It's September 1st - giving everyone exactly two months (Deadline is 1 minute before November 1st) to get their stories together.
Announcing: March's Madness.
Rules: To qualify,
1. Your story must have been CREATED and completed during the contest period. (no pulling up old unfinished games)
2. You are NOT allowed to use variables, score, scripting or items. If we can't print it, it doesn't qualify
3. Your story cannot be over 100 pages long.
4. You must work on the story by yourself. No group stories.
5. It must be an original work of fiction.
Prizes:
1st Prize: Contest Trophy, March5th00's Trophy, a printed (hopefully bound?) copy of your work, a write up in the new magazine, 300 MAG points and $75
2nd Prize: $25, 200 MAG points.
Honorable Mention: The number of honorable mentions (if any) and the honorable mention prizes will be determined at judging time. Could be Experience Points. Could be merchandise. We'll all be surprised.
All storygames published between September 1, 2007 and October 31, 2007 will be automatically entered into the contest. These rules are subject to change (but not likely to) at any time! Please either send me an IM with any questions or here on this forum.
Good luck
March
how can you tell when a game was started? just interested. i just might try to do something. of course ive said that before...
nate
Hmm. I wish we had summer months to do this, but activity was little to none so I understand the timing. I love march for putting a maximum of 100 pages on it, it means that length will not be criteria/unimportant part of judgement.
I read this about 5 minutes ago, and hit the reply button, then alt-tabbed, and im too lazy to hit the back button now so i apologize if this has been answered, besides march, who else is judging?
Also, I would consider this if i had a good idea, which i do not at the moment. However, I am gonna rummage through my thoughts till i can find something... good enough. :P
Love ya march! this contest is gonna be awesome!
id say march is the only judge, since of course there will only be like 3 stories to choose from. however, my question, being better than yours solo, is in regards to stories that were started but never published previously. from what march is saying is that those wont count but how will you know when they were created?
(of course i am joking with you solo)
March, Choco and Alexp will be doing the judging for this contest. We will however take everybody elses opinion into serious consideration in our final decisions.
As for the creation date, all games are now tagged in the database with the date they were created for just this reason. I'll be randomly checking entered games for their creation date (we can't pull them all up at this time with a form) so I guess you could try your luck if you have one already made.
march
interesting. sounds good. i'll have to seriously ponder a concept. kind of tapped right now though. maybe we can create a game of the year idea, that way the whole year is taken into consideration for the best of htat year. oh well. i wish i could come up with something. a western...star trek...never ending story tribute story....
All storygames published between September 1, 2007 and October 31, 2007 will be automatically entered into the contest
I'm assuming you meant all storygames published . . . that meet the criteria of rule # 2 will be automatically entered into the contest.
(look, the only correct use of a lacuna in my ellipsis-riddled speech)
Wow.. Hope y'all have fun.
I think Im going to create something small. Like choco's robotology story, where it was not very long but it was stil entertaining. I have an idea in place, but I dont know how to make it short. Maybe i will think of something else.
Also, jjj you should try for this contest!
Is any story created during that time frame considered in, or do we have to announce that we're in? (by the way, I'm in)
A question about the rules: To clarify - it says what we are not allowed to use in the game, does this mean we need to use the classic editor for you to print it, or can we still use the advance editor but not use the variables/score/scripting/items in it?
granted, im not march, however i would say that you could use the advanced editor. the only thing they need to print is to keep it simple, whenever there are variables and scripting, it gets too complex to print.
it's a good question. Feel free to use either editor as long as you refrain from using any of the advanced features of the editor. I didn't specify it, but pictures are ok (just try to keep them sized appropriately).
Good luck everybody.
So let me get this straight. A game I made a while go (but put quickly ob hiatus) can be in the contest?
(maybe a mod could message me more detailed rules cuz these ones are a bit confusing??)
thanks and good luck to all who participate,
DS
HOWEVER it's easy to copy an idea from one game to another, if there's not much done yet.
thats exactly what i did. i had started a story just like a few weeks ago. only have a few pages and mostly ideas. so i just copied and pasted it. good luck all. im hoping i can get something done.
CAn't make a good game in two months. Looks like i'm out.
riley
darth! It's only 100 pages!
oh, yeah...I can try, i guess. I'm not too bad a writer, i guess...
Don't know if I can write a good story in less than a hundred pages, I can't stand the basic editor, but i'll give it a shot anywqay.
Chaptered stories are fine - you HAVE to remember the page limit however. This goes across all chapters.
OOOOK
If you've already started your story go ahead and continue it in any editor you'd like HOWEVER if you haven't it looks like it would be significantly easier to print the game if it's made the basic (rather than advanced) editor. So please make your story in the basic editor for the contest if at all possible!
for this contest you are not allowed to have any variables.
