Final Fantasy Hacktics

Quote from: Celdia on May 05, 2013, 09:26:51 am
Ivalicians Abroad

Back again by popular demand, it's another FFH Spriting Contest! Our last contest brought in nearly a score of entries from the community and there were some truly outstanding ones in the mix. I know I'm hoping to see a repeat of that kind of participation. I'm throwing off the yoke of it being a Halloween contest and going a bit more free-form this time around because our theme is going to be a bit backwards from the norm. I'll admit that this was my second option when I decided on "Heroes From Other Worlds" for the last contest. After how things have developed though, I'm glad I saved it.

With the popularity of Journey of the Five riding high I thought this idea might be fun to use now. We've seen a lot of other heroes coming to Ivalice, so now let's have a look at our favorite characters from Ivalice heading out to those "Other Worlds" to see how they might look there! That's right, this contest will even take our dedicated spriters out of their comfort zone because the goal will be to make sprites in the style of other games using FFT and FFTA characters!

Once again, this is a beginner's level spriting competition. If you've never done a sprite before we'd still love to see what you can do! The competition is open to EVERYONE and you may make as many or as few submissions as you like. You may also continue to update your submissions to the very end of the due date. Feel free to give constructive criticism on entries as they get posted to help people make the best sprite they can. Also, if someone else is doing a character and style you yourself would like to do, don't hesitate to post your own version!

Submissions are due by 11:59pm EST on Sunday, June 30th, with the possibility for an extension by request. Once the submissions are closed, all entries will be organized and a public voting poll will be opened in a new thread. Every community member will be allowed to vote for up to three entries. Poll closing will be determined when the voting begins, but it likely not to exceed 5 days. The poll will be blinded so please respect the voting process and don't make your vote choice public while voting is still ongoing.

Prizes
Elric, Xifanie, Kagebunji and Lijj have each generously offered their talents towards prizes for this competition! To the 1st place winner will go a custom-designed event* and to each of the 2nd and 3rd place winners will go custom portrait-style avatars done by Lijj as well as sprite concepts done by Kagebunji. In addition to all those, Elric has offered to create a custom event as a collective effort to be designed by our top three winners! I hope the sprites in the contest are even half as amazing as the prizes being offered! Thank you all for your contributions!
* - some restrictions may apply, offer not valid on all planets, no purchase necessary

Submission Requirements:
1) A minimum of 1 frame in the style of a game other than FFT/FFTA. If you want to do more frames or even submit something animated, go for it.
2) A name for your entry. This can just be the actual character name you're making.
3) The name of the game from which you are drawing inspiration from.
4) Provide a spoiler'd image or link to a similar-style sprite of the game listed from #3. (Ex: If you're doing a Street Fighter 2 style character portrait, don't link to a picture of a character's idle animation for during a fight, link to another portrait image.)
5) 100% or 200% Zoom in either BMP or PNG format. We like to see those details up close!
6) Post your submission in this thread and it will be officially entered.
7) Submissions need to loosely follow the general competition topic. As long as you aren't submitting an FFT or FFTA style sprite, you should be okay.
8) Follow general forum rules, such as no nudity.
9) There is NO limit on the number of entries per member as long as they are significantly distinct.
10) If there are multiple valid versions of the same submission posted in the thread, the latest version will be considered the competition version.
11) Unique characters from existing FFT/FFTA patches are considered valid, but you will need to provide a source image for the character as not everyone may be familiar with characters outside of vanilla. [Ex: If you're going to do Gospel from Call of Power, make sure to post his sprite with your entry.]

Failure to meet the submission requirements will result in disqualification of the entry.

Judging Criteria:
1) Creativity: There are obviously a lot of different style options when you can pick from any other game. This criteria would be more about how far and away from what has been done before a submission is.
2) Artistic Ability: The more like the chosen game style, the better. Of course visual quality of the entry is always important.
3) Personal Preference: When it all comes down to it you should pick what you like best!

Important Dates:
Opening of Competition: 5/5
Submissions/Extension Requests Due: 11:59pm EST 6/30
Voting Begins: TBA
Winners Announced: TBA

Why are you...?

Just a quick Q&A section to try and head off some possible questions about the contest and change from form of previous contests. I'll update this bit if anyone asks things in the thread.

Q: Why do we get three votes this time?
A: During the last contest more than a few people expressed the wish to be able to vote for more than one entry as a favorite because they just couldn't choose. It was suggested then that for future contests we be allowed more votes.

Q: Why are you allowing so much time for submissions?
A: First, I can't really see extending the submission time as hurting the contest any. Second, I know that this can be a hectic time of year for some of our members who attend school and rather than just wait to announce the contest I figured giving more time would be to the benefit of everyone involved. Third, with all the possible styles to pick from this much time would give people interested in doing highly advanced sprites enough time to complete them. Finally, these contests have been at best bi-annually. It isn't like we're running them every month and the submission time is going to run into another contest's timeframe.

Q: Why are you allowing extensions for submissions with so much time already set aside for them?
A: This is really just reflective of the last contest and the number of messages I got in the last couple days of submission for people that wanted to submit something but didn't have time or hadn't heard about the contest early enough.

Q: How do I request an extension?
A: Just send me a PM here on the forum before the submission closing and tell me how much time you feel you will need to get your submission done. The longest extension I am willing to grant for a submission will be 2 weeks so keep that in mind if you feel you need to apply for one.

Q: You didn't mention any prizes for this contest. Will there be any?
A: At the moment I have no prizes planned for the contest. That doesn't mean that won't change before the end of it. Also, if anyone wants to donate something as a prize for the contest they are welcome to. Just contact me via PM here on the forum about it.

Q: Were you serious about this being back by popular demand?
A: Actually, yes. I have gotten multiple PMs asking about when the next spriting contest might be held.

Q: I'm still not clear on the goal of this contest.
A: Not a question but definitely a potential concern. Here are a couple of great examples of FFT characters done in a different sprite style.
These examples are not my work and belong to their original creators, whoever they may be.

spoiler: Agrias 2D Fighter

spoiler: Tactics Ogre Examples

That pretty much covers anything I can think of right now. If you have other questions, feel free to post them in this thread. Other than that, let the spriting begin! ^_^