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Updated November 20, 2004

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2002 Gaming Golds Mini Game Competition Begins!
(8/4/2002) The 2002 Gaming Gold Mini-Game Making Competition has begun! Find out what categories of mini-games the V Planet staff has chosen for the competition, and how to participate in the contest here.

Competitors, here are the final rules. At the bottom of this article are three categories for the type of mini-games you can code for this contest. Choose one of these categories, then do your best! You can spend up to twenty hours until next Saturday coding the games, and as much extra time as you like making music, sounds and graphics. The contest starts immediately, from this Sunday morning until next Saturday evening. V Planet will then update with a list of all completed entries on Sunday, August 11th.

If your game is too late for the update... well, try not to let it happen. :) Incomplete entries are welcome too, but if for some unavoidable reason you could not or can not send us a copy of your entry by the deadline (dog ate your computer, etc.), please e-mail us with your case. Please do not use this case rule as a trump card; because we're accepting incomplete entries, an excuse like "I need more time to program this game" is unacceptable.

If you haven't signed up yet, you're at a disadvantage for time, but if you start straight away you can still take part by submitting before Saturday evening.

Once you've completed your contest entry, please send it to the appropriate "judge" (the judge for each category is included below). If you'd like, also include a screenshot of your game and a brief description.

For the complete rules involving the Mini-Game making competition, please click here. If you're unsure about any of the rules, you can ask any of the judging staff at the V Planet Forum


Konami's International Track and Field series is an amalgam of solo sports games.

Choice Number one: A solo sports game

Competitors who choose to compete in this category will have an unusual task - to create a solo sports game. You can choose any sport you want, but there is a very important limitation: the sport must be an individual sport where there are no teams; it's all about individuals fighting for the top spot in their profession. On top of that, we're not allowing any sport where you ride a vehicle! That means you can't pick a sport like basketball (a team sport) or a sport like Formula One Racing or horseracing (because there's a vehicle used). However, we're not going to extremes with this vehicle rule; we'll allow a sport like pole vaulting (theoretically you do ride the pole for a short period of time)... if you have any questions whether the sport you want to do is okay, please e-mail us.

It must be a solo physical or athletic sport. This means that while you could choose sprinting, surfing, swimming, gymnastics, frisbee throwing, skateboarding, BMX racing, ski jumping, ice skating, golf, or anything else you can think of, you can't choose games like rugby, soccer, rally driving, etc. The reason for this is because we want to encourage originality, and there are already a lot of QB racing games and QB football style team sports games.

You can, if you wish, make a combination of mini-sports games (like the Summer games and Winter Games collections), although if you do, try to be imaginative so that your game stands out a little.

All entries for this category should be e-mailed to Vance Velez. Please send a direct link to your zipfile to Vance if you have a website and you can upload your contest entry there.


Prince of Persia is a fine mix of secret passages, traps, and some good old swordfighting.

Choice Number two: A platformer-puzzler

Essentially, if you choose this option you have to put together a screen-by-screen platformer where the emphasis is on solving object-based puzzles as opposed to fast-paced platforming action. You are free to use any graphical mode (or text mode) you like, any size of characters or objects, any setting you like for your game, within the following limitations.

First, you can't create a clone (i.e, you can't clone a Dizzy game or slightly magic). It must be an original piece of work, with original puzzles. You cannot place emphasis on action: this is a puzzle game. (i.e. 10 screens of shooting to get one item is a bit silly). The game must be screen by screen. You can name each of the screens if you like.

It's important to have object based puzzles. Find an object and use it on something else, or combine objects to solve puzzles and get more objects, like in text adventures.

Example: You're stuck in a prison, you have only a jug of water, hay matting for your bed and a torch - you would bring the matting beside the door, light it with the torch, wait for the door to burn down and then put it out with the jug of water - then proceed to the next screen - no prizes for guessing where that one's from :) 

Try to be imaginative in your setting and in the puzzles you add to the game. 

All entries to this category should be e-mailed to Terry Cavanagh. Please send a direct link to your zipfile to Terry if you have a website and you can upload your contest entry there.


Long before Metal Gear Solid changed the face of Playstation, Metal Gear made it's action-packed debut on the NES.

Choice Number three: A top-down shoot-em-up

This choice is here to accomodate the action gamers who may feel a bit lost with the above options! If you choose this category, you have to create a shoot-em-up quite like the old Metal Gear games for the NES or Arnie for the C64. Games like these were all the rage on early 8-bit consoles, but with the advent of powerful PCs and 3D action games, this style of commando action gaming is hard to find (only Alien Terror comes to mind when it comes to QB games that match this style).

The single biggest requirement is that the player is human (as opposed to a machine like a tank), and that there are multiple screens but no auto-scrolling (i.e. the player decides where to go). This rules out verticle and horizontal scrollers like the recent QB examples The Terror and Frantic Journey.

Any setting you want to use for the game is fine. You are free to use any graphical mode (or text mode) you wish. Try to give your game some length and depth, and a good story. Multiple weapons are a major plus as well, and please, please, please, no more bloody space aliens. Aim to be original.

All entries to this category should be e-mailed to Toonski. Please send a direct link to your zipfile to Toonski if you have a website and you can upload your contest entry there.

So there you have it. We wish good luck to all the participants of this year's mini-game making competition, and hope for some great creativity, orginality, and execution from QB's best. Remember to have fun, and may the best code win!

Article written by V Planet Staff

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