We'd like to welcome interested participants to Dr. Dobb's Challenge Deuce, a special game competition brought to you in association with the world-renowned Dr. Dobb's for software developers and Microsoft Visual Studio.

So, you want to take part in Dr. Dobb's Challenge Deuce? Here's what you need to do:

1. Play!
You can play the game right here on the front page, with no download required. Have a go and learn about the Dr. Dobbs world!

2. Create!
And you don't have to download anything to get making your own levels with Dr. Dobb's Challenge Deuce! Simply click "Create" in the game window and you can start building your own levels. Don't feel comfortable jumping in? Well why not familiarize yourself with the methods by reading our beginner tutorials?

3. Community!
Once you've made a few levels, feel free to save them and display them on the site for all to see. Then why not get involved with our community, by talking to other players on our forum?

4. Win?
Once you're uploaded your levels to the site, you are automatically entered into our weekly and monthly competitions to win! The best levels created every week will be given Dr. Dobbs Bobbleheads, and the best level every month is given a $500 prize!

Of course, you may want to get involved even more deeply, by developing your own game using the code base we've provided. To do this --

5. Get Visual Studio
Download the trial version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 -- necessary for developing, compiling and running the game you're going to develop!

6. Get The Game
Download the game's source code!

7. Get The Knowledge
To familiarize yourself with Visual Studio 2008 and the process of modding Dr. Dobb's Challenge Deuce to create your own new game styles, types, and designs, you're going to have to read our more advanced tutorials.

8. Mod The Game
Once you feel ready, begin to create the game you want it to be! Remember, there are $10,000 in prizes on offer, and you can create whatever you want with Dr. Dobb's Challenge Deuce as long as you follow only two rules:

-You begin with the code base we have supplied.
-Visual Studio icons are used in the game as some form of collectible item.

But otherwise, you can go crazy changing the gameplay mechanics, editing the levels, switching out the graphics, or even adding code and art to morph the results into new game genres!

And remember! if you find yourself stuck, or simply want feedback during your development, take part in our forums! There are plenty of opportunities for feedback and knowledge sharing within the community.

9. Submit Your Game
Finally, as soon as you feel ready, submit your finished title into the following categories:

The Dobbs Race-To-The-Finish Challenge ($1,000) - Produce the best modded game (of any kind) in half the length of the competition.
Best Game ($2,000) - Produce the best modded game (of any kind) across the whole challenge.
Best One Button Game ($1,000) - Produce the best game that uses only one button for input.
Best Game Starring Dr. Dobbs And The Defy All Challenges Crew ($1,000) - Produce the best game that still stars the Dr. Dobbs and The Defy All Challenges Crew (though these characters can be redrawn or otherwise used in any way in the title.)
Best Total Conversion ($1,000) - Produce the best game that is completely different from the original Dr. Dobb's Challenge Deuce game -- i.e. uses no design aspects or assets other than the use of Visual Studio icons.

The deadline for Dr. Dobb's Challenge Deuce is June 12th, 2009, and the deadline for Dr. Dobb's Race-To-The-Finish Challenge is April 6th, 2009, so don't miss out on your chance to win one of the 5 different prizes on offer from a prize pool of $10,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I have to know coding in order to compete?
Absolutely not! Simply by uploading your levels to our site you'll be entered into our weekly and monthly best level competitions. You can win Dr. Dobbs Bobbleheads each week and $500 for the best mod of the month!

2. Can I use proprietary or 3rd party libraries?
Third party libraries that are GPL or redistributable are completely acceptable. Please note what you've used on submission of your game.

3. Do we need to submit full source code on submission of our game?
No, but we will require a full executable version of your game on submission.

4. Can teams enter, or is it for solo participants only?
It's fine to work in teams with multiple coders, artists, and even designers and audio creators, as long as one person enters on behalf of everyone.

5. Is the One Button category only for games using one button?
The One Button category is intended for accessible games which use one form of input only. This would be expected to be a single button, but forms of input such as mouse movement are acceptable if not too complex.