CHOMP 2021 Contest - Results Posted!

CHOMP 2021 (short for CHoicescript cOMPetition) is inspired by @Lordirish’s CScomp which ran for 5 years.

Disclaimer: This contest is in no way endorsed by CoG. I am solely responsible and any problems or concerns, any issues should be addressed directly to me.

What is CHOMP?
It is an interactive game-writing contest where you get thirty-ish days to make a submission using ChoiceScript.

Theme: Mischief

Presumed FAQ

Who can compete?
Anybody is welcome to enter as long as you use the ChoiceScript format, are respectful, don’t spam, and follow the rules. The competition is entirely free to enter.
How do I enter
Upload your work to DashingDon as a private game. When you are ready to submit it to be judged, fill out this form with a link to the game and any important info like co-authors’ names.
When is the competition?
It’s right now. Get Writing. The contest will be open for a month, and then it will take up to another month to judge all the submissions.
Do I have to turn in a complete game?
To finish a game in just thirty days is a very difficult challenge. You’re game does not need to be complete. It can be a demo or a loose piece of a story.
*What about script or mods?
Go for it. This will probably not effect your score though.
Can it be a co-op work?
You may submit a co-op game but one person must be designated as the main contact. How you share the prize money is up to your group. You should take care to credit all people involved, ie: Story by Tom, Coded by Sally
When can we start work on the game?
You may work on an outline or framework, but do not work on writing the story until the theme has been announced.
Beta Testing
Because your game should be kept private until the competition is done, we ask that you only do small and private betas.

Rules

→ Max one submission per person
→ Judges can enter but they can’t rate their own, which means judges get a -100 points penalty
→ Sponsors can enter but they will also have a -100 point penalty and can’t win their own sub-category
→ Games should not have been worked on prior to the contest or shared publicly on the forums until the end of the competition
→ It is understood that any game entered will be shared with the general public at the end of the competition. If you do not wish to share your game publicly do not enter CHOMP → we will be linking the submission links we got on the results announcement.
→ Mentally acknowledge the bolded disclaimer above
→ Don’t do something that will make me feel bad that I didn’t think of more rules to add

Prizes

To receive prize money you must have a PayPal account.
All prize money is USD and I will pay the cost of sending by PayPal in USD.
prize pool so far: $100
sub-category prizes: $75

The distribution of the prize pool will depend on how many people enter [see table]

Entrants Positions Paid Prize Split
1 - 6 First Place 100%
7 - 9 Top Two 70% 30%
10 - 15 Top Three 50% 30% 20%
16 - 23 Top Four 50% 25% 15% 10%
24+ Top Five 40% 25% 20% 10% 5%

Host’s Prizes
I’m trying hard to save for college and control my spending, so I can only put $50 towards the prize pool this year. Because I can’t give more, I’m also offering an optional prize to the first place winner where I will write a JavaScript, ChoiceScript, or hybrid script for them (within a reasonable limit). For examples of my scripts see here (JavaScript) and here (pure ChoiceScript)

How The Winner Is Decided?

Sponsors’ sub-categories are scored by the sponsor unless they delegate it to the judges.

For the main prize pool:
Each judge can give up to 100 points per game and the host gets 100 total extra points to hand out between all participants.

Scoring and the theme will not be entirely decided, explained, or announced until sponsors have decided their sub-categories.
The scoring is almost certainly going to look like this though:
Writing Style (10)
Judges get plenty of leeway on this one but mainly we want to see your story be coherent and paint us pictures with words.
Length (10)
Your story doesn’t need to be very long to get 10, just show that you put some amount of time and effort into your story.
Replayability and Complexity (10)
Interactive fiction is all about making choices and going back to see what would have happened if you chose different things. To get all 10 points here, make sure you have branching paths and meaningful choices.
Technical (10)
It’s not easy to get points for Technical. For this, present that you’ve done something inventive with ChoiceScript. Maybe include an inventory system or checkpoint saving. This could also help with your Uniqueness score.
Errors/Bugs/Grammar (10)
Having errors, bugs or bad grammar will cause you to lose points here.
Inclusivity (10)
Be inclusive. Acknowledge different genders, sexualities, and backgrounds to score well here. If your story is gender-locked, it should be because it goes very well with the story.
Uniqueness (10)
Your game stands out from others. The story is refreshing. The gameplay is not just standard.
Matches the Theme (15)
You have to match the theme, of course. If the theme ends up being “Pirates,” and the only pirates in your story is a poster of Jack Sparrow, you’re not getting points for theme from me.
Judge’s Overall Opinion (15)
Forgetting the other scoring categories, did the judge like your story? We’ll see.

