NEO Coding Contest '05 Winners Announcement !

[R3Light]

And here we present you the winners of NEO Coding Contest '05!
A page with full participations / winners details will be posted tomorow.

*UPDATE*
rize has withdraw his game from the competition (was 5th place) for an unknown reason, therefor the places have been switched one place above selecting the new 10th winner that has the next highest points from the judge list (Sushi The Cat DS).


GAMES Division Winners:

01. Starfighter Skirmish By: connor9
02. Grid Challenge By: Miqualke
03. Antarex By: Pocket_Lucho
04. Earth Invaders By: Smealum
05. Teenage Queen NDS By: Foxy
06. Magic Lines By: Foxy
07. Arena DS By : Mikaus
08. ArkanoiDS By: Diffuse
09. DrugWars DS By: DragonMinded
10. Sushi The Cat DS By: N3TKaT & Kamui


APP Division Winners:

01. PA_lib By: Mollusk
02. nDoS By: Gally
03. DS_GBC By: Ethos
04. DSMS By: N3TKaT
05. WinDS By: LiraNuna
06. My Exporter / Animator 3D By: delfare
07. MD2 Loader By: Ethos
08. Flipbook By: Sintax
09. AuDS By: Extreme Coder
10. DSSpeech By: Headspin

The presents!
The No.1 for game and APP : NeoFlash 1Gb + MagicKey2 8Gb + PSP console (Value Pack!)
The No.2 & No.3 for game and APP : NeoFlash 1Gb + MagicKey2 4Gb
The No.4 ~ No.10 for game and APP : NeoFlash 512M + MagicKey2 1Gb

The judgement has been completed using a point system assuring that the selection will be done fair and smoothly. Thank you all for your time and hard work filling your participations in this contest. More contests will follow up soon, and will let you know asap.

All the winners please contact by email (or PM) Dr.Neo with your full name, address and phone number to claim your presents! Presents will be shipped max at 20 September since the MK2 is still in production.

Congratulations to the winners!

[Phantom]

GAMES COMMENTS

3D Ping Pong >

Phantom's comment : Good tech demo, but too far from a real game.
Darkfader's comment : Doesn't seem finished. no touchscreen, no score, no audio and reacts too slow.

Antarex >

Elissaios' comment : Another very good 1942 style game with very nice graphics, but not much use of the stylus. Mic is not supported here. But a big plus is the 2 player mode using the same DS.
Phantom's comment : Really good Shoot'em up, Ikaruga based. Almost complete use of the DS .
Darkfader's comment : Nice shooter. could use some better sounds. Stylus mode isn't very useful. especially for right handed people.

ArkanoiDS >

Phantom's comment : The idea of an Arkanoid controled by the stylus is good, but this game is funless. always the same angle, no powerups... Where is the ARKANOID in this ArkanoiDS ?
Darkfader's comment : Didn't seem to work on real DS, but nice idea to make the paddle move up/down too.

Arena >

Elissaios' comment : A very wel-made tactical game. First of its kind in the contest. I give it a credit for its good concept.
Phantom's comment : 50% RPG, 50% "Scissor Paper Stone"...Not a bad idea, but there a real lack of in-game tutorial, graphics and sounds. With that it could be a kill app...but not in the actual state.
Darkfader's comment : Only some numbers and letters doesn't make it appealing to keep fighting for long

Drugwars >

Elissaios' comment : An enchanced version of the classic PC game. Uses the styles to make your selections to sell and buy. Also this version includes pictures from actual gansta cities. I give this one a small credit for the good concept.
Phantom's comment : The Dual Screen is absolutly not used whereas some stats on the top screens could really help, just like the stylus. It's a GBA game, not a DS game...
Darkfader's comment :  Looked good, played well. I also liked unpredictable events.. by coincidence, I got robbed after putting all money on the bank

DSGoo >

Phantom's comment : Nothing special, I don't have fun while playing it...not a game and not an app...
Darkfader's comment : Funny drawing effect. but not a real game.

Dual Step Revolution >

Phantom's comment : No "Almost" "Boo" "PERFECT", only two muic, only one screen, default font from PA_Lib... not a complete game. Just a small demo completed in 1 minute 20...
Darkfader's comment : It hung after a few retries, I'm bad at it, but probably great of DDR fans   

Earth Invaders >

Elissaios' comment : Excellent 1942 style game. Uses both touch and mic capabilities. I liked the fact it uses the mic to raise up the shield. Very fast with nice graphics.
Phantom's comment : Good gameplay, Good graphs, Good Music... but TOOOOO FAST For me) !
Darkfader's comment :  The intro promised a lot. Music/game is fast paced, which is nice. There was a bullet stuck on the top screen, and it was possible to shoot downwards and it would keep wrapping on the lower display

Flux >

Elissaios' comment : A very good and well-made tetris-like game. I give a small credit to the nice graphics and "feel" of the game.
Phantom's comment : I like that game, the concept is good, the gameplay too, but it doesn't have the "Fun" (with a big F), we do what we have to do but don't enjoy it. Looking to the graphics it look "dead". There is no life. Try to correct that and it should be a really cool game. Oh ! And think about another format for music....
Darkfader's comment : Nice falling block game that plays totally unlike tetris. Less action involved though. Probably very difficult to keep playing forever

Gorilla >

Phantom's comment : Not a bad game...but always the same thing...
Darkfader's comment :  Exploding banana's! yum. stereo effect. buildings. nice game though. can't wait for wifi version.

Grid Challenge >

Elissaios' comment : One of the best puzzles games out there. Fully touch-playable and lots of skins to choose from. Deffinitely the best homebrew puzzle game out there.
Phantom's comment : The "perfect" puzzle game. A lot of levels, simple, bugless... Nothing to say, just perfect (maybe too "colorfull" :p )
Darkfader's comment : Well done gridlock game. perfect for DS. I found it very challenging.

JumpingBarnabe >

Elissaios' comment : Another good port from the amiga series to our small screen. Actually this guy is very good, should be working on a firm or something.
Phantom's comment : Funny game, but waiting 20 seconds for an hole is a bit to much sometimes...
Darkfader's comment : There tons of better ideas but nicely wrapped up.

Magic Lines >

Phantom's comment : I've complete the 5 first levels... And I'm dead :p One more good puzzle game in this compo...
Darkfader's comment : I guess I did the first level. wasn't too clear , too bad it's not really finished

MasterMindDS >

Phantom's comment : Not bad graphics are ok, music too...but not really fun. Not enought colors, codes are too small...Try to make it closer to the real game.
Darkfader's comment : It's a rather simple version.
 
Nibble >

Phantom's comment : Nice use of the stylus for a classic...but like tetris, a video game is visual...and here my eyes don't like it...
Darkfader's comment : Fluent gameplay

Starfighter Skirmish >

Elissaios' comment : A very good, almost-ported (not actually ported) game. Takes good advantage of DS power with excellent model rendering. Doesn't take advantage of the DS mic, although uses touching to control speeds etc...
Phantom's comment : Really Nice, good 3D models and gameplay, but there is no felling of moving. It look like if you was just rotating....
Darkfader's comment : Touchscreen game is great for controls but perhaps navigating with it would be better, too many controls for this version, but I can only hope for a multiplayer version soon.

StripedRectangle >

Phantom's comment : Another (not bad) puzzle game. Nothing really special...need to learn color0 :p
Darkfader's comment : Hard to solve

Sushi The Cat DS >

Elissaios' comment : Altough the game lucks alot in the stages, the graphics are very well-designed with nice sound and music. Controls are easy and understandable. Normally this should be called a GBA game, but I give it a credit even as a port.
Phantom's comment : Stylus ? Dual Screen ? No... Graphics are really good, gameplay too, but One level and one boss don't make a game... A very good GBA Demo...
Darkfader's comment :  Lovely game. as said, it should use DS feature more.

Teenage Queen NDS >

Elissaios' comment : An actual port, but a perfect one. I give this one the credit for making as always such a good transfer.
Phantom's comment : I' don't really like Card games but this one is not bad.
Darkfader's comment : I don't know how to poker But nice conversion anyway

Tetris >

Phantom's comment : Could be better other graphics, music...things that make a good tetris better than a bad ...
Darkfader's comment : Giant mode gives me a headache. Little bug: selecting small mode in next round will screw its display

YatzyDOS >

Phantom's comment : Like for MasterMindDS the game isn't fun when not real.
Darkfader's comment : Hmm.. textmode. All credits to the nifty intro-like scroller.

Yoshi's Bas Brother >

Phantom's comment : Good programming, but just a demo, not a game. Add some monsters, levels, music and it could be a kill-app too.
Darkfader's comment : Easy game, not much variation, no sound, but nice nonetheless

[rize]

I felt the contest was judged very poorly/unfairly.  I was thinking of this mostly as a game design competition when it seems that original design was not high on the priority list of the judges.  Since I was not attempting to design my game to meet the expectations of the judges, I feel that my place in the ranking is not representative of my ability and would rather my game didn't appear in the contest at all.  Naturally I'm forfeiting the 5th place prize.

Specifically, I think too much credit was given to authors who ported games or borrowed gameplay, graphics and music from existing sources.  I'm especially sorry to see so much unoriginal game design.  I understand it can be difficult for a homebrew developer to get original art and music, but you are in control of the game design as the coder of the game.  The smallest change in code can have dramatic effects on the way a game plays.  I hope in the future to see much more originality in this sort of competition... but perhaps for that I will have to make my own competition.

