Telltale Games

SurplusGamer · 07/20/2009, 10:01 am

I know that there are all sorts of rules stopping the utterly WRONG making it into the game as a result of the current contest running...

... but when the top two entries are suddenly from someone who goes by the name 'The Silent Man', which were nowhere to be seen before... well...

What I'm trying to say is that it suddenly seems as if the winner will be the person who somehow manages to badger enough people to click on the Vote button (or cheat - not that I'm accusing anyone of that) rather than the person who actually has the line that everyone thinks is the best.

Those top two lines are not TERRIBLE by any means, but either I'm missing something and that guy has managed to create the TWO funniest lines in the contest which everyone loves so much that they've both suddenly rocketed to the top out of nowhere, or there's something else going on here.

Thoughts?

KEBSD · 07/20/2009, 10:08 am

I definitely don't feel the top competitors have the best this forum has to offer, no offense to anyone

quickfics · 07/20/2009, 10:48 am

The contest is just a way to get free promotion for TOMI through Facebook, Twitter, etc. Since I don't read faces, I don't twitt, and my interactions with my friends are face to face, and not through unsolicited, creepy, CC'd e-mail, I know I don't have a hope in Detroit of even making the leader board, which seems to be kinda broken at the moment.

I think it would be a really, really fine and awesome idea if we all agreed on what the absolute WORST entry is, and all vote for that one. When Trial and Execution is finally released, think of the smug satisfaction we'd all get. Mmmmm.... Smug Satisfaction.

viz · 07/20/2009, 11:11 am

I can see why telltale would rather the selection process was automated to some degree (clicks = votes), they frankly have more important things to do than read each and every entry. That said, if they don't read each and every one then there is a chance that the best will be missed.

I would propose that the contest was more of a lottery, in which the selected entry was simply chosen at random. I mean one persons comedy is another persons tragedy.

Exen · 07/20/2009, 11:56 am

I think its a great viral marketing tool. While I don't think my lines will win because I don't use twitter so I can't advertise my links, the fact that many people are voting and hopefully clicking on the demo link once they vote means that more people may buy the game. What would be nice, however, is if telltale would do a "judges winner" as well as the popularity contest winner.

*Silverwolfpet* · 07/20/2009, 02:33 pm

True story:

My brother and I enetered a similar contest once. Instead of a line, we had to do a short clip. No more than 3 minutes long. Of course, some competitors didn't read the rules and posted clips of several minutes.
Every clip had to be posted on youtube, then on the site. The winer was the one that gathered the most clicks. You could only vote once/computer. At the end of the contest, a single clip (that was 7 minutes long...7 boooring minutes) had about 2000 clicks. Okay, let's say fair enough! It had the most clicks, and the contest organisers ignored the three-minutes rule.
BUT THE CLIP HAD ONLY 900 VIEWS ON YOUTUBE!
Do the math.
900 views compared to 2000 clicks.

They totally cheated, as I don't believe that a couple of kids actually had 2000 friends which they all convinced to vote for their clip.
Sad, but true. We could've won 1000 bucks.

*Irishmile* · 07/20/2009, 03:02 pm

I won a DVD once....

Toothless Gibbon · 07/20/2009, 03:35 pm

Guybrush stole my sour grapes!

(I agree though, seems a bit unfair)

smashing · 07/20/2009, 03:53 pm

I think people will cheat if they know how to do it. That will occur in all contests, games or in life in general. And anyway, even if you don't win the contest, does that make you any less of a fan to TTG products or MI games?

Hmm... instead of continuing the complaints (which we have a lot in this forum), do anyone have any better and logical suggestions to conduct contests in a fairer manner?

Radogol · 07/20/2009, 04:30 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by smashing

And anyway, even if you don't win the contest, does that make you any less of a fan to TTG products or MI games?

Let me just say, I'd rather not have George Bush jokes in my Monkey Island.

hansschmucker · 07/20/2009, 04:40 pm

Like "He almost killed me! With a Pretzel!" (I'd love that one).

