Secret Santa 2019! (Sign-ups are now closed.)

HayManMarc

Member
Hello, fellow GMCers! It's that time of year again!
What time, you ask?

~ The "GMC Secret Santa 2019" time! ~



:banana::bunny::banana: GIFT TRACKER PAGE :banana::bunny::banana:
(See if your gift is ready and download from here on Gift Day.)

Sign-ups are now closed.


I've been so busy participating in jams and working on my own projects and working my day job and having a family and fixing my truck and playing music with my mates and probably a bunch of other stuff that I totally forgot all about this. (Thanks @Misu for the reminder!)

I ain't got much else going on, so let's do this! :)



(The following is copypasta from last year, because yeah.)

"Uh, Wut?"


"GMC Secret Santa" is an event carried out each year where each participant makes some kind of a gift for a "Secret Pal". Then, by December 23rd all gifts are published for all participants to unwrap! Note, however, that the identity of your Santa will remain hidden - it's 'SECRET' Santa, after all.
(Feel free to check the last discussion topic as a reference for how things were done last year.)

Dude, isn't this getting started kinda late?

Nah -- we're earlier than last year, and last year turned out great.

How do I sign up?

Well, to sign up, you need to make a post in this topic before the 5th of December, 0:00 GMT saying you want to participate. You may also state your gift preferences in that post, but be careful about being too specific - you wouldn't want to give your secret Santa a headache, now would you?
On December 5th, I will make an announcement in this thread that the sign-up period is closed and I'll randomly assign "Secret Pal's" to "Secret Santa's" using the Alicination Method. Soon afterwards, you should get a message in your GMC inbox with the name of your "Secret Pal" and you can start making their gift.

Making the gift

After your "Secret Pal" is assigned, your Secret Santa present must be made and messaged to my GMC inbox before the 20th of December, 23:59 GMT.
Don't publish it here or PM it to your secret pal; it's supposed to be SECRET.
Do take into account your pal's preferences, but try to be discreet. Use whatever means you can devise to maintain your anonymity and keep your identity a secret from your "Secret Pal" as you research his or her preferences. However, sometimes it may be fun to leave little hints to your identity within your gift. Also, and this should go without saying, the gift you give must not be mean spirited, offensive or even break the GMC rules. Additionally, the gift must not be financial (Steam keys, program licences, cash bribes, etc.).

Examples/ideas of what you could make:
  • a new avatar!
  • fan art of their avatar or one of their games.
  • banners or promo images for their games
  • music or sound effects for their WIP
  • "Let's Play" videos of their games
  • a simple game (made with GameMaker, naturally)
  • a holiday video message
  • desktop wallpapers
  • your own idea here
Of course, if you have your own idea for a gift, feel free to make it -- these are just examples!

If at some point you find that you can't make the gift after all (due to lack of time or random circumstances such as runaway trains or time travel misfortunes), please message me about it as soon as possible, and at least 5 days before the December 20th deadline! That way I'll have time to assign your secret pal to someone else.
Please be sure that you will be able to follow through with your obligation to create a gift. Reassigning Secret Santa's to Secret Pal's at the last minute doesn't always work out so well, as you might imagine.

The unwrapping!

By December 23rd, I'll gather all the gifts and publish them for your viewing pleasure (except for those that can't be published, for one reason or another). You're free to share your joy in this topic, comment on whichever gifts others posted here, or even try to guess your Santa. Keep in mind, however, that your Santa's identity may never be revealed.

In a nutshell...
  • to sign up, write a post here before the 5th of December, 23:59 GMT
  • you can state your preferences in the sign-up post, but please, don't be too specific!
  • after sign-up is closed, your "Secret Pal" name will be messaged to your GMC inbox; you will then have over two weeks to make the gift! (until the 20th of December, 23:59 GMT)
  • once you make the gift, message it to my GMC inbox; don't send it to your secret pal or post it here, it's supposed to be secret!
  • all gifts should be virtual, unless you want the expense of air-mailing a teddy bear to your secret pal. (This is a joke. No air-mailing allowed.)
  • when making the gift, try to think what your pal would want; also, the gift should not be rude, offensive, inappropriate, etc.
  • finally, no financial gifts (Steam keys, program licenses etc.)!
  • if you can't make your gift, please PM me as soon as possible and at least 5 days before the December 20th deadline, so that I can assign your secret pal to someone else.
  • by the 23rd of December all gifts will be published here to unwrap (except for those that can't be shown here); then you may try to guess your Santa if you want

(Whiny voice) "I want a present, toooo."

As with the last time I hosted, I won't be adding myself to the pool (I would know who my Secret Santa would be), but if anyone wants to gift the Secret Santa host, that would be most kind. (No avatars or signature banners, please.)

Emergency Secret Santas
Also, I'm asking for volunteers to be 'Emergency Secret Santas' in case a participant is unable to fulfill their Secret Santa obligation. These volunteers will need to be able to come up with a gift very quickly on the 23rd.

Participants so far (sign-up post link; gift preference)
Emergency Santa's


Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays to you all!

"Island of Misfit Fonts" font can be found here.
 
Last edited:
M

Misu

Guest
thanks HayManMarc!
been looking forward to this.

