I'm curious - how many entrants?


RPG Superstar™ 2010 General Discussion

Liberty's Edge

I don't expect an answer, but I do think it would be interesting to know how many entrants there were, into round one. Is the info on previous years available?


The first contest had ~800 entries, IIRC. They didn't release the number of entrants for last year's contest, and I doubt they will for this year either.

Liberty's Edge

800. Darn, that's considerable...here's to anybody that made it to round 2. :)

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32 aka Gamer Girrl

And from Clark's cryptic comments (say that ten times fast) it sounds like the numbers are up this year :) The quality of entries he says definitely are!

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

Yeah, Vic explicitly said the number of entries are definitely up from Year Two.

He didn't offer a specific number however, and said that revealing it would be a matter of internal company discussion.

Star Voter Season 9

Why would they keep these numbers a secret? I think most contestants would like to know how many people they were up against.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Ceylon Tom wrote:
Why would they keep these numbers a secret? I think most contestants would like to know how many people they were up against.

I personally don't have a strong commitment either way at the moment, but one argument "against" is that some people are less likely to compete if they don't think the odds are in their favor. That is, if they think they're going up against a hundred people, they might take a shot, but if they think they're going up against a thousand, they might not bother.

Scarab Sages

Vic Wertz wrote:
Ceylon Tom wrote:
Why would they keep these numbers a secret? I think most contestants would like to know how many people they were up against.

I personally don't have a strong commitment either way at the moment, but one argument "against" is that some people are less likely to compete if they don't think the odds are in their favor. That is, if they think they're going up against a hundred people, they might take a shot, but if they think they're going up against a thousand, they might not bother.

Vic, My only question is why you are posting at 1am. Is it because you still have over a thousand entries to review... :D


CuttinCurt wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
Ceylon Tom wrote:
Why would they keep these numbers a secret? I think most contestants would like to know how many people they were up against.

I personally don't have a strong commitment either way at the moment, but one argument "against" is that some people are less likely to compete if they don't think the odds are in their favor. That is, if they think they're going up against a hundred people, they might take a shot, but if they think they're going up against a thousand, they might not bother.

Vic, My only question is why you are posting at 1am. Is it because you still have over a thousand entries to review... :D

I've seen posts by Vic, Lisa and James all in the last few minutes. The Paizo staff really do get chained to their desks!

Also, count me as someone who'd be pretty interested in knowing how many people entered the contest at least at a ballpark level. It's not a big deal, but it would be cool to know how many other people spent the last month agonising over an item. :)

The Exchange

By nature, gamers are night owls. Obsessions lead to staying up late. Few gamers I know of have to be home in the middle of a game. Those guys aren't gamers for long.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Berik wrote:
...count me as someone who'd be pretty interested in knowing how many people entered the contest at least at a ballpark level. It's not a big deal, but it would be cool to know how many other people spent the last month agonising over an item. :)

I think it's a safe bet that the number of participants falls somewhere between 500 and 1,000 every year. Probably closer to the upper range on average.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32 aka Lord Fyre

NSpicer wrote:
Berik wrote:
...count me as someone who'd be pretty interested in knowing how many people entered the contest at least at a ballpark level. It's not a big deal, but it would be cool to know how many other people spent the last month agonising over an item. :)
I think it's a safe bet that the number of participants falls somewhere between 500 and 1,000 every year. Probably closer to the upper range on average.

Hopefully we can do better then that.

Next year we need to shoot for 8 billion! ;D (... And Clark would still be calling for more entrants!)

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8 , Star Voter Season 6

Ceylon Tom wrote:
Why would they keep these numbers a secret? I think most contestants would like to know how many people they were up against.

I would. I still think that my entry last year was a stroke of luck (tm) but even I'm not immune to the ego stroke of knowing how many people I beat.

Dark Archive Star Voter Season 6

surely now that the contest is close it can't frighten off new partisipants (and the numbers where show sooner or later) so please tell us! i'm dieing to know!

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32, 2011 Top 4 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9 aka DankeSean

ulgulanoth wrote:
surely now that the contest is close it can't frighten off new partisipants (and the numbers where show sooner or later) so please tell us! i'm dieing to know!

