For as much love as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch get from the gaming industry and the people who play games on these devices every day, it’s hard to believe that the humble Macintosh still doesn’t quite get the support it deserves. Even with some of the amazing titles that have come out for the Macintosh, it’s very often ignored by developers.
As the go-to place for game developers to gather and share knowledge, content and assets along with discussing new ideas, iDevGames.com established the uDevGames contest in 2001 to encourage developers to create games for the Macintosh platform. The contest serves the dual purpose of recognizing the best and brightest developers within the community (even offering them a chance to win valuable prizes in addition to the exposure they’ll be getting) while building up a library of games for Mac gamers to enjoy. It’s a way of saying that there are, in fact, plenty of great games for the Macintosh by coaxing them into existence. And the best part is, it’s all free!
The rules of the contest are rather simple, but they show off just how crazy this whole thing is. For example, entrants are given only three months to design their idea, turn it into a game and polish it up for the public to play. This includes all coding, graphics and sound. Once the deadline arrives, the game is published and out the door as is. No patch updates or re-release versions to save a troubled game and give it a second chance here. It’s got be good enough the first time around.
This year, users who register with the site will have until Oct. 14 to play each game and vote on their favorite. However, you don’t have to be registered just to download and play the games, and they will be available long after the contest is over.
Categories range from Best Overall Game to Best Graphics, Best Gameplay, Best Audio, Best Story, Most Original and Most Polished. Prizes will be distributed to the developers of the top three entries for Best Overall Game and in each category.
Anyone can enter the contest. Professionals, experts and beginners are all welcome. And it’s not like you have to be a Mac user yourself to enter the contest, either. As long as you can produce an original game that can be downloaded to a Mac and double-clicked within the time allotted, your entry will be accepted and eligible to win.
This year’s event has 16 entries that cover a wide range of genres. There’s a first-person adventure/puzzle game, a real-time strategy game, a classically-inspired role-playing game, an arcade brawler, a platform game, a dungeon crawler, a puzzle game, a shooter, a word game and many more. In other words, just about something for every kind of gamer out there.
As you might suspect, some of the games are in rough shape, but as long as you can appreciate the amount of work that goes into developing an entire game in only three months, you might just find a few games you enjoy very much, despite their looks.
So far, my two favorites are “Kung Fu Killers,” an arcade “beat ’em up,” and “Flying Sweden,” a highly unusual strategy/action game that are each a lot of fun. If you’re a Mac user and have been looking for some new games to play, head over to udevgames.com/entries and try out as many as you like. Just don’t forget to register to vote before the contest ends on Oct. 14. Instructions are on the website.
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