EDIT: Contest is cancelled, sorry. Lack of entrants has disappointed me, so I'm cancelling the contest. 
Sorry for the weird name, I'm not exactly sure what to call this. "Vague Gimmick" doesn't really sound that good to me, I want something more exciting... But oh well! Welcome, one and all, to the Vague Gimmick Contest, where we refuse to give you enough information to keep secrets! Read on for more information.
~Basics of the Gimmick Contest~
What is this Contest?..
Upon starting, a vague gimmick is given. By "vague", we mean that it could be interpreted different ways as a gimmick. (If climbing was a gimmick, for example, which it's not, for the purposes of this contest, it could be interpreted as Mario climbing a mountain, Mario climbing vines to the top of the sky, or stopping enemies from climbing to the top of a level. Understand how they all fit as "climbing"?) All entrants must then interpret this vague gimmick however they want and make a level based upon what they interpret this gimmick to be. Use your creativity when attempting to design your level; these broad topics are meant to be interpreted in different ways! Sorry, no examples- we wouldn't want to give you your ideas in advance, now would we? ;)
Rules:
1: Stay within the bounds of the gimmick. Yes, it's vague, and that's on purpose. However, it's possible to go too far away from the gimmick into what obvious doesn't fit in it. Try not to go this far.
2: Try not to use more than one gimmick per level. Your level should be about the assigned gimmick in the contest, not something else unrelated. A good rule of thumb, then, is to stick with one central idea, and nothing more. Make your puzzles based around this idea, and you should do fine.
3: Do not, under any circumstances, plagiarize. Plagiarism is stealing others' work and calling it your own. This will get you disqualified immediately.
3a. Using an idea that someone else had is NOT plagiarism.
3b. Using the graphics, music, or levels of another individual without their permission IS plagiarism. Using any content that has been submitted onto the site is allowed, however.
4: All levels should conform to the hack submission guidelines, which can be found here.
5: Submit your Levels in an .ips format, inside of a .zip folder.
If the IPS patch you submitted does not work correctly, it is up to you to remedy the situation before the contest deadline. If the patch is still not functioning by that period, the entry will be disqualified.
6: All submissions may be any style you want. Vanilla, chocolate, we don't care either way! There is no limit on the amount of customization that you may add to your submission. However, make sure that you are still trying to adhere to the main point of the contest: to construct levels out of gimmicks!
7: The contest is, of course, open to all of the people on the site, including staff.
8: The usual forum rules still apply here, so don't spam or anything.
9: Above all, have fun with your entry!
Leave a download link to your entry in a post if you wish to contribute to the Contest. Links and submissions that appear past the deadline will not be accepted. Please submit your files to the filebin, instead of using off-site uploading websites such as Megaupload, FileFront, or RapidShare.
Failure to follow these guidelines will result in immediate disqualification from the Gimmick Contest.
Judging
Entries will be judged on the following categories. Each category can have a certain point value- The level with the most points at the end of the contest it the winner. Next to the category and a brief description of the category lies a number which says how many points each category has.
Interpretation - How creatively you interpreted the gimmick name; more interesting or unique ideas get more points (40 points) (This is the main idea, if you don't have it, you are disqualified!)
Execution - How well your gimmick was made; was it buggy? Was it fun? Was it made badly to where it was annoying to work with? Also, how well does it work with the level itself? (20 points)
Theme - How well your level fits the vague gimmick (10 points)
Level Design - How well the level was built, how fun it was to play, etc. (This includes grammars as well!) (20 points)
Visuals - How well the palettes look, how well the GFX you used looks and fits with your level theme, etc (5 points)
Difficulty - Was it the good kind of difficulty, or was it annoyingly artificial? (5 points)
Bonus:
ASMless - How little you used ASM to CREATE your gimmick; If your gimmick's main function is 100% ASM, you get no points here; ASM counts as patches, sprites, and blocks (Maximum 5 points boost)
The gimmick this time is Switch. Take it how you will! (Warning, though: "Switch" has to be the basis of the gimmick. Your level can't just be about finding the Switch Palace Switch and hitting it- that's not a gimmick of "Switch" at all.)
The judges for this contest will be Techokami, Delmaru, and myself, Riolu180.
NOTES:
-Don't make your level TOO long, or people may not be willing to play it all the way! (If it's fun, this may not matter much, but still be sure not to make it annoyingly long.)
-Test to make sure your ips is not broken or corrupted, as it will be rejected if it is. Also, check your entry to make sure it works on most emulators (ZSNES, SNES9x BSNES, etc.)
-Don't feel like you HAVE to use ASM in your hack to win, or NOT use ASM, in the case of the ASMless bonus! We acknowledge how difficult it must be to make a good level based around a gimmick using only vanilla objects, which is why the ASMless bonus is there- it has no effect on your main score, but it's a bonus for if you try to do something difficult without ASM so anyone can have a chance!
ENTRIES:
1. cheeseofdoom- Switches and Such
2. 10204307- Star Cave
3: x-treme- S.WITCH
4: Kiseki- P-Switch Forecast
5: superomanyte- The Switch Tower
6: Darky- The Switch Way
7: Koops- Koopa House
8: Neutron- P-Switch Castle
9: Best Video Gamer- It's All About the Fence
10: grishnax- Mario and Luigi
The deadline is Feb. 15, so make sure your levels are ready by then! Remember to have fun with your levels!
