ZFGC Character CompetitionRegistration Opens 12/1/09, and ends 12/31/09.Competition Begins 1/1/10, and ends 1/31/10.
Rules:The rules for the competition are pretty standard and more or less common sense. If you think you're cheating, you probably are.
- No 'ballot stuffing'. This means do not create a bunch of accounts or use old accounts to vote for your character. Multiple IP addresses for the same user on another account is also blanketed under this. In other words; don't cheat the system. We'll know if it's you, so don't do it.
- No 'recruiting'. IE: Don't go around posting on other sites about how your character is losing, and how you want people to join just to vote for you. This contest is for ZFGC and ZFGC users, not for people who are only here to increase your chances of winning.
- Characters must be original creations made by you or a team you're working with. You can enter up to two characters this year.
Registration:This thread will be used to register your characters once registration is open. You are not required to show any images or reveal any story during registration, in fact, it's preferred that you don't. Simply state that you would like to enter.
Please be serious about entering. Try to come up with a character before 12/1/09 if you plan on joining in but are not sure of what you'd like to enter. All registered contestants will be allowed to post their characters in the "Characters" board, and entries will be made public prior to the competition start date. Please post all artwork, story, and any other relevant-to-your-character information in there.
Do this as soon as possible! Posting late may result in disqualification. If you need inspiration, check out NeoGeo-x's guide for designing a successful character.
Breakdown:Once all submissions are in, each character will be assigned a division at random. There will be exactly half as many divisions are there are characters. Divisions are used to help match up each character in their "battles". To be even cooler, and more arbitrary, an "element" will be assigned to groups of characters as well. There will be exactly 4 elements divided amongst the total number of entries. Elements do not effect the outcome of any match, or assist in the match up at all; it's just an honorary title. Divisions are used to match up opponents.
Battles are set up in tournament fashion. Combatants battle against another character in their same division. Once they win, they'll battle the winner of the next division. This process is repeated until there is only one left. Each division battle goes on simultaneously, and will last for 1 week.
A Battle is won by the character with the most votes between the two. For example, if the "Division 1" battle is going on, members are allowed to vote for their favorite between the two characters going against one another. The character with the most votes by the end of the voting goes on to fight another day, while the loser sits back and waits for the losing tier battles.
If your character does lose, do not fear! They have an opportunity to match up against other losing characters in the secondary tournament!
Q/A Session:Please post any questions or concerns you may have before the competition begins. Q/A will go on until the registration opens, so there's quite a bit of time to address any concerns you may have.
Q: Why 2010 and not 2009? We're missing a year.
A: Because frankly; it's the end of the year, and the competition doesn't actually start until the 1st of January 2010. This works out though! If we hold every year at the same time, then the Character Competition champion will have a solid year of reign.
Q: How will tied votes be handled this year?
A: A battle ending in a tied vote will be extended for an additional day. The first 3 votes that following day are the only ones that will be counted.
Q: What kind of prizes will the winners get this year?
A: Prizes are still being discussed in the staff boards, so for now- honor.
Q: I see there's a normal tier and a losing tier comp; what is the significance of the losing tier comp, and when will it be held?
A: The losing tier comp will be held simultaneously with the normal tier. Once 2 characters are eliminated from the normal tier, 2 will face off in the losing tier. The only significance is that the losing tier is the "2nd place" determination. The winner of that will also receive an honorary title of tier 2 character comp winner. Once both tiers are finished, the winners of the two will face off in one final battle. This makes no difference in the status of "winner" of each competition, it's just for fun.
Q: But where do I get inspiration!?
A: NeoGeo-x has graciously provided a little inspiration guide for your characters! You can access it by clicking here!
Q: How many entries are you going to allow?
A: As long as the number of entries are powers of 2, we can allow that many entries. Essentially 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. I would love to see 64 entries this year.
Q: How will the secondary tournament work, since it will be one character short?
A: The problem with only allowing a certain number of contestants to enter is that there are always a few characters that can't be included in the tournament. The beauty of the secondary tournament is that at least one of those characters that didn't make it can compete in the open slot.
Q: There are 23 characters trying to enter, and I see people with 2 characters entered! Will mine make it in the tournament?
A: Primary characters are always counted first. If there are 16 primary characters, and 4 secondary characters entered, then the secondary characters will not be counted to allow everyone a chance to enter.