GitHub Game Off | Hacker News Reader

GitHub Game Off

github.com

199 pointsremi40 comments

Apple Store Credit? I'd rather take cash thanks.

Doesn't this sentiment feel a bit too entitled to anyone? If someone is having a contest and you don't like the prize, just ignore the contest.

If someone is posting something on a public discussion forum and you don't like some or parts of it, just ignore the post? Or give your opinion?

This news was posted here to generate discussion and that's what happened. Are you not OK with that?

And I second the parent's sentiment: the prize has no value at all. "Karma points" or SO reputation have probably more value to the target population than that.

There is nothing inherently wrong with sharing an opinion. I just disagree with the opinion and feel that said opinion reeks of entitlement.

How does the prize not have value? If you won, you could trade/sell/exchange the prize for something else... so, wouldn't you agree that means it has value? If you want to ignore this paragraph, I'm fine with that... as having a discussion on the definition of value probably has little value.

While I don't feel that I am acting entitled (I am not participating in the competition) his criticism has merit. I should not have been so dismissive, especially after posting encouraging higher quality posts recently.

I apologise for my snarkyness, but I do feel that Apple Store Credit is not much of a prize.

Apple Store Credit can be trivially given to anyone in a pretty large number of countries in the world - something that probably isn't true for cash.

I'd be more than happy to accept payment in the form of Bitcoins. OTOH, Apple Store Credit is worthless to me, as I don't own any Apple products, nor do I have an account on Apple's digital store.

It's extra hassle, but you could probably sell it for roughly the equivalent value in bitcoins on bitmit.net or a similar site.

Yes, it seems strange that github would be giving away prizes that are so... closed.

There are more legal restrictions on giving away cash.

If Github is willing to give away hardware or Apple Store cash, then I would hope they can be flexible with another form of payment. They're only dealing with five winners, after all.

A proprietary software company giving away prizes that let you buy stuff from another proprietary software company? Say it ain't so!

But GitHub open sources almost everything!

http://tom.preston-werner.com/2011/11/22/open-source-everyth...

Are there more restrictions with having a contest that gives away cash/check rather than prizes/gift cards?

Oh man I'm psyched about this. I love game jams, and GitHub's event will surely draw people new to the concept. The more the merrier!

I'm honestly a little turned off by the prize though. I'd rather there be no prize at all but instead some internet recognition maybe (like Ludum Dare). Perhaps they'll introduce some alternative prizes later on?

So give yours to charity when you win it. It's great motivation for a lot of people who would otherwise not be that psyched to participate.

I understand where you're coming from, but my point wasn't "I don't want an iPad", but rather that I feel like these prizes specifically cheapen the feel of the jam, especially considering how big github is. I don't know, I guess I've never participated in a game jam with a prize. But seeing as Ludum Dare pulled >1000 participators last jam, it doesn't seem like game developers need too much of a monetary incentive to jam.

In any case, I'm happy that this is happening; prize or no prize :)

The internet recognition is through limited edition Coderwall badges: http://coderwall.com/p/4me4eq

> You have the entire month of November...

So... it's not November yet. Can you start?

EDIT: They answered this here: https://github.com/github/game-off-2012/issues/15

> I should clarify that. Yeah, you can start now :)

No joke, on my "ideas to hack on" list, I have: "A game of some kind based on Github pull requests"

I think this could be good.

Can anyone recommend me some good game development books for someone who wants to create "small" games as a hobby? By "small" I mean that my goal is to be able to create games for ocasions like the GitHub Game Off, or some small indie games

There's a book here that looks good - published by Packt - http://www.packtpub.com/game-jam-survival-guide/book ... its by Christer Kaitila, a game developer with 17-years experience. I don't think its got any technical information. I haven't read it myself, but these headings from the table of contents look like good advice...

- Go with what you know

- Don't try a new language

- Don't worry about making it beautiful!

- Keep It Simple, Stupid!

- No-art (rectangles) gameplay proof-of-concept

- Heinous hacks and ugly code are A-OK.

Jesse Schell's "the art of game design". It will give you a solid understanding of what game design is and how you can do it. Also, it's a very good read, which doesn't hurt when you're trying to learn something.

I disagree strongly with the advice consisting of: "start hacking and see what happens". For any kind of product design, starting something without any kind of direction is the surest way to go nowhere.

Books? Just pick a framework and start hacking.

Just go through tutorials, e.g. ,on pygame.org

I presume the projects that are built are intended to be public repositories, but it is not clear from the contest rules. Is that correct?

The original repository you have to fork (github/game-off-2012) is public. You can't make forks of public repositories private, so you're right.

The nice thing about git is that it is distributed. Meaning, you don't have to push to your public fork until just before the deadline if you concerned about your ideas being stolen.

If you are afraid that your idea will get stolen, don't participate. If its that good, it still will be stolen at the end.

I don't see a reason to be afraid about stolen ideas. The way i see it you would enter something like this just for the kicks....not for the prizes..and it's not like the prizes are millions..soo.. :)

However, (having not read the rules) I assume there's nothing stopping you from committing an obfuscated/minified/compiled version if you care that much.

Why comment if you cannot be bothered to read the four rules?

"All entries must be web-based, i.e. playable in a browser. HTML5, WebGL, Unity, Torque 3D, Node JS, Flash are all possible - just be sure the source is made available on your fork."

Obfuscated/minified source is still source. I read that part you quoted.

Anybody want to put a HNers team together for this?

I'd be interested! I've got plenty of free time on evenings and weekends the entire next month.

Cool, send me an email (check my HN profile), and we'll discuss.

No Ipad mini? Those prizes are so last week.

Hence the store credit!

This is quite cool, the coding alternative to NaNoWriMo.

That's what I thought as well.

Also, for anyone who has ever considered doing NaNoWriMo, I strongly suggest you give it a try. It's an amazing experience that not only seriously improves your writing skills, but it also helps you appreciate the craft of storytelling when you read books or watch movies or whatever.

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