But back to the issue at hand. Yes, online votes are always prone to spamming and there's not a whole lot you can do about it. You can analyze IP address ranges, try your luck with tracking cookie, but in the end it's just a matter of knowing how the web works.

Giving $1000 away based on votes seems like a pretty stupid idea, but since this vote is sufficiently "unimportant" enough we can at least hope that nobody will bother to start a really elaborate attack.

KEBSD · 07/20/2009, 04:43 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansschmucker

Giving $1000 away based on votes seems like a pretty stupid idea, but since this vote is sufficiently "unimportant" enough we can at least hope that nobody will bother to start a really elaborate attack.

$1000? Is that the prize? Where does it say this?

hansschmucker · 07/20/2009, 04:47 pm

NO! That was a story Silverwolfpet told about another contest.

Radogol · 07/20/2009, 04:48 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansschmucker

Like "He almost killed me! With a Pretzel!" (I'd love that one).

The one that's on the top of the leaderboard right now is:

"He insulfeated me in a major sword fight by claiming that my fighting skills were equivalent to George Bushes language skills."

Pirate, please.

KEBSD · 07/20/2009, 04:50 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansschmucker

NO! That was a story Silverwolfpet told about another contest.

Ah, I see it now. Whoops

Derwin · 07/20/2009, 05:00 pm

I agree that this contest wont actually find true fan favorite quotes. It is just who manages to trick enough friends into voting for their quotes. I find it sick how people are peddling their quotes just to win a weekly prize. You know that I will never be found guilty of such a crime.

hansschmucker · 07/20/2009, 05:05 pm

SAT'S NUT FUNNI! (and whoever posts first what I'm quoting here earns one vote from me)

smashing · 07/20/2009, 05:09 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derwin

I agree that this contest wont actually find true fan favorite quotes. It is just who manages to trick enough friends into voting for their quotes. I find it sick how people are peddling their quotes just to win a weekly prize. You know that I will never be found guilty of such a crime.

I'm casting my vote for you, just because of the effort you put in for your post.

Isherwood · 07/20/2009, 05:27 pm

Vote here to stick it to the man! Like it's been said I think it's a good set up for publicity though, although all the best quotes are slipping through the cracks.

Derwin · 07/20/2009, 09:10 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansschmucker

sat's nut funni!

buh-ludd!

*Edit* Funny, Jake wont let me type in all caps haha!

07/20/2009, 10:01 am	#1
SurplusGamer Mojo Mixer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: London, UK Posts: 418	Is it wise to judge create-a-line contest on votes? I know that there are all sorts of rules stopping the utterly WRONG making it into the game as a result of the current contest running... ... but when the top two entries are suddenly from someone who goes by the name 'The Silent Man', which were nowhere to be seen before... well... What I'm trying to say is that it suddenly seems as if the winner will be the person who somehow manages to badger enough people to click on the Vote button (or cheat - not that I'm accusing anyone of that) rather than the person who actually has the line that everyone thinks is the best. Those top two lines are not TERRIBLE by any means, but either I'm missing something and that guy has managed to create the TWO funniest lines in the contest which everyone loves so much that they've both suddenly rocketed to the top out of nowhere, or there's something else going on here. Thoughts? __________________ http://www.mixnmojo.com - The source for classic LucasArts related news. http://nukezilla.com/author/SurplusGamer/ - My Author Page on Nukezilla.com, a game site I write for. http://www.surprisedman.co.uk - Games wot I make.

07/20/2009, 03:53 pm	#9
smashing Angels Fan Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Singapore Posts: 424	I think people will cheat if they know how to do it. That will occur in all contests, games or in life in general. And anyway, even if you don't win the contest, does that make you any less of a fan to TTG products or MI games? Hmm... instead of continuing the complaints (which we have a lot in this forum), do anyone have any better and logical suggestions to conduct contests in a fairer manner? __________________ Twittering away while gaming. Currently playing: Mata Hari

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07/20/2009, 10:08 am	#2
KEBSD Was chosen over an anchor Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Wouldn't you like to know... Posts: 147	I definitely don't feel the top competitors have the best this forum has to offer, no offense to anyone

