I’d like to suggest a corollary to the hree-hour-preparation rule for Ectocomp and any other speed IF competitions. Can we accomodate disabled writers by giving them more time to write? Maybe a third extra time for every hour of prep time? So, for Ectocomp, disabled writers would have an extra hour, 20 minutes times 3.
I don’t think we need to wrangle over the definition of disabled. Keep it subjective, since we use the honor system for the time limit anyway. If you have a physical (such as blindness or only one hand) or psychological (such as ADHD) impairment that you feel hinders your ability to interface with the computer – without the disability, you could write faster and include more content – then you can take the extra 20 minutes per hour. I realize that disabilities come in degrees – some people may be slowed down negligibly while others could be torpid, but 20 minutes extra per hour seems like a good comprimise.
I realize any disabled writer could take the extra time anyway in lieu of a formal ruling and justify it to himself or herself. I think, however, that mentioning an accomodation in the formal rules for the competition signals that the IF community recognizes the diversity of players and writers and encourages everyone to participate.
Just a note on terminology: I use the term “disabled” because I don’t find the term offensive, yet I would be counted among them. I realize some people would rather terms like “differently-abled,” so I mean no offence to anyone who dislikes my chosen terminology. Also, as a general rule, no-one should be using the term “handicap” when describing someone with a disability. It is demeaning; it derives from the phrase “hand in cap,” that is, someone who begs for change using a hat or cap. I dislike the term, and the US government does not allow it to be used in any of their reports and other documents.
That’s a false etymology; it is about money in caps, but in a gambling context. (The word was used about betting from the 1650s, came to mean ‘a way to equalise odds’ in the 19th century, and wasn’t used to mean ‘disabled’ until the early 20th century.) Not that this matters all that much if a term has come to have bad associations - but rewriting history isn’t necessary.
I’m getting a bit off topic here, and hope nobody minds. It’s just that I find language interesting (and imagine that I’m not the only one on this forum who feels that way).
This is interesting - thanks. I can’t think of a Swedish term to equal “disabled”. Here, the term “handikappad” is frequently used, without any negative connotation. The paralympics are usually called “handikapp-os” (os = the olympic games), the word is also used for the larger than usual parking spaces, and so on… I’ve noticed the English use of “disabled” before, but never really thought about it or why “handicap” would be offensive.
Edit: Thanks, maga, for the etymology lesson, too!
On the topic of allowed a bit of extra time for certain conditions, I would think that sort of follows into the “time starts when your hands hit the keyboard” context. The same could be said of sitting down to make an entry but having a mental block and not typing anything at all for minutes at a time, or being interrupted by a phone call.
I just finished my entry aside from squeezing my last few minutes for 1 playtester and any bug-fixing and should be submitting it soon. I’ll also make a list of what items I can donate as prizes and include those in the email with my entry.
The rules of Ectocomp were so transparent when it was only ADRIFT authors who could enter. And theeeen they had to go and let the Inform users in, and 25 posts later we’re still just making everything more complicated [emote];)[/emote]
Ah, you don’t know the half of it. Way back in the Dark Ages (or 2006 or thereabouts) I tried to organise an ADRIFT one room game comp which led to a very long and protracted discussion over the definition of what one room was. The discussion ran for longer than the comp and received much higher participation.
Ectocomp is just a bit of fun, and I want everyone to enjoy it. If you have a disability that you feel gives you an unfair disadvantage, by all means add time to compensate, at your own discretion. I’m not going to make hard and fast rules.
That proposal sounds great. Just try to remember to mention it when you (HOPEFULLY) announce the Comp again next year.
Assuming I finish my game (and I’ll be pretty ticked off if I don’t) , it sounds as if the Comp will have at least two entries. Gook luck to all entrants.
I can say for certain that this comp is fun. It’s the first I have entered in and it inspired me to try. I was pouring over notes, Inform manuals, and posting here to get it done in three hours. It’s a nifty challenge.
I agree…and to touch on an earlier point, as a former competitor I’d also say that I didn’t much worry if my competitors went over 3 hours, and as a former judge, I’d be sad if this limit kept someone from submitting something because they needed another half-hour to zap a bug they saw.
Plus, worst case, you can always update post-comp and people may give your game another whirl.
Just a note to trumgottist - I think the Swedish duo of handikappad/funktionshindrad is a pretty good match for handicapped/disabled, both in literal meaning and usage, and that “handikappad” is not, in fact, a word entirely without issues.
I think I might want to get in on this one. One question: is it okay if we take inspiration from another story (read: rip off)? I want to adapt a non-interactive story into Twine and I just want to make sure it would be kosher.
Who doesn’t take inspiration from other stories? Of course that would be fine. If you’re copying chunks of text from the original non-interactive story I think it would be as well to mention that in the “about” text – if Twine has “about” text.
My Ectocomp entry got carried away and decided to be more than 3 hours long, so I need to throw the towel on that and find something else that I can do in the time limit. Phooey!
My daughter has written a CYOA for the competition. I’m helping her code it in Twine and fix problems in the text. She would like to know if it’s okay for her to put the game on her website so she can share it with friends, or if she needs to wait until the judging is over.
(Edit) Now she’s not sure she wants to enter it. Cold feet I think. But still curious just in case. Thanks.
Actually I’ve been wondering that myself. I think Hulk Handsome put his Ectocomp entry up on Glorious Trainwrecks before judging was over, but I can’t be sure.
Also, if she’s worried about her entry being judged harshly compared to the others, I promise to make a game so bad that all the other entries, including hers, can’t help but look good in comparison.
If you’re serious, I’m tempted to say sure! I mentioned it to her just now and she lit up. But that’s ok. I can be a filter for her when the results are in. I’ve encouraged her to go ahead and enter regardless. I told her it would be good experience, and she can enter again next year and so forth.
Sir, I have never been more serious in my life. Although I am a notorious procrastinator, so there’s a non-zero chance that (god forbid) I won’t be able to enter it. And now that I’m thinking my idea, it seems it’s getting worryingly close to mediocre. Hrmm, maybe I should enter TWO terrible entries…