I’m not sure whether I’m entering the contest yet, but if I do, I know I’ll likely have to start a new project from scratch and I figure that others are in the same boat . . . wanting to enter it, but without a project started or nearly finished. So, I thought it might be ideal if people record their progress in a thread with word counts or something.
It has the benefit of not ‘showing our cards to the competition’ as well, though I guess if someone says they’ve got a 500,000 word project to submit, it might give us something to consider in comparison to our own word count. (Though length is hardly the sole determining factor when it comes to quality.)
PS: I wasn’t sure whether to post this in the General category or the Works in Progress category.
Personally, I think it should be up to each person to decide, so I’m not too keen on a ‘set in stone system’. I’d even go as far as to say this thread could be used for people who are stuck and want to vent.
Personally, when it comes to counting code or branches, I’d include two word counts. The word count the randomtests give, on average, and the total word count. Regarding branches . . . I’m not sure if I’d say anything as I’d like to keep as much private as I can.
What I’ve been doing is pasting any new writing into a document that’s only for word count purposes. I haven’t been including code as words, though that’s up to you. There’s a space on the Nanowrimo.org website to record your daily word count. As for competing - as long as everyone gets to 50,000, it doesn’t really matter who gets there first or how far they go over. So I wouldn’t worry about “showing your hand.”
Yep, as Cecilia says, it’s about the contest that Choice of Games is running. Deadline of January 31st, 100,000 words minimum, prize of $5,000 for the top prize, plus a publishing contract, I believe, with royalties. Or at least the winners’ stories/games published under the Hosted Games label. (In fact, I’ll add the link to the contest in the original post.)
It’s enough to give me a kick up the backside to finally get something done. I just need to plant my butt in my chair, get an idea of what I want to do and write. At least 100,000 words between now and the end of January is no easy feat though (especially a high quality 100,000 words), and I imagine there’s a distinct possibility I’ll go over that word count, though I am a short story writer, so . . . On the plus side, if people don’t manage to reach that word count or finish in time, there’s always the option to publish their work under the Hosted Games label, I imagine.
Now I feel stupid. No idea why I thought the deadline was 2017. So, no rush then! Currently, I’m toying around with making a game via Game Maker and figured I’d have to put that on hold to focus on this, so I’m happy about it. Money would have been nice though, if I had luck.
Which comes out to only 5,575 words of story so far. But I decided this is something I want to try. This contest, making a CoG guideline-style game.
It can’t really take over my main project- but - eventually, someday, I’ll pop up a WIP for it as a nice surprise- unless the contest means that’s a no-no.
I believe they said that you can have it beta-tested and that it’s allowed to post here, so you should be fine. However, it was a few days ago since I last read the announcement thread. I’d check there to be sure, as that is where it was mentioned, because I could be mistaken…
Good luck with the contest entry and nice to see a post here. Myself, with the deadline being over a year from now, I’ve not started anything, but I’d like to take part. I’ll possibly get started once I finish Tyranny (good game if anyone’s interested in it). I’m unsure what I’ll do about beta-testing, but if I do post it, I’ll likely leave it quite late to avoid showing my cards, so to speak.
(Though length is hardly the sole determining factor when it comes to quality.)
