|
My perspective on each of these adventures as if I'm reading them shrink wrapped off the shelf of a gaming store. I am NOT reading spoilers as these would not be available from a shrink wrapped product. I am admittedly making quick decisions here because that's what you tend to do when browsing a store. Finally I am assuming I HAVE to buy one of these to GM for my group the upcoming weekend.
From Time's Depths
Sounds intriguing, lets read on. Ugh, pirates. No thanks, I'm done with pirates. The adventure sounds like the next sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean (not a good thing). I'll pass. Back on the shelf.Doom of the Dream Thieves
Sounds heavily invested in the Golarian cosmology, this can be a good or bad thing, I'm intrigued, I read further. The adventure outline seems to require the PCs to follow a very specific path, not an insurmountable problem, but not ideal. I might pick this up.Cult of the Ebon Destroyers
Initial premise seems to put the PCs on a clock, not good for my group, but I keep reading. Seems like the adventure requires the PCs to uphold the law and bring evil doers to justice, not a big deal I just have to make this clear up front to the players, I keep reading. Uh oh, trouble, Act 1 starts at a "festival" done this too many times already, I'm in this far maybe read a bit more. Act 2 I'm out, murder mystery. Back on the shelf.Wreck of the Mastrien Slash
Like the name, lets see what this is about. Uh oh, I thought the "wreck" would be deep underwater, instead its grounded on shore, seems boring. A wreck deep underwater would have been cool. I'll keep reading but I'm distracted thinking about what could have been. Uh oh, pirate queen, I'm out. Back on the shelf.I walk out of the store with "Doom of the Dream Thieves" based on this criteria.
Based on your criteria, I walk out with nothing.
If I felt like you did, according to what you wrote here, even Doom of the Dream Thieves would not have made me spend 12.50.
If we are being really truthfull, we would see something alot more refined on the back of the module than what was written in any of these proposals. I would trust what Lisa said in one of the other threads, and allow the brain trust at Paizo to do what they do best to make people interested in buying the module.
CC
I would trust what Lisa said in one of the other threads, and allow the brain trust at Paizo to do what they do best to make people interested in buying the module.
+1
In essence, what's most important (to me, at least) at this point of the game is to determine which of the adventure ideas would make for the best adventure...i.e., something Paizo could sell and people in the store would buy. And the basis for determining that isn't just in how each of these contestants presented it in their adventure proposal, but also in the presumed combined efforts of the skills these gentlemen have displayed over the course of the contest, as well as the considerable skills you know Paizo's developers and editors will apply to it.
But that's just my two-cents,
--Neil
I don't know...anybody can sit there and throw adventure ideas around. Having the best adventure idea that the paizo spin doctors can hopefully turn into something sellable just doesn't seem very "RPG Superstar" to me. If the contest were called "pitching adventure ideas at paizos spin doctors", then i could see your point, but its not.
I don't know...anybody can sit there and throw adventure ideas around. Having the best adventure idea that the paizo spin doctors can hopefully turn into something sellable just doesn't seem very "RPG Superstar" to me. If the contest were called "pitching adventure ideas at paizos spin doctors", then i could see your point, but its not.
That's not quite what I'm trying to say, James. Let me try saying it a different way.
By this point of the competition, it's pretty well-established that all the guys can create good stuff. I mean, we've seen their command of flavor text. Their rules-fu has been on display. We've got a sense of how they'd design encounters that any adventure would contain. We know their mastery of terrain and tactical considerations for their choice of locales and maps. So, they're all really darn good in all those aspects to have made it this far.
This final round, however, is what kind of story or plot you've got in mind. That involves good, sound, creative ideas. And, yes, you need a certain amount of professional polish on how you present those ideas in your proposal. No doubt. But, I will say that if I'm faced with a really good seed of an idea for an adventure with slightly less professional presentation in a proposal...vs. an awesomely penned proposal with perfect organization that doesn't quite have as strong of an idea for an adventure...I may be tempted to vote for the former over the latter, because I know the first one is much more likely to be spun into an awesome adventure. Sure, you want the perfect blend of both the ideas and the proposal. But I'm not sure we got a perfect execution on those elements from anyone this year.
