Indie Game Making Contest 2018!

By the way, will there be a forum area for the igmc like last year?
I loved that progress thread :)

@Dezue There's a progress thread right here, although it's not ony for IGMC.

Can the default assets for MV be used? Like, can the game be judged based on how it plays and the story, thing's like that?

@slimmmeiske2 Again, thanks! :)

Yes.

@Archeia, It looks like a fun contest. :kaohi:
Everyone has fun and be creative.

Less than 1 hour is OK?

Sweet. I look forward to participating in this. Just got a find a team now.

"Degica reserves first publishing rights for games that win Degica’s Choice, People’s Choice, and/or YouTuber’s Choice."

Can anyone point me to a document that explains this part in more detail? The main things I want to know are:

1. Is there a time limit on how long Degica gets to decide on whether or not they want to publish the game? I'd hate to have a potential publisher sit on my game forever.
2. Does this include only the one-hour version of the game, or does it also include the completed game, which may come out months after the contest is over?
3. Does it include any derivative works based on the original IP? For example, let's say I submitted a game called "Lunatic Island", and then later created "Lunatic Island II: Even Loonier".
4. What exactly would the publishing deal entail? What would the split be?

I don't mean to get all lawyery, but it seems like a pretty big detail.

Thanks!

I've got two questions too :)

I think it will be alright but I just want to make sure. If we enter and our game doesn't win we are still allowed to develop it further, right?

I started a game several months ago but abandoned it completely - I even deleted the folder of that game entirely. Am I allowed to use that game idea to start a whole new game? I wouldn't use any old maps or such things (I deleted them anyway).

I'm still unsure of what exactly constitutes 18+. ESRB says it has "more frequent use" of curse words. How often? Which ones? What separates T from M when it comes to questionable content, particularly swearing?

[edit: Also, is it possible to win all three categories with one game?]

@mobiusclimber
It's not just swear words that make up the 'offensive language' part of a Mature rating. If you have a character using the f word as punctuation, that would be considered more of mature while someone stubbing their toe and shouting something crass would be teen. Context also counts too. If every day words are used in a derogatory manner repeatedly then that would count towards a Mature rating as opposed to Teen.

Mature tends to be the equivalent of the R rating in movies if that helps.

I am also curious about the questions @JDevain asked. I am also curious if making social media pages and a kickstarter and ones own website for their game, if that is considered self-publishing and would therefore disqualify an entry.

@l8rose - I hear what you're saying. I just tend to sprinkle a lot of crude humor and mature themes in my games. Usually within a classic JRPG style because I like shocking people out of complacency and it's easier to be subversive when everyone has big heads. I don't know why that is, it just is.

Don't take my answer for a judge's, but here is how I see it.


1. I think you should hold off publishing your game for a few months after the competition and judging phase ends. If Degica is interested in your game, I'm pretty sure they have contacted you at that point. To be 100% sure, you can probably shoot an e-mail to them after this to clarify whether they're interested or not.
2. I think it's a given that they also have the publishing rights to the completed version.
3. @Touchfuzzy has said (on the official rules page on itch.io) that the IP will remain with the developer, so I think you can make derivative works off your game. I would still wait for a while before making any spinoffs, though.
4. I'm sure Degica will negotiate with you privately for this. As far as I understand, details such as splitting needs to be private information.



Promoting your game is fine, but I'd advise against selling the game anywhere before the contest has ended, including kickstarter. Most people promote their games during the competition in social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Reddit... (on that note, is it OK if we ask for donations on itch.io during the competition or should we turn that off, too?)

You can probably make a website for the game if you wish, but since you need a submission page on itch.io to enter anyway, I really don't see the point at this time.

I hope someone from Degica will come and clarify this, but this is how I see it. (of course I can be 100% wrong...)

@JDevain
A few of your questions are answered here:
https://itch.io/t/324467/official-indie-game-making-competition-2018-faq

@Xenphir first-publishing-rights are only for winning entries, if you win and decide to not work with degica you'll have to wait 3 years before you can self-publish. Not sure if running a kickstarter already counts as "publishing" as it's actually part of the development (fund-raising), not the publishing process.

Oops I would've liked to try something for the jam, too bad I just read this :p

@Pixelent Games It's only day three of the contest, so you can still join.
As for your first question, yes of course you can.
Regarding your second question, that's been answered here in the FAQ.

Oh excellent!

I think I will pass this time around and work on it alone. Good luck to everyone else!