Java 4K Game Programming Contest - Year 2 (2004)

Year 2 (2004)

Heavy use of pre-rendered sprites, transparency, and sound effects defined this year's entries. The strongest contenders were Defender 4000, Abuse's Shooty-Transparenty Game, and Space Invaders. However, Space Invaders' lack of sound caused it to fall behind the other two entries which were competing hard to pack in the most technology and gameplay.

Of particular interest were the different tactics used by the two entries. For graphics, Abuse used precious few high color images which he then applied transparency and rotation to at runtime. Jbanes, on the other hand, developed an imaging packing technique that allowed him to store twenty-one single-color images. Rather than applying rotation and transparency, he chose to use his larger number of images to produce pre-rendered animations. For sound, Abuse used clear chimes and other instruments from the MIDI soundbank. Jbanes chose to use runtime-generated PCM sound that sounded more like video games of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Both approaches had their merit, so it's difficult to say what finally swayed the judge's opinion. What is known is that Year 2 was the last year that sound would be a deciding factor in the games. In future years, the bytes allocated to sound were reallocated to other functions such as 3D graphics, levels, and bosses.

Year 2 was the first year that official judging took place. Unlike subsequent years, the only judge was the contest organizer, mlk. After careful consideration, the judge decided to award Prong with the Best Technical Achievement Award, and declared Defender 4000 as the overall winner. Interestingly, he scored each game but did not use this score in determining the winner. Abuse's Shooty-Transparenty Game actually scored one point higher than Defender 4000.

Official List of Year 2 Entries