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Rule 12/updates clarifications (cover art)

A topic by Andrew Schultz created Jul 01, 2022 Views: 154 Replies: 3
Viewing posts 1 to 3
Submitted

In the crunch leading up to submission, I noticed that additional game content was not allowed, but bug fixes were. That covers most cases and gives me good guidelines of how to make commits to my github repo.

But it brings up one extra question: I couldn't think of any cover art. I and two others are in the same boat. Would adding cover art be okay? (If no, no problem. I'll have it ready post-comp, if I find an idea.)

And what about general feelies? While I'd assume stuff like tweaking a walkthrough for clarity falls under "bug fixes," there may be things people want to add (full-color map etc.) that aren't quite game content but aren't bug fixes either.

Thanks!

Submitted(+1)

Surely, there would be no issue adding cover art, updating your game page or adding feelies. I had no idea that feelies would even be included in the ratings, otherwise I could have added some. I've actually got a map and a walkthrough, but I don't like providing those, as the temptation to use them is too strong for some people and they miss the challenge of exploring the game and solving the puzzles.

Submitted (1 edit)

My guess is no, too, but I figured I'd make sure. It's low priority for me. And sometimes asking these sorts of questions helps give me an idea of something to write!

BTW, I think it was D'Arkun from '21 IFComp that had the idea of including a password-protected PDF map, where the password was revealed once the player was 20% through the game. That's one idea for reasonable obfuscation that isn't impossible.

As for walkthroughs, one way to do things might be to use ROT-13 for one sentence, ROT-14  for the next and so on, cycling through ROT-25 and ROT-1. That would help people not reveal too many hints at once. I'd think a Python script wouldn't be too hard. For deciphering it, ROT13.com would do well, since it only handles one ROT-X at a time.

(ETA: I'm sure I saw 3 works with no cover art, and now there are 2, and I don't think any have been removed from the comp. So as long as it isn't an "I didn't see how to add this" thing, it's okay, and I certainly have no problem with competitors adding cover art, because that sort of thing motivates me to play a game. Still, it's nice so people have one less thing to worry about for next year.)

Submitted(+1)

I entered two games in ParserComp 2021 and I didn't do the cover art (and possibly the game page) until the day after submissions closed. I'd encourage everybody to do some nice cover art and game page, as these games will be hanging around long after the competition is finished and you want to make your game look attractive to any potential players.