Ectocomp 2021

Competitions
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Ohoho!

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Do you realise there’s a typo in the url for the Spanish comp? It looks like the ñ got wiped out, so ‘español’ became ‘espaol’. Probably too late to do anything about it now that it’s public.

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Yeah, it is a limitation of web URLs, special characters don’t fit in, so it misses de Ñ.

I will see what I can do.

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Anyway. YEAH! ECTOCOMP IS HERE!!!

The website is in alpha mode, so please, report anything you see. Do you want new ideas brought to the comp? Just say so! We are on time!

Also, as in the past year, we do not have a “thematic” intro or banner or image. I’m considering using an animated GIF like past year one, but I suppose I misjudged the number of nice gifs in horror films, so, we’ll see. What I try to say is: ECTOCOMP is powered by the community, so feel free to provide a banner o thematic intro text if you feel so.

This year I dropped the selection of a sub-theme. On analysis of past entries, there already was not a disproportionate amount of “Halloween” games, so I think we are already varied in the sense that most people just send their spooky games without mostly fitting any festivity. So it is ok, and now we have a prompt list, just for the people who need it. (again, feel free to provide prompts to grow the list).

Happy ectocomp
 and, keep reporting bugs!

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Here’s a recommendation for a header loop.

I have cut out a 10-second ‘Frankenstein’ loop (download here) but you will need to convert it to a GIF.

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it’s nice, but it is not in the public domain, or CC. We can’t use it.

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For some inspiration and entertainment, here’s a list of AI-generated Halloween prompts I stumbled upon:

  1. Howling canine ghosts scale the cathedral town pillars
  2. leaves shaped like pumpkin smiles litter the sidewalks
  3. spiderwebs grow luscious on wet pumpkin grins
  4. ‘thank you’ trees lean out of residences
  5. black insects settle leaves
  6. mouth mouth mouth mouth mouth mouth
  7. snaking cobwebs mass on stalks
  8. red eyeballs hit backlit branches
  9. the wet forest steps on soft squirrel skins
  10. murmurous forest insects smell caramel apples
  11. haunting trees grow cuter on lighter dirt
  12. planet-sized moon speaks ‘hello’
    Thanks for the original drawings, which are utterly delightful.
  13. the night sky kisses blood oranges lined with white
  14. headless animals shiver in their sleep
  15. moustaches creep creepily
  16. slouching gargoyles lay spooky stones
  17. something is sitting in the center of the spectre tapestries
  18. the unseen graveyard stretches for miles
  19. deep-skulled jack-o’-lanterns smell the warmth of my nose
  20. this town is filled with orange dust
  21. mist-sheep chew on tombstones
  22. a scarecrow cuts a pumpkin with a sharp scythe from a wooden block
  23. the graveworm snatches out the eyes of strangers who come by
  24. mist lamps glow with circling green and orange and green and orange and green and orange and green and orange and green and orange and green and orange and green and orange

  25. monsters crawl through alien fur
  26. spooky house skulls peeking out of the dreamlike brambles
  27. gangly moonlit grave rabbits lurk outside the windows
  28. murder rats roam the streets below the buried Earth
  29. a shrub plays the banjo from the shadows
  30. pumpkins melt quietly, quietly
  31. the white skull leans out of the tower of the Palace of the End

Source: Botober 2021: plz draw the AI a sluggalope

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Thanks for running Ectocomp as always! I can’t wait :smiley:

If you want a banner — I’m obviously not a professional images-person and made this for my own amusement, so I won’t be offended if you don’t want to use it, but it’s here as an option anyway! In honour of my fav Halloween movie, Rocky Horror:

ectocomp an 2

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That is just PERFECT!

Thank you so much!

How I must credit you? Maybe you have a profile inside itchio?

Thanks!

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Yay, I’m glad you like it! My name’s Elizabeth Smyth and my itchio profile is untiltheygo, same as here :blush:

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Ok

Here we go. 2 days!!!

Hope the horror done to the song is not too much shameful. But we can always remove it completely.

What do you think?

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WaHoo! Love the banner!

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Haha omg, I love it! Beautifully done :rofl: :heartpulse:

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Question - is EctoComp explicitly supernatural, or are non-supernatural psychological horror pieces okay?

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According to the itch.io page:
*Games should be, y’know, spooky somehow. (Serious, psychological, campy, satire, etc. all included). Also, we have proposed five main themes, go and take a look at them.

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Sorry, does that mean yes, or no? I read the page already, and if I were sure I wouldn’t ask.

This is maybe me being overly literal but “spooky” can be both used in the supernatural sense and in the non-supernatural sense (“the sheep were fine, they just got spooked by the dogs barking”).

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If you’re questioning whether or not your game fits in a Halloween-themed competition then it probably doesn’t.

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Honestly, I would say the opposite. “Spooky” is a pretty big tent. There’s no requirement for supernatural content, as far as I can see. (@Ruber_Eaglenest of course can correct me if I’m wrong about this.)

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You are welcome to do non-supernatural stuff, and no Halloween stuff.

Thanks!

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