Whether subjects of the past come back to reclaim their glory, or vile cultists dedicated to a dark god, the Nexus welcomes all within it’s ranks.
Hello and welcome! This is the Concept Design Contest #13 - Cult/Classic thread. Here, over the course of this week, you will create a brand new concept based on the following criteria and provide a link to it here. Please leave a comment if you are signing up for the contest below, and use that comment to deliver the link to the thread. The contest will have three judges, who will each take one week to look over the designs, commenting and helping out with the design. All dates are set to allow the maximum time, and the deadlines will be at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. The thread must be submitted at exactly 11:59, and there will be no exceptions.
Theme: For this contest, contestants must select one of the following themes for their character. The theme they choose will choose their side. Depending on which side has the best average score each week, a different restriction will be placed on the contest.
(Cult) The concept must be a character associated heavily with a cult or cult-like organization from one of Blizzard’s universes (including Nexus original). This includes but is not limited to the Cult of the Damned, the Tal’darim, and the Coven from Diablo.
(Classic) The concept must be around a character that featured in a Blizzard game from before the year 2000. The character can be seen past this time, but should pay homage to their early incarnation.
[Week 1] All Cult concepts must include an alternate (bonus) talent on Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 5, and Tier 6. These talents should fit with the talents already on the tier and provide a meaningful impact to the character build. This change is made to reflect the olden talent system where all characters had 4 talents on each tier.
[Week 2] The Cult members must design master skins, full recolors, and storyboard (through text) a full release trailer, as well as determine which Nexus force they would side with if the Nexus lore continued. This will be considered separate from any normal skins and fluff that may be provided. The nostalgia consumes them!
[Week 3] The Cult concepts have been beaten back by the Classic concepts, and must repent for their lost ways! Every Cult member must provide a short, but helpful review for one Classic concept of their choice. This must describe at least 3 elements of the concept (abilities, gameplay loop, talent tiers, fluff, build identity) in moderate detail. The realization and attentiveness of these reviews will affect the scores of the reviewer.
Sign-Ups Open
Saturday, April 4
Come one, come all! Every sign-up today preferably, but if you missed the day, go ahead and leave a comment over week 1 and you will be accepted into the contest still. The judges will be Waterlong, Nortin, and me, Bliztron. Judges are not able to make concepts themselves.
Week One
Sunday, April 5 - Saturday, April 11
This week is for the base concept. This is simply the abilities and the role. Remember, the role is very important, and part of the judging will be on how well the abilities fit together under a specified role. This is the only week for sign-up, so make sure you give us something before the week is up! I, Bliztron, will be the judge that will comment on the Sunday that follows.
Week Two
Monday, April 13 - Saturday, April 18
This week is for the talents. This means a fully fleshed out talent tree set up with the tiers in order. Make sure your talents are interesting and creative, but still fit with the character and design as a whole. You should touch up on your abilities based on week 1 feedback, as that will also be considered in week 2 judging. Nortin will comment on the Sunday that follows.
Week Three
Tuesday, April 21 - Sunday, April 26
This week is for the finishing touches. This includes fluff, stats, additional notes, skins, and whatever else you want to add. This has an element of freedom to it, but to give yourself the best shot, you should probably make your concept sell itself. Make the judges become immersed in your concept. Waterlong will be the judge that will comment on the Monday that follows.
Week Four
Tuesday, April 28 - Sunday, May 3
This week is the last week for changes to the concept. All major work should be finished by this week, and major changes are risky. Each of the judges will keep a close eye on the concepts, coming to their own opinions. The judges will have all commented feedback and ratings as they saw fit over the last three weeks, so you will have some idea as to what each of us are looking for. At this point, just make sure to touch up your design and make it truly sparkle.
Finale
Sunday, May 3 - Wednesday, May 6
All changes are closed. The judges will gather to determine who is the ultimate winner of the contest, announcing the winner as soon as possible.
The following information will be about the judging structure and how points will be fully evaluated. On each Sunday, a comment will be posted with the following rubric filled out, and then another post will be created explaining a detailed analysis on the concept, giving thorough feedback. These points add on to your total, and at the end, each person will have a score out of 60. Make sure you gather as many points as you can during the first three weeks, but do not be afraid if you fall slightly behind, as some promising changes could really make the difference in the final week.
Individual Judges
-/5 Creativity
-/5 Cohesiveness
-/5 Thematic
-/5 Interaction
-/20 Total
Final Week
-/10 Creativity
-/10 Cohesiveness
-/10 Thematic
-/10 Interaction
-/40 Final Verdict
(+2 Thoughtfulness, +2 Game Fluidity) [+4 bonus total]
The final score and the winner will be taken from whoever has earned the best score. If any tie should occur, then the judges will all agree on a single winner. There will be a single winner, and one runner up.
Creativity: This is how creative the design of the character is, and how creative the actual choice was. While a big name will certainly win you some points for awe factor, a particularly clever choice and design may edge out the victory.
Cohesiveness: This is representative of how well the design fits together, and how well it works with the role and gameplay style you are trying to accomplish. This score will mainly be in relation to a gameplay identity we feel you are trying to give off.
Thematic: These points are mainly for how well the ideas fit with the character. A demon that is a butcher of man would not really be a gentle healer than encourages his allies to do better. Make sure that when creating your character, you will also look towards what they would actually be doing.
Interaction: Interaction is the interaction your character has with allies, and enemies. How the character feels to play with and against is a crucial part of the character’s design, one so crucial it deserves a place in the rubric. Killing your entire team to power yourself may be fun for you, but it would not be fun for your allies, and the character design as a whole would suffer for it. Consider your character in the game, fighting against him and alongside him.
CDC Compilation
