Foreword: I'm fully aware we have the comic and game-a-phone contests right now, so I'm just putting out some feelers to see who'd be interested, because a few people expressed interest in this already.
Well tomorrow is the anniversary of the start of RPG4D, by far my favorite and, in my opinion, the most successful competition we've had on this site. This summer is going to be especially busy for me so I can't do a full-on competition, but I'd like to do something anyway.For those who haven't heard of this, it's basically an excuse to go back to an unfinished game of yours and, well, finish it. For the most part, it's going to be pretty laid back, but I'll impose a few rules here. Consider them guidelines with your best interests in mind.- If you have entered any competitions and had a game that you'd consider unfinished and would like to see finished, you can choose that game.- If you have entered a competition but consider all of your entries finished, or haven't competed at all, then you can turn to another game of yours that you've at least mentioned on 64Digits.- If you've done neither of these but still want to participate, you can start a new game.For those who fall in the second category, I'd like to limit it to games you've brought up here, the reason being that you might already have an audience and it would be in everyone's best interest if you chose one people were already aware of. I won't be too picky about this though.As far as competitions go though, I guess it'd be unfair to refer to this as such, and I don't have any plans for prizes because of this. What I can probably guarantee you, however, is a small group of people to do playthroughs and such.In order to enter, you'll have to post the game you're going to finish, along with a quick demo of it. Due to the stress from completing a game from scratch, I recommend you pick a game that's at least 75% done. If you choose to start a new one, or work on one with little content, you're accepting the difficulty.I will host this, but if anyone can earn publicity for the participants, you may just make this event worth it even without the prizes.TL;DRThe questions I have for you are:- How long should this event run? I'm looking at anywhere between one and three months.- When would be the best time to start? I'm waiting at least two weeks for the other events, and we'll see where it goes from there.- Should we impose a theme or place any limits to get everyone a little more involved with each other? If so, what are your ideas?- Do you know of a way to do prizes fairly, given the fact that everyone's going to be at different progression levels? Or should we scrap the idea altogether?- At the end of the competition, are you willing to do playthroughs of all the games?- Are you capable of networking to the point of distributing the finished products?And most importantly,My ultimate goal is to get all the finished games into a bundle and distribute it somehow. I doubt you'd make any money off of this, but it would get your name out there. Please let me know if anyone feels they're capable of this.This is a low-stress event designed to help motivate you to finish something. Please share your questions and concerns. I'd like to see this happen.CyEdit: Don't just +1 the blog if you like the idea, say something!
My business is coming to an end for a few months, perhaps me and Tubes can finally finish Dang Dangly, Everyman.
Thanks for the comments guys. Here are a few things I've decided based on what you've said.
1. The comp will start sometime during May, but since it's not exactly a competition, you shouldn't feel bad about spending your time on other things first. I like to give people time to think about what they're going to do, but at the same time I don't want to wait too long because the excitement dies down. It will probably start next weekend instead of this one, but I'd like to hear peoples' school schedules too. I know a handful of people just had finals week last week.2. As suggested by eagly, you will have to share progress on your game every weekend. People who miss this three times in a row will be appropriately and humorously punished. What I'll probably do is create a blog asking for progress, so you can all post there instead of trying to fit fifty blogs on the activity feed.3. The prizes, if we can organize it, will be getting your game into a 64Digits bundle. Anyone who completes their game will also receive a badge. We'll see where it goes from there.4. If you like someone else's idea and are making good progress yourself, or you don't want to enter but still want to help, you can offer assistance to others. Members who support each other will receive a badge or some other form of recognition for going out of their way to help others.Still waiting on more feedback before I finalize anything. Thanks for what you've given.I was actually planning to finish two projects originally started as 64comp entries this summer anyway. Sign me urp.
- How long should this event run? I'm looking at anywhere between one and three months.The longer the better D: (three months would be nice)- When would be the best time to start? I'm waiting at least two weeks for the other events, and we'll see where it goes from there.I have finals starting the week after next week and a major programming project due on the 15th, so after then maybe?…- Should we impose a theme or place any limits to get everyone a little more involved with each other? If so, what are your ideas?no pls- Do you know of a way to do prizes fairly, given the fact that everyone's going to be at different progression levels? Or should we scrap the idea altogether?BADGERS, I SAY. BADGERS. - At the end of the competition, are you willing to do playthroughs of all the games?I can do my usual textfile-playlog-dump thing I guess?maybe I'll even remember to post it this time- Are you capable of networking to the point of distributing the finished products?no i am not Toast if that's what you're askingThe reason jams "work" is because they motivate users to (try to) complete something under time constraints.
Thus, I think three months is way too long, as it will be rather de-motivating. I'd vote for one month.And if this is meant to be a competition, users should show off what they're starting with, state what they're planning to add (even if they fail to complete the game), and then show off the final results - the kind of progress they made in comparison to the original version should be an important judging factor, rather than just the end result as a standalone game.I think stating what you're starting off with and outlining the direction you'll be taking it in is a good idea. If it was to be "competitionised" then this could be used as a part of the judging to show which games have accurately stuck to their end product. Even if someone is starting from scratch with nothing, it'd be interesting to see people's thoughts and design processes and how accurately they can stick to them as they develop.
I like this.
I haven't finished a game in forever… I have so many projects that I never finished. I was just looking thru some of my old stuff. I hardly ever finish anything unless it has to do with education or it's for my son. Maybe this will motivate me to be more productive.Also, I'm at a loss for what to call this comp.