Info For Judges & Sponsors

Reply to this topic or message me to apply to be a judge or sponsor.
Judges:
Let me know why you want to judge and I’ll pick people well known in the community who have been around and interacted on the forums.
Judges must read and give a score to all submissions in order for any of their ratings to be counted.
Sponsors:
Let me know what you would like to give towards the prize pool and/or towards a sub-category.
Anyone can sponsor any amount to the main prize pool and it’s very helpful if you do.
Sponsors must meet a minimum prize of $25 to make their own sub-category. See here and here for examples of sub-categories people sponsored in CSComp 3 and 5.

Sponsors (Thank you :smile:)
@Twiger_Fluff
@hustlertwo
@Eric_Moser
@MrWolf101

Judges
@Twiger_Fluff
@Cecilia_Rosewood
@AChubbyBlackCat


Sub-Categories
@hustlertwo
$25 for the highest-scoring person who hasn’t been published before and who does not finish in one of the [prize-pool] positions.

@Eric_Moser
$25 toward the main prize pool and $25 for Best Humorous/Lighthearted Entry.

@MrWolf101
$25 towards the main prize pool and $25 towards best non-RO character (non-romanceable NPC).


Link to results post:

57 Likes

Definitely interested in participating.
I’m terrible at finishing projects - But I’ll fully intend to, if that counts!

2 Likes

You know what, this is a perfect opportunity for me. I’m down.

1 Like

I’m interested to give it a try whenever it begins.

1 Like

I’m in!

2 Likes

I was always sad I came around just a bit too late to be a part of CSComp. That being said, it folded because it was a ton of work, so good luck!

You know what, go ahead and put me down for two prizes. $15 to the highest-scoring person who hasn’t been published before as a CoG or HG author (this would exclude anyone who actually finishes in the money, they’re getting paid already), and $10 to the lowest-scoring entry, because it is our failures that often teach us the most.

22 Likes

Sincerely, If I present and have the worst score and receive the money I would feel insulted like it were a mockery price and salt on the wound. It is already embarrassing end last to have a big ribbon empathizing the fact. In fact, I will never present to something like that. It is basically a bullying price that will scare people like me who is not native and not good writers.

3 Likes

I have to side with Mara. Perhaps the $10 could be for the first non-winning place or for someone that showed a certain quality.

6 Likes

When will the theme be announced? I don’t want to pressure you or anything but it will be great to have it so I could brainstorm.

1 Like

The idea is to keep the theme a secret until we start so people don’t cheat by starting early. Think of the brainstorming as part of the writing process that starts when the contest starts.

4 Likes

a month is sincerely not enough time for a choice game except is a unfinished demo, more if the theme is announced same day as start.

6 Likes

@Twiger_Fluff can we submit an entry if we also sponsor?

Yes but I will give a rating of 0 for sponsors who aren’t also judges so that they get the same point penalty as judges and they won’t be able to win their own sub categories.

Fair enough, I was thinking of it as a consolation prize of sorts, but if it would come off as mean-spirited let’s just roll that amount into the other one and do $25 for the highest-scoring person who hasn’t been published before and who does not finish in one of the money-making positions. To shorten that, I guess we’d just say the top runner-up from an unpublished author?

6 Likes

Doesn’t a -100 penalty make it impossible to win? In that scenario I would be picking one or the other (and almost certainly choosing to submit an entry in lieu of sponsoring).
For judges who also submit, does it make more sense to just average out the points awarded by the other judges and then just add that average on.

1 Like

How much a -100 point penalty effects you depends on how many judges there are. The idea behind the penalty is to make it harder for judges and sponsors to win. I’m open to changing it though, to something like you said. I’ll probably wait to see how many judges there are and wait for some ratings to see how much it really effects judges’/sponsors’ scores.

Ideas for subcategories (that I would like to see, but can’t currently spare the money for):

  • Best romance
  • Best non-RO character
  • Best humorous/light-hearted game (since we see so much more dark and serious stuff)

So, if anyone wants to sponsor, but aren’t sure exactly what, there you go. :wink:

8 Likes

This is tempting, though I want to see what the theme is first before committing. :thinking:

This contest sounds amazing.

oh jeez, I don’t even care if the theme is “superhero werewolf wizards go to ninja school and fall in love,” I will definitely submit an entry!

CANNOT WAIT :hourglass_flowing_sand:

4 Likes