Reset64 4KB Craptastic Game Competition

We’re excited to announce the 2020 Reset C64 4KB game coding competition. This year’s competition theme is once again…. Craptastic!

“What the bloom’n heck does craptastic mean?”, I hear you ask. It certainly doesn’t mean crap, although it can! Craptastic can mean ludicrous, bonkers, outrageous, funny, wacky, far out, and silly. The theme simply implies that the compo is just for a bit of fun, not a serious coding competition. You are more than welcome to make an excellent game to submit for the compo. Your game may contain some humour or silliness to fit more with the theme, but it doesn’t have to!

2018 Craptastic Comp Winner: Conga 4098 by Paul Koller

In the previous competitions (2016 and 2018), some entries were truly excellent, others excellent but silly, others truly awful but funny! It’s just a chance for people to do something a little different if they wish and explore ideas/concepts that wouldn’t normally work well in a more serious compo.

Please remember that this competition is limited to 4KB. Yes, any entry submitted can be no more than 4KB when compressed. If your game is more than 1 file, then all the files put together must not exceed the 4KB limit.

We want craptastic game entries! Remember, the key word here is fun! We want both coders and players alike to have fun and enjoy this comp!

Submit your entries to RESET64 (via email) by 30th June, 2020 (23:59 GMT).

Take a look at our page for the 2018 Craptastic Comp Winners and download the games!

RULES

Even a craptastic comp needs some basic rules, so here they are:

The competition deadline is 23:59 GMT on the 30th June, 2020. All entries to be submitted to resetc64@gmail.com
All entrants must register at resetc64@gmail.com
Entrants are free to preview screenshots and videos of their game(s) to other publications/websites.
The competition will only begin when there are at least 5 registered entrants.
All submitted games MUST be 4KB or less (when compressed or uncompressed), and executable on a stock C64 on either or each of tape, disk and cartridge. Your submission may have a separate docs file (either as a C64 executable or a txt file, which doesn’t count towards the 4KB cap).
The games must be previously unreleased and your own work, whether that be by yourself or as part of a collaboration.
PAL must be supported, with additional NTSC support optional (but encouraged).
Participants may submit multiple entries, either as an individual or within a team. Team entries must be registered by an individual, and any potential prizes will be sent to the registered individual only.
Entries should be submitted exclusively to RESET64 by the competition deadline. Please feel free to share your entry as you wish after the competition has ended (after the compo deadline has passed).
There will be a panel of judges (TBA), and entries will be scored on a point distribution basis across several criteria. The decision of the panel is final.
Games must be submitted as freeware.
Games will be published (not necessarily exclusively) on a future disk compilation for the whole world to enjoy, after the competition has concluded.

We reserve the right to change, add or delete rules during the competition if deemed necessary!

3rd place in the 2018 Craptastic Comp: Snake-a-Space by Jamie & Molly Fuller.

SCORING SYSTEM

The scoring rules are very simple. Depending on the number of entries, the judges will award points to each game over several criteria (as discussed below). If there are 6 entries, 6 points go to the best, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 to the worst.

If a panel member has entered a game themselves, then the number of points that they can award will be adjusted (in this example, to 5) and they will not score their own release.

The criteria that each game will be evaluated on are:

Originality – New idea or “rip off”? Off the wall ideas encouraged.
Concept – Quality of game design, is it fun, is it bonkers, is it craptastic?
Execution – Execution of design, taking into account controls, NTSC/GS compatibility.
Presentation – Quality of graphics, audio and overall presentation. Supremely bad can be seen as a positive in some cases!
Gameplay – A measure of how enjoyable the game is to play.
Lasting Appeal – replay value and addictiveness.
OMG Factor – when you see it, do you think “wtf!?” This is the true measure of craptasticness!

When the panel has scored each game accordingly, the totals for each criteria will be divided by the number of judges to produce a mean average. These averages are then added together for each game to give a final score.

PLEASE NOTE: CSDB will not be used for voting. Also, entries should not be uploaded to CSDB, or elsewhere until after the competition has closed. Feel free to post screenshots or info though.

PRIZES

A craptastic gaming comp requires craptastic prizes, right? We have some fantastic prizes lined up for this year’s comp thanks to some very generous sponsors.

A big thank-you to the following sponsors and supporters: