OFFICIAL Announcing The Opera GX Game Jam

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
The Opera GX Game Jam gives you a chance to become part of Opera GX history, by creating a game for the ‘No Internet’ page of the browser.

This is your invitation to create a game for the 'No Internet' page in the Opera GX browser. Become a part of Internet history by creating the most engaging HTML5 endless game, based on the mystery theme to be reveal on July 29th. Win cash rewards of $10K USD (Grand Prize), $7k USD (Runner Up) and $3k USD (Third Place)!

The Opera GX Game Jam will be open for submissions from the 29th of July, where you will have 2 weeks to create and submit your game. For the duration of the Opera GX Game Jam, we will provide all participants with a free HTML5 export licence. Access the licence here!

Join the GameMaker community page on Game Jolt to stay up to date with the Game Jam and be the first to see the reveal of the theme! The Jam page also features the full official rules, details on judging, full prizes and even some helpful resources like the following: Technical Guide To The Rules.

https://opr.as/OGX-GJ
 

curato

Member
Cool. Looking at the rules, specifically this one :
  • The game should have local multiplayer OR be designed to easily include local multiplayer.
I'm excited to see what people come up with.
Yeah I think I have an idea, if I have enough time to do it. I been trying to push to get my main project done. Getting good art to go with it always my issue. We will have to see if my idea goes with the theme or not.
 
Hmmm, GameJolt ey, that's a surprise. I think it's a pretty cool jam idea. What's the status with teams? Are we all gonna be super cool solo devs or are people with more friends going to gang up on me?
 

Waterlance

Member
Exciting stuff, are there any info on how the prize will be collected if someone wins? Couldn't find it in the rules.
 

GamerFox

Member
The Opera GX Game Jam gives you a chance to become part of Opera GX history, by creating a game for the ‘No Internet’ page of the browser.

This is your invitation to create a game for the 'No Internet' page in the Opera GX browser. Become a part of Internet history by creating the most engaging HTML5 endless game, based on the mystery theme to be reveal on July 29th. Win cash rewards of $10K USD (Grand Prize), $7k USD (Runner Up) and $3k USD (Third Place)!

The Opera GX Game Jam will be open for submissions from the 29th of July, where you will have 2 weeks to create and submit your game. For the duration of the Opera GX Game Jam, we will provide all participants with a free HTML5 export licence. Access the licence here!

Join the GameMaker community page on Game Jolt to stay up to date with the Game Jam and be the first to see the reveal of the theme! The Jam page also features the full official rules, details on judging, full prizes and even some helpful resources like the following: Technical Guide To The Rules.

https://opr.as/OGX-GJ
So that Gamejolt account is offical.. Ok I have been wondering about it plus it is actually following me for some reason lol.
 

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
Exciting stuff, are there any info on how the prize will be collected if someone wins? Couldn't find it in the rules.
For prize money - it will be bank transfer as was the case for Amaze Me :)
So that Gamejolt account is offical.. Ok I have been wondering about it plus it is actually following me for some reason lol.
Ah yeah, that was me! I just followed a few accounts that followed us.
 

Xor

@XorDev
Exciting stuff! I'm loving what Opera and YYG are doing lately.

Unfortunately, I probably won't have the time this round. Good luck to ya'll!
 

FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
It is important to note that Opera GX is available not only on Desktop platforms, but also on Android and iOS. Developers used to desktop game development aren't necessarily good HTML5 game developers by extension, when the following inevitably happens for a good chunk of them:
  • They don't provide non-keyboard controls.
  • They don't scale the canvas on the page to fit on a variety of screen sizes.
  • They assume privileges that only desktop platforms have, such as direct file access.
  • They put in things that are too demanding on the graphics and/or audio side, such that HTML5 doesn't support it or lags while running it.
Just having the HTML5 export available is nowhere near enough to stop the above from happening, and a jam timeframe is NOT a good time to discover them on the fly. In particular, the first two items (missing non-keyboard controls, fixed screen size dependency) are NOT easy to remediate in a project that doesn't start with avoiding both in mind. So if the contest goes ahead as shown without more stringent technical criteria and guidance ahead of time, I predict a large majority of submissions being inadmissible because they either don't work on touch-based mobile devices, or work only on a specific resolution, or both.

