Have heart, fellow entrants!

[Geoff Moore]

Hope this isn't TL;DR.

 

There's a lot of exhausted people hurting at the moment. You've poured a month worth of spare time into your game, and often not just time but blood, sweat and tears. Now it seems like nobody's playing it, you're not getting votes in the People's Choice and it looks like the voting system is in no way based on game quality or rewarding the effort you've put in. It's easy to get hung up on the negatives.

 

Now please don't get me wrong, I'm by no means telling people to stop complaining; if you feel a system is letting you down you have every right to make yourself heard. That's the only way positive change can happen. I'm impressed at the responsiveness of the organisers to people's suggestions; while the contest platform is by no means perfect, it's certainly better than it was thanks to people making constructive suggestions.

 

I'm new here (hi!), and for a while I've been part of a tiny interactive fiction community (y'know, text adventures? Zork, anyone?) which is full of awesome people but only has about 50-75 'active' members and maybe four of five forum posts a day in total. One competition I entered there had two other entrants. Two! So the size of IGMC 2014 is pretty overwhelming for me, as I'm sure it is for lots of you. And as for prize money, well that would be awesome, not to mention extremely helpful, but again, 500 entries...

 

But the size of the comp is also awesome. Think about it, 500 brand new games from burgeoning indie developers in one month! That's pretty amazing in itself. And if you're sitting there thinking you're not getting the exposure you deserve, that all your work might have been for nothing, don't forget that the judging period has only just started and there are hundreds of others in the same boat.

 

The solution? Play games! Instead of checking your votes every five minutes (no, I don't have any yet either ), take the time to download some games, give them your best shot, and give some constructive feedback to the authors. There are few better rewards than hearing you've done something right from someone with no personal interest in your success, and if you've done something wrong that you can improve in the future then that's just as, if not more, helpful. And this is truly a great community, with friendly intelligent people devoting a good chunk of their time to promote indie gaming.

 

I've seen a lot of people expressing guilt at promoting their entries. Don't feel guilty! Your game is your baby, the culmination of a month of sheer effort and enthusiasm on your part, and you deserve to have as many people play it as possible. I know that's what I want.

 

Give as many contestants feedback as you can! You're bound to get some back, and that way we all win.

 

[Cinnamon]

Alright, alright. Let me give your game a download. ^_~

 

[Geoff Moore]

Haha, thanks! And I will return the favour!    

Seriously though, I hope this doesn't came across as a shameless plug. The above is from the heart, and I believe everyone's hard work deserves recognition.

 

[Makio-Kuta]

I agree. That's probably my favourite thing about contests, is seeing what other people have done with their time! I love playing other entries. Everyone is waiting for feedback just as much as the next person, so play a little game of give and take - it makes sense.


And what's the harm? You get to play games haha I'm sure we all like playing games as much as making them. (Or maybe more, since we're all feeling a little burned out from the making part this month lol)

 

[Geoff Moore]

@Makio-Kuta: That's the spirit! Sunken Spire is already on my to-check-out list, it looks awesomely intriguing. Kudos!

 

[Cabygon]

that was a very touching post! Giving your game a dl

And nah I don't think we see it as a shameless plug so don't worry about it.

 

[Cinnamon]

Haha, thanks! And I will return the favour!    

Seriously though, I hope this doesn't came across as a shameless plug. The above is from the heart, and I believe everyone's hard work deserves recognition.

Hehe, I know. If it was a shameless plug you wouldn't be so coy about it.

I gave your game a review objectively; but now out of personal interest: what on earth am I supposed to do after the robot pops up? I tried getting the key with the hanger but that did nothing. Checked everything (I think) in the house. Got bored and had to quit. x3

 

[Geoff Moore]

@Cabygon: Aww, thanks! And Goats on a Bridge looks incredible!! It's on my list for tonight.

@Cinnamon: Thanks for checking it out, and thank you for the review! Here are some hints (SPOILERS, obviously):

Spoiler

That robot's pretty tiny...

Spoiler

Maybe it can go somewhere you can't!

Spoiler

No, not the catflap...

