Proof that you started your game after May 29th?

I have a question, maybe I missed it when I read over the rules and guidelines but... How is someone suppose to prove when they started making their game?

thanks for any help.

I think it will be obvious with the length.

It's on a honor system. We'll just have to trust people are following the rules.

Although from the looks of it some people have selective reading.

Lol, both very true.

Ehh it's whatever, a month is more than enough time to build a simple hour long game, I think....  :unsure:

If you have all day everyday. This is really tough especially if you aim to "Wow" the judges.

Does the game itself have to be made in June or the game and all related non-RTP resources? I have resources I made a while back but never used for anything.

Just the game. Previously made resources are allowed. (Thank the heavens!)

I wonder if I can condense my current project that is planned to be 30 hours+ into one hour and still feel complete. Hrmmm.

Nevermind, started working on it on May 27th, boooo.

Could you do a small part of your project that you hadn't started working on? Perhaps if there's a side story or a larger side quest, you could focus on that and then later merge it with what you already have.

It has to feel complete though, not just an excerpt from something larger. (I'm assuming)

Hmm. Possibly. The project is serial. You start with Main Character 1, get to X where you see a bunch of people you don't know. Next game takes Main Character 2 to X, repeat. Finishes with all characters meeting up in the final game, and progresses from there to the "end" of the game. 

Hmm... What I'd do if I were you is to take that concept and create a little minisode in the middle or maybe a third through the planned story, using it as a teaser for the full experience. Most demos of games I've played have been either the very first level, or somewhere in the middle of the game that showcases what I'm supposed to expect as a player, so in this case it might be safe to go for the latter! :)

The 

The contest is supposed to be a "Complete" game is the problem. If it could just be a "Demo" of sorts, I'd just grab a slice of the later part of the game and call it a day. =/

Well, I mean, it wouldn't be a demo-demo, but rather a conceptual game that could be expanded into your full version down the road. A good example to look at would be the bonus minisode included with To the Moon. After finishing the game there's a short half-hour-long segment that leads into the second game and gives you a good idea of what the story will be like.

As in any contest, there can be no real proof. 

However there have already been several disqualified entries because the games are obviously years old and submitted only a day after the contest started so...wow. 

Even if someone (who really wants to cheat) can easily fool this method too, so there's not a 100% legit way to prove it, it's a matter of honor at the end (like Uzuki says).

There are many ways to change the internal file datetime stamps. But even if not. Even if you have a project file with a creation date of 2012 it could have been caused by a computer that wasn't connected to the internet and had it's BIOS date&time wrong. There is no proof.

As long as the total time between date-stamps are no longer than ~30 days apart and the project is submitted near the end of the contest deadline then the project is legal imo. Because neither party can proof anything.

And for non-rpg maker projects it's even harder because do you know what files are library files and which ones are from the project itself? Probably not. Not to mention custom encrypted&compressed submissions (if allowed).

@Napoleon:

If someone really wants to cheat, they will do it no matter what. But this method will still work well with most of the noobs\kids that will submit their fake entries, not everyone are computer experts here and have a BIOS date\time wrong.

As said, you really can't. But I've been doing video blogs every few days of my progress, just for fun. I plan to compile them into a single "making of" video at the end. It's pretty motivating, if nothing else.