IGF Main Competition Entrants Posted

[BS-er]

The IGF website has posted the entries to the 2009 IGF main competition.  The other entries all look quite impressive and interesting, judging by the screenshots and trailers at their respective websites.  Many of them seem to have a charm and uniqueness that you just won't find in mainstream games.  I have some idea of the perseverance, dedication and "stuff" that it takes to put together a lot of 1s and 0s into a playable game, so kudos go to all the entrants who worked hard, met their goals, and showed that they can walk the walk.  I wish and hope to meet some of these developers in the future.

I see that other games based on the Ogre engine have been submitted.  Salvation Prophecy is the one I noticed right off the bat, and there are at least 3 others as well.  It would be nice to see Ogre well represented in the list of finalists!

[Black Manatee]

Looks like quite a crowd of entrants, Bob!  Good luck; I hope we're able to stand out from the pack...

One thing I noticed was that many of the entry descriptions were quite a bit more longer/larger/more detailed than ours.  Do the judges get their first impressions from the descriptions in those lists, or do they see something more detailed (along with, of course, the actual game)?  If those descriptions serve as something of a "dust-jacket" (like book covers/descriptions) for the judges, then it seems like folks with more lengthy/detailed/interesting descriptions could have a distinct advantage.  I served as a judge for the Edgar Award (best first English-language mystery novel) a couple of years ago, and I have to confess that it was hard to avoid letting the book's jacket have any effect on your initial impression...

Not that I think our description isn't great or anything; I'm just wondering if other folks exceeded a word-count limit (as well as having larger thumbnail images), and whether the judges will get their first impressions from those brief snippets vs something more detailed.  If their main point of reference will be those brief descriptions in the list, we may want to update it with more detail (if that's possible)...

[BS-er]

Interesting observation.  Don't fret though.  I can't see how it will have any impact whatsoever.  The entry form blurbs led me to believe that the description is mostly for PR and stuff.  I didn't really come close to the word limit.  I could've added more details, but I'm generally minimalist in my descriptions of things.

The literature described a true judging process that focuses on the game itself, and how it will be scored, categorized etc.  In my opinion I could've shrunk it down to "action and strategy vehicle combat game" for the blurb with no ill effect on our chances.

Looking at the archives for the IGF website, it's also reassuring that last year's grand prize winner, Crayon Physics Deluxe, had a blurb that was smaller than the one for MAD.  The same goes for World of Goo (very cool game BTW), which took in the most awards.

[Black Manatee]

last year's grand prize winner, Crayon Physics Deluxe, had a blurb that was smaller than the one for MAD.  The same goes for World of Goo (very cool game BTW), which took in the most awards.

That's good to know, Bob--and it reflects very well on the judges!  I think the most unique aspects of our game aren't obvious from screen shots or even videos or quick gameplay; instead, they are related to the AI, strat-action blend, and multifaceted gameplay.  So your point about the judging from last year is very reassuring!