MAGS December "Gift Trouble" (RESULT)

[Shadow1000]

Big contrats to OneDollar. It really was an awesome game and the players have spoken!

[heltenjon]

Big congrats to OneDollar! Don't let 14 years pass before you make another festive game, now.  I'll sign the petition for the sequel:

Spoiler

The Goose on the North Pole and the quest to get home.

[close]

Also big thanks to the other game makers. Awesome round with great games.

Retro Wolf, looking forward to see your project when you release it.

[Pax Animo]

Congratulations OneDollar.

Well deserved.

Side note:

It's a shame that not many people vote on these competitions as a lot of work goes into developing and some entries deserve some more credit than given.
It's disheartening for a developer to get 0 votes, but given the lack of voters it's of course not the voters fault. (they are given options, they have to choose)

Not sure where I'm going with this but an option would be "not to show the actual voting results in numbers and just announce the decisive result".

I've seen this is becoming a popular feature in social platforms such as YouTube not showing dislikes, and I think but I'm not sure Instagram have taken a similar approach.

I'm not sure how i feel about this but i'm open to the idea.

Thoughts?

Thank you to the people that did vote.

[Stupot]

Yeah, it’s an unfortunate combination of the forum poll system and low voter turnout.

But I think everybody here is mature enough to understand that getting 0 votes doesn’t mean their game was disliked by everybody. It just means the voters all preferred at least one of the other options.

[Shadow1000]

I agree that it would have been nice to see more votes. I think it's ok that the final score is shown in full. I also think that has there been a stronger voter turnout that the games that got 0 votes may have snagged a few votes. If you have enough voters, then SOMEONE will have preferred those two over the games that got the votes.

Maybe next month we should offer doughnuts for anyone who votes?

[heltenjon]

I also think it's nice with feedback for all the games in the manner Shadow1000 and myself have done above. That way, I'm allowed to say something positive about a game I liked even if I didn't vote for it. Plus, I find it interesting what other people have to say. They may have noticed something I've missed.  For the devs, any construcitve feedback is probably welcome.

[cat]

I only played Pax Amino's game (I think it was finished first) which I highly enjoyed and didn't have time to try the other games. That's why I didn't vote.
The problem with a Christmas-themed contest in December is, that the games will be finished when Christmas is actually over. Playing Christmas games in January isn't that much fun.

[heltenjon]

I only played Pax Amino's game (I think it was finished first) which I highly enjoyed and didn't have time to try the other games. That's why I didn't vote.
The problem with a Christmas-themed contest in December is, that the games will be finished when Christmas is actually over. Playing Christmas games in January isn't that much fun.

I'm to blame for that, as I set the theme.  I actually discussed this a bit with Stupot before announcing the theme, and your objections here was indeed one of the arguments against. I tried to tweak it for allowing non-festive interpretations, which one of the games have done. I guess the optimal timing for getting a lot of plays would be to have a Christmas theme in November, releasing them and having the voting period in early December. That would require the winner for September to choose such a theme, though, and one doesn't always think of Christmas that far ahead. 

Perhaps when my daughters and I are finished with our game (with this pace, maybe in the Summer), I ought to wait until next December to release it... 

[OneDollar]

Thanks for the competition everyone, it was great to have so many entries! I'll try and come up with an interesting topic for February, hope to see you there...

It's a shame that not many people vote on these competitions as a lot of work goes into developing and some entries deserve some more credit than given.
It's disheartening for a developer to get 0 votes, but given the lack of voters it's of course not the voters fault. (they are given options, they have to choose)

Not sure where I'm going with this but an option would be "not to show the actual voting results in numbers and just announce the decisive result".

IIRC a long time ago MAGS voting used to work like this, but it was set up through a separate website and sounded like a pain to manage. I don't know what options you have with a forum poll, but it makes voting a lot more streamlined to have it in the same thread as the entries. Can't really comment about the lack of voting because I haven't been properly active on these forums since 2015... I agree with heltenjon though, its the written feedback I find most helpful and its interesting to see what people liked and didn't like about all the entries. Speaking of - I commented on Gifting Spirit and Knorrig the Gifted Troublemaker in their completed game threads, but as A caixa hasn't got one (yet):

A caixa

Spoiler

I thought the overhead perspective was interesting, it certainly made the game stand out. As it was only a demo I don't know how well it will work for the full version, but if the goal is going from room to room chasing the spirit(?) and solving full screen puzzles like the one in the demo it's a smart way of moving around the house without needing bunch of separate one room screens. The box puzzle is a little hard to visualise, especially when you have to flip it upside down, but it works. Appreciate the coding/graphics work that would have gone into making it too. The demo ends on a good cliff hanger, I'm curious where you're going to take it next.

[close]

Hope you end up finishing it, same to Retro Wolf and heltenjon for their games.

I only played Pax Amino's game (I think it was finished first) which I highly enjoyed and didn't have time to try the other games. That's why I didn't vote.
The problem with a Christmas-themed contest in December is, that the games will be finished when Christmas is actually over. Playing Christmas games in January isn't that much fun.

