The Iris Awards: Character Design Contest (Costume + Bio)

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

The Annual Iris Awards

Time & Date: 8pm, July 30th
Location: Millennium City Powerhouse Theatre
Prizes: 2 Limited Edition Iris Irregular Action Figures
Category: Best Male or Female Character Design, based on Costume AND Biography
Judge: Bloodbath@not1stepbackwards, a.k.a. tigerofcachtice
Host/Quizmaster of the Trivia: ?????

Hi, I'm the player behind Bloodbath and co-comics.webs.com, but on the Costume Contest circuit you may know me as Soviet Winter, a Very Lost Kobold, Clever Girl (who is neither Clever nor a Girl, but a Raptor), and many, many others.

Unlike traditional Costume Contests, here we shall look at your character's Biographies as well, to fully appreciate your overall Character Design. The prizes will be 2 Iris Irregular Action Figures from the Community Manager, Trailturtle.

Since such contests are rarely held with even rarer prizes (not found in loot drops or even the Zen store), thus in the spirit of good sportsmanship and fair game, I want to disclose more on the judging criteria.

Here's how I shall weigh the Character Design: 30% on the Costume, 30% on the Biography, 40% on how well both fit together. No "clones" from other media allowed, no pets, but powers, emotes, and devices are fine unless disruptive to others.

I've been reading and watching comics and animation from the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Japan, and China, so I neither favor nor disapprove of any style. More than anything, I'm looking forward to seeing your personal style.

Why is this called the Iris Awards?

Because we're giving away Iris dolls, what else would I call it?

How did you get these Iris dolls?

From the Dress-a-Dev contest, I received extras, so I'm giving them to you.

My character is a robot/alien/demon/sexless, so is that Male or Female?

As per the game's character creator, where you chose the Male or Female framework.

English is not my first language. Will that be a problem?

English is not my first language, either. I'm Chinese. It will not be a problem.

Do I need to write a long novel-length Biography to improve my chances of winning?

No. Short is good, too.

Who will be this mysterious Host slash Quizmaster of the Trivia? I'm scared!

Please see the below post! And yes...you should be scared.

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

An exciting update in addition to the above information!

Not only are we announcing the Quizmistress of the Trivia, but also some FAQs from you:

How about homages?

Homages are acceptable, as are historical and mythological figures, but not recommended.

I've never been in a CC before, is there anything I should know beforehand?

Observe 2 or more, if you have time. For more insight, please visit Flare's Guide.

I'm a Silver player/my character is low-level. Do I have a chance?

Don't worry. I'm a Silver player and I've won plenty of CCs. Ideas...ideas are bulletproof.

jonsills · July 2013

No clones. That's good. How about homages, like Spider-Bat or the Ferrous Gentleman?

nextnametaken · July 2013

I'm going as Iris Incontinence!
You can Depends on me!

blumoon8 · July 2013

Wow, that comic was well done. I'm kind of in shock honestly at how well done it was. :biggrin:

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

jonsills wrote: »

No clones. That's good. How about homages, like Spider-Bat or the Ferrous Gentleman?

Thanks for the question and raising this point, Jon.

How about homages?

Homages are acceptable, as are historical and mythological figures.

However, IMHO homages are inherently bound by the molds of what they're based on.

Competing against more original characters, those limitations MAY handicap homages.

That's not a holier-than-thou criticism. That's me admitting I've done it myself:

She's a parody (kinda an homage) of Batman with historical and mythological twists.

I struggled with her. She only came into her own after I based her more on my cat.

(Cats sleep all day, hunt at night, and see humans as a source of food...they're vampires).

Since I felt the limitations of homages myself, I just wanted to warn y'all, y'know?

Especially from the perspective of someone on the outside, who has to judge them.

---

So, TL;DR version:

Homages are acceptable, as are historical and mythological figures, but not recommended.

chaosdrgnz43 · July 2013

Interesting. I have quite a fun bio of my char. Let's see if it is good enough. xD

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

tigerofcachtice wrote: »

Thanks for the question and raising this point, Jon.

