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YoYo Games have released a list of the 275 games which have been entered in their sixth competition and have created a portal where you can see how judging is progressing. The figure for entered games is higher than we reported earlier today as it appears games which were labelled using the old style tags have been included.
Round one of judging, which takes place this week, will remove from the contest games which do not comply with the contest rules or are unplayable.
You might find you need to install a Silverlight plugin in order to view the judging progress page though, at least at the moment, the page doesn’t do anything fancy.
Competition Six Entries Confirmed is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Mid-week Competition Links is taken from: GameMaker Blog
GMIndie and GMVision have launched ‘Game Maker Survey 2010‘ a collection of 60 questions designed to ask about your usage of Game Maker and collect opinions on various aspects of Game Maker.
I waited a couple of days after I first saw (and started but did not finish) the survey to see if others shared my opinions on the survey. I did not want to be accused of undermining a project produced by a site some may view as a competitor to Game Maker Blog by voicing my thoughts on the survey before criticism had arisen elsewhere.
I thought the survey was extremely poorly designed. Some questions don’t let me give the answer I would like to whilst at least one other, question 57 (see below), has two answers which mean exactly the same thing.
And apparently you either “know GML” or “don’t know GML” with no middle ground.
If you start the questionaire you are required to answer all 60 questions even though, as stated by robert680, some of the questions assumed you use Game Maker 8 despite an earlier question asking which version of the software you currently use.
There have been many other criticisms of individual questions and the general style of the survey, some comments taken from the Game Maker Community are listed below.
“Ok the survey had two kinds of questions:
What’s your favourite color? (Who needs this information?)
Aren’t all the useless features that are in Game Maker all useless? And aren’t stupid Yoyogames doing everything wrong? (Answer options: “a) Yes, b) Yes, but not often”.)”
- Tepi
“The quiz has some design flaws and its usefulness is suspect. For example you must choose a single GM version. I use GM8 and GM4Mac. You are forced to answer every question, though some don’t apply. Having a N/A, for some questions is important. Some questions are subjective and won’t have concise meaning to every one. For example, “How often do you save your project?”, the choices are meaningless.”
- NakedPaulToast
“Have answered it, though I should imagine about half my answers are inaccurate because there wasn’t an option for my own response.”
- NAL
[gmc topic]
This survey, which GMIndie list 6 people as contributing to, needed more thought put into it before it was released. Like I’ve mentioned before when offering so many different ‘products’ the quality will suffer. I am unsure of the level of involvement from GMVision (who haven’t released anything since May,) it appears their contributions may be limited to promoting the survey and providing two of the questions.
GMIndie and GMVision Game Maker Survey: Poorly Implemented is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Russell Kay has promised that the judging process for YoYo Games sixth competition, which closes Tuesday, will be more transparent than it has been in their previous contests.
The discovery themed competition has $1,750 of cash prizes up for grabs for the games YoYo Games deem to be the best.
Some Game Maker users had expressed their surprise at the runners-up listed in YoYo’s previous competition, won by 2DCube’s They Need to be Fed, which they felt were less worthy than some titles which did not receive a mention.
It appears the transparency will enable competition entrants (and everybody else who reads YoYo’s blog) to know if their game is still in the running as Russell said that a day after the deadline the titles accepted for judging will be announced. Presumably this stage will weed out all of the created-in-five-minutes, not-actually-playable and blatant rule-infringing entries.
YoYo Games also want you to spread the word about their sixth competition on Twitter. In an attempt to widen the audience of YoYoGames.com and the Game Maker software it has been announced that entries must be tagged with #YoYoComp06 which will also be used by YYG and others to discuss the competition on Twitter. So far no-one has used the hash tag.
YoYo Promise more Transparent Judging for their 6th Competition is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Mid-week Community Links is taken from: GameMaker Blog
After being inactive for almost 2 weeks on the GMC, KC LC quietly backed down from her Administrative position on the board. No official announcement has been made which is leaving many people confused, but her own Profile reads “Retired Staff” under Group where it previously labeled her as Administrator. Currently, there hasn’t been any word on whether or not another Member will step up to the Administrator position.
KC LC retires from the GMC is taken from: GameMaker Blog
If you run a website relating to Game Maker one of the ways you can promote it on other similar websites is through the Game Maker Affiliation programme. Here are five tips to help you get the most out of the system which has now delivered over 26 million impressions.
Check the performance of your banners. You can see the click-through ratio of individual banners uploaded to your account. If the performance of one banner is significantly lower than others in your account consider why – how is it different from the banners which are getting more clicks? You can pause or delete poorly performing banners at any time and upload new banners if you have a new message or design.
Don’t upload multiple identical banners. Uploading a particular banner and linking URL combination more than once is pointless. Because of the credits system (every time you show a banner your banner will be seen once) there is no benefit to flooding the system with identical banners. They simply divide your statistics between multiple pages and the banners can also be shown in the same GMA block on other members sites which wastes the impressions.
