The Dink Network

Ever wanted to make a d-mod, but didn't know where to start? Are you a long time D-Mod developer who needs a kick up the backside?

Well, we've put together another contest. Yay.

For this D-Mod Contest, you must create a D-Mod without any combat. In most D-Mods combat is integral to Dink completing his quest. Whether you're smiting Goblins, stabbing Dragons or putting the boot into a Pillbug, it's a rare d-mod which doesn't involve bloodshed of some description.

Have you got the creativity and awesome power required to make a d-mod which doesn't rely on this gameplay tenet?

View the comments for more information.

The Rules

Deadline: All entries must be uploaded via the Upload Form before June 1st, 2010.

Eligibility: Non-staff members can participate. Staff members may participate in the contest, but they will not be able to vote or view the other entries before the rest of the community.

Voting: Voting will be conducted by eligible staff members during the month following the deadline.

Prize: Three prizes will be awarded, and they will be announced in the coming weeks. The 1st place winner will have his or her choice among the available prizes, and then the 2nd place winnner, and the 3rd place winner gets whatever is left.

If a group effort was involved in the creation of a winning D-Mod, only one prize will be awarded.

If a group or a person submits more than one D-Mod, they will only be awarded one prize, with the resulting prizes given to the other contestants.

Specifications: These requirements must be followed in order to be eligible for the contest:

The d-mod shall not include combat/fighting gameplay. Whilst it is acceptable to include fauna that the player can kill (ducks, for example), the gameplay itself must not have any combat sections. There may be fighting/combat in the d-mod (either by NPC's or in cut-scenes), but the player must never be in control at these times.

It is recommended that you create a traditional RPG/Adventure-style D-Mod for the contest. We are not looking for a "weird" d-mod here.

Size: There are not any size limitations, either in map screens or file size.

Cancellation: Prizes will only be awarded if two authors / groups submit D-Mods for the contest. Also, SabreTrout can cancel the contest at any time he pleases for any reason he chooses. If SabreTrout mysteriously vanishes/implodes/dematerializes, this power shall be passed on to Striker.

Misc: If you have any questions, or think some of my rules are a bit silly, please post a comment or a message on the board.

Previously released D-Mods are not eligible, nor major parts of their map and/or story. For example, Sharp couldn't take Milder 3, delete all the enemies from the game, and submit it for the contest.

You can submit more than one entry. But beware: you may end up 'splitting the vote', and allowing another D-Mod to win.

Good luck, chaps.

I can't believe you didn't use Milderr!! as an example. It's... it's... a tradition!

I'll put it back in. I was feeling somewhat dirty and couldn't quite figure out why - That may be the reason.

Non-combat? Awwwh.

I might look into this as a tiny side project. Hope we'll see at least 3 entries or so

Quit your jibba-jabba, this contest offers a tremendous amount of scope for creativity and all round awesomeness.

That was aimed at Marpro, not Kyle. Obviously.

Obviously

No combat? I suppose the D-Mods have to focus on story then. I've actually thought up a nice bit of story for a D-Mod today but I stopped thinking about it since I have other D-Mods to make. Since there is a contest for a D-Mod that could use a good story I will consider giving it a shot.

I'll give it a try !
EDIT: I've got an idea; Time to start dmoding

It doesn't say anywhere that the focus needs to be on the story. You could create a d-mod that has a focus on puzzles, or an adventure type game or whatever really. Even horror would work

I might come up with something. Quite small though since I've my exams in just a month...

Stay tuned.

I hope we see lots of entries. Perhaps mini games will be involved. One thing I don't get Sabre is why only one prize if it's a group effort? How are people suppose to share a prize if there in different countries for example? (If collaberating on a dmod is even possible overseas)

Well, you'd have to sort something out amongst yourselves I assume. I doubt any internet contest can take those kind of situations into account.

hmm i was busy making the caverns... better put my energy in to my BL dmod then... wait, what? do i need someone else to make it with me?

Is it still classified as combat if there are violent enemies who attack the main character, but the main character has no physical or magical attacks to do back, and cannot retaliate?

Does it count as combat if the enemies have one-hit-kills, adn start fights randomly? (as long as the player can't initiate a fight?)

EDIT: Somehow "count" came out as "omeany"?

EDIT 2: Maybe because the "o" was in the wrong spot the swear filter thought it was c**t?

Well, you'd have to sort something out amongst yourselves I assume. I doubt any internet contest can take those kind of situations into account.
I guess so Kyle. I just hope there's no arguments over who gets the prize if a group thing happens.

I wonder if cost of prize has to do with only 1 per winner, even with groups. That would make sense.