Will plot be judged more importantly than length... i will explain further because i know these stories are to be short.
What I mean is, if we have a really good plot, but the story happens to contain less than 50 pages, will this short length matter as long as the plot does not seem rushed?
Another rules question. If I made something without using the variables or scripting features of the advanced editor, could I do something instead like in a Fighting Fantasy paperback book, with the player using a piece of paper and a pencil and a physical six-sided die, to do things. Ie, instead of having variables for Strength, Hit Points, etc, using variables, you could have the player write those things down on a sheet of paper. In the story you could say, roll the dice. If you rolled a 5 or 6, turn to page... if you rolled 4 or less, turn to page... instead of having the computer automatically work it out using scripts. Of course, a person can cheat by just clicking any link they want, but hey, you could do that when reading the books as well.
I'm not quite sure how this works, but Ducky Park has been finished and I would like to enter that one.
Not only that, but it meets all the other criterea as well!
Three answers.
1. TSMpaul - that sounds like a very original idea. It certainly meets the criteria of the contest as stated above.
2. Solostrike - size doesn't matter (for the sake of the story anyways...). there is no such thing as too small but remember not to go over 100.
3. Donteatpoop - ALL stories that are entered during the contest period are automatically entered into the contest. If the story doesn't meet the criteria it will automatically be eliminated from the contest. There is no need to announce your entry.
If you are not clear as to what qualifies please ask. I'd hate for somebody to start a finish a story and find out they didn't qualify.
It's easy to plan - if it's not printable, it doesn't qualify AND it has to be less than 100 pages.
So no advanced features. This contest is based on story, not creative use of the engine.
Sorry, the answer is no. You can always transfer the idea to a new story.
...sad... i just wrote a paragraph on my first page in my story... time it took to write: 45 minutes...
sigh.... *prays for the ability to write quickly, without errors*
hehe, its september 16, which means after 16 days of the contest, i have got 2 pages complete in my story...
*retreats to a corner from all the laughter and fingerpointing*
solo is writing a short story. a reeeeeeeeeally short story.
A reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy short story means another 16 days of writing :P
Hehe, anyways, one of the hardest parts for me is trying to NOT make it theatrical, like "only one man could stop them!" and whatever else you can think of along those lines. Another hard thing is trying to make you forget your "playing" a game, and instead your immersed in a "story". With uproot, it was part game part story (there is a driving scene), so it was a little easier.
Okay I gotta admit, I'm a little- nay, EXTREMELY annoyed that we can't have variables and it has to be under 100 pages. Like, REALLY ANNOYED. But anyway, there is a slight possibility that I MAY enter. Maybe.
Still, at least some more quality will come to the site.
Awwww, does that mean you have to write an actual story? You're not scared that your writing skills won't be able to stand on their own, are you?
(sorry, thought maybe you needed a little smack-talk to goad you into producing something)
we have till october, read the first post by march.
so you arent even gonna try? we all have work or homework. ive got a 10 page paper/100 page book to read/3 tests/ and a wedding to worry about. atleast try. as for your story, didnt look at it. its a demo.
You did indeed let two games out and one is featured but I think, had you spent, another say; 10 days collectively on them for the purpose of spell checking and proofreading alone, they would be vastly improved. A few non-linear paths would help too. All I'm saying is that just because you get these two games off, doesn't mean that someone who gets one, complete game (spell checked, non-linear, etc) hasn't done more work.
Ah well. The next one better have advanced allowances, coz the games im making now will be entered in that, I reckon maybe even win, or second at least.
Anyway, like I said, I look forward to some creation, seeing as this site has been pretty dead lately...
man, if i knew everyone would be scared to do this contest i would have spent more time on mine. this is a shoe in for me. lol
Scared! Ha! I laugh in the face of nonexistent danger, and in the face of the danger of entering an institution for laughing continuously at nothing!
Basically, I just don't wanna spend forever on a game when I could probably get more money spending that time working. I'm just gonna keep doing my games I am now.
maybe im just not cultured or anything, but i dont get what you are getting at madglee. interesting reference though, thats from back in the day. is it in response to miccy's nonexistent danger? or whatever he said?
" love march for putting a maximum of 100 pages on it, it means that length will not be criteria/unimportant part of judgement."
- Sorry Solo but I think your wrong on this one. By putting a cap of pages on it hes actually making length MORE IMPORTANT. See now a linear game of 100 pages might go through 60 pages whereas a non-linear game with multiple endings will feel infinetely shorter because the reader might only go through 20-30 pages of the story.
