Ok, whoa, looks like the innevitable drama happened while I was gone (bad timing, I suppose? I should have seen it coming and not made this contest until I got home, but I digress).
ANYWAY.
I really wish people had brought up a lot of this stuff in the idea topic. There, people pretty much said they thought it was a good idea, albeit logistically hard. People never even kind of mentioned the kinda stuff they are here. Had we discussed things thoroughly maybe we'd have avoided these problems. But what's done is done, no need worrying about that. What we need to worry about is now, and making this competition work.
First of all, 2 weeks isn't long enough for the competition now that I think about it. I'm extending this thing to a month, and if you REALLY want to make an engine, go ahead and work on that now (but not actual mapping, please).
As for making engines: Yes, having a playable game is probably the best way to show off a design. However, this competition is about just that: DESIGN. It's about being a good designer; a good planner. People around here often skip the conceptual stage and just make stuff. That's what I'm trying to teach people NOT to do. I want you guys to plan and be able to present your ideas in a format that allows others to understand those ideas without playing the game. That's how design works: You come up with the idea, communicate them to others, and THEN you make the game, and often indie devs ignore that and just start making crap (and often it becomes just that, due to improper planning).
So yes, even those of you who are making engine should present explanations of your design reasoning behind the dungeons (in other words, descriptions of puzzles). I want to know WHY these things are fun, I don't want them to just be fun.
ALSO, I'd love it if someone would be willing to make a basic engine for use in this competition, but that only happens if someone volunteers.
Now, to DJ and others: What can I do to improve this competition? I'd like to have specific, direct ideas, not just vague criticism.
And as a closing note, remember to NOT DO ANY ACTUAL MAPPING UNTIL THE 28TH. I need time to adjust rules and such. I can't stop you from doing work, but if rules change that make what your doing not work properly, it's not my fault.