If davidc isn't too busy (he would have to organize it and make the badges) that'd be a good idea. But I think that the competition should exclude moderators (since they're legends). And you can't submit already uploaded levels, you have to make a brand new one (for example, I wouldn't be able to submit "The Pit" or "Ferris Wheely").

But would there be judges, or would people rate/vote levels?

The ratings could be like in the billboard contest. Great idea!

Puggsoy,
There should be standards for submitting a level into a contest like this. I feel that it might get too chaotic with random submissions with really no direction other other than the fact there will be a winner. Also, I partially agree in not letting moderators join the contest. I would love to see moderators go at their best in making a level, but i would also want the contest to be fair. As for submitting already made levels, I absolutely agree, recycling levels is lame, I personally would not want to play a level that everyone knows about.

About the moderators in joining.. it kind of wouldn't be fair for both goofans and the moderators. How about this: according to my proposal in that there be a chapter made for each contest, the moderators could compete for a "challenge" level in this contest. That way, these "legends" would be against "legends".

As for Albino Pokey, the ratings could be like the billboard contest (i still have to check out the billboard contest).

Hmm. Not bad. There's only one thing: why so many badges? No doubt a lot of people are going to finish the levels and the OCD's, so if we have this every year in 5 years the forums are gonna be chock full of badges on the left side of the screen. I think we should only have one badge for the grand winner. It's a competition, right? There should be a winner, and that winner should get a prize: a badge.

I LOVE this idea! Maybe it could even be 2 or 3 contests: first the theme/new Goo Balls that can be used by all the levels in the chapter, then the levels themselves, then a map.

The moderators could submit stuff to a challenge section in the sky above the main levels, all unlocked when you beat the last one.

If DavidC doesn't make this contest, we could also do it independently on a separate website.

I fully support this idea. If this is actually held, I'd love to join.

hey guys i will gladly
support this too
i might do this
if it is allright with you
guys.

Hmmm... your right puggsoy, too many badges.

Not so sure about having just one grand winner... i'll have to think about it and maybe, somewhere, how many people are signed up on this site and making levels..

i dunno.

i would like to know what davidc and the moderators think.

There was a plan for level contest back in July last year, we even got Kyle and Ron to gift us three signed copies of World of Goo for the prises, but we canceled it because there where to few goofans at that time...

are there enough goofans this year?

I expect there are enough now.

This poroblems has disappeared definitely, I think. Now site is full of goo-fans and we have great WooGLE that allows everyone to make levels.

PS. I think, that non-virtual prises (like signed WoG copies) are not so good idea. Badge is better, because it is visible to all goo fans. "Look, xxx won the Goo Fans Contest in 2011!"

Well prize or no prize, there should be badges for the winner( (maybe only grand prize).

I cannot stress enough the goal of this contest: put together an organized package of levels that must be played in order.

This isn't just an ordinary contest. Its to "audition" for a place in a goofans "official" (or unofficial) chapter in the forums, set aside from the other random levels.

I really like the idea of creating a new item under [World of Goo Addins] that says at the very end "GooWorld Levels" (or something) and in it, there would be another tag in it that you can click on that says something like "Chapter 2011" and in it a list of the levels of the winners of the contest in order, starting with "last place" (technically like 10th place or something, anyone under it didn't make it) and going down until that last level, the grand winner. And under that would be the challenge level.

To access each level except the first, you must beat the preceding level to get a psasword to access the next level.

FOr instance, beating level 5 would give a password "jdd932dja" and when I click on chapter 6, I would have to enter "jdd932dja" when it prompts me to access the page that has the goomod addin download link.

...

OR

...

Someone creates an ACTUAL chapter that can replace an existing one (or add a new one, I don't know how that is going to work), which has the levels and such. As far as I know, I heard that adding a new chapter is not possible at the moment.
But the problems in that would be that SOMEONE has to make the graphics for the chapter and set it all up. A web page sounds much easier to do imo.

either way, it shouldn't just be "hey look guys here is the winner go play his level". The goal is to create a story of the winning submitted levels into one epic chapter of awesomeness, not just random levels that have a 1st place badge stuck onto it or something. A random contest with a winner would be forgotten pretty quickly, and will have less hype. But an announcement that goofans is creating an official chapter exclusively set at the site, and its up to the goofans (and the moderators) to make the levels to be featured in this chapter... that would be so much more greater than a normal contest. And not to mention fun! Its kind of boring to play level after level with no substance to it (don't get me wrong, those levels can be quite fun!) but it would be AWESOME, so AWESOME that the O and E fuse to become a U in AWESUM, to play another great chapter of WoG.

but in order to do that:

we need a theme
story perhaps
etc.

so the levels submitted can be graded on:

The level itself (most of the grade)
Difficulty (if its too easy or too time consuming for no reason, its off the list)
story (very minor portion of it, but if it makes absolutely no sense...its hard to mess this part up)

The theme should be decided first, fyi.

I can make new chapters, and that way sounds better.

Then we can also have a "chapter-map-making" contest after the level contest.

The final levels could be pre-installed into GooTool, so that the program prompts you to select a directory for the contest-modded version of WoG, and it mods it automatically.

I don't think that would be too difficult to code in Java, it's so similar to the existing mod-installing features.

And, like I said before, a theme-making contest would be awesome too. You would have to submit 15 generic images (walls, cliffs, gears, spikes), a storyline, and 2 or 3 new Goo Balls. After the winner was chosen, all the levels would have to follow that theme.

well at least walls and cliffs and a story... as for the other stuff is not "essential". Putting together gears and spikes and maybe some goo balls would have to be optional.

as for the storyline, it can't be a set story, like "the goo balls did this and that".

Its more of a one sentence guide line. For example:

"Perilous Plunge: the goo balls find themselves on an island with a bunch of volcanoes."
and one level could be crossing a river or making the volcano explode to launch yourself out of there.

Well... we don't need a theme or storyline. People can just all submit one of their best levels, and then someone (like AP) put all the winning levels (6 or so) together in a themeless chapter. Then the best one comes last.

Because, I think that if we have competitions for themes, and chapter making, and whatever else, this is gonna get a bit messy. I mean, I thought this was just a simple level-making contest?

@AP: The GooTool idea isn't too bad, but a whole new WoG directory just for this? Some people don't have much disk space, and after a few years people are all gonna have like 5 WoG folders.

well yea it was in my proposal that themes don't really need to be there...

it should just be restricted to level making only. if you want to make your own themed walls/balls/gears/cliffs and stuff, thats up to you to make a better level than everyone else.

Well, I hope that it's all sorted now, I've got a great level idea and I'm eager to start making it!

you can start now and save it for later lol, sooner or later goofans will have to have a level contest

I have more than 10 installations.

Hmm. Well, other people might mind. Just thought I'd mention it.

Howitz wrote:

you can start now and save it for later lol, sooner or later goofans will have to have a level contest

hey guys how about a badge for participation in the contest?
and other badges for those few who won?

everyone would have a badge then. lol.

yea that is the point

-.-...

ANYWAYS...

moderators, do you support this? of course all the other goofans do.

There is an addin author badge and a GameGooGround participant badge, several people have those.

Maybe...green badges with Ivy goos for the contest, a green one with an Ivy wearing a crown for the winner?

yea i agree with this

I'll make some images and post them.

I have no say in the matter of new badges.
davidc is the person you should ask.

i think he is on irc