It's 2022! This May marks the 20th anniversary of VGMaps.com!
I have a couple of things in mind to celebrate the past couple decades - one of which is a VGMaps.com PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
VGMaps.com: The Video Game Atlas has over 37,000 maps for over 50 video game platforms, including consoles, handhelds, computers, and the arcade! Mostly retro, but we do have maps of more recent games too. Mostly stitched-together screenshot maps, but also have some reconstructions of polygonal games, and other visual guides. And yet, I feel there is probably a way to present what my site is about to others, in the form of a video.
So, take note, people who are skilled in video editing. What I am looking for is a video about VGMaps.com. Any kind of promotional video, to showcase what VGMaps is all about.
The one who provides the best video (as determined by me) will win $2000 (USD)!
Rules/Guidelines: - The point of the video is to promote VGMaps.com: The Video Game Atlas, so it has to be mentioned or shown in some way (obviously). You can and should use the logo; you can even animate or remake the logo, as long as it is recognizeable as the VGMaps.com compass. You can download them here: https://www.vgmaps.com/temp/VGMapsLogos.zip (https://www.vgmaps.com/temp/VGMapsLogos.zip) - It has to be uploaded to YouTube so you can share the link with me via email or direct message. It can be published as "unlisted" (so no one can see it except for those you share the link with) or "public" (if you don't mind anybody searching for it and viewing it) - as long as I can see it - whether or not it is visible to others before the contest is over won't affect how I judge the video. - It has to be appropriate for all ages. - Do not use copyrighted music that YouTube would have issues with. - If using screenshot maps in the video (which you likely will), acknowledge the mapper(s) and the original game developer in the description of the video. - The deadline for submission is before midnight (Mountain Standard Time) at the end of May 1, 2022. - The winning entry will be announced - and the prize awarded - on May 6, 2022. - You have to have a PayPal account to accept the $2000 (USD) winnings, if you do win. - After the conclusion of the contest, you have to be okay with me using your video, either reuploaded wholly or in part, on my "JonLeung1" YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/c/JonLeung1 (https://www.youtube.com/c/JonLeung1) ). Credit to you will always be given if I use any portion of your video.
Feel free to do whatever you want, creatively! It can be any length, within reason, of course - I expect these to be short, but longer content is fine if it remains entertaining throughout.
It can be a short trailer, rapidly showing off some of the most impressive maps. Or it could be a skit about using VGMaps.com to conquer some part in a game. Or it could be a time-lapse or tutorial video about how to make a map, or how to navigate the site.
Those are just some suggestions, though there really is no limit creatively, as long as it's a fun and entertaining video that clearly promotes VGMaps.com.
Good luck! Remember - the deadline is May 1.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: VGCartography on January 15, 2022, 04:21:56 pm
Can you share with us a couple statistics that would be fun to feature if possible? - number of maps - number of contributors - first map(s) you hosted (which one and when?)
Thanks!
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on January 15, 2022, 06:09:51 pm
Good questions! I'll answer what I can.
I did a map count, and as of today, the number I got is 37,265 maps.
That includes the three .PDF files - the text-only Q&A for Earthworm Jim 2 (Genesis) (https://vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/index.htm#EarthwormJim2), and the V-Note's Chronicle Guides for Blaster Master (NES) (http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/NES/index.htm#BlasterMaster) and Ys: Book I & II (TG16) (http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/TG16/index.htm#YsBookIII). It also includes the .SWF file for the interactive map for The Legend Of Zelda (NES) (http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/NES/index.htm#LegendOfZelda), but should I keep that up since Flash is dead? Speaking of interactive/dynamic maps, that doesn't include the 66 dynamic maps for Blake Stone: Aliens Of Gold (http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/PC/index.htm#BlakeStoneAliensOfGold) that we got just a few days ago, since those are linked off-site, on DarkWolf's page. (I don't know why I have a link for off-site maps for Boulder Dash (NES) (http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/NES/index.htm#BoulderDash)... hmmm.)
