How I judged:

Contests 4K Game Competition - 2006
#1

Like I posted in the other thread, I thought judging this contest was an uncomfortable experience so I want to explain to the entrants the procedure I followed. I know when I participated last year I was dismayed by some of the judges results, so I wanted to take the time and and least give you guys an idea where I was coming from.

  1. Everyone got 40 points for making a 4k game.

  2. The remaining points were divided evenly for gfx and gameplay so you could get a max of 30 points for gfx and 30 points for gameplay.

  3. Average for both was 15 so if you had a game with half decent gfx and some gameplay I awarded 70 points.

  4. I added bonuses for stuff that I know took alot of effort and enginuity to fit into 4k. I tried to note those in the comments.

I felt like a complete jerk rating some games so low, but in my opinion there were a handful of games that were just head and shoulders above the rest; miners4k for gameplay and ares for gfx. Those were the gold standard.

I found judging the contest to be very difficult because there were so many different genres, After the fact I thought of changing my rational to include the genre. Overall, I am not impressed with puzzle games in 4k, it’s just not much of a challenge, unless the author did something interesting like sokoban4k.

Finally, great job everyone, there are some really great games in the contest this year.

Maybe the other judges will post there rational here too…

#2

[quote]I felt like a complete jerk rating some games so low, but in my opinion there were a handful of games that were just head and shoulders above the rest; miners4k for gameplay and ares for gfx. Those were the gold standard.
[/quote]
As long as you voted according to what you believed should be true, I don’t see any reason to beat yourself up over it. Being a judge is a hard job, especially when you’re sensitive to the fact that all the author’s hopes and dreams are contained in those 4096 bytes of data. While it may look a little funny to have 80’s in the places where others put 90’s, there’s nothing that would have really changed by using a higher scoring scale. You would have still scored everything with the same relative distances. Thus the results are good, and I for one am happy with them.

If there’s anything I would have liked to have seen, it’s a set of “Best in Class” awards. That way, even the best puzzle variations can stand out a head above the rest. :slight_smile:

#3

I think you guys got a perfectly clear explanation of how I judged. I was surprised to find all my comments were like 3 times longer than all the rest haha.

#4

nonnus29 -> Can I just ask you something

W4K : “I didn find this game fun at all… It has too many problems.”

May I know what was wrong… I’d like to learn from my mistakes :stuck_out_tongue:

#5

I (obviously) thing the judges did an awesome job. =)

#6

I am very thankful for the honesty that you and the other judges put into the judging. It shows my 2 weakest points: design and getting good graphics in the game. Next year, I will skip the clones and try to come up with something original.

Thanks again.

ps Did I say thanks yet? :wink:

#7

For what it’s worth, I really appreciate the effort you put into those comments- lots of helpful feedback.

  • HC
#8

Agreed. Thanks to all the judges, and Mahlokan: Great comments! I loved how you kept them elaborate and clear, very helpful!

#9

yup great work Mahlokan on the long comments really appreciated them, as well as the other judges.