Thanks to a couple of users for suggesting different aspects of this idea.


Proposed changes to contributor values

Contributor value is no longer calculated using dollars and cents, it's based on what the community would like to see posted. Value would be determined based on game votes. This would mean users could view a page of all the available games, and check off games they like to see in giveaways, up to 10% of the total games. They can modify this list at any time. Perhaps they win a game they checked off, well, they can uncheck it, and check something else they are now interested in seeing. If the data is not modified within a few weeks, it's discarded from calculations, so we're only looking at fresh information. For example, let's say Half-Life 3 is coming out next month. People visit the voting page, and check it off saying they would like to see HL3 giveaways. Meanwhile, common games, such as Shadowgrounds might not receive many votes, along with low interest games, such as Railworks. If you create a HL3 giveaway, you might receive 10 contributor points, and if you posted Railworks, 1 contributor point. This value is assigned based on current data, and would not change over time. This means, a year from now, say HL3 is already owned by everyone, and there's now little interest, your value wouldn't drop from 10 to 1, but rather remain at 10 points.

Now users would have the option to create giveaways only for those with a minimum number of contributor points. For example, if you set your giveaway at 100, this would mean entering users would have previously needed to giveaway 100 games that few people were interested in, 10 games that everyone was looking to play, or anything in between.

Of course, we would need to discuss a fair method of converting over the current contributor values into contributor points. If people think this option has any potential, we can start tossing around ideas.


Feedback

Add your thoughts below, we're trying to explore all sorts of different directions, and we need user feedback.

12 years ago*

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i think option 2 is better but this would be better than option 1, perhaps both?

12 years ago
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Good, but I don't think enough people would actually use the mass voting system, as it wouldn't be that beneficial to them.

12 years ago
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I think enough would use it to create an accurate sample.

A second idea would be an additional option for giveaway creators, so they could limit their giveaway to people that asked for that game, prior to the giveaway. Say 10 users check off railworks. You could limit your giveaway only to those 10 users, meaning you get a winner that was hoping to play it, and not someone that was using up points. On the plus side, it encourages people to use the list, and for giveaways that use the above option, there are less entries to compete against. On the downside, if you decide to not maintain a list, you might miss out on a few giveaways that use the above limit.

12 years ago
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i think thats a really nice idea, is there a way to test each idea or would it be too much work to implement?

12 years ago
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I like that idea, a lot.

12 years ago
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I mentioned below that I wasn't a fan of this option as a whole, but I do really like the idea of limiting entries based on a previously-expressed interest in the game. I've thought of doing something similar with a giveaway (private link handed out only to users who had the game on their wishlist ahead of time), and I think it would be a neat idea to implement.

12 years ago
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Awesome idea regardless of what option you go with.

12 years ago
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I really like this idea, and I think it helps address the issue that this system might dissuade people from giving away games that they genuinely want to share with the community in favor of high point value games. The idea of knowing someone really wants to play the game you're giving away kind of balances out the fact that you might not be getting the most "bang for your buck" which is honestly already a problem with giveaways anyway now that there are contributor levels.

12 years ago
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Love the limited giveaway for "people who were previously interested" idea here too!

12 years ago
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Yeah this option would be nice, however what about "packs" or "collections". E.g lets say I have Saints Row 3 on my wishlist and would like to play it - would it be easy to code it so the "Saints Row Collection" would still be counted? Edit: For the record I prefer this and option #1 so far.

12 years ago
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Awesome idea! I like removal of money from equation, and with this Option #3 is my favorite.

12 years ago
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That's a pretty cool idea, because it limits the giveaway only to people who want to play it.
But maybe then you should not allow users to modify their list at any time, because then someone could drop out of those games, for which there are no giveaways and just check other games on sale.
I would only allow a limited number of changes per day, like check and uncheck 1 game/day.

12 years ago
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Good point.

12 years ago
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12 years ago
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Indeed, a system like that could encounter many problems...

12 years ago
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i also see problem with packs that come out of nowhere and no one will vote on them, also it's quite unfair with the games that get popular after some people won, as well with games that people dont find that good after relase (not a steam game but diablo 3 is one of them for sure)

12 years ago
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I dislike it, cause it's only beneficial to "mainstream" games lots of people want. Just 'cause lots of people want MW3 or BF3, doesn't mean it's a game I do want or would give away.