Thus, ultimately, I think you have to ask yourself if you're voting for the proposal? Or are you voting for the adventure that will be crafted out of that proposal? I think that's a question voters need to ask themselves. And, I also think voters need to consider the body of work and the amount of trust they have in each of these potential RPG Superstar winners on how well they'll deliver on the final product, as guided by Paizo's staff.
In the end, what's important is that the fans get the best adventure possible for them to play. And, also, that Paizo gets the best-selling adventure they can publish.
But that's just my two-cents,
--Neil
In the case of these proposals I don't think any of them met this criteria but I wanted to vote for someone so I choose the one that was close enough.
And, in my opinion, that's a fair evaluation. As voters, we're all going to come at this from different angles with our own justifications for why we vote the way we do. I still haven't decided on mine yet, as I'm still trying to absorb what I can from the actual proposals.
CEO
|
I don't know...anybody can sit there and throw adventure ideas around. Having the best adventure idea that the paizo spin doctors can hopefully turn into something sellable just doesn't seem very "RPG Superstar" to me. If the contest were called "pitching adventure ideas at paizos spin doctors", then i could see your point, but its not.
Think about it in this way, this contest is about looking for raw talent that we can work with and develop to become a star designer for us. I based the contest off of American Idol, where a bunch of people come off the street, sing, and if they are good enough, get into a very rigorous contest where eventually a champion is crowned. One of the cool parts about the contest is seeing the contestants develop and get better and better as they survive the competition. But I can tell you that at the end of the contest, they are much better than when they started, but they aren't musical stars yet. When I see them come back in future years, THAT is when you start to see the true star power. The contest is just a method to find that potential.
Same with RPG Superstar. We are looking for talented people that can be trained to put out the quality of product that our customers demand. You aren't going to find polished designers at the end of this competition. I doubt any of these guys has made an adventure proposal in their life, much less designed a 32-page module. But one of them will get the chance to do just that, and the process will make them a much better designer.
RPG Superstar is more about the journey and finding the raw talent, rather than finding the polished gem.
-Lisa
Think about it in this way, this contest is about looking for raw talent that we can work with and develop to become a star designer for us. I based the contest off of American Idol, where a bunch of people come off the street, sing, and if they are good enough, get into a very rigorous contest where eventually a champion is crowned. One of the cool parts about the contest is seeing the contestants develop and get better and better as they survive the competition. But I can tell you that at the end of the contest, they are much better than when they started, but they aren't musical stars yet. When I see them come back in future years, THAT is when you start to see the true star power. The contest is just a method to find that potential.
Same with RPG Superstar. We are looking for talented people that can be trained to put out the quality of product that our customers demand. You aren't going to find polished designers at the end of this competition. I doubt any of these guys has made an adventure proposal in their life, much less designed a 32-page module. But one of them will get the chance to do just that, and the process will make them a much better designer.
RPG Superstar is more about the journey and finding the raw talent, rather than finding the polished gem.
-Lisa
Well, my vote is cast.
I've been having an internal argument for at least a day now, torn between two choices.
One, a very polished proposal that seems like it could be worked on almost as-is, and the second an adventure that might need some work, but darn it that's the one I'd want to run.
I picked the one that might need some work, but is the adventure that I think would be the most fun.
Language skills are very important. Rules-fu is important. Fun encounters and locations are important. An ability to generate awesome ideas is important, and professional presentation is important.
However, I believe that good adventure writing is far more than the sum of these parts. Taken alone, all you've got there are raw materials (the creative side) and tools (the technical side); having those things doesn't mean you know how to shape and direct them into a fun adventure. That's a much trickier skill set, and something that I feel comes through only in the proposal.
Good encounters, good characters, good ideas, and good presentation don't always make a good adventure. The trick to a good adventure is how these things are woven together and interconnected, how they can form a clean and coherent whole.
Don't get me wrong: I think all four of our remaining contestants are (or aren't far from being) very good at adventure composition. In addition to their other talents, I think they've all shown that they get what makes the game fun (something easier mentioned than explained, I'll tell you, yet something which I think is both rarer and more important than technical skills or creative talent). Likewise, as Lisa and Neil and the others keep reminding us, they are all still works in progress.
All I'm saying is that you shouldn't boil it all down to 'ideas' verses 'polish'- the flow and structure of the adventure (and yes, you should be voting for the adventure, not the proposal) is also really important, and should be judged along with everything else.