Clarification/Stupid Question

[zircher]

In order to prevent any more heart attacks, I think you meant the morning of the 25th.  :-)
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TAZ

[Hans Chung-Otterson]

In order to prevent any more heart attacks, I think you meant the morning of the 25th.  :-)
--
TAZ

Gah, yes! And I should know, because I've spent the entire weekend and beginning of this week thinking it was due Sunday morning, the 24th.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eleri: In my mind, the 3,000 word limit applies mostly to the text of the game.  It's okay to count character sheets as supplemental materials, as long as there's not a ton of text on them or you have 15 different sheets that you expect the judges to go over very carefully.  The 3,000 word challenge isn't there to force you to count every word you write, but to get you to focus your initial draft on the most important things.

[Gryffudd]

I can't remember what the rule was last year on art resources (or even if there was a rule). I have some art sets I've previously paid for the rights to. Can I use them, or only art that is available to everyone/free use?

Pat G.

[Ice Cream Emperor]

Stupid question: How seriously should I be taking this 3000 word count limit?

I just finished the first draft of the game and did a first-pass edit to cut out obvious kruft -- it is still 3800 words. I am sure I can get it down to 3500, but there is no practical way it is going to be 3000 unless I want to basically cripple my own game text. Which, obviously, I don't. (In fact, I am pretty sure it would be significantly improved by adding another 300-500 words of play advice.)

So yeah, I am sure this is a can of worms and precedent, blah blah blah, but I am curious what the method is, so I can adjust the text accordingly. I would be happy to include a little marker in the PDF at the 3000 word point -- if someone stops reading there I will be impressed.

[zircher]

How much of the play aid advice can be moved into a supplemental text or a separate designer's note?

[Jonathan Walton]

Pat: There's no rules on art and design. Include whatever you like, but the reviewers will not judge your game better or worse based on how it looks.

Daniel and Zircher: The 3,000-word limit is pretty serious, but you can include anything not necessary for playing the game in supplemental materials that the reviewers will probably look over but not necessarily read and review in detail.  But anything past ~3,000 words is optional when it comes to the work the reviewers will be asked to put in.

[Jonathan Walton]

A couple general thoughts on length and cutting, for those who have a working draft already:

I am somewhat skeptical that making an alpha draft any longer is going to make it better.  If you have critical advice on how to play the game -- where playing without the advice leads to a measurably worse play experience -- maybe the "advice" should actually be part of the rules: how the game works in the first place.

Additionally, remember that your text should leave players excited about playing your game and seeing how it actually works at the table.  This means you don't necessarily need to explain in detail exactly how things should go.  You wrote the game to facilitate certain kinds of experiences, right?  Then trust in your own design abilities and allow the players to find out for themselves how it works.  Show, don't tell.  Teach your players to fish, don't describe the fishing trip they are about to embark on.

I hope that helps, if you're beginning to face difficult decisions about wordcount.  You may also find it useful to imagine that you're writing this draft as a proposal to a potential publisher, investor, or other interested party, and they have asked you for 3,000 words of your best design work, proving that a Shakespeare-inspired game is feasible.

[Baxil]

JWalt: The official rules make vague mention that, if a 2011 Chef fails to return their preliminary reviews, that duty might be kicked back to non-finishing participants or to past Chefs.  Are you taking volunteers?  For a confluence of reasons (including illness), I'm regretfully bowing out of this year's comp, but I'd love to help out.

[Jonathan Walton]

Definitely!  Thanks, Baxil.  I'll keep you on speed-dial in the event of a reviewing emergency.

[Daniele Di Rubbo]

Another stupid question: in Italy now it's 5:25 PM. The Forge forum clock shows 7:25 AM; so there is a clock lag of 10 (!) hours. Can we have just a rough indication of the time stop for the submissions on July 25th morning?

[Jonathan Walton]

How about 10am, wherever you are, on July 25th?

[Daniele Di Rubbo]

10:00 AM on The Forge clock?

[Jonathan Walton]

No, 10am in your time zone.

[Daniele Di Rubbo]

Oh, that's ok! So can we link the final PDF in our topic here in the Game Chef section?