07/20/2009, 10:48 am	#3
quickfics Monkey Botherer Emeritus Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Upper-left. Posts: 123	The contest is just a way to get free promotion for TOMI through Facebook, Twitter, etc. Since I don't read faces, I don't twitt, and my interactions with my friends are face to face, and not through unsolicited, creepy, CC'd e-mail, I know I don't have a hope in Detroit of even making the leader board, which seems to be kinda broken at the moment. I think it would be a really, really fine and awesome idea if we all agreed on what the absolute WORST entry is, and all vote for that one. When Trial and Execution is finally released, think of the smug satisfaction we'd all get. Mmmmm.... Smug Satisfaction.

07/20/2009, 11:11 am	#4
viz Prime Minister Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: England Posts: 70	I can see why telltale would rather the selection process was automated to some degree (clicks = votes), they frankly have more important things to do than read each and every entry. That said, if they don't read each and every one then there is a chance that the best will be missed. I would propose that the contest was more of a lottery, in which the selected entry was simply chosen at random. I mean one persons comedy is another persons tragedy.

07/20/2009, 11:56 am	#5
Exen Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 5	I think its a great viral marketing tool. While I don't think my lines will win because I don't use twitter so I can't advertise my links, the fact that many people are voting and hopefully clicking on the demo link once they vote means that more people may buy the game. What would be nice, however, is if telltale would do a "judges winner" as well as the popularity contest winner.

07/20/2009, 02:33 pm	#6
Silverwolfpet Wolfy Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Romania Posts: 3,043	True story: My brother and I enetered a similar contest once. Instead of a line, we had to do a short clip. No more than 3 minutes long. Of course, some competitors didn't read the rules and posted clips of several minutes. Every clip had to be posted on youtube, then on the site. The winer was the one that gathered the most clicks. You could only vote once/computer. At the end of the contest, a single clip (that was 7 minutes long...7 boooring minutes) had about 2000 clicks. Okay, let's say fair enough! It had the most clicks, and the contest organisers ignored the three-minutes rule. BUT THE CLIP HAD ONLY 900 VIEWS ON YOUTUBE! Do the math. 900 views compared to 2000 clicks. They totally cheated, as I don't believe that a couple of kids actually had 2000 friends which they all convinced to vote for their clip. Sad, but true. We could've won 1000 bucks.

07/20/2009, 03:02 pm	#7
Irishmile The Skipping Dead Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: WI, its a paradise 3 months of the year Posts: 6,542	I won a DVD once....

07/20/2009, 03:35 pm	#8
Toothless Gibbon Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Posts: 933	Guybrush stole my sour grapes! (I agree though, seems a bit unfair)

07/20/2009, 04:40 pm	#11
hansschmucker Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 945	Like "He almost killed me! With a Pretzel!" (I'd love that one). But back to the issue at hand. Yes, online votes are always prone to spamming and there's not a whole lot you can do about it. You can analyze IP address ranges, try your luck with tracking cookie, but in the end it's just a matter of knowing how the web works. Giving $1000 away based on votes seems like a pretty stupid idea, but since this vote is sufficiently "unimportant" enough we can at least hope that nobody will bother to start a really elaborate attack.

07/20/2009, 04:47 pm	#13
hansschmucker Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 945	NO! That was a story Silverwolfpet told about another contest.

07/20/2009, 05:00 pm	#16
Derwin Max's PH-Neutral Chewtoy Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 736	I agree that this contest wont actually find true fan favorite quotes. It is just who manages to trick enough friends into voting for their quotes. I find it sick how people are peddling their quotes just to win a weekly prize. You know that I will never be found guilty of such a crime.

07/20/2009, 05:05 pm	#17
hansschmucker Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 945	SAT'S NUT FUNNI! (and whoever posts first what I'm quoting here earns one vote from me)

07/20/2009, 05:27 pm	#19
Isherwood Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4	Vote here to stick it to the man! Like it's been said I think it's a good set up for publicity though, although all the best quotes are slipping through the cracks.