Pixelator: Snake!

[Ryumaru]

one of the biggest problems was that snake had a background that had almost a full value range. i think he did good with what he had.
definitely would have liked to see mirres finished.

great job both of you.

[The B.O.B.]

   Damn you, Mirre! You caught the curse of the laziness! I blame myself personally. I believe I may have passed it on to you during our extremely short battle...one that I wasn't actually a part of. It's contagious damn it...(joking...)

   And Snake, I think it looks great. However, I would have actually darkened the closest layer of foreground(contrast is the word of the day...). The characters themselves, especially the baddy, get lost in the tiles/mid-level. I'm actually seeing 4 layers of background, now with the parallax effect in place. To be honest, I don't quite understand the aesthetic choice of the 3rd level of parallax( Not the tornado background, but the one after it. I thought you could have used another great design from your iso mock up, like the tubes, or fog...or something ). It looks rushed, to be honest ( just that level, the other backgrounds/foregrounds look amazing, to be honest). However, this wouldn't be out of the norm, seeing as how you explained that you were actually rushed with 2-3 days to finish this. I find that amazing, as anything I would have done would have came out exactly a 1/3 of awesomeness in comparison to this. Great job anyhow.

  By the way, I believe Adarias has a suggestion as to how Snake could compromise his chaotic ordeal( which I still think he handled it fairly well...). I'm interested to know how exactly it would have been done in your eyes, Adar'...

[zeid]

I think it would be interesting if snakes was made into a game mainly to see the different techniques that could be used to create sense of perspective. The paralax works fairly well, if the background were to be animated and the screen centered on the main character it could make for a very distinct looking game. I wonder if you would even have to make any changes colour wise.

[flaber]

Congratulations Snake
excellent entry - and great battles throughout the whole challenge.

Mirre you did a great job too.
Its a shame you couldnt finish. It may have held more of a mockup feel..

Great challenge everyone, thanks for participating.

Is there anything you would like to see for next time?
anything you want to see changed?
anything you liked about this?
feel free to discuss ideas and such now - as to help me gather my thoughts for when i host the next one.
wont be for afew months atleast though.

[Larwick]

Well done snake, i adore your mockup, even if it is quite busy. Mirre, yours looks great too, sucks you couldn't finish 

Flaber, i thought the whole 'bringing everything together at the end' aspect was a totally wicked idea. Next time you might wanna (if you didnt anyway) get someone to review the rules for a round before you put them up, so that there won't be as much confusion when it comes to it. 

[Xion]

I just want to commend you for doing such an awesome job coming up with these challenges. 
Must say I'm with Wick; The way you tied everything together in the end was great.

[Stwelin]

I like how everything was tied together, but it might have been a bit unfair for anyone who did something unconventional. I guess it all worked out though. I'd like to see more restricted palettes. Not necessarily any particular ones, such as c64 or cga, etc. But it's cool to see how people interpret and use colors.

Also, i think it would be cool to do a pixelator 'lightning round.' Basically it's like a mini competition, either it could be elimination, or just head to head competitions, and it would span only a few days. (so the signups would have to be strict, only do it if you know you have time, etc.)

[motherboard]

Congratulations Snake. Both of your pieces were great.

@ Flaber- I liked the way you organised all the rounds to fit into the final. Good job organising all the competitions.

[Fool]

Great entries indeed. Snake's a bit busy, but task was much tougher to combain all the pieces especially closet monster,  i'd say - done great, very impressive=)
Mirre's mockup is very promissing, wish you could finish it one day.=)
Congratulation, guys.

[Froli]

Great job you two  . I really enjoyed everyone's work and the creativity they pulled through. I also wish to see a final revision of your mock up snake, if time is available <that's probably just me>   

[Lick]

That parallelization is incredible. I can almost see the character *jump* and *move around*, *kicking ass*. Imagine a stormy lightning effect on the background, that'd be nice as well.

Conceit said
Snake! what happened? SNAAAKE?  SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEEEEE!

GAME OVER

Haha, classic!

[Stwelin]

Snake's female reminds me of Voldo, from Soul Caliber.

[snake]

Thank you guys.

Not as glorious a victory as I'd hope for, seing as the piece wasn't polished enough. However, now that I can edit the sky, I'm determined to make it into something worthy of that victory. My goal was to create better art, and winning means little if I didn't achieve that. It's been fun (and a nice lesson in time-management...) and I hope the people that participated got something good out of it as well.

