Looney Labs Icehouse Mailing list Archive

Re: [Icehouse] Suggestions for future Icehouse Game Design Competitions

  • FromAnthony Kapolka <anthony.kapolka@xxxxxxxxx>
  • DateThu, 5 Nov 2009 09:55:17 -0500
> From: Dale Sheldon <dales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>On Wed, 4 Nov 2009, Anthony Kapolka wrote:

>>I also appreciate that twenty entries may not be manageable[,] although the democratic scoring model would need to >>change.

>It would?

>Why is that?

Sorry!  I hadn't read the judging method - I was thinking that each
person voted for one winning game - but I see now it is a ranking
system - that would work find for three judges.

> From: Christopher Hickman <tophu@xxxxxxx>

> Perhaps your class could winnow the choices to the best three out of class and submit those to the competition, with > encouragement to all the members of the class to play all the entries and vote.  That would give a greater ratio of

While I see the utility in this, I don't really favor artificially
limiting entries - then it isn't really an open competition.

> From: Bryan Stout <stoutwb@xxxxxxxxx>

> This depends on what kind of judgment Anthony wants:
> A. Peer awards, judged by the class members themselves?
> B. Gamer awards, judged by all interested pyramid players?
> C. Jury awards, judged by a small panel of respected gamers/designers?

I am less interested in A than B or C, because these students do not
have the gaming experience that (presumably) judges-at-large would
have and personalities can come into play.

> Whoever judges, either the students need to know what the judges are
> looking for, or the judges need to know what the students are trying
> to achieve, so that both sides are operating on the same criterion of
> judgment.

Maybe yes, maybe no.  The general goal is to produce a "good game".  I
am not uncomfortable with ambiguity; no grades are being awarded based
on competition results here.  (Anyway, that would be foolish, as they
may not even be a competition for them to enter.)  This is not all
that serious and doesn't need to completely fair - just sensible.

> Were you planning on having them placed under Initial Design,
> Playtesting, or Completed Design?

These games have only been playtested in-house, so I'll be
recommending to the students they post them under "playtesting",
although if they have no intent to further develop their game I will
encourage them to note this, in case someone else wants to pick up the
development.

Thanks!