Events/sections discussion

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Original proposal:
SECTIONS

Challenges from the following sections will be included: drawing, graphic art, spriting, roleplaying, creative writing, comics, showdown battling, humour.
Additional, random pop-up challenges offering only participation prizes may also be offered, such as puzzles or games.
Some sections may run multiple challenges throughout the 3-4 week period and some may have only one challenge, etc.


So we need to finalise this list (as well as the scoring) in order to recruit judges. Are there any sections on this list you think should not be included? Any we are missing?

It's possible that we could allow members to run one off challenges as well, like EmeraldSky wants to do a Gotta Watch Em All thing. We can also have things like puzzles and games etc. that award participation points.

Th only thing I want to be careful of when running these mini events is that everyone has a chance to join in. Timezones and other commitments can make it pretty difficult to participate in events which are held live, like Gotta Watch Em All or online card games. Because of this, they probably need to give out fairly limited points to make sure it's not too unfair.

Any thoughts?

[Caite-chan]

The only section I think we could remove would be Comics. I don't really think it has enough to really be a section. If we really want that many we could replace it with Debate because that is something that literally ANYONE could do. Or just not replace it at all we don't want it to be to overwhelming.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

I put comics in originally because the PXR community comic has been very successful with a lot of participation. We also got a few members to join just for that, and this might also get them involved in PXFIRE. I kinda expect it to do better than graphic art and possibly creative writing to be honest. xD

Maybe we should make a poll asking what sections the members will participate in and see what kind of response we get? Not many people will probably reply though haha.

[Caite-chan]

Do you think we shove have a lot of different sections to take part in or do you think it will just be too much for people? Or do you think the more the merrier?

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Do you think we shove have a lot of different sections to take part in or do you think it will just be too much for people? Or do you think the more the merrier?

I'm not really sure... haha. My original idea is that every section won't run for 1 week like usual. Instead some sections will run for 2 weeks or maybe even the whole 4 weeks.

eg. Creative writing you might have 2 weeks to enter your story, while sprite art you have 1 week. Maybe sprite art will only run 2 events though, in week 2 and week 4. And maybe comics will be a 4 week event where you'll have the whole time to draw a comic page. So that way it hopefully won't be too rushed/overwhelming, but it will also give people a range of stuff to join in. :)

Obviously we will have to coordinate with the judges.

[Caite-chan]

I can see Art sections and Humor going every week. Whereas the others every other week or even the whole month.

[EmeraldSky]

GWEA will run daily (to account for timezones), unless you feel that's too much. I'm also open to running it weekly or biweekly, as well

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

This is kinda what I was thinking for events:

https://i.imgur.com/i24FbY0.png

So the art events could run for 3 out of the 4 weeks to give people a chance to enter some of the other things. Roleplay is continuous, creative writing could have 2 events of 2 weeks each to give people enough time to write, comics could maybe have a character design thing the first week and then the next 3 weeks to create a short comic about them and showdown and humour could run every week. This is just an example kind of thing to show what I mean. Once selected, we can work with the judges on the schedule if they have certain things they want to do in certain weeks. :)

As for mini events (like gotta watch em all and card games, puzzles etc.), we could allow anyone to submit an idea for an event and an outline on how it will work and be scored, and then approve those individually.

We should probably try and get this organised ASAP, so are there any other comments on what events should be included or how they should be run?

[Caite-chan]

I think that should be good. The more we try and add to it the more we have to try and plan and organize. We don't want to over do it for the first time around.

[Suicune's Fire]

I also want to pop in and say that even if we start with things like Comics and it gets few to no entries, then we can axe it for the rest of the comp.

[AD]

I agree with Suicune. I know I won't be entering the Conics section as i have no way to do any of that. But i do hope it gets some fire in it. I want to see some of the sht peeps come up with lol.

[Soups]

I'd personally like to see a Debate section included. If it can't be done, that's okay. I like the current list of events/sections as is.

[Morzone]

Do we have any ideas for a team event? I suggested one in the other thread about making a story that has to include each member of the team in some important way.

Also, I wouldn't worry about the schedule too much right now, since a good portion of this is decided by the judges once we pick them.

As for a debate section... i don't really think it's a good idea. Debating is hard, and takes a good level of maturity to do so. If PXFIRE improves activity as intended, it's most likely going to be younger people who are really just here to have fun. (Like when WAR had me join several years ago) We shouldn't have a category that's tilted toward older users who are more experienced with the sight.