By capping the length hes actually probably made it the deciding factor.
i think your last statement is accurate 3j. "Probably made it the deciding factor." its possible, but it all depends on how people look at it. However, a story can have 2 links per page and still not be linear, and still go on for awhile. TSMPaul should enter this and make it easy for the judges lol
great, another entry. i wish i could work on my story. theoretically i can, but kind of distracted at the moment. i just keep the site up while im on for the sake of the forums. ive currently only got 13 pages. :(
sure, but ill ask you what you use to outline your story. ive tried paper, some computer programs, but nothing consistantly. how do you go about it? all my best stories i have used an outline, i just need to find something consistantly.
P35: Start: You dive under a table, waiting for the enforcers to leave. They do, finally. You slip out.
End: You proceed to the surface, wondering how the hell enforcers got down below.
Go to Page: 41
P36: Start: Picking up a gun from a nearby table you scream in fury, whilst taking out two enforcers.
End: A 3rd one comes for you.
Go to Page: 42, 43 "
I use Microsoft word, heres a quote from two of my pages.
just word huh? i was hoping for something different lol but thats fine. i used word to work on The Interogator. i may go back to that method. its so much easier to have an outline. easier to write the outline than story too. thanks.
powerpoint? lol that would be great if someone actually spent that much time doing that just to write a story. although, ive used Powerpoint for studying. its pretty cool.
Yeah its fun to use, I did a project on the Arthurian legends (so fond of those) for social studies with it one time. Did one on the Romans as well. We had a crazy info tech socials teacher :D.
Another method that jsut might work would be to just use the editor, and just instead of writing use notes.
i do use that technique. usually ill try to write and when i get done writing for the day ill leave notes on the last pages i wrote. where i want them to go, what i want to include, how long i want it to be, whether its a main path or not, and so forth.
I'm surprised how few entries there are at this point. My hope is that all of you are waiting to publish your stories until the last minute because your ideas are so unique.
Just so we're all on the same page - DEP is in the lead!
ALSO remember I did NOT put a limit on the NUMBER of stories that you can enter.
recent events have sort of stalled my progress. but ive still got the story and hope to have it out before the time limit. however, i feel that if Tsmpaul doesnt enter then DEP will get it easily.
lol you think that will encourage some action? ive always wanted to do a little taunting to get people to write more. id love to see a story every week, but thats still a long ways away.
oh am i happy to have him back around. that's like music to my ears.
how many weeks you think you can go with writing a story/week? 3-4?
0? I have no idea, honestly. I was being sarcastic.
By the way, my "story that most do not know the name of" is officially out of planning and into writing. 1 Page down, 95 to go.
i was hoping you werent being sarcastic, but it would be unrealistic to expect that from any one person anyway. oh well lol. but, thats why i started the writing work shop challenge a few weeks back. i was hoping to encourage ideas and get more people writing. but it has fizzled. maybe around christmas break it will be better.
I think im gonna withdraw from the contest, i got too many things to do. i can barely get the pirates game done with nate (sorry! i will get it down ASAP) . Clubs are starting up at school, and i gotta find some outside-of-school organization to join, so it looks good on the university application next year. anyways, i will continue writing the story but it wont make it for the contest (i.e. more like next summer).
"Your right, Chance doesn't properly explain the oppertunity that I have to win this contest... Chance implies that theres a possibility that I wont beat your game...."
Right. Word told you to spell opportunity like that? Did you capitalize the word "chance" in the middle of a sentence on a whim, or did Word suggest that as well? And was it Microsoft's idea to avoid using apostrophes and to spell "you're" without the 'e' at the end?
Are you sure you aren't using an alternate version of Word? - http://forums.handloads.com/uploads/bentbarrel/C1EE1_microsoft_word_write_letterz_n_.jpg
Err. Heck no. (I was gonna say something else there but caught myself just in time. Infinite-story had a bad influence on me).
I think my idea was better suited for a novella, rather than a CYOA. Partly because i had a really effective path, and smaller, less effective paths, and partly because the idea itself isn't suited for a CYOA.
Hmm... maybe i could do somehting like the classic CYOA, with random plot extensions, but still entertaining... and very very short :p
(psstt. nate, this weekend is a long weekend, i may be able to finish off pirates for good :P)
CANADIAN THANKSGIVING FTW!!!!
There's tons of ways to get around actually altering the story and still making it interactive fiction. For instance, with only one or two alternate plots, you can write a slew of rooms by simply switching the perspective of the story. Have an option to continue on from the POV of another character. Or have the reader select a character at the beginning, telling the story twice (or more), but from different points of view. This can add a lot of depth to your story, since it allows the reader to experience everything from more than one perspective.
