The Winners!

Here are the winning entries for CONTRAST 2008.

Best Overall Game

Solar:24hr by team "Night and Day"


Most Innovative Game

MotherFarmer by team "AHA!"


Most Entertaining Game

Moo Poot by team "Moo Poot"


Most Promising Game

Human Nature by team "Awesome"


Click on the links above to download and play the games. You can also download and play the rest of the entries by going to YoYo Games and searching for "contrast 2008".

Entries for CONTRAST 2008

Contrast Prize Giving!!!

Hi Contestants!

Here's a reminder that the prize giving ceremony will be held at 2.45pm on the 20th of September, this Saturday, at Games Convention Asia in Suntec City.

We encourage everyone to go if possible, as Saturday is also GCA's Student's day and the panels and talks are targeted to students interested in entering the games industry.

Each team has to send at least one team member to collect the certificates of participation from the team.If you think you will win, we'll need someone to collect the prizes on stage too! ^_^

See you there!
Contrast Team 2008

23rd hour

bet all of you guys are really keen to know how the groups are tahan-ing after all that torturous 23 hours!



group 4: justin lye, raymond, jolly & bryan yeo



raymond shares: success is to be metally prepared. (hmmm,serious fella!)



*thinks of food*thinks of food*thinks of food*and sleep*and sleep*and sleep*



talking 'bout food; we have one of our dear contestants bryan yeo complaining a shortage in supply of mee!( sry buddy, act faster the next time around! )



justin lye shares: sleep early before coming for such a competition! (*snickers*) on a more serious note, he added that design is shear tough! What the group thought was gonna be breezy, turned out to be really mind-boggling!



justin was not alone in thinking this way!



Wei Song & Yong Bin from group 10, Mama down said: " we should be more prepared next time, in terms of ideas/design!"

The group consisting of two others, Terence Chow and Aik Siang, further shared that they originally had many back-up plans which they decided to scrap in the end because of a misfit with the themes!

Sorry guys, your so-thought fool-proof plan which could cater to anything/everything, dint work out in the end! :X so much for preparation beforehand! nevertheless, commendable attitudee and efforts! : D



When asked to share his thoughts on the competition so far, Choong Yee, group 9, said: " It is vital that everybody does their part. This is the first time I'm joining such a competition and I have gained many first hand experiences."



Choong Yee is one of many who have shared the fact that it's all their first times! (memorable first time guys! be it first time in joining a game design competition, first time not sleeping for 24 hours, first time having to starve? hmmmm! first times. many (: )

group1: The Bummers

a really united group from what i can see!

the way Elvin was teasing Justin bout him not being able to draw! haha! Camaraderie! niceee! (:

quiet and busying away, we have joei, Junyi and Shaowei.

Grt job guys!

last but not least in this post, we have the really 2 sleepy groups that admit that they are sleepy!

group8: 4 GUYS & A POTATO(who i wonder!) lol.

Malcolm.Gareth.Loc.Scott.
3 words to sum them all: HUNGRY. SLEEPY. yet SATISFIED (:
wonderful (:

group6: 6C team
sleepy! no more comments-

report card 3

at this point of time, many report cards have since been churned. hard work all of you!

just one more report card we decided to upload:

here it goes! (:

as you can hear from all that laughters, justin and his group, seems pretty proud of the work done so far! (:

good luck to the team! (:

report card 2

check out our hyper group and their really cool " SLAP EM!"

playful as they might seem, i'm pretty impressed at their efficiency! thumbs! (:

report card at 3pm

one of the report cards at 3pm (:

really cool idea stemmed from the theme: dead & alive (:

check this group out!

LUNCH TIME, 1PM

Finally, the long awaited lunch! mee-goreng! yum! (when you'r hungry, anything goes! heh!)

Going on my rounds once again.

ALERT ALERT!
GROUP18: ENTIRE GRP MISSING! boy. they must be hella starving! working too hard for the past 17 odd hours i bet!

Anyway, while a few groups were out of the labs for lunch, many many MANY groups were still working really hard at work!

check out the following!

group 13: yi xin, daniel, munir, jesse, karkin

yixin grumbles!*: not niceee! program not nicee! photoshop better; a prog we are more accustomed too!

group 14: hui ling, fiona, woon seng, gladys
hui ling grumbles!*: softwareee, noo good! photoshop better!
woon seng: v cram, very cold

group 17: gavin, zi tian, andre, joy, li en
joy & gavin grumbles!*: need better chairs!

deduction: as the 24th hour draws nearer, more complaints, more grumbles.
nevertheless, all groups agree that they are coping/surviving well!
gambate guys! (:

Anyway, just two interesting sights:

group 24: Beier, Truman, Jinnong, Xue Ru
Beier & Truman are the ones doing all the work while Jinnong & Xue Ru looks on.
Funny how this group works: 2 work, 2 watch; later swap! niceee.

group 12: paul, xinru, alex, shawn, KC
wow! while all groups were busy at work, only this group had all its members indulging in mee-goreng!
It got me wondering: wow! the only relaxed group! check them out!

