Paired Concept Art & Short-Story Contest - WarCraft IV: Atlas of Destruction

[Kyrbi0]

I still don't have anyone to pair up with so...Bloop-de-doop..

Have you tried/checked the handy-dandy Matchmaking Thread? : )

 

[Deleted member 212788]

Guys, question. how much can I bend the rules before I get disqualified? I mean, I know adult themes are prohibited but if they are only implied can that pass or will it end up in me getting kicked out?

 

[Pharaoh_]

You are writing a story for a fantasy hero, why do you have to turn it into adult imagery? No, you have my word that you'll be disqualified for that.

 

[Deolrin]

If the sexual themes are only mild, why would it be disallowed? :O

 

[Zzonehardy]

While I can understand a love interest for your hero, what are we considering "mild" like... I don't think someone could get disqualified for saying, "And he laid the night with her, as they were to be wed in the morning."

However, anything more descriptive I could see crossing a boundary, hopefully your hero doesn't revolve around his sex life, if so, you may want to rethink his origin story xD

 

[Deleted member 212788]

I'm not saying I want to turn it into something central, I was merely thinking of using it as a way to force character development and change the hero faster than he/she would normally. I could obviously just omit it, it just seemed like a nice way to say "Protagonist changes the way they look at the world around them because of X" instead of "Magical character development". Also, I write in an overall dark, gritty style. Safe to say love stories are not getting anywhere near my work unless they make sense. But please, don't take what I said the wrong way, I am not by any means trying to turn the story into a fan-sevicy fan fiction. I'm just thinking of a way to give a pampered young protagonist a wake up call and implied abuse was the first thing that came to mind. If that's an issue, I'll rework it, no need to get worked up over it. Please excuse me if I've offended anyone.

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

So, I'm looking up for an artist

However, if I don't find a suitable one (and by suitable I mean the one who has as much creativity as I do) then you can count on me Phar as a judge.
I'm really lazy to link my old judgement of SSCs right now but I will if you need a base as my qualification for the task

 

[Celaquil]

The story cannot exceed 12,000 words and cannot be shorter than 3,500.

That's a pretty long short-story >.>

I never really liked the concept of having a minimum requirement. I get the maximum,
but if someone can write something extremely amazing without using so many as 3.500
words, then I think that should suffice, obviously there could be a minimum of some
odd 1000 or something to avoid bullshit, but 3.500? I don't approve.

Anyway, looking for concept artist.

Here's my credentials: http://blackrosesandpoetryofdeath.wordpress.com/

Also, how are you going to fund the t-shirt
thingie?

 

[GunSlinger]

Will you give a shirt to all the team members or will you only send 1 shirt?

 

[Kyrbi0]

That's a pretty long short-story >.>

I never really liked the concept of having a minimum requirement. I get the maximum,
but if someone can write something extremely amazing without using so many as 3.500
words, then I think that should suffice, obviously there could be a minimum of some
odd 1000 or something to avoid bullshit, but 3.500? I don't approve.

Anyway, looking for concept artist.

Here's my credentials: http://blackrosesandpoetryofdeath.wordpress.com/

Oh man, stuff just got REAL. It's Keiji. : )

Also, I didn't know much about writing or story-length to say anything, but hearing you raise issue with it gives me confidence in agreeing. Pharaoh, any thoughts?

 

[Deleted member 212788]

That's a pretty long short-story >.>

I never really liked the concept of having a minimum requirement. I get the maximum,
but if someone can write something extremely amazing without using so many as 3.500
words, then I think that should suffice, obviously there could be a minimum of some
odd 1000 or something to avoid bullshit, but 3.500? I don't approve.

Anyway, looking for concept artist.

Here's my credentials: http://blackrosesandpoetryofdeath.wordpress.com/

Also, how are you going to fund the t-shirt
thingie?

Things just got a whole lot more interesting.

 

[Wolffman]

The Gunmen are prepared and ready to go...

 

[Amargaard]

Hmmm this thing is.. new and interesting for a Hive contest. You have my attention C:

 

[Celaquil]

Things just got a whole lot more interesting.