I think 'new participants' in this sense means potential applicants for next year who might be frightened off by seeing how big things have gotten in years prior. In other words, if they're shying away from telling it's to keep things clean for next year's crop of contestants. (Which doesn't work in my case, since I just go and assume the numbers have gotten absurdly high. My personal guess is that this year is 1,200 give or take a hundred...)

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32 aka Hydro

Personally, I think that if someone doesn't want to enter a contest because they know they are competing with a thousand applicants, that's totally their prerogative (I hope they enter anyway, but I wouldn't keep the numbers under wraps just so they do. That's up to them).

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

I can see Pros and Cons on either side.

On one hand, knowing the numbers might be daunting for some potential participants.

On the other hand, it keeps expectations somewhat realistic and offers some consolation to those that don't make it to Round One. Particularly those who might have a good item, with technically proficient writing, that just don't outshine some other item. When you consider you were going against a 1000 other items it can be some comfort knowing that you had a lot of competition.

The Exchange

Zuxius wrote:
By nature, gamers are night owls. Obsessions lead to staying up late. Few gamers I know of have to be home in the middle of a game. Those guys aren't gamers for long.

Now game designers....totally different lot. They have their professional suits on by 6 AM.

Sovereign Court Dedicated Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7

Zuxius wrote:
Zuxius wrote:
By nature, gamers are night owls. Obsessions lead to staying up late. Few gamers I know of have to be home in the middle of a game. Those guys aren't gamers for long.
Now game designers....totally different lot. They have their professional suits on by 6 AM.

HERETIC!! ;)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Zuxius wrote:
Zuxius wrote:
By nature, gamers are night owls. Obsessions lead to staying up late. Few gamers I know of have to be home in the middle of a game. Those guys aren't gamers for long.
Now game designers....totally different lot. They have their professional suits on by 6 AM.

You must know different game designers than me. :P

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32 aka Gamer Girrl

James Jacobs wrote:
Zuxius wrote:
Zuxius wrote:
By nature, gamers are night owls. Obsessions lead to staying up late. Few gamers I know of have to be home in the middle of a game. Those guys aren't gamers for long.
Now game designers....totally different lot. They have their professional suits on by 6 AM.
You must know different game designers than me. :P

If that's because they stayed up until 6am, I'll buy that :)

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

I hate to burst anyone's bubble on preconceived notions of how late a game designer stays up. But, I'm an early-riser, early-to-bed guy. If I'm not up by 5:30AM there's something wrong. And if I try to go past 10PM while running a game, well...I get a little loopy. If I'm a player in a game, that's not so bad. If I'm the GM, let's just say it usually doesn't bode well for the players' characters. And if I'm up late working on a writing assignment, that just means I'll have lots more editing to do when I get up at 5:30AM again the next morning. ;-)

Sovereign Court Dedicated Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7

NSpicer wrote:
If I'm not up by 5:30AM there's something wrong.

HERETIC!! ;)


NSpicer wrote:
I hate to burst anyone's bubble on preconceived notions of how late a game designer stays up. But, I'm an early-riser, early-to-bed guy. If I'm not up by 5:30AM there's something wrong. And if I try to go past 10PM while running a game, well...I get a little loopy. If I'm a player in a game, that's not so bad. If I'm the GM, let's just say it usually doesn't bode well for the players' characters. And if I'm up late working on a writing assignment, that just means I'll have lots more editing to do when I get up at 5:30AM again the next morning. ;-)

LOL. I find I'm the opposite - night time is the right time for writing!

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Lilith wrote:
LOL. I find I'm the opposite - night time is the right time for writing!

When you have small children, they sort of drain all the energy out of you. So, by night time, I find myself in serious need of rest. But, I'm such an early riser, I get up way before they do. So I find that's my best quiet time...while also leaving my mind clear enough to stay focused.

