Quote from CecilSunkure;)

Anyone can make a puzzle map that is impossibly hard. It takes more skill to balance a map between difficult and fun when it comes to puzzles.

Impossible? Not at all. Every "riddle-type" puzzle in L37 has a fairly simple solution, one that can be arrived at with a bit of observation and some creative lateral thinking. You could at least play through some of the non-freebie levels and see how the solutions actually do follow from the information given before saying that it's something that "anyone can make".

Plus, isn't difficulty a matter of personal preference? A map that is just right for some will be too easy for others, while one that is just right for them will be too hard for the first group. Personally, I'm only interested in player-vs-map games when they are difficult, so that they can be played repeatedly and there is a feeling of genuine accomplishment when I make progress. qPK's map, to me personally as a player, was much too easy; it took me around 15 minutes, at the very most, to beat Completion mode, after which I played a time trial once just to see it, and now I'm unlikely to open the map ever again. If your definition of "fun" is an automatic win, then what I've made is simply not for you, and you should go back to your infinite-money defenses or whatever it is that you like as soon as the contest is over. Contest judging, though, is supposed to be objective, and that means considering each map for what it is supposed to be and whom it is supposed to be for, not simply applying your particular tastes. I'd say that not only giving me a very low gameplay score, but also giving me a low completion score just because the map was too hard for you is going too far.

I'm not asking you to re-score the contest or anything. I'm just pointing these things out because it's very discouraging in terms of future contest participation if my work is going to be given a score that reflects badly on me, and that will scare people off of playing the map, on grounds that seem marginally justifiable at best.

FoxWolf1 is making a very good point. Most players find comfort in being constantly rewarded without too much effort on their part. Why? More or less because the attention span of the average occidental drastically decreases with every passing generation. As a result of this, games get increasingly dumber and simpler to satisfy their needs. Unfortunately, most people's standards of a "good game" also follow that trend. The judges of this contest were certainly no exception from what I saw.

There is a difference between making a stupid puzzle impossible (like the bounds that require perfect coordination throughout a painfully long time) and making ingenious puzzles that seem difficult at first simply because you're not used to them.

I tried to play Lizard 37 a few times but I can't get 2 people who will stay for very long >_> I wish I could play it by myself =P

I have to agree with foxwolf on the judging. A judge really should play a map to completion if at all possible. Otherwise, how can it be accurately scored? In the case of a challenging map like this, the feeling of accomplishment goes a long way in justifying the challenge and making it worthwhile in the end. If you didn't make it that far, it may be hard to understand the enjoyment of it. Ultimately, a judge's deficiencies should not be counted against the creator. The completion score for L37 is particularly egregious because it is completely arbitrary. How can you know how finished the map is if you didn't get far enough to see?

Oh well, I, for one, will not be trying to justify my map or pointing out my issues with other people's maps. Good show, guys.

Quote from qPirateKing

I have to agree with foxwolf on the judging. A judge really should play a map to completion if at all possible. Otherwise, how can it be accurately scored? In the case of a challenging map like this, the feeling of accomplishment goes a long way in justifying the challenge and making it worthwhile in the end. If you didn't make it that far, it may be hard to understand the enjoyment of it. Ultimately, a judge's deficiencies should not be counted against the creator. The completion score for L37 is particularly egregious because it is completely arbitrary. How can you know how finished the map is if you didn't get far enough to see?

Well said.

Quote from FoxWolf1

I'm not asking you to re-score the contest or anything. I'm just pointing these things out because it's very discouraging in terms of future contest participation if my work is going to be given a score that reflects badly on me, and that will scare people off of playing the map, on grounds that seem marginally justifiable at best.

I understand what you are saying completely, but I also hope you understand the judges' positions; we have limited spare time to spend judging maps, and not only us two judges but everyone we played the map with couldn't get passed the second level. We didn't have a choice (besides not scoring it). In your case, if you wish, I can remove your map from the records -though this doesn't mean I will need to be obligated to ever remove any other map for any reason in the future.

Quote from CecilSunkure;)

I understand what you are saying completely, but I also hope you understand the judges' positions; we have limited spare time to spend judging maps, and not only us two judges but everyone we played the map with couldn't get passed the second level. We didn't have a choice (besides not scoring it). In your case, if you wish, I can remove your map from the records -though this doesn't mean I will need to be obligated to ever remove any other map for any reason in the future.

That shouldn't be necessary (and I'd rather not risk the map disappearing before anyone has given it the time that it needs). I just hope my next map fares better...it should be a good bit less time-consuming than L37 simply by virtue of the Week #2 theme, but I have absolutely no intention of being part of the dumbing down trend that chia-tyrant pointed out.