What is Room Rewards?
Room Rewards is our ongoing program to support the creators that bring Rec Room to life by focusing on room metrics. While other creator contests involve judges or voting - we crunch the numbers to reward creators whose rooms are performing the best in key areas that ultimately lead to more players enjoying more time in Rec Room.
Each month we issue a challenge focused on certain metrics, and creators have the entire month to create or modify their rooms to address the challenge metrics. We'll update a weekly leaderboard showing the top rooms' progress throughout the month - so you can see how things are progressing and make adjustments to your rooms.
What do you win?
Glory - and tokens, of course! At the end of each month, we'll publish a list of all the winning rooms and distribute tokens to all the winning creators & co-owners.
We’re giving out over $75,000 worth of tokens this month - our largest Room Rewards pool ever - so it's a great time to submit a room. Don't forget that Partnered Creator program can cash out those tokens!
This Month's Challenge:
The following 6 categories will be eligible for this month’s Room Rewards: art, quest, pvp, roleplay, hangout, and game. Rooms can participate for rewards under any of the categories above.
Don’t forget - each room can only compete in one of the categories, so make sure to carefully select and tag your room with the category you’d like to compete in! Check the category definitions below under “What Are Room Categories?” if you need clarification on what category your room should fall under.
NEW RULE! - Sometimes it can be difficult to decide which category your room best represents. If you make a mistake, we will change the category tag for you! By participating in the Room Rewards program, you agree to allow us to change your category tag to the proper one so it can continue competing as long as it is before the due date. This does not apply to rooms that have more than 1 category tag applied to their room.
This month's goal metrics will be the Average Play Time AND the Number of Revisits in Rooms.
Rooms will be assigned to either tier below based on the number of users visiting the room. Your room will compete within the corresponding tier and earn respective rewards of that tier (if you win).
Gold Tier: This tier consists of rooms with 10k+ unique and qualified user visits throughout the month. Based on the goal metrics, we will reward the top 5 rooms in each category by giving each winning room 3.75M tokens.
Silver Tier: This tier consists of rooms with 5k - 10k unique and qualified user visits throughout the month. Based on the goal metrics, we will reward the top 5 rooms in each category by giving each winning room 1.25M tokens.
-
To enter, you must tag your room with two tags:
1. The room category tag: #game, #art, #quest, #pvp, #roleplay, #hangout (Only Choose One)
2. The monthly challenge tag: #augrrmonthlyYou can still tag your room with other descriptor tags that may be relevant such as ones that describe the community, play style, fandom, etc. If you choose #roleplay please do not also include any other category tag such as #game or #hangout.
Rooms must be tagged appropriately before the 15th of the month to be properly ranked in the program challenges - but there is no requirement on when the room was created except the room cannot be published after the due date.
Removing, Adding, or Changing your room tag AFTER the due date will disqualify your room from eligibility. Please do not change your room tags after the due date.
What is a Bonus Challenge?
The Bonus Challenge is an exciting addition to the Room Rewards program that offers the chance to earn extra tokens by outdoing your competitors in the bonus goal metrics.
In August 2023, the bonus goal metric will be Average Play Time on Mobile Devices. Based on the goal metric, we will reward the Top 20 rooms by giving each winning room an extra 1.875M tokens.
How Do I Sign Up?
No extra step is needed! You will automatically enroll in the bonus challenge once you become eligible for this month’s Room Rewards program.
Additional Information:
TRY OUT THE NEW ROOM REWARDS DISPLAY INVENTION
All you creative types out there - we have a new invention template, Room Rewards Display (built by @CrafySponge), ready to use! We welcome all creators to place it in your rooms to spread the word about the program.
“Do I need to tag my room tier?” - No tagging is needed to enter the correct tier. We’ll take care of it for you!
“What if the room has multiple creators?”- As usual, we will split the tokens among creators and co-owners for each winning room based on the room’s earnings distribution on August 30th.
Please keep in mind that the visit count displayed on rec.net does not determine your eligibility for the Room Rewards program. Our program utilizes a set of internal standards to assess only good and high-quality visits. To enhance transparency, our team is actively working on a Room Rewards creator dashboard that could provide you with quick access to the relevant information. Please stay tuned for the updates!
