And now for some idle speculation...

Given that the main DBP contest details haven't been revealed yet it seems unlikely that this year's contest will be timed so that the winners can be announced at Gamefest (as they were last year).

My guess is that the DBP details will be released as part of the XNA 3.0 CTP/Beta launch. If that's correct, I'd further guess that the contest will be timed so that they can announce the winners as part of the XNA 3.0 RTM launch and, if not that, then at GDC 2009, where I'm sure they'll be making a big splash with XNA 3.0 as the "YouTube" of Video Games. I wouldn't be surprised if the contest had a Zune category as well.

Obviously, no one who knows anything official can post here, but I'm wondering if anyone else has a pet theory that they'd like to share.

How about it?

 

I am constantly tempted to post things like this (after my daily check of the forums to see if anything exciting has started).

I am really split, as on one hand, I appreciate that they can't reveal any details till it launches, on the other hand, I really want to know when it's going to start!

I agree that it will in some way be tied in with the youtube of games, but that troubles me a bit, as if that where the case I might not expect it to start too soon.

I don't suppose anyone from MS could give us any vague statements like.

"It should happen this year.. or it should start before august".

(I know the answer to the above question, I just cannot stop myself from asking it!)

Anyhoo, everyone should stop reading this, and get back to working on their games.

J.

 

Indeed. The key is rather than wait, just jump in with making a game. Consider it a head start over the people waiting. There will be a Dream Build Play this year. I'd suggest taking advantage of the longer time so that you can get something really cool going for it.

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Nick Gravelyn -- Microsoft XNA MVP
XNA Wiki | Zune Games

The MVPs did ask about this at the summit this week and we got confirmation that there IS a DBP, there is NO announced date and you SHOULD get coding on a game rather than wait and see... that is all I can say without David Weller removing body parts that I may need.

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The ZBuffer - News and information for XNA and Managed DirectX

i had the exact same thought process as you, after the announcements about what to expect from xna game sharing, that ms will tie the dates. it doesn't strike me as a useful way to run a community who are constantly pressing, rightly or wrongly for a date. i guess there are a bunch of folk who really like to plan toward a date and they're not getting much slack from ms, not even a season. not to mention that the rules and type of game criteria are unknown so you can't exactly blame folk for holding off. i have started a game, but i know if i knew a timeframe it would help me plan my time and spur motivation :)

Given that:

Amount of time taken to write game > Amount of time you thought you had to write the game
(Zman's 4th rule of game development)

the longer they take to announce, the longer you have. If you insist on waiting for the rules and times then you will be no worse off than all the other people who waited and 6 months behind everyone else. That alone should be motivation for you.

I'm not sure why its such a big deal to people - just becuase you know the dates from last year doesn't mean that they will be even remotly the same this year.

If you need a date to motivate you here is one - May 10th 2008. The forum will expect to see a playable demo of your game linked here by then and we will make sure to be merciless if you miss the deadline ;-) We can keep giving you deadlines and motivation till the real competition starts!

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The ZBuffer - News and information for XNA and Managed DirectX

The ZMan [MVP/Moderator]:

[...] May 10th 2008.

No time zone?

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We are boki. The rest is known.
The not so known part of the rest: It is Björn or Bjoern, but never Bjorn.

Björn Graf:

The ZMan [MVP/Moderator]:

[...] May 10th 2008.

No time zone?

Dude if I had $10k and a xbox livepublishing contract I would send it to you right now.... that's the funniest post all year.

 

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The ZBuffer - News and information for XNA and Managed DirectX

Hahah. The old quote trick :)

On a side note, MS better hurry up with the details because GTA IV is coming out next week and my priorities may shift ;)

Knertified:

Hahah. The old quote trick :)

On a side note, MS better hurry up with the details because GTA IV is coming out next week and my priorities may shift ;)

Sounds like either way your priorities are going to shift. If you can't muster up the motivation on your own I don't think any official announcement is going to help all that much. Again, the ones who win these contests are the ones who, instead of asking for the official date, are sitting there working on their game.

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Nick Gravelyn -- Microsoft XNA MVP
XNA Wiki | Zune Games

I was only kidding man. Although I still have a lot to learn before I enter a contest, I have dedicated a lot of time to XNA in the recentl months... almost nightly. I honestly wish I had more free time so I could learn faster.

Nick Gravelyn:

 ...Again, the ones who win these contests are the ones who, instead of asking for the official date, are sitting there working on their game.

And those are the ones who wait and wait and wait and wait for their prizes. ;)

 

XNASorcerer:

And those are the ones who wait and wait and wait and wait for their prizes. ;)

ooooooooo :P

XNASorcerer:

Nick Gravelyn:

 ...Again, the ones who win these contests are the ones who, instead of asking for the official date, are sitting there working on their game.

