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

[Daniel Thomas]

Santa's factory.

[Armageddon]

We have our winner!

[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?

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

[Babar]

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

[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

[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 )!

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.