Anyway, you can get a breakdown by platform here: https://vgmaps.com/Atlas/MapCount.xls
The top ten are: 6825 - Super NES 6456 - PC 5683 - NES 3303 - GB-GBC 2821 - Genesis 2665 - GBA 2160 - Arcade 1150 - Master System 942 - DS 753 - PlayStation
These popular platforms make up 87.9% of the total number of maps hosted on VGMaps.com.
There are 52 platforms, but that is counting Game Boy and Game Boy Color together (which I was thinking about separating, maybe?), as well as Neo-Geo Pocket and Neo-Geo Pocket Color together. So you could say 54, but I think "50+" is sufficient.
I don't have a count of the number of contributors. Someone once used something to scrape info off the site and got an exact count, but I don't recall who that is and I'm sure it's been long since it's been updated...
There are 2478 games featured here. At this time, I do not have a breakdown of them by platform.
The very first map was my map of The Lost Woods in the Light World side of Hyrule in The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (Super NES) (http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/SuperNES/index.htm#LegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast). I don't remember exactly how many maps I had at the start (if I find that I mentioned it somewhere, I'll come back here) but it wasn't very many, and I had to ask around for maps a lot in that first year. It took a little while for it to pick up steam, so thankfully I didn't give up after the first year (which I thought was a possibility if it wasn't popular). Hard to believe that was twenty years ago. The site was supposed to launch at the end of April or the start of May 2002, but due to a technical issue (I think it was something stupid like "index.htm" having a capital letter) the site actually launched on the evening of May 6, 2002.
Hope that helps! Anything else you want to ask, I'll do what I can to answer them if you think it would help with a video submission.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: G.E.R. on January 20, 2022, 06:21:56 am
I don't have a count of the number of contributors. Someone once used something to scrape info off the site and got an exact count, but I don't recall who that is and I'm sure it's been long since it's been updated...
I had something that did that, but I haven't run it since 2007 it looks like, and it's using a library from PHP that has since been dropped, so it doesn't work anymore.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: G.E.R. on January 20, 2022, 10:00:14 am
There are 35136 files in my counter. It looks like I missing some pages.
There are 35136 files in my counter. It looks like I missing some pages.
For whatever reason, it looks like only Lüt's maps are being counted on the Genesis page. I don't know if the same is happening with other pages however.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on January 20, 2022, 12:47:48 pm
I had something that did that, but I haven't run it since 2007 it looks like, and it's using a library from PHP that has since been dropped, so it doesn't work anymore.
I thought the original was yours, DarkWolf! I should have gone with my instinct and mentioned that.
Good work on the new count, G.E.R.!
366 mappers - one for every day of the year (if it's a leap year)! However, upon closer inspection, there are some anomalies in that, since there are some maps made by multiple mappers. There are seven mappers that have zero maps, so there's something else off.
It's cool that you put a tab on your spreadsheet for the total number of maps per mapper and their percentage. I remember long ago, with DarkWolf's count, that Will Mallia had very close to 1/8 of all maps. At 12.51% now, he still does, despite not submitting anything for quite a while (until a few days ago, actually). I guess everyone slowed down at the same time and by the same rate? Also, he has twice as many submissions as George s at 6.03%. I recall some statistical thing (probably from watching a Dr. Hannah Fry video - she's my favourite mathematician) about how when you have things like population counts of cities or whatever, there's this emergent pattern of the #1 thing having twice as much as the #2 thing, in this case, we have the #1 mapper having twice as many as the #2 mapper. Interesting...
For whatever reason, it looks like only Lüt's maps are being counted on the Genesis page. I don't know if the same is happening with other pages however.
That's true. Lüt's contribution to the Genesis page is due to Lunar: Eternal Blue. But there are 2031 other Genesis maps. That'll probably change the numbers around a bit. I bet those mappers with zero maps are actually here.