How about homages?

Homages are acceptable, as are historical and mythological figures, but not recommended.

I saw something today which refined my thinking on this.

I've been observing other Costume Contests without entering recently. The idea is, when I enter one myself, I'm too distracted with trying to win to properly look at what other people are doing. By staying out of it, I can stay objective.

There was an homage category today and I saw some great homages, but one took it to the next level. It took a Golden Age character concept, updated it with contemporary scientific theory, and just refined the costume greatly.

It had so many improvements over the original, it made the original look inferior.

However, the improvements also changed it so much, I'm not sure I'd consider it an homage anymore. It's like it just happened to share some similarities with a classic character, but was very much its own person.

In short, when an homage is so improved that it stops being just an homage, that's good.

jonsills · July 2013

Okay, an example of a couple of the homages I've created, just to make sure we're on the same frequency here:

First, let's take a look at the Ferrous Gentleman.

Fairly obviously inspired by a steampunk version of Iron Man, his backstory includes the idea that the suit was originally designed by computing pioneer Charles Babbage; Babbage was unable to bring it to fruition because, like his Analytical Engine, manufacturing techniques of the time were inadequate. His descendant James Babbage found the plans and a few prototypes, and has constructed his ancestor's design using modern materials.

Then there's Spider-Bat:

Billionaire Peter Wayne was hunting rare spiders in the Amazon when he was bitten by a rabid radioactive bat, and became a little confused...

They're not my only homages (another favorite is Captain Americlown, resulting from subcontracting the Super-Soldier Program to someone from Ringling Bros), but this should give you an idea of the sort of thing I mean when I say "homage".

chalupaoffury · July 2013

Hey, neat! I've seen you around at ccs, and I wish you luck!

I won't be participating, myself. I like the idea and I support what you're doing, but I actually refuse to do anything related to those artificially scarce iris dolls. I think Turtle's seriously in the wrong for pretending to be the face of our community, while at the same time hoarding his action figure so nobody can have it. He is the only dev to ever behave like that, and it *really* rubs me the wrong way.

You decide to give out some g, though...

epelesker · July 2013

(What does being a community manager-- which is what TT is-- or a developer have to do with the frequency of how many of his Action Figures have been given out to the players or his supposed right to be the "face of the community"?)

Tangent aside, I mentioned elsewhere but noting here that I'll try to make it to this.

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

Hi Jon, thanks for sharing your characters for illustration purposes.

And my points are not meant to disqualify people, you or others.

I'm just trying to suggest ways to help you put your best foot forward.

jonsills wrote: »

First, let's take a look at the Ferrous Gentleman.

Fairly obviously inspired by a steampunk version of Iron Man, his backstory includes the idea that the suit was originally designed by computing pioneer Charles Babbage; Babbage was unable to bring it to fruition because, like his Analytical Engine, manufacturing techniques of the time were inadequate. His descendant James Babbage found the plans and a few prototypes, and has constructed his ancestor's design using modern materials.

This is great. Cool costume, outstanding biography, an original concept after reading.

And for your specific question, is it an homage or a clone? It's an homage we'll welcome.

However, I think it would have even better if you just disassociated from Iron Man.

Instead of helping your design, the Iron Man reference actually holds it back a little.

Why do I say that? The armour might be even better with another colour scheme, plus it seems to be a closer fit with Iron Man of Marvel 1602 (called Lord Iron, he's an actual character) rather than your own excellent biography.

So in comparison to original characters by others, it might have a slight disadvantage.

When I suggested that the limitations of homages may handicap them, that's all I mean.

What would be better? A new character, same bio, without Iron Man holding you back.

jonsills wrote: »

Then there's Spider-Bat:

Billionaire Peter Wayne was hunting rare spiders in the Amazon when he was bitten by a rabid radioactive bat, and became a little confused...

Yeah...Jon, I think I kinda know how he feels, right?

I think it's fair to say while it's an homage, it's nowhere as good as your Babbage character.

I would suggest not entering something like this, as I'm sure you have something better.

