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Massive Unreal 2K3 Mod Contest Launched
code-e255 writes "Epic Games, the developers of Unreal Tournament 2003, and nVidia have announced a huge UT2K3 modification contest called 'Make Something Unreal'. This competition will reward the truly great modders out there, and will hopefully encourage more people to mod for UT2K3." Word is that "..entries can be made in 13 categories, including 'Best Mod,' 'Best Character,' 'Best Use of 3D Sound,' 'Best Real-Time Non-Interactive Movie (also known as Machinima),' and more", and prizes include over $1,000,000 in total, with first prize $50,000 and a $350,000-value commercial Unreal Engine license.
Wow, a software company that actively encourages the users to actively tinker with their product, with the understanding that this will only increase the popularity of their game. While this trend has been developing lately in the game world, this definitely takes it a huge step forward! Bravo!
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Because you could make a cool game with the licensed engine and make a ton of money.
A million bucks is nothing compared to the revenue generated by "The Next Counter-Strike" which is exactly what Epic is trying to create with this.
Ultimately, the developer of such a mod should be fairly compensated based on the popularity and ultimately, the sales, of their mod, not a one-time payout.
It's funny and sad that game developers are literally begging the community to create their next big hit for them.
On the other hand, a million dollars is a lot of money, and the poor CS developer probably got manipulated out of ever making that much money when he sold CS to Valve.
So hey, go make your mod and give it away to Epic!
# Erik
People still play this game a lot?
UT2K3 has always felt quite deathmatch-oriented (as opposed to team deathmatch, CTF, etc.) which makes for great fun for about ten minutes. I know there is a vocal minority who could play nothing but DM for hours on end, and more power to them. But for most other people, deathmatch is a dated concept, once you get over the novelty of playing against real, live people from all over the 'Net. Once that's done, I like the advanced tactical and strategic possibilities available with more team-oriented combat.
I think UT2K3 is also a bit underwhelming because many of the maps prioritize beauty and uniqueness over gameflow. I don't want the map itself to be the focus. Sometimes it's like trying to frag in a 3D Escher painting. I this is largely why BF1942 is more compelling. Familiarity with the environment creates faster immersion.
Also, UT2K3 doesn't significantly improve upon the rock-solid gameplay of its predessesor, and even took away a very popular and unique multiplayer mode (although you can add it with a 3rd-party mod). I understand a recent patch even included specific instructions for making gameplay more like the previous installment.
Oh well. I hope they push an envelope or two with UT2k4. Because it's looking like Sierra will have DoD, Team Fortress and Counter-Strike running on the Source engine come spring 2004. That will be Uber. Everyone's filling their piggy banks for these, plus Doom3, Deus Ex 2, and a few other high-profile, long-awaited titles. I just don't see how UT2k4 will create a viable niche.
According to the contest page: "All costs, taxes, fees and expenses associated with entry into this Contest and any prizes received shall be the sole responsibility of the entrants and winners." The federal income tax alone on the $350,000 Unreal Engine commercial license would, according to the latest IRS tables, be $103,832.
Each submission must be the property of and an original work of the entrant. Submissions must be available for free public download and playable with the retail version of Unreal Tournament 2003 (patched to the 2225 update) for Phase I and Phase II. For Phase III, and for grand prize consideration, mods must be playable in Unreal Tournament 2004.
While the modders aren't giving up their mods to Epic, it's still the same thing: Epic makes you give it away to increase revenue of the retail product.
Never lose sight of the reasons company do things, lest ye look at what they do with distorted eyes. Some things are a win-win for companies and the communities, and this may very well be on of those things. But remember that they don't care if it's a win-win, and most companies will do anything for a buck.
# Erik
I have the utmost respect for Epic as a company, and they have my undying loyalty and admiration for being such awesome and generous people.
;)
;)
I'd not use the term generous here.
They certainly are talented people who know how to craft good games and market them very well but what you experienced was a big advertising campaign, using one of the most efficient medias available : users' word of mouth.
This does not make them generous, they'll be generous if they gave money away without expecting any profit from it, I doubt this was the case
And of course I'm not saying they're bad people, but never forget that this does not imply that they are good ones, one would have to check much deeper under Epic's surface to really know that.
And yup, i'm quite picky there
I've done quite a bit of UnrealScript coding, and have been disapointed with the documentation provided. If they had added a 'Most Comprehensive Tutorial' catagory, it could have done a lot to get people making future mods. I think a lot of GPL projects could benifit from this aproach also. If IBM spent 1% of the money they spent on linux on linux docs, it would really help linux spread longterm.
"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
Most people in the gaming community know that modding is currently one of the best steps to take in landing a job at a developer. Chances are, if the winners actually make superior mods, they are going to have a job in their future. Just take a look at the guy who created Counter-Strike, or the entire Day of Defeat team for example.
Hell, I think the commercial liscence is incentive enough. There is so much trash on the shelves these days, everyone would be better off if the best modders out there were the ones actually creating the commercial games.
Who evaluated that engine? I have a million dollars in prizes in my pants.
I survived the Dick Cheney Presidency 7 to 9 AM 7-21-07
Speaking as some one who as been unemployed for a while and have used all thier benifts, I'd take the million.
Why? Because with the economy still being what it is, unless I got a contract that said I couldn't be fired for at least 5 - 10 years but could leave anytime I wanted to. The million would go much further.
(To answer my own question: probably.)
I'm glad I played the demo without blindly handing over my money for UT2K3.
However, UT2K4 looks to have all the game modes UT has and more - plus vehicles.
This one's funny, but you need to slow down a little and wean off the /. teat a bit.
My guess is that it would cost more to get the rights to make a game or mod based on Stargate SG1 than you would ever win.
You are clearly creating a derivative work of their Intellectual property, and as they are a company, they are going to charge you to do it.
You could do some realy great things based off movies books or tv shows, but its going to cost you an arm and a leg when they find out. Whatever wins this contest will have to come out of nowhere much like CS did... combine great gameplay with a new experience. Doing a mod "based on" something is going to get yourself a cese and desist faster than you can say "Stargate SG1 mod for UT2003".
Hm I didn't read this in the rules, but IIRC the first price was to include a licence for the UT2K3 engine. Meaning you could publish your own game and not pay the 2M$ licence fee :)
Regarding documentation, check out the Unreal Developer Network for a huge amount of documentation.
Also, the 3D Buzz team has created many excellent training videos covering many aspects of the Unreal tech, from programming to content creation.
>> Ultimately, the developer of such a mod should be fairly compensated based on the popularity and ultimately, the sales, of their mod, not a one-time payout.
The mod developer keeps complete ownership of his work. The contest doesn't take that away.
For example, if you enter an early version of your mod in the contest, you could later create a retail game based on it and pursue a publishing deal. The Tactical Ops mod for the original Unreal Tournament went this route and was published in retail by Atari.
Regarding tax issues, one should definitely consult a tax attourney upon making the finals for the grand prize. My understanding (IANAL) is that, if we gave you a $350K cash prize, that would be revenue for your mod team's corporation or small business. If you then spent that $350K on an Unreal engine license with the intent of using it commercially (which is the only reason one would want such a license), you would then incur a $350K expense, leaving a net tax liability of zero. So a direct award of an engine license is not necessarily a taxable event.
If you can't see the usefulness of a synthetic benchmark then you are ignorant.