An idea that has been bouncing around in my brain for some time (and that I spoke about to Caeryn and Sara last night) a cooking contest. At the Kodo, of course.
Participants being asked to bring one cooked meal, and for the sake of creativity, give an IC description of the actual food, followed by of course a taste test, Yar.
Of course, what I'm aiming at is something creative for those taking part. A bit of effort. That could be used to score extra points or something.
As fore rewards...Free drinks/food for one night is always a good choice, and maybe having the honor of having the winning dish become a part of the menu for some time.
I think the descriptions of the dishes will be a/the key component in the judging. The more creative the better. We could also use a /roll behind the scenes to decide winners as needed.
On prizes: I read this great summary from Derek Powazek. I think it really fits. Getting an item on the menu sounds one good option.
[Quote
Games require rewards, but be careful.
No talk of games would be complete without mentioning rewards. Wait Wait has rewards, but they’re never anything valuable enough for people to get competitive about.
There’s really nothing at stake. When one of the panelists wins the game, all they get is a cheer from the audience and then the show’s over. And when callers play a game, their only prize is to get announcer Carl Kasell’s voice on their home answering machine. When they play a game with a famous caller, they play to get Carl Kasell’s voice on someone else’s answering machine.
I particularly like this reward because it’s just random enough to be funny, costs the show nothing to produce, but is still something the caller might want enough to make the game interesting for the audience. The key is that all the rewards are just valuable enough to propel the show, but not so valuable that real competition crowds out the fun.
Lesson: In games, big rewards make drama (“You are the weakest link!”), small rewards make comedy. Set the reward in the right place for the experience you want to create.
-Derek Powazek, "How Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me Is Crowdsourcing Done Right"
Having the judges decide OOC'ly or IC'ly which description they liked best of the dish would be key. We should probably limit the number of contestants, and one dish per person, so that the judges do not become totally overwhelmed.
Free drinks and food for one night could be a bad idea, because Sara and Maranwe could be constantly running over to that person to replenish their "stores" as it were.
Maybe giving them a rag doll from the Dalaran toy shop, and saying that it has a ZC tabard on it or something.
One who does not spend one’s life in constant preparation for the worst is destined to die a surprised man.
everything's looking good so far, so here's the points I like best:
1- one dish per person, limited number of person (could always do this again later for other people)
2- judging will take into account a creative description of the dish in question (ingredients used, etc etc. the more they add on it, the better. we could also go with a theme, but that would limit choices)
3- Yeah, I suppose the freefood/drinks could be abused. A prize of some sorts is a good idea (we can brainstorm choices later) I think having the winning dish becoming part of the menu is good too.