-
To enter, you must tag your room with two tags:
The room category tag: #game, #art, #quest, #pvp, #roleplay, #hangout (Only Choose One)
The monthly challenge tag: #augrrmonthly
You can still tag your room with other descriptor tags that may be relevant such as ones that describe the community, play style, fandom, etc. If you choose #roleplay please do not also include any other category tag such as #game or #hangout
Rooms must be tagged appropriately before the 15th of the month to be properly ranked in the program challenges - but there is no requirement on when the room was created except the room cannot be published after the due date.
-
Winning Rules
A room can only participate in the program three months after it last won. For example, a room that wins in April 2023 cannot win again until August 2023. Won -> [APR] [MAY] [JUN] [JUL] [AUG] <- Eligible to win again.
Note: the rule also applies to bonus challenge winners. This means that if you won the bonus challenge in June, that room will not be eligible to participate in the Room Rewards program in July, August, and September.You must have a minimum of 5,000 users visiting the Room during the month.
You must not have been banned during the program month(1st of the month through rewards distribution) to participate. This does not apply to associated account bans or warnings.
Rooms must not be banned for moderation purposes at any point during the month.
Rooms purposely cloned and republished versions of a winning or existing room (with little difference from the original room) will be disqualified from the program.
Rooms that are purposely re-tagged will be disqualified. Please only change your room tag if it had been originally tagged in error or have been requested to do so.
During the final leaderboard check, we will identify rooms with swapped metrics and remove them from the rankings. This includes rooms that, during the month’s time, were previously tagged with one category and later changed to another in an effort to compete in an unrelated category.
Rec Room employees are not eligible to participate in the program. Rooms with Rec Room employees as Owners/CoOwners will be disqualified from participating.
How Many Rooms Will Win?
There will be 12 leaderboards, one for each room category (#game, #art, #quest, #pvp, #roleplay, #hangout) under each tier (Gold and Silver).
60 winning rooms will be selected at the end of the month.
For the Bonus Challenge, 20 rooms will win.
Reward Rules
Only those who are Co-owners at the time when rewards are calculated and distributed are eligible to receive the reward.
Rewards will be distributed strictly based on the earnings distribution set on the room at the end of the month. It is the responsibility of Creators and Co-Owners to ensure the earnings distribution is up to date and honors any prior agreements. Any lost funds due to unassigned percentages in room earnings distribution settings will be forfeit.
Creators and Co-owners will still receive their own portion of the reward even if another on their team is banned. This means a banned creator/co-owner does not impact the eligibility of the room, just the banned person’s eligibility for the reward.
-
Roleplay Category (#roleplay)
The roleplay category is all about becoming a character in a fictional or alternative world. The player is responsible for playing the role of someone other than themselves and there may be specific narrative and/or community rules that players must follow. There could be minigames, progression activities or hangout areas within the room that help with world and story building, but the primary purpose of the room is to allow players to immerse themselves in a different character or reality than their own. Rooms that allow players to create scenes with characters/dolls/etc will also be considered roleplay.
Examples: ^SW-TheCloneWars, ^HorizonHighSchool
What is the difference between Roleplay and PVP or Hangout rooms?
Rooms with the main objective of attacking other players or things should still be categorized as PvP rooms.
Rooms with the main objective of providing a space for people to hangout without needing to assume a character or role should still be categorized as Hangout rooms.
Art Category (#art)
The art category is all about showing. This is a chance for you to show your vision and skills to players! Art Rooms should dedicate all their resources to making something inspiring and impressive.
Examples: ^JulesVerne, ^ANightInVenice, ^Bloodborne, ^SpiritedAway, ^FrightfulFeast
Art Rooms should not require players to interact with the Room very much, if at all. Picking things up to see how they’re used is OK, and so is touching buttons or interfaces to open doors.
Art Rooms should not involve any challenge.
Art Rooms can absolutely involve things that move and react to the players! But nothing that a player needs to control with any effort in order to experience the Room.
All kinds of media are encouraged! 3D art, 2D art, sound, music, animation, costumes, holotars, etc.
Players should be able to move through art rooms at their own pace or at a slower speed in order to see all of the art.
