Returnees and What You Learned from IGC 2005

[adgboss]

Hello to all those who are returning, glad to see you back. Like me I am sure you learned a great deal from last years competition. Primarily I think I needed to be somewhat more focused then I was even though at the time I felt I had been. Clearly there were holes in Jackals & Hounds that I missed that perhaps I should not have.

So what about everyone else? What lessons did you learn from last year that we could share, especially with new folks?

Sean

[Rossum]

[Lebrante]

I learned that determining when the contest begins and ends is pretty important.

This time? I'm looking forward to it.

[Jason Petrasko]

I learned no matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better.

*laughs* All kidding aside, I think my learning had a lot to do with what kind of game I can make in that limited time frame. Beneath the High Pillow was just crazy mad way out there at the edge of space mechanically, and something that I will try to avoid.

Looking forward to this year's GC,
Jason

[matthijs]

I learned that presentation matters. Write rules that are fun to read, with clear and atmospheric layout, put some graphics in there, and people will want to read and comment on your game. Make it enjoyable, and let your enthusiasm shine through!

[hamsterprophet]

First off, ditto to the others.

I also learned that there are so many possible ways to approach design, and just watching people work through those processes was totally cool. Hopefully I learned something that I can apply this year...

The really cool thing that I'm experiencing now is that I can look at what I did last year, be happy that I did it, and move on. What I did with Carry is already shaping what I'm going to try to do with this years entry, and as a designer who's still very much learning, that's awesome.

My advice to first-time Chefs? Participate, participate, participate. The forum threads are just as much part of the experience as your design, and the sense of community here is just awe-inspiring.

[Andy K]

[adgboss]

[quote="Andy K"]
Yeah, matthijs is totally right and nailed a good point. Plaintext TXT file, no matter how good the game is, is still going to make your brain bleed. I don't know if you have to go as far as to include pictures (though they certainly will be fun), make sure to spruce the layout up a bit. Like header size for the various sections at the very least, no need to whip out Pagemaker or anything like that. Just make it easy for people to read and review, and they will certainly do so! ]

Yeah there was a neat little game I reviewed last year... grrr what the heck was it now... cannot remember... anyway I thought it had a lot of merit but the author did not go to great lengths to organize the rules and make it easy to read. So I think that unofficially that does hurt you. People reviewing these are Human (er most are I assume) and thus if they see something a little messy or dis-organized, they will sometimes score it lower.

Sean

[kenjib]

[Jason Petrasko]