Robot Master Rally - New Creative Contest!

[Threxx]

Join the Discord server:  [SERVER DUE FOR DELETION AUGUST 4, 2017]
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: https://goo.gl/qu58hJ

Welcome to the Robot Master Rally! This contest will be hosted over the course of a month, from June 23rd, 2017 to July 21st, 2017. This contest is meant to showcase and celebrate the incredible artistic talent in the Mega Man community, and will focus on art and music, not level design.

Inspired by the successful Make A Good Mega Man Level contest series, this contest hopes to continue the idea of friendly competition, in a hopefully more organized and structured manner.

Let’s jump straight into the rules! Before you, the potential entrant, are concepts for 6 robot masters. 2 of the concepts have been fleshed out and given music done by ourselves in the contest staff, but the other 4 are up to you, the community, to design and compose for. The unfinished concepts have a detailed text description of the robot master’s theme and functionality, as well as a stage tileset. These references are meant to assist you all in your designing and composing escapades.
 
You, potential entrant, can submit up to 3 times, but only twice in a single category. For example, you could submit 2 designs and a song, or 2 songs and a design, but not 3 songs, or 3 designs. You also cannot submit two separate entries for the same concept. This is to prevent any one entrant from becoming too dominant in the contest.
 
Collaboration is also allowed! A collaborative entry counts for all of the collaborators, so if you submit a song with another person, both of you can only submit two more entries, and only one more song each.

Your entries will be judged upon the following characteristics, out of 50 points. All entries will be judged anonymously, so don’t worry about that old beef you have with one of the judges! Entries will be given a number score in each category, as well as a comment in each category where the judge will offer insight into their score.
 
ART:
When submitting an art entry, please provide the judges with a sprite of your design in the 8-bit Mega Man style, or a reasonably detailed colored sketch of your design. Sprites do not need to strictly follow NES color limitations, though they must use the provided NES palette (palette will be provided once the contest starts. Off palette entries will be disqualified!) Sketches, likewise, do not need to follow the official “Inafune” art style, but they must be reasonably detailed and depict the details of the robot master properly. Stick figures won’t get you very far!
 
Style (25/50): How well does your entry honor the aesthetics and style of the Mega Man franchise? Do they look like they could stand with the iconic cast of the original Mega Man, or do they make uncomfortable forays into the world of mecha anime?
 
Quality (15/50): The simplest category - how good is your artwork? Does it look like something professional, or perhaps something a bit more deviant?
 
Originality (5/50): How unique and thoughtful is your design? Is it a fresh take on the concept presented, or is it closer to another Metal Man recolor?
 
Functionality (5/50): Is your design functional? Is it capable of doing everything we require of it in our description, or do their capabilities fall short of the hype, like an Apple product?
 
MUSIC:
When submitting a music entry, please provide the judges with an .MP3 file at 320 kpbs bitrate. This ensures that the audio quality is consistent for all entries. While having your entry be hardware-accurate to NES capabilities is, as with the art section, not a requirement, it is highly recommended! If your entry loops (which it should!), then please provide at least 2 loops to listen to in your render. If you would like to include additional files with your submission (such as a source file for FamiTracker, or an NSF) then you may, but these will not be judged.
 
Style (25/50): How well does your entry honor the aesthetics and style of the Mega Man franchise? Does it sound like it’s ripped from the iconic soundtrack of Mega Man 2, or does it sound more along the lines of something from Action 52?
 
Originality (10/50): How unique and thoughtful is your composition? Is it a fresh take on the musical style of Mega Man, or just a reharmonization of Mega Man 2’s first Wily Stage theme?
 
Composition (15/50): How sound is the composition itself, and how pleasing is it to the ear? Are you a Mozart, or a Corey Feldman?
 
Of course, there are some rules and regulations.

- Theft and plagiarism will NOT be tolerated. While the rest of this post has and will be fun and humorous, this is one thing we will take quite seriously here and now. Under no circumstances will entries that copy or steal from another person’s work be tolerated. If it is proven that an entry has been plagiarized in some way, it will result in IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION for the entrant in question, with NO EXCEPTIONS. To repeat, there will be no tolerance for theft or plagiarism. Create your own work, or do not submit at all.
- All entries should be created for this contest. Please do not submit something that has already been uploaded and showcased publicly - this will damage the anonymous nature of the judging.

- In addition to that, please do not share entries outside of the dedicated channel on the Robot Master Rally Discord server (#entry-showcase). This will further prevent damaging the anonymous nature of the judging.
- Entries that are publicly showcased will be disqualified. Leaking or exposing someone else’s entry will result in disqualification for the leaker.

