This post is to alert Magonians about the MAP CONTEST for RM3, which is being held at the Pavilion. The contest is being hosted and led by Wavelength, who wanted me to post this over here.


RPGM3 Contest: Field of Dreams
One map. Three weeks. Complete freedom.
It's time to make your dreams come true.

Welcome to the Field of Dreams contest for RPG Maker 3. Your goal is simple: make a single Field Map that will make our jaws drop. How you pull that off is up to you. If your creation is impressive enough, you'll score some nice prizes and serious bragging rights.



Judges and Scoring:

The Contest Judges are:
* Wavelength (Blueshift14@yahoo.com)--Contest Coordinator
* Obright (BCtimebandit(at)earthlink(dot)net)
* JPS (JStaples@highspeedlink.net)

Please submit your map to all three judges via email, and either post in this topic or PM each judge to let us know you've submitted an entry. The contest deadline is Monday, February 18 (at 11:59pm PST).

There will probably be an extension on this date.

Each judge will spend 15-30 minutes with your map, and rate it in the following four categories. The map with the highest aggregate score (average of all three judges' scores) will win.

40% for Aesthetics: Are we impressed by your map's visual appeal as we traverse it? Does it create a sense of place? Sheer quality and artistic direction are both important.

30% for Wanderlust: Do we enjoy exploring and (if applicable) interacting with your map? Is it a joy to explore? If we were to spend a long time with this map, would it continue to inspire intrigue/wonder/excitement?

20% for Originality: Does your map do something different or better than RPGM maps we've seen in the past? And more importantly, do these unique touches add to the map's overall quality?

10% for Technical: Can we (easily) get everywhere on the map that we should be able to? Is your coding completely bug-free? Did you follow every contest rule? Avoid making mistakes and you'll earn full points in this category.

Judges reserve the right to deduct further points for major violations of contest rules.



Contest Rules:

SUBMISSIONS--Please submit your map on its own file--nothing that's unrelated to your map should be on the file. If you can't accomodate this due to memory card constraints, that's okay, but make sure you clearly let us know which map we are judging. Remember to submit the file to all three judges, and please use Slot 3 if possible.

WE WILL POST STUFF--Obright has kindly offered to take screenshots of every entry which we will post alongside each review. Also, we plan to post each game file so that all can download and experience your map for themselves. If you don't want us to post the map, let us know when you enter.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY--Entrants retain possession over all intellectual property involved in map-making. Do not use other peoples' maps in your games without their explicit permission!!!

TWO ENTRIES PER PERSON--You may enter up to two maps in this contest. They must be on separate files. Your score will be the higher of the two maps' scores (that is, entering a second map cannot hurt you).

ORIGINAL WORK--The map must be created solely by you, the entrant. You cannot use a map that has already been released as part of a demo or full game, and you cannot create your map by starting from an already-released map (or from any Default Maps). You may use a map that you started working on before this contest was announced, so long as it hasn't been released.

WE WILL TALK--Judges will discuss contest entries with each other during the judging phase in order to give everyone a fair shake--we want to make sure none of us miss something cool, for example, that we shouldn't have missed.

NO BATTLES--Do not include any battles on your map, whether Random or Event.

ONE MAP--Remember, the map we're judging must be a Field Map made in RPG Maker 3. Your map should not lead into other parts of your game, nor should it include any game-related plot. It should consist be one Field Map, not a combination of several. However, there are exceptions...

* "Sub-Maps"--You can use "sub-maps" created in any editor (Dungeon, Town, or Field) in order to enhance your main (judged) map. For example, you might have a cave opening or an island on your main map--you can warp the player to a SMALL cave or island created using the Dungeon Editor or another Field Map in order to "flesh out" your main map. Sub-Maps must be clearly subordinate to your main map and shouldn't take more than a minute to explore. Going overboard could lead to a deduction.

* Coding--Feel free to use any event model, event scripting, or decoration that pleases you. Perhaps you want a rainbow to appear automatically at a certain time of the day, or allow the player to examine a stone wall to read the text carved onto it. Remember that it cannot include any per-se plot, and shouldn't include anything like a difficult puzzle that would impede our progress in judging your entry.



Prizes:

The winning mapmaker will receive a $25 gift card to any venue of their choice. If you have no preference or I can't obtain a gift card for that place, I'll buy you a $25 gift card to GameStop. (In order to qualify for this, there must be at least four entrants and the winning map's average score must be at least 75%.)

The top three mapmakers will also receive a Pavilion-related prize. I can't say anything else at this time, except that it has no monetary value but it's something you'll definitely want. It is not known at this time what Magonians will win in lieu of this, but it is being taken into consideration.

And of course, showing well in this contest is not only a testament to your skill as a creator, but great promotion for your games.



Questions?

Feel free to post them in this thread, or PM me here, and I will forward the question or comment on to Wavelength.



*UPDATE!!*

In light of the many people who wanted to enter their maps into the Field of Dreams Contest but don't have a Max Drive, we have decided to extend the deadline to Sunday, February 24 at 11:59pm PST, as well as provide a way to enter the contest if you don't have a Max Drive.

You may now either submit your file to each judge using your Max Drive (the "standard" way); or mail your memory card to me, and I will send the file (via my Max Drive) to the other Contest Judges (and of course send your memory card back to you). We will accept any entries that were put in the mail before the deadline of 2/24.

I hope this gives everyone a chance to enter, and best of luck making the Map of your dreams!

Logistics:

* I don't want to publicly post my address, so simply ask me via a Private Message at the Pavilion or through email (Blueshift14@yahoo.com) and I will give it to you.

* I want to be very clear that neither I nor the Pavilion are responsible in the very unlikely event that your memory card is lost or damaged in the mail. While in my possession, I will treat your card with care. I will also add a small bit of bubble wrap for extra protection when mailing--you might want to do the same.

* As such, consider copying your important files over to another memory card (if you or a friend have one) before sending it out in the mail.

* You should be able to send your memory card in a standard envelope, the same way you'd send a letter. Two 41-cent stamps should probably be enough, but I recommend using three, just to be sure. I will pay the return postage for you. (This is all assuming you live in the US. If you don't, then message or email me and we'll figure it out from there.)

* Inside the envelope, please include a sheet of paper which includes your Pav/Mag name, the name of your map, and your return address. This will help keep things organized.

* If you live in Washington DC or New York City, please check with your local postmaster to make sure that sending a memory card to and from those cities is safe. Several years ago those cities used X-rays to make sure the mail destined for those cities was safe, which weakened the plastic on electronics.

to bad i dont have rpg maker 3. looks nice a goo contest!

I like contests that are outside of the box like this. I hope you have a good turnout.

Thanks, Ixzion! Turnout is already on the low side unfortunately, but it may be that people are choosing to work in secret, only revealing their maps before the deadline. So far the only entrant is Lausen, but Pagerron said that he might also enter a map. There are some great map-makers here, somebody step up!

Come on people it's just for fun. I'm more cerious to see other peoples maps then my own. So get them done. My second map is done, I am just waiting on it.

Wavelength wanted me to let everybody know that there was now a contest deadline extension, and that a memory card mail service would be made available for people who lack max drives. The first post is now edited to reflect the changes, and the new part is highlighted in orange.