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skeleton code question

A topic by Ragnar Random created Jan 06, 2022 Views: 207 Replies: 2
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Submitted

so i have been using https://minusdungeongames.itch.io/kgx-8000-emulator-template for all the games i have been working on. it is not at all the same code or any of the same art used in my previous oga jam submission, so i can't in good conscious consider it reworking my prior jam entry. can i build my game on top of my current kgx template once jam starts, and just disclose and link to the skeleton code?

Host

very short answer: yes, that would 100% ok.

short answer: Use of frameworks, engines, example code, 'base' code, old code, repurposed code, etc. etc. is allowed in the Jam.   So long as the code is not made specifically for your jam entry, it's completely ok to use.    Work on art (even game specific art) before a jam is always allowed.

long answer:
This Jam (and historically OGA Jams in general) is not a 'from scratch' jam.   Making all the parts to a game (UI, gameplay, level design, etc. etc.) is hard enough as it is, without having to spend time on low level system stuff (draw calls, input queuing, etc) or even higher level game stuff (collision detection, physics simulation, etc).  The goal of the jam is to show off some of the artwork on OGA, not show off what a great bunch of system coders we all are.   So to that end, the rules are very permissive about what code, engine or frameworks you're allowed to use.   Pretty much, so long as you can say with a straight face that you made the game within the time frame of the jam, you're ok.   Technically, this does give a slight edge to participants who use more powerful engines, or have a more developed library of 'base' code at their disposal, but there are so many very well formed engines and frameworks out there (like GDevelop ;) that it seems like other than banning all of them and forcing everyone to write everything from scratch in assembler, or mandating everyone use the same engine, trying to ensure a perfectly level starting point for all participants is a fruitless task.  Better to just allow folks use whatever tools they like so the resultant games can show off OGA art as best as possible.

very long answer:  Just to give you a concrete example, I use my own engine engine written in C# using SDL and OpenGL for most of my OGA Jam projects.  The engine includes lots of low level stuff (rendering, reading input, etc) but also some higher level concepts (collision detection, tile maps, etc. etc).  Further more, I also have a sample 'Game Shell' project, that implements a very simple framework for a 2D platformer game using the engine.  This framework actually includes a lot of very high level game stuff, like a level editor, a core game loop (title screen -> game play -> game over screen -> title screen ....), title/options menus, etc. etc.   On the first day of a jam, I go in and spawn off a copy of this 'Game Shell' project and start customizing it to turn it into a proper game for the jam.  So I start each jam from a fairly well developed state.  However, I consider this acceptable and really no different from someone starting the jam with a gdevelop or Unity project.


ps:

I have updated the rules to explicitly state that any engine, framework, etc. is welcome.   I'd had that language in there on previous jams but missed adding it to this one for some reason.

Submitted (1 edit)

ok that's pretty much what i planned to do. copy and paste my gdevelop project folder of the "emulator framework" on jam day then start rocking out.