Good: 4 different banners
Bad: 4 identical banners
Have a static banner. GMA gives members an option to restrict animated GIF banners from appearing on their site by affixing &angif=1 to the end of the URL in the banner display code. If you don’t have a non-animated banner you will never be seen on these sites.
Place one promotion code on every page of your website. Promotion codes display from one to ten banners at a time in lines, rectangles, squares or as a single banner. It is easy to find space to fit a code. Remember though – you are only allowed to place one code on each page, if you use more duplicate banners may appear on your site which wastes advertisers credits and can result in a system ban.
Make sure you have at least one active banner in your account. There are currently more than 3.5 million credits held in accounts that do not have an active banner. The owners of these websites have helped to promote other Game Maker user’s websites but are not reaping the benefits by having their site advertised elsewhere on the network.
How to get the most out of Game Maker Affiliation is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Dundee College, along with key project and other industry partners (including YoYo Games), are holding a 3 day International App Development Conference. The event will run from the 8th to 10th November 2010 in Dundee, Scotland.
The Conference:
If you are already an app developer, or someone who is looking to get into app development, this conference is for you – with a program of essential information to get you developing that killer app and connect you with all the people to make it happen!
The AppJam:
Running parallel to the main conference will be a 48 hour ‘App Jam’ where selected participants will have the challenge of developing and presenting their app concept. Participants will be working together in small, international, multi-discipline teams to develop original ideas and IP with the aim of releasing any new titles developed, and exploiting routes to market immediately after the event. Supported by industry lead workshops and surgeries, the teams will be encouraged to help each other out with problem solving and production while sharing their skill set to achieve final publication.
If booked early conference tickets are £100 or £30 for students (excluding VAT). Entry to the AppJam is free.
YoYo Games an Industry Partner at AppJam 2010 is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Also on Game Maker Blog:
Immortal Defense Pay What You Want Sale – Results so far is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Two days ago former Game Maker Community administrator Smarty posted a GMC topic urging anyone who is not confident with their system’s security settings to stay away from yoyogames.com.
Over the past few days visitors to the site have reported virus infections on their Windows machines caused by an exploit in the Acrobat PDF reader browser plugin.
There have been no public comments from YoYo Games on the issue. Although YoYo Games is a bespoke site the makers of Game Maker have a history of using out of date software which has been exploited on more than one occasion in the past.
Update (~12:35 BST): At around the same time as this post was initially written YoYo Games made a post about the matter. Russell Kay writes that the problem was caused by an attack on the OpenX ad server which was used to manage the advertisements displayed alongside games on the website. The ad server has now been removed with ads being served directly from Google and it appears that the issue has been resolved.
GMC Urges YoYoGames.com Stay-away is taken from: GameMaker Blog
YoYo Games are finally on Twitter.
You can follow them at @YoYoGameMaker.
And if you aren’t yet following Game Maker Blog(!) then you can do that here: @GameMakerBlog
Several months back there was a fake YoYo Games twitter account which spouted ridiculous nonsense for a couple of weeks before it was closed down.
Official YoYo Games Twitter Account Launched is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Weekend Community Links is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Last weekend the GameJolt indie gaming community held their second Game Jam – the majority of submitted games were made in Game Maker.
The highest rated game is currently Chawp! created by Ted Lauterbach and Brian Rodriguez with sounds from Matt Scorah and Ashley Gwinnell.
In this arcade game “made over the course of 4 days” you chop coloured lines which connect moving points. If you chop from close-range you inflict more damage but risk making a mistake. Lines appear in multiple colours and are easier to chop when you have selected the right colour.
It even has online highscores.
Other Game Maker entries:
One game maker was noticeably absent however.
“Am gonna have to drop out. In a NALFirst [twitter hastag anyone?], the game I made is actually so crap I don’t want to release it. Think I’ll probably have to give it a good poke some time and see if I can salvage it.”
Game Maker Entries in Second GameJolt Jam is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Earlier today YoYo Games announced the launch of the “YoYo Games App Store” from which Game Maker 7 for Mac can be downloaded.
However “App Store” has been registered as a trademark by Apple in the EU. In the United States the mark’s current status is listed as “An opposition is now pending at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.” “App Store” is also listed as a Service Mark on Apple’s official list of trademarks.
Here is the link to the entry at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. There is no linkable URL for the EU database but you can find it by searching for “App Store” here.
Here is one of the three sections relating to the trademark application at the USPTO.
“IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S: Retail store services featuring computer software provided via the internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; Retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics. FIRST USE: 20080306. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20080710″
A foolish and potentially dangerous oversight by YoYo Games?
“App Store” is a Registered Trademark of Apple Inc is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Game Maker 7 for Mac has been released for sale at the new YoYo Games app store. The free version offers all the features available in the full version but has a 10 hour usage limit. Upgrading via the App Store will normally cost $25 but until September 1st the price is reduced to $20.
One feature in Game Maker for Mac has which has yet to be added to the PC version is a built-in automatic updating system. Hopefully this will be added to the PC version soon so we can look forward to more regular updates.
The App store [our earlier thoughts] has been ready for a while but this is the first time it has been seen in public. Eventually the idea is to sell high quality Game Maker games through the website with YoYo Games earning a commission.
