Poll: 4th GOTQ 2019 + How should we continue this competition ?

[hansolo77]

Hard to believe unless you suffer them too... 4 days of migraine.  I'm still trying my best to fight though them and continue to go to work.  That's probably why my doctor still won't pursue looking into it further.  If I actually missed work, he might be more concerned.  But I can't afford to not work.  Oh well.

Anyway, here we go again!  The next vote round for Game of the Quarter.  This one will be for our fall competition up till the end of the year.  Going forward after that, I'm not sure it's really worth continuing competition.  Nobody is interested anymore.  So to that end, I have another question to put forth in the polls.  How should we handle it?  One final voting round, ending out with 100 games?  Continue like we are?  Or just dump all the remaining "wish" games into the competition (so everybody gets their wish) and then no longer have a quarterly/monthly game?  The choice is up to you.  Remember, we have 3 months to vote, so think hard on it.  If you have another suggestion of something to try, please comment below!

[GimmeClassics]

Hello Han, hi buddy,

I understand why you’ve started a poll on what to do with our GOTM / GOTQ in 2020 and going forward.

A bit of history…
I still remember setting up this competition together with you back in 2013. I was (still am) full of motivation and we were able to convince the general mods to setup a subforum for our high score games. We were very enthusiastic about it. From there we added individual gameboards, a General Leaderboard and a Game of the Month challenge with individual awards. Thanks to Adultery we even got our own High Score Database Manager which enabled us to manage updating scores, adding new games etc.

A total of 38 different players have submitted scores and with quite a few regular players we have setup a great competition.

Personal note…
I love playing arcade games and I really love the eighties in general (love Stranger Things btw!). For me this arcade competition is also kind of a safehaven if I feel a bit down or when I’m in a nostalgic mood . Having met my wife and becoming father to a daughter changed my whole life the last couple of years. It’s absolutely fantastic but it also takes a lot of energy. Energy which I haven’t been able to put in our competition. [again, you have done an amazing job the last 2 – 3 years keeping everything up to date!]. This however doens’t mean I have lost any interest in our competition. I never want to give up our little place of happiness ! 

Going forward…
Not adding any new games is kind of a death blow to our competition.
However, if too few choose to play in our competition (which is the case) we should perhaps stop adding games according to a fixed pattern and add games when we (Han or I) feel like it. This puts no pressure anymore on the high score mods adding games but still offers a competition with new games to be added. Perhaps other members feel a little less involvement but if we choose to only add games from the wishlist it’s for a great part being compensated.

Generate more interest…
How? This is really hard. We have a nice and friendly competition. Getting big was and will never be our goal. Mods like Han and I only have so much spare time so keeping this competition manageable is very important.
A few years back I had more spare time so I started to create individual game awards. This is however not realistic anymore and takes too much of my time to implement. I have some other ideas which I have been working on and can implement on pretty short notice. Like a list per player which games he or she has submitted scores for and combining this with a few awards which can be won. For example awards per genre of games and number of top 10 (top 5) submissions [work in progress]. Pretty cool I think.

Anyhow, this is how I feel right now.

Do any of the other members have any other good ideas to boost interest in our competition?

My conclusion right now…
We should perhaps stop with the GOTQ when we have reached 100 games and then choose to add games every now and then from the wishlist (suggested games by our members) when Han or I have the time.

~ GC

[tthurman]

You guys have done a fantastic job with managing the competition even as participation has waned.  Obviously, I haven't been a participant, but 100 seems like a nice place to take a pause and see where things go from there.  This leaves us with countless games for members wishing to continue pushing themselves for higher scores, while at the same time allowing for a return to normally recurring competition when the community interest returns.

I always thought the holiday competitions were a very cool concept, so perhaps you could return to the competition in a manner more along these lines in hopes of limiting the work involved while still introducing a few new games annually vs. monthly or quarterly.

 

The ebb and flow of this hobby seems to be great excitement and enthusiasm followed by periods of away time before the itch gets you again.  We seem to be in a extended "away time" phase as of late which can likely be attributed to, at least in part, the flood of commercially available arcade clones and deluge of retro console boxes.   This too shall pass!

[hansolo77]

I'm still hopeful things will pick up eventually.  I just feel like creating "feature contests" like the GOTQ is just a waste of time when you only get 3-4 participants in 3 months.  That's why I suggested killing them off at 100 and just leaving the competition as is until interest picks up again.

[rtkiii]

I am sorry i have not been as active but i have switched jobs on a contract status and working to get hired on full time for $$$.  I actually just got the offer on Wed and I countered so I hope everything works out. 

 

With that i have a lot of things going on until the end of the year but will try to be more active once that time passes.  I totally understand the possibility that this contest ends but i truly hope it does not.   Most of us have been around for years and though we are not here every contest it a great community...to me at least.  I love arcade games and i love battling with you guys...but i also understand the time Han and CC have put into this to keep it going for the small amount of scores that get submitted.  Other forums and leaderboards come and go all the time...so id hate to se this go before we hit game 500  :)

 

But as always I understand if it does stop...and i will always have a place in my memories for this place.  Thanks to everyone.

[patrickfx]

Ok.  I Will Not be helping here...nor have suggestion..  apologize right away.  But maybe this will make others things of any suggestion...

I always been surprise how low we are considering gameex is popular and considering retro game and arcade hobby is so popular.  Maybe...just maybe ... and let be honest...how Han is good on administering this.   So...could we try to recruit new member ?  Maybe by just sending message on other sub forum ?  Or why not request help of Tom to add an add on gameex directly...hey....why not

[hansolo77]

Sorry I've been silent recently here.  The last 3 weeks I've been in and out of the ER.  I've got this nasty gut bug I can't get rid of.  Trips to the bathroom 1-2 times an hour from diarrhea to produce very little is getting old fast.  Not only am I dealing with this, but it's now starting to get painful to the point where I force myself to NOT go.  I've had little appetite for 3 weeks.  I just got over being really sick to with a bad head cold probably brought on by allergies.  Anyway, I know it's not an excuse for not creating our new GOTM/Q.  I promise to get to it as soon as I feel up to it.  Of course, @GimmeClassics and/or @DazzleHP, the other mods, can go forward and create the new thread.  I won't hold a grudge.

[GimmeClassics]

On 10/5/2019 at 2:27 AM, hansolo77 said:

Sorry I've been silent recently here.  The last 3 weeks I've been in and out of the ER.  I've got this nasty gut bug I can't get rid of.  Trips to the bathroom 1-2 times an hour from diarrhea to produce very little is getting old fast.  Not only am I dealing with this, but it's now starting to get painful to the point where I force myself to NOT go.  I've had little appetite for 3 weeks.  I just got over being really sick to with a bad head cold probably brought on by allergies.  Anyway, I know it's not an excuse for not creating our new GOTM/Q.  I promise to get to it as soon as I feel up to it.  Of course, @GimmeClassics and/or @DazzleHP, the other mods, can go forward and create the new thread.  I won't hold a grudge.

Hi Han !  I hope you feel better soon.
I've added Raiden II to our competition and Database Manager. Could you perhaps create a new poll when you feel better ? I don't have the games list you use. Thanks man 

~ GC

[hansolo77]

Sure thing.  A poll is a little less important, since our contributors are free to select their game at any time.  Thanks for making the updates.  I got a call from the ER as a follow up and was told I have C.Diff.  Never heard of it till now.  Apparently it's really contagious.  All I know is it's painful and going to the bathroom this often is getting ridiculous.  If I only didn't have to go all the time, I might be able to make it.