[Soups]

Do we have any ideas for a team event? I suggested one in the other thread about making a story that has to include each member of the team in some important way.

Also, I wouldn't worry about the schedule too much right now, since a good portion of this is decided by the judges once we pick them.

As for a debate section... i don't really think it's a good idea. Debating is hard, and takes a good level of maturity to do so. If PXFIRE improves activity as intended, it's most likely going to be younger people who are really just here to have fun. (Like when WAR had me join several years ago) We shouldn't have a category that's tilted toward older users who are more experienced with the sight.

That's fair. It was just a suggestion! :smile:

[Neo Emolga]

I think we tried Debate in the past and it just didn't take off too well.

The thing with Debate is even on a good day activity-wise... it can get ugly. Serebii has no problem letting a debate go completely to hell with people getting banned in the process, but I'd be a sad squirrel if that kind of thing happened here. Religious debates get especially bad but things that go into the political realm are no stranger to angry people.

We used to have a Debate section but frankly, I don't miss it.

[Morzone]

So...

Team event! Yeah

Anyone else have ideas?

[Soups]

I think we tried Debate in the past and it just didn't take off too well.

The thing with Debate is even on a good day activity-wise... it can get ugly. Serebii has no problem letting a debate go completely to hell with people getting banned in the process, but I'd be a sad squirrel if that kind of thing happened here. Religious debates get especially bad but things that go into the political realm are no stranger to angry people.

We used to have a Debate section but frankly, I don't miss it.

I understand. I wouldn't want any turmoil, especially in our first year running PXFIRE.


So...

Team event! Yeah

Anyone else have ideas?

Hm... Maybe we can wait until we have team leaders/co-leaders set and they can all brainstorm and come to an agreement on a team event. If not, I do like your idea. It's creative and fun.

[Caite-chan]

Just remember we don't want to add to much stuff to this or people I'll be rushing to get things done. This is during the summer where many people go on vacation. The last thing they want to have to worry about is this. This event should be fun not a chore or feel like a homework assignment.

[Soups]

Just remember we don't want to add to much stuff to this or people I'll be rushing to get things done. This is during the summer where many people go on vacation. The last thing they want to have to worry about is this. This event should be fun not a chore or feel like a homework assignment.

I couldn't have said it better.

[Morzone]

The team event is a single project spanning all four weeks... I don't think it'll really cramp people's schedule too much.

My idea of a team narrative featuring each member might be a little heavy on the actual writer, but I don;t think it'll be too bad if the teams manage it right.

Any ideas what else we could do?

[EmeraldSky]

I could designate Gotta Watch'em All as a team event, unless you'd prefer it to be its own event...

[Caite-chan]

The team event is a single project spanning all four weeks... I don't think it'll really cramp people's schedule too much.

My idea of a team narrative featuring each member might be a little heavy on the actual writer, but I don;t think it'll be too bad if the teams manage it right.

Any ideas what else we could do?

This whole thing is the team event...lol. We shouldn't add more to something we are testing out. We just need to work with what we have and see how things go. And if it turns out to be really good then we can add more to it for next time. It's not a matter of managing it right it's a matter of trying to cram so much in so little.

[Morzone]

This whole thing is the team event...lol. We shouldn't add more to something we are testing out. We just need to work with what we have and see how things go. And if it turns out to be really good then we can add more to it for next time. It's not a matter of managing it right it's a matter of trying to cram so much in so little.

Because so far, the only difference between PXFIRE and WAR is the point system and GWEA. We aren't really trying anything new. Also, I recall quite clearly that in WAR, there was a pretty strong feeling that being in a team didn't mean as much as it should. Most of the time people joined a team simply to be able to participate, and then just went off to play the individual categories. Teams need to have activities that force them to work as a team rather than just a slogan for collecting points under. What's the point of forming teams if you don't actually treat them as teams? everyone going off and doing their own thing isn't being a team, working together to reach a common goal is, and from my experience in WAR, "collecting points so our team wins" wasn't the best at making us connect as a team.

Also, how the heck are we going to find out if a team event "turns out to be really good" if you don't actually put it in there to test it? why should we go little with this? this is going to be a major event that lasts an entire month, what reason is there to go little? If you're always afraid of going too far, you'll never actually discover your limits. We shouldn't be conservative with new ideas in this because, as you say, we're testing things out. We can't expand our horizons if we stick with what we know works.