Right now I have no preference but I would really appreciate something really amazing. :)
 
Last edited:

HayManMarc

Member
Well, unless we get a flood of sign-ups in the next couple of days, looks like it might be kinda easy to figure out our Santa's this year. :D

Thanks to the 6 of you for joining! And to you, @Siolfor the Jackal, for volunteering as an emergency Santa!

What do you guys think? Should we extend the sign-up deadline a couple of days and try to promote the thread? Or leave it as is and just enjoy ourselves? :)
 

Micah_DS

Member
HO HO HO-LD UP, I'M IN !
I have no preference, except that my Secret Santa tries to have fun and not stress over my gift.

I can't believe I almost missed this! I would've been sad. I love doing the GMC Secret Santa! :)
 
H

Homunculus

Guest
Count me in! Please no signature, other than that just have fun and no stress whatsoever.

Edit: no exe as well since I won't be able to open them (I'm 100% apple at the moment due to my windows machine being fried)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

chance

predictably random
Forum Staff
Moderator
I feel the spirit of Santa within me.

Or maybe it's just an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, or a fragment of an underdone potato.

EDIT: no gift preference
EDIT EDIT: That doesn't mean I prefer "no gift".
 
Last edited:
M

Misu

Guest
I would love to get started anyway since Ill have a very occupant month. Starting right away will ensure me to finish my gift on time and plenty of time to come up with one that is good. If not well I guess I can wait although I already got my hype running
 

HayManMarc

Member
Ok - last chance to jump in.

I just got home from work, so I'm gonna eat dinner and relax a bit, then I'm jumping in here, closing up the sign-ups, and sorting out Santa assignments! Merry, Merry! Joy, Joy!


SIGN-UPS ARE NOW CLOSED. (Sorry if you're late, but you're too late.)
 
Last edited:

HayManMarc

Member
Merry Christmas and Thank you all for participating!!

I've sent out PM's to you all (I hope) with the name of your "Secret Pal". If you did not receive a PM from me, let me know.

@Misu - I could not send you a PM. Check your Discord for a message from me.

Have fun making your gifts, everyone!! See you on the 23rd for the unwrapping!
 

HayManMarc

Member
I was curious of seeing the gift tracker but I notice its not available. @HayManMarc when will there be one available?
Oh yeah, I should probably set that up at some point. Lol. Not sure when I'll have it ready. I've only received one submission so far, so won't post any until I have 3 or 4. I'll let you know soon.

On that note, I hope everything is progressing along for everyone okay. Remember, if you can't make a gift in time, please let us know asap.

Merry merry!
 
I've been slow. Actually I thought about having a $20 game jam to make a quick game for the person without doing any work myself. I would then pay the winner that $20 and then the giftee would have X number of games to play.
 
Last edited:
D

Deleted member 45063

Guest
I have to admit I also haven't had as much time as I had hoped for, but I'll try to push for it today and tomorrow to still create a gift
 

HayManMarc

Member
Oh boy... things are getting exciting!

I've received several gifts and they are pretty nice so far!

Also...

The >GIFT TRACKER PAGE< is up and running!! As soon as I receive one or two more gifts, I will update the tracker to show who has a gift waiting for them.

Also...

There's a special treat I made this year for all our participants. You will see it on the tracker page. :)

:p :D Oh Joy!! :D :p

----------

Two days until the deadline, but don't worry! If you're almost done and need an extra day or so, we can make that work!
 
Last edited:

Alice

Darts addict
Forum Staff
Moderator
I wonder how many people have submitted their gifts thus far. The gift tracker page still has every person with "gift not submitted" status... ^^'

(I guess I could help with an emergency gift if too many participants didn't send theirs, but I hope everyone has/will have sent their gifts in a timely enough fashion)
 

HayManMarc

Member
I'm sorry for my lateness. I will update the tracker soon. I've had many gifts turned in thus far, but have been unable to do much about it.

Hang in there, kids!! Santa's comin' to town....
 
Last edited:

HayManMarc

Member
The GIFT TRACKER Page will be updated soon.

Looks like a few late entries on the way and only 1 no-show, so far. I've sent a PM to that particular Santa and hopefully I get a response soon. If not, perhaps our Emergency Santa, @Siolfor the Jackal, might have something special to drop into place?

2 days to go!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

HayManMarc

Member
I hope I can finalize this today, but it may not be until much later in the day. Also, still waiting for a few gifts to arrive. I hope you all can forgive me if it takes me an extra day to sort it out. But don't worry...

Santa's on his way!!
 
I hope I can finalize this today, but it may not be until much later in the day. Also, still waiting for a few gifts to arrive. I hope you all can forgive me if it takes me an extra day to sort it out. But don't worry...

Santa's on his way!!
He better be for your sake hey man... I'd hate to see the villagers get out their pitch forks and... torches. dun done dun. :)
 
Last edited:

chance

predictably random
Forum Staff
Moderator
I hope I can finalize this today, but it may not be until much later in the day. Also, still waiting for a few gifts to arrive. I hope you all can forgive me if it takes me an extra day to sort it out.
No worries. Just extend the topic to include Hanukkah. That runs from December 22 to December 30 this year. Plenty of time! (And the food is better.)
 
Top