To introduce my statement, I'll tell you that sometimes there are people who want to see a certain TAS of a game very badly, yet do not have the skills/team/experience necessary to actually
do it. In these cases, the person will often be in the need to wait for even a possible TAS to come out 3 years later, and then finally they're excited when it comes out, or not if it never comes out.
So I've thought of an idea, and we can discuss it, and it is ultimately up to the administrators and developers as to whether they want to carry out my idea or not, since this is not my website.
So the system I thought of was a button or link on the frontpage of the TASVideos homepage that says "Requests" or something similar somewhere on the frontpage. When someone clicks this button, it shows a button or link that says "Fill out a request!" and under that button or link there is a paragraph or so that explains the request system. Under that link is a list of previous requests filled out on the site, newest and down, and eventually you get to the button "See all requests". Once someone clicks the button "Fill out a request!", they are taken to a form. In this form, the first thing they have to type is the game information (console, name, version if applicable). Then there is a large box, much like the one I'm typing in right now, where they can enter a
clear description of what they're looking for in the TAS (describe the game [especially if the game is extremely unpopular], goals of completion [100% or any%, etc.], amount of time to beat, certain glitches or tricks they want the players to use, etc.). This box should allow users to post (at least URLs to) pictures and videos if they choose to do so, in case the requester wants to use those to demonstrate a certain part of the game or a certain point they're trying to make. After that, if the requester is not logged in, to have the option of typing a pseudonym for themselves in the bar below, and there's another where they must put their email address. Below there is a Preview button and a Submit button.
Once the request has been submitted, it will show the request on the request list. When someone clicks on a specific request,
logged in users can make comments in the Comments bar below, for instance they could say "I don't think anyone will do this because [...]." or "What a great idea! I'll start on that right now!".
I'll give you a couple of examples, including this one which is my own. Since the
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV7nJwt2zhc 70 star BLJless TAS of Super Mario 64 came out in 2012, I've been really itching to see a
120 star BLJless TAS. So in order to request that TAS, I would go to the form, enter N64 Super Mario 64 (U). Then I would describe "I'd like it if someone made a 120 star TAS without using the backwards long jump glitch at all. I understand it would take a lot of work, but it's something I, and probably a lot of other people, would really want to see [...]" it will continue from there. Someone could comment that they have decided to work on it, or not.
People can also request the improvement of an existing run, although it would be almost futile unless the requester knew of an improvement that was possible. For instance, and I'm
not saying I'm gonna do this, but someone could request a 120 star TAS that improves the previous one, since
http://tasvideos.org/3772S.html there are known improvements. Some TASers could either refuse or work on it.
For someone looking for a TAS of a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SpongeBob_SquarePants_merchandise random Spongebob platformer game that is not already on the site, they could fill out the form, saying the game, the console, blablabla, and in the description, describe everything
they know about the game that is appropriate to describe (because it is probably unpopular and hasn't been TASed before), etc. Then they wait for a player to come along and see the request and start making the TAS.
An administrator can obviously also delete a request where they see fit, for instance if it's spam or trolling. I don't see a reason to delete a request if it's just a bad game in general to TAS, I'd honestly rather someone comment on that page to let the requester know so that they can learn.
UPDATE: There would be a limit of 2 requests for every 24 hours per user or IP address to reduce the amount of spamming.
I know that you can technically already probably make requests for TASes on the forum, but in some cases it would be inappropriate, and it is less convenient, especially for just average Joes so to speak who don't have any experience TASing or who don't want to TAS for some reason.
I think that making a request system would actually be beneficial to the community. Many would probably disagree, but we must remember that the extremely great majority of people in this world don't TAS, so people with little to no experience TASING could come here to look for a certain TAS and request it. I understand it kind of sounds like a system where people demand high quality time and work for nothing, but we should think about it rather as a way to give TASers new ideas. For instance, about 3 months ago I was searching around for ROMs of basically random DS games that haven't been TASed before to TAS, so that I can make a simple but good TAS that I can submit here. It took me a while (as in a long time) to find a game like that, and it took a lot of playing around before I found the Fairy Tail game. So this request system can make it much easier for people just looking for a game to TAS that hasn't already been TASed which best fits the player's standards. It can give people new ideas based on other people's requests or ideas. Also, don't get the gist that this is only for newbies, no, regular users could submit a request too, for instance if they have an idea of something they want to see but don't want to TAS it, are already working too hard on other projects, or don't have any experience with TASing that particular game.
Anyway, it's just something to think about and discuss. It is ultimately up to developers and administrators to carry out this idea, or to change my ideal of how it should work to their own ideals.