At the time of writing the App Store and Game Maker for Mac are yet to be integrated into the main YoYoGames.com website.
Game Maker for Mac Released on YoYo Games App Store is taken from: GameMaker Blog
In the year to October 31st 2009 YoYo Games recorded a loss of £12,430 ($19,850/€14,950).
Company accounts, filed Friday, show that YoYo Games Ltd almost broke even after a loss of £180,000 in the previous year to October 31st 2008.
In January 2009 YoYo Games raised the price of the full version of Game Maker by $5 to $25. Although Game Maker registrations accounted for 90% of income in 2009 we don’t have access to the full accounts so can’t say whether this was the main reason for the change or if spending was reduced elsewhere.
These figures do not take into account the registration fees received for Game Maker 8 as this was not released until December 2009, however the offer of free upgrades to those registering in 2009 may have helped boost sales of the Pro version.
YoYo Games have recently been helped by a Regional Selective Assistance investment grant of £220,000 from Scottish Taxpayers – however will only effect accounts for 2010 (and possible beyond).
YoYo Games Ltd’s cumulative losses now stand at £428,006.
YoYo Games Ltd Abbreviated Accounts for year ending 31st October 2009 (click to enlarge)
YoYo Games Ltd almost break even in year to October 2009 is taken from: GameMaker Blog
YoYo Games’ grant from the Scottish Government is worth £220,000 (€265,000, $350,000) for the “development and distribution of internet based games”.
The Regional Selective Assistance investment grant funded by Scottish Taxpayers, part of £16m of funding announced for the last quarter, was given on the condition that it would create at least 24 new jobs.
RSA investment grants for small businesses in Dundee can cover upto 35% of capital investment costs.
In October 2009 Sandy revealed that YoYo Games had submitted a grant application to the Scottish Government as YoYo Games looked to open a new office.
In April this year alongside announcing the appointment of Mike Dailly Sandy revealed that they had been offered “considerable support” from Scotland to locate their office in Dundee.
Source: Scottish Enterprise
YoYo Games Grant Details Revealed is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Mid-week Community Links is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Time for a quick look at developments taking place to various free Game Maker alternatives which may be of interest to Game Maker users.
Scirra’s open-source game creation software Construct still receives regular updates and version 1 should be out very soon. A brief comparison of Game Maker and Construct which I wrote last year remains one of the most popular articles on GMB. Ashley Gullen from the Construct project recently revealed (in a Russian interview) that they have already decided to plan a complete rewrite for Construct 2 which will have some kind of commercial option and the ability to create games for use on other platforms.
Gendai Games who are behind the GameSalad iPhone Game Maker have recently secured $1M of funding and are currently recruiting. A week after the launch of Apple’s iPad more than 10% of the 100 best selling games were developed using GameSalad. The fact that tools such as GameSalad have been allowed to continue means that there remains a possibility of a future version of Game Maker offering the option to create games for a variety of iDevices.
Stencyl, labelled vapourware by many, is currently promoting the fact that the cross-platform tool can be used to create flash games. I applied to the beta ages ago, heard nothing and now many months on there is still no public version. To be honest I’ve lost all interest in the project though it will be good to see how it compares to Game Maker if a public release ever becomes available.
The Flashpunk ActionScript library has attracted a small following of members of the Game Maker community. Development of the framework which is intended to be used to design 2-dimensional flash games has been ongoing with the latest change made yesterday.
James Garner (interview) from DSGameMaker has a cross-platform easy game creation utility lined up to be his next project after version 5 of DSGM is released.
It will be interesting to see whether these new game development tools take people away from Game Maker or instead draw a new crowd of people to “easy” game development.
Round-up of other Game Development Tools news is taken from: GameMaker Blog
Game Maker Community member beeproductions has released a “first issue demo” of a magazine titled Game Maker Time (view PDF).
Explaining the reason for deciding to launch another Game Maker magazine beeproductions writes:
“After reading other issues released by other GMC members I started to realize that we actually need a good issue. Not 20 issues where you can find the old very well known news and to contain 4 little pages and a total of 200 words. I promise that in this issue you will find a very well structured content and some really good articles that I’m sure that will get your interest.”
The content has clearly been written by someone to whom English is not their first language but to be honest the quality of writing is better than that found in many other publications aimed at similar readers.
The theme of the issue is Retro Games and the magazine contains a very brief history of ancient games and some incredibly short ‘reviews’ (in reality more like ‘spotlights’) of 3 retro-themed Game Maker games. No download links though.
There is code for a drag and drop inventory system and links to some photoshop video tutorials which aren’t retro-related and seem out of place.
The fifth page is titled ‘Retro Interview’ but to me appears to contain no text – perhaps this is all part of the ‘demo’ release!? Hopefully it will be proofread by the final release.
Despite the introduction promising something different I thought the magazine was pretty average at best – though thankfully it stuck to its promise of to avoid the plague of weeks old Game Maker news.
Game Maker Time Magazine is taken from: GameMaker Blog