On an added note, the official rules state a 5MB size cap, but it is actually a de-facto 3.5MB size cap as the blank runner takes up 1.5MB on its own.

On top of that, remember that this for a "no internet" page, so the HTML5 game has to be run locally for this context. But anyone familiar with the HTML5 export knows what happens when you try that. So is Opera GX going to operate a local HTTPS server on the fly just to serve that (NOT plain HTTP because of Android and iOS restrictions), or what else are they going to do about the "run GMS HTML5 games locally" issue? And for the first solution, isn't that just more deadweight and yet another place for things to go wrong on a performance-oriented browser? Have they tried running anything made on GMS 2 HTML5 as an error page, on each platform where Opera GX is offered, as proof that the GMS 2 runner's design is suited for the purpose?

If Opera is going to put up a bounty for a $20k USD easter egg, at least they should make sure that everything involved --- the intended browser, the GMS 2 HTML5 runner, and every prospective contestant --- is genuinely ready for it. Otherwise, they will end up with a large majority of technically inadmissible content, or the prize pool would end up being given away to entries that they cannot use for the intended purpose, or both.
 

samspade

Member
It is important to note that Opera GX is available not only on Desktop platforms, but also on Android and iOS. Developers used to desktop game development aren't necessarily good HTML5 game developers by extension, when the following inevitably happens for a good chunk of them:
  • They don't provide non-keyboard controls.
  • They don't scale the canvas on the page to fit on a variety of screen sizes.
  • They assume privileges that only desktop platforms have, such as direct file access.
  • They put in things that are too demanding on the graphics and/or audio side, such that HTML5 doesn't support it or lags while running it.
Just having the HTML5 export available is nowhere near enough to stop the above from happening, and a jam timeframe is NOT a good time to discover them on the fly. In particular, the first two items (missing non-keyboard controls, fixed screen size dependency) are NOT easy to remediate in a project that doesn't start with avoiding both in mind. So if the contest goes ahead as shown without more stringent technical criteria and guidance ahead of time, I predict a large majority of submissions being inadmissible because they either don't work on touch-based mobile devices, or work only on a specific resolution, or both.

On an added note, the official rules state a 5MB size cap, but it is actually a de-facto 3.5MB size cap as the blank runner takes up 1.5MB on its own.

On top of that, remember that this for a "no internet" page, so the HTML5 game has to be run locally for this context. But anyone familiar with the HTML5 export knows what happens when you try that. So is Opera GX going to operate a local HTTPS server on the fly just to serve that (NOT plain HTTP because of Android and iOS restrictions), or what else are they going to do about the "run GMS HTML5 games locally" issue? And for the first solution, isn't that just more deadweight and yet another place for things to go wrong on a performance-oriented browser? Have they tried running anything made on GMS 2 HTML5 as an error page, on each platform where Opera GX is offered, as proof that the GMS 2 runner's design is suited for the purpose?

If Opera is going to put up a bounty for a $20k USD easter egg, at least they should make sure that everything involved --- the intended browser, the GMS 2 HTML5 runner, and every prospective contestant --- is genuinely ready for it. Otherwise, they will end up with a large majority of technically inadmissible content, or the prize pool would end up being given away to entries that they cannot use for the intended purpose, or both.
The implication from the announcement, which I might be misreading, is that the games will be judged more on their gameness and less on their initial technical compatibility with all devices as it says that the winning entry will receive expert development support from YoYo and just needs to be playable as an html game (presumably with internet running). But these would be good things to have clarified.
 

