Newgrounds Flash Tournament?

[Cordyceps]

Now, I'm sure most of us are familiar with TOFA. It is "The Tournament of Flash Artists", held by AlbinoBlackSheep.com and hosted by MunchyMedia.

I was just wondering, would there be enough interest to hold a Newgrounds sponsored one? TOFA is held in the summer, so I think it would work out if we were to place it in winter.

Thoughts?

[ReNaeNae]

I think it would be a fantastic idea! I'd be more than happy to help with it... and I'm sure you could get ng to throw in some prizes (store credit).

As for sprites, just specify in the tournament rules that they aren't allowed, how hard is that?

[JordanD]

At 12/26/09 02:47 PM, ReNaeNae wrote: I think it would be a fantastic idea! I'd be more than happy to help with it... and I'm sure you could get ng to throw in some prizes (store credit).

As for sprites, just specify in the tournament rules that they aren't allowed, how hard is that?

i might be down to make something, but i'd reccomend getting a mod, like renaenae for example, to post the official NG tourney post, when mods do it theres more of a professional aura about it and people are interested, it doesn't seem like it'd do nearly as good if just anybody posted it IMO :/

[Cordyceps]

At 12/26/09 02:47 PM, ReNaeNae wrote: As for sprites, just specify in the tournament rules that they aren't allowed, how hard is that?

If somebody is a master at using sprites (like Alvin-Earthworm for example) then I see no reason as to why they shouldn't be allowed to enter. The rules would just have to specify that no copyrighted characters can be used, since there is a prize involved.

Like TOFA, there would be an open round, where anybody can submit a flash, and with judges scoring each flash, we would determine the top artists; this would effectively eliminate any undeserving artists from entering.

After the open round, the rounds will have a topic you have to animate around. These could be anything from a basic idea (Bob wanted an apple, so he...) to a song (a song from the Audio portal). Its really a great opportunity to see the creativity here on NG.

We can probably do this in early 2010, maybe from February to May. Should we?

[Cordyceps]

Anybody else have something to say?

[Archawn]

At 12/27/09 06:09 PM, Digital-Terror wrote: Anybody else have something to say?

It's a great idea! I wish I could animate, though. :(

[Cordyceps]

At 12/27/09 06:16 PM, Archon68 wrote:

At 12/27/09 06:09 PM, Digital-Terror wrote: Anybody else have something to say?

It's a great idea! I wish I could animate, though. :(

It wouldn't have to be limited to animation. It could be a very open-ended tourney, as opposed to ABS's animation only tournament.

We could allow games/interactive movies as well. I think you would do great in it.

[ifureadthisdie]

I fucking had this idea for a long time but i was too afraid ng users would rape me with spams of "fuck you" so..fuck you

[Bubbowrap]

I don't know if February to May would work unless there was a lot of time to work on entries.

I've never even heard of TOFA until now. Man.

[dylan-double-c]

This looks epic. I'm seriously going to animate random shit to get better ust for this tournament...

If it gets started.

[Cordyceps]

At 12/27/09 11:00 PM, ifureadthisdie wrote: I fucking had this idea for a long time but i was too afraid ng users would rape me with spams of "fuck you" so..fuck you

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose.

At 12/27/09 11:22 PM, Bubbowrap wrote: I don't know if February to May would work unless there was a lot of time to work on entries.

Maybe it will be extended to the end of June. I just don't want to overlap with TOFA.

I've never even heard of TOFA until now. Man.

Surely, you've seen a couple of flashes that were made for TOFA, namely:

• 
  A coconut up one's butt by NightShadowTWO

  Click to view.

  Type

  Movie

  Rated

  Ages 13+

It exploded in popularity this year, with (I think) over 30 participants, but only 15 or so actually submitted something for the open round.

At 12/27/09 11:36 PM, dylan-double-c wrote: This looks epic. I'm seriously going to animate random shit to get better ust for this tournament...

If it gets started.

Actually, I'm seriously considering getting this started for February. Just want to drum up a little more interest before making an Open-Round thread or anything.

[FatKidWitAJetPak]

Well the idea is already in place! Every day, every week, every month, and every year there are prizes and contests within those months like the winrer flash off, october flash off, valentines day, madness day, pico day, clock day, and others! So yeah good idea its already here heh.

[Jamesgudge]

Wow, never heard of this, but seriously, if you could get this going, you'd have my support. It would be a great way to spark interest in more people making quality flash, as opposed to, as was previously stated, "Sonic Fan fiction"... *shudder*

I know for sure that I as an amateur, and I do mean amateur, flash designer, would love to see different techniques that different programmers/artists would use. Not only that, but maybe after all is said and done, there's another award posted by NG, like "Competition 1st Place, 2nd", etc. in supplement to top weekly, daily, monthly, etc.