In any case, congratulations to the winners.  No offense is meant to anyone who entered the contest; all entrants showed significant degrees of dedication and technical skill and a number of entries did have varying levels of originality (even if the judges did not value it as much as I would have).

[Phantom]

This is a game compo and we judge like players. Don't care about porting, graphics rip or anything else. Just the fun. A game with good graphics give more fun than the same with bad graphics, even if it's "homemade". Players don't care about that. Your game is really nice (3rd in my personnal top 10) BUT like I said it's only a good concept, there is no "fun" in it. Look at Puzzle Fighter, PuyoPop and even Lumines, they are good puzzle games, but graphics and sounds made it fun !

Feel free to give your own top 10.

[TheMikaus]

Are the officials going to contact us through email or by the forums about getting our information?

[R3Light]

All the winners please contact by email (or PM) Dr.Neo with your full name, address and phone number to claim your presents! Presents will be shipped max at 20 September since the MK2 is still in production.

Also have in mind that PSP is the Value Pack!

[rize]

I'd like to see more in depth comments by the judges on each game and each judge's winners list.  I don't know about anyone else, but I was trying to make a good game more than I was trying to win a contest.  So any comments are appreciated.

[Phantom]

I'd like to see more in depth comments by the judges on each game and each judge's winners list.  I don't know about anyone else, but I was trying to make a good game more than I was trying to win a contest.  So any comments are appreciated.

More in depth comments ? Remember that for many of use english isn't our language. It's a bit hard to write 10 lines on more than 20 entries and to say exactly what you think in english. As well imagine our feeling after writing "COMPLETE" in the rules and finally judging games like Dualscreen revolution or Yoshi's Bad Bros. ...  Judging a compo isn't easy, we have don't it with 2 Websites Poll Tops and 3 Judge top10 for each category. If you don't link the results it's not our problem, but the judgement is done vote count and that's all. Look at other compos like GBAX without comments and public top10 ... I'm a coder too and I'm sure that this compos is one of the best (in judgement and gifts, not entries). If you enter a compo not to win, just share your work (I speack as a player and a coder, not a judge)

[R3Light]

Time to post my comments for this issue since I got some time.

There are/were 5 judges in this compo. You say that you were trying to make a good game than win the compo, but still I dont understand why you had to withdraw your game. You were in the 5th position, meaning that you have done some smooth work there. If you were just trying to make a good game you wouldn't give up the 5th place but instead grand yourself the position / prizes along others. Making such comments will only offend the other participants (and they have reached my ears).

As for the comments, all are posted here. Only 3 of the judges posted their comments, the rest 2 just rated the projects. The compo was actually more than fair. We ignored people trying to actually "lick" us completelly. All work has been done without even having communication between the judges. All posted projects were examined very carefully in a timelly manner. I also have to state the fact that no one actually complained about the compo results, actually they were more than happy.

About the port and graphics-rip-off thing, I think Phantom filled me up. Even porting a game shows very good coding capabilities, sometimes even more than a game developer depending on the game. Ofcourse that doesn't mean that we support exclusively ports, just look at the list. The thing is, you were in the 5th position and the there was no "port" above you, so I still dont understand why you stated that out of nowhere without a proof.

I seriously have to state that there's no way everyone will be happy after a compo (any compo on the net). Mostly times dissapoitment is a after-taste in these events, but it doesn't mean things are against us. My advice is to take this lightly and mostly for fun. Just because you weren't 1st in position doesn't mean you actually lost. Everyone that joins the compo is a winner to me.

Personally I play games for about 13 years and designing game materials for about 5 years. I judge as a player, not as a coder in this case. The "coding" word in this compo doesn't actually have to do with the code you write in your project, its a general definition used for "homebrew" software, since you need to code your project in order to work. Its the final product that counts from your coding skills and ideas.
 
Anyway, there is no point in discussing something that doesn't get clear (between you and the compo).
I wish you the best.

[rize]

I just... I didn't want to go up against so many ports and games with limited originility.  I was thinking more of games than of coding.  The first place entry by far displayed the most impressive coding and this was a "CODING" competition by the name of it.  I guess I was just trying to think of it as a game design competition more than coding or game+coding and because I approached the contest in the wrong way, I decided I would rather withdraw from it.  Until it was judged, I wasn't sure what sort of competition I had actually entered.

Perhaps I will host my own competition with a focus on game design (to complement yours, not compete against it) and find out how hard it is to judge one   I'm certainly not arguing with the fairness of the judging, I think it was very fair to have 5 separate voters.  Mostly, I was expecting the games to be judged the way game reviewers judge games which is very different from the way ordinary people judge them.

[headspin]

All the winners please contact by email (or PM) Dr.Neo with your full name, address and phone number to claim your presents! Presents will be shipped max at 20 September since the MK2 is still in production.

Am just curious if you will be sending out the prizes for the comp soon?

[smealum]

Neoflash told me end of september