Oh man, stuff just got REAL. It's Keiji. : )

Ha, I'm flattered guys.

Suffice to say though, the feeling is mutual. It's the likes of such fine gentlemen as
yourselves that makes me want to be part of this contest

-

Can't seem to find it, but I'm certain I saw a question about vulgarity, and while I agree
that explicit sex-scenes isn't necessary for such a contest as this, I am curious as to where
the lines are drawn in... Other regards. Such as swearing and violence. Basically, what
kind of "rating" are we supposed to follow?

Personally, I find maturity restrictions kind of uninspiring, they limit ones creative
freedom and kind of strangles the character development somewhat, although I do
get it if we're going to be a bit on the... Nice side of things. I'm only curious as to
how far I can push it, I'd like a detailed reply with as much information regarding
what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

Also, if it's not abundantly clear from the other thread, I'll mention it here too:

Me and Daenar7 is teaming up for this one, so beware wretches!
- Bring them quills and brushes, this will get inky!

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

If I may take the liberty to answer that?

I've judged quite a lot contests, and during the process, exchanged countless messages with other judges and current Arena mods. There was always the strict rule of "No mature content allowed", but, it is possible to find a hole in the rule and sink your idea through it.

The contest (not only this one, but all in particular) actually do allow mature content - as long as there is a fine line which evades vulgarity and offensive content.
If the rule was that strict, than half of the models with female characters with half of their cleavage bigger than their whole heads would be considered rude

And where the line is - you have to find it yourself. Every person has it's own tolerance lines where the charm or darkness gets lost, and where the story becomes over-charming or too dark. Thought this is perhaps a bit challenging to achieve, as I mentioned before, a slight dose could do more good than destruction.

 

[Deleted member 212788]

Ha, I'm flattered guys.

Suffice to say, though, the feeling is mutual. It's the likes of such fine gentlemen as
yourselves that makes me want to be part of this contest

-

Can't seem to find it, but I'm certain I saw a question about vulgarity, and while I agree
that explicit sex-scenes isn't necessary for such a contest as this, I am curious as to where
the lines are drawn in... Other regards. Such as swearing and violence. Basically, what
kind of "rating" are we supposed to follow?

Personally, I find maturity restrictions kind of uninspiring, they limit ones creative
freedom and kind of strangles the character development somewhat, although I do
get it if we're going to be a bit on the... Nice side of things. I'm only curious as to
how far I can push it, I'd like a detailed reply with as much information regarding
what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

Also, if it's not abundantly clear from the other thread, I'll mention it here too:

Me and Daenar7 is teaming up for this one, so beware wretches!
- Bring them quills and brushes, this will get inky!

Yeah, it was probably my comment, which got interpreted in a very wrong way, which is mostly my fault, I should have explained. Anyway, I was trying to ask the very same question you did, what is acceptable and what not but instead I ended up looking like I wanted to write something totally inappropriate. Anyhow, thanks for asking the question Keiji-san.

 

[Celaquil]

And where the line is - you have to find it yourself. Every person has it's own tolerance lines where the charm or darkness gets lost, and where the story becomes over-charming or too dark. Thought this is perhaps a bit challenging to achieve, as I mentioned before, a slight dose could do more good than destruction.

Somewhat of a proper response, yet, still.

My issue is this, 3500 words is a rather long and time-consuming text to be writing,
especially when you're me, and I would hate to pour my soul and heart into such an
undertaking only to be told afterwards "this is too vulgar, DISQUALIFIED" - See?
So, I'm rather going to be OVER inquisitive about this. So, you gave me a pretty
good idea about sexually fixated themes and where the line goes there, but you
said pretty much nothing concerning gore and cursing.

Is cursing at all allowed? And what gore concerns, for being a game that includes
monsters with their guts visibly dangling outside their bodies from a big hole in the
stomach, I imagine violence isn't so very... Strict? >.>

 

[Pharaoh_]

I'll go with ESRB rating scale, just to make it somehow clearer:

TEEN
Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.

This rating is based on World of Warcraft and WarCraft III (I'm using these as references, because the contest supposedly involves the continuation of WarCraft III).

