Most of you will already know that Galaxy-News is the main sponsor of the first PBBG Contest held by Browser-Based Game Zone. To cover this event we have had the chance to speak to Andy - the coordinator of the contest and founder of Browser-Based Game Zone - about the purpose and the success of the event.

Galaxy-News: Hi, please introduce yourself to our readers.


Andy: Hello! My name is Andy, and I run Browser-Based Game Zone. 

I've been coding PHP games for about 5 years now, but mostly for learning purposes. (That's my excuse for not having completed any!) I love playing PBBGs but lately it's been hard to find any good ones that I can play over a long period of time. 



Galaxy-News: You're holding the first PBBG Contest. Please tell us more about it. 



Andy: Well, I'll be honest, I don't really know what I'm doing. I've never held a contest before, but I've learnt a lot so the next contest I'll know what to do. 

I got the idea from a thread on my forum where one user challenged others to create a game in one week, and see what the results would be. There weren't many participants, so I thought I'd do something similar over a longer time span, and I'd offer prizes so people would have an incentive to join. 



Galaxy-News: How many games are participating so far? 



Andy: So far there have been 17 entry submissions. We'll see how many are completed in time



Galaxy-News: Have you already had the chance to see first results? What kind of games can we expect?

 

Andy: So far there has only been one demo posted. The game looks a little unusual, but the gameplay is pretty fun even if it's incomplete, and there seems to be some interesting elements in it, such as spell casting (all kinds of spells). 

There are no particular theme or genre restrictions, so there have been many kinds of entries, such as RPGs, strategies and simulations, and I am coding a gangster RPG. 



Galaxy-News: Are most of the participants professional developers or just coding for fun?



Andy: I don't know all the developers, since some of them are new, but I think there are all kinds of developers. There are some that already own games and are very experienced in PBBG development. But there are also some that are very new and have been planning to create a PBBG for a while. This contest just gives them a reason to go ahead with that plan! 



Galaxy-News: Would you consider the contest to be a success so far? 



Andy: Well, it's exceeded my own expectations. I never expected to have so many sponsors and prizes, and as a result, there have also been a lot of interest in the contest and many entries. I also like that it has motivated people to start working on that game they were planning for so long, but never got around to actually doing it. Now they can do it and have a supporting community help them if they have any problems. 



Galaxy-News: Do you think this contest might motivate the browser based gaming scene to find closer together?



Andy: I think the browser based gaming scene in terms of players is too wide-spread and casual to come together in one place. But I think it can help browser game developers and communities such as Galaxy News to come together. I've tried to get all the PBBG communities that I know of involved in this contest, either as sponsors or participants or judges for this very reason. 



Galaxy-News: What do you think will the general impact of this contest be? 



Andy: I don't think this contest will have such a huge impact. But this is just the first contest! If all goes as planned, there should be many more contests after this. I hope that it can become a popular event where professional developers can show off their talents and new guys can join in the fun. 



Galaxy-News: Thanks ever so much for your time. Good luck with the contest! 

Andy: Thanks for sponsoring the contest, and thanks for the interview!