12 years ago
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This.
I think it relies too much on the voting aspect too. We have what, a small portion of truly active users?
Unless voting was incentivised (too complicated then in any case).

12 years ago
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Also dislike this one.

Expecting that people who can't be bothered to read the rules will find time to update their lists... no way... and even if they do, why would you want to push games that leechers ask for, isn't this website where you can give away the game that you have / want to give... Some optional setting to restrict entries to people who asked for the game would be nice, but not as the only solution... And I don't see how's that incompatible with the contributors points at all...

12 years ago
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But you can giveaway what you want and your points not gonna be caped at 20%. And I don’t think we gonna get flood of “Skyrim” giveaways, you know :)

12 years ago
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I like this but... it sounds like a really messy conversion and in the end the bundle keys will still be somewhat worthless.

12 years ago
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Like this one best.

12 years ago
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12 years ago
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This option is much better than the other 2, as it encourages people to post giveaways for more popular games.

12 years ago
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Yeah, but then there's no incentive to post less-popular games. COTN: Alexandria now becomes completely worthless on points in addition to being one of the least-entered giveaway titles on SG, unless people game the system and vote on it for giggles and it becomes an even bigger joke on SG.

I don't like the idea of democratizing the points values, because this is going to result in say, Black Ops II being worth 50,000 points (wild exaggeration, of course) while most of the games I've given away, being smaller-scale indie games and such, will become completely worthless.

I prefer option 1, cg, even though people bitch about the contributor recalculation issue.

12 years ago
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Uh...no for the first part. That's just silly to let people determine the value of games to solve the bundle key problem. It's obvious to know what needs to be valued at what already. The second part is interesting, but it would promote giving away a bunch of smaller items instead of a few bigger ones. You'd need to include more options like "how many were public/private/group?" and "average values of games given" to make it reasonable, which would just be more work for you and not even a necessary effort.

Option 1 makes the most sense out of the bunch.

12 years ago
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It has potential, but it feels like 'trending'. I don't have much of an opinion as I can't provide any games for giveaways, but I do like that it gives incentive to giveaway a smaller, popular game, over say, Railworks.

12 years ago
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This is one of the main advantages. People would be rewarded more for giving away games like Trine 2, or Orcs Must Die 2, instead of Railworks or Ironclad, even though they have a higher dollar value.

12 years ago
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It is also one of the main disadvantages. If such rules had been in effect the whole time, maybe I wouldn't have won Dracula Origin, which was immensely fun, but given away only twice (13 and 42 entries) in SG's history. I wouldn't have found out about interesting indie games that didn't have a huge wave of hype before release, which would have moved them into people's wishlists. And I wouldn't have chosen to give away several DLC's instead of games -- I did that because it meant there would be higher chances of people actually playing and enjoying them, possibly more than a random full game. However, I doubt such DLC's appeared on many wishlists. So you see, this "popularity" thing does not necessarily correlate with "enjoyment", or, indeed, "contribution" in the main sense of the word. Neither does dollar value, but those are the rules people followed -- and adjusted their actions to -- for the past two months.

12 years ago
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12 years ago
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You have a cat, not a monkey... What's your point?

12 years ago
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users that have a bear in their avatar!

12 years ago
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I was a fan of the solution in the other thread about capping the value of bundle games based on other titles given away but that's just me.

12 years ago
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Oh, I like this idea. I like it very much...except for the "community choice" part. Because let's be honest here, Skyrim would become worth like 200 points and everything else would be worth 5 tops.

My proposal: Contributor value is set to the point value of the giveaway at the time of its creation, multiplied by the number of copies in the giveaway. Current contributor score is set to a point value equal to the current dollar amount, rounded up.

By saving contributor points as their own integer, point values can change without affecting contributor scores.

12 years ago
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We already have our wishlists on Steam. They are already pooled and listed by this site. So just use their information. There is no need for a separate voting system. Calculate their points based on where they are on the Steamgifts Wishlist.

