Stattmedia game contest

A brief, informational page with a summary of all the questions and facts about the contest and Unità Zero

The Contest

On December 1, 2011 Experimentalgameplay.com (EGP) launched a special 2-months long competition.

After the usual roundup on January 31, 2012 there will be an exceptional followup, when all the eligible games are presented in Stattbad on a dedicated event called Stattmedia Game Contest, running with Unità Zero as game controller.

Stattmedia Game Contest event will take place on February 17, 2012 in Stattbad, Berlin.

Please check the EGP page for further info about the EGP competition and for leaving and reading feedbacks

And keep watching this page, it will be updated constantly with the latest news.

Mandatory Requirements

In order for the game to be eligible for Stattmedia game contest, it must:

run on Windows 7 x64 (intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz, NVidia GPU (8600M GT, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM), 4GB RAM)
use keys ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’ as primary or alternate controlling keys set (every interaction in the game, including navigating game’s states, must be handled by such keys).
run on a single fullscreen window (by default) maximum/optimal resolution WUXGA 1920x1200 / Full HD 1920x1080
never attempt to focus change to other windows
be self-contained in a single folder (dependency dlls should be found there)
be started by executing a single .exe file
not be [outrageously] offensive
not contain copyrighted material

Supported Frameworks

A few, major frameworks will be available:

XNA 3.1, 4.0
.NET 3.0, 3.5, 4.0
MSVC++ RT 2005, 2008, 2010
JDK 7u2 x64 (please no jars though. Try this)
Adobe AIR runtime 3.1

If your dependencies cannot be satisfied in the game's folder, please team up and provide us of a redist package link to be installed. Leave a comment in the EGP page for that.

Operating The Pads

The pads are triggered when their orange surface gets pressed.

The pads behave as an HID device, emulating press/release of a subset of keys ('1', '2', '3', '4', '5'). A pressure on a pad generates a KEY DOWN event. While in this state, it emits a blast of red flashing light. A KEY UP event is then generated when the initial pressure is removed.

The pads react quickly to pressure. Even if it's possible to trigger them with a hand, the load needed on the wrist (approx 2kg) makes them more suitable to be controlled by foot.

The lights flash at approx. 15Hz and they cannot be programmed

Pads Layout

Unità Zero pads will be laid out on a single row as shown:

The numbers relate each pad to a specific key binding. The pads are all alike, same color, same shape. Due to the number of games that reference the pads as numbers, we'll add the relative key numbers onto each pad (1-5).

An approximate distance between each pad is 40cm (15in). It is possible for a single player to easily trigger two pads.

Suggestions

Casual, short games would probably fit better. People might queue up to play and be eager to play.
The pads can bolster a strong physical interaction. Cooperation or physical obstruction as part of the game might be interesting
There could be a variable number of players, spanning from 1 to 5 or more. We'll try to back up the game requirements (with operators that act as teasers or instructors), but try to not to be too restrictive on the number of players. Consider also the chance that the number of players might change during gameplay.
We have a strong audio system. Just use it!

Submitting Your Game

Just follow the instructions given on the EGP site.

Varia

The event will be photoshoot'd, filmed and such material publicly posted online
The host computer has no internet access
The pool WON'T be filled with water :)

Links

These links are provided for your convenience: