Comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition: Difference between revisions

From Sinclair Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(25 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition''' (also known simply as the '''CSSCGC''') is an annual competition for  [[wiktionary:crap|crap]] [[wikipedia:computer game|computer game]] development.<ref name="sinclairfaq">[http://www.worldofspectrum.org/cssfolklore/index.html comp.sys.sinclair Folklore FAQ]</ref> It is specifically targeted at the [[wikipedia:Sinclair Research|Sinclair Research]] range of 8-bit computers including clones, derivatives and emulators of those systems.<ref>[http://zxnet.co.uk/spectrum/cgc/about.html Everything you never wanted to know about the CSSCGC]</ref>
{{Lowercase title}}
The '''comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition''' (also known simply as the '''CSSCGC''') is an annual competition for  [[wiktionary:crap|crap]] [[wikipedia:computer game|computer game]] development.<ref name="sinclairfaq">[https://www.worldofspectrum.org/cssfolklore/index.html comp.sys.sinclair Folklore FAQ]</ref> It is specifically targeted at the [[wikipedia:Sinclair Research|Sinclair Research]] range of 8-bit computers including clones, derivatives and emulators of those systems.<ref>[https://zxnet.co.uk/spectrum/cgc/about.html Everything you never wanted to know about the CSSCGC]</ref>


==History==
==History==
The competition was originated by posters to the comp.sys.sinclair [[wikipedia:newsgroup|newsgroup]] and was inspired by the Cascade [[wikipedia:Cassette 50|Cassette 50]] compilation,<ref name="sinclairfaq" /><ref name="ZXF4-1">"CSSCGC2002 result; CSSCGC2003 kicks off; CC50 is 20 years old" - ZX Format issue 4, pages 18–19</ref> an early example of [[wikipedia:shovelware|shovelware]], as well as Rich Pelley's ''Crap Game Corner'' from [[wikipedia:Your Sinclair|Your Sinclair]] Magazine.<ref name="cgc2006about" /> It started off in 1996<ref name="eq" /><ref name="woodcock1">[ftp://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/spectrum/books/ZXSpectrumOnYourPCThe.pdf The ZX Spectrum on your PC]</ref> merely as an idea to "outdo" the original Cassette 50 tape by producing a compilation of newsgroup members' own efforts.<ref>http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/60835d47b288d4e3</ref> During subsequent years, it evolved into the present-day form of competition. As of 2011, the event has taken place every year since 1996 and by the end of 2010 a total of 785 entries had been submitted.<ref name="eq">[http://equ.in/ox/spectrum/csscgc/ Crap Games Competition]</ref><ref name="unsat">[http://www.unsatisfactorysoftware.co.uk/csscgc/csscgc.cgi Crap Game Finder]</ref><!-- and has gained mention in the ''[[Retro Gamer]]'' magazine.<ref>Retro Gamer, issue 61, March 2009.</ref> --> To date, the competition has remained an informal hobbyist, community-driven event. Although it lacks any formal organisation or centralised controlling body, it remains an unofficial feature of the retrogaming community to which other games are sometimes compared.<ref name="retrogamer1">"Hall of Shame: Chase HQ" - Retro Gamer, issue 5, page 16</ref><ref name="ZXPRESS-1">"Interface - Alex Xor о положеннии дел игровой индустрии на ZX Spectrum." - Adventurer, issue 15</ref>
The competition was originated by posters to the comp.sys.sinclair [[wikipedia:newsgroup|newsgroup]] and was inspired by the Cascade [[wikipedia:Cassette 50|Cassette 50]] compilation,<ref name="sinclairfaq" /><ref name="ZXF4-1">"CSSCGC2002 result; CSSCGC2003 kicks off; CC50 is 20 years old" - ZX Format issue 4, pages 18–19</ref> an early example of [[wikipedia:shovelware|shovelware]], as well as Rich Pelley's ''Crap Game Corner'' from [[wikipedia:Your Sinclair|Your Sinclair]] Magazine.<ref name="cgc2006about" /> It started off in 1996<ref name="eq" /><ref name="woodcock1">[https://worldofspectrum.net/pub/sinclair/books/z/ZXSpectrumOnYourPCThe.pdf The ZX Spectrum on your PC]</ref> merely as an idea to "outdo" the original Cassette 50 tape by producing a compilation of newsgroup members' own efforts.<ref>https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/60835d47b288d4e3</ref> During subsequent years, it evolved into the present-day form of competition. As of 2011, the event has taken place every year since 1996 and by the end of 2010 a total of 785 entries had been submitted.<ref name="eq">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100812061844/http://equ.in:80/ox/spectrum/csscgc/ Crap Games Competition]</ref><ref name="unsat">[https://www.yoursinclair.co.uk/csscgc/csscgc.cgi Crap Game Finder]</ref><!-- and has gained mention in the ''[[Retro Gamer]]'' magazine.<ref>Retro Gamer, issue 61, March 2009.</ref> --> To date, the competition has remained an informal hobbyist, community-driven event. Although it lacks any formal organisation or centralised controlling body, it remains an unofficial feature of the retrogaming community to which other games are sometimes compared.<ref name="retrogamer1">"Hall of Shame: Chase HQ" - Retro Gamer, issue 5, page 16</ref><ref name="ZXPRESS-1">"Interface - Alex Xor о положеннии дел игровой индустрии на ZX Spectrum." - Adventurer, issue 15</ref>


==Details==
==Details==
Generally, the aim of the competition and criteria for entry and ranking have been loosely defined.<ref name="cgc2004">[http://www.worldofspectrum.org/speccyspoilers/cgc2004/index.html comp.sys.sinclair crap games competition]</ref> The focus has tended to be on low-quality games which reproduce the look, feel and unplayability of those found on the original Cascade [[wikipedia:Cassette 50|Cassette 50]] tape.<ref name="cgc2004" /> Also, games which parody, satirise or even extend those of the original Cassette 50 tape have been submitted. In later years the scope had broadened considerably with many newer titles bearing little resemblance to those on the Cassette 50 tape. Some accepted titles have consisted of technical tricks, joke programs or applications rather than games.<ref name="csscgc2008results">[http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008/results.htm CSSCGC 2008 Results]</ref> Authors have also submitted deliberately good programs to the competition.<ref name="ZXF1-1">"The King of Crap" - ZX Format, issue 1, page 8</ref> A significant proportion of submissions have the word "simulator" in the title, a reference to [[wikipedia:Codemasters|Codemasters]] games that often had "simulator" in the title and often alluding to simulating something either completely mundane or conversely something well beyond the realistic limits of an 8-bit system.<ref name="csscgc2008results" />  
Generally, the aim of the competition and criteria for entry and ranking have been loosely defined.<ref name="cgc2004">[https://www.worldofspectrum.org/speccyspoilers/cgc2004/index.html comp.sys.sinclair crap games competition]</ref> The focus has tended to be on low-quality games which reproduce the look, feel and unplayability of those found on the original Cascade [[wikipedia:Cassette 50|Cassette 50]] tape.<ref name="cgc2004" /> Also, games which parody, satirise or even extend those of the original Cassette 50 tape have been submitted. In later years the scope had broadened considerably with many newer titles bearing little resemblance to those on the Cassette 50 tape. Some accepted titles have consisted of technical tricks, joke programs or applications rather than games.<ref name="csscgc2008results">[http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008/results.htm CSSCGC 2008 Results]</ref> Authors have also submitted deliberately good programs to the competition.<ref name="ZXF1-1">"The King of Crap" - ZX Format, issue 1, page 8</ref> A significant proportion of submissions have the word "simulator" in the title, a reference to [[wikipedia:Codemasters|Codemasters]] games that often had "simulator" in the title and often alluding to simulating something either completely mundane or conversely something well beyond the realistic limits of an 8-bit system.<ref name="csscgc2008results" />  


Since its inception, the competition had originally been dominated by [[wikipedia:UK|UK]]-based entrants and judges, although in 2008 for example, the competition gained considerable international participation, with games being submitted from several countries including most notably Spain,<ref name="Bytemaniacos-1">"El peor jeugo del mundo tiene premio" - Fanzine Bytemaniacos</ref> Argentina, Italy & Russia. Of particular note were the submissions of games in the Spanish and Russian languages and an eventual competition victory by a Spanish development team.<ref>[http://www.mojontwins.com/?page_id=31 The Ultimate First Communion Simmulator]</ref>
Since its inception, the competition had originally been dominated by [[wikipedia:UK|UK]]-based entrants and judges, although in 2008 for example, the competition gained considerable international participation, with games being submitted from several countries including most notably Spain,<ref name="Bytemaniacos-1">"El peor jeugo del mundo tiene premio" - Fanzine Bytemaniacos</ref> Argentina, Italy & Russia. Of particular note were the submissions of games in the Spanish and Russian languages and an eventual competition victory by a Spanish development team.<ref>[http://www.mojontwins.com/?page_id=31 The Ultimate First Communion Simmulator]</ref>
Line 11: Line 12:
Submissions are very often written in interpreted [[wikipedia:Sinclair BASIC|Sinclair BASIC]], suitable because of its slowness and limited audiovisual features.<ref name="sinclairfaq" /> However, submitted titles have also been developed in [[wikipedia:Z80|Z80]] machine code, compiled BASIC, [[wikipedia:Small-C|Small-C]] (using [[wikipedia:Z88DK|Z88DK]]) and [[wikipedia:Forth (programming language)|FORTH]] amongst others.<ref name="csscgc2008results" />
Submissions are very often written in interpreted [[wikipedia:Sinclair BASIC|Sinclair BASIC]], suitable because of its slowness and limited audiovisual features.<ref name="sinclairfaq" /> However, submitted titles have also been developed in [[wikipedia:Z80|Z80]] machine code, compiled BASIC, [[wikipedia:Small-C|Small-C]] (using [[wikipedia:Z88DK|Z88DK]]) and [[wikipedia:Forth (programming language)|FORTH]] amongst others.<ref name="csscgc2008results" />
   
   
The vast majority of the games submitted are for the [[wikipedia:ZX Spectrum|ZX Spectrum]] platform, which was the most successful and popular Sinclair computer.<ref>[http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computers/zxspectrum/zxspectrum.htm ZX Spectrum]</ref> However, games for the [[wikipedia:ZX80|ZX80]], [[wikipedia:ZX81|ZX81]]<ref name="ZXF7-1">"CSSCGC 2003 Results" - ZX Format, issue 7, page 16</ref> & [[wikipedia:Jupiter Ace|Jupiter Ace]] (a non-Sinclair "derivative" computer) as well as several other related computer models have also been submitted to the competition.<ref name="csscgc2008results" /> The exact list of permitted hardware platforms as well as the scope of allowed software is at the complete discretion of the incumbent judge, with variations in the rules commonplace from one year to the next.
The vast majority of the games submitted are for the [[wikipedia:ZX Spectrum|ZX Spectrum]] platform, which was the most successful and popular Sinclair computer.<ref>[https://rk.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computers/zxspectrum/zxspectrum.htm ZX Spectrum]</ref> However, games for the [[wikipedia:ZX80|ZX80]], [[wikipedia:ZX81|ZX81]]<ref name="ZXF7-1">"CSSCGC 2003 Results" - ZX Format, issue 7, page 16</ref> & [[wikipedia:Jupiter Ace|Jupiter Ace]] (a non-Sinclair "derivative" computer) as well as several other related computer models have also been submitted to the competition.<ref name="csscgc2008results" /> The exact list of permitted hardware platforms as well as the scope of allowed software is at the complete discretion of the incumbent judge, with variations in the rules commonplace from one year to the next.


In theory, the competition is organised, hosted and judged by a different individual each year, although some organisers have hosted and judged it on more than one occasion.<ref name="unsat" /><ref>http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/e4d22e85a4f2dede?hl=en</ref> The host and judge are often the same person. However, as in the case of the 2005 competition, the judge can be a different person than the host. Typically, the loser of the competition is asked to be the host and/or judge of the following year's competition, whilst the winner may receive a low-value prize, or perhaps nothing at all apart from the recognition of having won. Another informal tradition is that the closing date of the competition may be deliberately set further back by the host whilst the competition itself is running,<ref>[http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/speccy/csscgc/ The CSS Crap Games Competition]</ref> often adding to the confusion and disorganisation that has been a hallmark of the event. However, as the rules vary according to the judge of the day, these practices are not always upheld. Over the years, the competition has generally maintained a whimsical and humorous approach to retro game development and judging.
In theory, the competition is organised, hosted and judged by a different individual each year, although some organisers have hosted and judged it on more than one occasion.<ref name="unsat" /><ref>https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/e4d22e85a4f2dede?hl=en</ref> The host and judge are often the same person. However, as in the case of the 2005 competition, the judge can be a different person than the host. Some confusion seems to exist regarding the terms loser and winner.  The winner should be considered the author who produces the worst game, and the loser the one who produces the best game.  Typically, the loser of the competition is asked to be the host and/or judge of the following year's competition, whilst the winner may receive a low-value prize, or perhaps nothing at all apart from the recognition of having won. Another informal tradition is that the closing date of the competition may be deliberately set further back by the host whilst the competition itself is running,<ref>[https://lofi-gaming.org.uk/speccy/csscgc/ The CSS Crap Games Competition]</ref> often adding to the confusion and disorganisation that has been a hallmark of the event. However, as the rules vary according to the judge of the day, these practices are not always upheld. Over the years, the competition has generally maintained a whimsical and humorous approach to retro game development and judging.


==Availability of submissions==
==Availability of submissions==
Previously, all competition entries were archived at the [[wikipedia:World of Spectrum|World of Spectrum]] FTP site <ref>ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/</ref>. Although since the discontinuation of that FTP server, entries up to the year 2012 are available via the [http://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/ World of Spectrum website] and [https://wos.meulie.net/pub/sinclair/csscgc/ the wos.meulie.net mirror]. CSSCGC submissions are ordinarily considered freely distributable, assuming that permission has been granted.<ref>[http://www.worldofspectrum.org/permits/ ARCHIVE - COPYRIGHTS AND DISTRIBUTION PERMISSIONS]</ref> Entries up to and including CSSCGC 2014 are also organised and catalogued at Unsatisfactory Software's 'Crap Game Finder' website.<ref name="unsat" /> However, technically the copyright status of submissions can vary. For example the 2006 competition rules stated that all games are copyright their respective authors <ref name="cgc2006about">[http://www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006/about.html About The Competition]</ref> whereas the 2008 and 2009 rules simply stated that all authors agree to free distribution of their submissions.<ref>[http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008/#rules CSSCGC 2008 Rules]</ref><ref>[http://zxnet.co.uk/spectrum/cgc/rules.html the CSSCGC rules]</ref> In at least one case, an author has withdrawn a submission and rescinded distribution permission on it.<ref>http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/2737cd792f80b66c</ref>
Zipfiles containing previous competition submissions are available for download at the [https://www.yoursinclair.co.uk/csscgc/archives/ Crap Game Finder archives]. Previously, all competition entries were archived at the [[wikipedia:World of Spectrum|World of Spectrum]] FTP site. Although since the discontinuation of that FTP server, entries up to the year 2012 also remain available via the [https://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/ World of Spectrum website] and [https://wos.meulie.net/pub/sinclair/csscgc/ the wos.meulie.net mirror]. CSSCGC submissions are ordinarily considered freely distributable, assuming that permission has been granted.<ref>[https://www.worldofspectrum.org/permits/ ARCHIVE - COPYRIGHTS AND DISTRIBUTION PERMISSIONS]</ref> Entries up to and including CSSCGC 2014 are also organised and catalogued at Unsatisfactory Software's 'Crap Game Finder' website.<ref name="unsat" /> However, technically the copyright status of submissions can vary. For example the 2006 competition rules stated that all games are copyright their respective authors <ref name="cgc2006about">[https://www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006/about.html About The Competition]</ref> whereas the 2008 and 2009 rules simply stated that all authors agree to free distribution of their submissions.<ref>[http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008/#rules CSSCGC 2008 Rules]</ref><ref>[https://zxnet.co.uk/spectrum/cgc/rules.html the CSSCGC rules]</ref> In at least one case, an author has withdrawn a submission and rescinded distribution permission on it.<ref>https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/2737cd792f80b66c</ref>


==Table of competitions==
==Table of competitions==
The following table is necessarily incomplete since full ranking of all submissions has only been carried out in the later competitions.<ref>http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/df73ad03ee99ab4c</ref> Also, in 1997 no ranking was applied at all, as the emphasis was in producing a crap game compilation, rather than a competitive event.<ref>ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/CSSCrapGamesCompetition1997.zip See the file "MANUAL.TXT" inside the archive.</ref> Some of the earlier websites' original links are now dead and therefore omitted from the table. Others are now only present in archival form, for example on World of Spectrum or the [[wikipedia:Wayback Machine|Wayback Machine]].  
The following table is necessarily incomplete since full ranking of all submissions has only been carried out in the later competitions.<ref>https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/df73ad03ee99ab4c</ref> Also, in 1997 no ranking was applied at all, as the emphasis was in producing a crap game compilation, rather than a competitive event.<ref>https://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/CSSCrapGamesCompetition1997.zip See the file "MANUAL.TXT" inside the archive.</ref> Some of the earlier websites' original links are now dead and therefore omitted from the table. Others are now only present in archival form, for example on World of Spectrum or the [[wikipedia:Wayback Machine|Wayback Machine]].  
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-bgcolor=#FFF0BCF  
|-bgcolor=#FFF0BCF  
Line 42: Line 43:
|1997
|1997
|Blood
|Blood
|http://replay.web.archive.org/20040909211941/http://uk.geocities.com/leetonks/Speccy/crap.html
|https://web.archive.org/20040909211941/http://uk.geocities.com/leetonks/Speccy/crap.html
|51
|51
| -
| -
Line 51: Line 52:
|1998
|1998
|Barry Salter
|Barry Salter
|http://replay.web.archive.org/19991008144647/http://www.salterg.demon.co.uk/
|https://web.archive.org/19991008144647/http://www.salterg.demon.co.uk/
(only top-level link to competition page exists - the csscgc page itself was not archived)
(only top-level link to competition page exists - the csscgc page itself was not archived)
|54  
|54  
Line 61: Line 62:
|1999
|1999
|Alistair Nelson & Graham Goring
|Alistair Nelson & Graham Goring
|http://replay.web.archive.org/20020606152104/http://www.zx.ru/www.nelsona.freeserve.co.uk/netscape/csscgc/
|https://web.archive.org/20020606152104/http://www.zx.ru/www.nelsona.freeserve.co.uk/netscape/csscgc/
|41  
|41  
|Sheepdog
|Sheepdog
Line 70: Line 71:
|2000
|2000
|Graham Goring
|Graham Goring
|http://replay.web.archive.org/20080611154314/http://www.duketastrophy.demon.co.uk/csscgc2k/
|https://web.archive.org/20080611154314/http://www.duketastrophy.demon.co.uk/csscgc2k/
|53
|53
|Erotic Pinball
|Erotic Pinball
Line 79: Line 80:
|2001
|2001
|Adam D. Moss
|Adam D. Moss
|http://icculus.org/~aspirin/csscgc2001/
|https://icculus.org/~aspirin/csscgc2001/
|37
|37
|Fire Electric Pen
|Fire Electric Pen
Line 88: Line 89:
|2002
|2002
|Paul Equinox Collins
|Paul Equinox Collins
|http://equ.in/ox/spectrum/csscgc/2002/
|https://web.archive.org/web/20130922175105/http://equ.in/ox/spectrum/csscgc/2002/
|21
|21
|Millionaire
|Millionaire
Line 97: Line 98:
|2003
|2003
|Dave the Lurker
|Dave the Lurker
|http://replay.web.archive.org/20080704190826/http://8bitorbust.info/cgc/
|https://web.archive.org/20080704190826/http://8bitorbust.info/cgc/
|75
|75
|Crap Invaders
|Crap Invaders
Line 106: Line 107:
|2004
|2004
|Jim Langmead
|Jim Langmead
|http://www.worldofspectrum.org/speccyspoilers/cgc2004/index.html
|https://www.worldofspectrum.net/speccyspoilers/cgc2004/index.html
|69
|69
|Falling
|Falling
Line 115: Line 116:
|2005
|2005
|Starglider/deKay
|Starglider/deKay
|http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/speccy/csscgc/csscgc-2005/
|https://lofi-gaming.org.uk/speccy/csscgc/csscgc-2005/
|45
|45
|George Best Deathbed Simulator, The
|George Best Deathbed Simulator, The
Line 124: Line 125:
|2006
|2006
|Matt Rudge
|Matt Rudge
|http://www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006/
|https://www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006/
|37
|37
|Celebrity Arses
|Celebrity Arses
Line 133: Line 134:
|2007
|2007
|Chris Young & Phillip Lake
|Chris Young & Phillip Lake
|http://www.unsatisfactorysoftware.co.uk/index.php?pg=cgc2007
|https://www.unsatisfactorysoftware.co.uk/index.php?pg=cgc2007
|41
|41
|Dobsonic Defendor (Gold Edition)
|Dobsonic Defendor (Gold Edition)
Line 142: Line 143:
|2008
|2008
|Digital Prawn
|Digital Prawn
|http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008/
|https://web.archive.org/web/20161226070012/http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008/
|123
|123
|The Ultimate First Communion Simulator
|The Ultimate First Communion Simulator
Line 151: Line 152:
|2009
|2009
|Guesser
|Guesser
|http://zxnet.co.uk/spectrum/cgc/
|https://zxnet.co.uk/spectrum/cgc/
|37
|37
|Whack-A-Nun  
|Whack-A-Nun  
Line 160: Line 161:
|2010
|2010
|BloodBaz
|BloodBaz
|http://csscgc2010.zxlife.net
|https://csscgc2010.zxlife.net
|42
|42
|Complete Useless Machine Simulator  
|Complete Useless Machine Simulator  
Line 178: Line 179:
|2012
|2012
|Arda
|Arda
|http://cgc.zx.gen.tr/
|https://zx.gen.tr/cgc/
| 26
| 26
|Mathman
|Mathman
Line 187: Line 188:
|2013
|2013
|R-Tape
|R-Tape
|http://csscgc2013.blogspot.co.uk/
|https://csscgc2013.blogspot.com/
|102
|102
|Joystick Hero
|Joystick Hero
Line 205: Line 206:
|2015
|2015
|leespoons
|leespoons
|http://www.sqij.co.uk/csscgc2015
|https://web.archive.org/web/20161129080859/http://www.sqij.co.uk/csscgc2015/
| 81
| 81
|Honey I Shrank The Screen
|Simon Ferré
|Sex On First Date
|Sex On First Date
|Gabriele Amore
|Gabriele Amore
|Honey I Shrank The Screen
|Simon Ferré
|-bgcolor=#FFF69F  
|-bgcolor=#FFF69F  
|2016
|2016
|Gabriele Amore and Simon Ferré
|Gabriele Amore and Simon Ferré
|https://sites.google.com/site/csscgc2016/
|https://web.archive.org/web/20201028051302/https://sites.google.com/site/csscgc2016/
|30
|Supermassive Black Hole Simulator
|Herman S.P.N. Sausagy-Chippleton
|Thunderturds
|death squad
|-bgcolor=#FFF69F
|2017
|Garry Wishart (GReW)
|https://web.archive.org/web/20190603012913/https://csscgc2017.000webhostapp.com/
|23
|?
|?
|?
|?
|-bgcolor=#FFF69F
|2018
|Shaun Bebbington
|https://cgc.source.run/ (dead link)
|26
|Thermal Ski
|Chris Young
|GO RACE!
|Simon Pitter
|-bgcolor=#FFF69F
|2020
|John Connolly (PROSM)
|https://www.connosoft.com/csscgc2020/
|43
|Mental Rally
|Kerl
|Corona Capers
|Jim Waterman
|-bgcolor=#FFF69F
|2021
|Jim Waterman
|https://www.rickdangerous.co.uk/csscgc2021/index.html
|?
|?
|?
|?
Line 238: Line 275:


==External links==
==External links==
*[ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/ Archived zip files of past competition submissions]
*[https://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/ Archived zip files of past competition submissions]
*[http://www.unsatisfactorysoftware.co.uk/csscgc/csscgc.cgi CSSCGC Crap Game Finder]
*[https://www.yoursinclair.co.uk/csscgc/csscgc.cgi CSSCGC Crap Game Finder]
*[http://www.yoursinclair.co.uk/wiki/Main/CrapGame Complete guide to writing a crap game]
*[https://www.yoursinclair.co.uk/wiki/Main/CrapGame Complete guide to writing a crap game]


== Article license information ==
== Article license information ==


This article uses material from the 18:51, 3 June 2015‎ version of the "[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comp.sys.sinclair_Crap_Games_Competition&oldid=665361501 comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition]" article on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/ English-language Wikipedia] and is released under the [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License]. Previous contributors are listed on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comp.sys.sinclair_Crap_Games_Competition&action=history original article history page].
This article uses material from the 18:51, 3 June 2015‎ version of the "[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comp.sys.sinclair_Crap_Games_Competition&oldid=665361501 comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition]" article on the [[:wikipedia:|English-language Wikipedia]] and is released under the [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License]. Previous contributors are listed on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comp.sys.sinclair_Crap_Games_Competition&action=history original article history page].
 
 


[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Culture]]

Latest revision as of 19:33, 26 May 2021

The comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition (also known simply as the CSSCGC) is an annual competition for crap computer game development.[1] It is specifically targeted at the Sinclair Research range of 8-bit computers including clones, derivatives and emulators of those systems.[2]

History

The competition was originated by posters to the comp.sys.sinclair newsgroup and was inspired by the Cascade Cassette 50 compilation,[1][3] an early example of shovelware, as well as Rich Pelley's Crap Game Corner from Your Sinclair Magazine.[4] It started off in 1996[5][6] merely as an idea to "outdo" the original Cassette 50 tape by producing a compilation of newsgroup members' own efforts.[7] During subsequent years, it evolved into the present-day form of competition. As of 2011, the event has taken place every year since 1996 and by the end of 2010 a total of 785 entries had been submitted.[5][8] To date, the competition has remained an informal hobbyist, community-driven event. Although it lacks any formal organisation or centralised controlling body, it remains an unofficial feature of the retrogaming community to which other games are sometimes compared.[9][10]

Details

Generally, the aim of the competition and criteria for entry and ranking have been loosely defined.[11] The focus has tended to be on low-quality games which reproduce the look, feel and unplayability of those found on the original Cascade Cassette 50 tape.[11] Also, games which parody, satirise or even extend those of the original Cassette 50 tape have been submitted. In later years the scope had broadened considerably with many newer titles bearing little resemblance to those on the Cassette 50 tape. Some accepted titles have consisted of technical tricks, joke programs or applications rather than games.[12] Authors have also submitted deliberately good programs to the competition.[13] A significant proportion of submissions have the word "simulator" in the title, a reference to Codemasters games that often had "simulator" in the title and often alluding to simulating something either completely mundane or conversely something well beyond the realistic limits of an 8-bit system.[12]

Since its inception, the competition had originally been dominated by UK-based entrants and judges, although in 2008 for example, the competition gained considerable international participation, with games being submitted from several countries including most notably Spain,[14] Argentina, Italy & Russia. Of particular note were the submissions of games in the Spanish and Russian languages and an eventual competition victory by a Spanish development team.[15]

Submissions are very often written in interpreted Sinclair BASIC, suitable because of its slowness and limited audiovisual features.[1] However, submitted titles have also been developed in Z80 machine code, compiled BASIC, Small-C (using Z88DK) and FORTH amongst others.[12]

The vast majority of the games submitted are for the ZX Spectrum platform, which was the most successful and popular Sinclair computer.[16] However, games for the ZX80, ZX81[17] & Jupiter Ace (a non-Sinclair "derivative" computer) as well as several other related computer models have also been submitted to the competition.[12] The exact list of permitted hardware platforms as well as the scope of allowed software is at the complete discretion of the incumbent judge, with variations in the rules commonplace from one year to the next.

In theory, the competition is organised, hosted and judged by a different individual each year, although some organisers have hosted and judged it on more than one occasion.[8][18] The host and judge are often the same person. However, as in the case of the 2005 competition, the judge can be a different person than the host. Some confusion seems to exist regarding the terms loser and winner. The winner should be considered the author who produces the worst game, and the loser the one who produces the best game. Typically, the loser of the competition is asked to be the host and/or judge of the following year's competition, whilst the winner may receive a low-value prize, or perhaps nothing at all apart from the recognition of having won. Another informal tradition is that the closing date of the competition may be deliberately set further back by the host whilst the competition itself is running,[19] often adding to the confusion and disorganisation that has been a hallmark of the event. However, as the rules vary according to the judge of the day, these practices are not always upheld. Over the years, the competition has generally maintained a whimsical and humorous approach to retro game development and judging.

Availability of submissions

Zipfiles containing previous competition submissions are available for download at the Crap Game Finder archives. Previously, all competition entries were archived at the World of Spectrum FTP site. Although since the discontinuation of that FTP server, entries up to the year 2012 also remain available via the World of Spectrum website and the wos.meulie.net mirror. CSSCGC submissions are ordinarily considered freely distributable, assuming that permission has been granted.[20] Entries up to and including CSSCGC 2014 are also organised and catalogued at Unsatisfactory Software's 'Crap Game Finder' website.[8] However, technically the copyright status of submissions can vary. For example the 2006 competition rules stated that all games are copyright their respective authors [4] whereas the 2008 and 2009 rules simply stated that all authors agree to free distribution of their submissions.[21][22] In at least one case, an author has withdrawn a submission and rescinded distribution permission on it.[23]

Table of competitions

The following table is necessarily incomplete since full ranking of all submissions has only been carried out in the later competitions.[24] Also, in 1997 no ranking was applied at all, as the emphasis was in producing a crap game compilation, rather than a competitive event.[25] Some of the earlier websites' original links are now dead and therefore omitted from the table. Others are now only present in archival form, for example on World of Spectrum or the Wayback Machine.

Year Judge/Organiser[8] Website Number of entries[8] Winning Title Winning Author Losing Title Losing Author
1996 Blood (The 1997 page immediately below covers both the 1996 and 1997 archives) 60 Anthea Turner's National Lottery Simulator Alan Moore - -
1997 Blood https://web.archive.org/20040909211941/http://uk.geocities.com/leetonks/Speccy/crap.html 51 - - - -
1998 Barry Salter https://web.archive.org/19991008144647/http://www.salterg.demon.co.uk/

(only top-level link to competition page exists - the csscgc page itself was not archived)

54 ZX Spectrum Emulator Derek Jolly - -
1999 Alistair Nelson & Graham Goring https://web.archive.org/20020606152104/http://www.zx.ru/www.nelsona.freeserve.co.uk/netscape/csscgc/ 41 Sheepdog Ian Collier - -
2000 Graham Goring https://web.archive.org/20080611154314/http://www.duketastrophy.demon.co.uk/csscgc2k/ 53 Erotic Pinball Chris Young - -
2001 Adam D. Moss https://icculus.org/~aspirin/csscgc2001/ 37 Fire Electric Pen Joe Mackay - -
2002 Paul Equinox Collins https://web.archive.org/web/20130922175105/http://equ.in/ox/spectrum/csscgc/2002/ 21 Millionaire Chris Young - -
2003 Dave the Lurker https://web.archive.org/20080704190826/http://8bitorbust.info/cgc/ 75 Crap Invaders Woody - -
2004 Jim Langmead https://www.worldofspectrum.net/speccyspoilers/cgc2004/index.html 69 Falling Paul Equinox Collins - -
2005 Starglider/deKay https://lofi-gaming.org.uk/speccy/csscgc/csscgc-2005/ 45 George Best Deathbed Simulator, The Alex Taylor - -
2006 Matt Rudge https://www.mattrudge.net/cgc2006/ 37 Celebrity Arses Crapman Advanced Big Brother Head of Security Simulator Chris Young
2007 Chris Young & Phillip Lake https://www.unsatisfactorysoftware.co.uk/index.php?pg=cgc2007 41 Dobsonic Defendor (Gold Edition) David Mackenzie The Quest for the Golden Egg Digital Prawn
2008 Digital Prawn https://web.archive.org/web/20161226070012/http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008/ 123 The Ultimate First Communion Simulator The Mojon Twins Lapland Theme Park Manager Cruddy Software
2009 Guesser https://zxnet.co.uk/spectrum/cgc/ 37 Whack-A-Nun Ben Rapier Knot in 2D (Machine Code Edition) BloodBaz
2010 BloodBaz https://csscgc2010.zxlife.net 42 Complete Useless Machine Simulator Dr. Beep Homeless Horace Mulder
2011 The Mojon Twins http://www.mojontwins.com/csscgc2011/ 44 Random Walk Richard May Drawlander Arda
2012 Arda https://zx.gen.tr/cgc/ 26 Mathman R-Tape Ninety Nine Paul "Equinox" Collins
2013 R-Tape https://csscgc2013.blogspot.com/ 102 Joystick Hero pgyuri Super UDG Fighterz 2 Turbo MykeP
2014 MykeP http://www.mykeweb.co.uk/csscgc2014/ 57 Shadow of the Beef Paul 'Eq.' Collins Advanced London Marathon Simulator Challenge leespoons
2015 leespoons https://web.archive.org/web/20161129080859/http://www.sqij.co.uk/csscgc2015/ 81 Honey I Shrank The Screen Simon Ferré Sex On First Date Gabriele Amore
2016 Gabriele Amore and Simon Ferré https://web.archive.org/web/20201028051302/https://sites.google.com/site/csscgc2016/ 30 Supermassive Black Hole Simulator Herman S.P.N. Sausagy-Chippleton Thunderturds death squad
2017 Garry Wishart (GReW) https://web.archive.org/web/20190603012913/https://csscgc2017.000webhostapp.com/ 23 ? ? ? ?
2018 Shaun Bebbington https://cgc.source.run/ (dead link) 26 Thermal Ski Chris Young GO RACE! Simon Pitter
2020 John Connolly (PROSM) https://www.connosoft.com/csscgc2020/ 43 Mental Rally Kerl Corona Capers Jim Waterman
2021 Jim Waterman https://www.rickdangerous.co.uk/csscgc2021/index.html ? ? ? ? ?

Example submission screenshots

The Quest for the Golden Egg (2007), ZX81
Space Whale (2009), ZX Spectrum
Commode Nybbler Part Deux (2009), ZX Spectrum
Smiler in Arrowe Land[26] (2010), ZX Spectrum
Turbo Rubber Ducky Shootout (2010), ZX Spectrum
MEMPTR Snake (2011), ZX Spectrum

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 comp.sys.sinclair Folklore FAQ
  2. Everything you never wanted to know about the CSSCGC
  3. "CSSCGC2002 result; CSSCGC2003 kicks off; CC50 is 20 years old" - ZX Format issue 4, pages 18–19
  4. 4.0 4.1 About The Competition
  5. 5.0 5.1 Crap Games Competition
  6. The ZX Spectrum on your PC
  7. https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/60835d47b288d4e3
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Crap Game Finder
  9. "Hall of Shame: Chase HQ" - Retro Gamer, issue 5, page 16
  10. "Interface - Alex Xor о положеннии дел игровой индустрии на ZX Spectrum." - Adventurer, issue 15
  11. 11.0 11.1 comp.sys.sinclair crap games competition
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 CSSCGC 2008 Results
  13. "The King of Crap" - ZX Format, issue 1, page 8
  14. "El peor jeugo del mundo tiene premio" - Fanzine Bytemaniacos
  15. The Ultimate First Communion Simmulator
  16. ZX Spectrum
  17. "CSSCGC 2003 Results" - ZX Format, issue 7, page 16
  18. https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/e4d22e85a4f2dede?hl=en
  19. The CSS Crap Games Competition
  20. ARCHIVE - COPYRIGHTS AND DISTRIBUTION PERMISSIONS
  21. CSSCGC 2008 Rules
  22. the CSSCGC rules
  23. https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/2737cd792f80b66c
  24. https://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/msg/df73ad03ee99ab4c
  25. https://www.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/csscgc/CSSCrapGamesCompetition1997.zip See the file "MANUAL.TXT" inside the archive.
  26. "Hello Smiler" - Micro Mart, issue 1096, pages 102–103

External links

Article license information

This article uses material from the 18:51, 3 June 2015‎ version of the "comp.sys.sinclair Crap Games Competition" article on the English-language Wikipedia and is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. Previous contributors are listed on the original article history page.