I should do some kind of audit. I already started, the other day, as I was trying to synchronize my maps on my hard drive with those on my backup drives, when I provided the count as seen earlier in this topic. I found some redundant maps, caused by maps being renamed and then being backed up, but I might have forgotten to rename or delete the backed-up original, causing them to exist twice on the backup. But I also came across a map for a PC game called "Countdown" that I don't remember who sent it and it doesn't seem to be up, and I don't know if maybe it was or there was a reason to take it down? Might have to look at older backups or like the Wayback Machine or something. I'd like to think I'm pretty organized, so I don't think we would have a whackload of maps that have gone missing, but, clearly I can slip up a few times within over twenty years.
All this talk of map counts is intriguing, and I know I should keep a better record myself. Wonder if I should split this topic (so the map counting and "more-related-to-video contest" stuff could be separate), or keep the conversation going here to keep this topic on top? I honestly don't know how many people know about this video contest, perhaps every bit of exposure helps.
Whenever I try to promote something, I feel like I'm shouting into a void that no one else can hear. It's hard to even explain what my web site is to people (actually part of the reason for having a video made to help with that, LOL) but also to expect a particular niche of video editors to know about this soon enough, I don't know...
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: Grizzly on January 25, 2022, 01:32:28 pm
When I read about the promo video challenge, the first thing that came to my mind was an ancient promo video for the Speed Demos Archive created in August 2007 (News post) (https://speeddemosarchive.com/oldnews07q3.html): Speed Demos Archive Promo by Team Zwei (Youtube video) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNE-8iMUD5w)
It might not be the best promotional because the content it promotes is only briefly shown during the fly-by sequences and the composition feels closely tied to the creation timeframe but back in the day I was hooked on the project description and that it took 6000 lines of code to script the choreography. And when I read your start post I imagined that a promotional video for VGMaps might be equally difficult to pull off when a lot of map content would be shown in a video.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on January 26, 2022, 08:58:03 am
That Speed Demos Archive Promo video is neat! Thanks for sharing, Grizzly.
The pacing could have been better - lots of credits in the opening, probably didn't need to be four minutes long (ironic considering it's for promoting speed runs, LOL) - and as you say, the content could be more of the focus - but certainly on a technical level that is very, very impressive. And it was published twelve and a half years ago (an eighth of a century!), which absolutely would have been a feat to do then.
I'm not sure if I can yet imagine what the winning entry of the VGMaps.com Promo Video Challenge will look like, so don't necessarily take my comments on anything as a guideline for what you should imitate. I like a lot of things, but as you may know if you've watched my YouTube book reviews, I can always find something to criticize, LOL, and when things are compared against each other, only then will I really be able to tell what the winning idea is. It's the old "I don't know what I like, but I'll know it when I see it".
One hint I can give: I don't like errors, obviously, but I particularly don't like anachronisms. As in, things that should belong to a different time. Here's an example: I've seen a lot of custom arcade machine designs with custom art. But I hate it when people use the wrong images of the Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Yes, Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong are indeed arcade games. But people use Mario and Luigi renders that are clearly from the 3D era, or Donkey Kong from the Donkey Kong Country games or later. Sure, you could have a custom arcade machine that can play the games that the art belongs to, but if it's specifically a retro/classic arcade theme you're going for, those renders shouldn't be used in that case. It's very irksome, because it's an error that seems blatant to me, but to other people, it's subtle or moot - like, "it's still Mario", so it's good enough for them. Ugh.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on March 27, 2022, 11:33:20 am
Just a reminder that there is now five weeks until the deadline (end of May 1) for this Promo Video Challenge! If you are interested in this but haven't started, now's the time to do so!
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on April 21, 2022, 10:30:47 am
Can't believe there's only ten days left until the deadline, which is at the end of Sunday, May 1, 2022. That's a week and a half to finish off those videos!
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: Raccoon Sam on April 27, 2022, 02:12:52 pm
Intriguing...! Read about this way too late but I gotta try and get something done! 8)
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on April 28, 2022, 10:55:38 am
Intriguing...! Read about this way too late but I gotta try and get something done! 8)
There is not a lot of time, but if you think you can throw something together, go for it!
I honestly don't know how many entries I'll get. At least a few people said they would do something, but no one's really talking about this anywhere outside of these forums or in response to my few tweets about it.
I would guess in some cases people DON'T want to talk about it and spread the word and have more competition, LOL. But I imagine the majority of people probably don't have video editing skills, so it's not something that would interest the general public.
