SIGNUP FAQ
Can I submit songs even if I don’t want to make a game?
Technically, there’s nothing stopping you, since you can always drop out. But that’s not really in the spirit of the thing.
So this is the compromise: if you’re not going to make a game, you can submit songs and tell me that you’re not authoring. Those songs will go in a reserve pool, to be used if full participants don’t submit enough songs, or if people show up late and want to be assigned songs, or similar emergencies. Your honesty in this matter is appreciated.
What is acceptable content for submitted songs?
The basic assumption, in this as in most IF events, is that participants will be mature enough to cope with adult themes and language. That said, use some common sense in making your selections: you don’t know who’s going to be listening to them. I enjoy listening to Celph Titled or The Prophet Capleton once in a while; but I’m aware that, for a substantial number of people, that music would be pretty much the equivalent of a flaming bag of dogshit on their doorstep. Be considerate in your choices. I’ll include warnings with any seriously objectionable content when I send the lists out; but the fact that I’m doing this doesn’t get you off the hook.
What else should I consider when choosing songs?
None of the following are hard-and-fast rules, and you can ignore all of it if you please.
What material does this offer an author? Are there lyrics? A narrative? Do they seem like something an author could work with? Does it seem like something that lends itself to an IF treatment? (I’m a big fan of Madvillain’s Figaro, but it’d take a very special author to turn that horny rhyme-association stoner-dream into a game.)
Is this likely to be new to anyone? Treat this as a mix intended to introduce a friend to some new music. If you think it’s more likely than not that your randomly selected recipient will already know the song, think twice. If you go with a very well-known artist, maybe don’t pick their best-known songs. At least part of the fun of this should be about creative response to new things.
Clarification! A number of people have expressed anxiety about whether their songs will be insufficiently obscure and hipsterish. That’s not the idea here - we’re trying to share things we like, not have a biggest-hipster contest. And, yeah, fields of exposure vary A Lot. If an artist doesn’t show up on, say, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums, you probably don’t need to worry about it. Even if they do, as long as you don’t pick their best-known songs from their biggest albums, no problem. And even then, you’re totally free to ignore this advice.
In summary: there is no guarantee that any of the songs you submit will be turned into games. The more considerate you are of your recipients, the better your chances will be.
Will people know who submitted which songs?
By default, yes; each song will come with a byline saying who submitted it. If you’d prefer a different arrangement, tell me when you submit them.
I only like three songs in the whole world. Can I still play?
Yes! It says at most eight songs, a set which technically includes zero songs (or negative songs, if you can work out how to arrange that). The reserve pool will fill in the gaps.
What’s the deal with these pseudonyms?
It’s not meant to be entirely serious; if you prefer, think of it more as a silly-masks-at-a-party thing. The original motivation was so that voters won’t preferentially play games based on author name-recognition, but if this doesn’t work perfectly it’s not a big deal. At the end we’ll reveal who was who.
(If you wish to sit out the reveal and remain pseudonymous forever, let me know. Or just don’t tell me who you are in the first place.)