[Caite-chan]

Yes but the difference is PE2K had way more people where as here we don't. And with this we trying to put emphasis on team work and working together. It's easy for things to get lost with everything going on. Not only that we already have about 8 events going on. Its a lot of work to do several events each week along with making sure all the judges are getting their results in in a timely fashion.

[Morzone]

Yes but the difference is PE2K had way more people where as here we don't. And with this we trying to put emphasis on team work and working together. It's easy for things to get lost with everything going on. Not only that we already have about 8 events going on. Its a lot of work to do several events each week along with making sure all the judges are getting their results in in a timely fashion.

What does PE2K have to do with this? I'm specifically referencing the WAR we had Here on PXR, and I'm quite aware this forum isn't the most populated. And I can tell you, as a participant, the "team building" system WAR had was terrible. Between the time I joined at the start of WAR II and the end, my team leader stopped showing up and half the team never talked to each other. There wasn't any incentive to actually work together because every category was based on individual work.

Speaking of those events, I'm fairly certain not every member is joining all 8 events. Unless you're one of the more gifted people, people are at max going to be in about 3 categories each. and some will probably be in only one. Because a team event would be a single project spanning all four weeks, there's plenty of time to work on it without feeling overwhelmed. This includes those running the event/judging the team event as well. you don't have to worry about checking it every week, it's a one time thing that happens at the very end.

But if you're still not convinced, how about another idea: let's incorporate it into something we're already doing: Team themes. Each team has to come up with their own theme anyway, why not make their team spirit a little competitive? Team leaders and members are challenged to produce art, writing, jokes, memes, comics, Anything that shows off team spirit and cooperation. No one's requiring anyone to actually do anything, and its entirely based off of how well a team can come together under a central idea. At the end we can have a grand time showing off how awesome our team is, after all the normal judging is done so the leaders don't have to be bogged down.

(I actually like that idea a lot better than my other one, it does a better job of building up team spirit while reminding people that we're here to have fun, not just win)

[Soups]

But if you're still not convinced, how about another idea: let's incorporate it into something we're already doing: Team themes. Each team has to come up with their own theme anyway, why not make their team spirit a little competitive? Team leaders and members are challenged to produce art, writing, jokes, memes, comics, Anything that shows off team spirit and cooperation. No one's requiring anyone to actually do anything, and its entirely based off of how well a team can come together under a central idea. At the end we can have a grand time showing off how awesome our team is, after all the normal judging is done so the leaders don't have to be bogged down.

(I actually like that idea a lot better than my other one, it does a better job of building up team spirit while reminding people that we're here to have fun, not just win)

I don't mind this idea. It's a neat incentive to actually work as a team rather than join a team and participate solely for yourself.

By the way, I don't think Caite wasn't convinced. I just think she's looking out for us. We should definitely make sure that we don't bite off more than we can chew.

[Caite-chan]

That's all fine and dandy but you just have to be careful not to put too many restrictions on people or they won't want to do anything. I'm not saying it's a bad idea but we just need to be careful with this. There will already have a theme for the challenge and then having to add something about the team that could just be too restrictive for some people and it might put them off. Some people may not be able to come up with something and then just say screw it and then not bother to enter something or even worse just drop out altogether. We want this to be fun and not work. We're doing all the work now so people can have fun later. Trust me you might not think it but even after 4 weeks by the end of this, you will feel relieved because you're not having to worry about getting something in or making sure your team is still going.

[Neo Emolga]

But if you're still not convinced, how about another idea: let's incorporate it into something we're already doing: Team themes. Each team has to come up with their own theme anyway, why not make their team spirit a little competitive? Team leaders and members are challenged to produce art, writing, jokes, memes, comics, Anything that shows off team spirit and cooperation. No one's requiring anyone to actually do anything, and its entirely based off of how well a team can come together under a central idea. At the end we can have a grand time showing off how awesome our team is, after all the normal judging is done so the leaders don't have to be bogged down.

(I actually like that idea a lot better than my other one, it does a better job of building up team spirit while reminding people that we're here to have fun, not just win)

Totally this! It sounds fun and people would definitely show a lot more team spirit, also. I know during the WAR, some teams had this going on, but I think having something that specifically encouraged people to go all out in team spirit would be even better.

[Morzone]

That's all fine and dandy but you just have to be careful not to put too many restrictions on people or they won't want to do anything. I'm not saying it's a bad idea but we just need to be careful with this. There will already have a theme for the challenge and then having to add something about the team that could just be too restrictive for some people and it might put them off. Some people may not be able to come up with something and then just say screw it and then not bother to enter something or even worse just drop out altogether. We want this to be fun and not work. We're doing all the work now so people can have fun later. Trust me you might not think it but even after 4 weeks by the end of this, you will feel relieved because you're not having to worry about getting something in or making sure your team is still going.