What I'm getting at is, if there aren't many entries, then all the more reason to submit something, as you might have a chance to win! Also, if there are relatively few, I can probably showcase them all, so you'd at least get some views.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: Raccoon Sam on April 29, 2022, 03:16:28 am
Worked on it for an entire evening straight and despite the rush I got it done in time ;D really happy how it turned out although I kinda wanna go back and fix some stuff.. but then again, if I do, I'll end up trying to do more and more and more ... I had lots of fun nonetheless!
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: mechaskrom on April 29, 2022, 06:31:34 pm
I don't have the video editing skills, but I'm looking forward to seeing what others can come up with.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: VGCartography on April 30, 2022, 05:02:15 am
Here is my entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gq6x8hrQws
I'm a novice video editor so it's nothing flashy but I had a good time looking for beautiful or interesting maps to use, hopefully it's at least a fun little commercial even if it isn't the best entry! Tried to represent a variety of consoles and creators. The song is one I made on the KORG, I was thinking of old-school racing games like RC Pro-Am when I made it so I made sure to include that game in the collage.
Looking forward to seeing the others!
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: NESAtlas on April 30, 2022, 11:33:59 am
That was really cool, VGC! You featured an amazing amount of maps!!
I'm afraid mine is a bit slower paced, but I'm still really excited to share it. I have to admit my "vision" for the video changed so many times over the last month and there were a few times I almost gave up :-[ It was really a challenge for me to see this project through until the end, but I'm glad I did since I learned so many new techniques in the process!
Today I'm cleaning up a few minor issues and will get it rendered and uploaded to YouTube tonight. I'll probably wait until tomorrow to post it since it takes so long for YT to encode in HD.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: NESAtlas on May 01, 2022, 05:01:53 pm
Here's my entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHyMgzlGKBU
This was definitely a different style video than I'm used to making, but the whole process of learning new editing techniques was a really rewarding experience for me!
Also, I just noticed we had a username change that happened somewhat recently and unfortunately I had the old name in the video :(
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on May 01, 2022, 09:30:16 pm
End-of-day is the deadline, though there are still a few hours left for today... perhaps someone has a surprise last-minute submission?
But, at the moment I have three entries, and even if that's all I have, then that will still be more than just all right. I am amazed by each and every one of them. Incredible work, guys!
This week, I will be in a challenging position as I rewatch them all, probably several times, to decide on a winner. Hmmm...
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on May 06, 2022, 12:27:04 am
And now here we are. 20 years since this began...
Congratulations to NESAtlas / Atlas Videos for winning the VGMaps.com 20th Anniversary Promo Video Challenge!
I've updated the first post of this topic with links to all three entries. I have to say, you made it very difficult to choose a winner, as there were a couple things I that I really, really liked about each one!
All of you, check your PayPal, I have forwarded the winnings to your accounts. Yes, I decided to give ALL three participants some money, not just NESAtlas, because I appreciate the hard work you put into your videos. As a YouTuber myself, I know how much effort is required in these things.
It's past midnight, so though I can probably say more, I do have to get to bed. Maybe I'll say more "tomorrow", perhaps.
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: Raccoon Sam on May 06, 2022, 12:36:22 am
That was very kind of you! Woke up to a happy surprise indeed. Excellent job everyone 🥳 here's to 20 more years of vgmaps!
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: VGCartography on May 06, 2022, 08:00:20 am
That's very generous, Jon! All the entries were really great, I watched them with a couple friends and we each liked a different one the best! I had already seen the excellent video from NESAtlas, but Sam your editing skills are crazy impressive too. Those Kirby transitions are super cool, would love to know a bit more about your process.
Here's to 20 more years!