- Late entries will not be tolerated. Entries submitted after the July 21st deadline will not be considered.

- The contest may be extended in part if a specific category does not receive enough entries. For example, if the “fire” concept does not receive enough entries in the music category, the contest will be extended for this category alone for another 2 weeks. The entry restrictions will also be lifted.

Judging will occur between July 24th, 2017 and August 4th, 2017. On August 5th, 2017, the results will be showcased in a livestream. In the case of a tie, the contest organiser (myself) will break the tie, and he will submit his own comments.

Please leave your questions and comments in the thread! More information is to come on the 23rd once the contest opens, such as the specific themes of the Robot Masters you all will be designing. Hope to see everyone entering!

[Threxx]

I'd like to announce the judging panel for the Robot Master Rally! Below linked are the judges' Sprite's INC profiles, as well as places where you can view their work in their respective fields. All judges have been selected due to their authority in their fields and their strength in critique.

GLOBAL JUDGE: GoldenShades
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCukqcddqjjRxhJaFnyo6xQ
Instagram (for art): https://www.instagram.com/sebastiantusia/

ART JUDGE: Alex Korn
Sprite's INC profile: http://sprites-inc.co.uk/member.php?action=profile&uid=2580
DeviantArt: http://tehtacoman12321.deviantart.com/

ART JUDGE: Karakato
Sprite's INC profile: http://sprites-inc.co.uk/member.php?action=profile&uid=1186
DeviantArt: http://karakatodzo.deviantart.com/

ART JUDGE: Valo
Sprite's INC profile: http://sprites-inc.co.uk/member.php?action=profile&uid=9
DeviantArt: http://neoman95.deviantart.com/

MUSIC JUDGE: CosmicGem
Sprite's INC profile: http://sprites-inc.co.uk/member.php?action=profile&uid=1703
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRimElPGccPl_gJk7L7avXQ

MUSIC JUDGE: iYamWhatIYam
Sprite's INC profile: http://sprites-inc.co.uk/member.php?action=profile&uid=1699
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyEY0Fcse9D0YaEMjtxhSMA

These judges are also familiar with the contest and its guidelines, so you can also contact them if you have any questions about the contest or their judging! Thanks.

(EDIT: Added Karakato as the 3rd dedicated art judge! Since we're expecting more entries in this category, I thought it'd be fair to broaden the judging panel on that side.)

[JuliusCesors]

i have three questions

Firstly is the specific robot master gonna be by element or series
Secondly is an animeuos look acceptable for an entry
Thirdly is gender swapping the robot master or whatever allowed

[JuliusCesors]

Almost forgot
Is a background needed for the art or is it a choice

[Threxx]

i have three questions

Firstly is the specific robot master gonna be by element or series
Secondly is an animeuos look acceptable for an entry
Thirdly is gender swapping the robot master or whatever allowed

1. You are being given concepts, not finished ideas. You will be given a theme, which will likely be elemental, and you have to flesh out an idea based on the theme and the key design element presented.

2. I'm not sure what "animeous" means, but your sketches will not be judged on being in-style. They simply serve to represent the details of your robot master in an alternative way than in the sprite (which SHOULD be in-style).

Since the rules about the art category have been amended, I should note that sketches are now legitimate ENTRIES, and will be judged on quality. They will still however, not be judged on whether or not they are accurate to "Inafune" style.

3. The robot master can be whatever gender you like. As I said, you are fleshing out a concept, so that's part of the process for you, the entrant.

Almost forgot
Is a background needed for the art or is it a choice

You will be provided with a tileset as reference for your work, so no. Please read the rules, as this is stated there.

[Threxx]

A small change to the rules for art entries has been made!

You now need only submit a sprite OR a colored sketch of your design! This should make the contest a bit more accessible to everyone. See the updated original post for more information about the changes!

[JuliusCesors]

What would happen if the robot master is two different types
E.g Drillman who is an explosive type and a ground type

[Threxx]

What would happen if the robot master is two different types
E.g Drillman who is an explosive type and a ground type

Some of the concepts you will have to design for have multiple themes - this means your design will have to account for all of the themes, or it will be disqualified.

More information about the designs will be revealed on the contest start date. Be patient, we want everyone to get the info at the same time so things are fair in terms of time.