12 years ago
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You can play with numbers, too. Like add modifier based on “Not Yet Gifted”, double the points, for example. Maybe add rarity modifire, so obscure games not going to be lost and forgotten.

12 years ago
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This is my least favorite idea so far. Skyrim and Max Payne 3 are great and all, but I don't want a system that's going to disincentivize smaller, less mainstream games. As long as there's at least one person who's really excited about entering and winning a particular game, I don't think the crowd wisdom should dictate that that game wasn't worth much/anything.

12 years ago
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This. People keep bitching about the trains game, but it still has an average of 400 entries per giveaway.

12 years ago
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Is it because of interest, or are people trying to use up extra points?

12 years ago
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Or people entering because it's their White Whale. They might not know what to do with it when they finally get it, but dammit, they'll hunt that thing down!

12 years ago
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I believe it's because of interest. It certainly is for me, as I enter a great many of those giveaways.

12 years ago
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Still I support the old #1 option of continuing with contributor values with better moderation and removing abused values...
To be hoenst this is the worst option of 3, also this is like a copy of playblink's unreliable/changing game value system.

Also there's no fair way to convert old value to new one in this since all values will be based on the game's worth at that current date.

You don't even need voting I can tell which games will get most votes: AAA titles which are newly released and really expensive like it might be Borderlands 2 now. But like a few months later those games will lose their value so there's no way to convert old values to this system in my opinion.

Actually what I liked most about SG and it's value/point system was it's reliability which follows the steam prices. In playblink you have no idea what contribution value you'll get for games u submit like it can be 5 points today and 2 points tomorrow...

  • So I have to say I'm against this idea. It will just be useful for those who can buy AAA titles at once and will totally disregard users who like to share little indie games or cheap games with many copies..
12 years ago
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I dislike this on the basis that a lot of the people, want to give away games they liked, in order to "promote" those games, or just think is unjustly disregarded by the most of the people. This system would discriminate the odd game you were fascinated with and you wondered why you don't know anyone who played it.

12 years ago
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Agreed, this discourages variety. How many times have you discovered an interesting game that you haven't heard of before, only thanks to it being on SG?

12 years ago
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Maybe twice. At a stretch.

12 years ago
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(For my part, it's at least these: Faerie Solitaire, Lucid, Fortix, Victoria II, Dracula: Origin, Mata Hari, Railworks, SotMC, Rig'n'Roll, Capsized, Wings of Prey, Zero Gear, Pound of Ground, Guns of Icarus, Alpha Prime, Alpha Protocol, Velvet Assassin, Hydrophobia: Prophecy, The Ship, Bloody Good Time, Demigod, Legendary, Blood Bowl... And there are also games you can't put on your wishlist -- such as Prey, games unavailable in your region, Batlefield 3, Minecraft, most of the packs, many special or GOTY editions...)

12 years ago
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Really? I don't think you've been paying attention. I've found a few dozen fascinating games thanks to SG.

12 years ago
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Instead of requiring users to vote for most wanted games, couldn't you base it on Steam wishlists or the number of points spent on similar giveaways? If you're trying to gauge the interest in certain titles, it feels like you've already got access to two sources of data which provide this. It feels like I'm already voting for the games I want by entering giveaways...

12 years ago
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You mean base it on this?

12 years ago
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I think quantity has a quality all on its own. Even these "cheap games nobody wants" giveaways get over a hundred entries easy. And what's wrong with a relative abundance of them as long as they're actually getting entries from people who want them? Those of us who own them can still filter them just fine.

I think expensive games like Skyrim, MW3 etc. will always top the charts here, and this system would kind of screw those of us who can't afford hefty giveaways like that. Maybe there will be a few odd titles (like Fortix?) that will get a dissonant number of votes but by-and-large our wishlist looks a lot more expensive than some people can afford.

I know it isn't intended, but this will really send a message that money is what makes you important around here.

12 years ago
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Interesting idea. But as I already said I think option 1 is better

12 years ago
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I really dislike this option. I feel like it will dissuade people from giving away games that they really liked and want to share with the community in favor of games that will garner them the most points.