Is it still classified as combat if there are violent enemies who attack the main character, but the main character has no physical or magical attacks to do back, and cannot retaliate?

It says no fighting or combat from Dink. Sounds fine.

I'm gonna make a mod called Dink the Pacifist in which he only has a sack of feed or something.

"Dink the vegetable"

Story: Not much.

Could work. *Could work, dangit*.

Pansy Dink?

Dink the dink? Wait, no that's just innapropriate.

anyone else notice yeoldetoast has no gender?

Sticky?

Sounds alright. Until the contest finishes anyway.

Dink's quest for sex.

Schnapper, that sounds it could be pretty violent D-Mod, actually.

Or.... a hell of a lot of fun

Edit: and No Christiaan just plain NO hehe

"and No Christiaan just plain NO hehe"

You know when Christiaan said 'Sticky', I'm fairly sure he meant the topic should be stickied...

yeah I got that... thats why I said NO I am sure I get a vote as well

"Sticky?"

I agree... This thread is now as sticky as the subject matter is turning

NOoooooooooooooooooo

Ahah! What is white like marble....

I Smite thee all... you, you men creatures you!

So can I have an official ruling in regards to having enemies that target the character, but the character cannot attack back? I believe this avoids 'combat' whilst challenging the character with skill in avoiding the enemies.

That still sounds like combat to me - Perhaps it's not in the strictest semantic sense, but just having the player run through screens filled with monsters instead of slaughtering them kind of kills the contest idea, in my opinion.

However, let's wait for SabreTrout to make the definite call on that.

No, no no no no no. Not run through screens filled with monsters, it's not like that, not on such a scale. Imagine perhaps one or two guards guarding something valuable, and if they see you, they attack you, until you leave the screen, or something like that.

I see the idea of the contest as avoiding the whole 'killing to level up and get stronger' idea, and I think this avoids that, with the player simply having the inability to attack.

Hmmmmm, you may just have to be your own judge on some of the finer details like that... If the dmod seems to be in the right spirit and doesn't brazenly violate the rules, it's not like we will bar the dmod from the contest because of some silly detail (like "this duck has 1 point of touch damage, therefore meeting it constitutes as combat, therefore this is unacceptable!")

if they see you, they attack you, until you leave the screen, or something like that.

Sounds like a stealth game. Probably more interesting than a Dink Learns Music clone.

I think that's within the bounds of the contest tbh

That would be fine, Dinkdude.

The main point is to not have combat as a focus - Dink (or whoever the main character is) must not have any fighting/combat sections in the d-mod. Whilst it is fine to have gameplay sections where Dink (or whoever) must avoid enemies that can do him/her harm, I would advise against focusing the d-mod on that alone.

As Scratcher says, you can probably make a pretty good judgement call on whether your d-mod fits in with the spirit of the contest. If you have any specific queries about your d-mod, feel free to PM me or any other member of staff.

Hopefully that clears things up... if not, just give us a shout.

could we make, like a invaders mini-game or somthing?

That would fall under weird type DMODs. Plus, it does involve combat so..

I'll enter if I get a Dmod done in time.
I have started working on something for this contest, but no promises it'll be done in time.

So, who has started working with this?
I've done some mapping, made up a story and started making the intro. It will be great

I have been dabbling with concepts but fear I will be far, far, far too busy to release anything.

I've been busy with this, I'm about half-way (in practice, make it one-thirds) done with my entry. It'll be a short, hopefully enjoyable romp.

I have worked out the concept... but I doubt I have enough time to really finish a D-Mod so soon.

So, if I have understood right, this is a non-combat contest, not a non-violence contest. So in other words, there can be as much blood and gore as possible, but the player must not be included in any kind of fighting, and must be freezed whenever a battle happens. Is there anyone who can confirm my understanding?

That is correct Skull. Gameplay may not involve any combat.

Ok, thanks.

Does "combat" involve "using" offensive weapons, even one-time-use-ers such as holy hand-grenade of Antioch, carried by brother Maynard?

I think that would still be non-combat, especially if it's something story related. But, don't come up with 15 variations of the grenade and make them usable on 15 different screens, that would be cheating

Of course, it's up to the chief to decide!

LIke punching things and setting them on fire with a spell isn't combat as long as the things aren't "living"?

The thing you should all keep in mind is that DMODs will be judged by how well they fit in the theme as well as their general quality. With that in mind you could probably make an educated guess about what's allowed. If your DMOD is filled with combat related things (that are strictly taken not combat) your DMOD would be allowed to enter, but it might hurt your chances of winning.

