Once upon a time there was Flash Game Friday

It was a Flash Game contest held by Mochimedia, and the staff awarded one game a week a $100 prize for being awesome. There were no other rules and no theme. It was simply the staff choosing something they really enjoyed.

Now things changed. The original Flash Game Friday has now become a monthly contest!

Developers will have one month to develop a game based on a specific theme, and the monthly prize is $500.

Winners will be chosen from the eligible games by the Mochi staff.

The first monthly contest is 60 Seconds to Fame.

Rules: Your game must be over/finished and ready for a score submission in 60 seconds or less. It does not matter how good you are in the game, it will still end in 60 seconds or less. The goal in these types of games is to push a user to get better, not so they can last longer, but rather get more points within that same time limit. It’s to spark the “oh, I get it,” or, “Maybe if I tried this…” in the player. Also, it’s to force a developer to stick to their idea without the fear of feature creep, which is often times a key factor in causing your game to not be completed.

Deadline: December 4th, 2009 – 11:59PM PST

Prizes: $400 for the winner, $50 each for two honorable mentions.

If you need some inspiration, on the official page you can find six examples of games built around this theme. You will find all additional rules too.