Retro Game Hackathon

Introduction

Welcome to the retro game hackathon!

You - possibly together with a teammate - will have until 11:59pm to complete this virtual hackathon, trying to code a retro game to wow judges and win prizes.

Winners are determined using a number of categories, including: technical ability, art, judges pick, creativity, and documentation. This is explained more below.

This is the base repository for the hackathon. Please read the rules and regulations and how to begin sections below carefully to understand how to compete, especially if you are not familiar with GitHub.

Rules and Regulations

• You may ask for help from the available mentors for this hackathon.

• You may use the resources and templates provided.

• Your submission may be written in any language. Language specific submission requirements are detailed below:

Submission requirements

• Java: you should provide a runnable jar file in the repository along with instructions in case it requires any arguments. If the jar file is compiled for a specific operating system, please specify which. Compatibility with Java 8 or 11 required.

• Python: include a requirements.txt and give clear instructions as to which file is the main file and how to run the application.

• JavaScript: upload your submission to GitHub pages and provide a link to the upload within the README of your repository.

• Other languages: included compiled binaries for the application which would run on Linux (specifically Ubuntu 20).

If you have concerns, feel free to ask in the server linked below to see if the way that you plan to upload your project is easily markable.

How to Begin

It is simple to fork a github repo - follow along for further details.

• In the upper-right hand side of this page click the 'fork' button.
• Open your git cli and enter the following command, replacing the tag with your github username: git clone https://github.com/<USERNAME>/RetroGameHackathon.git
• Follow the prompts to clone the forked repo to your computer.
• cd RetroGameHackathon
• Navigate to your cloned directory and begin coding!
• As you work don't forget to git commit and git push!

Example Projects & Templates

Some example templates are shown below. You may either use these for inspiration for how to code your own game or as a starting point for your game (you may take one of these and expand on it, although it might be hard to think of as much to add as you could if you started from scratch).

• Python Shooter with Pyxel
• Java Shooter with FXGL
• Minesweeper and 2048

Prizes

Creativity

• The game has a twist which slightly changes the way that it is played and gives it a different feel from the original.
• The twist is original; it isn't something which has been done before.
• Example: the game "snake", but with portals.

Technical ability

• Game has a feature or features which require a higher level of technical understanding to code.
• Example: an enemy spaceship with an interesting AI in the game "asteroids".

Art

• The art has a level of originality. This doesn't mean that it has to be completely different from the original art of the game you are making, but your art should ideally differ slightly.
• Quality of the art.
• Cohesion of the art in the game as a whole. Theme doesn't differ between models.

Judges pick

• Roughly speaking, this is the game which, measured holistically across all of the other categories, scores the best.
• If the game has more original elements to it or feels good to play, this is taken into consideration.

Documentation

• The game with the best and most descriptive documentation for how to install and play it.
• Additionally, the GitHub readme should describe what the game is, what features are present in the game, and what makes the game different from the original it is based on. This should be accompanied with screenshots.
• If the code itself is commented, this is taken into consideration.

Where to Ask for Help

This competition is intended to be accessible for audiences newer to programming and hackathons. As such, we have provided several resources to help you on your way throughout the competition.

Community Discord

Come see us in the #workshops channel of the DSC Adelaide discord server, where we have mentors and judges available to help with any coding or git problems. https://discord.gg/7cQpg4q

About Us

Developer Student Clubs are clubs funded directly by Google to provide important learning for up and coming software developers. Our goal is to inspire and provide students to become proficient in all stages of the programming development cycle.