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Documentation

Started by
13 comments, last by d000hg 18 years, 9 months ago
Quote: 4. User documentation describing game use (i.e. a user manual) is required to be submitted with the entry. User manual may be submitted in any common document format (TXT, PDF, HTML, DOC).
Quote: Technical: Stability, Use of Technology, Speed Creativity: Game Design, Artwork, Technical methods Fun: The Hook Factor, Gameplay Quality Polish: Presentation, Installation Kudos Points: Discretionary points awarded by judges for obvious efforts by an entry to go above and beyond the contest requirements.
Are there marks available for the quality of the documentation in the game manual, or is it an all-or-nothing thing: disqualified if you have no manual? I don't want to write a 50-page manual really but on the other hand I don't want to lose easy points, and if there are significant points for grabs then it could be better to have less game features and a better manual... And, can I submit my manual as a compiled HTML help (.CHM) file? Would this be considered a plus at all?
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No, there are no negative marks or specific positive marks for the quality of the manual, but a judge may choose to award Kudos points for someone who went all out for their manual.

Yes, you can submit as a CHM. I'll need to add that to the page.

Admin for GameDev.net.

Thanks.

If I understand correctly, not submitting a manual is a disqualifyable offence? But exactly what has to be entered to count as a manual - technically I could make this file:
manual.txt:Start mygame.exe and then play the game.


:)

On a side-issue, is there any limit to the number of kudos points you can get, or can judges give out more kudos points than they do normal ones?!
I think anyone can find himself 30 minutes to write a bit about the game, its controls, objectives and the likes. Probably best not to way with it till deadline minus 1 hour, though.
For those not (so) familiar with HTML, a wysiwyg htmleditor might save you some valuable time and will give a pretty decent looking manual.
[My gamedev diary]
I'm typing it in open office and then converting it to a .pdf. I like it because I have a lot of control over how it looks and how it is viewd.
Quote: Original post by Khawk
No, there are no negative marks or specific positive marks for the quality of the manual, but a judge may choose to award Kudos points for someone who went all out for their manual.


It might help the other categories indirectly; remember that a manual exists to educate the player about the game. Maybe there's some element of your game that we don't understand, or some connection we don't quite get, just from playing it - shining some light on it in the manual might help us see it better, and thus appreciate it more.

Richard "Superpig" Fine - saving pigs from untimely fates - Microsoft DirectX MVP 2006/2007/2008/2009
"Shaders are not meant to do everything. Of course you can try to use it for everything, but it's like playing football using cabbage." - MickeyMouse

Should the game have a self installer? Any extra points for that?
I like using a rich-text document file for the manual but I don't see games doing that. They only use the simple text files.
It's all part of your polish score. You don't have to have a nice installer and stuff, but it will help.

Richard "Superpig" Fine - saving pigs from untimely fates - Microsoft DirectX MVP 2006/2007/2008/2009
"Shaders are not meant to do everything. Of course you can try to use it for everything, but it's like playing football using cabbage." - MickeyMouse

Is it ok if the manual is one of the choices in the main menu of the game?
Is it ok if the manual is an .exe file which is a program in itself and explains the game and its controls?
Both sound fine. Go for whatever gives the best user experience if you want to maximise your polish score.

Richard "Superpig" Fine - saving pigs from untimely fates - Microsoft DirectX MVP 2006/2007/2008/2009
"Shaders are not meant to do everything. Of course you can try to use it for everything, but it's like playing football using cabbage." - MickeyMouse

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