Take for example Skull's DMOD "Hotel of the middle night", it has a sort of final confrontation that isn't really a battle. If Skull had made these kind of confrontations every 30 seconds he'd probably gotten some points deducted, but as it is it fits into the rules perfectly.

If you have a lot of things in your DMOD that you're doubting about, you're probably rightfully worried. If it's only a small part of the DMOD, don't worry about it. It's all about what the DMOD focuses on.

But burning trees aren't really combat or combat related.

In case you didn't notice, my reply was towards Kyle.

And you can add as many burnable trees as you like, I don't see any problem with that.

To all those out there wondering, I think this contest mostly means D-Mods the type of The Basilisk Smile. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that seems like a perfect example of what I think we're looking for here.

Except the Goblins.

Haha, I knew someone was gonna point that out.

Yes, except the Goblins.

So, is anyone getting anywhere with this contest?

No.

Well I started an intro, made a house and... Eh. That's about it...

I've made up a story and a bunch of graphics but haven't had time to start scripting due to homework. Mapping is like 50% done.

I doubt it will be done in time... as I said I have an insane amount of homework to do:I have to read Dan Browns "the lost symbol" (in english) and two other books (in swedish) before Friday and write about them. I also have to write an essay about nuclear power >.<

Mine's coming along nicely. I can almost 100% garuntee a release.

Started another Story-board... scrapped the first two.

But a 100% guarantee on the Dink Network is like... -10%!

"I can almost 100% garuntee a release."

But I won't completely 100% garuntee a release.

I've made a D-Mod named Total Violence where you train pigs to fight each others. It's similar to the movie Fight Club, though it's little more violence and there are pigs fighting instead. Expect a lot of blood and pig wrestling.

Marpro, how does having pigs fight each other fit the definition of a "non-combat D-Mod"?

I guess I'll toss my hat into the ring, I could use some more scripting practice.

Well, from what I can gather from Marpro's description, the main idea is training the pigs, the fighting is just the outcome. As long as it's not a main idea of the game to have the player fighting, it seems to me like Marpro's idea is pretty cool.

I have so many awesome ideas, and they will become a dmod sometime; I just hope it's before the deadline.

I'm working on mine As fighting is denied I'm concentrating efforts on the plot and mapping tricks.

I'm about with 18% script done, 87% of map finished and 10% of the story

I'm about 85% finished with mine. Isn't that great but oh well...

Map: 30%
Scripting: 10%
Story (ideas): 70%

Doesn't sound like it's going to finished in time is it?

Map: 1%
Story: 10%
Script: 1%
Graphics: Concept-stage

Hmmmm...

UPDATE: I will (most probably) not be participating in this competition.

Schnapper, that sounds like if it ever finishes, it is gonna be the best D-Mod ever!!

I'm almost done with my entry. I've only one more area to work on, loads of bugs to fix, and if I manage to come up with a plausible ending for the game, I might even get it done in time.

Could be that he has only one script so far that is 20% finished. That would mean he'll end up with 20 scripts, not necessarily impressive...

These percentages really don't mean a lot. At least I just mentioned some very rough estimates...

Therefore it COULD be finished in time?? Niiice

Uh... yes, I suppose so.

excellent!! *rubs hands together*

Ha, thanks Skull It's a matter of finding the Video-game design muse for me
Incidentally, I'm really looking forward to yours, too. HotMN was awsome, and I just downloaded HH yesterday... Dink on

I've gotten some work done! I'm like 10% finished, I have lots of new graphics made from 3d-models and a bunch of scripts.

It will be the best thing I've done so far; I have so many ideas and have already scripted some nice things (I won't say what though )

I really hope it can be done in time... I better skip school and work on it 24/7.

"With an aching head, our hero awakes.
A thick layer of dust is all that remains.
Something struck the village during the night.
Something horrifying.
All that's left of the village is smoldering ruins and blood.

Our hero is all alone."

A very short introduction to my non-combat D-Mod. I'm not sure that I'll be able to finish it though.

Sounds like something I'd like to play.

Mine goes like this:
“There is a time in the life of every man when they feel that they aren't needed anymore. This also happend to our beloved hero; Dink. He knew that his days as a hero was over, no more was he the fearless warrior he once was… And the only thing he was fighting was his urge to fall asleep beetween lunch and dinner. Dink only had one thing left to live for, eating and drinking.”

So, is anyone finished? Mine will get done in time... I only have to do the ending and add some scripts to random items... maybe add another NPC.

I have finished and pending, obviously.

Nice, how long is yours? Mine is like 60 scripts xD

Less is more. Mine has 36, but was declared awesome by my betatester.

Hey, I'm almost done too. Almost being the most important word here. 239 scripts, plus some more if I randomly decide to insert some miscellaneous objects to interact with. And as you, iplaydink, I too have to conjure an ending to have it be done with.