Thanks again for sharing these examples, allowing me to better elaborate. Bottom line:

How about homages?

Homages are acceptable, as are historical and mythological figures, but not recommended.

jonsills · July 2013

Oh, no, the Ferrous Gentleman's official bio doesn't mention Iron Man at all - the costume was just inspired by someone's snarky comment regarding the idea of a steampunk Iron Man.

Spider-Bat, though, was the result of a discussion of the difference between homages and clones, during which I'd casually mentioned a Spider-Man/Batman mash-up - and someone dared me to make the character.

Captain Americlown is a definite homage, however, while the Arachnid is more of an "inspired by". I only posted these because some folks seem to think than an homage means copying the existing character as closely as possible, changing only the name. I wanted to make sure we were on the same page regarding the concept, because some of my best bios are of homage characters, and I'll have to select my toon for the contest carefully.

kemmicals · July 2013

I'll try my best to be there. I doubt who I'll show up as will be much of a surprise.

blumoon8 · July 2013

I need to get a toon together (or revised) for this. Just. Gah. It looks like a lot of fun!

aceretriever · July 2013

I think I'll join in! I've never been in a CC before, though. XD
Is there anything I should know before hand; unspoken rules, and such?

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

Thanks for your continued feedback.

We're going to have another announcement within the next 24 hours on the Host.

There is more than just 2 Irises as prizes, but I'll leave the details until the announcement.

jonsills wrote: »

Oh, no, the Ferrous Gentleman's official bio doesn't mention Iron Man at all - the costume was just inspired by someone's snarky comment regarding the idea of a steampunk Iron Man.

Yeah, that's what I reckoned. Btw, I thought your design was better than Iron Man 1602.

I also anticipated you were saving your best, like an ace up your sleeve, for the contest.

And I look forward to seeing that. I look forward to seeing everybody's.

aceretriever wrote: »

I think I'll join in! I've never been in a CC before, though. XD
Is there anything I should know before hand; unspoken rules, and such?

That's great, man. Thanks for your interest and your research in advance.

My suggestion? To state the boring, obvious answer...observe two or more.

You can do so by going to the Powerhouse Theatre (in the right wing) when they're held.

They're usually in the evenings, Server Time (U.S. West Coast), we'll be around.

It's even worth joining the Chat Channel "Contests-Central" just to hear upcoming ones.

Hope to see you there.

p0temk1n · July 2013

aceretriever wrote: »

I think I'll join in! I've never been in a CC before, though. XD
Is there anything I should know before hand; unspoken rules, and such?

Most of these get covered in Flare's guide to hosting and judging costume contests. Though it's written for hosting them, it does go into details on some of the "rules" when it comes to these events (especially when you get to post 4).

Other than that, what tigerofcachtice said is good advice.

chalupaoffury · July 2013

epelesker wrote: »

(What does being a community manager-- which is what TT is-- or a developer have to do with the frequency of how many of his Action Figures have been given out to the players or his supposed right to be the "face of the community"?)

Easy, our last one was Tumerboy and everyone had one of his. We got afs constantly for testing out content on pts, everyone got one every time they did a playtest. It's a tangent, but this is really a pet peeve for me. It's rare for no damn reason, and indicative of the decreased rewards the game seems to be handing out, and the content removal we've seen over the last few years. His action figure is a symbol of the entire lock box concept, and how it's handed out now compared to the old days smacks me way too much of taking our crafting costume pieces and putting em behind 2 grab bags.

Can't argue with a bio contest, and it's awesome that OP is doing this, but even if I do get an iris action figure? It's getting discarded. And that'll be the case until they hold a proper playtest again, with a proper reward which everyone can access.

But, that's enough of the derail.

aceretriever · July 2013

tigerofcachtice wrote: »

That's great, man. Thanks for your interest and your research in advance.

My suggestion? To state the boring, obvious answer...observe two or more.

You can do so by going to the Powerhouse Theatre (in the right wing) when they're held.

They're usually in the evenings, Server Time (U.S. West Coast), we'll be around.

It's even worth joining the Chat Channel "Contests-Central" just to hear upcoming ones.