"we had been starving! no breakfast! not enough!"
man, so that's the reason. poor guys! go on, eat eat! enjoy (:

before i left lab 2, kian boon caught my eye.
sipping away at his coffee, he told me how welfare he is! and yes, i have to admit that he really cares for his people; turning up and down the temperature of the lab accor to the "too hot! too brrr!" requests from his lab 2 people. truly welfare! salutes*

steps out of freezer/.

Day One, 11.20am

It's about 16 hours into the game now.



Hourly routine:

let's see how the various groups are coping at this very moment.



At the 16th hour:



Tracking group 2, we can see that the group is left with Celeste, Noel & Teck still toggling at the mouse. Poor Alvin catching a snooze: overworked?! : X




Group 5: we have Thanh, the sole warrior fighting hard at his com; while his 3 other team mates; Thi, Dzung, and Khanh, fighting the zzz monster!



Group 6: pretty united group! seen them discussing outside the lab on the themes some 15 hours ago, and they are still going very strong this very moment! All 5 of them: Wang Xun, Evan, Matthias, Weiwen and Risutya! Matthias was even adding how power Evan was, with the straight record of not sleeping the the last 16 hours! (rock on!)



Group 7: self claimed cui group!

why! the cui group has all members awake still! Le Anh, Zhi Wei, Kenny, Ahmad and Raymond!

Cheers to their perseverance!



Others still pressing on as a group include groups 3 and 9!

We have Jenny, Chee Yuan, Keng Chuan & Choong Yee, Shujun, Chong Sheng, Daniel & Qikun respectively.

Day One, 3.17AM

At this unearthly hour, some of the participants are looking visibly strained. It is afterall, no mean feat to be AWAKE plus having to squeeze your brain juices when it is already way past your bedtime.

However, most of the participants are still fairly awake, actively discussing and working on their assigned computers. With just under 16 hours before the game presentation, many are feeling the motivation to keep going.

Day One. 9.50PM

Supper has just arrived, in the form of a heavenly smelling pot of curry, steaming fried rice, and awfully tasty fishballs, etc etc. WHAT A SPREAD. :)

As the glorious smell of food wafts around, intensive group discussions break up and participants are starting to file out from the computer labs. A thick crowd is gradually forming around the picnic table.

It's time for a well-deserved break for the participants.

YUM, more updates later!

Day One, 7 PM

Just about 30 minutes to the start of the Contrast Competition!

In the computer labs, some participants are fidgeting in their seats, anxiously waiting for the 24hour competition to kick off. Some are sitting upright in their seats, eyes lit with eager anticipation and intently fixated on the timer. Others have already started fervent discussions about potential game themes that could be given.

Touring all 3 labs, we can see varying degrees of enthusiasm just before the game starts.

Members of group 13 and 14 are currently engaging in serious discussion in lab 2. At the very same time, we have the really play-it-cool dudes like Wayne and Samuel from group 15, having fun at their card game. Even so, we do have the really high and hyper group2-alvin,celeste,lisa,teck,noel, who managed to hype themselves so much even before the game started!
Next, we proceeded to lab 3. WOA. so quiet and serious!!
Checking out group 21: kenneth, Jonathan, YuJia, Kaizer & Shaun.
Kenneth, Jon and YuJia shared with us how inexperienced they were in game design, and how they learned the ropes in mere 2 weeks! Interesting to follow how they'd do in 24 hours time! (:

Right now, there is only ten more minutes remaining. The CNM committee members and helpers are rushing around, making last-minute arrangements and ensuring that everything goes according to plan. The organisers are huddled in a corner, synchronising their watches, to make sure all participants in the three computer labs start and stop at the same time.

Alright, one more minute to go before the timer goes off!

Contrast Final Check

Dear Contrast Participants!

Here is the final check for the competition! Please remember to bring the following items for your competition tomorrow.

1) Thumbdrive, Hard Disk, Storage Devices - To transfer files between your PC, you only need 1

2) Sweater/Sleeping Bag - It can gets really cold at night

Optional:

1) Earphone, Earpiece, Microphone – If you were to need to incorporate some Audio aspect into your game.

2) Snacks and Drinks – We do provide some snacks and drinks. But you can bring your own. We will have hot water facilities in the building. Bring your caffeine fix if you wish, as well =)

Banned items:

1) Game Maker source codes – for fairness sake =)

2) Printed or digital materials about Game Maker with Game Maker codes in it – Do not worry, Gamemaker help is still available in your PCs

Please be reminded that while you are allowed to bring in images and sound files, do ensure that you have the legal rights to these images and sound files.