However, the amount of scripts in any D-Mod really amounts to nothing if there's no substance behind them. This here story folder is among my FIRST attempts with DinkC.

Looks like a lively competition, this, hmm? Let's keep it up people

Wow, quite a big dmod you've got there synbi!

It will be really interesting to see how it will turn out...

Number of scripts?

OVER 9000!!

DinkDude95 said: OVER 9000!!

*Sacrifices banana in exaltation*

Let me guess, your d-mod must go something like this.

void main(void)
{

loop:

spawn("&current_script");
&number_of_scripts + 1;

if(&number_of_scripts > 9000)
  {
&award_banana + 1;
kill_game();
  } else
    {
    goto loop;
    }

}

Does that even compile, with a " + " instead of " += "?

God I nitpick xD

No, it wouldn't compile because Dink scripts never get compiled in the first place.

God I nitpick.

But no, I don't think it would be parsed properly.

You do nitpick

Now I just have a little work left to do...

How's it going for you Symbi? And is anyone else developing one?

Almost there, no worries. I'll have it sent via the upload form later this evening or tomorrow.

Awesome, I'll have mine up soon too.

Just a few finishing touches left for me. Bugs to fix, title screens to make, readme.txt to write. You know the deal.

Mine is canceled. I never got far anyway. I might look into it this saturday, but chances of it being finished are near zero.

I just sent mine in. I realized it may still have some annoying bugs and things that should've been ironed out before Tuesday, but I'm too impatient to wait any more and just have it be done with. It's my first mod after all, so that's a reason to be impatient and rush things, right?

Change the "my first" into "a" and that'll work.

Yes, I can totally relate. It's also something you'll most likely grievously, grievously regret later.

All part of the charm of first dmods.

Pfft, my first D-Mod turned out just fine.

*chokes at Pillbug's post*

Skull: I agree

I'll upload mine tonight.

EDIT: Uploaded!

Thanks to all of you who entered.

The contest deadline has now unofficially passed. Expect the d-mods to be uploaded in the coming days.

Excitement += 1

How many entered?

"How many entered?"

Six!

Only six? What a worthless contest. Let's cancel it and delete all the entrants.

Six is a huge amount of people considering that contests usually fail around here.

Only six? Yes it's not worth the effort, hope for a better contest next time.

If there were seven, now that would be a good number...

There are seven!! Mine is twice as good as the others.

Oh, you made one as well?

Dang. Only 5...

Says a guy who couldn't write his username right.

"Six!"

Wha-aat? I though it only would be me skull n' synbi, someone's been keeping a secret from me...?!

And by the way, that's great, it'll be a real contest then ^^

I hope you guys all enjoy losing.

DinkDude?! I should have known...

/resign

Well then it's either Marpro, meta, Redfield, castman, Erwin or someone else completely different that's left to be outed.

I was actually expecting about 4 would enter. This is a big surprise.

Regrettably it isn't me. I didn’t have much spare time recently. In fact I had so little time on my hands that I didn’t even manage to mention I wasn’t going to enter the contest.

Fwuahaha... Victory for New Zealand is assured.

Did I enter? You'll have to wait and see. Maybe I know one other who entered though.

MsDink?

It's most likely MsDink, cause ExDeathevn loves to bring up conversations of MsDink, don't you, Ex?

I think (hope) the victory is for Sweden or Finland.

Come on Scandinavia!

All your efforts and your pathetic hopes are in terrible vain.

Your paultry entries will fail dismally in comparison to my piece of awesomeness.

I have to say mine is quite awesome too (a)

I would laugh if you discovered it was someone else on my NZ Dinker's list (on my profile)

*throws skull into the ocean*

If NZ wins we'll quickly move in and call it an Australian win! Like we did with Russell Crowe!

Except that Russell Crowe was an epic fail, rather than a win.

paultry

Your paltry spelling will certainly not impress the judges.

Will we have to wait to play them until the judges decided who'll win?

No. You guys will get access at the same time as the judges.

The d-mods will be available in the next 48 hours.

Apologies for the delay!

I'll count the minutes.

Sorry, had some trouble finding the d-mods. Now I found them. =P

Heh heh IPlaydink, err guess it was me wot did keep a secret Muhahaha.

Glad u liked my wee furball tho... tis pretty basic but had a lot of fun making it. Tis a shame that I fixed up some stuff in it - then uploaded the non fixed version tho *sighs and slaps forehead* Ahh well.
... am gunna start the downloads naow... I am in pig heaven - 5 new dmods to play whilst I was away yay!!
Let the playing commence...