Scarab Sages

zylphryx wrote:
NSpicer wrote:
If I'm not up by 5:30AM there's something wrong.
HERETIC!! ;)

Or a dangerous kind of professionalism that explains a lot... :)

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

NSpicer wrote:
I hate to burst anyone's bubble on preconceived notions of how late a game designer stays up. But, I'm an early-riser, early-to-bed guy.

That's it. RPG Superstar revoked! Didn't you read the fine print?


NSpicer wrote:
Lilith wrote:
LOL. I find I'm the opposite - night time is the right time for writing!
When you have small children, they sort of drain all the energy out of you.

I have heard this - do you suppose they have some of energy draining distortion field around them?

Liberty's Edge Contributor

Lilith wrote:
NSpicer wrote:
When you have small children, they sort of drain all the energy out of you.
I have heard this - do you suppose they have some of energy draining distortion field around them?

I believe it's sound-based, mind-affecting effect. Although, they can somehow alter the field to include touch or any other medium, as necessary. (And, speaking from my experience with twins, the effect is exponential when combined with another child's field.)


NSpicer wrote:
When you have small children, they sort of drain all the energy out of you. So, by night time, I find myself in serious need of rest. But, I'm such an early riser, I get up way before they do. So I find that's my best quiet time...while also leaving my mind clear enough to stay focused.

Lemme jump on the bandwagon of night time writers here. I have a child, but the reverse occurs for me. After they go to bed is quiet time. Aaaah. The boss actually allows me to come in an hour later at work (of course I stay an hour later) because of my chronological tendencies. Grandpappy's ancient wisdom says early risers/night owls are determined by the time of your birth. Makes sense. I was born late at night.

Liberty's Edge Dedicated Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7

Count_Rugen wrote:
Grandpappy's ancient wisdom says early risers/night owls are determined by the time of your birth. Makes sense. I was born late at night.

I've also heard that. For me, it's also true. I was born at 3:45am. My juices don't really start flowing until 10 or 11pm.

If I start to follow my natural biological clock, I end up going to bed around 6 or 7am.

Oh, and to stay on topic... I'd actually enjoy knowing how deep the field of competition is, honestly. RPG Superstar is, after all, a contest.


I find that my most creative (and indeed my favourite) times of day are either late at night or early in the morning. Which isn't very helpful since it's tough to have both of those during the same day unless I start taking afternoon naps!

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32 aka Gamer Girrl

Count_Rugen wrote:
Grandpappy's ancient wisdom says early risers/night owls are determined by the time of your birth. Makes sense. I was born late at night.

LOL! And yet my mom tells me the last time I voluntarily got up early was the day I was born :) 6:30am on a Monday no less! And I'm most definitely a night owl by preference

Dark Archive

Lilith wrote:
NSpicer wrote:
Lilith wrote:
LOL. I find I'm the opposite - night time is the right time for writing!
When you have small children, they sort of drain all the energy out of you.
I have heard this - do you suppose they have some of energy draining distortion field around them?

A night writer myself. By day I play Mr. Mom to my three youngest children, attend college and try to make my wife's life as stress free as i can. Kids are probably the biggest energy drain, my youngest has arthrogryposis ( she can not move her arms or legs) and takes the majority of my time. At night, the chaos stops and I can create new works in relative serenity. Love my kids... glad their school starts in two days... yea!

Contributor

I write the most between 11pm and 3am.

Yes, I don't get enough sleep routinely. :D

Paizo Employee CEO

Berik wrote:
I've seen posts by Vic, Lisa and James all in the last few minutes. The Paizo staff really do get chained to their desks!

Nope, Vic and I are at home most of the time when you see us post outside of work hours. We just love to cruise the boards before heading off to bed, which is why you see us on the boards after the midnight hour. Nice way to unwind from the day.

-Lisa

Paizo Employee Creative Director

OR! A good way to get all wound up when one should be going to sleep! ;-P

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

James Jacobs wrote:
OR! A good way to get all wound up when one should be going to sleep! ;-P

Off to bed, you!

Liberty's Edge Dedicated Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7

Lisa Stevens wrote:

Nope, Vic and I are at home most of the time when you see us post outside of work hours. We just love to cruise the boards before heading off to bed, which is why you see us on the boards after the midnight hour. Nice way to unwind from the day.