And finally, do remember to report at 5.30pm to LT 9 in NUS. The first 100 participants to arrive will receive a bottle of organic coffee power from Bon Café and limited edition biscuit snacks from Bon Japan! =D

Alright! All the best and have a good rest tonight!

Warm regards,
Contrast Team

Environmental Themes

Dear all Contrast Participants,

As you all already know, you are required to make a game that is tied to an environmental themes.

Here is a non-exhaustive lists of some environmental themes for your perusal!

Pollution

3 Rs

Deforestation

Oil Crisis

Wildlife Preservation

Dengue

Natural disasters

Energy Saving

Carbon emission

Over population

Toxic Waste

And please note that you need not restrict your team to the above list. =D

Pre-comp briefing notes

Dear participants,

Thank you for coming for the briefing last Friday.

For those who missed the briefing, please kindly follow the following link to find the document we gave out during the briefing! =)

Pre-comp briefing notes

All the best for your preparations for the upcoming competition!

May the best team wins!!

See you at Contrast workshop tomorrow!

Hi Contrast participants!

We'll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for the Contrast workshops!

The schedule is as follows:

10am - 1pm Game maker programming workshop at AS6/0215
1pm - 2pm lunch break (at your own expense)
2pm - 4pm Game Design workshop at CNM Playroom
4pm - 7pm Digitizing Art workshop at AS6/0215

Just a point to note:
AS6/0215 is a little small for everyone as it as only 25 computers, so each team will be sharing a computer and wacom tablet for the gamemaker and digitizing art workshop. We will allocate two computers per team if there are extras to go around. ^_^

See you there!
Wei Man
GDG President 2008
i.e. the girl who's in the briefing room first. ^_^

Registration closed!!!

Dear all!

We thank you all for the wonderful response to the competition.

However we are quickly approaching the maximum capacity that our Labs can accomodate. =)

Registration from now onwards will be placed on the waiting list. We seek your understanding in this matter!!

Registration Details

Registration for Contrast 2008 is now open.

If you are interested to join us, download the forms from these links:

1) Reg form : 2) Rules and regulations

The registration fee is $15, consisting of 4 meals - Supper, Breakfast, Lunch and Tea Break.

We will be setting up booths outside the NUS Central Library along the AS6 Walkway to collect the registration form and fee at the following timeslot.

Date: 29 August 2008.
Time: 12 - 6.30pm

Date: 1 September 2008.
Time: 12 - 6.30pm

Please note that the registration is not complete without the completion of the registration and full payment of $15 per person.

The dead line for registration is up till 4 September 2008.

Please contact either Tiffany Yong at 93678350 or Kian Boon at 9677 2992 if you face any problems in registration or have any enquiries.

Alternatively, you can Email us at contrast2008@gmail.com

Game Development Workshop for Contrast

In order to prepare you for Contrast 2008, NUS Games Development Group would be providing complementary workshops one week before the competition on the following days.


□ Game Maker Workshop on 6th Sept 2008 Saturday , 10am - 1pm
□ Game Design Workshop on 6th Sept 2008 Saturday , 2pm - 4pm
□ Game Art Workshop on 6th Sept 2008 Saturday , 4pm - 7pm


Rest assured that even if you are a total newbie in the area of games development! You will acquire the neccesary skillset by the end of these workshops to compete in the competition.

Dun believe? Try it! =P

Judges profile

Every year, we are very honoured to have revered industry professionals to serve in our panel of judges. Here are the profile for some of them! More coming up soon!


Christopher Teksey, " I'm an Australian who traveled and lived all over the world for a number of years before deciding that I did not want to grow up but needed a career so I decided to turn a hobby in game design into a career and become a game designer. Originally educated and trained as a Biochemist and Molecular biologist at the University of Melbourne I have now been at Electronic Arts for 4 years and have just recently relocated to Singapore from Vancouver Canada were I worked on a number of titles including FIFA, Rugby, Cricket, Fight Night round 3 (PS3) and most recently a new IP FaceBreaker. "

Jean-Sebastien Mouret “ I’m the Lead Gameplay programmer at Ubisoft Singapore. I have worked in several Ubisoft studios, mostly on Tom Clancy games such as Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Splinter Cell Double Agent, the upcoming End War and Splinter Cell Conviction. I have a passion for working closely with creative directors and game designers, trying to transform their weirdest ideas into games. ”

Allan Simonsen is the Technical Director of Boomzap Ptd Ltd, a Singapore-based Casual Games Developer. He's been working in the games industry since 1999, including stints in Scotland, Malaysia and Singapore, mostly working as Technical Director or Lead Programmer. Allan's the Coordinator for the International Game Developer's Association (IGDA) Singapore, who're serving as a focal-point for local developers. He's a frequent lecturer at conferences and at IHLs, believing that the best way to build passion for Game Development is to work with students, and show them the fun and challenges in making games for a living. Allan firmly believes that life is not a zero-sum game."

