As far as I know, these questions haven't been answered before... so I'm asking them. 1. If I were to submit a crossover game WITH Mario, would it still count? Obviously not to the extent where if you put a Mario franchise object in your game as a cameo it'll work. 2. What engines are allowed for fan games? Of course Game Maker, but would stuff like RPG Maker or Unity work too? 3. I don't think this is exactly a rule question, but about how far do you want our games to be done as a demo? That's all :).

[size=150]1. If I were to submit a crossover game WITH Mario, would it still count? Obviously not to the extent where if you put a Mario franchise object in your game as a cameo it'll work.[/size] To quote the official submission guidelines:[quote]All Games should feature Mario and other characters and/or elements from the above defined Mario universe as a primary focus. Submissions focusing on any other gaming series will be declined. However, characters from outside the scope of Mario may make an appearance in the game so long as Mario is the main focus.[/quote] [size=150]2. What engines are allowed for fan games? Of course Game Maker, but would stuff like RPG Maker or Unity work too?[/size] My answer: any. As long as it's playable for users who download it. If it only works on Mac, specify that. If it only works on Linux, specify that. The official answer:[quote]All Games must be playable. Any external files required to run the game must be included in its download, with the exception of files listed under the Miscellaneous category of the Downloads section and commonly-used external libraries (such as DirectX or the XNA Framework).[/quote] [size=150]3. I don't think this is exactly a rule question, but about how far do you want our games to be done as a demo?[/size] The guidelines again:[quote]Your game should be possible to complete, and not just a level you can only walk halfway through. We will not accept "engine tests", in which all you can do is walk around and test out basic elements. Demos, or yet to be completed games, must contain at least one full-length level for a developed engine and at least two for a more basic one.[/quote] Hope this answers your questions!

[quote="HylianDev"][size=150]1. If I were to submit a crossover game WITH Mario, would it still count? Obviously not to the extent where if you put a Mario franchise object in your game as a cameo it'll work.[/size] To quote the official submission guidelines:[quote]All Games should feature Mario and other characters and/or elements from the above defined Mario universe as a primary focus. Submissions focusing on any other gaming series will be declined. However, characters from outside the scope of Mario may make an appearance in the game so long as Mario is the main focus.[/quote] [size=150]2. What engines are allowed for fan games? Of course Game Maker, but would stuff like RPG Maker or Unity work too?[/size] My answer: any. As long as it's playable for users who download it. If it only works on Mac, specify that. If it only works on Linux, specify that. The official answer:[quote]All Games must be playable. Any external files required to run the game must be included in its download, with the exception of files listed under the Miscellaneous category of the Downloads section and commonly-used external libraries (such as DirectX or the XNA Framework).[/quote] [size=150]3. I don't think this is exactly a rule question, but about how far do you want our games to be done as a demo?[/size] The guidelines again:[quote]Your game should be possible to complete, and not just a level you can only walk halfway through. We will not accept "engine tests", in which all you can do is walk around and test out basic elements. Demos, or yet to be completed games, must contain at least one full-length level for a developed engine and at least two for a more basic one.[/quote] Hope this answers your questions![/quote] Thanks, I understand all of the questions now :biggrin:! Though I have another question regarding the first answer, how much is 'the main focus'? I mean, if I were to make a game like Smash Bros. would that count as a 'Mario' game? There IS a SSB series category in the sprites, so I would assume that it should work... but I would like to make sure.

Hmm, good question! I suppose it really depends on the game. How much Mario focus there is. It'd probably help if you shared your idea.

[quote="HylianDev"]Hmm, good question! I suppose it really depends on the game. How much Mario focus there is. It'd probably help if you shared your idea.[/quote] Ah, okay :agree:. If I ever make a 'crossover' like so I will share it with you to make sure it's allowed.

There are a number of Super Smash Bros.-themed games on the mainsite. An SSB-based crossover would be accepted unless it's something totally unrelated to Mario - for example, "Lucina & Little Mac in Dreamland" would probably be declined. Of course, you're welcome to post any kind of game on the forums, including indie games and non-Mario fangames. [size=50]I'm undecided on whether Lucina & Little Mac in Dreamland would be hilarious or atrocious.[/size]

So wait, will my fangame be declined at the mainsite, just because the main heroine is not from the Mario franchise? Because all the levels do play in the Mario universe and you even fight classical (and less classical) Mario villians there and visit various locations in the history of Mario gaming (Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland, Subcon, Isla Delfino, etc.). I mean, even the classical Mario story-line of Peach being kidnapped is still intact, although this time, Mario & Luigi also go missing on their way to save her.

Hmm. I would say that, in that case, perhaps the letter of the rules have failed to capture the spirit of the rules. That sounds to me like something that would be accepted. But, I'm not QC, so I can't be sure.

