[IRON DM Archive Site Project] We Need Volunteers!

[el-remmen]

So, I have actually started gathering what I need to get this project off the ground.

What I would essentially like to have is a site that archives as many of the IRON DM tournments (from both these boards and the Rat Bastard Boards) in a clean format with a tree of the tournament winners of each round and then being able click on each round and see the entries and the judgement (cleaned up some for formatting and grammar).

I also hope to have a section with a brief Bio of each competitor (I will ask people to submit these themselves when I am ready for them) and maybe a section called "Trash Talk" with some famous/infamous comments - and perhaps a a few examples of the exposition some people like to give after judgement (these would link off the judgement).

Anyway, if people have any suggestions of what to include and how to present it - please feel free to post and suggest - just keep in mind that I want a clean, simple and intuitive interface for the thing.

Another possibility might be a glossary of terminology that has developed around this phenomenon (if anyone knows any aside from "nemmerlesque" )

And I will also be looking for someone to create an IRON DM logo.

Oh, and a "hall of champions" might be nice, too.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Anyway, if people have any suggestions of what to include and how to present it - please feel free to post and suggest - just keep in mind that I want a clean, simple and intuitive interface for the thing.

Given the number of "upsets" we've seen in the judging-- ok, perceived upsets-- how about a viewer's voting/grading for each entry? Simple 1-5 star version, set up just like the ENworld reviews. You can view average score and total votes.

An interface to generate ingredients is a must... Especially if the users can somehow "add" to the database...


Wulf

 

[el-remmen]

Given the number of "upsets" we've seen in the judging-- ok, perceived upsets-- how about a viewer's voting/grading for each entry? Simple 1-5 star version, set up just like the ENworld reviews. You can view average score and total votes.

An interface to generate ingredients is a must... Especially if the users can somehow "add" to the database...


Wulf

I was thinking of this more of an archive than an interactive site. Though that could be considered later on down the line.

 

[DM2]

Where can you even see the current entries? Every few months I look at an iron dm thread, but never figure out where to see the action....

There's always just a short intro that explains the contest, but nothing on how to observe or otherwise follow it.

DM2

 

[el-remmen]

Where can you even see the current entries? Every few months I look at an iron dm thread, but never figure out where to see the action....

There's always just a short intro that explains the contest, but nothing on how to observe or otherwise follow it.

DM2

Here is the most current tournament: http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?t=66259

 

[Rune]

Since ENworld seems to crash every time we have an Iron DM tournament, it would be nice if we had an official place at that site to post our entries (more or less privately) in future tournies. After that, the entries could be moved over to the ENworld thread by the judge prior to judgement.

Of course, the Rat Bastard DM's Club Public Boards would also be a good place for that.

 

[el-remmen]

Okay, I am trying to come up with a "What is IRON DM?" explanation for the site's home page - and it is harder to do than I thought - explaining what it is without simply having an example to point to (hmm, perhaps I should include Pielorinho's excellent entry as an example on the home page).

If anyone wants to take a crack at giving a clear explanation I'd appreciate it - we could always tweak through some drafts right in this thread.

This is what I have so far (It has not been proofed for errors):

Iron DM is a game created by the poster that goes by Nemmerle on the E.N. World Messageboards. It has evolved some over the last few years the game has been played - but has always had the same basic format. Basically, players are broken up into competing pairs and each pair is given a set of six ingredients. The players must then write up an adventure incorporating those ingredients. The adventures are presented in a format most condusive for use in Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, but in theory an adventure could be written for any d20 setting. The judge then compares and contrasts the two entries not only against each other, but against what he or she considers to be a good and useful adventure, keeping in mind how the ingredients are incoroporated into the plot of the adventure and how they relate to one another, are cleverly used and interpreted, but also for such common elements of good adventure, plausibility of the adventure "hook", ability to integrate into an on-going campaign, and exploration of the consequences and conclusions of such and adventure. The judgment is written in a direct, unflinching and detailed manner and the winner of the match advances to the next round until only one competitor is left and crown IRON DM.

IRON DM has its origins in the occasional need for a Game Master to create an adventure for his gaming group off the seat of his pants incorporating what handful of ideas the circumstances of the campaign allows him. However, it has been turned into a competition with ingredients that are not revealed until the actual round begins, in the spirit of the infamous "Iron Chef" TV show.

 

[el-remmen]

Oh and this is what I came up with for a header for the site

 

[Pielorinho]

My own attempt at a writeup, cadging some phrasing from Nem:

An Iron DM tournament is a contest in which writers show their ability to turn a collection of random ingredients into a cohesive adventure over a short period of time.



Created by Nemmerle (a regular of the EN Boards and co-creator of the Rat Bastard DM Forum), the tournament was inspired by the tongue-in-cheek cooking show Iron Chef. Whereas the show’s contestants fashion several dishes out of a single random ingredient, however, Iron DM contestants fashion a single adventure out of several random ingredients. These ingredients may include locations (Millhouse, sinking island, filthy nursery), creatures (goblin prince, wyvern, guttersnipe), objects (limes, broken teeth, rod of wonder), or more abstract elements (betrayal, typhoon, vengeance).



A single round in the tournament consists of two contestants pairing off against one another. The tournament judge gives both contestants the same set of ingredients (usually six) and a set length of time in which to create the adventure (usually between four and twenty-four hours). Once both entries are in, the judge reads them and evaluates both their qualities as an adventure and their creative and appropriate use of ingredients. The judge then issues a ruling, usually accompanied by a detailed critique of each adventure. The winner of a round advances, until the tournament’s final round produces the Iron DM. Most tournaments are single-elimination and have eight contestants, although double-elimination tournaments with up to sixteen contestants have occurred.



The tournament helps DMs hone several important skills, including the ability to fashion interesting stories out of the unpredictable actions of PCs (mimicked in the tournament by the judge’s ingredient list), the ability to create memorable spectacles and characters, the flexibility to accommodate multiple paths into and through an adventure, and an exploration of the consequences and aftermaths of an adventure. In addition, several DMs have used Iron DM tournament entries in whole or in part in their own games.

 

[el-remmen]

Very nice Daniel.

However, I think we should add something about the judging being on several criteria aside from just use of ingredients - I know for my own part when I judge the use of the ingredients while weighed heavily is still less than half (though barely) of what I look for.