The organizing committee stated that, concerning the graphics, the ancient characters in the competition version were designed by the authors themselves (and not taken from other games such as crab or fish images).
Based on this, the VietGames 2006 Selection Council concluded after conducting a secret ballot on whether to retain or withdraw the four awards given to the game “Thời Loạn”.
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The organizing committee stated that, regarding graphics, the ancient characters in the competition version were designed by the authors themselves (and not taken from other games like crab or fish images) |
As a result, all four awards remain with “Thời Loạn”, with the award for “Best Vietnamese Online Game” being modified to “Best Incomplete Vietnamese Online Game“. According to the organizing committee, this name change was agreed upon unanimously by the Selection Council, with 11 votes in favor to retain the award. One vote specifically suggested that it be noted as an award for “incomplete games,” which was approved.
The remaining three awards were also retained, receiving majority support. These are the awards for “Most Impressive Game Character Design“, “Impressive Game Sound“, and “Game with Excellent Technology“.
The organizing committee stated that this conclusion was entirely based on the written opinions of the consulting expert group, which includes Mr. Nguyễn Trọng Đường, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Information and Communications; Mr. Hoàng Anh Tú, Information Technology Office, Ministry of Science and Technology; Mr. Đặng Minh Tuấn, Head of System Integration Department, Institute of Automation, leader of Vietkey Group; and lawyer Phạm Thành Long, director of Gia Phạm Law Firm.
Accordingly, the expert group’s opinion was issued after evaluating the game “Thời Loạn” which stated: “The game ‘Thời Loạn’ is a type of online fighting game based on a system of skill development that counters each other, rather than relying on shooting skills like in Quake III. The sound is entirely created by the authors themselves.
Regarding graphics, this game underwent a detailed creative process, having been revised and improved over several stages. In the competition version, no copying of characters from games such as Quake III or World of Warcraft was detected; the differences from Quake III are quite noticeable (as evidenced by image comparisons showing that Quake III’s world is modern sci-fi, while ‘Thời Loạn’s world is ancient).
In terms of technology, the fact that the team mastered the game tools from Quake III is a commendable success, especially considering that Vietnam’s game industry is still in its early stages of development…”.
Overall, the expert group believes that, although it is an incomplete game, compared to other entrants in VietGames 2006, “Thời Loạn” is the best designed and intricately invested game, with the potential to perform well online upon completion. Compared to the current level of game production in Vietnam, “Thời Loạn” represents a significant effort and noteworthy technical creativity.
Regarding the issue of open-source code, on June 4, 2006, the expert group approached and directly evaluated the source code of the competition version of the game “Thời Loạn” and provided feedback, stating that the competition version of “Thời Loạn” is still in the process of being improved and has not been transferred, thus not violating GPL regulations.
The shortcomings of the game “Thời Loạn” identified by the expert group are only two issues: First, although there has been no declaration of open-source code under GPL, the game’s interface still lacks a notice about it being developed under the GPL license, based on the original Quake III Arena application, and the source for users to copy the original version.
Second, when modifying the source code, the team did not fully record the necessary information such as date, time, content changes, and names of individuals who made changes. On this issue, the “Thời Loạn” development team has provided evidence that they have performed this task; however, they did not fully update it in the competition version.
It is known that the authors’ group acknowledged these shortcomings due to a lack of understanding of GPL regulations and affirmed that they would rectify these issues during the product’s improvement process before officially releasing it to the public.
Thus, the fate of the game “Thời Loạn” has ended similarly to the script anticipated by many. This inevitably leads to some “resentment” toward the doubts that have been circulating online about “software piracy” and the unworthiness of “Thời Loạn” to receive awards. However, as the saying goes, “only time will reveal the true horse,” the future of “Thời Loạn” is not yet concluded; the question remains whether this game will deserve to be considered the best by the public once it is “complete.”
From the organizing committee’s perspective, this is clearly a lesson regarding the organization, evaluation, and award-giving process of VietGames 2006. In their disclosure of responsibility to the public, the committee only mentioned that “in the coming years, consideration should be given to establishing specific regulations for open-source products participating in competitions, with more precise definitions for categories such as completed products, incomplete products, and concepts…”.
B.D