I guess the optimal timing for getting a lot of plays would be to have a Christmas theme in November, releasing them and having the voting period in early December. That would require the winner for September to choose such a theme, though, and one doesn't always think of Christmas that far ahead. 

Yeah, I felt very aware of this. I was desperately trying to get my game done before Christmas so people might actually play it (and so I could have a break) but I underestimated how much time I'd need. Guess we should set diary reminders for the September 2022 MAGS, then the winner can pick a festive theme for next year?

[Pax Animo]

It's disheartening for a developer to get 0 votes, but given the lack of voters it's of course not the voters fault. (they are given options, they have to choose)

But I think everybody here is mature enough to understand that getting 0 votes doesn’t mean their game was disliked by everybody. It just means the voters all preferred at least one of the other options.

Maybe the word "Disheartening" was the wrong choice of words, maybe "Discouraging" would have been a better choice, given the fact that the overall interest in MAGS has dropped rather dramatically to the extent in some months having 0 contributors.

I'm just wondering if people are maybe put off with the voting system.

I get how it works, I'm just thinking there seems to be a feeling of pressure behind it and if that's somewhat off-putting to beginner developers or experienced developers bothering to take the time to get involved.

Ultimately, I'm trying to think of ways to get more people involved. 

I didn't know about this thread, https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=55974.0
So forgive me,  maybe I'll post further there.

[cat]

In another forum, there used to be competitions and we had the same problem with voting. Everyone could just vote for one favorite entry, so one entry that everyone considered second-best did never get any points. We changed the system in a way that you could give points from 1-10 (and 0 for your own entry), which was a much fairer system.
Another option is to do it like some of the art competitions here in the forum, where everyone votes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
However, this would either require some external voting facilities or public votes by forum post.

[Pogwizd]

Big big congratulations to OneDollar

As for the voting turnout, I can't really say much. Correct me if I am wrong, but my guess is this community is mainly made of  30+year-olds with lots of personal stuff going on. I am one of those people and I simply have little time to play games anymore (I have barely found the time to code the game over nights). I've downloaded all December MAGS entries but not played them yet... Which means I didn't vote because I would not know what to vote for. I guess others may be interested in MAGS games but play them in their own time, too, and for this reason they didn't cast a vote? Which would suggest that they are interested in the games but simply have no time to play them before the deadline. I know that it's not obligatory to play them all to cast a vote (or am I wrong?), but I personally wouldn't like to vote without checking all entries.

Are MAGS competitions in any way 'advertised' on AGS Discord channel? Maybe this could drum up more interest? Just a thought

[Stupot]

Are MAGS competitions in any way 'advertised' on AGS Discord channel? Maybe this could drum up more interest? Just a thought

I occasionally post the new topic in the Discord and Twitter but it goes largely unnoticed, so I don’t do it so often any more. I know the IRC folks usually keep a link to the latest topic stickied so you see it when you enter the chat.

[Cassiebsg]

I have no problem with getting zero votes, at the end of the day all we are asked is to vote for the one you enjoyed the most. Which means that it's just that. Doesn't mean the others are worth zero. And yes, the less people that vote, the least chance is to get votes on all entries. But that's just the way it is.

I don't think that spreading points or using outside voting, would help either.
Right now it's just play the games, that often don't take much more than 10-15 min each and click on the favorite. That simple! An yet people still can't find the time to play them.

I do get Pogwizd's point, I've been falling in that category the latest year.  Just have little time, and been taking overtime at work just so we can meet dealines.
I do however, think one should feel the obligation to play the other games and cast vote, if one has entered the contest. So yeah, I have played all and voted. I'll give feedback when I have some free time and clear head for it, but right now I'm not there.

And I confirm what Stu said about IRC. 

[eri0o]

(the IRC is still active? I miss being there)

[Pax Animo]

I have no problem with getting zero votes, at the end of the day all we are asked is to vote for the one you enjoyed the most. Which means that it's just that. Doesn't mean the others are worth zero. And yes, the less people that vote, the least chance is to get votes on all entries. But that's just the way it is.

Yep that's the way it currently is, well pointed out.
Maybe there are other ways to approach the voting system.

I'm trying to keep an open mind on this rather than just shutting it down to "But that's the way it is."

[Cassiebsg]

I mean, that I don't think that making voting more complicated will get more people to vote.
The only way anyone will cast a vote is if they can find the time to play all entries (even if they just play 5 minutes for each entry, and not finish the game, since that could at least give an idea of how the game plays, graphics, sounds, atmosphere, etc.)

The problem is getting people to spend that little time...

Yes, eri0o, IRC is still a thing. Feel free to drop in whenever you like, we'll be there.

[Shadow1000]

Yes, eri0o, IRC is still a thing. Feel free to drop in whenever you like, we'll be there.

Ok, I'll bite. What's IRC?

[Pax Animo]

Yes, eri0o, IRC is still a thing. Feel free to drop in whenever you like, we'll be there.

Ok, I'll bite. What's IRC?

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/community/irc/

"The Every Texting Abbreviation & Online Acronym You'll Ever Need to Know"

Is mind blowing.