The prize money could be distributed equally, at least among the ribbon recipients.
I think part of the charm of The Spring Thing is that it feels like a low stakes event. In fact, if competition isn’t your thing, you can even opt out of the main competition and participate in the back garden. It’s described as a festival and I like that.
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Well, I think this can be very helpful, because some people do look for games that haven’t been reviewed and try to review them, so every game is looked at. But it’s understandable if you don’t wish to make public comments.
Still, it’s always good to see someone new. Proceed at your own pace, though we’d like to do what we can to help you not get stuck.
I’ve also found that sometimes it’s an afterthought in a review of mine (or others) that spurs a lot of discussion. So you don’t know what’s really going to get people talking positively. I think as long as you’re not trying for volume for its own sake, that is more than good enough.
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In the very initial phase of the comp, the negative reactions to the blurb really stung, simply because it felt “unfair” given I’d spent 3 years working on the game, and it was being judged based on something I had absolutely no training in writing properly (not just the blurb, but the content warning for the blurb).
However, I consider the reaction fair, and I think I actually learned a pretty important fact about it: blurbs are important. I think it’s legit to judge a game based on how it presents itself, esp. since so many in the community are willing to offer advice on how to present a game.
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Cover art and blurbs are deceptively important. I really liked that 2 people reviewed just those two things by themselves last year and found it very helpful. It’s a shame it sounds like this might have been negatively received, as I think it’s an important part of the whole presentation and can help as we don’t always have a lot of practice doing these things and it can make or break the first impression of a game and whether people will pick it up to read. I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it would be to spend 3 years designing a game and have it be negatively received before people had even started reading it.
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Maybe this is obvious, but I’m new to all of this so it wasn’t obvious to me… But most people that submit to the comp have beta testers, right? Or at least those that hope to place well. Maybe part of the beta testing could be getting opinions on the blurb that they are planning to use. Just simple questions like “Does this accurately describe the game?” or “Is this misleading?”
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You know, that’s a great idea. I never ‘tested’ my blurbs before this year and it was really helpful. I think you’re completely right.
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Ask your playtesters to review your blurb, including its content warning. Ask what excites them about the blurb, ask whether it accurately describes the game they tested, and ask whether there are any interesting features about the game that you have omitted.
You can also ask people who haven’t played your game to review your blurb. You can’t post your game publicly before the competition starts, but you can post your blurb publicly, allowing you to get feedback from folks who aren’t already familiar with your game. This way, you can find out whether the blurb is exciting (or whether it even makes sense) to people who haven’t played your game yet.
See also: How to Write a Good IFComp Blurb
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I am an avid reader. When I browse a bookstore, the first thing to catch my eye is the cover art. After that, I turn the book over and read the blurb on the back cover. If I am not drawn in by those two items, I rarely even consider a book other than through review I may happen to read.
Cover art and blurbs are very important. It is marketing.
Going back to the original concerns and the number of entries, are we even sure we’re going to see numbers on this level going forward?
Everyone being out of work/out of school and at home with nothing to do had to be a factor here.
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We were getting about 80 entries a year – and this same discussion – before the pandemic.
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I know I only wrote my game because I suddenly had a lot more time over the pandemic.
The truth is that I have seen that situation and the personal biases of the judges are involved, it is very difficult to separate everything. Separating yourself from your preferences is difficult …
They vote for such a disparity of concepts that it complicates the issue a lot
Yep, still no good reasons mentioned to separate anything, might as well stick with what works. People are going to have biases and it’s better to just not care about it.
As a writer, you either got the choice of specifically trying to write something that games the system so you potentially get the most warm and fuzzies or you can not worry about it and just focus on your uncompromised vision. If those two goals just happen to overlap, that’s fine too.
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