Summer Game Challenge 2018 - Should it go ahead?

[alienjesus]

Hi all,

As I'm sure you all know, the Summer Games Challenge has been a staple around these parts for years. You pick a selection of (up to) 10 'classic' games you've not beaten and try and play them all over the summer months.

I'm a big fan of the challenge, and normally start a thread about it some time in May each year, but this year I want to get some opinions from people about whether we still think it's worth doing.



Here's the potential reasons why we might not want to participate this year:

1. Increased Together Retro focus - the new format Together Retro is attracting a lot of participation, and running this event alongside it could lower participation in both.

2. I dunno about you, but each year finding a list of 10 definitive 'classics' I need to play gets a little bit tougher


On the other hand, I love the event and have already eyed up some potential games for it. So I guess my questions are:

1. If the challenge ran again this year, would you participate?

2. If you participated, would you still join in on each month's Together Retro theme too?

[Sarge]

I think it's still doable, and depending on the genres during the summer months, both the TR theme and picking a classic can coincide.

I can see the argument for not distracting from TR, though. The broader categories have gotten a lot more involvement than in the past.

[alienjesus]

Not too many responses yet, but seems like people are still up for this. I'll wait for more people to see the thread, but if people are still up for this I'll make a new topic for it in a couple weeks!

[laurenhiya21]

I'm still debating on if I want to participate this year or not. I tend to have a difficult time picking out games that are actually classics and that I want to play. If I do manage to pick out games, I tend to feel bad talking about them if I;m really not enjoying them (cause if they're classics then a lot of people like them I guess). Together Retro is nicer in that way as I can easily step around the super popular stuff.

That's not a problem with the challenge itself though, so I don't see any issue with it running still if people want to participate. I guess I'm just saying why I personally might not be taking part this year haha

[nullPointer]

I've always enjoyed the idea behind this challenge, and I definitely enjoy reading along with everyone's progress. Having said that, I've never actually participated. Part of this is due to the fact that my summers tend to be pretty busy, and depending on my choices, finishing ten games during that time could be a fairly lofty goal. Here we're already in May and I've only beaten nineteen so far this year! That math almost-but-doesn't quite make the cut, bearing in mind that the first and last three months of the year tend to be my most productive in terms of game time. I'd hate to get to the end of the Summer and feel like I 'failed', lol. I could definitely see myself participating with a selection of fewer titles though (and indeed I believe members have done this in the past ... although it's not precisely in keeping with the letter of the challenge)

I think you're right that consistently being able to pick ten 'uncontested classics' from your backlog would become more and more challenging over time. I could definitely see this as being an issue for the longtime members and accomplished gamers. Opening up the challenge to re-plays would help alleviate this to some extent, but would also eliminate a good deal of the actual 'challenge'. If you've already beaten a game before, you already know it's possible, and thus it may not be much of a challenge. The other option of course would be to broaden what's considered 'a classic'. I think some members have gone down that route as well, but once again to do this in an 'official' capacity seems a bit disingenuous to the original spirit of the challenge. Either one of these could be an option in the interest of keeping long term members engaged in the challenge but I'm not sure either one is a really awesome option.

Still I enjoy the Summer Game Challenge and I think it adds to the unique character and history of the RB forums! I'd hate to see it disappear altogether!

[Nert]

Being kinda new around here, I didn't know about this challenge but it's definitely something I could see myself joining in on. Prepare to cringe at my list of stuff I have yet to beat/play:

Batman nes (got to second boss I think)
DuckTales (haven't touched)
Ninja turtles nes (haven't touched)
Life force (made it through first level)
Ocarina of Time (haven't touched)
Banjo Kazooie (haven't touched)
Chrono Trigger (haven't touched)
Earthbound (first town)
Super Metroid (haven't touched)
Super Mario Sunshine (haven't touched)

So yeah, if I'm still welcome here after that revelation I'd love to participate

[Nert]

I'm still debating on if I want to participate this year or not. I tend to have a difficult time picking out games that are actually classics and that I want to play. If I do manage to pick out games, I tend to feel bad talking about them if I;m really not enjoying them (cause if they're classics then a lot of people like them I guess). Together Retro is nicer in that way as I can easily step around the super popular stuff.

That's not a problem with the challenge itself though, so I don't see any issue with it running still if people want to participate. I guess I'm just saying why I personally might not be taking part this year haha

I think it's fine to have an opinion that goes against the majority. Its interesting to me to hear something other than the norm, and hearing the reasoning behind it. As long as you have a good reason for it, why not? I don't like Super Castlevania 4

[noiseredux]

I haven't in a year or two and probably wouldn't this year. TR is already enough to keep me engaged on top of whatever I might feel like playing in the spare time I have.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I’ll participate. I am thinking of choosing five games and leaving five slots on my list open for TR games.

[Key-Glyph]

I have to admit I'm confused by this thread. Why would the Summer Games Challenge have to prove itself in either number of participants or its participants' strict adherence to rules in order to exist?

When I jumped into my first Summer Games Challenge four years ago the little event was still fighting the stigma that it was some kind of pissing contest. In point of fact, I myself had ignored the annual threads for the longest time because I'd assumed it was just an über-serious race to beat games and brag. When I got in there, though, it was a lighthearted atmosphere focused not on demolishing titles for the sake of it, but on being able to enthuse with friends on games that almost everyone could chime in on and of living vicariously through other people's first experiences with games you'd adored in times past.

By contrast, I've participated in one Together Retro and have lurked on some of the other recent months' threads, and although I played a game I wound up enjoying this April, that subset of the forum is not for me and I doubt I'll go back. I know a lot of you are into it, and I'm sincerely glad it exists for those of you who love it -- but from my perspective, Together Retro is about making gaming into a job. I saw people called to carpet to prove the legitimacy of their topics or genres they like; accusations flew about whether or not the monthly voting is rigged; tallies were kept as to who was participating and whether or not they saw their games through as a way of proving whether or not a month was a "success;" and so on. Under it all it felt like everyone was aware that reputations were somehow at stake. I saw some folks make gorgeous posts and try to uplift the atmosphere, but on the whole I would not say it was a positive experience for me.

In the Summer Games Challenge, nobody actually expects you to beat your entire list. Heck, half the fun is just making a list in itself, regardless of whether or not you put a dent in it. Most of us don't even choose a full roster of ten! Sure, dsh will come in and yell at you about whether or not a game constitutes a classic, but rarely does that deter anyone from what they're inspired to play (sorry dsh; you know we love you). In the Challenge, people celebrate your triumphs, empathize with your frustrations. You confer with each other for help, just like you did in the olden days on the playground when you were stuck on some level or bossfight. It's a positive place where no one is trying to prove anything. We're all just having a blast. That's the kind of collaborative fun I can't get enough of. I look forward to it every single year now.

So in short, the very idea of pitting Summer Games against Together Retro and suggesting they both can't exist because either 1) people can't make time in their gaming schedules for both or 2) some kind of actual rubric of legitimacy exists that could invalidate Summer Games makes me unbelievably sad. It's job-ifying one of the only communal gaming spaces I have left in which I can figuratively crack open a soda and bag of chips with upbeat friends and leisurely enjoy the games of my youth unjudged. Please don't take that away from us.

In fact, I guess this whole post is kind of moot, because in the spirit of all I've said about Together Retro, it'll be happening no matter what. It can't be canceled, because it doesn't need to be approved! So I'm going to be having a great time this summer, and I hope you'll all join me. I'll bring extra figurative chips. No parents, no rules!