[Ldraw-content] Forwarding thoughts about the MOTM/SOTM contest

[Orion Pobursky]

LDraw wrote:
> hi,
> 
> I'll forward the following email. if you feel this belongs more to the 
> steerco please let me know.
> 
> w.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  >----Messaggio originale----
> Da: zach.best at gmail.com
> Data: 16-ott-2006 7.05 PM
> A: <WILLY.TSCHAGER at tin.it>
> Ogg: Re: LDraw.org MOTM/SOTM Relaunch
> 
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Thank you for restarting the MOTM/SOTM.  I am excited to take part in 
> the challenges.
> 
> I would like to propose a change to MOTM/SOTM.
> 
> As it stands, the challenges are very unfocused. A person can basically 
> use any model they have built in ages past.  Scenes are a little 
> different, but many times old works can be used.  There is also a 
> discrepancy in who "wins."  Are we supposed to judge each separately? 
> Well we want our favorite entry to win, but how do you decide between 
> clever (bonsai tree) vs. technical (starship) vs. cool (???)?  It seems 
> so mish-mash.
> 
> The change I would like to propose is to have a monthly theme for each 
> MOTM/SOTM.  The themes can be really simple and ambiguous (see the 
> Internet Ray Tracing Contest irtc.org for ideas).
> 
> I think this would help the MOTM/SOTM for the following reasons:
> (1) Focus.  Part of the MOTM/SOTM is to give other LDRAW users ideas. We 
> want to share knowledge.  When you have a 50,000 piece starship sitting 
> next to a 500 piece vignette, the reader loses focus.  They can't 
> compare how the builder of the starship created his radar dishes to how 
> the vignette builder posed the minifig.  If the challenges were themed, 
> a reader could do exactly that.  There would be a bigger reason to 
> compare what has been entered and thereby expand the reader's knowledge 
> of Lego and LDRAW.
> (2) Interest. While I can't speak for everyone, a 
> 'submit-whatever-you-want' contest is not interesting.  This directly 
> correlates with focus.  An unfocused challenge will not draw the 
> interest that the MOTM/SOTM has the potential to draw. If the monthly 
> challenge has a theme, I believe the interest in those challenges will 
> increase.  First is the creativity factor.  A theme will force people to 
> draw upon the theme in a creative manner.  You don't want your entry to 
> look like everyone elses.  The use of the brain in this manner leads to 
> a more fun experience.  Second is the technical factor. You were playing 
> with Legos the other day and came up with a creative way to use certain 
> parts.  If people are closely examining your entry because it is similar 
> enough to their own that they might find ways to improve upon it, this 
> technical expertise will become more apparent.  Less experienced 
> modelers will be able to get better ideas in a easier swallowed form 
> than the current MOTM/SOTM, and more experienced modelers will enjoy the 
> competition and new ideas that are brought.
> (3) Community Strength. Finally, I will come up on my last factor. LDRAW 
> is a very powerful tool and can be a fun past time. The first place 
> people go to look is most likely ldraw.org, and there people will want 
> examples.  What better way to give examples than themed challenges. 
>  Sure, people can kind of do that anyway with the current MOTM/SOTM, but 
> in that case they are wading through lots of randomness.  Look at how 
> IRTC.org works, they only show you the top entries when you click on the 
> bi-monthly contest, but if you want you can see all of them. Finally it 
> gives people something to look forward to.  It is not very exciting to 
> look forward to "just submitting another model."  It is exciting to look 
> forward to seeing the new theme and then coming up with a new 
> model/scene for that theme.  Which is my final point, the draw of a 
> themed contest is greater than an unthemed contest.  More people will be 
> interested, leads to a better contest, leads to more enthusiasm in 
> LDRAW, circle on ad infinitum.
> 
> Thank you for your time and consideration. You may forward this to 
> whomever you feel should read it.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Zach Best

Some very good points.  We should probably discuss this further.  I've 
been somewhat unsatisfied with the format contests for some time now.  I 
did a little of tweaking when I issued the MOTM rule change a year and a 
half ago but this was more to shift the focus of the MOTM contest from 
the rendering technique back to the models themselves.  I don't know, 
maybe a theme based challenge is the way to go.  Thoughts?

Also, based on past precedence, we, meaning the website admins, have 
complete control over the format, rules, etc. of the MOTM/SOTM contest 
so SteerCo involvement is not required.

-Orion

-- 
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
-George Bernard Shaw