1285 replies to this topic

[dadio]

RULES OF THE JAM

1) Theme is optional, but a good incentive and will be announced at the start of the Jam.

2) There will be a main Jam topic posted for the 48 hours that it lasts where people will post ONCE with a link to their game (either direct or to a WIP topic).

3) When the deadline finishes users will be invited to vote for their favorite game either in the same topic or (and this is what I prefer) in a seperate topic and the game topic will be locked.

4) Five days later (so the whole thing lasts one week) the voting will be closed and the posts tallied up to annouce the "winner".

5) The person voted highest gets a "Best of JAM 1" virtual cup for the signature, bragging rights and is allowed to choose the next Jam theme.

6) Everyone who submits games to the JAM gets a small "JAM star" pic that they can proudly display in the sig like a badge of honor that they were "there".

----------------------------------------------

Promo/support sig for those who want it:
http://www.wonthelp.info/superjoebob/GMCGJBanner.png


Optional Splash screen for games entered into the JAM:
http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/5554/gamejam1.png


Original opening post below, feel free to ignore it....

THE GMC IS DYING!...
for a new Comp.

YoYo have been slacking with Comp 07, so it's up to *us* to fill that terrible aching void in our hearts.
I propose that to liven up the Community & get people enthusiastic about game creating, that we start to run our own Comps.
"Official" GMC Comps if you will.

There are traditionally 3 big stumbling blocks to GMC peeps running their own Comps:

1. Awareness of it's existence - could be solved by *not* locking this thread or moving it elsewhere. Making it sticky later on would also help.

2. Recognition - not much point in coming first in "Bob's Comp" if a week later everyone has forgotten about it - could be solved by making this "THE" GMC Comp, & again, simply giving it the attention it needs to work, (& not sweeping it under the carpet)... & making a big fuss when the results are announced, as well as making clear that it is the first in a series of Community Comps.

3. Prize money. The big one.
YoYo's prize money is a huge incentive for some folks (especially those who are still in school or out of work).
YoYo's prize fund of 1000$, 500$ & 250$ is tasty & "works".
Unfortunately, I doubt many of us have many spare 100s burning a hole in our pocket (I know I sure don't!)
but I propose that we attempt to build up a fund from many *small* member contributions.
If peeps could pitch in 5$ each, the prize fund could get pretty big, possibly this could work as an "entrance fee" - this element & specific amount is wide open to discussion.
(I reckon that prizes of 500$, 250$ & 100$ are probably more realistic. (Total target funds = 850$)*

Other thoughts:

YoYo's Comps tend to run for "too long". This is something that's been brought up many times by many people.
3 months+ puts alotta people into "plenty of time, I'll do that tomorrow" mode. And *I think* that what happens is most of the real work gets done in the last few weeks & many people don't manage to finish at all because they've underestimated the work involved.
It's my belief that a *shorter, more focused time frame* for the Comp would work better.
*Possibly* as short as 1 month.
ie: 1 month of contribution/fund build up, followed by 1 month of Comp dev time.
(This shorter Comp run time should also make the (likely) smaller prize amounts more attractive.)

YoYo's Comps have recently been very much "limited/tied to restrictions" (handheld/iPhone), many members don't dig it.
I think the GMC Comp should be wide open instead (as regards to format/device target).

Theme is undecided.
(I think it would be nice if the first theme could reflect/be directly connected to the GMC in some way.)

Why do this at all?
Well, partly because Sandy's dog ate Comp 07 ...
but also because *as much as I love the direction YoYo are going with the ports & publishing opportunities*, I fear for the impact this will (soon) have on the Community. (As people hold games tighter to their chest, obsessing over profit$ & depriving the GMC & InstantPlay of truly "free" games - in favor of work-of-the-devil "lite" versions). What?! you cry. Yes, I say. Hasn't happened yet. But it will. Once the $ starts rolling in.

So, that's it. That's my proposal.
Possibly I'm just a delusional clown.
I hope not.
I'd rather be a ninja.

Opinions, suggestions, feasibility?
All input welcome.

*gives special cookie just to *you* for reading*

PS: What is this post doing here?! It should be in Competitions!!!
Not really. It breaks a ton of the "rules" for posting in "Competitions", & is more like a "Community effort" rather than a typical "Comp" comp. Besides, this thing needs comments & input (afaik, not possible in the Competitions forum).

GMC GAME JAM...
rises from the ashes.
See more recent posts in this topic for details.

Keep all format/rules discussion in this topic!

Edited by dadio, 20 January 2011 - 11:56 PM.

[PwnageMage]

I doubt people are going to want to throw money into this. Even if people have the money and have the means to give it to you, I doubt they'll be handing it over (for example, I have a Paypal linked to my bank account, but I don't wanna give you my money so easily).