[quote="TrinitroMan"]So wait, will my fangame be declined at the mainsite, just because the main heroine is not from the Mario franchise? Because all the levels do play in the Mario universe and you even fight classical (and less classical) Mario villians there and visit various locations in the history of Mario gaming (Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland, Subcon, Isla Delfino, etc.). I mean, even the classical Mario story-line of Peach being kidnapped is still intact, although this time, Mario & Luigi also go missing on their way to save her.[/quote] That definitely sounds more like a Mario fan game than [url=http://mfgg.net/index.php?act=resdb&param=02&c=2&id=28518]this[/url] and... well, it's clearly on the main site. You do the math.

[quote="Roo"][quote="TrinitroMan"]So wait, will my fangame be declined at the mainsite, just because the main heroine is not from the Mario franchise? Because all the levels do play in the Mario universe and you even fight classical (and less classical) Mario villians there and visit various locations in the history of Mario gaming (Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland, Subcon, Isla Delfino, etc.). I mean, even the classical Mario story-line of Peach being kidnapped is still intact, although this time, Mario & Luigi also go missing on their way to save her.[/quote] That definitely sounds more like a Mario fan game than [url=http://mfgg.net/index.php?act=resdb&param=02&c=2&id=28518]this[/url] and... well, it's clearly on the main site. You do the math.[/quote] You got a point there. Then again, there was also that MegaMan-styled Mario game, which was just MegaMan with Mario in it. That game had more to do with Mario than Virus War, and yet, that game was still declined. So what now?

Somewhat unrelated question - Do all sprites in Game Maker have to be the same size? Like, all of Mario's animations were 22 x 30 or something. EDIT: Another sprite question, can they have transparent backgrounds?

If you want to do a LOT of tedious work in the code, the individual frames don't have to be placed like they are the same size, but they do have to fit in a 22x30 box. And yes, they can have transparent background so long as your version of Gamemaker is not 7.0 or below.

[quote="Willsaber"]If you want to do a LOT of tedious work in the code, the individual frames don't have to be placed like they are the same size, but they do have to fit in a 22x30 box. And yes, they can have transparent background so long as your version of Gamemaker is not 7.0 or below.[/quote] Okay, but... 22x30 is a bit small, don't you think?

[quote="Xandalf"][quote="Willsaber"]If you want to do a LOT of tedious work in the code, the individual frames don't have to be placed like they are the same size, but they do have to fit in a 22x30 box. And yes, they can have transparent background so long as your version of Gamemaker is not 7.0 or below.[/quote] Okay, but... 22x30 is a bit small, don't you think?[/quote] Well, yeah it's a very small (and odd) size. I just used it because I felt it would connect with your question since 22x30 was your example. The dimensions can be whatever you want.

Okay, another question regarding Game Maker (I don't want to make a bunch of stupid threads for simple questions) How do I make a sprite animation loop? I've been trying but all the tutorials are Pro or something with fancy stuff I don't have. EDIT: Nevermind, I just use sleeps in between sprite changing objects. I got it now. EDIT 2: Crud, now the player can't move. Help?

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to do, but sleeps aren't used very much (and if you ever try to open your .GMK in GM Studio, nothing in your game will work, because Studio doesn't support the sleep function). If you need a sprite animation to loop, simply add the following to your object's Create event: [code]image_speed = 0.2;[/code]

This is what my actions are for no_key. I'm pretty new to Game Maker and I have no idea what I'm doing. [img]http://i.imgur.com/nFmVWz1.png[/img]

That is not how you do a sprite animation. Instead of creating separate sprites for an animation, you are supposed to put a single animation in one sprite. Now this is hard to explain, but let's say if you were to paste a Mario sprite inside the built-in sprite editor, you can paste more than one image in it which creates an animation. If you can't understand me, then maybe try look at the built-in help, there's a page about sprite animations. ;)

[quote="Q-Nova"]That is not how you do a sprite animation. Instead of creating separate sprites for an animation, you are supposed to put a single animation in one sprite. Now this is hard to explain, but let's say if you were to paste a Mario sprite inside the built-in sprite editor, you can paste more than one image in it which creates an animation. If you can't understand me, then maybe try look at the built-in help, there's a page about sprite animations. ;)[/quote] Oh, I get it now. Thanks :biggrin:. EDIT: Another question... great :blank:. The sprite only lets me choose one sub image (On the player object), rather than it just looping.

[quote="Xandalf"][quote="Q-Nova"]That is not how you do a sprite animation. Instead of creating separate sprites for an animation, you are supposed to put a single animation in one sprite. Now this is hard to explain, but let's say if you were to paste a Mario sprite inside the built-in sprite editor, you can paste more than one image in it which creates an animation. If you can't understand me, then maybe try look at the built-in help, there's a page about sprite animations. ;)[/quote] Oh, I get it now. Thanks :biggrin:. EDIT: Another question... great :blank:. The sprite only lets me choose one sub image (On the player object), rather than it just looping.[/quote] You need ti make sure you have image speed at something other than 0.