8BitWarrior

Member
The implication from the announcement, which I might be misreading, is that the games will be judged more on their gameness and less on their initial technical compatibility with all devices as it says that the winning entry will receive expert development support from YoYo and just needs to be playable as an html game (presumably with internet running). But these would be good things to have clarified.
Agreed. My impression is that the winner simply needs to be "within the ballpark" of limitations so that a polished version is feasible to implement after the event. If they wanted, I imagine that YoYo could even make a custom HTML5 runner to cut down on the final build size. With that said, you can still do a lot with 3.5mb of data when you fit your design to match.

Looking forward to this event! :)
 

woodsmoke

Member
So using GMS1 with my HTML5 module is not allowed? :(
Is it possible to use GMS2 for free for this jam? Just like it's free to use the GMS2 HTML5 module?
(Probably not, just asking.)
 
So using GMS1 with my HTML5 module is not allowed? :(
Is it possible to use GMS2 for free for this jam? Just like it's free to use the GMS2 HTML5 module?
(Probably not, just asking.)
There's a link in the OP to the temp license. It's already live - I was playing around with it a few hours ago.
 

FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
So, have touch controls, dynamically render as simple sprites as possible to avoid XSS issues, dynamically scale stuff, and manually go in to the javascript file to cut out that alert, and I will win by default. Got it.
If that's all it takes, then I wouldn't have written in the cautionary, straight-faced tone that I did.

Here is a quick test that I performed on the HTML5 export, which contains the source, the HTML5-exported result, and MiniWeb for showing the "proper" output:
  • A picture of a fox
  • Purple text above the fox showing "Ring-ding-ding-ding-ring-a-ding-a-ding!"
  • A sound being played when the fox is clicked on
Running using MiniWeb (double-clicking startweb.bat) shows all of these expected elements. Running by double-clicking the included index.html shows no picture, no text, and no sound on click. The latter is similar to what would happen if any GMS 2 HTML5 product gets used as a "no internet" page without a local server.

As it stands now (Runtime 2.3.3.437), the HTML5 export is incapable of being run locally without a server, and by extension also unsuitable for its prospective role as a "no internet" page.

If Opera does not stop to think twice about where this is heading, they will end up paying $20k USD of prize money to entries that they have to then think of a new use of.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
If that's all it takes, then I wouldn't have written in the cautionary, straight-faced tone that I did.

Here is a quick test that I performed on the HTML5 export, which contains the source, the HTML5-exported result, and MiniWeb for showing the "proper" output:
  • A picture of a fox
  • Purple text above the fox showing "Ring-ding-ding-ding-ring-a-ding-a-ding!"
  • A sound being played when the fox is clicked on
Running using MiniWeb (double-clicking startweb.bat) shows all of these expected elements. Running by double-clicking the included index.html shows no picture, no text, and no sound on click. The latter is similar to what would happen if any GMS 2 HTML5 product gets used as a "no internet" page without a local server.

As it stands now (Runtime 2.3.3.437), the HTML5 export is incapable of being run locally without a server, and by extension also unsuitable for its prospective role as a "no internet" page.

If Opera does not stop to think twice about where this is heading, they will end up paying $20k USD of prize money to entries that they have to then think of a new use of.
I think that you are bringing up an incredibly valid point, and some legitimate concerns... However, Opera are not some backroom business. They are a multimillion dollar BROWSER company, who's entire business is based on internet communication... I would be very surprised if these aren't things they've thought of and planned for. Keep in mind that any winning game will have the expertise of not just YYG but the entire Opera development team behind it if it's going to be used for the stated purpose.
 

Roldy

Member
If that's all it takes, then I wouldn't have written in the cautionary, straight-faced tone that I did.

Here is a quick test that I performed on the HTML5 export, which contains the source, the HTML5-exported result, and MiniWeb for showing the "proper" output:
  • A picture of a fox
  • Purple text above the fox showing "Ring-ding-ding-ding-ring-a-ding-a-ding!"
  • A sound being played when the fox is clicked on
Running using MiniWeb (double-clicking startweb.bat) shows all of these expected elements. Running by double-clicking the included index.html shows no picture, no text, and no sound on click. The latter is similar to what would happen if any GMS 2 HTML5 product gets used as a "no internet" page without a local server.