I do like the idea of a one month run time though. It'll definitely help motivate more people to work on their games with less time to do it.

For now, I'll just sit on the sidelines and see how this goes.

[A saurus1]

If you wanted to raise money, you could always try Kickstarter. I think the only problem is that quite a few members aren't old enough to own credit cards...

[Rusty]

Okay, here is a solution. Comp 01 is free, and if that goes well maybe 02 could have a prize. Sounds easy right?

Anybody disagree?

Edit: I live on the other side of the Atlantic were everything is legal! Woo!

Edited by Rusty, 04 January 2011 - 05:38 PM.

[NakedPaulToast]

This is a bad idea for many reasons.

First of all it would be illegal in most US and Canadian jurisdictions, and probably a lot of other countries.
Asking for money as an entrance fee for a competition is illegal in most states and provinces, accepting money from minors is even worse. Basically it would be put into the same category as gambling, a federal offence against the US Wire Act.

This is why most contests have specific rules indicating "No purchase is necessary".

And asking GMC members to voluntarily give money is ludicrous. Your numbers would require 190 members to pony up $5 each. Look how many people freaked out because GM's price increased by $5. Or how many won't buy GM for $25. Your asking a lot of the same people to voluntarily donate $5. Many of which don't even have a mechanism to electronicly send money or fund paypal accounts.

It's also a violation or PayPals terms of use.

6.involve gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to casino games, sports betting, horse or greyhound racing, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not it is legally defined as a lottery) and sweepstakes unless the operator has obtained prior approval from PayPal and the operator and customers are located exclusively in jurisdictions where such activities are permitted by law.

Not well thought out.

Edited by NakedPaulToast, 04 January 2011 - 04:40 PM.

[dadio]

@PwnageMage:
Maybe. But I hope that's not the case.
Most people have a Paypal account if nothing else. It strikes me as an ideal way to transfer da moneyz.
I agree about handing over $ to me specifically (ie: I mean, who the Hell am I anyway?)...
I'm open to suggestions here.
(Perhaps people would be more comfortable with a mod as collector?)

@A saurus 1:
Nice, but no payPal cuts out too many & makes it unfeasible for this Community.

@Rusty:
It's not that simple. I'm fairly sure the Comp would simply FAIL (in caps even!) if there is no prize money. The prize money is important to give some kind of genuine incentive to people to enter. Something to chase after.

Also @ all:
Part of the reason I suggest a small "entrance fee" is to filter out the "quick/junk games" & give people even more of an incentive to really try their best & make sure they finish their projects.

EDIT:
@ NPT:
Well, that puts a downer on everything for sure (illegality of the Comp)...
could you go into more specifc detail on that?
(afaik, a lot of "real" Competitions require registration/entrance fees?
IGF springs to mind:
http://www.igf.com/03submit.html
I doubt they are breaking any laws.
Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Also, 950 divided by 5 = only 190 entries needed

Also, I realize the minors thing is an issue, but parents could transfer the money on their childs behalf.

EDIT:
@NPT: Ouch!
Didn't realize that about PayPal.
That is a big problem.
Thanks for that.

Edited by dadio, 04 January 2011 - 05:19 PM.

[ramses12]

Technically, there's a little issue: why would people enter a competition where they have to pay, for a relatively small prize (trust me, you won't find 100 competitors for contributions), instead of other competitions out there, where they don't have to pay?

If you want to launch a competition, try something different: make it free, both client/server side (), but make some really attractive conditions. If people will get attracted by your ideas, that's good.
As prizes, choose something you can do (I don't know what can you do, but I bet there has something that people would like to compete for). What do you think?

Edited by ramses12, 04 January 2011 - 04:41 PM.

[Dr. Zeus]

As an unofficial competition the best you can really offer is recognition. For example, on youtube people host "Amv" (Anime music video) competitions. The reward for wining is usually subscriptions, high ratings, favorites or anything that will give the creator more recognition within the community. However in order to have people sign up for a competition you need to carry some weight within the community.

With a game you could boost ratings on yoyogames and write favorable reviews but that might not do much and some people might not view it too favorably. Offering money seems a bit out of the question because not many people will want to pool money into an individuals account in whom they have no trust and have never met in person. Having the support of moderators would help but really I don't see any possible rewards that would provide enough incentive for people to sumbit games on a large scale.

Edited by Dr. Zeus, 04 January 2011 - 04:52 PM.

[theg721]

How 'bout we just bring back Cage Match.

[phoelich]

Maybe the prizes could be to get help from a certain graphic artist or a composer or a programmer.
If you talk to some people I bet you could find someone willing to give some help to these comps

[Medusar]

Maybe the prizes could be to get help from a certain graphic artist or a composer or a programmer.

The winner of a competition usually is skilled enough in all of these things .

