XNA GAMES ARTICLE ON OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE

According to this thread on the XNA GSE forum, this month's issue of the "Official XBOX Magazine" includes "write-ups" (with screenshots) of the following games: "iFactor", "Eternity's Child", "Racing Game", "Wildboarders", and "Last Alarm : The A.R.G.U.S Complex".

What is more, the issue give further detail about the next phase of the D.B.P. contest, like a list with the prizes!

For those of us not subscribed to this magazine (for whatever reason), there's a comment left by David Weller on the above-mentioned thread that will make us stay tuned for news: "Ask me again on Monday ...".

Ok, Monday ... now let's stay tuned for news!

DBP: WARM-UP ENTRIES?

XNAMatrix has published a list of entries to the "Warm-Up" phase, which so far amount to 20 games in two categories: 16 of them are 2D, and the remaining ... well, let me see ... hum, I think is ... 4! Yes 4; ... ahum! ... well, the remaining 4 are 3D ... (sorry for the delay but I had to open 'calc.exe').

The page provides links to creator's pages, download sections as well as screenshots.

If you want to submit a link to your entry just contact them.

See ya.

"BULLET HELL TACTICS" ENTERS A LARGE COMPO

Yes, Kobingo's has announced that "Bullet Hell Tactics" game will join this year's Swedish Game Awards compo -Sweden's largest game development competition.

So, good luck!

XNA MATRIX'S ENTRY TO THE WARM-UP CHALLENGE

Yes, Will has revealed a teaser of his entry to the warm-up chalenge. So repeating his words, "If anybody is curious" just browse to this link to see a two-days old screenshot of the game.

Peronally, I have been working on my entry for only 3 days now from scratch, so I don't think I get it on time, but no matter what, I'll post my version of the Spacewar game when finished.

Cheers!

NEW NAME TO XNA MAGIC: 'BLADE3D'

At last! The new name for XNA Magic framework has been announced: Blade3D.

So don't forget to update your favorites with the new link.

Congrats to the winner!

DREAM.BUILD.PLAY: "WARM-UP CHALLENGE"

From DPS's site: "Welcome to the Warm-Up Challenge in the Dream-Build-Play competition. It is the precursor to the main event in Dream-Build-Play, which will begin upon completion of the Warm-Up Challenge. This challenge not only sharpens your skills but you can also win cool prizes and bragging rights! ..."

The challenge: to create a videogame based on the 'Spacewar Starter Kit' before the end of this month.

The prize: "... The contest starts now with our Warm-Up Challenge. We’re awarding $500 (USD) to the top five entries! ..."

You will find more information on the site.

So, c'mon, let's go for it! ... there are 4 remaining places for you ... ;)

DREAM.BUILD.PLAY: REGISTER NOW!

As we wait for more details on the DBP contest, there's at least one task that may be currently accomplished: your registration.

After registering, you will get one important piece of info right away: the Final Entry Deadline.

I did register, meaning, I know which is the final entry deadline ... Want to know? ... I won't tell ya, so go and register ... ;)

DREAM.BUILD.PLAY: GLOBAL COMPO?

Lately, many of us have been worried because the 'Register' section of the Dream.Build.Play competition only shows one country: the US (and not all of the states).

Well, Dave Mitchell has confirmed that the D.B.P. is a global competition.

From Microsoft's forums: "The site is live and yes we realize there are a few things that haven't quite propped properly. We've got people looking to get these fixed asap.

To be clear, yes you will be able to register outside the US as this is a global competition. And yes, the missing states will be re-annexed shortly.

Apologies for the wrinkles in the rollout.
--dave"

Just let's give the guys the due time to set up things properly, shall we?

"DREAM.BUILD.PLAY" CONTEST UPDATE

By the time I publish this post, I guess this update is old news if you -like me- are suscribed to many XNA Community blogs.

The Dream.Build.Play website is being updated and in turn, relevant information is starting to be published. So far you will find information on some sections -like "Home", "About XNA" and "Register"- until the week of February 5th, 2007 when the rest of the information -like "Prizes" and "How to Play"- will be unveiled.

So, what's next? Just direct your browser to the site and start by registering if you want to get in the compo (what I assume you do).

And remember: "... Besides worldwidefame and recognition, you could also win some fantastic prizes!" (just show me the money! show me the money!)

;)

ANIBOOM AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED

At last! The list of winners of AniBoom's first competition has been published.

Congrats to the winners! (... 25k ... 5k ... is this for real? If so, some compo, don't you think? ...)

Also, a new competition is comming: "Aniboom Eyedoll Auditions", so if you have some experience in Animation you could give it a try. I would ...

... if only I had time ... :(

ANIBOOM AWARDS FINALS COUNTDOWN: ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT

Yes, that's right. We have only three days left to cast our votes for the finalists.

I did vote, so what about you? If not, don't forget to watch the videos in each category and rank them before the deadline is met if you want your favorites to win the competition.

Watch this space!

DREAM.BUILD.PLAY CONTEST IS COMING

You don't believe it, read this post on the XNA Team Blog.

"... The specific timeframes will be announced soon but I can say that everyone will have ample time to design, develop and polish their games. After all, we're not after samples here... we're looking for the next blockbuster game that's lurking in your dreams! ..."

Say again please .... THE NEXT BLOCKBUSTER ... I love this part ... ;)

ANIBOOM AWARDS 2006: FINALISTS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!

At last! 25 animation pieces got into the finals -5 per category, and now they're facing the ultimate challenge: becoming the topmost ranked piece to get the biggest prize of all.

Remember! There's also a prize for each category's winner so you'd better start voting a.s.a.p.

Congrats to the ones who made it and good luck! ... yeah, right (my "crappy" entry didn't make it ... snif! ... snif!)

You all now my favorite: go Tadeo go! "Prime Time" is a very good one, too ... of course, mine was better than both ... or at least I wish ... :)

See ya ... ;)

ANIBOOM AWARDS 2006

I have received an email from the creative director of "Aniboom", a new website dedicated to host and share animations, inviting me to pay a visit and check the site out.

Although the site is currently in a beta phase -it works better with IE than Firefox, let me tell you that I have really found some high-quality videos, cut-scenes, 2d/3d animations and demo reels.

But the interesting thing is that these guys are carrying out a competition for a total of $50k in prizes: five categories, $5k for the winner of each category, and $25k for the "grand prize" winner.

Check the rules, choose a category and upload your creation. There's still time for new entries, so hurry up!!!

Who knows? Maybe I decide to submit a 5-minute sci-fi animation I created back in my old days as a student of 3D animation by using 3DS Max 2.5 ... and yeah, you've just read it right, I said v2.5, so imagine how astonishing it could be ... you have no opportunity against my demo reel ... whooooooahahahahaha ... ;)

I'll leave you with this very funny entry:

[BTW, thanks Einat for your kind words about my blog!]