A nice story doesn't have to have exaggerated use of vulgar language and gore.

Is cursing at all allowed? And what gore concerns, for being a game that includes
monsters with their guts visibly dangling outside their bodies from a big hole in the
stomach, I imagine violence isn't so very... Strict? >.>

No, that's a good example of legitimate use of gore.

As for the cursing, it encompasses site's rules as well. My problem is not whether you go over the line with the cursing, but whether such a hero's tale should have such elements incorporated. Saying "FU" along the dialogues undermines the whole feeling - you just modernize it a lot. You can alternatively use made up language for the curses and in a parenthesis describe their meaning, e.g. "Loei nouah" - THAT'S creative, not some replication of everyday life curses.

Minimum requirement of words changed to 2,000.

 

[Celaquil]

Now, there's a detailed and proper guideline.
I'll keep it all in mind while racing my quill.

2000 is doable, good to know that my logic
isn't completely invisible

 

[Kyrbi0]

Now, there's a detailed and proper guideline.
I'll keep it all in mind while racing my quill.

2000 is doable, good to know that my logic
isn't completely invisible

Hail Keiji! Champion of truth & justice & quills everywhere. : )

I'll go with ESRB rating scale, just to make it somehow clearer:
~
Minimum requirement of words changed to 2,000.

Thanks for taking our thoughts into consideration, Pharaoh. : )

 

[Celaquil]

Hail Keiji! Champion of truth & justice & quills everywhere. : )

Awwwwh, you're making my Hulk blush!

Nobody'll mind me changing avatar for the duration of this contest?
- Also, forth comes a tiny little snipped of a teaser.

Teaser

Blood, tears and feathers. That’s all she saw. Here she lay on her own feathered bed, disgraced and imprisoned, soaked in sweat and filled with rage. The cage rattled.
“You living, wretch?” Came a grunt. She screeched, rose and strook toward the orc, consumed by hatred, her talons tasted only wood. The orc laughed. Don’t show them weakness, don’t show them you’re hurt. She kept telling herself. The orc unsheathed his axe and strook the cage, grabbing for her neck, she’s too damaged to resist. “Soon we’ll rip that feathered coat straight from your bare skin, witch. And then we’ll roast that frail body of yours and have a glorious feast!” He snarled. Letting go and letting her resume her incessant shrieking.

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

You can always make polite characters that swear like "Sweet potions of mana" or "For the sake of Ashenvale trees", or avoid swearing by adding superb polite words in common swear phrases in a way that everyone can tell what you mean, such as in "You little sack of garbage" or "Why don't you go stab yourself".

Though I prefer to use emotions and:
"I will never marry that... that... monstrosity!" - she shouted angrily, her eyes wide open and frozen still"
types of speech rather than
"You want me to marry that little dwarven shit?! - she said"

Swearing can help, but there are more beautiful and effective ways to show off the emotions

On a side note, sexuality doesn't need to be in a form of pure sexual scenes, if you feel that it's what you need to tell your story. It can be, well, mature-less but still quite mature. Sexual feeling, if we're talking about dark, can be achieved by losing focus on every details and centering stories on sharp fragments of it, while still retaining the original idea, such as in this example:

"The death cold hands locking hers on the silk
The feeling of freedom. The evergreen pastures of the Shellani forests. The song of the birds.
The warm alcoholic breath on her chest
The smell of bread waking you up in the morning. The smiles on her father's face when she does something before he asks her to. The wings she could feel when alone.
The sharp intervals of new pain and feeling of numbness she prayed for
The freedom. The skies. The death.

(Though I can thank a lot to contrast I've used to whip readers back and forth, I hope you got what I was trying to tell you)

 

[Deleted member 212788]

You could also make up your own swares which need not be comprised of actual words but still be understood as a form of cursing while also being milder. I've seen some authors do it though it really depends on the words you make up and how you use them since some of what I've seen has just felt out of place whereas others fit the scene perfectly.