[phoelich]

Sometimes yes, but isn't it often that a person is only skilled in one or two areas, and even if they are two it's not certain that they cover all areas
Also this was just an idea, to give a prize, that would be "free" to get in the first place (for the planners of the comp)

[dadio]

Hmmm.
Keep those thoughts/ideas coming.
As I stressed in my opening post about the "entrance fee":

this element & specific amount is wide open to discussion

Maybe it would be nice if it could be pulled off with no fee (& open it up to more people)...
but it's got to have some kinda solid prize set up.

[GameGeisha]

1. Awareness of it's existence - could be solved by *not* locking this thread or moving it elsewhere. Making it sticky later on would also help.

What makes your contest so much more special than the other ones from the competitions topic that it warrants its own sticky? You just tacked GMC's name on yours. Mechanically, I don't think the difference is big enough.

2. Recognition - not much point in coming first in "Bob's Comp" if a week later everyone has forgotten about it - could be solved by making this "THE" GMC Comp, & again, simply giving it the attention it needs to work, (& not sweeping it under the carpet)... & making a big fuss when the results are announced, as well as making clear that it is the first in a series of Community Comps.

All the competitions in the competition thread offer recognition as a sole prize. They rotted with less contestants than your fingers could count. Clearly this sort of prize is not wanted --- or at least, most people who go into competitions want more than just that.

3. Prize money. The big one.
YoYo's prize money is a huge incentive for some folks (especially those who are still in school or out of work).
YoYo's prize fund of 1000$, 500$ & 250$ is tasty & "works".
Unfortunately, I doubt many of us have many spare 100s burning a hole in our pocket (I know I sure don't!)
but I propose that we attempt to build up a fund from many *small* member contributions.
If peeps could pitch in 5$ each, the prize fund could get pretty big, possibly this could work as an "entrance fee" - this element & specific amount is wide open to discussion.
(I reckon that prizes of 500$, 250$ & 100$ are probably more realistic. (Total target funds = 950$)

Again, you're belling the cat here. If you've been paying attention to the arguments about software piracy and the GM price hike in this forum, you'll immediately realize that the GMC isn't an environment conducive to community-funded contests. NPT has made that very clear and I agree with him.

Besides, I cannot expect someone who can't add $500, $250 and $100 together properly to hold a proper contest.

GameGeisha

[phoelich]

Maybe the prize could be publicity
That's often enough to get someone excited.

If the planners of the comp had deals with a lot of blog owners, which then made posts about the game.

example:
1. place: 100 blog posts
2. place: 50 blog posts
3. place: 25 blog posts

In that way, the (winning) games would be spread across the internet very fast

EDIT:

This could also give publicity to the comp

Edited by phoelich, 04 January 2011 - 05:04 PM.

[dadio]

@GameGeisha:
Very catty.
Cheers for the vote of confidence!

1: Because it's a "Community project" (or at least that's the *intention* - would need mod support tho).

2: Er, clearly that's exactly what I've been stressing.

3: Lol, well ya listened to NPT, & he (before edit) got the 950/5 wrong.

Let's try & keep it constructive.
***I realize that $ fee might be a bad idea/no-go.***

Keep 'em comin'.

[Rusty]

I know, maybe the winner of the GMC Comp can be beaten with a stick until death, because that looks to be the way it's going.

Maybe the prize for 1st place could be just... 1st place? A cash prize may not attract many high rollers on the GMC but it'll get the attention of the guys just doing it for fun, as a hobby and as start to their careers. Having a less competitive comp isn't always a bad thing you know...

[NakedPaulToast]

@ NPT:
Well, that puts a downer on everything for sure (illegality of the Comp)...
could you go into more specifc detail on that?
(afaik, a lot of "real" Competitions require registration/entrance fees?
IGF springs to mind:
http://www.igf.com/03submit.html
I doubt they are breaking any laws.
Correct me if I'm wrong.)

It is legal because that contest was held in the State of California. California allows such practices. California Law

It also had a disclaimer that the contest was void where prohibited by law. This attempts to make it incumbent on the contest participant to be aware of their jurisdiction law. This can also be problematic for the contest holder, because if they don't proactively ensure they accept only legal entries, they expose themselves to legal risks.

Edited by NakedPaulToast, 04 January 2011 - 05:20 PM.

[chance]

This is a valuable idea.

It will keep the GMC arguing, and distracted, while we wait for the next YYG competition.

[dadio]

Lol, that's the plan.
Just some friendly fun & timesinking to fill the gap ...

*gets stabbed multiple times in the back by NPT & GameGeisha*

Nah, keep it comin'...
I'd like for this to actually turn into something.

I think we can all agree that having a "fee" is a very bad thing.
(NPT, you can stop kicking my head now please ).