I'll have to go back and find out what was even better.
This competition was a real push for me. I've been wanting to get into game programming for far too long, and never took the plunge. I'm hoping to be ready to create at least a crappy game during the next one. Of course, that means making many crappy games before then. :)
The thing that I like most about his effort (which of course has no bearing on the "goodness" of the game) is that he did it completely and entirely from scratch. Most of the other entries were "flash game using game library x with physics library y and random libraries i,j, and k".
He started with a blank project and added everything from his brain (not even consulting Google once!) It was absolutely amazing to watch.
Watching him build the raycaster was a 'whoa, I definitely need to up my game' moment.
It also made it clear that he knew every aspect of game design inside and out.
But yeah, eventually, I need to set aside some 48-hour periods for practice... Or at least a few sets of hours that add up to 48. Not sure I can interrupt my life that often. Every 4 months is fine, but more than that is tough.