I think the lack of participation last week was probably partly just a coincidence (some weeks people don't have time, nothing more than that) and partly because participation is always lower for paddle games, since they generally suck in emulation.
My two cents:
-Stick to one game per week, in a competetive setting. It focuses attention and provides motivation to play games that aren't your favorites.
-Don't allow the old games in just yet. The 2600s library is huge and, as my list above shows, I think, there are still plenty of popular games that haven't been played. Defender, Crystal Castles, Pitfall II, Donkey Kong, Bump 'N' Jump, Millipede, Jungle Hunt - those are all very well known and mostly widely owned games that still haven't been played. I'm sure there are plenty more; I didn't look especially hard or long to dig up that list.*
-It is more work, but it might be good to rearrange the list of members weekly, moving all the non-participants behind all the participaters, so that people that play every week have first crack at choosing games. Extra motivation for folks to play, also. Or only let people be eligible to choose a game if they have played for 4 consecutive weeks.
Alternatively, maybe have games chosen like the 8bit HSC, where there a vote every week.
-Similar to the 8bit HSC, maybe look into some "extra-credit" special contests that run parallel to the HSC, using games that don't fit the HSC format (e.g., sports games, Adventure, Haunted House)
*Other popular games that have yet to be played:
Amidar, Carnival, Phoenix, Mr. Do!, Frogs and Flies, Dodge 'Em, Joust, Kangaroo, Moon Patrol, Mouse Trap, Q*bert, Night Driver, Starmaster, Venture, etc.
Edited by vdub_bobby, Wed Apr 5, 2006 9:55 AM.
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