3 weeks everybody! Can I just remind you that the winner gets "1st Prize: Contest Trophy, March5th00's Trophy, a printed (hopefully bound?) copy of your work, a write up in the new magazine, 300 MAG points and $75"
ALL OF THAT FOR LESS THAN 100 PAGES OF STORY!
Good luck!
Honestly, this should have been effect for August and September rather than sept and oct. School is just being a bugger to me right now, i would have wrote 100 pages in the month of august if i were given the opportunity for a contest win...
I guess I should post in this thread to mention I'm officially in the contest now.
"1. Your story must have been CREATED and completed during the contest period."
Making an exception for Necromancer? Technically it was NOT created during the contest period.
im pretty sure he means created on CYS. so i think its in. but thats just my thought till march shows up again.
Yeah... that's a tough one. The way it was written is that it had to have been created at CYS during the contest period - to encourage original ideas and to keep people from having an unfair advantage from stories that were almost completed before the contest was announced. We never really thought about moving stories from infinite-story. Still, lets say you wrote down a story on paper and decided to move it during the contest on to this site. THAT would be eligible right?
I'll hash it out with the other admins but I'm thinking it actually does meet the criteria of the contest. Since we didn't before I'll announce it now - while we welcome all of infinite's stories here on the site, only the ones already entered are potentially eligible for the contest. Fair? I'd like to hear both sides on this one.
I'm sorry march for putting you in this position -- but its a really unfair advantage against the rest of us. He could do that and then release another one... Grrrr! I've spent a long time writing my story and if it loses to a copy and pasted one, I will be a bit frustrated. I'm not the only prominent member that is complaining about this either.
i agree endmaster. your story should be included. it fit the qualifications and you specifically changed your own story to fit them. im behind you here.
I asked march in detail whether Ducky Park would be eligable for the contest because it was written for infinite-story a long while ago. He assured me that as long as it was published on CYS between the appropriate dates and didn't have any variables, that it would be eligable. Therefor, necromancer should be eligable too.
agreed - a decision I wasn't expecdting to be challenged (though now I understand). I still stand by that decision obviously - and will qualify necromancer as well (Endmaster - it shouldn't be a shock that people are intimidated by that story for the contest!)
I should also note that I'm very excited about this contest - the content being put out is fantastic!
A little over two weeks is MORE than enough time to write a short story! Remember - 50 pages is enough, 25 is enough - if it's written well!
question....
whenever we delete a page in a story it still counts on our story page count right? therefore, if we make a story of 130 pages and delete 31 it would still count as 130 right? or am i wrong?
the reason i ask is cause i have a history of writing a full story and then deleting and combining pages. therefore, i need to know if its worth writing 100 pages and then deleting and making more pages...
ok, i just tested it and it works fine. once you dlete it your count goes back down. i just thought that i heard that it didnt somewhere... maybe the page ID thread. not sure.
"I expect something from you 3J, if not I'm coming to get you" - madglee.
NO NEED TO COME AFTER ME MAN :D
Anyway now the tables are turned...
well, if i can just get off my back side and type it, i actually have a story written out. i just need to put it in the computer.
Plenty of time is right.
The final story needs to be 100 pages or less. Doesn't matter how many you delete or create!
Well I hope it matters how many you create actually....
I should note that I'm making a point (for the most part) of NOT reading contest stories until the deadline is passed - so feel free to go into those stories and tweak things if you'd like. We have just under 2 weeks to go!
Can you give us your judging catagories?
Story, Description, Grammar, etc?
It would really help.
EX:
Grammar: 15Story: 50Description: 20
etc.
scoring criteria! PFFF! Just know this - you should write an engaging story. If the spelling / grammar takes away from the story then it could hurt your story. If I did have to break it down though, it would look like this:
Story: 100%
As far as judging - it'll look kinda like this
March's opinion: 25%
Chocobot's opinion: 25%
Alexp's opinion: 25%
Community Opinion: 25% (I read the comments of regulars / strong writers on the site)
On rating stories, March said: Community Opinion: 25%
Doesn't that imply that people have to actually read the competition stories and leave a rating by the competition date? Community can't have an opinion on a story if they haven't read it to know if it's good or bad, so a story only read and rated by one person, compared to a story read and rated by 20 people, wouldn't really be a balanced way of knowing how the two stories compared, would it?
And yes, I know, I should probably read more of other peoples' stories myself...
