Hi! I recently made a TI-BASIC RPG and I was wondering if I could submit it. I didn't design it for this contest but it's neat that this contest is happening. But to figure out if I can submit it, I have some questions about acceptable AI use and also connections to previous games someone has made.
I didn't use AI to write my game, but I did use AI in the following ways:
1. I used it to refresh on formulas like how to check whether a bit was one or zero inside an integer.
2. A couple of times I showed my code to AI to ask if I had used a variable anywhere in a codepath (because I was trying to figure out if there would be unintended behavior if I modified that variable) or to check for memory leaks.
3. While checking for memory leaks, I asked AI a lot of questions about whether anything in TI-BASIC besides the known GOTO-out-of-control-block issue could produce leaks, and asked questions about how to read the size of the stack out of the tilem debugger.
4. I asked AI to make two in-browser utilities for me to visualize map designs: one that would let me see how one-off maps would look, and another that would let me see how a composite of screenshots would look as a full map. But, these were supplemental; I did all preliminary design on pencil and paper in mini-notepads.
5. After I finished the first draft of the game, I asked AI to write a python port of the battle system and mock up battles between every character and every other character, as part of trying to understand the game balance. I didn't wind up making any modifications to the game as a result, but I did study the game using AI.
Every line of code and all of the data entry was written by me, with my hands, on my calculator device in pure TI-BASIC; there was no point at which I had AI write code or design the game.
Re: connections to previous games: the game I made evolves directly on a battle/stats engine for a game I made ten years ago. The game I made ten years ago was Hoobagees 4, a Pokemon-like game where you catch Hoobagees, fight trainers, and beat a league. This time around, I had an idea for a new map/world navigation/events engine, and I wanted to see how well it would work quickly; so I used the battle system and core gameplay mechanics from Hoobagees 4 and built a new world / story based on the maps engine. (You're still fighting trainers and beating a league, but all of the characters are different and the vibes are different.) I also wound up adding new mechanics (a new type, new EXP curve, a new system for tracking what Hoobagees you have previously caught, the ability to warp around the world, and the ability to check a world map) and tweaking all of the old code for performance and to trim it down. So the game is quite different, though it probably recycles something like 8000 bytes from the previous game I made.
Is this acceptable? Can I submit my game, or no? If not, no worries. I am also happy to submit it without competing for prizes - if the judges are willing to play it, it would be fun to get their scores. 🙂
I didn't use AI to write my game, but I did use AI in the following ways:
1. I used it to refresh on formulas like how to check whether a bit was one or zero inside an integer.
2. A couple of times I showed my code to AI to ask if I had used a variable anywhere in a codepath (because I was trying to figure out if there would be unintended behavior if I modified that variable) or to check for memory leaks.
3. While checking for memory leaks, I asked AI a lot of questions about whether anything in TI-BASIC besides the known GOTO-out-of-control-block issue could produce leaks, and asked questions about how to read the size of the stack out of the tilem debugger.
4. I asked AI to make two in-browser utilities for me to visualize map designs: one that would let me see how one-off maps would look, and another that would let me see how a composite of screenshots would look as a full map. But, these were supplemental; I did all preliminary design on pencil and paper in mini-notepads.
5. After I finished the first draft of the game, I asked AI to write a python port of the battle system and mock up battles between every character and every other character, as part of trying to understand the game balance. I didn't wind up making any modifications to the game as a result, but I did study the game using AI.
Every line of code and all of the data entry was written by me, with my hands, on my calculator device in pure TI-BASIC; there was no point at which I had AI write code or design the game.
Re: connections to previous games: the game I made evolves directly on a battle/stats engine for a game I made ten years ago. The game I made ten years ago was Hoobagees 4, a Pokemon-like game where you catch Hoobagees, fight trainers, and beat a league. This time around, I had an idea for a new map/world navigation/events engine, and I wanted to see how well it would work quickly; so I used the battle system and core gameplay mechanics from Hoobagees 4 and built a new world / story based on the maps engine. (You're still fighting trainers and beating a league, but all of the characters are different and the vibes are different.) I also wound up adding new mechanics (a new type, new EXP curve, a new system for tracking what Hoobagees you have previously caught, the ability to warp around the world, and the ability to check a world map) and tweaking all of the old code for performance and to trim it down. So the game is quite different, though it probably recycles something like 8000 bytes from the previous game I made.
Is this acceptable? Can I submit my game, or no? If not, no worries. I am also happy to submit it without competing for prizes - if the judges are willing to play it, it would be fun to get their scores. 🙂