(Thanks to a handful of people for helping me get these rules organized and created. I really appreciate it.)
Sorry for the weird name, I'm not exactly sure what to call this. "Vague Gimmick" doesn't really sound that good to me, I want something more exciting... But oh well! Welcome, one and all, to the Vague Gimmick Contest, where we refuse to give you enough information to keep secrets! Read on for more information.
~Basics of the Gimmick Contest~
What is this Contest?..
Upon starting, a vague gimmick is given. By "vague", we mean that it could be interpreted different ways as a gimmick. (If climbing was a gimmick, for example, which it's not, for the purposes of this contest, it could be interpreted as Mario climbing a mountain, Mario climbing vines to the top of the sky, or stopping enemies from climbing to the top of a level. Understand how they all fit as "climbing"?) All entrants must then interpret this vague gimmick however they want and make a level based upon what they interpret this gimmick to be. Use your creativity when attempting to design your level; these broad topics are meant to be interpreted in different ways! Sorry, no examples- we wouldn't want to give you your ideas in advance, now would we? ;)
Rules:
1: Stay within the bounds of the gimmick. Yes, it's vague, and that's on purpose. However, it's possible to go too far away from the gimmick into what obvious doesn't fit in it. Try not to go this far.
2: Try not to use more than one gimmick per level. Your level should be about the assigned gimmick in the contest, not something else unrelated. A good rule of thumb, then, is to stick with one central idea, and nothing more. Make your puzzles based around this idea, and you should do fine.
3: Do not, under any circumstances, plagiarize. Plagiarism is stealing others' work and calling it your own. This will get you disqualified immediately.
3a. Using an idea that someone else had is NOT plagiarism.
3b. Using the graphics, music, or levels of another individual without their permission IS plagiarism. Using any content that has been submitted onto the site is allowed, however.
4: All levels should conform to the hack submission guidelines, which can be found here.
5: Submit your Levels in an .ips format, inside of a .zip folder.
If the IPS patch you submitted does not work correctly, it is up to you to remedy the situation before the contest deadline. If the patch is still not functioning by that period, the entry will be disqualified.
6: All submissions may be any style you want. Vanilla, chocolate, we don't care either way! There is no limit on the amount of customization that you may add to your submission. However, make sure that you are still trying to adhere to the main point of the contest: to construct levels out of gimmicks!
7: The contest is, of course, open to all of the people on the site, including staff.
8: The usual forum rules still apply here, so don't spam or anything.
9: Above all, have fun with your entry!
Leave a download link to your entry in a post if you wish to contribute to the Contest. Links and submissions that appear past the deadline will not be accepted. Please submit your files to the filebin, instead of using off-site uploading websites such as Megaupload, FileFront, or RapidShare.
Failure to follow these guidelines will result in immediate disqualification from the Gimmick Contest.
Judging
Entries will be judged on the following categories. Each category can have a certain point value- The level with the most points at the end of the contest it the winner. Next to the category and a brief description of the category lies a number which says how many points each category has.
Interpretation - How creatively you interpreted the gimmick name; more interesting or unique ideas get more points (40 points) (This is the main idea, if you don't have it, you are disqualified!)
Execution - How well your gimmick was made; was it buggy? Was it fun? Was it made badly to where it was annoying to work with? Also, how well does it work with the level itself? (20 points)
Theme - How well your level fits the vague gimmick (10 points)
Level Design - How well the level was built, how fun it was to play, etc. (This includes grammars as well!) (20 points)
Visuals - How well the palettes look, how well the GFX you used looks and fits with your level theme, etc (5 points)
Difficulty - Was it the good kind of difficulty, or was it annoyingly artificial? (5 points)
Bonus:
ASMless - How little you used ASM to CREATE your gimmick; If your gimmick's main function is 100% ASM, you get no points here; ASM counts as patches, sprites, and blocks (Maximum 5 points boost)
The gimmick this time is Switch. Take it how you will! (Warning, though: "Switch" has to be the basis of the gimmick. Your level can't just be about finding the Switch Palace Switch and hitting it- that's not a gimmick of "Switch" at all.)
The judges for this contest will be Techokami, Delmaru, and myself, Riolu180.
NOTES:
-Don't make your level TOO long, or people may not be willing to play it all the way! (If it's fun, this may not matter much, but still be sure not to make it annoyingly long.)
-Test to make sure your ips is not broken or corrupted, as it will be rejected if it is. Also, check your entry to make sure it works on most emulators (ZSNES, SNES9x BSNES, etc.)
-Don't feel like you HAVE to use ASM in your hack to win, or NOT use ASM, in the case of the ASMless bonus! We acknowledge how difficult it must be to make a good level based around a gimmick using only vanilla objects, which is why the ASMless bonus is there- it has no effect on your main score, but it's a bonus for if you try to do something difficult without ASM so anyone can have a chance!
ENTRIES:
1. cheeseofdoom- Switches and Such
2. 10204307- Star Cave
3: x-treme- S.WITCH
4: Kiseki- P-Switch Forecast
5: superomanyte- The Switch Tower
6: Darky- The Switch Way
7: Koops- Koopa House
8: Neutron- P-Switch Castle
9: Best Video Gamer- It's All About the Fence
10: grishnax- Mario and Luigi
The deadline is Feb. 15, so make sure your levels are ready by then! Remember to have fun with your levels!
(Thanks to a handful of people for helping me get these rules organized and created. I really appreciate it.)
