MSXdev'10

Gentlemen: start your engines, pick up ye olde painting brush and contract the whole PSG orchestra, it's time for MSXdev'10! Like MSX itself, the annual game development contest MSXdev is tough and sturdy, it may be around for an eternity, who knows.. While the harvest of recent years wasn't as vast as in 2005 - when MSX productivity was flourishing in general - the quality of games remains stable. Specifications have climbed up since the early editions, step by step, and not without arguing about it first. The current specifications seemed to have reached a point, acceptable for most developers - if not all. And so, the specifications for this year are comparable to last year's. Let's have a look.

• The game should be a ROM file, with a maximum size of 128kB. More details about memory mappers at the MSXdev website.
• The minimal configuration an entry should work on is an MSX1 with 64kB system RAM, 16kB video RAM and PSG for sound and/or music. More details at the MSXdev website.
• The game should also be able to run on later MSX generations (MSX2, MSX2+, turbo-R), if not: it'll receive a penalty point.
• Bonus hardware support (sound chips, video chips etc.) is allowed but won't gain bonus points in the jury report. For MSXdev'09 there was a sponsored prize rewarding such extras though, so who knows what the MSXdev'10 sponsoring system will bring..
• Use any programming language you want. Assembly obviously has many advantages, but C or BASIC are also possible, whatever suits you.
• Any game genre is welcome. Original work is preferred. If you must use media from third parties, ask for permission. Plain unauthorized content stealing isn't acceptable for the jury.
• The game should come with an English instruction manual and a high resolution ROM label.

The jury is composed out of mars2000you, BodyHammeR, and a third member, to be presented later. Like previous editions, the open sponsorship means that anyone can initiate a prize category. Typically these categories can reward specific skills, like best graphics, best music, and last year the MSX1+ category saw daylight (best bonuses). The sky is the limit..

Development time has been discussed in previous editions. Whether you start a week prior to the deadline or not, the strict deadline is 31 January 2011, 23:59 CET. That's about ten months, and should be sufficient for even the most complex genres. And with that, you have enough information to get cracking! What will this edition bring us? Epic RPG's, platformers, shooters? Or back to the basics with Pac Mans and board games? Maybe even daring simulations and hilarious concepts.. would we finally get to see Mr.Chin to do his trick in space, without gravity, with plates floating away instead of falling down? Thrill and suspense await us!

Relevant link: MSXdev'10