I think that's why a team spirit battle would work, because there aren't any restrictions at all. (apart from the usual maturity level stuff) people can be as creative, silly, and fun as they want to show off their team. Judging methods for team spirit would be kept purposefully ambiguous to the teams so they don't fee like they have to do it in a certain way. They can do it their way.

And even better, because it would be entirely based off of member interest, this first round of PXFIRE would be a great testing ground to see how many people really get into it or if maybe next year we need some other idea.

[Soups]

I think that's why a team spirit battle would work, because there aren't any restrictions at all. (apart from the usual maturity level stuff) people can be as creative, silly, and fun as they want to show off their team. Judging methods for team spirit would be kept purposefully ambiguous to the teams so they don't fee like they have to do it in a certain way. They can do it their way.

And even better, because it would be entirely based off of member interest, this first round of PXFIRE would be a great testing ground to see how many people really get into it or if maybe next year we need some other idea.

I'm for it. I'd say once teams are put together and leaders/co-leaders are set, the team event can be announced. I think it will have solid results. I just like the entire idea of teams actually having something to do besides simply being a title for a participant to carry.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

I think a team spirit thing could be cool. It could be kind of like the Pokemon GO team prizes, where not everyone had to join in to get points but like 5 out of the 10 members had to complete the challenge and then the whole team wins.

Like the first team challenge could be to decorate your signature and/or avatar in some way relating to your team. And if 5/10 of the team complete it, the team gets 10 points or something.

Then the next team challenge could be a wordsearch or something. If 5/10 people from the team complete the wordsearch in the right amount of time, the team gets 10 points.

It could basically incorporate the puzzles/games we were going to have and make them all into team events. What do you guys think?

[Morzone]

I was thinking a little more free-reign in terms of letting members show off their team's colors but I suppose a little structure wouldn't be bad. it might make it easier to implement the mini-games. Though I think for this one maybe we should award "spirit points" (assuming it'd be its own separate thing) per user completed, so that its based off entirely how many people are willing to contribute in the name of the team, rather than having a few people carry the others by having a 5/10-like requirement.

[Soups]

I think a team spirit thing could be cool. It could be kind of like the Pokemon GO team prizes, where not everyone had to join in to get points but like 5 out of the 10 members had to complete the challenge and then the whole team wins.

Like the first team challenge could be to decorate your signature and/or avatar in some way relating to your team. And if 5/10 of the team complete it, the team gets 10 points or something.

Then the next team challenge could be a wordsearch or something. If 5/10 people from the team complete the wordsearch in the right amount of time, the team gets 10 points.

It could basically incorporate the puzzles/games we were going to have and make them all into team events. What do you guys think?

I'm all for making puzzles/mini-games into team events. We've already got a ton of individual events, so it would be great to start piling up some fun, but not too serious, team events.

[AD]

Team Spirit, although corny when i was in school, I actually love the idea. And at this point i feel i agree too much with Sarah lol, always making valid points *shakes fist* lol

[Soups]

SO...

Outside of PXFIRE events, side events such as puzzles and mini-games will be team events, correct? If so, I'm all for it. I think it's a great balance of competitive opportunities - individual events (you're still representing your team) and team events (those that will require teamwork to accomplish).

Are there any other types of events that we haven't discussed? I think we've got more than enough. We don't want to bite off more than we can chew.

[Morzone]

I think the team events (minigames, spirit, etc) and the normal individual events are enough at this point. It's probably better to flesh out exactly how the minigames/spirit team events are going to be presented and run.

[Caite-chan]

I'm sure it will be divided. Some people will do the challenges while others would rather do the puzzles. And then you will have those who will wanna do both.

[Soups]

Who will be in charge of the team events? For the individual events, we've got judges that will create the challenges. Will the PXFIRE leaders be in charge of the team events? Or will we have one designated person?

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

I thought it'd be cool to let people sign up to run a team/non-main event. They would have to submit the rules and everything and we would need to approve it. Since the team events will be a complete/incomplete thing that don't require grading, judging shouldn't be too hard. It'd just be keeping track of who had completed stuff. Whoever is interested in making and running a team event can propose/create one :)

[Soups]

I thought it'd be cool to let people sign up to run a team/non-main event. They would have to submit the rules and everything and we would need to approve it. Since the team events will be a complete/incomplete thing that don't require grading, judging shouldn't be too hard. It'd just be keeping track of who had completed stuff. Whoever is interested in making and running a team event can propose/create one :)

I'm all for it!

