Have a look at this concept entry:
http://www.wasteland.at/AlienRunner256k.zip Idea for a Game Contest:
How about a 2 Megabyte Contest. (2.097.152 Bytes) ?
Following these Rules:
-the complete packed Gamefile.zip must be equal or lower than 2 Megabytes!
-the Gamefile-archive must be in .zip format (not rar, 7z or gz etc)
so that every casual Windows User can open it with the default "compressed folders" function.
-But You can use any Compression Utility that outputs a correct .zip file (WinRar, 7Zip, Kzip, etc)
-Anything that is not instelled on Default on a normal Windows XP/Vista/7 Machine must be included in the archive.
(eg:,ESPECIALLY the d3dx9_42.dll must be included, as well as
any thirdparty dlls, plugins etc), so everything required by the game itself must be included in the zip.
-No resources are to be loaded from the "Outside" (via the net for example)
-in the case a multiplayer game, the server shall only transfer "gamelogic", not stream ressource data
-Any Gamestudio edition is acceptable, but the game must be
in the published format (.exe)
-The archive can include itself an installer exe, but the main archive must be a .zip
-everything in the archive should be included into one top folder ( "mygame.cd" or any other name) , (so the user does not manually have to drag all files
into a new destination folder, but can simply copy the mainfolder)
-No requirement to share the sourcecode/assets, the user can define the terms himself. But he must have the propper rights to the assets.
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I think 2Megabytes are quite enough to create a nice game,
and put creativity into it.
Doing some tests with the A8 free Edition, the most simple programs can be packed into a 1.5MB zip, leaving 500 to 400 kilobytes to put creative stuff and programming into it.
The good thing about a contest with size-limitations is, that
the gamecreator has to rely on creativity, and not raw asset-force.
It also trains effecient programming and asset creation skills.
And, its a fair playground, no matter if your are a single Programmer or a larger team.
How are your ideas about such a contest?