Theo Sanders is the Vice-President of Products at Razer, a leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals. Previously, he was a Producer at Blizzard Entertainment. Theo coded his first game in BASIC on a ZX Spectrum 128K computer in 1988 and has been involved with gaming as a hobby, and later as a profession, ever since.

Organisers and Partners

Since Contrast 2008 is a jointly-organized event, here is a brief introduction about the various societies and organizations that are joining hands to make this event possible!'

NUS’ Communications and New Media Society
NUS’ Communications and New Media Society is in its 4th-year running and this is the third time the society is organizing the 24-hour nationwide game design competition. Owing to success of “Contrast 2007”, the society has decided to continue holding this event with the help and support from the Communications and New Media Department and various other parties. The department and society will be sourcing for sponsorships, judges, venues to make this event even more successful.

The Communications and New Media Society has decided to organize this event because the society aims to make game design possible for everyone and not just the IT experts. It is to also create awareness for the game design modules the CNM department in NUS offers which would help give students more knowledge and information with regards to that aspect of New Media.

NUS Games Development Group
NUS’ Games Development Group (GDG) is a student interest group that gives aspiring game developers a medium to hone their skills. Students with the same interest and passion for game development get the opportunities to come together to participate in activities that can help build up their game portfolios which would give them an advantage should they decide to seek a career in the gaming industry.

GDG will be handling the licensing and technical aspects of the competition. They will also be conducting workshops prior to “Contrast 2008” for participants to give them a better idea and knowledge about the gaming software they will be using during the competition. This will give all participants at least the basic knowledge required.

International Gamers Developers Association -Singapore Students' Chapter
The International Gamers Developers Association (IGDA) is an organization that is made up of various members from the gaming industry. It provides a platform for the international gaming community to share their knowledge and expertise and in turn improving the gaming industry for all.
IGDA has always worked closely with student and institutions and the Communications and New Media Department of NUS.

For Contrast 2008, they have gladly agreed to allow us to use their website and publication materials to publicise the event. This would definitely aid in the disseminating of information to various other institutions and students who are keen to participate in the competition.

Games Convention Asia
Games Convention Asia (GCA) is the sole platform for electronic game industry in the Asia- Pacific region. It brings together professionals, game developers and people with an interest in gaming and giving them opportunities to enjoy the latest games. It is held annually at Suntec City and this year, it will last from the 18th-19th September.

During this year’s GCA, they have kindly agreed to give us a booth to showcase the games that were created during Contrast 2008. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as participants get to engage with professionals and experts on how to improve their skills and gain a further insight into the gaming industry. This would be an invaluable experience for the participants.

Game Development Workshops

The NUS Games Development Group and the International Game Developer Association Singapore Student Chapter are organising workshops on

1. Game design (board/card/computer games)

2. Game Art

3. Game Maker

4. Flash

At just $4 per workshop!

If you go for them all, you would have learned all the fundamental concepts to computer game development!

If you are looking for some place to start, this is a good chance.

To sign up, please send a mail containing your name, school and contact number to nus.gdg@gmail.com

Contrast '08: A Brief Introduction...

CONTRAST is a 24-hour game design competition jointly organized by the Communications and New Media (CNM) Society and Game Development Group (GDG) from the National University of Singapore. Due to the overwhelming and well-received response from the participants in previous years, CONTRAST is running for its third year, with a brand new theme.

CONTRAST is Singapore’s very first 24-hour non-stop game design competition targeting tech-savvy game development enthusiasts from all tertiary institutions to showcase their talent and creativity. This year, it will be held on the 12th September 2008 in one of the computer laboratories of NUS. Students can form teams comprising of 2-5 members, and they will have to work under pressure and racing against time to conceptualize, design and build original games within a time limit of 24 hours within an enclosed environment.

The theme for this year’s competition will be the Environment, in view of promoting environmental awareness amongst youths in Singapore. From the games, we aim to address environmental issues affecting our earth today and allow others to learn more and lend a hand through interactive games.

Register, have fun and be part of the this meaningful competition right now!

Game Design? You just need 24 hours

CONTRAST is NOT a competition where professional designers come together to make sophiscated games. Rather it is about aspiring game designers who may or may not have programming background. It is precisely our goal to prove that game designing can be something simple enough for everyone, and it can be done in 24 hours.

So what are you waiting for? Join us now and see for yourself how fun game design can be!

Duration: 12 - 13 September 2008
Location: National University of Singapore
Time: 7pm to 7pm
Cost: $15/pax (Teams can consist of 3-5 members)

Hurry! Email us at contrast2008@gmail.com to register/enquire now!