[JuliusCesors]

I know to be patient but I excited mainly because ive never had anyone judge my artwork so I never got told if i was alright or not

[Threxx]

https://goo.gl/qu58hJ

I have created a list of Frequently Asked Questions. I will add this information to the OP, and I will keep this document periodically updated. Please verify if your question is answered here before asking - I will not repeat answers to questions answered here.

[JuliusCesors]

Its me again

Can you have secondary art pictures with your sketch
E.g putting the trucks enemies on with nitro man

[CosmicGem]

Its me again

Can you have secondary art pictures with your sketch
E.g putting the trucks enemies on with nitro man

You are technically allowed to, but why would you want to? It will not add ANY points to your submission, and if it obscures the design you could even potentially lose points. This is a design contest.

[Threxx]

Its me again

Can you have secondary art pictures with your sketch
E.g putting the trucks enemies on with nitro man

Unless you state otherwise, anything you submit can be used as part of the judging - put simply, do not submit anything you do not want being judged and contributing to your score.

[Threxx]

ROBOT MASTER RALLY - EXAMPLES

The judges and myself have created 2 example Robot Masters and 2 example songs to help those who may not be as familiar with the style get ideas for the themes below, that you all as entrants will be responsible for!

First, Propeller Man, an Air-type Robot Master. Designed to resemble the Prop-top enemy, he can propel himself using his torso pullstring.

ARTWORK (by Valo):

(click to show/hide)

MUSIC (by Golden-Shades):

(click to show/hide)

Second, Marine Man, a Water-type Robot Master. Designed to resemble old deep diving gear, he is intended to assist with research into deep-sea organisms.

ARTWORK (by Alex Korn):

(click to show/hide)

MUSIC (by Threxx):

(click to show/hide)

Some things to reiterate:

- If you make a sketch, your sketch does NOT have to be Inafune style! It should still demonstrate good artistic quality, but it is not required to emulate the official art style of the games.
- Your song does NOT need to be made in FamiTracker! While your music will be judged on how close to style it is, you can use any program you wish to achieve this sound.

Hopefully, these examples help you when you tackle the themes listed below!

ROBOT MASTER RALLY - THEMES

When submitting, select one of the following categories to submit to. Designs should hit the provide theme first and foremost, though adding any other themes you wish is fine. Designs that do not meet the theme and feature the key design element will be disqualified! Please do not mix themes across categories (i.e. if you submit to the “Fire” category, do not add ice elements to your design), this will result in a significant penalty or potential disqualification.

Without further ado, the 4 themes for the contest:

Theme: Fire & Explosive - This boss should have elements in its design which evoke both the ideas of fire and explosives, within the context of the Mega Man franchise.
KEY DESIGN ELEMENT: This boss should be designed with the ability to detonate an explosive remotely, on a timer.
Stage: Incendiary weapons factory
Stage mockup:

(click to show/hide)

Theme: Ice - This is the most vauge theme. The robot master should fit in an icy environment and evoke the Mega Man style.
KEY DESIGN ELEMENT: This boss should be able to fire projectiles that can freeze any object they come into contact with.
Stage: Refrigeration facility
Stage mockup:

(click to show/hide)

Theme: Electric - This boss should evoke ideas of electricity, and look appropriate to work in some kind of manufacturing facility.
KEY DESIGN ELEMENT: This boss should be designed with some kind of welding/soldering tool.
Stage: Circuit board factory
Stage mockup:

(click to show/hide)

Theme: Forest - This boss should fit well in a forest setting, while still maintaining the look and feel of a Mega Man robot master.
KEY DESIGN ELEMENT: This boss should be designed with the ability to manipulate the landscape of a forest. (NOTE: This does not necessarily mean deforesting alone!)
Stage: Dense forest
Stage mockup:

(click to show/hide)

EDIT: ALL SPRITE ENTRIES MUST USE THE FOLLOWING PALETTE:

With all of the above aside...
THE ROBOT MASTER RALLY IS NOW OPEN!

PLEASE READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES BEFORE SUBMITTING!
https://goo.gl/32YvWr

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES AT THE FOLLOWING GOOGLE FORMS:
ART: https://goo.gl/forms/dn8GsAs6e3OTaf582
MUSIC: https://goo.gl/forms/MrZqpi0VXAMYyfUl2

ALL entries will be due on JULY 21ST, 2017!  Late entries will NOT be considered. A step by step guide on how to submit and check your entry for compliance will be created and posted in the coming weeks.

HAVE FUN, AND HAPPY CREATING!

[Threxx]

The ELECTRIC theme has been updated to be less restrictive, after some comments. This is the first and last times themes will be updated, so don't worry if you've started any of the others!