Eliwood
Member
I believe that 3-4 months should be plenty of time to make a level based. As stated above, these aren't making the highest quality maps ever in the universe in 3 months. The goal would be to just see what you can create in that time frame and get then constructive feedback upon doing so. I don't see why it has to be perfect just to exist. You do what you can in that time frame. That's why it's a contest.
I don't think that you should have a separation for newbie and experienced. It should include everyone I believe. Also, I agree with an earlier statement in regards to voting. If you vote on one I think you should definitely vote on all of them so no one feels left out.
That one's simple. Don't be toxic. Have rules against being toxic. That one really isn't that deep.
I really like this idea. I think it would be awesome to see what people could come up with if we had some kind of restrictions like this. I still definitely prefer the idea of the 3 month map contest limit so it gives people plenty of time to make something in that time frame. The only thing I worry about is people making maps that end up feeling pretty samey. And I mean even moreso than if you were to limit it to a single theme, even if it's as simple as "snow", but both have their ups and downs.
I get where this is coming from, but I think there's fun to creating a challenge for trying to make the best level you can in a time frame. Especially when you can get feedback on your levels. Map creators are more than welcome to take their maps and release it as a standalone map and make an improved version based off of feedback they received from the contest. I don't see how this will be a bad thing.
A contest isn't inherently a bad thing. I'd love to see some proper community support for this kind of thing. I'd love to see what things people can make in a 3 month time frame.
New mappers vs experienced mappers
As I brought up earlier in the post, I don't think this is a problem. But when talking about the idea of me hosting a new level design contest in the discord server this was brought up. So I will leave this open if people have any ideas on it. I do however think that splitting the contest between new and experienced mappers in two separate categories is a bad idea though. How do you define the difference between a new and an experienced mapper exactly is something that would need to be agreed on for this.
I don't think that you should have a separation for newbie and experienced. It should include everyone I believe. Also, I agree with an earlier statement in regards to voting. If you vote on one I think you should definitely vote on all of them so no one feels left out.
My worry with bringing back mapping contests is that previous contests had a big problem with toxicity from some voters, who would make it a point to tear apart entries (especially competitors) rather than focus on constructive feedback. I say this as someone who was a big part of that problem.
That one's simple. Don't be toxic. Have rules against being toxic. That one really isn't that deep.
If you're looking for a "contest" design that might be fun, one idea that was passed around a while ago was making a speed mapping contest instead of focusing on making big, epic things. Give entrants a custom object to build around at the start of the contest and give everyone a small period of time, say 8 hours, to make something using it. Nobody's going to have time to refine anything and it'd be a simple test of how cleverly the author can use the object and come up with something quick but fun.
I really like this idea. I think it would be awesome to see what people could come up with if we had some kind of restrictions like this. I still definitely prefer the idea of the 3 month map contest limit so it gives people plenty of time to make something in that time frame. The only thing I worry about is people making maps that end up feeling pretty samey. And I mean even moreso than if you were to limit it to a single theme, even if it's as simple as "snow", but both have their ups and downs.
It makes far more sense to incentivize group structures, as these would allow us as a community to combine the strengths of individuals to create a quality mod much faster and much more consistently than anyone is capable of doing on their own. While SUGOI is still a little bit more indivualized as far as level creation goes, its emphasis on everyone pitching into a unified campaign means that there is a much greater sense of community focus, and I'd say this at least partially explains its consistently astronomical submissions turnout with every successive iteration of the series.
I get where this is coming from, but I think there's fun to creating a challenge for trying to make the best level you can in a time frame. Especially when you can get feedback on your levels. Map creators are more than welcome to take their maps and release it as a standalone map and make an improved version based off of feedback they received from the contest. I don't see how this will be a bad thing.
A contest isn't inherently a bad thing. I'd love to see some proper community support for this kind of thing. I'd love to see what things people can make in a 3 month time frame.