Hope to see you there.

p0temk1n wrote: »

Most of these get covered in Flare's guide to hosting and judging costume contests. Though it's written for hosting them, it does go into details on some of the "rules" when it comes to these events (especially when you get to post 4).

Other than that, what tigerofcachtice said is good advice.

I see... I'll be sure to check them out. Thanks!

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

Hi guys, while answering your questions in-game and here, we've also been working.

The judging process will be time-consuming. A Host was needed to MC the event.

And as we are judging your best characters, it's only fair the very best Host will do.

So it is with honour we announce that Bunni B.O.T. agreed to this challenging role.

Bunni B.O.T. is an experienced CC Host, the leader of SODLAG, and an Iris winner herself.

We've updated the announcement posts on the 1st page with FAQs and this story time:

ma1star · July 2013

I am condering joined but im curious on how strickt the grammar rules are, my native language is not english and i think im fairly good at it none the less, but i don't doubt all my bio's have some errors here and there

How is this being handled for non-english speakers, will you unleashed the "hounds" on us or will we get some leniancy?

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

ma1star wrote: »

How is this being handled for non-english speakers, will you unleashed the "hounds" on us or will we get some leniancy?

Do not worry. I understand. There is leniency. I will not let slip the dogs of war.

I am not grading a paper like an English teacher. I am looking for ideas, passion.

Here is why you should trust me. I'm Chinese. English is not my 1st language, either.

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

As it's the weekend, when people have more time for CO, I'm giving this thread a friendly bump.

The event is this coming Tuesday, so this is a courtesy reminder, in case you need time to prepare.

To that end, this might be an opportune time to ask any questions you may have in advance.

I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

jerax1011 · July 2013

Bumping! Remember this is TONIGHT at 8ST Hope to see you there!

smoochan · July 2013

I'm bump. For theme.

trailturtle · July 2013

Facebook post scheduled for 6PM today.

monaahiru · July 2013

Trailturtle forgot giving my Iris AF so I'll join this and try to win!! :biggrin:
I've not got Iris Irregular (TrailTurtle) Action Figure on live yet.
(T.T)

Good CC!

And I lost... My Iris AF... orz...

tigerofcachtice · July 2013

We have just concluded the Iris Awards. It was as grueling for me as it was for you, and I must thank:

All Our Participants - way to step up, thanks for your hard work in making these and your patience.

Bunni B.O.T. - she gave up her own time and her own resources to be Quizmistress of the Trivia.

GenuineX - for judging alongside me, actually catching a mistake I made, to ensure the most fair result.

---

To those that are interested, here is some insight on the behind-the-scenes.

How were the Characters (Costumes + Bios) rated?

As described from the start, 30% Costume, 30% Bios, and 40% on how they fit together.

I brought my Surface just so I have a fast secondary PC with Excel so I can enter it into a spreadsheet.

To avoid directional bias, I also used a coin flip to determine which direction the judges should go first.

Did grammar, spelling, or formatting determine the winners?

No, because not everyone's first language was English. I'm Chinese. GenuineX is Filipino.

We're both fluent in English, but we also completely sympathize with those who aren't.

Creativity, passion, ideas...those determined the winners.

Did you have enough time to judge all the contestants, looking at Costumes AND Bios?

Yes, but only because I trained for it. For the last 2 weeks, you've seen me watching Costume Contests.

I wasn't just observing you. I was also observing myself, timing how long it took me to judge in a contest.

I was doing things like setting a hotkey specifically to read your Bios, to shave seconds off each inspection.

We aimed for the Iris Awards to be 1 hour at most. We had 55 contestants. That was about 1 minute each.

1 minute per character is enough time, but it is very tight, and it took a lot of practice to achieve that.

I'm tired of certain Supergroups winning all the time, there's so much bias, it's favoritism!

Not for me. When I heard this complaint, I realized I didn't even look at SG names.

It's because I was focused on your Costumes and your Bios. I didn't even read the Chat Log.

Seriously, to get the job done under 1 minute per character, I had no time to look at irrelevant things.