Spoiler

Have a careful look around the kitchen.

Maybe I should post a walkthrough on the game's thread, I don't want people giving up...

 

[Cinnamon]

Aaaand I'm stuck again looking for the monocle. :'D #dead I suck at these kind of games...

 

[Geoff Moore]

Haha no worries, I think the difficulty really depends on how many point n' click style games you've played! Thanks for persevering.

Spoiler

You have a new item following the mousehole adventure. There's a logical place to use it. Let me know if you can't figure it out!

EDIT: Just so I don't clutter up this thread with my game, if you have any further questions it might be best to post on the thread linked in my sig, that way other players can use the hints too. 

 

[Zorax87]

It's heart-warming to see not just the burning passion for video games shining but also the collectivist nature of video gamers shining too. Despite perhaps a few controversies brewing up surrounding a couple titles, I really do hope that the community can come together no matter what! (I, too, am rather new to this website, brought here largely by the storm surrounding the contest.) That's always the better part of contests!

[ Also, I heard point-and-click so I'll be sure to check out your game, MU! I have such a nostalgia for them after playing Monkey Island as a kid, so I'd love to check your game out! ]

 

[Geoff Moore]

Good to meet you, Zorax87! Monkey Island is just the best thing ever!! My game isn't actually point n' click, but the puzzle style is pretty similar, although I guess it's more Sam and Max / Beneath a Steel Sky in terms of interaction since there's no verbs. Thanks for looking! 

 

[Indrah]

I am 100% sure I am going to regret this, but I'm dling the entires (from RMW, not the contest site because I am not THAT insane) and will start streamign them soon-ish (still downloading...) There's like 50-60 wtf I am so going to die nooo ;A;

 

[B.Ultimus]

I should probably do the same at some point.

 

[Geoff Moore]

Time for a noob question! What's RMW?

EDIT: Wait, I think it's the site I am currently on. Worst noob ever.

 

[TerminusEst13]

There's a lot of exhausted people hurting at the moment. You've poured a month worth of spare time into your game, and often not just time but blood, sweat and tears. Now it seems like nobody's playing it, you're not getting votes in the People's Choice and it looks like the voting system is in no way based on game quality or rewarding the effort you've put in. It's easy to get hung up on the negatives.

[ . . . ]

I've seen a lot of people expressing guilt at promoting their entries. Don't feel guilty! Your game is your baby, the culmination of a month of sheer effort and enthusiasm on your part, and you deserve to have as many people play it as possible. I know that's what I want.

 

Give as many contestants feedback as you can! You're bound to get some back, and that way we all win.

Thank you very much for saying this.

It's a little disheartening being new and having an uphill climb just to have sempai notice me, but everyone's gotta start somewhere. I'll try my best to provide good feedback, and hopefully we can all kick back and chill while recovering and deciding what to do next.

Lord knows after a rush like this, the best thing to do is just kick back and enjoy everyone's company.

 

[Mesonyx]

Yeah... you're absolutely right.

I don't think any of us got into this contest for the money or prizes or fame (granted, all those things would be awesome!), and the sheer amount of creativity on display here is staggering.

Your game looks cute, by the way -- definitely giving it a download!

 

[Geoff Moore]

@TerminusEst13: You're welcome! And you're right, now is definitely time to relax and play. Which game is yours?

@Mesonyx: Thank you! We Were Made To Perish looks cool and freaky, I'll be sure to take a look soon.

 

[whitesphere]

I think constructive feedback is always a good thing.  In my case, this is the first game I've ever completed.  It's very short, but the more games we make, the more we learn from our mistakes.

 

[TerminusEst13]

@TerminusEst13: You're welcome! And you're right, now is definitely time to relax and play. Which game is yours?

http://contest.rpgmakerweb.com/game/view/id/339 - Ah, here. Hope you enjoy it.

It's probably not very impressive, honestly, I've been going through it compared to other games and I've been seeing a lot of first-timer mistakes/lack of polish in it. But like whitesphere said, the more we make, the more we learn.

I'm already trying to figure out what I'd like to make next--so many options and choices!