2016 "FINISH YOUR DAMN GAME" Contest
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- KF Harlock
- Slime Knight
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2016 "FINISH YOUR DAMN GAME" Contest
THE PREMISE: I'm running a contest, the goal of which is to inspire some of us to finish projects we might have had lying around, or to up and get to work on something we've had in mind.
THE RULES: Quite simple: release a finished game. I don't care if you've started it already or not. In fact, it may be preferable if you HAVE started it already. But to qualify for the contest, it has to be a complete, polished experience. No demos! Winners will be determined by democratic vote! The rules of voting will be determined later, once interest in the contest is established!
THE DEADLINE: End of the year. That is to say, turn in a completed game by the end of the day, Eastern Standard Time, on December 31, 2016. Kick off the new year with a completed project under your belt, and all the good feelings that provides!
THE PRIZES: I'm thinking $20, $10, and $5 Amazon or Steam gift cards/codes for right now, but am open to suggestions for other rewards, and will gladly accept it if others want to contribute prizes as well. I reserve the right to INCREASE these prize amounts as the entries warrant, but will not DECREASE them.
I plan to enter myself, finishing up something I've been working on the last few years. Can I get a show of hands from anyone who would be interested in participating?
THE RULES: Quite simple: release a finished game. I don't care if you've started it already or not. In fact, it may be preferable if you HAVE started it already. But to qualify for the contest, it has to be a complete, polished experience. No demos! Winners will be determined by democratic vote! The rules of voting will be determined later, once interest in the contest is established!
THE DEADLINE: End of the year. That is to say, turn in a completed game by the end of the day, Eastern Standard Time, on December 31, 2016. Kick off the new year with a completed project under your belt, and all the good feelings that provides!
THE PRIZES: I'm thinking $20, $10, and $5 Amazon or Steam gift cards/codes for right now, but am open to suggestions for other rewards, and will gladly accept it if others want to contribute prizes as well. I reserve the right to INCREASE these prize amounts as the entries warrant, but will not DECREASE them.
I plan to enter myself, finishing up something I've been working on the last few years. Can I get a show of hands from anyone who would be interested in participating?
Last edited by KF Harlock on Sun Oct 23, 2016 7:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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- Bob the Hamster
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- KF Harlock
- Slime Knight
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Nice, good to hear that there's interest! Let's consider this contest OFFICIAL, then. We'll kick off NOVEMBER 1ST (although, as per the rules of the contest, you're free to start whenever).
So, let's have a quick conversation though. One of the reasons I want to run this contest, besides seeing some finished games, is to foster more conversation, interaction, and participation among the community. I'd love to see the forums getting double-digit posts a day again, most of them about game-making.
Therefore, I'm trying to think of ways that I can incentivize this kind of participation. One idea I had was that we'd have a mega-thread or something where we'd all post progress updates on our projects on a regular basis and give each other feedback? I want to encourage real interaction, so I was thinking of ways to do it, such as maybe giving out a 2x prize multiplier if someone wins *and* has x number of regular progress updates in the thread? On the other hand, I don't want it to become something like a school assignment where people are checking in but don't really seem engaged.
So, what do you guys think? Is that a good way to do it? Would it incentivize you to make this whole thing a more involved and interactive process? Can any of you think of better ways to achieve the same goal? I'm open to all ideas. Let's try and hammer this out and get some stable rules in place by Nov 1.
So, let's have a quick conversation though. One of the reasons I want to run this contest, besides seeing some finished games, is to foster more conversation, interaction, and participation among the community. I'd love to see the forums getting double-digit posts a day again, most of them about game-making.
Therefore, I'm trying to think of ways that I can incentivize this kind of participation. One idea I had was that we'd have a mega-thread or something where we'd all post progress updates on our projects on a regular basis and give each other feedback? I want to encourage real interaction, so I was thinking of ways to do it, such as maybe giving out a 2x prize multiplier if someone wins *and* has x number of regular progress updates in the thread? On the other hand, I don't want it to become something like a school assignment where people are checking in but don't really seem engaged.
So, what do you guys think? Is that a good way to do it? Would it incentivize you to make this whole thing a more involved and interactive process? Can any of you think of better ways to achieve the same goal? I'm open to all ideas. Let's try and hammer this out and get some stable rules in place by Nov 1.
