LudumData

Read the rules, upload your source!

[raw] LD17LD #17 - Islands - 2010 27. Apr 2010 · 17:37 UTC · 4 days after compo start by Tenoch · 0

Maybe I’m just being anal here, but the rules of the competition clearly state that

  1. All content must be created during the compo
  2. Source code must be provided

There are still occasional entries with images obviously taken directly from the web.

And in many entries, the source is forgotten (ignored?). Some even claim proudly that their game is closed soure…

I know it’s an honor system, and it is very unlikely that people will actually check your source for copy pasted code. But how long can it take to zip your project folder and upload it along? You can even just put it in a single archive with the compiled game if you can’t be arsed to make two different zips.

Now it’s too bad because the game are good. But how should these be judged? They should theoretically be disqualified. Should they receive N/A, or minimal grade on Overall?

I’m pretty sure most people didn’t pay attention to that aspect, but somehow it’s bugging me. Has an admin advice on the conduct to take?

Comments

27. Apr 2010 · 18:00 UTC
Yay, somebody else noticed this is a fairly major trend too.
Praetor57
27. Apr 2010 · 18:13 UTC
I agree, the source is an important part of things, I don’t see the point in being protective of source written in 48 hours (mine is horrendously ugly, and I’d be amazed if someone could get anything more than a headache from trying to steal it…).
28. Apr 2010 · 07:06 UTC
I used the Unity terrain tools for my unfinished project and while my initial screenshots had some stock Unity terrain textures, I replaced them all with my own. I didn’t actually use Unity’s water shader because I didn’t want to make bump maps and such, so I just had a translucent plane with my own texture.
snowyowl
27. Apr 2010 · 18:21 UTC
Whoops, forgot about the source. I’ll upload mine…
27. Apr 2010 · 18:53 UTC
yeah we need to state this in big letters at the compo start, and maybe have a “flag for DQ” box in the voting (with a reason). Then the mods could go check anything that got flagged a few times.
geti
27. Apr 2010 · 19:10 UTC
One of the bonuses of using Lua: the source is right there 😛
KavuDX
27. Apr 2010 · 20:14 UTC
I agree with you too…

I was going to use music and stock pictures from the web, and when I learned that I had to create EVERYTHING I even abandoned the default game maker buttons and drew everything in paint.
Tyler
27. Apr 2010 · 20:16 UTC
Agree with Geti. I used the Love engine which is based in lua, and my whole game is simply a zip file with a .love extension. Your only one extract from my source :)
nitram_cero
27. Apr 2010 · 20:27 UTC
I hate purism.
Tenoch
27. Apr 2010 · 21:03 UTC
Violation of intellectual property is a problem bigger than LD. Yes it’s possible that someone steals your game, publishes it wherever, and pretends he wrote it. Even if they don’t have the source.
28. Apr 2010 · 02:37 UTC
None of the Ludum Dare entries are in a finished state after the 48 hours. The kind of person who would steal source code to re-release it with their name on it isn’t the kind of person who can be bothered to finish the entry.
pythong
28. Apr 2010 · 05:15 UTC
do you even realize what you’re saying?
28. Apr 2010 · 06:33 UTC
> Would you disqualify A HUNDRED AWESOME ENTRIES just for that?
27. Apr 2010 · 20:31 UTC
Yeah, and it’s also a solo competition, but I’ve seen at least one entry that had separate credits for code, graphics and audio.
nitram_cero
27. Apr 2010 · 20:33 UTC
“All content and the game must be from scratch.”

“Ludum Dare is about creating games, not about writing A* for the 8th time. ”
sfernald
28. Apr 2010 · 02:22 UTC
Nitram_cero, I assumed that wonderful music you have in your game was your own performance or that are in a band or something. Was that music just pulled from the Internet?
Tyler
27. Apr 2010 · 20:47 UTC
May I suggest that in future LDs, there are multiple categories? Instead of everyone in the same competition, have a “barebones” section where creatores must follow the current rules exactly, and another category where anything goes/ loose ruleset. This would allow for people to continue to use Unity/Torque in one category without being ostracized, and those who like to do it all by hand can have the satisfaction of knowing they aren’t up against someone who started with half of what they made.
27. Apr 2010 · 21:32 UTC
Even I also uploaded the source too late, I do agree 100%. Especially on the content-side. I personally find it so cool to be forced to do the whole content on your own. And the outcome can be hilarious(e.g. the “where is the cheese?”-soundtrack 😀 ) If some people violate this they make the games not comparable anymore. (Everyone knows the difference between a cool background music and no music at all!) Rules are there to be followed. If some say, BUT and BUT and BUT, then LD is not for them…quite easy.
madk
27. Apr 2010 · 23:13 UTC
I hadn’t realized inclusion of source was rule, but I updated the link with it when I became aware. My code is actually (relatively) legible and I want to do something bigger with it when the compo’s over. This may become difficult of my code is stolen. I really don’t want this to be a requirement, because it’s certainly a discouragement for me, if not some others as well, if we are required to put out our thousands of lines of code and make it ripe for the picking. There is absolutely nothing preventing others from claiming our work as their own when we upload our source.So yeah, I’d like the rules to be adjusted so that it becomes optional to include the source.
Tyler
27. Apr 2010 · 23:50 UTC
Suggestion to keep your code secure- Write it in FORTRAN.
KavuDX
28. Apr 2010 · 00:39 UTC
You are all taking this way too serious…

I doesn’t matter if you made your game all the way from scratch (creating the graphics from pixel to pixel, the sounds that you composed and recorded and even the fonts where you text is written) and someone use some tool that allowed him to make something better and with less work.

The person who did everything from scratch will surely be more proud of their game than someone who didn’t made everything. Whenever the first gets a compliment for the graphics or the music, he will feel so great, different of the second person, who will know that it was not all his work.
28. Apr 2010 · 01:06 UTC
Honestly, I think two things need to happen: #1, the rules need to be a lot more visible in the period leading up to the compo, and during the actual compo, so that people can’t just go “well, i didn’t see the rules, so, whatever”, and #2, the rules need to be re-written so they’re clearer about a lot of things. There’s some progress towards #2, but it’s obviously not good enough, since there’s still confusion and arguments about rules.
sfernald
28. Apr 2010 · 01:14 UTC
I have a question regarding content.
sfernald
28. Apr 2010 · 01:49 UTC
I think source should be provided for learning purposes. I have a lot more respect for multimedia fusion because hempuli does such great work with it.
moltanem2000
28. Apr 2010 · 02:20 UTC
I’m all up for people posting their sources, but I’m against it being a necessity. Personally i’m quite attached to the games i work hard on in these short periods of time. And i’m not exactly trusting of the internet to leave it alone, whether or not there are copyright/CC/things in place. That may just be paranoia, but it’s also my opinion 😛
28. Apr 2010 · 04:57 UTC
Clearly as our numbers grow there is going to be more problem elements that don’t want to comply with the rules. How can we deal with them?
28. Apr 2010 · 06:38 UTC
On the topic of creating your own content – is using music from someone else, with their permission ofc, allowed? I’m hilariously tone deaf and I don’t think I could create anything even remotely pleasant even if I spent the whole 48 hours doing just that.
localcoder
28. Apr 2010 · 07:56 UTC
Most people don’t read the rules, but everyone reads their feedback. So if someone has missed the rules, all you need to do is politely explain what they’ve done wrong in their comments.
29. Apr 2010 · 22:01 UTC
I uploaded my source. In the commotion I forgot to upload it.