It is with honor and pride that we introduce the jury panel for the MSXdev22 game contest!
The jury will judge all published MSXdev22 entries. We have three different jurors , each one not only judging the overall look-and-feel of the games and the impressions they made on them, but also on their designated expert-category. Categories to score extra points for are Gameplay, Graphics, and Sound, with a maximum of 100 points per game.
Without further delay, this edition’s jurors are:
| Jury Member | Category |
|---|---|
| Micha Mulder (NL) | Gameplay |
| Tadahiro Nitta (JP) | Sound |
| Toni Gálvez (SP) | Graphics |
Each juror scores the game with points and writes a short review which will be published in the results overview document when the show is over. Now, allow us to introduce each jury member to you.
Micha Mulder
Although no stranger to MSX and to MSXdev followers, Micha surprised us all last year during MSXdev21 with his excellent entries Raven and PAC-01 – both arcade smashers that ooze quality. Like many of us, he was introduced to the MSX mania at a young age, somewhere back in the eighties, and quickly embraced it to start programming that Z80.
In the years that followed, Micha worked on several platforms, developing games and mobile apps. During the COVID-19 situation, he regained interest in MSX and found himself staring at the 8-bit tube again, coding his first finished games. Yes indeed, the ones that ended up in MSXdev21.
Micha will be evaluating games on the gameplay mechanics, and he promised to be gentle. Having witnessed the magic that he did last year with both of his offerings, we’re sure the judging of game mechanics is in good hands.
Great having you aboard as this year’s jury for the “Gameplay” department, Micha!
Tadahiro Nitta
When the Yamaha YM2413 soundchip, better known as “MSX-Music” or “FM-PAC”, was introduced to the MSX standard, many game developers took to trying their best to produce the best sounds from this little songbird. Among them, Japanese game studio Microcabin Corporation stood out for exploring the boundaries of all expectations. Famous for pushing the envelope, both literally and figuratively, was their chief composer, mister Tadahiro Nitta.
As a young boy, Tadahiro was mesmerized by the arcade sounds of games like Space Invaders, Galaxian, and Mooncresta. Finally, when Xevious came out, Tadahiro Nitta was 13 years old, video games began to evolve in terms of sound as well as storytelling. Impressed by these progressions, FM and PCM sound sources appeared, and he was shocked by TAITO’s Darius and SEGA’s Space Harrier. He then became absorbed in the world of chiptunes and wanted to create his own.
Thanks to Microcabin – and mister Nitta – MSX users all over the globe were treated to sounds never thought to be possible from the humble combination of a simple FM in tandem with the native PSG. Not to ignore the compositions itself, because they produced lovely melodies that will stick in our minds and hearts forever.
Perhaps needless to say, we are very proud to announce Tadahiro as this year’s jury for the “Sound” department!
Toni Gálvez
As you probably know, from this year on, MSXdev goes all out. A contest that covers such a wide range of graphical possibilities is sure to yield an stupefying variety of screen modes, drawing techniques, as well as the limitations which inherently and unavoidably come with the territory.
With over 25 years of development skills under his belt, Toni Gálvez is one of the most experienced multiplatform pixel artists in the field. Having created graphics for not only MSX, but also the PC, Gameboy Color, GBA, PSP, Amstrad CPC, Colecovision, Nintendo Switch, XBOX One, Dreamcast, C64 and Amiga, his eminence is to be trusted to grant him the insight required to properly judge any kind, form or shape of pixel art which we’re sure will come to pass.
We’d like to welcome Toni as this year’s jury for the “Graphics” department!
We, the MSXdev Team, are extremely proud to have these experts on board. We wish them good luck, as well as a lot of fun, and we trust in their wisdom in taking on the ever difficult task of jury duty.