12 years ago
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I still prefer option 1

12 years ago
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I'd rather see the contributor system go than to have legitimate gifters unfairly be treated like a bundle abuser. For example, if I've gifted $200 worth of games that later became part of bundles, suddenly my profile says I've gifted $0 and that I can't enter contributor giveaways anymore. Yeah... I'd be upset.

Plus there will be more and more games becoming part of bundles. If that system goes into place a lot more people will experience the problems later too.

12 years ago
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I kind of agree. Option 1 as it was posted will eliminate my ~$55 of contributor credit because my tradable game gifts happened to be of games that were in bundles. I didn't abuse the system and contribute individual bundle keys, but option 1 would basically treat me as if I did -- I'd lose the ability to enter contributor giveaways even though I did nothing wrong. If they can distinguish tradable game giveaways from key giveaways, say by using screen shots of users' histories, then option 1 will be OK with me. Without that distinction though, option 1 feels like unfair punishment for me, and might for others in a similar situation (though I can't actually speak for them, of course). Eliminating the contributor system completely could solve the problems, though it is kind of a harsh option, especially after it was implemented not that long ago, as I understand it. I still think suggestions I've read before of making contributor a simple yes/no, you are or you're not, might be worth considering as a possible solution.

12 years ago
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Contributor may be new, but it did introduce a bunch of problems. I also don't like the shift in mentality that's kind of occurred in many people - gifting for gift value so they can enter contributor giveaways. Contributor giveaways once in a while is a good way of rewarding those who gift, but too many and it feels like just another elitist club aiming to exclude people who for whatever reason may not have given many games.

And as for the #1 option, yes I know there will be people saying that those legitimate gifters who get screwed are in the minority so... whatever. But seriously, something like that is not really acceptable even in the minority of cases. And like I said, there will be more bundles so the 'victims' will continue to rise in number along with those bundles.

12 years ago
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What you mentioned as problems with contributor giveaways seems like they could be attributed more to the fact that the value of gifted games counts in the current system. If gifted values didn't matter and contributor status was just a yes/no binary thing, those kinds of issues might go away. Giving away any value game would allow you to enter any contributor giveaway, and we wouldn't have giveaways requiring rather high contribution values to enter them. The yes/no status wasn't my idea and I'm not sure who first raised it, but it seems worth considering as a possible solution to me.

12 years ago
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You seem to have ignored/missed my reply to one of your posts on the option 1 thread, in which you were arguing for the yes/no contributor status. That system would need a certain amount of games/value before the contributor status was given. Otherwise people would just give away the cheapest game or DLC and be a contributor, which in turn would make the contributor giveaways pointless.

12 years ago
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We already have that wishlist feature.

And what would happen to giveaways created before this?

12 years ago
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This option seems to be very interesting. So I prefer it.

12 years ago
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Why not base the contributor points on the number of entries a giveaway gets ?

  • More popular games will earn more points, without the need for voting.
  • Any exploits involving low entry giveaways become much less effective.
  • It encourages giving to the Steamgifts userbase as a whole, not some subset of it, because the less exclusive you make your giveaways, the more contributor points you will get from them.
12 years ago
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As someone whose puzzle giveaways -- publicly available, but difficult -- got only very few entries, I see some glaring disadvantages.

12 years ago
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Yes, that is a problem.

12 years ago
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Someone mentioned earlier railworks received 400 entries on average. Do we take this as a sign people are looking for more railworks giveaways? Isn't there a good chance they're just entering to use up points?

12 years ago
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(I'm not sure, but weren't there enough other games to invest points into? I mean, Railworks has become a sort of a legend around here, similar to Fortix or Secret of the Magic Crystal -- it's not a game people would usually put on their wishlists (well, I did :-]), but quite a few people got genuinely interested in them -- be it for some obscure sense of achievement, becoming part of an exclusive club "I too have played Fortix", or the gameplay itself.)

12 years ago
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That's how I'd interpret them. Though when I look at the number of people in the giveaways I enter, 400 is near the lower end.

Besides, if they are entering them to use up points, encouraging people to make more public giveaways they can enter should reduce that.

12 years ago
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i dont like it...

i like the contributor value as it is now. With the new bundle games value system that was announced its enough to fix the issue.

12 years ago
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Closed 12 years ago by cg.