Background Blitz: Winter (Dec 2 - Dec 16, 2011) Winner announced!

Started by Ilyich, Fri 02/12/2011 20:00:08

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Daniel Thomas

Check out The Journey of Iesir Demo | Freelance artist, check out my Portfolio


Ilyich

zyndikate, oh, my... I always expect something awesome when I see your nickname in the Background Blitz threads, but somehow you manage to leave me pleasantly surprised every time. :) Great job!

anian, lovely!

Last day to submit your entries, people! If you are working on something and need a little more time - just let me know and I'll be happy to give you an extension. :)

oraxon

Great to see the big turnout! Cool pix, everyone.

Snowflake gears in the white queen's winter palace.
Inspired by Macy's department store window displays.

Ilyich

oraxon, that's great! I really like it, it has some lovely hand-made feel to it , and very stylish at the same time.

A-aand it's time to vote! It's going to be tough - with 9 great and very different entries, but that's your problem now, isn't it? :D

Here are the traditional categories:

Idea: Was it an original/creative interpretation of the theme?
Atmosphere: Was an interesting world created? - Did the scene evoke a feeling?
Design: How well the individual elements are designed, from clouds to doorknobs.
Composition: How well the elements are combined to create a pleasing whole, and lead the viewer to the points of interest.
Functionality: How well it would work as a background, with clearly defined entries and walkable areas, as well as a good viewing angle (this also includes introductionary shots of an area as long as a player character can be present in the scene).
Technique: How well it's rendered (within the chosen style!), in no way meaning the more elaborate the better.

Code: ags
Code:
[b]Idea[/b] -
[b]Atmosphere[/b] -
[b]Design[/b] -
[b]Composition[/b] -
[b]Functionality[/b] -
[b]Technique[/b] -


The voting will end on Monday, at about this time. Good luck and may the best background win! :)

Armageddon

Idea - oraxon
Atmosphere - zyndikate
Design - nihilyst
Composition - Darkdan
Functionality - nihilyst
Technique - zyndikate

Anian

Idea - oraxon
Atmosphere - zyndikate
Design - DrewCCU
Composition - oraxon
Functionality - nihilyst
Technique - Darkdan
I don't want the world, I just want your half

Babar

Idea - oraxon
Atmosphere - nihilyst
Design - Darkdan
Composition - zyndikate
Functionality - Darkdan
Technique - nihilyst
The ultimate Professional Amateur

Now, with his very own game: Alien Time Zone

Tabata

Boah â€" why are there so much wonderful entries?  :o
The different styles doesn't make it easier to decide  *grmbl* 

                         
(took me about half an hour of admire the bg's for a decision)
There are defintely too much participants being brilliant in their style

Idea -  oraxon
Atmosphere -  Secret Fawful 
(nearly impossible - all the scenes are interesting and evoke a feeling, from curious over creepy to lonely ..., so I choose the one with the strongest pure winterfeeling)
Design -  anian
Composition -  zyndikate
Functionality -  nihilyst
Technique -  Darkdan

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens

Idea: oraxon.  Until I saw his entry I was having real trouble coming up with a solid choice.  The snowflake gears were a cool idea.
Atmosphere: Fawful.  Does he still have fury?  I think so!  Looks like a cold place to be.
Design: Zyndicate.  Very solid work here, everything in the image draws you toward the looming workshop (even the tips of the trees).
Composition: Zyndicate.  It does everything it sets out to do.
Functionality:anian.  It was a toss up between anian and oraxon on this one, but anian's choice of perspective allows the player more to do and interact with.
Technique: Zyndicate.  Some interesting use of color, though it almost makes everything look spooky and forbidding.  It's certainly a different approach to the topic.

cat

Wow, this is really hard to decide. So many great entries!

Idea - oraxon
Atmosphere - Coda Frost. What I did like best here was not the foreground, but the smooth, long shadows in the background
Design - Darkdan
Composition - nihilyst
Functionality - A close one between nihilyst and anian but I'll go with anian here
Technique - nihilyst

Darkdan

Idea - oraxon
Atmosphere - Secret Fawful
Design - oraxon
Composition - zyndikate
Functionality - anian
Technique - nihilyst

Coda Frost

Cat, thanks for the vote! As a complete newb, I am happy to see that I received any votes at all! :)
GREAT entries, everyone!

Idea - Oraxon
Atmosphere - Fawful
Design - Nihilyst
Composition - Zyndikate
Functionality - Anian
Technique -  Zyndikate

Daniel Thomas

Idea - Oraxon
Atmosphere - anian
Design - darkdan
Composition - nihilyst
Functionality - nihilyst
Technique - nihilyst
Check out The Journey of Iesir Demo | Freelance artist, check out my Portfolio

Ilyich

Okay, let's wrap this up! First - my votes:
Idea - oraxon - I really like your semi-abstract approach - you walk the thin line between very obvious and highly original, and always with exciting results.
Atmosphere - nihilyst - it has a really strong and tangible winter atmosphere and it feels very familiar to me personally.
Design - zyndikate - there's quite a lot of nice, interesting choices here and much more designing than in any other entry.
Composition - zyndikate - it directs the eye very well and creates a visually pleasing, harmonious whole.
Functionality - nihilyst - if I were to choose which of the backgrounds should be turned into a game it would definitely be this one.
Technique - zyndikate - no comments. :)

And the final results are:
3rd place:  oraxon:     ************
2nd place: zyndikate: **************
1st place:  nihilyst:     ***************

And so, nihilyst is our winner! Congratulations! You get a golden snowflake (that's right, not ridiculous at all :D)!

zyndikate wins a silver snowflake, which at least looks a bit like a real snowflake, but is barely visible on the forums' lighter background!

oraxon gets a tinfoil snowflake, which may sound more like an insult than a trophy, but in fact is much better than no snowflake at all!

Every other participant gets a paper snowflake!

Big thanks to everyone who participated, hope you had fun! Take it away, nihilyst!

nihilyst

Geez, now I feel bad that I didn't vote in time, seeing that almost all participants voted. If so, zyndikate would have won for sure.

But thanks anyhow. I'll start a new round tomorrow.

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