As it stands now (Runtime 2.3.3.437), the HTML5 export is incapable of being run locally without a server, and by extension also unsuitable for its prospective role as a "no internet" page.

If Opera does not stop to think twice about where this is heading, they will end up paying $20k USD of prize money to entries that they have to then think of a new use of.
I think your points are valid especially in regards to the jam. However, this is known behavior. Whenever I build HTML5 export and run locally (by directly launching the index.html) the first thing that happens is a message box appears:

1627021386422.png

And as the message states 'files' will not work correctly. Here is the link to the referenced article.

For some reason the project you exported does not generate this pop up box (some setting you made?). But the effect is the same. If you change the background color to something like grey and run your project you will see that it is actually running; the sprite and the text is rendered as black squares. The sounds doesn't play obviously because it too is a file.

If you create a project with no files and do your drawing with things like 'draw_line' then it runs just fine.

Obviously this confirms the points you raise, as YYG is also aware (the pop up message informing of such). The issue being the browser limiting local file access, something YYG can't do anything about, but perhaps Opera can; however the same results occur no matter using Opera, Chrome or Firefox. No files are accessible.

But if this is intended for a special offline page within Opera then it is possible they would remove the security/restrictions for these apps and allow XSS.
 
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FoxyOfJungle

Kazan Games
I think your points are valid especially in regards to the jam. However, this is known behavior. Whenever I build HTML5 export and run locally (by directly launching the index.html) the first thing that happens is a message box appears:

View attachment 41546

And as the message states 'files' will not work correctly. Here is the link to the referenced article.

For some reason the project you exported does not generate this pop up box (some setting you made?). But the effect is the same. If you change the background color to something like grey and run your project you will see that it is actually running; the sprite and the text is rendered as black squares. The sounds doesn't play obviously because it too is a file.

If you create a project with no files and do your drawing with things like 'draw_line' then it runs just fine.

Obviously this confirms the points you raise, as YYG is also aware (the pop up message informing of such). The issue being the browser limiting local file access, something YYG can't do anything about, but perhaps Opera can; however the same results occur no matter using Opera, Chrome or Firefox. No files are accessible.

But if this is intended for a special offline page within Opera then it is possible they would remove the security/restrictions for these apps and allow XSS.
He probably disabled this (I didn't open his project):



And I agree with all these points... They are totally valid.
 

rmanthorp

GameMaker Staff
Admin
GameMaker Dev.
Appreciate the technical concerns raised here. As a few have pointed out this is a large part of the 'polish and technical support' phase after the Jam has finished. While we ask people to stick within the rules and requirements there will be a lot of work done after the fact to ensure the best ability to run on GX. So judging will largely be down to the game as a game rather than how easy it is to port and function within the 'No Internet' page. I'll continue to try and answer the specific questions as they come but a lot of this will be down to the game when we are at the stage to make it work.
 
After Mr Russel's reply this post is now obsolete, sorry for the confusion. Can a moderator please delete the post, thank you.
 
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rwkay

GameMaker Staff
GameMaker Dev.
OK I think that you are missing the point here by being too technical - part of the beauty of being part of the browser company means that building the game into the browser is even easier. The main point of this Jam is to create a compelling game that can be used offline - how that game is implemented behind the scenes will be up to us (YoYo Games and Opera) collaborating with the browser team on integrating that game into the product.

We will overcome any technical issues and have several things available to us that will not limit us to using Javascript and its inherent limitations, because the game will be built into the browser it can bypass normal web based limitations.

Russell
 

Toque

Member
This sounds like fun. The local multiplayer makes that easy. I assume we need some sort of screen scaling system for a browser game? I have some time to try and figure that out. Endless runner is right up a mobile dev alley. Fun stuff.
 
Looking at the rules, my only "Huh...okayyy" moment is the fact that they say it's totally ok to use existing sound and music assets, but everything "visual" has to be made during the jam period.
I don't quite get why graphic artists should have an advantage over musicians, but that makes me prompt the question @RefresherTowel already asked: what about teams?
EDIT: Teams are allowed, I somehow missed that part when I read the rules, oops!
 
