Bounties
Bounty Basics
A Bounty is a type of Venture based on achieving objective, iterative goals. Common examples include beating a game in a shorter amount of time, or with a higher total score. Bounties are defined by the fact that further improvement beyond the initial goal may be possible. This means that even if a player beats the initial goal, another player can come along later with a performance that further beats the goal, and have an opportunity to claim the award. This process is what we call a Chase . This means that Bounties are not first-come, first-serve, and actively encourage competition beyond the initial goal threshold.
Example Bounties:
- Beat Super Mario Bros. in less than 4 minutes and 55 seconds
- Obtain more than 1.3 million points in Donkey Kong
- 1CC R-Type with fewer than 500,000 points
In each of these cases, there's an initial threshold to clear, but there may be further room for improvement. The Bounty format incentivizes players to compete even after an initial performance meets the goal, and allows for even better performances to be submitted within the time limit and claim the award. Players must submit video and other evidence of their performance to be eligible to receive the award, as specified in our Claim Requirements .
Since Bounties rely on iterative goals, they are not suitable for goals that cannot be objectively improved. For example, a Bounty wouldn't match up well with a goal of finding a new trick or glitch. It also wouldn't fit well with goals that are primarily interested in incentivizing "world first" performances, such as completing special challenges or surpassing significant milestones. Hunts are the type of Venture built for these goals.
Bounty Types
Game Ventures supports several broad categories of Bounty goals. These goals boil down to either score or time, with some caveats as to how they are handled and organized. More detailed descriptions of each type are provided below. No matter which Bounty type is selected, the goals should be significant achievements that are at the limit of what is currently known.
Time
- RTA – Stands for "real-time attack." This goal is timed according to an external timer, with the starting and stopping points specified in the Bounty rules. RTA Bounties most commonly cover from game start until the last meaningful player input, but Bounty creators may set the beginning and end points to meet their goal. Common RTA goals include Any% (game clear with no or limited additional requirements), 100% (game clear with full collection of specified resources), and modifications of either with additional requirements or restrictions (such as prohibiting a specific trick).
- IGT – Stands for "in-game time." This Bounty type relies on a game's internal timer to measure the player's performance. Since the game is responsible for tracking the start and end times, Bounty creators do not specify these details in the Venture specifications. In-game timers may sometimes have quirks that can be abused by players, so special care may be necessary when setting up the rules. Otherwise, many of the same goal types in RTA apply to IGT as well, just with the different type of timer.
- IL – Stands for "individual level." These types of Bounties are for individual segments of games that can be freely repeated independently of the rest of the game - such as different courses in a racing game. IL Bounties use the in-game timer for timing, and assume that the segments can be timed independently. If the Bounty creator would like to specify an IL with RTA timing, then they should instead create an RTA Bounty and list out all the requirements as normal, just for the specific game section they're targeting.
Score
- High-score – Even though it is titled as Score, any incremental in-game resource is applicable for this type of Bounty. Score is the traditional point system from many older arcade games, but any in-game collectible is applicable for this type. For example, collecting the most rings in a Sonic game may be valid for this type. The target resource does not need to be tracked in-game, so long as it can be easily tracked from watching the performance video. High-score categories aim toward exceeding the score threshold. Bounty creators must take special care when designing the rules to avoid scenarios where the score can become effectively infinite. Instances where players reach a maximum score have ties broken by submission date.
- Low-score – Similar to High-score, this type can also be for any incremental resource. The difference in this type of Bounty is that the focus is on minimum scores, where lower scores win. Scores of 0 are considered the lowest possible thresholds for this Bounty type, and ties are broken by submission date.
Chase Process
Traditional awards for gaming bounties operated on a first-come first-serve basis; whoever accomplished the feat first was owed the award. While simple to manage and enforce, this style has several issues for community-based competition. For example, it disincentivizes collaboration between competitors, as it creates a conflict of interest between sharing new discoveries and maintaining a competitive edge. There are also other logistical problems, such as figuring out what happens if a new discovery so thoroughly and trivially crushes the bounty goal that the aim of the original bounty (highly-optimized play) is rendered moot.
