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Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:23 am
by finarvyn
goodmangames wrote:
finarvyn wrote:A couple folks have asked about the contest in the "Free RPG Day" module. They don't have access to the module but want to know the rules, etc. Is it okay if I post this information on the boards?
Sure. Let them know that there will be an "official" post of the rules to the main web site in the next couple weeks. But if you want to post ahead of that, no problem.
Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition
Win $1,000 and have your adventure published!

Goodman Games is looking for authors steeped in the lore of pre-D&D fantasy to help usher in the next generation of old-school adventure. We are asking that you put your Appendix N knowledge to good use in creating an adventure designed around the Mystery Map shown on the facing page. A panel of experienced dungeon designers will judge all submissions. The best submission will be commissioned as a 5,000-word adventure to be published by Goodman Games, at a payment rate of $1,000. The adventure will be released as our Free RPG Day 2013 offering, to be enjoyed by thousands of other gamers. There is only one winner, but strong second-place submissions may also be commissioned for separate publication, at the discretion of the judges.

The basic idea: We would like you to finish the Mystery Map shown at right, then outline an adventure based on your completed map. Your completed map must use the rooms that are already designated, and should be continued by your own design into the open space. Your final map must be only one page in size. You should provide a digital copy of your final map. Finally, your adventure should make use of the weird creature in the lower corner of the Mystery Map (the thing with six legs and the eyes on its flank – whatever it is).

What are we looking for? We are looking for an exciting, playable, well-written fantasy adventure that embodies the voice of DCC RPG. DCC RPG is a game of pre-D&D fantasy, based on the pre-genre adventure literature of Appendix N and the cultural voice of the 1970’s. DCC RPG adheres to several basic principles whose goals are to conjure forth the sense of wonder we all experienced upon first playing D&D. First, all monsters and encounters are unique, never “from the book.” Second, magic feels magical and highly unpredictable. Third, there is a noticeable lack of the constraints of genre-based fiction. Fourth, adventures feature strong visual elements in every scene that give the players a constant sense of immersion. Finally, the scope of adventures crosses planes, dimensions, space, and time wherever appropriate. Read DCC RPG and its published adventure modules to get an even better sense of the game.

How to submit: E-mail your submission, adhering to the rules outlined below, to mysterymap@goodmangames.com.

Deadline: All submissions must be received electronically by October 31, 2012.

Submission rules: Please adhere to these rules in your submission:
• Send your submission in an email. The body of the email should outline your submission. The email should have only one attachment, which should be the completed Mystery Map.
• Your submission should be an outline of your adventure. Include a brief summary of the plot and the encounters. Provide more detailed information on the key encounters. Give the game stats for the weird creature with six legs and the eyes on its flanks. Tell us how your adventure embodies the voice of DCC
RPG and Appendix N. Tell us how your adventure is memorable to the players.
• Your submission should be no more than 1,000 words in length.
• You must include your e-mail address and phone number.
• Finally, you must include and agree to the following sentence in your submission: “I acknowledge that the ideas I have submitted may be identical or similar to the theme, plot, idea, format, or other element of material that Goodman Games has independently developed, or that has or may come to Goodman Games from other sources, and I shall not be entitled to any compensation by reason of the use by Goodman Games of such similar or identical material.”

The Panel of Judges: All submissions will be judged by a distinguished panel of dungeon designers, who will collaborate to select the most worthy adventure.
The judges are:
• Michael Curtis, creator of The Dungeon Alphabet and Stonehell Dungeon
• Aldo Ghiozzi, game connoisseur and Free RPG Day organizer
• Joseph Goodman, creator of DCC RPG
• Doug Kovacs, DCC RPG cover artist and “visual voice”
• Erol Otus, legendary TSR artist
• Stefan Poag, fan favorite OSR artist
• Harley Stroh, adventure writer extraordinaire

Send in your submission now. May the best adventure win!

NOTES:
(1) The text above was copied from a pre-release version of the “Free RPG Day” module. I have not attempted a word-for-word comparison with the final version and Goodman Games is not at fault if I have posted anything in error.

(2) There is a map. I assume that Goodman Games will eventually post some sort of official image.
Image

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:51 am
by IronWolf
Thanks for posting this!

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:37 pm
by Ravenheart87
October 31? Maybe I'm going to have enough time to do something until late autumn.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:18 am
by finarvyn
IronWolf wrote:Thanks for posting this!
No problem. GG wants folks to know about the contest, and it's bad enough that you didn't get access to the actual module... why suffer twice?

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:43 am
by Ogrepuppy
Having a hotlink to the map at full resolution (or just bigger) would be useful....although if Joseph is going to put it on the main page soon I suppose it can wait.

It's just that the map is so small it's tough to make out details.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:16 am
by Harley Stroh
The official version will still be delivered, but until then ...

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-Gxe4 ... 2tadlVKWEU

//H

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:22 pm
by finarvyn
I could post one even larger than Harley's if there is demand for it, but I'm having issues with attachments on the boards so I'd have to put it up as an image in a post.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:54 am
by Troy812
goodmangames wrote:
• Your submission should be an outline of your adventure. Include a brief summary of the plot and the encounters. Provide more detailed information on the key encounters. Give the game stats for the weird creature with six legs and the eyes on its flanks. Tell us how your adventure embodies the voice of DCC
RPG and Appendix N. Tell us how your adventure is memorable to the players.
Ok
So let me get this straight....
We submit an outline of the adventure, not the adventure its self.

So rather than submit a completed, populated dungeon, we just scan in the completed map and write up our overall vision of this dungeon along with some rationalization?

T

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:23 am
by Harley Stroh
Troy812 wrote:We submit an outline of the adventure, not the adventure its self.
Correct. Finish the map, and outline the adventure in no more than 1,000 words.

//H

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:36 am
by gandalf_scion
I'm hard at work on my design for the mystery map contest. It comes in at just under 1,000 words. After some more polishing and proofreading, I'll submit.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:45 am
by Harley Stroh
Excellent! I look forward to receiving it!

//H

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:01 pm
by 7explorer
I have a clarification question: In the rules on page 8, within the Basic Idea paragraph, the six-legged creature is said to have eyes on its flank. In the next instance, also on page 8, in the second bullet of the Submission Rules section the creature is said to have eyes on its flanks. Which of these is correct, eyes on the left flank (as depicted on the map) or both flanks? How I flesh out the creature stat-wise and include it within my adventure is dependent on this. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:02 pm
by goodmangames
Either, both, or neither! Up to you...

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:17 pm
by 7explorer
Righty O then. Just wanted to be sure! :mrgreen:

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 12:09 pm
by Storycrafter
A few rules clarifications?

Can a team submit an entry? How many times may an individual or team enter? Can an individual submit an entry as an individual and as part of a team?

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:55 pm
by goodmangames
Storycrafter wrote:A few rules clarifications?

Can a team submit an entry? How many times may an individual or team enter? Can an individual submit an entry as an individual and as part of a team?
No team entries, please -- individuals only.

You can enter as many times as you want, but I'd recommend you narrow down your ideas to the best 2-3 and make a few very strong proposals.

Hope that helps -- let me know if you need anything else.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 3:12 pm
by Drohem
Does the adventure need to be written for a particular level range? Or is it wide open?

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 3:20 pm
by goodmangames
Wide open.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:56 pm
by goodmangames
Only six more weeks to submit your entry to the Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition! We have received a lot of good submissions so far, but we won't make a final decision until the contest closes on October 31. Send your submission in! Fame and glory await! :)

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 7:25 am
by dungeonfish
Is there a link to an official map, or is the google document the one?

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:01 am
by goodmangames
The link is on the front page of our web site, also available here:

http://www.goodman-games.com/mysterymap.html

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:17 am
by Drance
We have received a lot of good submissions so far, but we won't make a final decision until the contest closes on October 31. Send your submission in!
Mr. Goodman, will submissions received even this close to the deadline receive equal consideration? ;-)

Thanks for the opportunity! I'm working to get my entry in ASAP.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 11:44 am
by goodmangames
Yes - all submissions received prior to the deadline will be treated equally.

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:16 am
by GnomeBoy
Gaahhh! I am exactly 65 words over on my submission.

The number of words in the disclaimer that counts as part of the submission? 65.

*returns to editing*

Re: Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:22 pm
by fishgeekted
Two addresses for submittal: mysterymap@goodmangames.com and mysterymap@goodman-games.com

Are both fine?