I didn't recognize the Male winner's SG. Maybe the Female winner was in a SG, I didn't even see it.

But then...why didn't you pick me as the winner?

It's not us against you. It's you against all the other competitors, all 54 of them. And they were all great.

How great? More than half of them scored 9 out of 10. There were about ten that scored perfect 10s.

I understand some of you asked me how you could improve. Sadly, my answer is...you can't.

For the character you were going for, I think most of you nailed it. Don't change it. It's perfect!

In fact, if I myself made the costume, wrote the bio, and sent it to you...you still wouldn't have won.

It's because our winners did something we, the judges, probably couldn't even make, couldn't even imagine.

---

Which brings us to our winners. They earned this. If you have further complaints, please take it up with me.

I wish to elaborate a little on why we chose them, because I have no doubt in my decision:

Best Female Heroine: Machine Girl@CaptainCooltastic

(There is a Japanese movie called the Machine Girl. This had nothing to do with that.)

I think people brought out their best, their biggest, their baddest to this contest. In fact, I believe it fully.

We saw that. We appreciated that. Then we saw this little girl standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you.

The impression was like seeing a fluffy little bunny in a pride of lions. That must be one badass bunny.

And that's what floored us. She was so unpretentiously badass. Badass was just her default state.

There was more badass in her pinky finger (in the form of a chainsaw) then most have in their whole bodies.

Then I opened up her Bio. Of course, she spoke with Southern drawl. It was like reading Huckleberry Finn.

I said earlier spelling/grammar/format wasn't an issue. Machine Girl is proof enough of that.

It was the most precisely misspelt 'Murican vernacular I ever gone done read. So bad, it was ingenious.

To everyone, to us, it was a big event. To her, it was just a regular Tuesday. How could we not award her?

(Don't watch that Machine Girl movie. It's terribad. And avoid its spiritual sequel Tokyo Gore Police, trust me.)

Best Male Hero: Entropy@Sunturion

To best explain why we chose him, please join me in a thought exercise:

Draw nothing...but make it interesting, give it lots of style and pizzazz and oomph, y'know?

Take your time! Go on, try it on a piece of paper or MS Paint or at the Tailor. I'll wait for you.

.
.
.
.
.

Alright, time's up. How many of you handed in a blank piece of paper? How many of you drew pure darkness?

Or worse yet, how many of you drew a Emo Blackredder from a Neil Gaiman comic? That's what I did.

Entropy was nothingness itself, yet full of style and pizzazz and oomph and life and energy and power.

Do you have any appreciation of how hard that is to do well? In the same character?

A nothingness that was full of stuff. Machine Girl was a juxtaposition. Entropy was a paradox.

I received a comment about how we see this stuff in Club Caprice all the time. No, we don't.

What we see in Club Caprice are sad attempts at this with anthropomorphic manifestations of grimdark.

Entropy actually pulled this off. It was the famous abyss that gazes back...yet I could not stop staring.

In the end, like I said from the start, it's about ideas.

You guys put a lot of ideas in your characters, they were great, we really appreciate it.

Entropy wasn't ideas put into a character. It WAS an idea that is itself a character.

That's why we are convinced it is the winner.

p0temk1n · July 2013

I didn't envy you running this, Tiger. There were a LOT of vets bringing their A-game to your contest. As I said before I went to bed last night, congrats on running a very smooth CC, and, to the winners, congrats to you! Enjoy your action figure!

aceretriever · July 2013

Well, I came in expecting to learn, and boy did I! ^^ I'm starting to feel my confidence come back; I think I'll finally get rid of this self-made writer's block o' mine!

Thanks for a fun contest! Applause to the participants, congrats to the winners, and a huge hug to the Judges and Hostess! You all did an awesome job! X3

lordofscorn · July 2013

I wish I had time to participate in this, as I get compliments about my characters quite often and it would have given me an excuse to sit down and really flesh out a bio, but alas I was at work all night. Congrats to the winners!

The Iris Awards: Character Design Contest (Costume + Bio)

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