The WolfQuest 2.5 Design Contest!

[Larka the white wolf]

Yep- when the finalists have been notified, I'll announce it on here and lock this topic.

Hmm... perhaps we could have just a couple-sentence summary then the full description below. We'll see how much time I have for editing.

I like that idea. Then people can read full description for more detail, or just look at every idea first with the summary.

[Overcast]

Hm...how about a compromise? (Instead of a short summary or a long description...)

You could just put the name of idea, then put a few detailed points about it (maybe break-down the long description into key points?). Like this:

Idea #1

• Keypoint 1
• Key point 2
• Key point 3
• etc...etc....

That way, we still get the key points of the idea...but we don't have to read a long description.

I like that idea SolitaryHowl.

To expand on that, think of this example. When writing an essay, one usually makes a rough outline of the essay. Just a list of the key points and supports, then to be expanded on in the final draft. Kind of like the skeleton of a person, without the flesh (details). It holds the person (or the essay) upright.

Weaker writers can be prone to 'word vomit'; pointless and repetitive scentences. This is especially stressful to read if the person does not follow (or dosen't know) proper grammar and scentence structure. Reading an entry that is long and confusing puts that persons idea in a bad light before the reader even reaches the main idea.

Even gifted writers can suffer from word vomit, pouring in every little detail about thier idea in scentence after scentence.

Really, all a voter will remember after reading an entry is what it was, how it affects gameplay and what the educational value of the idea is. Too much vomit will result in the voter making a hasty desicion and possibly a case of TL;DR (Too long; Didn't Read)!


An effective summary layout (using a RANDOM example) could be:

The idea: To include fish in Slough Creek's interactive animals.
How it affects gameplay: The player can hunt and kill fish in the river for health.
Scientific/Educational Value: In the wild, Western wolves include fish (especially salmon) as part of thier regular diets.

For your consideration,
Overcast

[Wolf Runner1]

I love your idea Overcast! However, I think there should be a summery, and then the full length idea. If the WQ team did that, then I would be able to go through the summaries and decide which ones I liked best, then go back and read the full length.

[WQ Coordinator]

How long will we have to vote?
Will we be able to change our vote?

Good questions. The length of the poll is still tbd. The minimum would be a week, the maximum would be a month. So probably somewhere in between. And no, you will not be able to change your vote, so I strongly recommend only voting after you've had time to thoroughly read all the ideas and think them through.

And interesting ideas, everyone. It sounds like there are a number of people who would prefer summaries, and a number who would prefer to read the whole thing. So I think a compromise is definitely in order. We're going to ask the finalists to summarize their ideas... I like the idea of bullet points rather than sentences, since people will be able to read the full sentences in the full description. So I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

[Zarago]

Yes, thats a good idea.

When will the finalists be notified?

[AWolfSpirit]

I don't much care for the bullets, I don't know if we'd get the entire idea...

[Overcast]

A compromise sounds worthwhile; it will settle this ongoing debate! Although as I said in my post above, I think bullet summaries are the way to go!

[Zarago]

Yes, if the Bullet Points give you enough information about the Enhancement/Big Idea. But all and all, yes, I agree with Bullet Points.

[RoarOriole]

Bullet points are awesome. But sometimes they mess up on my computer and freeze everything xD so I'd have to look at the BBcode guide and not click the buttons to get it to work

[Crimsona]

I agree with Bullet Points if they give enough information. They're easier on the eye than a whole chunk of text; so yes, I definately agree.

[Kovu-Ice-Crete]

I think the bullets are a great idea

[Aurora Lights]

I agree with Spirit, I don't know how 'well' the bullets would work.

[Zarago]

I'm sure Bullets will be fine, its so much easier than reading one big chunk of text.

[Masika]

A compromise sounds good to me for now ^^ I think bullet points would be quite good, it can just basically help the basic and important factors of the ideas which need to be put across to attract others in voting for it; plus it would be easy to read. However depending on what people would put as the bullet points regarding the user's idea then there is a possiblity that some users might not get the whole idea or understand it, I'm pretty much inbetween with the bullet points.

[RoarOriole]

like I said, bullets are fine, but they sometimes crash my computer. I always have to type the code by hand. I can't even click the "[*]" Key without it freezing up XD

I would like a simple, clean way with the bullets, but I would also like to read it completely. Maybe have a simple summary and then have a link at the full bottom that says "Read Full Version" or something and it would pop out like the "Expand View" with the previous posts in a forum topic.[/color]