Now that this is over, it means I can take care of something people have been asking about for a while...

[Xion]

Yay
What will it be?


...A snake?

[Larwick]

Oh wait flaber, pixel a trophy! 

Good to hear you're gunna keep working on it snake.

[Terley]

wow congrats snake, thats really impressive.. pitty you couldnt finish mirre, id still love to see you carry it on.

ill enter this next time, I really want to see how I compare to everyone else.

[flaber]

Oh wait flaber, pixel a trophy! 

Good to hear you're gunna keep working on it snake.

i hope to have it awhole lot more organized next time
with more flare and images and such

this was a test run

anyways - the prize was, that he would have a special title "Im the pixelator" or something along those lines

next time ill try and have it more snazzy with trophies and such
not sure when the next one will be though.
atleast not for a few months for sure.

[dragonrc]

"First Place: $25
Second Place: $15

Courtesy of Ensellitis and Feron (paypal)"

Wasn't this the prize?

[Feron]

ahh yes.  I'll sort it out via pm's.

[Faktablad]

Now that this is over, it means I can take care of something people have been asking about for a while...

An AVATAR? 

[Stwelin]

Coincidently, no one can change their avatar, currently.

[eck]

ill enter this next time, I really want to see how I compare to everyone else.

yeah, lets quit the chatter and start up the next one

[Slothien483]

Both entries are awesome, but I like snake's the best. I think he had a hard time blending all the stuff together, since in the round of the skies snake made something too complex, without any advice that it would be used in the final round.

Anyways, if there is to be another contest, I would like to suggest to raise the number of participants, because I bet alot of people would have liked to enter this contest (including myself).

[dragonrc]

maybe we can do something like an elimination round with 64 people and then the winner can go to the pixelator challenge

[flaber]

maybe we can do something like an elimination round with 64 people and then the winner can go to the pixelator challenge

what do you mean?

[Wayuki]

I think he means that if there are too many people who want to enter the next pixelator challenge, there could be a first elimination round to determine who can enter the actual challenge.

[Faceless]

How would that be any different to the format of the current system?
It already was a series of elimination rounds.

[dragonrc]

It's like an extra round, instead of 32 people in the first round now 64 people can participate in it but maybe that will make the challenge screen to big so we can split that round from the real pixelator challenge

[Helm]

one thing for certain, next time around, one-week rounds, and if someone signs up but doesn't make his art twice in a row, he gets banned for 2 months.

[flaber]

dont worry about the amount of people that will sign up.
i have a few different ideas on how to handle that.
so dont fret overly about the amount of people.
I was more or less curious, if there were suggestions pertaining to the format and such.
Obviously the challenges will be different, but were they too difficult, were they too easy?
Was the way they were set up ok, or should that be changed?
any changes you would like to see for next time

you think only one-week rounds next time helm??
cause people were already finding it difficult with the 2weeks - even those who participated in all the challenges such as mirre and snake.

[Conceit]

yea, I was thinking this should just be a BIG blood-orgy type artfest, and ABUSE the hell out of that "use your previous art to make the current entry" idea.

I think the whole competitivity thing works, but it shouldnt be key to winning, it should only serve the function of creating tension and perhaps generating topics. like say, challenge one you get matched up with someone and you have to do a vehicle for a character of his. so let's say the guy's character won your duel, but you still made a kickass entry...I say you should get to get on to the next round, but for the next round you will have to make up an enviroment for the character. Had you won HE'd have to make a race track for your vehicle....

so, in short winning duels gets you exposition, but quality work is what keeps you alive

Like, look at BOB for instance, he was still creating art while all the people who had passed were not...that doesnt make much sense to me, if you're good and you want to keep up you should be in.

maybe the tasks should be less daunting, but more frequent. Us artists suck at managing time, I think 2 weeks is too much freedom, specially if you're not gettin paid :p

Like maybe first part of the challenge only requires a...sillouethe, then after 3 days alll of a sudden you have to animate it....strange twists like that rock, the mockup thing ruled you can be sure of that =)

[Feron]

i think the tiling challenge was hard, to fit in a week would be extremly difficuly for those of us with less experience in the field.