And those are the ones who wait and wait and wait and wait for their prizes. ;)

Well at least they won prizes :). Hopefully Microsoft does a better job with prizes during the next DBP. I would assume they have learned from whatever mistakes caused all the issues.

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Nick Gravelyn -- Microsoft XNA MVP
XNA Wiki | Zune Games

I talked to Dave Mitchell over beers at the summit and they have totally learned and there are changes in place for the next competition. All winners will get a life sized signed picture of The Zman.... apparantly I am so beloved that there are no customs restrictions on importing such things and since their value is priceless (i.e. NaN) there are no taxes due.

Seriously - there are changes for the better but I won't say anything until Dave announces them.

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The ZBuffer - News and information for XNA and Managed DirectX

The ZMan [MVP/Moderator]:

[...] All winners will get a life sized signed picture of The Zman.... [...]

Damn, now I need to come up with a winning idea...

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We are boki. The rest is known.
The not so known part of the rest: It is Björn or Bjoern, but never Bjorn.

Hey, Zman, I do have a question: What's the point in keeping the deadline for the contest secret? It seems like that would be a trivial bit of information, nothing REALLY worth protecting. If you can only respond in general terms, that's fine, though.

 

Ooh, is the deadline possibly my birthday? Is MS throwing a surprise party for me?

 

Nah.

It is likely that Microsoft simply isn't ready to announce the official contest at this time. When they are ready they'll announce all the details. I can't comment as to why they are waiting because I am not them (nor is ZMan so he probably won't have a more "satisfying" answer to your question).

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Nick Gravelyn -- Microsoft XNA MVP
XNA Wiki | Zune Games

Why do Microsoft wait till Tech Ready to make product announcements?

Why do Car companys wait till Auto Shows to unveil their latest models?

Its basic marketing 101.

The real question is why everyone in here is so obsessed with it. I guarentee that 80% of the people who have expressed their opinion in this thread won't have anything ready no matter what the date. The people who will win are already coding their game not fretting about the announcement. In fact I will crack open this thread after DBP close date and expect to see a game from you all.... better get started....

 

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The ZBuffer - News and information for XNA and Managed DirectX

hahahaha!

Good thing my team's been busy for several months now...

A big part of me is glad that they haven't announced a date yet because every day without a deadline is another day my team is ahead of everyone else who hasn't started.

The question that keeps me up at night is: what if the game my team has been building "on spec" doesn't conform to the yet to be announced DBP contest requirements? What if 2D (i.e., Zune compatibility) is required? We're working with TorqueX, which, even in 2D mode, uses 3D and shader effects behind the scenes.

2D is just an example. The special requirement (if there is one) could be anything, like network support, physics, shader effects, AI (again) etc.

At the same time, I totally get why they can't tell us anything just yet.

I created this thread as a space for us to vent our crazy theories, not because I thought any actual info would get shared.

I don't know any more than you on this subject so take this as personal speculation. I doubt they would make Zune compatibility a requirement for DBP this year. Why? Because they've already said that the Zune development is going to be a developer-only place much like Xbox was the last two years. Why hold a contest to produce an amazing Zune game if it cannot be shared with the general public? Seems more likely that they are going to try and stir up some good games that they can use as flagships for the up-and-coming Xbox LIVE Community Games thing they announced at GDC as well as maybe try and find another Dishwasher that they can use to really show of XNA for people aiming at XBLA.

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Nick Gravelyn -- Microsoft XNA MVP
XNA Wiki | Zune Games

Yours is the logic that my team has used to justify our work, however, there's nothing stopping Microsoft from selling a winning Zune game on the Zune Marketplace...

Nick Gravelyn:

I don't know any more than you on this subject so take this as personal speculation. I doubt they would make Zune compatibility a requirement for DBP this year. Why? Because they've already said that the Zune development is going to be a developer-only place much like Xbox was the last two years. Why hold a contest to produce an amazing Zune game if it cannot be shared with the general public? Seems more likely that they are going to try and stir up some good games that they can use as flagships for the up-and-coming Xbox LIVE Community Games thing they announced at GDC as well as maybe try and find another Dishwasher that they can use to really show of XNA for people aiming at XBLA.

And, as the Zune is available in the US only - and will continue to be limited to North America for the foreseeable future - would limit the public to a rather small audience; but considering the problems with the delivery of the prizes of last years DBP to the international winners opening the contest to the US only could mitigate the problems of the execution quite a bit. Both will result in a revival of these guys, though :]

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We are boki. The rest is known.
The not so known part of the rest: It is Björn or Bjoern, but never Bjorn.

Funny!

Interesting point though.