[Morzone]

I'd be happy to run a team spirit event! though I'm not sure how efficient it would be to let the general public make their own team events though. It would be better to have events and look for people to judge them, like we're doing with the other categories.

Either way though, should we add a section to the judging application about the team events? I saw your write up in the other thread and noticed it didn't mention the team events at all.

[Soups]

I'd be happy to run a team spirit event! though I'm not sure how efficient it would be to let the general public make their own team events though. It would be better to have events and look for people to judge them, like we're doing with the other categories.

Either way though, should we add a section to the judging application about the team events? I saw your write up in the other thread and noticed it didn't mention the team events at all.

It's definitely smarter to have a single leader (or two) in charge of team events, at least for this year's run-through.

And yes, I think we should.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Yeah I wasn't sure if we needed judges for the team events. I figured anyone could make a team event they would just need to get it approved with us before PXFIRE starts, so it would be kinda separate to judging. Like I know EmeraldSky wants to do something with Gotta Watch Em All and it's been mentioned there could be card games or something.

The alternative is for a couple of people to be in charge of team events. I guess it would just be another "section" called "team games" or something and could work like all the other sections except it's all based on participation? We could look for a judge to do that if you like, unless some of you guys are interested in running it (I don't think I'll have time as I'll be keeping an eye on everything else xD). So yeah if someone wants to volunteer to run the team events go ahead! Otherwise I could add it to the judge applications.

I'd like to get that posted ASAP so let me know what you guys think as soon as you can! :)
Morzone Born

[Soups]

I'll go with Option B. If we go with Option A, I don't know how many team events we'll end up having. What if only one member submits an idea, you know? I think it would be better to have a selected judge (or two) craft a few team events to run throughout PXFIRE (including GWEA if Emerald wants that to be a team event).

As far as judging goes, I'll pass. Maybe next year though (if we run PXFIRE again)!

[EmeraldSky]

Born

I have no qualms with GWEA being a team event, actually.

[Morzone]

I was thinking more the other way around, where we create team events now, then find people to judge them like we are doing with the already set individual categories.

Also, I'd love to judge a spirit event! It'll satisfy my need to judge something and still let me participate in the other categories I want to.

[Soups]

Born

I have no qualms with GWEA being a team event, actually.

Whatever you feel comfortable with, bud. You know it best.


I was thinking more the other way around, where we create team events now, then find people to judge them like we are doing with the already set individual categories.

Also, I'd love to judge a spirit event! It'll satisfy my need to judge something and still let me participate in the other categories I want to.

That works.

Awesome. So, you'll be in charge of whatever event you come up with and Emerald will be in charge of GWEA... which means we've got two team events set. I don't think we should go overboard on team events, so maybe the addition of 1-2 more would be ideal. We'd either have to craft two more events now or allow those that are interested in judging a team event to create their own event.

[Caite-chan]

I just say we go with what we have now and save the rest for next time. We're going to have at least 10 judges 2 team and 8 individual. At this rate half the teams will be judges. I still feel like we're throwing way to much into this because we don't even know how much attention this will attract. We could get a crap ton or hardly any at all...we don't know.

[Morzone]

yeah, the spirit event and GWEA is probably enough. I'll start on writing up the stuff for the spirit event.

[EmeraldSky]

Born

Do I need to write up something for GWEA, or is what I already have fine?

[Soups]

I just say we go with what we have now and save the rest for next time. We're going to have at least 10 judges 2 team and 8 individual. At this rate half the teams will be judges. I still feel like we're throwing way to much into this because we don't even know how much attention this will attract. We could get a crap ton or hardly any at all...we don't know.

You're right. I'm fine with what we've got now.


Born

Do I need to write up something for GWEA, or is what I already have fine?

I'd say you should have a draft prepared so that you can be ready when the time comes to create the event threads.

[EmeraldSky]

Born

Okay--I have a scale and some basic rules drawn up, so I should be ready to go (unless you guys want to give feedback)

[Soups]

Born

Okay--I have a scale and some basic rules drawn up, so I should be ready to go (unless you guys want to give feedback)

Only if you feel like you need feedback! Otherwise, I'm confident that you know what you're doing. It's your event after all. :cool:

[EmeraldSky]

Okay then--I will await the day the threads get made.