I think entering could be done differently.  instead of first come, first get picked, how about everyone/anyone who wants to participate has one week to submit a piece of a pre-determined nature (e.g 64x64 avatar, 100x100 sprite...) and then the best 32 submitted are chosen.  So no 1v1 duels for the "first" round, just the top 32 go into the competition, and then a series of rounds like the original.  In the event that less than 32 are submitted then it could perhaps go to the top 16.

it could also be done with a series of groups, like the World cup.  For example four people in a group and each week for 3 or 4 weeks there is a small challenge.  each entry being graded 1, 2, 3, or 4.  The two people with the most points from each group proceed into 1v1 battles.

[flaber]

conceit - im a fan of that idea about quality work being able to move on, even if it lost the battle.
Im going to play with that idea, im thinking, not necessarily different challenges like you mentioned, rather, you would be able to come back from the graveyard.
great idea

youd like to see different rules and twists added, as the time progresses in the challenge?
so day1, make a silhouette
day3, animate it
day5, colour it
day7, final entry.

something like that??
hmmm, im just afraid people may miss out. not everyone has a chance to get to a computer everyday, so having rule changes throughout the week might cause some hassle.

i was kind of thinking that pool thing too feron.
or maby just maby... 1v1v1 battles, or something of the sort or teams..
but that depends on numbers.

[Helm]

There definately is absolutely no reason for people to have two weeks. Most people made their entries in the last 3 days or something.

[Conceit]

well, yeah that's what I meant flabber.

ok...what about setting it up so there IS a week between challenges, BUT there are 3 days of the week within which everyone should be working on it, and everyone is required to send progress every one of the 3 days

[Ryumaru]

ooh i like that idea, conceit.

[Xion]

There definately is absolutely no reason for people to have two weeks. Most people made their entries in the last 3 days or something.

DiSaGrEeMeNt OcCuRs!
I spent my whole 2 weeks as much as I could. And there were some days, especially during the end, when I just couldn't manage to get to a computer. 2 weeks is good. It makes up for discrepancies such as someone having time the first week but not the second, and their opponent being vice versa.

Also, I don't think there should be any bannination punishment for failing to submit. The guilt and disqualification should be enough. (You can tell people felt guilty when they didn't get it in on time). Plus, I mean, life happens. It can look peachy-keen one minute, and you think you have a free month, but then WHAM! Family issues, or computer crash, or someone asks you to marry them, or you get an unforeseen, heavy workload. I dunno, I mean, you just can't predict stuff like that, and I don't think you should be punished for being lack of clairvoyance.

[Larwick]

The idea of teams makes me feel warm inside...

And i dunno Helm, i kinda agree with Xion.

[alkaline]

whoa,

teams?

that would be <3.


how would teams be formed?



and the 2 weeks thing, although people still miss the deadline, it gives others a chance to find the time to do it. in 3 days, it doesn't leave you with many options if you're busy.

[buloght]

It was said during one of the rounds it's a shame some great artists fall so early due to being up against some awesome people early, and the number of non-entries is a problem. How about having still 5 rounds, but for each round everone is against everyone and the people with the most points go through, up until the semi-final, in which it becomes 1on1. it eliminates non-entries since more than half of each round would prob enter. Just a running thought.   

[edit] Congrats to snake! And mirre! The centaur girl must be one of the coolest characters to come out of this compo.

[dragonrc]

I got an idea for the elimination round, everyone can sign up. Then after 1-2 weeks the signup closes and there will be 2 very different challeges. So something like: everyone should make a monster and a tileset. Then the 32 best can go to the real pixelator.

I like the idea that it would be better if there were no 1vs1 battles, just everyone vs everyone and the best can move on to the next round. I think it would be good if the ones with the  most points can move on. And you get points by something like this:
originality: 10
following the rules: 5
color choices: 20
overall look: 30
improvement since last round: 20
ect.
This would also be good for the one that made the piece because then you will see your weaker points that need improvement

And the team idea rocks! I can already see it, many teams with each 3 people in it making a big collabration scratch that

I think it would be good doing something different than the last pixelator.

[Feron]

a team challenge would be totally separate.  the judges would have no way of knowing who did wat in each team, therefore leading to unfair results.  What is snake and buloght were in a team with tomster and someother kids.  They might advance through instead of better contestants.

A teamed challenge would be a totally separate event.

