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This sounds really great. I was hoping for a return of last year's format, but you've convinced me, this seems like an evolution of the idea.
2016 Map Awards (Annual Challenge replacement)
Hi everyone, here's an update on the annual challenge.
The Community Leaders have discussed this at some length, taking into account the comments and suggestions from members. We feel that, whilst there were some excellent entries last year, and a more than worthy winner, overall the challenge didn't entirely achieve what was originally intended. We had hoped to watch the finest maps develop over the course of many months, but - with a few notable exceptions - that didn't always happen. There were many unfinished entries, more than most monthly challenges, as it proved difficult to sustain momentum and enthusiasm over the year, with other projects and real life demanding time and attention. There were also some technical issues with file size limitations that couldn't be addressed.
Perhaps, in retrospect, we should have anticipated some of these issues, but nothing like this had ever been tried before and we weren't quite sure what to expect. We feel that re-running the challenge in its current format is only going to invite more of the same, as the underlying issues are still there.
We appreciate, however, that some of you liked the concept of an annual challenge, so here's what we're going to try this year. Instead of entering a challenge, we're going to run a 'Map Oscars' award at the end of the year (name might change!) We feel this is an acceptable compromise that allows the prestige of an annual award, yet hopefully addresses at least some of the problems from last year. This is how it would work:
- Members work on their own maps all year long, without any intervention from us.
- Around late November/December - dates to be finalised - we're going to call for nominations.
- There are going to be a few different categories in the awards, not just one 'Winner Takes All' (more on this below). Everyone has one nomination per category, which they can use to nominate one of their own maps, or someone else's if they don't have anything suitable. We'll create threads for this nearer the time.
- Once the nominations have closed, polls for each category will be created and the winners will receive the same Annual Challenge badge won by Tainotim last year.
If you want to work towards a map specifically created for this annual award, you're more than welcome to do so (but create a thread in the normal WIP folder, rather than the Annual Challenge folder.) Or, if you don't have time to make a specific entry but feel you made a killer map during 2016, you can still enter. Instead of rewarding the best map made for a particular challenge, as happened last year, this time we're trying to showcase and reward the best maps posted in the Guild during 2016.
As for the award categories, we're looking for ideas on these and I'm going to create a thread where you can post your suggestions (please post category ideas in that thread only, so that everything is in the one place.) Unlike the real Oscars, we aren't going to have a ridiculous amount of awards. The number isn't set in stone, but let's tentatively say somewhere around half a dozen, so please don't post lists with 30 suggestions!
As for rules/entry criteria, basically any map that was posted in the Finished Maps folder during 2016 is eligible. It doesn't matter when you started it, so long as it's showing in Finished Maps between 1st January 2016 and (roughly) the beginning of December, it's eligible. Commissioned maps are eligible too, provided you have the permission of the publisher. We may promote the winning maps on other sites and we need to be sure whoever commissioned the map is OK with that.
So, that's the plan for 2016. You've got the rest of the year to work on your entries, or maybe you've already made a map or two that you think would work! We hope this type of competition will suit more people and we'll get a high level of participation when it's time for nominations. Obviously there are still a few details to be ironed out, but we'll update this thread with more information towards the end of the year.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
This sounds really great. I was hoping for a return of last year's format, but you've convinced me, this seems like an evolution of the idea.
I'm glad you like it, Lingon.
I'm hoping we can get the categories sorted out within the next few weeks, so that if someone wants to work on an entry for a particular category, they'll have many months to do so. In many ways, this wouldn't be that dissimilar to last year's annual challenge, at least until the nominations/voting begin.
We're trying to decide on a name for the awards. Current favourite among the CLs .... The Mappies. Anyone got a better suggestion?
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
That's trueOriginally Posted by ChickPea
And The Mappies is pretty great
"The Mappies". Just one slip of the finger away from the "The Nappies". I like it!
Haha, yeah, that occurred to me too.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
Why don't you call them after a famous cartographer? At the top of my head: Ptolemy and Da Vinci.
@Hawkin I was thinking "Magellans".
“When it’s over and you look in the mirror, did you do the best that you were capable of? If so, the score does not matter. But if you find that you did your best you were capable of, you will find it to your liking.” -John Wooden
* Rivengard * My Finished Maps * My Challenge Maps * My deviantArt
for some reason my brain immediately said "the mapskers" lol and no im not joking.
no thrown tomatos please.
No tomatoes, I promise! I think I actually prefer Mapskers to Mappies.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
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