From the team behind game creation middle-ware FPS Creator allowing gamers to create their own first person shooter games with no coding required, as well as the development suites DarkBASIC and DarkGD, and more, comes the Games for Netbooks contest sponsored by Intel. In this contest owners of DarkBASIC Professional and.or DarkGDK will have the opportunity to submit games specifically designed for the Intel Atom processor family with the 'Dark' tool-set for cash winnings, prizes, and recognition. Find out the guidelines to this contest, full list of prizes, and how to enter after the break.

You can enter this contest from now up until the deadline on October 3rd, 2010 at 12PM (GMT) and winners will be chosen by October 15th, 2010 at 12PM (GMT). The first place prize winner for Best All Around Netbook game will get an "all expenses" paid vacation up to $5,000 (US Dollars) while the top slot for Best Graphics, Best Game Play, and Standout Game Element categories will receive $1,000 (US Dollars), second place for these categories will get you an Intel Atom-based netbook. Entries must be submitted by creators over the age of 18 or have parental consent to enter the contest and abide by the contest's rules which include 1024x600 resolution, source code available, and 250MB submissions or less (when zipped) with no install required.

Games will be judged on a number of criteria setting a standard across the line for promotion of good netbook game design in the competition. First off, games must be fun, have a mode that is not tied to a timer (called relax modes), contain clean and optimized code, make use of social integration as well as the simplified controls of a netbook, and of course use the location-aware functions of a netbook in creative ways. Beyond this, games should also be relate-able to a fairly broad user-base.

So there you have it, people around the world are experiencing a simple way to start making games for netbooks today with DarkBASIC Pro and DarkGDK and you can too in addition to possibly becoming a winner in the Games for Netbooks challenge. Check out how to enter the contest here and be on the lookout for the entries set to receive exposure in the Intel Atom Developer Program as well as The Game Creators community.