[Helm]

Also, I don't think there should be any bannination punishment for failing to submit. The guilt and disqualification should be enough. (You can tell people felt guilty when they didn't get it in on time). Plus, I mean, life happens. It can look peachy-keen one minute, and you think you have a free month, but then WHAM! Family issues, or computer crash, or someone asks you to marry them, or you get an unforeseen, heavy workload.

Pixelator isn't just a social event. It should build pixel skills otherwise we're cutting it off. This isn't a place to have fun with your mates FOREMOST. It's a place of learning. And one of the things people that want to participate in something must learn, is punctuality and responsibility. If any of you mean to get jobs as pixel artists later on you can't just drop deadlines just becase. Obviously good excuses will be taken into account, and that along with a 'twice in a row' rule will take care of most people not to get banned. But banned some need to be, just to get it through they heads that when you say 'I will do this' then you do it.

If you are not sure you can do something, don't commit. It was embarassing for all how many people dropped out last round. Some people like Mirre hardly went up against anyone until the finals, and even then when she got a job and everything she still submitted something.

I know from Secret Santa that a lot of people here have severe motivation problems. They should not be joining Pixelator or other such activities or they will find themselves banned.

[Panda]

I support the banning.
It does sound harsh, but if you are going to do something, you should give all you can to it, whatever it takes (even if it means you have to meet loose deadlines ). You should charge onto it at full power. If you can't, just don't participate and leave your place for someone else. I don't think it is hard to understand.
It is shameful that so many people had to get banned for the Secret Santa (not to mention that NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM made a present afterwards), try not to make it happen with the pixelator.
If you are going to half ass it, don't even think of participating.

[Sharm]

I'm of two minds on the banning issue.  I see why you'd want to do it, and a good work ethic is a good thing to have, but that's not what I'm here for.  I'm here to learn good pixelating techniques and to see what I can accomplish.  I would love to enter the next time around, but if there's going to be banning for not turning something in, I wouldn't be entering, and I wouldn't be able to see if I could do it.  This is because I have some health problems, and I think my health is way more important than a contest.  Now I know that most people don't have my issues, but there are a lot of other good reasons people might not make it that week.  For instance, a real job that pays for the rent makes you do overtime that whole week.  I think that takes precedence too.

[The B.O.B.]

   I'm totally not for the banning part. At least, not so damn long. However, if these are the rules when the next Pixelator comes, I'll just suck it up, and still participate. I've vengeance in my heart, and shall stop at nothing till I quench my thirst.
   Also, if indeed this ban rule is put into effect, I think it would honestly be fair to have those who enforce them, participate within the tourney, and instead of judging, the winner would be decided by each user vote, kind of like Conceptart.org's C.O.W., or C.H.O.W., or whatever.

[Feron]

Pixelator isn't just a social event. It should build pixel skills otherwise we're cutting it off. This isn't a place to have fun with your mates FOREMOST. It's a place of learning.

WOAH - not expecting that.  Art is fun, yeah its good to learn along the way but you seem to see this forum as a place of "learning only".  By banning people you are only pushing them away and therefore defeating your point of a learning community.

I signed up for the pixelator for fun, if i new i would be banned as a result of going into hospital, being overloaded with work and other un-forseeable events etc... i wouldnt sign up, thus reducing the learning i might have found in the initial rounds.

[Helm]

Nobody's stopping you from doing the pixelator rounds outside the contest if you want. Responsibility is important.

[dragonrc]

I agree with helm here, a two week ban is reasonable. It will scare off the people who sign up thinking 'maybe I'll find the time to do something for the first round'. Those people shouldn't sign up, they can make something if they want outside the contest.
Pixelator should be a competition for people who really want to make something each round for fun or to improve theirselves and if someone doesn't feel like making an entry every round they shouldn't sign up because many other people are willing to do so and they deserve that place in pixelator.
But if someone has a valid reason for making nothing I think he/she should not be banned, but if it happens again they should, valid reason or not.

[miascugh]

In a similar contest I participated in last year there were 51 participants, with only two people who did not deliver in time throughout the whole tournament, with one week time for each round. It was understood that people who knew that they might not have time for it would not sign up in the first place. The banning shouldn't make a difference anyway, it's just to ensure that anybody actually thinks about whether he or she can really sign up. I think as a regular student, time really isn't an issue, unless you're having your finals or are in the course of graduating at that moment.

Anyway, I think we should give Pixelator a break for a while now, and have a couple of open-for-all challenges in the meantime.