAL: All entries must be made using Pascal, Object Pascal, Objective-Pascal, Oxygene or any of the Pascal-based languages available. The most popular of these compiler and IDE tools are Delphi, Lazarus, Delphi Prism, Free Pascal, Oxygene for Java and Smart Mobile Studio. All future use of the term Pascal within these rules are assumed to mean any of the Pascal or Pascal-derived language dialects.

GENRE: Any! As long as your game matches the gameplay theme, you can work this theme into any kind of game genre of your choosing.

PLATFORM: The platforms we will be accepting games for this year will be Win32, Linux, Mac OS X, Java and HTML5. All judges will have a machine capable of running Windows, Mac OS X or Linux and HTML5 capable browsers to test and play your games.

OPEN SOURCE: We are letting the competitors choose to include source or not. This will allow the games created in this competition and their engines to be used for commercial use by their authors afterwards. The option is yours, but you don't have to include it to compete in this challenge.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: As always, you will have to design to the judges hardware specs. If they cannot run it, then they cannot score it. See the beginning day announcement for judges hardware and operating system specs.

Should you be unsure, ask in the PGD forum dedicated for this event. Assigned judges will be happy to answer your questions about system support and what is available to them.

BONUS POINTS: After you have submitted your entry into the challenge, bonus points may be added to your score should the judge deem you have fulfilled the bonus' intent. These points will be added to your judged scores to go towards your total score.

FINAL SCORES: After all the final submissions are uploaded the judges will then begin awarding each entry with scores for each of 5 categories; graphics & audio, easy of control, stability & lack of bugs, innovation & creativity and fun factor. Then the bonus points will be added after. Highest score takes first place and so on.

SUBMISSIONS: You must submit a working executable on or before the challenge deadline. Should a judge not be able to run or finds your game in an unplayable state you may receive NO points from them.

Each submission will be either a single archive, compressed with a common format(Zip, RAR or GZip), that contains the executable and ALL other required game data and library files that are CLEANLY organized within OR a single installer that will both install and uninstall cleanly.

The easier it is to setup and run you game on any Mac OS X, Linux or Windows system, the happier the judges will be about trying your entry!

SIZE LIMIT: Though we now have unlimited space, within reason, not everyones's time or bandwidth is unlimited. To help curb insane download times, there will be a limit to the size of your entries. Your entry may not be larger than 200MB or it will be disqualified.

3RD PARTY LIBRARIES & API: 3rd party API and libraries are allowed based on availability of Pascal headers for them. The core of your game's engine must still be Pascal.

3RD PARTY GAME ENGINES: The only 3rd party game engines allowed to be used in your entries are those made from Pascal or Object Pascal sources. Translated from C/C++ to Pascal projects are acceptable. However a significant amount of content including all graphics, dialog, music and sound must be replaced with that of either your own making or that which you are legally allowed to use for your game's release.

ie. The Quake2Delphi translated version of the engine is allowable. The original untranslated Freespace 2 engine is not.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: No entry can use any copyright or registered trademark of an intellectual property other than your own without given permission from it's originators. Games not conforming to this guideline will be disqualified and not eligible for prize winnings of any kind.

Disclaimer:

DISTRUBUTION: I(We) the party registering for this competition as an individual or as a team, agree to allow the current and any future 'PGD Challenge Committee' and PGD Community website organizers the ability to freely distribute any submitted games to the 2nd PGD Challenge Mini Competition. This permission also includes the distribution of your final entries on the competition website it self. They would only be used to promote PGD and it's community and not for commercial gain.

MEDIA DEPICTION & USAGE: The 'PGD Challenge' organizers and PGD Community website staff have full rights to use my entered game for advertising purposes of any future PGD Challenge or other PGD community events.

Challenge Goals:

THEME: This challenge's theme is Travel. You or your team's goal is to make a game where you travel from location to location. Gameplay can take place traveling from location to location or at each new location. Each new location must have a different visual theme and it must be obvious that you are in a new location. Different music can also be used as well to help give a different feel to each new location your game visits. Beyond that there are no further guidelines to follow in the design of your game other than a minimum limit of locations you must have in-game.

LOCATIONS: There must be a minimum of 3 locations in total! Each individual location must have it's own visual theme or style. Music can be used to help improve the theme, but will not count if used alone to differentiate from a past location.

BONUSES:

• 5 points for each extra location. Maximum of 5!
• 20 points for being able to revisit locations.

EXTRA LOCATIONS: You may receive an added 5 bonus points to your end score for each additional location beyond the minimum required to a maximum of 25 bonus points total. So that means any more than 5 extra locations on top of the required 3 will not give you more bonus points.

RE-VISITING LOCATIONS: You will receive a bonus of 20 points if you allow your players to go back to previously visited locations during the same play-through of your game. This can be done by either allowing players to select the next location to visit and/or travel to OR by having the locations linked in such a way that the players are freely able to travel openly between them to complete goals or unlock newly accessible areas later on in the game. The option of how you use this is up to you, but should players be abel to revisit new levels later on during play, you will receive the bonus points.

START DATE: The competition starts right now; 30^th of March, 2012. Start planning and coding today!

END DATE: The competition ends at midnight of the 29^th of April, 2012. This gives you just over 4 weeks to complete your entries and upload it to the FTP server.

Scoring:

Each Judge will give a score from 0 to 10 for each of these 5 categories...

Graphics & Audio = Score x 10
Easy of Control = Score x 10
Stability & Lack of Bugs = Score x 10
Innovation & Creativity = Score x 10
Fun Factor = Score x 10

Total Score = ( G&A + EoC + S&LoB + I&C + FF ) x 2 (judges)

Final Score = Total Score +/- Bonuses

Max possible Total Score without bonuses is 1000!

Judges:

Jim McKeeth


System 1) PC running Windows 64-bit ^*
CPU: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 (Quad Core Q6600)
Memory: 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics: nVIDIA GeForce 9400M GT 512MB VRAM
Audio: Intel High Definition Audio (Built-in)
^* Linux available via Live CD!

System 3) MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.7.3 (Lion)
CPU: 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual Core P7550)
Memory: 4 GB
Graphics: nVIDIA GeForce 9400M (Built-in)
Audio: Cirrus Logic CS4206A (Built-in)


Johannes Stein aka Stoney


System 1) MacBook Pro (Laptop) running Mac OS X 10.6.7 (Snow Leopard), Linux and Windows 7
CPU: 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4 GB
Graphics: nVidia 9400 (Built-in)
Audio: ?

System 2) ITX running Windows 7 and Linux
CPU: 3.33 GHz Intel i3-560 x 2
Memory: 4 GB
Graphics: ATI Radeon 5750
Audio: ?

System 3) ASUS EEE Netbook running Windows XP and Linux
CPU: 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
Memory: 1 GB
Graphics: Intel GMA
Audio: ?

FTP Server for Submissions:

Upload your file including your name/team name and email address to contact you and ask questions to the following FTP server to make your submission for the competition. Failure to upload your entry and provide any identifying information will automatically disqualify you!

Username: pgdchallenge02
Password: ObjectPascal1
Server Address: ftp.pascalgamedevelopment.com
Port: 21