Hangout Category (#hangout)
The hangout category is all about giving players a place to settle down for a while. It should be somewhere people can chill and talk with old friends, and meet some new ones too.
Examples: ^RecCenter, ^TacoWinterLodge, ^CittaDelBronzo
Hangouts should have places for people to gather. Give players some furniture, or a campfire to stand around, or a balcony--anything that’s a distinct comfortable space.
Hangouts should be easy to get around in. You want people to move around and meet each other.
Hangouts can have multiple subrooms, but should avoid too many as it will make it hard for people to find each other and move around.
Hangouts can include a small activity or game for players to play together and connect over.
Examples: Pool tables in the Rec Center; trampoline in ^TacoLakeHouse; playing cards in ^Lounge, axe throwing in ^Hobbits, drawing board in ^ValArtAcademy
PVP Category (#pvp):
Slashing, shooting, and running. This category emphasizes competition, action, and players attacking each other, AI or other room elements.
This encompasses all “Player versus” games where the primary action is players attacking something else.
Examples of Player versus rooms that would still fall in this category are: ^Military_VS_Ai, ^Ai_Fighting_Sandbox, and ^Fnaf2Versus.
Even though PvP stands for “Player vs. Player,” we don’t categorize all Rooms where people compete as PvP. Think of PvP as “battle” or “combat” against other players or other things.
Quest Category (#quest)
Quests need to have progression and challenge. Players should start somewhere and end up in a different place or time, and face challenges in between.
Example: In ^TheRiseofJumbotron, players start in a battle aboard the SS Coach, end up fighting the Jumbotron, and in between they fly through space and fight bigger and tougher enemies.
Quests can involve fighting enemies (ours do!), but wave shooters don’t count.
Parkour rooms are also considered #quest rooms. Depending on the complexity in design, an escape room or series of escape subrooms could also be considered a #quest if they are related and progressive.
Game Category (#game)
The game category includes a game or activity with some rules that gets people talking to each other and having fun.
Game Rooms should not have more than one different type of game. They should focus on a single experience that’s easy to access for Rec Room players. However, “mini-games” count as an exception; though the game must still have a central gameplay mechanic.
Examples of Game Rooms with mini-games are ^AnimalCrossingRRHorizons, ^VoodooLagoon, ^Pokemon87, and ^RecParty2018.
Co-operative Game Rooms should not put too much emphasis on progression. If players are moving through different settings and playing different kinds of games, then the Room belongs in the Quest category.
Examples of Game Rooms are ^Spotit, ^ButtonMash, ^DarkStories
Rooms that have heavy interaction with no progression or it controls the player’s journey through the room also count for this category. For example, this includes things such as thrill rides or fast paced rides that are the main function of the room.
Parkour rooms are considered #quest rooms.
What’s the difference between Art and Hangout?
Hangouts need to be comfortable, and Art Rooms need to be nice to look at. Hangouts do benefit from being nice to look at, but if you can’t find a spot to gather with friends and enjoy the views, it’s not worth hanging out there. Art Rooms don’t benefit much from being comfortable, because the creator’s goal should be to keep people moving through the Room and seeing all the stuff they’ve built.
What is the difference between hangout and game rooms?
The main difference between game rooms and hangout rooms is whether the main activity of the room is socializing with other players. Hangout rooms can include small games or tasks - but ultimately the room itself should not have an end state or winner - its primary focus should be on socialization. On the contrary - game rooms should have a primary objective, and should resolve in an end state - whether that’s a winning player or the end of the ride.
What is the difference between hangout and roleplay rooms?
Hangout rooms do not require a player to take on a specific role in order to participate. Roleplay rooms revolve around a central theme that allows the player to immerse themselves in a specific reality. This would include rooms that recreate environments and include costumes related to specific existing creative works like Poppy’s Playtime, Five Nights at Freddy’s, or Minecraft.
What is the difference between game and roleplay rooms?
In Roleplay rooms, roleplay is the central feature of the room. There may be mini-games or other systems that allow a player to progress, but these would be incidental to the player’s ability to participate in the room as intended and not necessarily required. Elements that do not have a ranked effect on a player’s quantitative standing on any in-room leaderboards(acting out a scene in a cafe, pretending to be superheroes, police chasing criminals, etc) would be considered Roleplay.
