I has an idea (Mystery Reviews?!)

*Edited to list the idea out in more detail. Somewhat drastic changes from the original post. (Also potentially a concept to a thread if we go with this thing).

The idea.
Think about Secret Santa in game review form! You have the chance to enter a game or demo that you have already created and receive two reviews for your game! Here's the catch, though: you must review two other games, as well! The maximum amount of time you have to spend on a demo is one hour (usually less for most demos). What do those two hours get you? Learning experiences from both playing games and the feedback that will be provided from other entrants! There are no winners! This will be for learning purposes only! Although, if you really want, you could score games with "points" when reviewing them.

Here's what's going to happen:

-You enter by a certain date (following the "When Entering..." guidelines, pls).
-On that certain date, you are secretly PM'd two random games. You can keep your identity secret, or reveal who's games you have (which is less fun btw).
-You play and review the two games within one week.
-You send your reviews to the HOST (person that made this thread).
-Your reviews either get posted or sent privately to you.

Spoiler for The Details:

When Entering...Here's a couple of things that each entrant must do:

1. Post here (or PM the host), letting us know which game/demo you would like to enter. Please include a link to your game's download or thread.
2. State the estimated time it will take to play your game. This doesn't have to be perfect, but it will help out a TON!
3. Specify whether you would like your game's feedback to be posted on the thread (open to the public), or sent to you as a private PM.
4. If need be, list instructions on how to play or download the game. Other makes are allowed, but make sure we know how to get your game to run in the first place!
5. Specify if you have played any of the other entrant's games yet. This isn't a really big deal, but it might help if we try to get people who haven't played the games yet.

When Reviewing...
After the sign up time ends, you will receive a copy of two random games (typically decided by estimated time). You may then begin reviewing, and will have a week to do so. Try to write a decent review. It doesn't have to be insane, but about a paragraph per each guideline will suffice.

Once you have completed your reviews, submit them to the host (person who made the thread). You can submit them early! You will receive or have the reviews you wrote posted after we have received yours (for the two games you played)! And, of course, after your secret reviewer has written them. (For cases, such as drop outs, the host may have to step in and review your game).

Spoiler for The Guidelines:

At RMRK, we tend to use these guidelines. Feel free to change things up, but keep in mind that you should brush up on these general topics.

Polish (Visuals and Audio) - How does the game look? How does it sound? Are there any factors that enhance or take away from the game's look and feel?

Playability (Gameplay and Mechanics) - Does the game run smoothly? Are there any bugs? How do you feel about the mechanical features of the game?

Ingenuity (Story and Originality) - Is the game's story interesting or sufficient? How about the writing? Dialogue? Does the game offer anything that sets it apart from other games? Even simple games can do something fresh! As long as it WORKS~!

Entertainment (The fun factor - Did you enjoy the game? What could be done to make it more enjoyable?

Rules & Reminders
Entering:
-You can enter a full game OR demo. Keep in mind that the ones reviewing your game don't have to play it for longer than an hour (in order to keep things fair).
-Please don't enter a game that contains extreme or offensive material. For minor offensive material, please list a warning.
-You CAN use any game maker, provided that it is legal and you list instructions on how to make the game run.

Reviewing:
-You must review each game for a minimum of about one hour, or longer if you prefer. Many demos will be shorter than an hour, anyways.
-You must submit a sufficient amount of feedback (about one paragraph per guideline). It does not have to be too massive, just make sure that you offer some quality feedback.
-You can use another guideline, but keep in mind that it should include a good, quality review.
-You must submit your feedback to the HOST (person who made the thread) by Sunday. You can submit earlier, too! Failure to submit on time will result in us bugging the crap out of you.
-The HOST will distribute the games, as well as post yours (or send it privately, if you prefer).


If you're having trouble for any reason, contact the host and we can work things out! The sooner you let us know, the better! ;o

I think this is a great idear.

Is this for GIAW?

Nah, for anything. Probably not RPG Maker specific, either.

(Although instructions may have to be given on how to make the game run, depending on the maker!)

I like secrecy; not such a big fan of Santa.  I like the idea but how do you execute it?  What if your game is 1 hour long but you randomly have to review a game that's 10 hours long?  If done right this could be a great motivator for people to work on their games, otherwise I would just see it as an opportunity to troll by creating an unreasonably long and bad game and forcing someone to review it.  Or I could just remake Ecco the Dolphin, but this is supposed to be a secret Santa, not secret Satan.

What if your game is 1 hour long but you randomly have to review a game that's 10 hours long?

A very good point! I'd say the minimum play time would have to be 1 hour-ish, and to let the ones reviewing decide if they'd like to keep playing or not. ;] 1 hour gives plenty of room for feedback, even on games with an insane amount of playtime. Most demos seem to be about an hour or less anyways, though. In order to space things out a little more, everyone that enters should list their demo/game's "estimated playtime". Just so we can disperse things a bit.

Even if they can't get all the way through it, any bit will help them and the makers. Shoot, playing other games might even be a great way to get a couple ideas of what to do in your own games. I'm not talking about, like, plagiarism. I mean general ideas, such as "oh, this is a neat mapping technique."

I know there's going to be some inequalities with the reviews, though. They aren't meant to be insanely long reviews, but just a paragraph or so per each guideline or something. We don't have to be too strict on that, but the host can step in if someone has half-assed or written a really terrible review.

The original post just got completely overhauled with a more detailed, organized version of the idea. ;]

I very much like this idea

Thanks! It seems things are a bit slow lately, so I'll probably wait for more feedback before anything happens with it. ;o Until then, any comments or concerns are welcome.

This is an excellent idea.  I actually had planned to package and polish the game I working on soon to try and con my friends into test playing the bit that I have made.  Someone who shares a my interests will give me much better feedback, and getting to peek at someone elses work will be inspiring.

Glad you like it! I'm still waiting for a bit more activity to get this rolling. So, no rush! It could be a total failure, but I figured it's worth trying out. ;]

You has a great ideas!  Sign me up all the way!  If you can, I'd go ahead and ask to make this official.  The only way I found out about and participated in the last GIAW challenge was through an email notification that the event was open and taking contributions.  You might get more interest if you just make it happen and push it in front of people's faces like that.  :-)

Also, could we maybe enter two games if we agree to review 4 of them???


-flap

You has a great ideas!  Sign me up all the way!  If you can, I'd go ahead and ask to make this official.  The only way I found out about and participated in the last GIAW challenge was through an email notification that the event was open and taking contributions.  You might get more interest if you just make it happen and push it in front of people's faces like that.  :-)

Thanks, flapbat! :-) I guess I forgot about this while getting sort of lost in the currents that are school and work. It might not be a bad idea to pull this thing off earlier on in the holiday season, while everyone else is just getting out of school for winter break, or right after the holidays. That sounds like a good time to aim for, but nothing is quite set in stone yet!

Also, could we maybe enter two games if we agree to review 4 of them???

Personally, I don't see a problem with this. The more reviews, the better! It might make things difficult if we don't have a lot of people entering, though. I'd certainly make the max cap 2 games per person, but I guess that does depend on how many people enter. :]