Now, I’m not exactly an expert in machinima - to date my exploits are limited to dialogue-free B-movies featuring square-headed robots or ninjas. Sometimes both.

Still, I like the sound of Machinima.com’s new competition. They’re opening a new UK portal and celebrating by asking people to create music videos to one of two tracks supplied by Jonathan Coulton - Bacteria or Todd the T1000.

Compo Details:

• Competition end date: 8th August 2008
• Top prize: Alienware Laptop, pre-loaded with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3
• Other prizes: Undisclosed but some runners-up will get prizes, as will a random selection of voters
• How to enter: Get the track, make your video, upload it to Machinima.com. Techinically, it’s only open to UK residents but I’ve been told that if non-resident makes a video and gets a UK-based mate to do the actual submission, they’re fine with that.

Everything you need to know should be available at the competition page. [It appears to be down as I type this, so can't confirm right now]

The launch is also sponsored by Rustlers. Yes, the “nought-to-tasty” microwave burger company with the hideous TV ads. Please, for the love of all that is tasteful, don’t use their marketing strategy as a jumping-off point.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Are you an aspiring casual game designer? YoYoGames are running their second game development competition, offering cash prizes of US$1000, US$500 and US$250 for the top three games.

The competition theme is Ancient Civilisation and the rules are simple and unrestrictive:

• The game must be created with Game Maker, version 6 or later (Pro or Lite).
• The game must comply with the terms and conditions of YoYo Games as indicated on the website.
• The game should be your own original work and you should own the rights to all resources used in the game.
• The game should run through the Instant Play mechanism at the YoYo Games site.
• The game should not change the screen resolution and should run in a window (rather than full screen).
• You can submit a game you created in the past but only if it is not already published on YoYo Games.
• The game must be submitted by an individual member, who will receive the entire prize in the event of a win. Please note this does not exclude team entries. Entrants may accept assistance from a team, but any prizes will go only to the submitting member.
• A member is allowed to submit at most two games in each competition.

So far, only 2 games have been entered and there’s plenty of time left. The competition deadline is April 27th. Their previous competition had over 200 entries, so plan your game carefully. There’s more info at the competition page. Check out the YoYoGames Winter Competition Winners to see what you’ll be up against. You’ll find some great casual games to play.

(One side comment: I am more than a little perturbed that the YoYoGames player cannot be closed using the X button in Windows Vista.)

Popularity: 8% [?]