Because the Java class file format incurs quite a bit of overhead, creating a complete game in 4K can be quite a challenge.
When first conceived, the "prize" for winning the contest was a bundle of "Duke Dollars", a virtual currency used on Sun Microsystems' Java forums.
While there has been a great deal of debate on why the Java 4K contest is so successful, the consensus from the contestants seems to be that it provides a very appealing challenge: not only do the entrants get the chance to show off how much they know about Java programming, but the 4K size helps "even the odds" compared to other competitions where the use of artists and musicians can easily place an entry far ahead of the others.
After a bit of argument over how feasible a game would be in 4K, a user by the handle of mlk officially organized the contest on August 29, 2002.
Future contests would see a reversal of this as game creators utilized compressed JAR files to reduce the size of their code.
While no winner was officially declared the first year, the 4K Racing game submitted by Robin Chaddock (aka Abuse/AbU5e) was generally agreed upon to have "won".
However, Space Invaders' lack of sound caused it to fall behind the other two entries which were competing hard to pack in the most technology and gameplay.
For graphics, Abuse used precious few high color images which he then applied transparency and rotation to at runtime.
Rather than applying rotation and transparency, he chose to use his larger number of images to produce pre-rendered animations.
In future years, the bytes allocated to sound were reallocated to other functions such as 3D graphics, levels, and bosses.
Year 3 was defined by a major influx of professional Java developers, 3D graphics in the games, and a gradual transition to the JavaGaming.org forums.
While the mirror started as a manually edited HTML page, it eventually grew into a complete content management site with a database back-end.
Besides having extremely original gameplay, it provided exceptional graphics through a pseudo-3D effect that gave perspective to the buildings.
Entries like JM4K and IsOlation Net were either too complex for the judges to launch, or contained networking components that they couldn't test.
Year 4 marked a period of transition toward making gameplay a priority over graphics and technical accomplishment.
The task of administrating the contest and hosting the site was therefore taken over by Arni Arent (appel) and Joakim Johnsson (jojoh).
The games were then thoroughly reviewed by five judges; Arni Arent, Joakim Johnsson, Kevin Glass, Matt Hicks and Chris Melissinos.
Year 7 launched in December 2008 and lasted until February 28, 2009 (extended from an original closing date of January 31).
This year introduced a requirement (later relaxed, but still followed by most games) to use JNLP deployment, and as a result had a mix of applications and applets.
The games were reviewed by five judges: Arni Arent, Chris Melissinos, Matt Hicks, Eli Delventhal, and Mark DeLoura.
Miners4K by Markus Persson Roll4K by Kevin Glass Goomba4K by Woogley Metro4k by Blaine Hodge Roadfourk by Jojoh aichess4k by Ulf Ochsenfahrt Spiderball4k by Måns Olson Pinball 4K by Tom-Robert Bryntesen t4kns by Markus Persson Z4rch by Simon Mini Golf by Tim Foden Pinball 4K by Tom-Robert Bryntesen t4kns by Markus Persson Spiderball4k by Måns Olson war4k by Michael Bliem Left 4k Dead by Markus Persson Bridge4k by Måns Olson Pixeloids4k by Måns Olson Bridge4k by Måns Olson Pixeloids4k by Måns Olson Left 4k Dead by Markus Persson Left 4k Dead by Markus Persson Red Baron 4K by Marcin Kochanowski NiGHTS 4k by Orangy Tang Burning Man by SquashMonster GTA4K by Simon FortressFall4k by soothsayer Burning Man by SquashMonster GTA4K by Simon FortressFall4k by soothsayer 4Kube 3D by Erik Byström Stick Shift 4k by pjt33 Legend of Zelda 4K by zeroone 4Kube 3D by Erik Byström 4Kanabalt by Kevin Glass Legend of Zelda 4K by zeroone The Little Scientist by Marwane Kalam-Alami Kobold Tournament 4k by Damocles Di4klo by StephR Laser Pinball by zeroone Snake on a Plane by Kevin Glass PORT4K by Erik Byström Flywrench4k by Mans Olson Rainbow Road by zeroone Farmer John and the Birds 4k by Grunnt Rainbow Road by zeroone Plants 4K Zombies by teletubo tiny_world by dapy In The Dark 4K by Gef Raid On Java 4K by Felix MyPrecious by ApoGames In The Dark 4K by Gef Sokobond4k by ApoGames MyPrecious by ApoGames