-Lisa

By gamers, for gamers.

I think it's these sorts of posts from the Paizo staffers and Clark that really make me realize just how cool Paizo is.

Nice to see that.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

yoda8myhead wrote:
That's it. RPG Superstar revoked! Didn't you read the fine print?

You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands! And even then, I'll go all lich on you if I have to! ;-P

Count_Rugen wrote:
Grandpappy's ancient wisdom says early risers/night owls are determined by the time of your birth. Makes sense. I was born late at night.

I'm with Liz in bucking that trend. I was born at 12:32AM...and I can hardly stay awake that late. Meanwhile, my body clock never lets me sleep past 6AM...and I routinely bounce out of bed at 5:30AM with some new idea in my head that's a leftover effect of dreaming, I suspect.

Liberty's Edge

NSpicer wrote:
Lilith wrote:
LOL. I find I'm the opposite - night time is the right time for writing!
When you have small children, they sort of drain all the energy out of you. So, by night time, I find myself in serious need of rest. But, I'm such an early riser, I get up way before they do. So I find that's my best quiet time...while also leaving my mind clear enough to stay focused.

Huh, it's the exact opposite with me and my five month old. He regularly sleeps until 10-11 a.m., and goes to bed around nine p.m. so I have plenty of time during the night for creative stuff. To be honest I don't think my sleeping schedule has changed much since we had him.

EDIT: But yes small children do drain your energy quite quickly. Kinda like mini Energy Drain spells... ;) Though parents get a +2 bonus on Fort saves against that particular special ability.

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32 aka Hydro

Most if not all of my best writing has been done between midnight and 7 a.m.

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2013 , Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9 aka Steven T. Helt

Berik wrote:
I've seen posts by Vic, Lisa and James all in the last few minutes. The Paizo staff really do get chained to their desks!

Kind of like that company in Better Off Ted "There's something wrong with the people who live in the cubicles."

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8 , Star Voter Season 6

My Russian teacher once said "If you're not in bed by 10... go home."

Star Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9

My best writing comes--morning or evening--after running which just means I need to run more than once a month.

Other thread had almost a hundred people post, but probably only 1 in 9 entrant actually post.

My guess is that the first year scared off a number of not-quite-ready-for-the-pressure entrants and there was a significant drop for year two. I think numbers will improve as time goes on. I am not sure how many non-top 8's re-enter so far, but I am curious as to the number as well. :)


Lisa Stevens wrote:
Berik wrote:
I've seen posts by Vic, Lisa and James all in the last few minutes. The Paizo staff really do get chained to their desks!

Nope, Vic and I are at home most of the time when you see us post outside of work hours. We just love to cruise the boards before heading off to bed, which is why you see us on the boards after the midnight hour. Nice way to unwind from the day.

-Lisa

Ahhh, so basically you're all just gluttons for punishment. :D

Seriously though, this kind of thing really makes me quite envious of you guys and gals. It must be great (and it's certain inspiring!) to enjoy your work so much that coming home and chatting about it a little is a great way to unwind. I don't hate my own job or anything, but neither is it anything that I'd enjoy doing in my time off. It's very cool to see people getting paid for something they clearly love. It gives me hope of finding a way to get paid for my favourite hobby one day!

The Exchange

Lilith wrote:
LOL. I find I'm the opposite - night time is the right time for writing!

Yes, it allows us to tap into our darker energies. Oh crap, look at the time!

Steven T. Helt wrote:
Kind of like that company in Better Off Ted

Someone say Ted? Iron DM?

Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9

Lilith wrote:
NSpicer wrote:
Lilith wrote:
LOL. I find I'm the opposite - night time is the right time for writing!
When you have small children, they sort of drain all the energy out of you.
I have heard this - do you suppose they have some of energy draining distortion field around them?

They do. You have to spend your bonus feats on Surprising Energy Reserves and Flexible or Nonexistent Sleep Requirements. People without children usually get to spend theirs on things like Interesting Living Situation and Regular Exotic Travel.

(I joke! I joke! but only half-heartedly!)

-Ben.

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