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I wouldn't make assumptions about what level of art is needed for this jam!
Read point #3.
Judging criteria:
  • Gameplay - How fun was the game to play? Did it have that 'one more go' factor?
  • Creativity & Theme - Was the theme approached in a creative way? Was the story behind the game interesting?
  • Visuals - Does it look pretty? Is it consistent and cohesive with the theme and sounds?
 
Read point #3.
Yup, read it. Pack it in boys, no way we can make a pretty game.

.... joking! :) Once more, I wouldn't make assumption about the level of art that is needed for this jam. 😊

Don't read (my) comment the wrong way; it's a positive thing. You can do it.

I've been around the GM seen for a long time. I've seen too many people beat themselves before they even try. The excuses start early. No one's stopping them, except themselves.

Yoyogames has a history in competitions of (controversially) not necessarily picking the prettiest games as the winners. E.g. picking games like ByteAlity Tower Defense, and Jumper 3 over Red Systems The Lost Snowmen, back in 2008.
 

Pro_bono

Member
I'm going to try my hand at this I think! Here's hoping for a theme that gets my imagination going. :)

I've only ever targeted Windows with GMS, so I've been doing reading about HTML5 differences and I've got a question! Game Format rule number 3 says it should be playable offline. Does that mean it should be able to be run from the game index.html locally, as I saw mentioned in this blog post by Nocturne? https://help.yoyogames.com/hc/en-us...HTML5-Common-Issues-and-Differences-To-VM-YYC
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
. E.g. picking games like ByteAlity Tower Defense, and Jumper 3 over Red Systems The Lost Snowmen, back in 2008.
Man, you have a looooong memory! On the plus side, the last Jam (Amaze Me) I think they made an excellent choice for the first place game. Used the theme in an innovative way, looked great, and was really polished. And it wasn't an obvious choice to win... So I think we can have faith they'll choose a great game this time, especially given the panel of judges they've got. Personally I think it's awesome that they've included actual GM devs on the team, like Chubigans. This points towards a much more open and community-driven focus, which I respect and says good things about the future of Game maker.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
Game Format rule number 3 says it should be playable offline. Does that mean it should be able to be run from the game index.html locally
Not exactly! It means it should have no online dependent features, like a high score server or online multiplayer. As has been discussed previously in this topic, running a game from the index.html is problematic...
 

Pro_bono

Member
Not exactly! It means it should have no online dependent features, like a high score server or online multiplayer. As has been discussed previously in this topic, running a game from the index.html is problematic...
Thanks!

Sorry for all the questions, but will there be any guidelines for the game's internal resolution, maybe just a ballpark maximum or something? Because of the Opera side of things, for those lucky winners.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
Sorry for all the questions, but will there be any guidelines for the game's internal resolution, maybe just a ballpark maximum or something? Because of the Opera side of things, for those lucky winners.
No I would very much doubt that YYG or Opera will provide such guidelines. I'd just go with what feels good to you, although careful making a very high-res game as the size limitation of 5mb kinda puts the stopper on any high-res GFX.
 
I'll continue to try and answer the specific questions as they come but a lot of this will be down to the game when we are at the stage to make it work.
The Submission Guidelines states that "The Submission must be created in its entirety using GameMaker Studio 2. No other game engines are allowed to be used and, if requested, you must provide the GameMaker Studio 2 project file for the game." So I can't use GameMaker Studio 1.4? I own both but I find 1.4 is my forte.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
So the jam has a 5mb limit on the game, is that for it in a compressed zip file, or loose files? (I assume the former, but it's good to check)
I'd assume loose too. It's not the ZIP that'll be incorporated into the browser, after all. :)

The Submission Guidelines states that "The Submission must be created in its entirety using GameMaker Studio 2. No other game engines are allowed to be used and, if requested, you must provide the GameMaker Studio 2 project file for the game." So I can't use GameMaker Studio 1.4? I own both but I find 1.4 is my forte.
GMS2 only, sorry.
 
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