ruminations on the SoP competition.

http://www.lordfly.com/SL/2005/10/state-of-play-iii-contest-musings-and.html

A perhaps sour-faced dissection of the recently-announced competition.

Discuss.

I chalk this one up to the acadmics! I work in academia and the results don't suprise me one bit.

I think if they would have advertised that they were interested in "Augmented Reality" they would have recieved much more intersting projects like Human Pacman

There are some things that could have been done that weren't. Unless they're forthcoming, correct me if I'm wrong.

One is, they could have not used Times New Roman on the finished site—it looks inconsistent with the original, neater, Verdana presentation of the rules.

Another is, "finished site"? It looks kind of haphazard and rushed...

Which leads me to wonder why the Judges didn't even post comments about why they chose what they chose, which would have been a nice leadin to their criteria.

Which also leads into me wondering why this was a competition which emphasized CIVIC and PUBLIC spaces, i.e. builds for the PEOPLE, when the judges weren't the most diverse panel in this respect, and certainly didn't include a coolhunter or gangsta amongst them with an ear to the road, a heart for the street. (Disclosure: I sleep in the Midnight City dumpster.)

Ultimately, this may have felt misleading or even a disappointment to some who entered—a disconnect in communication, which is ironically the very primal antithesis of what a place where people get together should be about.

Yeah, NBERG should have won, frankly. It was made for that contest.

But, really, I think they wanted to only pick one per virtual world. I guess. Who knows.

Freaks.

Okay, I realize that as an entrant to the competition that didn't win, my gripes might be seen as nothing more than sour grapes (which are really an anathema to one who lives on a virtual vineyard...)

But I have to say, Lordfly, you hit it on the nose. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th place winners didn't even have a passing resemblence to the competition critera as originally posted.

Let's have a resounding Hurrah! for all those entries that did make an attempt to create public and civic space in a real-live virtual massive multi-player on-line world.

Seeing most of the winning entries, i get the feeling somebody should have entered an ivory tower...

Woot you said it!

Torley I think you put it very well. There was a major communication disconnect as they led us to believe they were looking for a massively multi-player online civic/public space. That is clearly not what was voted for.

I was hoping that at least the winners, wherever they came from were persitant, living, breathing virtual public spaces.

Although I have to say, I am thrilled Relay for Life won... They deserve every bit of it...

maybe we could just take a cue from the SoP contest and hold such a thing next year, for the next SLCC? we could even invite entries from other sources than Second Life to enter.

have the main prize be the same, entry to the convention.

not only could we try to maintain judgment that relates to the guidelines, but it could also encourage the growth of online worlds as a whole. not to mention fostering a friendly relation between places such as There and Second Life. (although i doubt we'd see much kinship from Active Worlds.. lol)

Woot, I'm an academic so I guess I'm a shoe-in for the judging panel. I'm going to vote for Starbucks because sometimes people read or talk about virtual worlds there. Plus they make a killer Soy Latte, and drinking Latte is better than reading entries.

hehe... really I'm not peeved. Like I said I'm not suprised by the way things went.

To be honest, I really thought Neualtenburg had the contest cinched. We are a complete city with permanent residents, a functioning government, a massive group forum, our own website, and plans for near-term expansion. It's the definition of a virtual-world community and is completely unique unto SL. We even passed our first laws this weekend.

~Ulrika~

Ulrika, i completely see your point of view. Neualtenburg is one of the most impressive projects i've seen in SL since i was "born".

i've read a bit about you guys and am astounded at the sheer size of it all.. the scope is ginormous!

it should have won something.. i completely agree. maybe it was too developed? hehe..

If someone's PhD was on the line, I'm sure we would of won.

Oh well, I need some sleep, I'm starting to sound like a crank.

I'm with you Satch. I have no idea what this thread is about anyway so when in doubt get a latte.

Hmm.

This reminds me of that time where I took my pig to a sheep dog competition and won first prize with him.

Wait. I think that was a movie I saw.

In any case, from reading Lordfly's quote of the contest requirements and then descriptions of the actual winners... Yeah, I'd be a little peeved myself. Sorry to hear you guys got hosed in favor of what sounds like artistic masturbation.

Thanks to everyone who offered congratulations. Of course, I'm thrilled that the relay site won. As I'm sure you all know, the relay site wasn't built for the purposes of entering a competition. In fact, I wasn't even going to submit it. Randy pushed it through.

I agree with what has been said about the timing of the winners anouncement. The good news is that we're already here at the State of Play conference. In fact, I'm posting this during a break between panels. I don't think that had anything to do with their decision, since we don't even know the judges. And I haven't had an opportunity to see what the other submissions look like, so I won't comment on those. I'll have a chance to see them this afternoon during the architecture panel. You can all watch it too. It's being streamed live over the web at the State of Play site.

I will say this, however. There is no project I would rather have seen win this competition, but not because I had anything to do with the event. No one person or team is responsible for the entry. I credit the entire Second Life community. By choosing the relay site as the winner of the competition, the judges have selected you. The $500 in prize money will be donated to the American Cancer Society in honor of the Second Life residents who participated in the Relay For Life. Thank you all, and I hope you're all around when we do this again next year!

Concepts or rehashed environs?

No slight intended to Nberg.

Neverwinter, Thief, etc. have had these types of backdrops forever.

I really appreciate Nberg. But, trying to place myself in the judges shoes, I can see it being regarded as just another MMO medieval clone backdrop (with political overtures - worse for escapists).

All VW-related building contest rules translate neatly into "the one that flashes us the most."

Your argument of utility through novelty and escapism fails in that the winner was a virtual-world fund-raising event, something which there is no shortage of in RL, SL, or any other virtual world.

I am, however, thrilled to see that the prize money will be donated to the American Cancer Society. That's the best thing that has come of this contest. Have the Lindens agreed to match the prize yet? I think doubling that donation would be smashing.

~Ulrika~

Starbucks's SUCKS!

Ulrika,

I am definitely sorry to see Neualtenburg not recognized in the competition for being the groundbreaking effort that it is. All involved have worked tirelessly in the face of relentless scorn to build something magnificent, and I applaud you. Even without the recognition of this contest, you have done something special that is without peer.

That said, I am happy that Relay for Life was recognized, even if the ultimate judgements seem rather dubious. While there have been many online fund raising events, this was truly something special and unprecedented in its scope. Everyone involved, especially Jade Lily, showed the best of what we can be as a community, and their award honors us all.

I don't know what you just said but you're hot.

Ah, but I didn't comment on the winners yet. Also, it's not an argument. I was simply trying to place myself in their shoes. Shoes that have probably seen many FPS environments. I am not saying that this is what Nberg is. I know better, but do they?

I don't agree with their choices, and Nberg is clearly a public space.

So now you're down on SB, eh? SB is the only thing that keeps the world goin round.

Wrong. That would be Mountain Dew. I was so happy to see Pepsi's DO THE DEW! grafitti tagging exhibit won third place, since people sometimes drink Mt. Dew while playing online games.