The 2012 edition of the great MSXdev contest has been launched ! There are big
changes as the contest is now organized by our friends of the very active
Karoshi MSX Community. For different reasons, it was no more possible to
continue the formule of the MSXdev team.
Other changes are about mainly the RAM size, the ROM size, the promotion of the
games, the jury. This time, the deadline has been fixed to 15 December 2012 :
the coders have therefore 9 months to develop superb new games for the best
8-bit system !
Important dates
The time line is set as follows :
12/03/2012 : MSXdev'12 rules published and project registration opened for
contestants
15/12/2012 : game submission deadline
16/12/2012 : MSXdev'12 game poll started
31/12/2012 : MSXdev'12 game poll closed and results announced
Game format specs
As in the previous editions of MSXdev, the selected format for the games is the
MSX ROM file. Cartridges have been the most successful media format for first
generation MSX computers, and most of the best games ever produced were
published in this format. Nowadays, this format is also interesting because it
can be easily loaded into real MSX computers, using a Flash cartridge, a ROM
loader or a ROM converter, and it can also be used directly on emulators. Also,
there exists a growing phenomenon at the MSX scene of people developing real
cartridges, so MSXdev organization wants to encourage this game format.
All the games should be 100% compatible with this MSX configuration, that is
defined as follows:
CPU: Zilog Z80 running at 3.58 Mhz
VDP: TMS9918/TMS9928 or compatible video processor
PSG: AY-3-8910 or compatible sound chip
Cassette interface: 1200/2400 baud
RAM: 16 KB (non memory-mapped)
VRAM: 16 KB
Therefore the games will be tested and evaluated using this configuration.
Other compatibility tests will be performed in different configurations,
including MSX, MSX2, MSX2+ and Turbo-R computers. The games should work
perfectly in any MSX compliant machine with the amount of RAM needed to run the
game. If a game does not run properly in all MSX computers with at least 16 KB
RAM it could be disqualified by the organization.
In addition, it is allowed to make use of additional MSX hardware but they will
not be taken into account when determining the final quality of the game by the
voters. The goal of the contest is producing fine quality games that could be
fully enjoyed in any MSX system.
About the ROM size, any size will be accepted as long as it does not require a
ROM mapper. In other words, the acceptable ROM file sizes are 8 KB, 16 KB, 24
KB, 32 KB, 40 KB and 48 KB. No megaROMs this time, folks! The reason for this
size limit is that we would like to load the games in regular MSX systems
without additional hardware.
Discover all the other rules on the Karoshi MSX Community ! Games of previous
editions will remain available on the MSXdev website, which will host also the
MSXdev'12 games, when the contest will be over.
MSXdev information and updates
All information regarding MSXdev'12 will be published at Karoshi MSX Community
forum http://www.karoshicorp.com
To check previous game entries and MSXdev editions, visit the official MSXdev
website http://msxdev.msxblue.com