As for me, cursing is something I'll be taking most of my swears from here (now that I think about it, I've already revelead what my story's going to be about ^^). If anyone feels like it, they can check if the words in there are all acceptable. Personally, I haven't come across anythign too vulgar but I haven't searched everything so yeah.

 

[Celaquil]

Swearing can help, but there are more beautiful and effective ways to show off the emotions

While I mostly agree, I do beg to differ in some ways. Relying on age/environment
proper terms (cursing) goes to add realism. In order to make a rough character believable
you'd need a rough language to rely on, preference aside.

Anyway, thanks for the detailed response, although Pharaoh's reply was more than
sufficient. I don't think there'll be any more doubts on the notion of what's acceptable
and what's not ^^

 

[Apheraz Lucent]

Just wanted to clarify and sum everything up. You're most welcome

 

[Kyrbi0]

Meh, cursing's not really my thing (IRL or in print), but I recognize it's validity, so I prefer the don_svetlio-/Brandon Sanderson-/Robert Jordan-school of thought, where a created world has it's own 'created cursing', if you will, indicative of the world's nature or whatever. "Light burn you" for Wheel of Time (among dozens of others, lawl), "Storming" for Way of Kings, "Rust & Ruin" for Mistborn (AoL)... Etc.

 

[morbent]

A few questions: The character is for the Warcraft Universe, not World of Bullshit one right? So Horde and Alliance do not exist, gnomes and pandarens are very rare, etc. etc. Also, if this is a character for Warcraft IV does that mean it's right after Warcraft III or "10 years later" like in WoW?

 

[Pharaoh_]

A few questions: The character is for the Warcraft Universe, not World of Bullshit one right? So Horde and Alliance do not exist, gnomes and pandarens are very rare, etc. etc. Also, if this is a character for Warcraft IV does that mean it's right after Warcraft III or "10 years later" like in WoW?

It's for WarCraft universe, yes. The events should take place after WarCraft III, but you have no timeline constraints. It can be a day later, a decade later or a thousand years later (something that Metzen really likes to use - so do I :3).

 

[morbent]

Oh that's cool. No WoW sounds good ^^

 

[Deleted member 212788]

It's for WarCraft universe, yes. The events should take place after WarCraft III, but you have no timeline constraints. It can be a day later, a decade later or a thousand years later (something that Metzen really likes to use - so do I :3).

Chriz Metzen wrote most of the stories up to and Warcraft 3 right? I'm not sure if he worked on WoW but I'm sure he doesn't have direct control over stories at the moment.

 

[Hemske]

It's for WarCraft universe, yes. The events should take place after WarCraft III, but you have no timeline constraints. It can be a day later, a decade later or a thousand years later (something that Metzen really likes to use - so do I :3).

But so you are allowed to "invent" your own lore as well? Say 500 years later a pandaren civilization has been developed and is now one of the main races, and the hero is on of them. Or do you have to work with the current Wc3 lore, but just expand on it? As in; no new playable races, new races/breeds of villains etc.

 

[Pharaoh_]

But so you are allowed to "invent" your own lore as well? Say 500 years later a pandaren civilization has been developed and is now one of the main races, and the hero is on of them. Or do you have to work with the current Wc3 lore, but just expand on it? As in; no new playable races, new races/breeds of villains etc.

No, you can introduce anything you want, it just should be something that makes sense in the WarCraft universe, not metal-geared arachnids. ;p

 

[Hemske]

No, you can introduce anything you want, it just should be something that makes sense in the WarCraft universe, not metal-geared arachnids. ;p

Ahh alright. Too bad.

*trashes idea of naga-goblin hybrid cyborgs.*


In all seriousness though, thanks for the clarification.

 

[Kyrbi0]

... not metal-geared arachnids. ;p

Aw dangit!

*deletes 750-word introduction about Magnarachnos, King of Arthropods*

 

[Wolffman]

I have a question and I know it may seem stupid, but what softwares are we allowed to use for drawing Concept Art? For the past few weeks I've been doing it on pen & paper, but I want to know if it's possible to use things like Paint or Paint.NET or maybe the AutoDesk app of Android to draw free hand art.

Just a question though, no need for anyone to rage over anything..