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Thank goodness! This is only the 5th contest this year - the least enthusiastic year since 2013!
I would probably try to enter a game, if not for all those other projects and tasks I should be working on instead... and the fact that I'd actually rather work on demos than ever declare anything finished :X
Instead, I'm going to try to finish some damn engine features; I've certainly got a lot of half-finished ones on the backburner! Maybe we can even release a new OHR version this year? We really ought to do that more often.
Dev log entries are great fun to read, especially during a contest. Creating a dedicated thread and encouraging participation is definitely a good idea. Bonus points does seem reasonable to compensate for the effort spent on them instead of the game. Or you could even ask people to vote on the game with the most interesting update posts.
I would probably try to enter a game, if not for all those other projects and tasks I should be working on instead... and the fact that I'd actually rather work on demos than ever declare anything finished :X
Instead, I'm going to try to finish some damn engine features; I've certainly got a lot of half-finished ones on the backburner! Maybe we can even release a new OHR version this year? We really ought to do that more often.
Dev log entries are great fun to read, especially during a contest. Creating a dedicated thread and encouraging participation is definitely a good idea. Bonus points does seem reasonable to compensate for the effort spent on them instead of the game. Or you could even ask people to vote on the game with the most interesting update posts.
- KF Harlock
- Slime Knight
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Alright, those responses were helpful. So I think what we'll do is this:
- Have a megathread in which we post updates, interact with each other, ask for help.
- During the voting, there can be categories for "best updates" and "most helpful" maybe, and each of those will have their own associated prizes (TBD).
Sound good to everyone? I notice some of you have your own separate dev diaries going on, and that's great as well. Maybe I can just link to your diaries in the top of the mega-thread? Any preferences on how this is handled?
I'm getting pretty excited about this contest. I think it's going to produce some good works and good discussion!
- Have a megathread in which we post updates, interact with each other, ask for help.
- During the voting, there can be categories for "best updates" and "most helpful" maybe, and each of those will have their own associated prizes (TBD).
Sound good to everyone? I notice some of you have your own separate dev diaries going on, and that's great as well. Maybe I can just link to your diaries in the top of the mega-thread? Any preferences on how this is handled?
I'm getting pretty excited about this contest. I think it's going to produce some good works and good discussion!
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- KF Harlock
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No, not intentional. I said Nov 1st purely because I didn't want to interfere with Giz's contest. If people would prefer to be inclusive of the Halloween games, I'm fine with that; like I said, I want input on the rules so we can hammer out a truly appealing format by the 1st.
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- Pepsi Ranger
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I like the idea of linking dev threads to the MEGA THREAD, but I can guarantee that I won't have anything ready for release (in complete form) by the end of this year. So, would it be possible to keep the MEGA THREAD open year round, and then kick off the contest annually near the end of each year so that people are still motivated to work on their games, even if they know they won't finish in time for the current year's deadline? I'd like to submit my links to my open dev threads with the idea that I will finish these games eventually, as I do continue to work on something pretty regularly these days. I just know that my visions for my open projects are so big that making even a 2017 deadline would be difficult, but I'd still like to aspire to it.
And just to clarify, I don't really make it a habit to start a new project each year and spend months on it just to abandon it halfway through. I stay pretty focused on Entrepreneur: The Beginning (most frequently worked on) and The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition (occasionally worked on) year round. I'll dabble with my other existing long-term projects in short bursts of energy once or twice a year on average, but I try not to get too distracted by them while I focus on my two primary projects. I have ideas for new games, as well, but I know what kind of time I'm able to spend on the OHR in a given season, so I try not to overextend myself. Point being, I'm working toward finishing my existing games that are already heavy on content.
And just to clarify, I don't really make it a habit to start a new project each year and spend months on it just to abandon it halfway through. I stay pretty focused on Entrepreneur: The Beginning (most frequently worked on) and The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition (occasionally worked on) year round. I'll dabble with my other existing long-term projects in short bursts of energy once or twice a year on average, but I try not to get too distracted by them while I focus on my two primary projects. I have ideas for new games, as well, but I know what kind of time I'm able to spend on the OHR in a given season, so I try not to overextend myself. Point being, I'm working toward finishing my existing games that are already heavy on content.
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