To address these and other issues, Game Ventures employs what it calls a "Chase." When a Bounty-type Venture receives its first approved Claim, the Venture enters the Chase state, and a countdown starts. During this countdown, the Claim video and information is listed on the Venture page, and anybody can review it. Other competitors may still submit their own Claims during the Chase countdown. If any of the Claims exceeds the current best Claim (either by getting a better time or score), the countdown restarts, and the process repeats. If no new Claims exceed the current best Claim by the end of the countdown, that Claim is selected as the winner, and will receive the award. This process should allow for community collaboration and ensure that whichever Claim survives to the end of the process is sufficiently optimized.
There are still many special cases and caveats for Chases, however.
- Players who already have the top Claim can continue to submit additional Claims that beat their prior performance. It's a little complicated to explain, but the countdown is based on the oldest, best Claim from a unique user. It also just means that any competitors should always submit their Claims, even if they're not currently the best or they already have the best Claim!
- In some cases, a Claim may be invalidated. If there are other existing Claims, the next best Claim is selected as the new best, and a new 10-day countdown is started. If there are no other Claims, the Venture is changed back to the Live state.
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For time-based Bounties, the initial goal threshold determines how long the Chase lasts. This allows players to have enough time to challenge longer runs. Any score-based Bounties always have a consistent Chase duration of 10 days.
Goal Time Chase Duration 0-44 minutes 10 days 45-149 minutes 15 days 150+ minutes 20 days - Even after the countdown duration passes, moderators may continue to review the Claim for accuracy and additional verification as necessary. No new Claims can be submitted during this period, however. No new Claims can be submitted after the award has been finalized and paid out either.
Claim Recording Tips
Bounties and Hunts require video evidence of a performance in order to submit a Claim. However, a Claim may be invalidated if the video is not accurate and complete enough to verify the achievement. Below are a few tips to help make sure that video recordings are sufficient to meet the burden of proof that a proper Claim requires.
- While recordings of live-streamed performances are acceptable, we strongly encourage all players to keep a local recording! Video hosting platforms may mute or remove videos without warning, or internet service disruptions may cut some of the performance. Saving the recording to a personal computer may be the only way to provide a full recording if these unexpected events occur.
- Limit the amount of images and text that cover the gameplay feed, even for temporary assets like subscriber notifications. If they obscure some critical elements of the gameplay and there is some doubt over the content, the Claim may be invalidated.
- While Game Ventures does not mandate quality or resolution requirements for videos, the footage should be of sufficient quality to discern all elements of gameplay for the purposes of verification. A Claim may be invalidated if the gameplay footage resolution is too small to interpret, or if video encoding artifacts obscure critical elements of the performance.
- Where possible, limit the video submission to just the portions where the performance occurred. Claims may be invalidated if the video submission contains excess content, including other attempts, advertisements, and extended discussion. Victory revelry is usually fine!
- Claims may be rejected if they contain any objectionable content, such as pornography, bigoted language, excessive swearing, unsportsmanlike conduct, and otherwise. Submission videos do not have to be family friendly, but we encourage players to make their submissions acceptable for a general audience.
Reporting Claims
Sometimes, a Claim may seem… off. It may be that the player seems to do something impossible, the player produced an amazing performance with little to no prior performance history, some aspect of the Venture specification wasn't followed, or any number of other issues. If a user detects anything suspicious or meriting further investigation, they can submit a Report on the Claim detailing their concerns. This Report is sent to Game Ventures moderators, who may further investigate the issues or take the information into consideration when determining whether to accept the Claim.
To submit a Report, users can simply click the "Report" button under the Claim listing on the Venture page. Alternatively, users can also issue a Report from the Claim page by clicking the "Report" button at the top of the page. Either way, a modal will pop up and request the user to identify the type of report, and to enter any relevant details. Please be as descriptive as possible with these details; more specific evidence and reasoning will help the moderators to better assess the veracity of the Report and make judgments based on it. If these Reports raise questions for the player, Game Ventures moderators may contact them and request further details or additional supporting evidence.