Did You Know? It Is National Games Development Month!

This June the US celebrates National Games Development Month! Indie Retro News want to inform you on the ins-and-outs of the month ahead and how you can join in the celebrations.

The Humble Weekly Bundle RPG Maker Special
As part of this month, The Humble Bundle are offering a huge "RPG Maker Bundle" for their weekly deal with the usual minimum payment of a single US dollar.

The Bundle is available only for seven more days and the included software has a total value of $370. Remember when choosing how much you pay that the money is divided between The Humble Bundle website owners, the developers of the games and software that is included in the bundle, and, to give your heart that little bit of of warm cuddly feeling, to charity, so try to give generously.

Did You Know?
There is another "National Games Development Month" but that is celebrated in November, to coincide with National Novel Writing Month. This challenge which is a "geeky, gamer-centric spin" on "NaNoWrMo" called "NaGa Demon" encourages people to develop games across tabletop, card, board and - of course - computing. There is no actual prize for completing this other than personal satisfaction.

The Contest
Working with National Games Development Month the creators of RPG Maker - included in the Bundle - are hosting a competition to create a game (not restricted to the RPG genre) with a whopping $10,000 Prize and widespread acclaim for the winner!

The Competition has two categories - RPG, and non-RPG - and has no restriction on genre or software/engine used. The games will be judged on their presentation, gameplay, and of course, fun-factor.

There are eleven prize packages available including eight cash prizes, and every entrant gets $10 off of their bill on any purchase in the RPG Maker Web Store.

The schedule for the competition is

• May 29 - June 30, 2014: Game Development period. Create an awesome gaming experience!
• June 30 11:59PM UTC: Deadline for submissions. Completed games only. No late entries will be accepted!
• July 1-7: People's Choice voting period. Voting closes on July 7 at 11:59PM UTC!
• July: Judging period. Judges will determine a Grand Prize winner, as well as rank the top three entries in the RPG and non-RPG categories based on a scoring rubric.
• Late July: Winners are announced!
• Late July/Early August: We will hold a podcast in which we talk about the contest, the winners, and more!

Will YOU Join In?

So, if you are interested in developing computer games, why not grab yourself a huge bargain in the Humble Bundle Weekly deal and, if you are feeling brave, enter the Competition!

If you are planning on entering, or even just developing games just-for-fun, let us know! We would love for you to tell us about your adventures in Games Development Land.

Have fun!