> From: "Ryan Hackel" <deeplogic@xxxxxxxxxx> > This year's contest has great games in it, but it gets the best of the last two years of designs. We'll keep up the strength of submitted designs if the contests are farther apart. I think that the first four IGDCs burned up territory rather quickly. Four contests a year was too much (we pyramaniacs have lives outside of gaming, too), and I'd rather see two contests a year, tops. The reward will be stronger entrants, and less work for the contest(s) organizers. Though the work in minimal (barring the ranking math, about which I am still a bit in the dark), I was starting to think the same thing, as I wrote up some stuff on the IGDC Talk page. I am thinking, then, of holding the next competition in Winter (2008, right?--there's only 8 days of winter in December, so I'd say 2008, not 2007). However, I would announce the theme as soon as possible, to give far more time to design and revise and test than was needed for the Summer 2007 "two-years-in-the-making" competition. So I'd generally favor a schedule a bit like this: 1) Announce Request for Submissions - ASAP (no latter than early October) 2) Deadline for Submissions to Coordinator - say two months after that (early December) 3) Deadline for Judge's Ranking to Coordinator - standard month (early January--timed to coincide with school breaks and family get-togethers, too!) 4) Announce Rankings and Winner - within a week or so (time to do the math, is all) So, figure the Winner to be announced mid-January, in the depths of winter.... Better? Others disagree? Might we have Loco/Eco TH sets by then, to use as part of a mechanical design restriction (if adopted)? David