I think it's a great Idea, and if Mod Renaenae is willing to help, more power to you, this could be freaking big!

-Gudge

[Deadclever23]

At 12/28/09 01:44 AM, FatKidWitAJetPak wrote: Well the idea is already in place! Every day, every week, every month, and every year there are prizes and contests within those months like the winrer flash off, october flash off, valentines day, madness day, pico day, clock day, and others! So yeah good idea its already here heh.

The Flash Offs are a bit dull though because the same people often win, but it's a whole different challenge if you have a week and a certain theme. I mean anything can be Christmassy if I stick some snow in. But if you were given a theme like Up-Butt Coconut than you have to be creative.

[Nayhan]

So this one wont be at all connected to the MuchyMedia one? we'll just be using similar rules and theme?
Sounds like a good idea but I reckon we could change it a bit to make it more exiting. A Po3 animation thing with 2 animators and a musician in a team could work well... I think?

At 12/27/09 06:16 PM, Archon68 wrote: It's a great idea! I wish I could animate, though. :(

It's never too late to start :D

[Mexifry]

Sprites should not be allowed because no matter how you slice it, you are using someone elses copyright artwork and characters. The entire project is to show your personal skill and talent and you should only be able to use outside resources with permission from the original author or if it is on the Public Domain.

[Icandraw]

i would be a part of it but i need explanation :P really :D

[Cordyceps]

At 1/27/10 01:57 PM, Mexifry wrote: Sprites should not be allowed because no matter how you slice it, you are using someone elses copyright artwork and characters. The entire project is to show your personal skill and talent and you should only be able to use outside resources with permission from the original author or if it is on the Public Domain.

Sprites should be allowed, but only if they are 100% original work. Even if someone makes a frame-by-frame masterpiece, if it consists of Sonic and Mario then it will lose serious marks on originality.

[Version2]

At 1/27/10 02:57 PM, Digital-Terror wrote:

At 1/27/10 01:57 PM, Mexifry wrote: Sprites should not be allowed because no matter how you slice it, you are using someone elses copyright artwork and characters. The entire project is to show your personal skill and talent and you should only be able to use outside resources with permission from the original author or if it is on the Public Domain.

Sprites should be allowed, but only if they are 100% original work. Even if someone makes a frame-by-frame masterpiece, if it consists of Sonic and Mario then it will lose serious marks on originality.

I don't see why people don't like sprite movies.
Using copyrighted characters doesn't necessarily mean unoriginal.

But seeing as to how this is a contest, I have to agree, that only original sprites should be allowed. But then again, if a (example) megaman sprite movie isn't allowed, should a megaman FBF be allowed? Personally, I would say no. I would rather see contest entries with completely original work and new characters, than entries with characters that I've already seen.

[Mexifry]

At 1/27/10 03:20 PM, Version2 wrote: I don't see why people don't like sprite movies.

Alvin-Earthworm is a terrible excuse for an artist and should not even be considered worthy of any merit.

Using copyrighted characters doesn't necessarily mean unoriginal.

Uh.. yeah it does! Because the author is too lazy to not only think of their own ideas and characters, they wont even take the times to draw it.

But seeing as to how this is a contest, I have to agree, that only original sprites should be allowed. But then again, if a (example) megaman sprite movie isn't allowed, should a megaman FBF be allowed? Personally, I would say no. I would rather see contest entries with completely original work and new characters, than entries with characters that I've already seen.

An original "sprite" is essentially making your own graphic in flash, so its really just fbf animation drawn in a pixelated game-like style, which isn't what most people refer to as sprite animation.

I think all work should be created by the author or on the public domain unless that author gets specific permission from the people to use their work.

[Version2]

At 1/27/10 03:42 PM, Mexifry wrote: Alvin-Earthworm is a terrible excuse for an artist and should not even be considered worthy of any merit.

Umm... you realize I can see your submissions right? You certainly aren't Peter Jackson. Hell, you aren't even a Rocky Morton.

Uh.. yeah it does! Because the author is too lazy to not only think of their own ideas and characters, they wont even take the times to draw it.

Sorry, you're completely right. There is no way that you can use a copy righted character in your own work and have it come out original.

An original "sprite" is essentially making your own graphic in flash, so its really just fbf animation drawn in a pixelated game-like style, which isn't what most people refer to as sprite animation.