In Game rooms, an important central feature of the room is to earn points and compete for top ranking on the leaderboards, though leaderboards are not always required if the gameplay is apparent. Roleplay is not required to participate in the game or the roleplay is only incidental to the player’s progression in the game or leaderboard.
What is the difference between game and quest rooms?
Game rooms contain one specific experience(or several related mini-games) with set rules and objectives. The game should be able to be played all within the same room without having to progress through many rooms to complete the game. An exception to this rule would be an experience which brings players through different rooms in which the same sort of gameplay happens, such as a ride or game map that changes scenery after the game ends. Players should know what to expect and how to play based on the rules. Parkour experiences are considered quest rooms.
Quests have progression and challenge. Players should start somewhere and end up in a different place or time, and face challenges in between. Those challenges could change depending upon the situation and generally have a linear progression without repeating tasks or challenges. The player does not often know what happens next.What’s the difference between Game and PvP?
Games can have “action,” but only PvP Rooms can have “violence.” If the most basic mechanic in your game is that players are “attacking” other players or things, then it’s a PvP and belongs in the PvP category.
Example: Paintball is a game because it’s a fun activity with rules, but players play it by attacking each other, so it wouldn’t be allowed in the Game category.
Example: Among Us does involve a player attacking other players, but the basic mechanic of the game is not attacking; it’s deception, communication, and problem-solving; so it wouldn’t be allowed in the PvP category.
Example: Player vs. AI games may have rules and limited progression, but players play it to attack things, so it wouldn’t be allowed in the Game category.
-
The leaderboards for the Monthly Challenge will be updated every Wednesday on the Leaderboards Page.
Creator Stats (BETA) feature is available on Rec.net where you can check the avg time spent playing data for your room. Over the next few months, more updates to performance tracking metrics will be made to the feature that will let you see your room progress!
-
Final leaderboards announcing the winners for each challenge will be posted the 1st of the following month.
Rewards will be sent via giftboxes in-game during the first week of the following month.
Rewards will be split between creators and co-owners according to the Earnings Distribution settings for the room.
Rewards are eligible for payment via Partnered Creator.
We rank Rooms based on a goal metric set at the start of the month and award those that place in the Top 5 for each Room Category.
MONTHLY METRIC
Total Play Time by Top Players AND the Number of Revisits in Rooms
Only time spent by the room’s top players will count toward the room average.
———
Challenge tag
#augRRMonthly
———
ROOM CATEGORIES
#hangout | #pvp | #quest | #art | #game | #roleplay
Please choose the category your room falls under and tag it appropriately to submit your room for the rankings.
———
Requirements
You must have a minimum of 5,000 users visit the Room during the month.
There is no requirement on when the room was created but a room must not be published after the due date.
Rooms must be tagged before the 15th of the month.
———
REWARD
3,750,000 tokens per room in Gold Tier
1,250,000 tokens per room in Silver Tier
for Top 5 of each Category
———
BONUS
1,875,000 tokens for Top 20 rooms in Average Play Time on Mobile Devices
-
Design the experience to reward users for staying longer—like using Cloud Variables and adding multiple activities for users to try within the room
Increase traffic to your room by submitting to Featured Rooms.
Host Events that give users a unique experience.
Use social media to bring in more users.
-
Q: How is average time spent per top player defined?
A: Total time spent in room by top unique users ÷ Total top unique users that visited the room in current month
Q: When will the leaderboard be updated?
A: Every Wednesday. The Monthly Challenge leaderboard will be updated with the Top 20. The Bonus Challenge leaderboard will be updated with the Top 40.
Q: Can these tokens be exchanged for money?
A: Yes, eligible players can cash out their tokens through the Partnered Creator program.
Q: If a Co-owner is banned, do the others get their tokens?
A: Yes, rewards are sent out according to the Earnings Distribution of the room regardless of someone’s ban status. For example, if the Earnings Distribution is set so Co-owner A receives 60% and Co-owner B receives 40%, then Co-owner A still receives 60% of the tokens reward even if Co-owner B is banned.
Q: When will I receive the rewards?
A: For each month’s program, the rewards will be tallied up and sent in-game during the first week of the following month.
Please submit any questions you have through this Zendesk page.