Celebrating the
10th anniversary of msx.org, the
release of the new MSX computer and the upcoming 24th anniversary of MSX on June 27th, 2007 the time has come for a big challenge with a big prize. MSX Resource Center proudly presents the
MSX Resource Center MEGA-Challenge in which you can win, amongst others, a brand new
One Chip MSX computer (Western edition). To make sure every MSX developer gets a fair chance at winning this prize we have created three disciplines in which you can enter:
- MSX2 game development challenge
Objective: Create a game for the MSX2 platform. It's as simple as that. All genres are allowed, and only your imagination is the limit. With various MRC challenges as a warmup, the time has come to let a nice batch of new MSX2 games see the light of day. All you have to do is obey the following maximum specifications:
- 64kB RAM
- 128kB VRAM
- Max 512kB ROM or one (1) 720kB disk
For audio support, PSG, SCC(+), MSX-MUSIC, MSX-AUDIO (max 256kB) and Moonsound (max 640kB) sound chips and combinations thereof are all allowed. None of these sound chips are mandatory, so a game only supporting PSG or a game only supporting Moonsound are both valid entries. The game should function on these minimal specifications, but enhanced features for e.g. the MSX2+, GFX9000 and/or turboR are allowed.
- History theme challenge
Objective: Create a game or demo in a historical setting. Take, for example, the Ancient Egypts, Dinosaurs, the Roman Empire, Greek Mythology, Caverns or Chinese Dynasties. In other words: get inspired by major events and eras in world (pre-)history and surprise the MSX community with your creativity! Will you make the next King's Valley or B.C. Quest?
This discipline has no minimum specifications, but - like previous challenges - has the following maximum specifications:
- MSX turboR
- 512kB RAM
- GFX9000
- Any combination of general MSX soundchips (see those mentioned above) allowed
- No storage size and medium limitations
- 64x48 challenge
Objective: Create a game or demo that uses the center 64x48 pixels of the screen. Optionally, you can chose to use SCREEN 3 in full-screen. This smaller screen size allows developers to experiment with graphical effects that are usually impossible on an MSX (full screen). Think of the possibilities when using less than a quarter of the regular MSX screen! Think of the amount of VRAM and sprites available! What kinds of smooth and stunning graphical action can you achieve on this reduced size screen?
Like the History discipline, this discipline has no minimum specifications, but - like previous challenges - has the following maximum specifications:
- MSX turboR
- 512kB RAM
- GFX9000
- Any combination of general MSX soundchips (see those mentioned above) allowed
- No storage size and medium limitations
Any entry, in any discipline will get a fair chance at winning the big prize: the One Chip MSX. We will also reward several other prizes, including a random prize. This means by entering the challenge alone you can already become a winner. Naturally, you are allowed to submit entries that fit in to multiple disciplines.
In the upcoming months we will announce the jury of the challenge and other prizes that can be won. The MEGA-challenge closes on June 27th, 2007 - the day on which we celebrate the 24th anniversary of our beloved MSX computer. Developers? Start your engines!
You can send in your entries to
mega@msx.org until June 27th, 2007, 23:59 CET.
