Future Foundry Competitions

[MrBenn]

Ahoy Ahoy!

You may have noticed that there have been a couple of competitions going on recently, and there are more planned for the future

What I'd be interested to know is the kind of things that you think would make interesting competitions. Let's leave suggestions for map revamps to one side for the time being; what else would tempt you to get your crayons out of their virtual box?

[natty dread]

Hmm.. well, would it be time for new stamps anytime soon? I know you turned down my earlier idea of a "Design Brief Approved" -stamp, but if it could be implemented along with a whole new set of stamps...

I mean, stamps are kinda like medals for individual maps, they're the badges of honour that the mapmaker can proudly show around at the first post of his thread - "look everyone, the mods have approved of my work!"

As such I think a stamp system that would more accurately reflect the new organization of the Foundry would be nice. Sure the GP and GFX stamps already correlate with the workshops, but if they were given some fancy names that refer to the individual forums, it could be lots of fun. After all, we mapmakers need some encouragement from time to time!

Something along these lines:

The Melting Pot Design Brief Approval Stamp - given out when a map is moved out of melting pot.
Gameplay Committee Seal Of Approval - given out when a map is moved out of gameplay shop.
Graphics Committee Seal Of Approval - given out ... well, you get the picture.
Final Forge XML Approval Stamp - given blah blah.
Beta Testing Seal Of Quality - da da dum...

and finally: The Foundry Seal Of Quality - given out when the map is quenched.

And now for the competition, the challenge would be to develop appropriate images to go with the fancy names.

Ok, it's mostly just about adding some sparkle and glamour to the mapmakers' lives, but hey, we get our kicks for making maps to an online world domination game, our lives can't be very exciting... eh?

[Industrial Helix]

I like the stamps as they are... but a Design Brief approved stamp would be cool if whoever made the stamps would make one to match.

I'd like to see more of the Vancouver style temproary revamps... though I understand only two people applied. I wanted to but was hesitant cause I wasn't sure what to submit. But the anniversary of German re-unification is coming up and I think Berlin 1961 is a map prime for some toying.

What about having more map competitions for maps that we don't yet have... Mexico, South American Countries, African Countries...

Most of all. I'd like to see perhaps a more general map competitions. Say the theme is "Deserts" and everyone makes maps that have something to do with a desert... this could be unspecified maps, like Oasis, or specific maps like a Saudi Arabia map or Sahara Desert map.

[porkenbeans]

IH said-
Most of all. I'd like to see perhaps a more general map competitions. Say the theme is "Deserts" and everyone makes maps that have something to do with a desert... this could be unspecified maps, like Oasis, or specific maps like a Saudi Arabia map or Sahara Desert map.
This is a superb idea.

[captainwalrus]

IH said-
Most of all. I'd like to see perhaps a more general map competitions. Say the theme is "Deserts" and everyone makes maps that have something to do with a desert... this could be unspecified maps, like Oasis, or specific maps like a Saudi Arabia map or Sahara Desert map.
This is a superb idea.

I agree!
The cartographer's guild has a lot of general competitions like that which end up really cool.
http://www.cartographersguild.com/

[MrBenn]

There's some useful thoughts here...

What I really want to know is whether or not people would like more competitions, given the dearth (volume-wise) in the past couple of contests?

What, if anything, would encourage people to take part?

[captainwalrus]

I don't really know, but things like the Germany revamp or Central america really attracted a lot because they were more open ended. Also, with the ones like Germany, Central American, or Centerscape the winner then got to continue the map and was likely to get it quenched, which was a big intensive.

[shakeycat]

Most of all. I'd like to see perhaps a more general map competitions. Say the theme is "Deserts" and everyone makes maps that have something to do with a desert... this could be unspecified maps, like Oasis, or specific maps like a Saudi Arabia map or Sahara Desert map.

I agree - this one's neat! I suppose there wouldn't be a clash if three people entered maps of the same area, since there is only one winner in the end anyway. This could be a great way to generate maps for Africa and other ignored areas. And if the map doesn't win the contest, provided it doesn't double-up on the winner, surely it can go through the foundry in a normal manner if the designer wishes to continue.

[MrBenn]

The current 'April Gameplay Contest' is going pretty well - there are several good sumbissions already with plenty of time left to go!

If you have any further ideas for competitions/contests, speak now

[porkenbeans]

Most of all. I'd like to see perhaps a more general map competitions. Say the theme is "Deserts" and everyone makes maps that have something to do with a desert... this could be unspecified maps, like Oasis, or specific maps like a Saudi Arabia map or Sahara Desert map.

I agree - this one's neat! I suppose there wouldn't be a clash if three people entered maps of the same area, since there is only one winner in the end anyway. This could be a great way to generate maps for Africa and other ignored areas. And if the map doesn't win the contest, provided it doesn't double-up on the winner, surely it can go through the foundry in a normal manner if the designer wishes to continue.

2nd.

[Industrial Helix]

Mr. Benn, I'd say the April competition is going great. I'm really impressed with the numbers and response you're getting. And its pretty cool to see how people are adapting 'April' into a map.

[MrBenn]

Just to whet people's appetites, I should let people know that there are not one, but two proper map contests looming large!

What I'd like to know is the approximate timescales that people think would work best... two weeks? three weeks? four weeks?

[gimil]

What I really want to know is whether or not people would like more competitions, given the dearth (volume-wise) in the past couple of contests?

Something worth remembering Benn is that to many competitions make them routine. Routine ultimately become boring very quickly. Always let the communities mouth water a little before the next competition. There are suppose to be fun and exciting.

[natty dread]

What I'd like to know is the approximate timescales that people think would work best... two weeks? three weeks? four weeks?

Well I guess that kinda depends on the type of the contest... But to be on the safe side I'd say at least 3 weeks, seeing as it's summer and people might be busy with other things...