1. Next contest will be late next year?
2. TSM - I don't look at the rating so much as the rater. I like to read the opinions of all of you regulars on the site - Madglee, Flesh, Seth, JJJ, etc. It helps me to keep your ideas in my mind. The rating can be fixed in your favor, but nobody can change an opinion that's left on a story.
well, im officially frustrated. i spent a good 30 minutes typing out a key page in my story and then i get an error. lost it all. its just one page but it was the big 'hey pay attention to this page cause it could potentially tell you where to go to beat the story so listen up. also there are a few hidden clues in there to find other places as well.' page. ugh! i posted here cause it was in my story that im trying to enter into the contest. i have most of the pages up, but im currently working on fleshing out the pages. right now they are just outlines. dont think im gonna make the deadline though. i keep missing them for some reason. oh well.
ooooh sorry flesh. Yeah when you lose one page, that's a good indicator that it's time to throw in the towel
COME ON!
this is extremely late but anyway, DEP, I actually dont have word right now. I was usuing a free trial. i own it somewhere, but i recently moved and the disks are in a box somewhere lol
You have two days left. If you haven't even STARTED a story, think of it like school - i mean come on, nobody ACTUALLY does anything til the night before
good luck!
hmmm,. i sense your sarcasm in the last 2 posts march. lol i doubt ill make it. even though yes i always wait till the last minute in school to do homework. but i did that for one of the last tournies on here (The Family 2) and it didnt turn out so good. ill probably just keep fiddling with it until its finished. (2 decades from now).
I wonder who will win? I just hope that I beat JJJ.
Remember ppl! Terra Proxima: First Strike > Equilibrium
I notice not many people have actually played First Strike. I basically tried to make it somewhat-similar to Magus crossed with Lone Wolf crossed with Unreal Tournament, but many ppl now seem not to want to play it for this reason. On the other hand, the few ppl who have played it have left it good ratings, so I guess that cancels it out.
of our older members, id say TSMPaul, but Endmaster has a good chance too.
I can't tell if that was sarcasm or not... <scratches head>
I am ENRAGED that even modified copy and pasted stories are qualified; while they meet the criteria, they undermine the gist that everyone else goes by.
This means that people like JJJ, fleshy and me have to put up with people getting uber-long stories from other sites- stories probably taking them MORE than the contest time to actually make. This is equivalent to me turning 'Battle-Race on Europa into a storygame, waiting for the NEXT contest, then actually typing it up. It is unfair and undermines the work of us poor joes and slobs who work feverishly for a week or so at the end.
THIS CONTEST WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A TIME LIMIT!
This loophole undermines:
Time Limit: It was created in the dim past
Originality: It was not first made on this site, it is a duplicate of your story on another site or on paper
If anyone supports me in this, we can form a petition. Also, sorry March but undermining the gist does the same as break the rules.
<latches on with dead man's grip>
If it's the last thing I do...
I don't think that a human holding on to a tree (Rommel to his idea) will stop a bulldozer from dozing it over if the driver has the will to do so (March).
When my body gives out it will alert my para-lawyers, suing you in a $$$$$ly lawsuit to get the money to resurrect me...
quote: Chuck an employee out a window these days and they phone their lawyer on the way down...
"Your story must have been CREATED and completed during the contest period"
They were only "Switched" during the contest date,
I've already discussed this issue with you guys. The rules made no mention that the story couldn't come from infinite. This is NO different than if you guys had written a story on a pad of paper (that may very well have taken you much longer than the two months of the contest), but didn't set it down on the site until the contest time. The CREATED had nothing to do with when you set pen to paper - it has to do with when you made the story on this site.
Those stories met all the qualifications of the contest. future stories won't count for contest entries if they were posted first on infinite-story. The two stories posted before that clarification will count. end of discussion. there is no reason to be jealous of good story writing guys - let the best story win.
Rommy, i think it is sad that you would claim to not be coming back, then notice that there is a contest coming up and then return.
"It is unfair and undermines the work of us poor joes and slobs who work feverishly for a week or so at the end."
and i also find it sad that you would only work for the last week remaining to enter the contest. the ultimate goal here, (which supercedes any contest), is to put quality work into a story to improve this site. not to rush for 48 hours straight to finish a story you just started. madglee backed out of this contest for that very reason. you can get upset over someone having a better story than you in the contest, but its your responsibility to be ready for all entries. clearly you were not if you waited till the last minute to even start.
To answer your rant
- I just HAVE put quality work into the site.
- I HAVE put quality content into the site before.
- I got bored, I saw a contest on... That message should have announced my comeback from hiatus, not my permanent leaving... I'm still embarassed about that ok! I regret not having more time to put into the contest. It is not easy to make a good game in that space of time you know...
id say once the search for Alex ends lol. where has that boy been? he has went into hibernation or something.
