[AI Challenge] Procedural Content Generated Challenge Disscusion...

There's some details on the About tab at the top: http://www.procjam.com/event-format-accessibility/

For a better idea, you can see our itch.io page from last year: https://itch.io/jam/procjam2016 (I haven't set up this year's yet).

No prizes - no winners, in fact, we don't rate entries. It's focused more on creativity and sharing and exploring ideas. It's fun!

 

Cool people could use this as a warmup for this years procjam!

Care to share some videos or screenshots of the kinds of things people have created in your PCG jam?

 

There we go, you have an insider telling you the truth

 

It looks like the fixed type of game is winning but can we agree on what type of game we should fix on?

• 2D
• 3D
• 6DOF e.g. Descent
• Platform
• FPS
• RTS
• Race
• Endless Runner
• Other?

 

I think picking a fixed game type will kill the point of the challenge. Whatever the point was supposed to be.

 

Well I can see it from both sides:

Fixed: Limitations can inspire and drive creativity in new directions, or limit the pool of applicants not inspired by the limitations.

Open: Limitless expanse can allow anyone to try anything or drop creatives into the limbo of analysis paralysis with too many options and choices.

Maybe the best route is optional fixed genre/style and optional theme. So it's open but encourages a certain style/genre/theme as a creative seed.

 

What about the following optional elements:

Theme: AI
Style: Abstract / Low Poly
Genre: 3D first person
​

The aim is to allow AI cyberpunk abstract creativity, so even messy PCG could be something in a cyberpunk net environment...

First person means you don't need to build a character you just need a camera.

And they are optional so what do you think, are these enough of a seed to start you on a PCG game jam?

 

https://itch.io/jam/ai-pcg-level-challenge

 

The best option is to have a theme without enforcing genre or anything else. Take a look at ludum dare, pretty much.

If your idea was to trigger some sort of "informational/technique exchange between developer", then narrowing down the theme will limit opportunities to learn something.

So the best idea would be "Theme: Procedural generation".

 

For anyone who plans on participating, start a thread thread in WIP forum for your project and post your progress updates there. This thread can serve as the main thread for the jam and discussion of rules etc, but general discussion is not for devlogs, use WIP for that.

 

@Arowx, have you already made a WIP thread? Would it be a smart idea to have just one for the entire jam, or one per entrant? Just one for the whole jam might get a little more exposure, and people looking for a little feedback might be better able to get it there.

Though it also might become cluttered if a lot of people are posting different project updates all the time, so I couldn't say what method is best.

 

Previously we used the launch thread to share our WIP updates and chat about progress, so a single thread is a good way to keep everyone up to date with what people are doing.

However it's running on itch.io and that has a community feature so people can share updates there?

It's sad when moderators in Unity start getting too locky and heavy handed IMHO, if a topic is allowing people who are interested to discuss a topic surely it's good for the community. Especially challenge and game jam topics.

There has often been Ludum Dare announcement and share threads here, IMHO that's what the community section should provide a common area to share and discuss issues.

 

WIP is also a disaster of a forum. It's basically a self promotion dumping ground - especially with asset store stuff.

 

Yup. Which is, in part, we don't need it spilling all over the forums. One doesn't need to post their own sef-promotion in general because the don't want to have to complete with others self promotion. Given the lack of structure and lack of voiced interest/ participation in this 'jam', like previous cases, it is bound to turn into a one person devlog. We have a place for that. Works in progress. Constant updates to a work that is progress is not general game development/unity discussion. It really couldn't be any simpler.

This board has plenty of structure, and a place for pretty much everything. Ignoring / subverting that structure simply to satisfy ones need for attention isn't acceptable. General is a perfect place to post a notice for a jam, or even to plan/discuss its structure. But not a place to hold it. If there were more, a sub forum might be warranted, but we are a long way off from that.

 

What about a stickied mod-supervised post-mortem thread with a clear format (i.e. 1 post per week with 1 screenshot, prefaced with the name and genre of the game) and everything that does not adhere to it is simply removed. Runs for 1 month and is then unstickied and locked.

The problem is that I think this kind of thing needs a way to grow in a place that a lot of people frequent. It would be completely smothered in the weeds of the WIP forum. I mean, even allowing each person only 1 post in the thread would be something (might even be a better idea).

 

Sure, that could be a possibility in the future. But right now there simply isn't the need for new structure or extra mod work. These rarely ever come up, and when the do, its one or two people. The interest just isn't there. Besides there are places like itch that support it already. There really is no problem that needs solving at this point. We could make a jam/challenge sub forum, but really that would just be another thing to have to clean up.

Edit: Actually, you know, I'll be happy to give the stickied thread idea a try. If we have jam/challenge with 10 or more active committed participants we'll give it a test run and see how it goes.

 

I'm in, and I mean in as in in.

 

I'm in too (if we're talking about @Arowx's PCG jam). Already starting working on it.

 

I think I'm in, I had a perfect need for a pcg prototype right now so why not lol!

 

I feel like this is what tags were partially supposed to solve, but the WIP forum still ends up being the same mess it's always been.

 

Got a bit thread-confused, but I'm in with either of them.

 

That's, I believe, just the nature of the beast. Any place that provides an open area for people of any skill level to show / self promote is going to have a high noise to signal ratio. Blendswap, deviantart, google play, itch, YouTube, etc... everyone who downloads unity has a WIP project (some before). There's not much way around that.

 

It's not 10, but I'd like to point out that @Arowx's itch.io jam has 4 participants so far...and I don't have an account there (yet?) but I'm still working on this (see attached file), so that makes 5.

Something to think about, if you're feeling benevolent...

 

I won't make it in time