What is this? Semantics? When was the last time you heard someone say "that not a sprite animation, that's a Frame by frame in a pixelated video game-like style animation"?

If it looks like it was made using 8bit sprites, original characters or not, it's a sprite animation, and I have never heard "most people" refer to it any other way, which is why we're talking about this in the first place.

I think all work should be created by the author or on the public domain unless that author gets specific permission from the people to use their work.

This was the point I was making in my original post. But not the public domain thing. Did you know that Popeye is in the public domain? I wouldn't want anyone making a Popeye submission just as much as I wouldn't want anyone submitting a Megaman animation. Just original characters.

[Cordyceps]

Alright, kiddies. Quit your bickering.

If I decide to hold this contest, I will decide the rules, and will take copyright and such into consideration, as will anybody else if they decide to hold such a contest.

[Mexifry]

Forget Bickering, Version2 apparently also lives in Washington according to his profile.
We can all out brawl it. ;)

[horsenwelles]

mexifry, you sly fox :3

heres the deal

sprites and pixelated animations are completely different.

there is NO such thing as an original sprite movie because the term "sprite" infers a downloaded character, item, or background that was expressed as usable, playable, or appears in a video game.

the usage of the already created characters doing things out of their domain is not original. there was no thought process in the development in the characters, and they have implied backgrounds and personalities.

as for allowing them,

sprite movies, though unoriginal, may show genuine effort, and the author may not be a very aspiring manual artist. i suggest they should be submitted, but critically judged for their overall quality and not respect for an overused nostalgic video game joke.

thats about it

and i might get in on this contest ;)

[Zyphonee]

Mexifry, I hate to say this, but Alvin Earthworm is actually a somewhat good artist who is just extremely fucking lazy or something, so he just makes sprite movies instead of using his skills for something better.

[Doomsday-One]

At 1/28/10 03:44 PM, dante224 wrote: there is NO such thing as an original sprite movie because the term "sprite" infers a downloaded character, item, or background that was expressed as usable, playable, or appears in a video game.

The term is defined by popular definition. If you were to set up this competition and stated "no sprites allowed", that would be at the least ambiguous.
And while we're being technical, a sprite in Flash terms is an object with less variables and functions compared to a movie clip object. They also don't have a timeline, so are static.
Wikipedia defines it as "a two-dimensional/three-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene". Actually, Wikipedia defines it as any of these things.
Of course, now I'm just being silly, but my point is that you can't just assume your definition is the same that everyone goes by.

sprite movies, though unoriginal, may show genuine effort, and the author may not be a very aspiring manual artist. i suggest they should be submitted, but critically judged for their overall quality and not respect for an overused nostalgic video game joke.

I agree with this.
Especially since they would still have to create something for the second round, which would be more difficult to do with computer game sprites.

However, the first round seems a bit pointless to me. You want to assess an animator's worth by making them submit something to the competition's first round, just to decide whether they are worthy enough or not to try and submit something to the second round?
Why not just look at their past submissions? Or, better yet, get rid of the first round in its entirety. It's only more judging to do, just so you can say "these people made it to the second round because they are good animators!".
Just because the original competition does it, doesn't mean we need it here.

Of course, the second round is a different matter. However, part of the fun about themed competitions (eg. Christmas) is the festivity of the whole thing! Even things like Madness Day and Clock Day have this sense of celebration about them! Animating around an arbitrary concept for a competition (collabs are different matters) seems a touch pointless to me.
To mean no offence, I ultimately think that the prize money would be better spent increasing the prize pool at the end of the month, so that the winners win more or, better yet, more runner-ups get prizes!

Well, that's my tuppence.

[Mexifry]

At 1/28/10 04:53 PM, Zyphonee wrote: Mexifry, I hate to say this, but Alvin Earthworm is actually a somewhat good artist who is just extremely fucking lazy or something, so he just makes sprite movies instead of using his skills for something better.

If animals getting fucked is an art form, then boy idk where I've been for the past 16 years of my life.

[Zyphonee]

I NEVER SAID IT WASN'T A DISGUSTING ANIMAL FETISH.

I POST IN CAPS, VIVA LA REVOLUCION

jk

[horsenwelles]

At 1/28/10 05:03 PM, Mexifry wrote:

At 1/28/10 04:53 PM, Zyphonee wrote: Mexifry, I hate to say this, but Alvin Earthworm is actually a somewhat good artist who is just extremely fucking lazy or something, so he just makes sprite movies instead of using his skills for something better.

If animals getting fucked is an art form, then boy idk where I've been for the past 16 years of my life.

mexifffff

i salute that post.

sadly they currently think that this is a top seller on art.com