 

[Kyrbi0]

I have a question and I know it may seem stupid, but what softwares are we allowed to use for drawing Concept Art? For the past few weeks I've been doing it on pen & paper, but I want to know if it's possible to use things like Paint or Paint.NET or maybe the AutoDesk app of Android to draw free hand art.

Not only is there no Rule (I can find) about what medium the artist uses, but such a Rule would not be well-received by the Artists in this sort of Contest; everyone will be using whatever medium they prefer, as long as they end up with a digital (.jpg, etc) picture that fits the criteria.

See, this Contest isn't an "Artist's Contest", testing the skillz of a given artist (in which case, defining or restricting to a certain medium would be an apt parameter); this is a "Joint" Contest, generally testing 'Design' and specifically testing "general artistic" and "general story-writing" abilities, respectively.

At least, that's how I see it. I could be wrong. Often am.

 

[Celaquil]

I don't imagine there should be any restrictions, hell, go make me some stained glass art, please!

 

[Kyrbi0]

I don't imagine there should be any restrictions, hell, go make me some stained glass art, please!

That person would win by sheer force of will. That's cathedral-tier artwork, right there.

 

[Deleted member 212788]

That person would win by sheer force of will. That's cathedral-tier artwork, right there.

I believe now's the time to mention that drawing on glass is something my partner is studying

 

[Pvt.Toma]

Is a render allowed then? (A 3D render of the concept using software such as Blender, because sculpting and what not.)

 

[Pvt.Toma]

Well, since I think nobody noticed, I'll just ask again - Is a render allowed? A render from something like Blender in the form of sculp or a model, but basically 3D render.

 

[Kyrbi0]

Not only is there no Rule (I can find) about what medium the artist uses, but such a Rule would not be well-received by the Artists in this sort of Contest; everyone will be using whatever medium they prefer, as long as they end up with a digital (.jpg, etc) picture that fits the criteria.

See, this Contest isn't an "Artist's Contest", testing the skillz of a given artist (in which case, defining or restricting to a certain medium would be an apt parameter); this is a "Joint" Contest, generally testing 'Design' and specifically testing "general artistic" and "general story-writing" abilities, respectively.

At least, that's how I see it. I could be wrong. Often am.

....

 

[Pvt.Toma]

....

Indeed I did read that, but still when rendering, the computer does stuffs for me that I'd otherwise need to paint and what not, so it's hard to say what the judges would say about 3D rendering. And like, it pretty much does all the shadow and lightning stuffs for me just by using a light source so some contestants might say it's 'unfair' so to speak, thus would be nice if someone could answer this question.

 

[Razosh]

How I wish I could do a good painting sadly my writing only gets me half the way, I would have loved to part take.

 

[Pharaoh_]

Indeed I did read that, but still when rendering, the computer does stuffs for me that I'd otherwise need to paint and what not, so it's hard to say what the judges would say about 3D rendering. And like, it pretty much does all the shadow and lightning stuffs for me just by using a light source so some contestants might say it's 'unfair' so to speak, thus would be nice if someone could answer this question.

I'm inclined to say yes. Sculpting and texturing are forms of art as well. There are a lot of gaming companies who rely on sculpting to get their concepts running (some of them use them as the base mesh for the actual game models).

 

[Celaquil]

I am just now realizing how little time I will have to attend this contest.
In between studying for my exams, judging the current TC and working
on the next Terraining Mini-Contest I've got very little time to spare for
writing.

I move that this contest be extended, preferably a month but I can bargain
with weeks. For my part: I won't make it if we don't.

 

[Molaf]

is it on ?

I'm traveling but well, if someone needs an illustrator...
==> http://machin.comxa.com/

Can we still subscribe or is it too late ?

 

[GunSlinger]

^You can still join as long as you have posted a WIP and the final entry of your submission.

 

[Molaf]

Well, would love to, where do I sign?

 

[Kyrbi0]

^You just have.

Or just check the header; there's a "team matchmaking" thread I'm running concurrently to help people get connected.

But there's no official "sign-on"; just start producing & WIPing.