Search the open descriptions

A big part of the game is randomness and trying new things, if you want to draw something specific you can just do that in MS paint. I don't think it'll happen.

I would like to have that search option.

I'd like it because I'm incredibly picky for what I've drawn recently, but I know it would also go against the spirit and history of the game, so even though I'm for it, I'd rather it wasn't introduced. Confused much?

I don't like this idea. In fact, I wouldnt mind if there was a limit of let's say 10 random descriptions you could skip.

The whole point of this game is to draw stuff you suck at drawing, that you would never imagine you'd ever draw. Granted, some descriptions just make no sence whatsoever, and some are references you can't relate too, others are just the same jokes over and over again, I usually skip these. But within 10 descriptions, there should be at least one anyone can draw.

Also, I think (and this is pure speculation, someone more informed than me will probably say this is bullshit), but I think the total number of games in progress you see on the front page is very different for the number of actual active games.

When you create a new game, it can take some time before it enters the rotation, because other games have more priority. For example, games that are stuck on 3-star descriptions and games almost finished have a higher priority than a brand new game.

So when it says 2500 current games, I would believe there's more like 20-30 real active games at one time.

Seems to me such a feature would simply kill off many games, and probably make the benefits of the dustcatcher/bounties almost meaningless. I'd probably definitely use such a feature, but that would mean I'd draw even fewer panels that I would never have found by intentional searching.

And a few panels that I consider among my best are probably the result of cues I would never have searched for.

I suspect part of the reason that some games get "derailed" might be that, because you do have to sift through a lot of cues that are easy to or very tempting to ignore (or report) people do wind up getting a little creative with cues that came to them after 15 or 20 skipped frames. Not sure that's a bad thing, though it can go either way, especially for those who seem to consider themselves best at drawing poop.

Seems pretty inevitable to me. Really doubt such a feature would wind up helping things, unless helping meant that games that went sideways a bit never wind up completing. OTOH, I suppose it might either increase or decrease the number of poop frames?

PS - I don't know about exact numbers (I haven't tried to analyze this in detail) but my sense is that your general impression is just about correct... The waiting queue presumably is included in those numbers, and it's a long line. And I certainly tend to see some cues come back to me repeatedly when I'm looking to draw something, and skipping many, many panels in the process. Given there are also ones that don't repeat, I'd suspect you're especially right that at some point a handful of panels are given much more weight in rotation frequency than others, and it seems reasonable those would be the ones on the verge of completion.

I keep seeing people saying that the "point of the game" is to draw stuff that you don't want to draw - or some such thing. Where did this idea come from?

I generally only draw a description if I think that I can bring something unique or particularly interesting to game.

I don't think anyone said anything about stuff you don't ''wanna'' draw.

It's more about the stuff you're not used to draw, because you're always out of your safe zone.

"I keep seeing people saying that the "point of the game" is to draw stuff that you don't want to draw" (Shparks)

I, for one, didn't mean to imply this was the point of the game. But it may be an unintended consequence of its current structure.

The point of the game is really to make Reed money, let's face it. To do that, it has to attract more people that it puts off, and it does need to encourage people to draw (and needs to do so in fairly large numbers, part of the reason I think the palette is so limited and the brushes are so rudimentary). But in any case, drawing is, at least usually, the more laborious part of being active as a player.

That could mean there's some benefit to him to encourage people to draw things they might not choose to draw under other circumstances... then again, seeing dozens of poop captions, captions that clearly are intentional misreadings of something, captions that contain terms like "stick person" or "bimbo" are all ones that move me that much closer to looking for something else to do.

Once I hit a certain threshhold of those, I tend to go on to something other than DC, and that probably isn't an effect Reed is looking for. But if games are going to ever finish, someone is either going to need to draw those, either that, or they'll need to hit the final dustbin. And I'd imagine that games finishing at a glacial pace is not something that will keep people making the site a routine habit.

FWIW, I think in practice I do the same thing you do, Shparks. Moreso now, in fact, than in my early weeks, when I would accept panels that I'd never think of drawing today. Part of that is also a learning curve, learning to estimate whether the image I have in mind can be done any rough justice in under 10 minutes, for example.

If there were an option like that, I think it would be in a form of a consumable power-up.

When consumed, it opens up a search box which you can search for prompts of interest. However, it wouldn't pull up a list of available prompts but instead give you a random prompt with that word in it. For example, you search for "Trouble Muffin", the power-up would dig through that giant pile of prompts with the words "Trouble Muffin" and finally would give you a prompt that contains that subject matter: "Trouble Muffin is actually Batman!" It would then be up to you to draw that. If you don't draw it, then you just wasted your power-up (unless the prompt has been Reported, then you might be given a second use for the power-up). That's right kids! No refunds what so ever ...

Otherwise, if that was open to the masses, I think some people would just be too picky on what they want to draw and would probably end up drawing everything related to the same subject matter. It might kill the spirit of the game, which is the randomness and the misinterpretations of the descriptions.

Personally, I'd say give your own take of certain descriptions. Maybe the game might look interesting with your own spin to it. It might be risky for some subjects but if the words or names could easily be re-interpreted without being accused of "trolling", then go nuts! Like Homer the Poet instead of Homer Simpson, or maybe Balrog the Demon instead of Balrog the Boxer, or perhaps a freed prisoner driving a Morgan car instead of Morgan Freeman. Sometimes, I end up drawing the Final Fantasy character known as Lightning instead of an ordinary lightning bolt, and I usually get away with it too.

I like the consumable power-up idea. I can understand where everyone's coming from with the negative points, and if it was a consumable power-up it would limit it.

I can understand where everyone is coming from with the negative points; I was never expecting it to actually happen, and I thought in putting it here there would be some other similar ideas brought up that could make sense without changing the game for the worse.

I am actually on the side of the negative points, and I think it will ruin the game as well. I was hoping someone would come up with a changed version (i.e. the one Lightning Kagura suggested), since I couldn't think of one. Feel free to keep thinking of other alterations for the better if you think this idea could work.

Also, I think I'll start drawing Hulk Hogan a lot more instead of The Hulk, I never thought of that either.