Rules, Judging & Formalities (2010)
Competition Rules
The rules for the 2010 contest are as follows:
- The final game package (byte code + resources) must be below or equal to 4096 bytes
- Must be a playable game (cannot be a pointless animation)
- Must be pure Java (no JNI)
- Must be self-contained- no external resources (e.g. loading an image from a website)
- No external libraries may be used - you must use the libraries that come with the "public" version of the JRE
- No soundbanks may be used because they are not a default part of the "public" JRE. You will have to create your sounds at runtime rather than use MIDIs.
- The game must be an Applet (No more Webstart). (refer to "Applet Requirements" section for more details)
- Target JRE is 1.5 (Java 5) or lower (e.g. compatible with 1.5 and up)
- Must not be identical to a game submitted into previous 4k competitions.
Applet Requirements
Java4K 2010 is the first contest year that requires games to be presented as Applets, replacing the WebStart. Here are some requirements regarding the Applets:
- The Applet window size may not exceed 800 pixels horizontally or 600 pixels vertically.
- The Applet may not cause "leaks" in the browser, resulting in browser instability.
- HTML file and Applet tags are not counted as part of the final game package size. It's not allowed to inject any data, resources or logic into the games from the HTML files or Applet tags.
- The Applet must be hosted on java4k.com, for posterity purposes. (Although, exceptions are allowed for specific reasons, see "Networking & Multiplayer")
Some Applet code templates have been provided on a JGO discussion forum, use whatever suits your game.
Signing
If there is a need for the game to be signed and the signed game package exceeds 4096 bytes, then an unsigned game package, that is below or equal to 4096 bytes, must be provided.
Networking & Multiplayer
- If there is a dedicated separate server for your game, not part of your game JAR, it must be submitted and counted as part of your final game package. (Contact appel (a) java4k.com for details.)
- Applets with network connectivity (JRE 1.5) require signing. Refer to the Signing section.
- We do not allow a dedicated game server to be run on our server for multiple reasons, mainly security, resources & performance.
Pack200
Yes, it is allowed.
Final note
As with all contests and rules, it is impossible to forsee every possibility. Therefore, the administration reserves the right to reject games that do not follow the spirit of the 4K competition, e.g. try to cheat or bypass competition rules.
Dates & Submission Period
The Java4K 2010 submission period spans from December 1st 2009 and ends February 28th 2010. Results of the competition will be displayed on this site shortly there after, hopefully no later than 2-3 weeks after the competition closes.
Judging & Community Voting process
The voting process will consist of a panel of 3 judges, who will write a review and assign a score (0-100%) for each game, and also a community voting process.
The judges score determines 50% of the total score of a game, and the community vote score determines the other 50% of the score.
Community voting (Note: these rules can change and should be considered tentative)
The voting arrangement are yet to be refined.
- Only those who are registered users on Java4K are enabled to participate in the community voting process.
- Community voting will start at the end of the contest, February 28th, and end 2 weeks later. This is to ensure that all games, no matter when they are submitted, receive equal attention in the voting process.
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Judging panel
The judging panel will consist of 3 judges (refer to "Judges" section).
- All judges are required to review every game that qualifies, filling out a review text and assigning a score (0-100%) to each game.
- If a judge is unable to run a game for reviewing purposes, and the problem is the judges computer, then that judge must find another machine to run the game. However, if the problem lies in the game, the author will get a notification in email (the email in the registered account) and have 3 days to fix the problem. If the problem isn't fixed within that time frame, the game is disqualified.
- All judges will run the games in JRE 1.5.
- Due to the fact there is community voting, judges are free to submit a game into the contest.
- Note: These games will only be voted on in the community vote. They will not be considered by the judging panel, and therefore will receive no score from the judging panel. Community voting is separate and independent from the judging panel, and cannot affect or influence each other. This allows judges to submit games for community voting without worrying about any conflict of interest.
Currently there is no plan to give prizes.
Note: The 3 categories "Overall Score", "Presentation Score" and "Technical Score" have been dropped in favor of just one score.
2010 Judging Panel
The judges for the Java4K 2010 competition are as follows:
Arni Arent (appel) - www
Java4K administrator and game programmer.
Eli Delventhal (Demonpants) - www
Professional game developer with 10 years of game programming experience.
Kevin Glass (kevglass) - www
Expert game programmer, creator of Slick, and countless other tools, demos, games and tutorials.