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: JonLeung on May 06, 2022, 09:44:09 am
So, this "Promo Video Challenge" was indeed a challenge, not just for the participants, but for me to decide which one I liked best! Here they are in the ORDER THAT THEY WERE RECEIVED:
VGCartography
VGCartography's video has a very direct approach. This is VGMaps.com, we have maps. That's what this video is, straight up. There is a very nice number and variety of maps, and I like particular selections such as starting off with the Lost Woods from The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (which is how the site started), and the various Chrono Trigger maps ("but medieval", "but dinosaurs", etc....). It encourages others to submit maps of any kind, and mentions the forums. Very nice, and composing a track using KORG Gadget, that's impressive. Does that music track have a name?
Verneri Kontto / Raccoon Sam
Raccoon Sam/Veneri Kontto's video is a very flashy one. I definitely exclaimed something when I first saw the animated logo and title. The compass starting circular and turning ovalish, the way the text appears, and the spinning of the compass needle, wow! The music it's all synched to, ZigZag by Asi C, is extremely catchy, and the overall presentation is incredibly slick and professional. I love the Kirby's Dream Land 2 part where it is shown how screenshot maps are generally made! Created in just one evening - that's insane!
Atlas Videos / NESAtlas - WINNER
Atlas Videos/NESAtlas's video spent more time on particular map sets, which were very well-chosen. There's a portable game (Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow), a computer game (Ultima VII), a console game with pseudo-3D (Solstice), and another console game with actual 3D (Metal Gear Solid). The logo is animated here, seemingly flying through a bunch of game titles and Maps Of The Month icons. I can't imagine that the game titles would have been quick or easy to select and assemble. It's on the longer side, but doesn't feel long.
Because they each have a few standout things, and I would have been happy if I only got one entry and it was any one of them, I made my final decision way later than I expected to. If you had asked me until then which I liked the best, it could have been any one of them, as I was changing my mind constantly, between all three! I was always adjusting the weights of what I liked. After finally deciding, I showed these to my friends, and some of them liked each one, and came up with the same good points as I did, without me saying my opinion first. So it's good to know I was noticing the same good things.
Ultimately, I went with Atlas Videos/NESAtlas's, because I felt it was the best mix of showcasing maps and celebrating the legacy, with nice production values. Though they all showed maps, I liked the panning and zooming across these great choices. Explaining that we have many platforms and many types of maps was good. The titles going by, that part is simply lovely.
I still have use for the others, like Raccoon Sam/Veneri Kontto's is just BAM! Wow! In your face with the maps! I could share that if I feel like someone needs to know as quickly as possible what we've got and how they're made. VGCartography's shows the most maps, so it's a great scope and at a nice length so I could use that as well.
Knowing how making videos isn't so easy (as a YouTuber myself), I felt I had to give them all something for their effort. It wouldn't be fair or proper to split the prize (I had to reread the rules to make sure, and it said only ONE person gets $2000 (US)) so I decided to give the others what they WOULD have gotten if I had split it three ways. But $2000/3 is $666.67, and, not to dwell on the numbers, but just in case anyone has a problem with a number associated with evil, I rounded it up to $675 (US). I had budgeted for the option of giving out more, and it alleviates my conscience that everyone gets something, especially knowing that the competition was as close as it was.
For the time being, I will be linking to the videos on your own channels, as you deserve the views and comments. They are also on my "JonLeung1" YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/JonLeung1) as of today. Can't believe it's been twenty years. I legit don't know if/when/why I would stop doing VGMaps.com, so here's to twenty more years, and possibly more! Thanks to everyone who's contributed any of the over 37,000+ maps, as well as to everyone who enjoys looking at and using them. That's what the Internet should be, informative and beautiful content. :)
Title: Re: VGMaps.com's 20th Anniversary - PROMO VIDEO CHALLENGE!
Post by: NESAtlas on May 06, 2022, 12:05:06 pm
Thank you so much, Jon! You're so generous and I'm really humbled by this whole experience. I am so happy to hear VGC & Raccoon Sam both received something too!!! I was really impressed (and inspired!) with their entries and it was awesome to see different approaches to celebrating the 20th anniversary.
Retro gaming in particular has become a life long passion for me and to share this hobby with so many nice people around the world has been such a blessing. The massive amount of content contributed by everyone over the last 20 years is so amazing and I really look forward to seeing how the Video Game Atlas evolves even further into the future!