Community SPACE1: Winter Holiday Hullabaloo! Event Proposals and Discussion~all ideas welcome~

[ErrantDShepherd]

UPDATE: please read the latest posts of the thread to follow with our current discussion. We now have a poll on events that have been discussed, please vote for all you would like to see/participate in, and please share your event idea if you have a suggestion! :)

Original outdated post...

From a recent Skype conversation

Idea: Serenes Annual Sprite Art Community Awards

Basically as a way of encouraging participation and recognition of artists and users in the community we have a thread nominating potential nominees and categories... Then we vote on it at the end of the year or so.

Oooh... Serenes Annual Sprite Art COMMUNITY Awards... As it would include commenters/critics and other helpful people in the community.

SASACA... Or another pointless acronym! ;)

I would probably try to organize it... But it would be largely community/nominee/voter based, much like the Fangame/Hacking forum Awards event.

...and that is more if no one else wanted to do so/was a better candidate to try to host, or no one else volunteered. ;)

...had this idea at school today. What are your thoughts, peoples?

We would celebrate artists, critics, commenters and people who give back to the community in various ways by nominating and voting for categories like for example...

"Best Sprite Art of the Year"

"Best Artist of the Year"

"Best new artist"

"Most improved artist"

"Best commenter"

"Best Critic of the Year"

"Most helpful commenter"

"Community Friend: individual who has contributed the most to the Sprite Art Community this year"

These are of course rough ideas... Any suggestions on either better ones, better titles, or just how you might like this process to go in general? Probably would have separate categories for Portrait, Battle Sprites, Animations, Maps... Any other potential ones?

...my reasons behind creating this discussion/proposing these awards, BTW, are not for any sort of self-congragulatory BS, or back-patting shenanigans (like for instance not sure if people should be allowed to nominate themselves for categories :\) but because... Well, I really like this community. :0

For all our arguments/differences of opinion we also have a ton of creativity, great art, strong desires to learn and improve, and people who are super helpful in various ways... And I think that is worthy of recognition and celebration.

So that... Maybe some of the lesser known artists get encouraged/recognition of their awesome stuff,and some of the people who have been around for a while, even if they mainly comment get celebrated for their efforts and contribution to these forums as well. :)

Anyways... I would love to hear your thoughts, guys! :D

Is this a good idea, how would you like to see it set up?

BTW also... When would work best timewise for this? ...would it work to have voting closer to Christmas or the New Year? Should it happen earlier/later? Please lemme know! ;)

Edit: had some good feedback in a recent chat.

For all the angst, arguments and stuff we have in the forums sometimes... I think it might be worth celebrating, recognizing and acknowledging the cool stuff going on. From artists and commenters alike. :)

just another popularity contest

Yeah... But think about it this way... No one likes to be ignored...right? ...or feel like their works are useless or a waste of time.

Something like this could recognize those artists throughout the community, and encourage more art, more resources. Depending basically on what WE as a community choose to recognize. :)

Like... Yeah I don't want a popularity contest either. I just want something to encourage participation. That is a good point though... we need to try to avoid that sort of outcome/skew of the event. I dunno if award is even the right term... Just the best I had at the time.

Edit: so some new ideas and poll for them, loving the feedback and discussion... Keep it coming. :D Edited November 5, 2015 by TheErrantShepherd

[NICKT™]

SASACA?

Eh, it's close enough to make me want to go back and watch Ace Ventura 2.

I wonder if that's obscure enough to keep my mysterious image going...

As for the, actual thing, and y'know, my opinion?

I wish it was something that happened back in the days where it was a lot more busier. Not many people these days so it's just the same faces with a couple of drop in noobies once every while.

I mean, it's not like there was ever heaps of people, but it felt like you could come here everyday and there'd be a handful of new things to see, nowadays you're lucky to get one or two updates a day, if any.

I suppose if this injects a little life back into it that'd be good, but I'm not holding my breath.

(My point being, I guess, is that it's not really worth it. We'd just be stating what the community already knows, the people who are good are good, we know that. It's the same faces, we know the places we all hold in the community, there's no uncertainty. I suppose the acknowledgement could count for something, if you're into that thing..)

Edited September 10, 2015 by NICKT™

[ErrantDShepherd]

lol... Now I wanna watch some Jim Carrey! XD

Better acronym suggestions/options are good/viable discussion topics here too. After all, it is meant to be a community thing. ;p

Anyways, I can understand that point you make Nickt that we might not HAVE the same turnout we used to. The hope though is that something participatory like this... Not just for the artists but commenters and others in the community, would encourage people to either come back, or get involved. :)

I got re-interested, re-involved in the Fire Emblem community here by seeing the Sprite Contests and wanting to be a part of that. Maybe by doing something like this as well, we can encourage more people who come as guests, lurkers, or just from other parts of the forums to come join us and bring some life back here.

...worth a shot at least. ;)

...and hey, at the very least we can recognize and celebrate those people who HAVE been here too. :D

Edited September 10, 2015 by TheErrantShepherd

[Lt.Smirks]

As much as I like the idea, I kinda have to agree with Nickt. There are the "Master Spriters", the "Good Spriters", and the "Noobs", and we all know the votes will tend very heavily towards favorite/well-established spriters, leaving little motivation for beginners. That being said, it is possible that it could bring back some old faces or even some undiscovered talents.

Maybe set a cap on how many awards a single artist can win in each SASACA because I could see one of the "Master Spriters" sweeping all competitors.

But I like the idea of recognizing all those who contribute to this community even if they may not be spriters at all.

I'd vote for it.

[ErrantDShepherd]

-Maybe a category for each?

Best Master spriter? Best mid-level spriter? Best beginner sprites?

...or terms like Master, Journeyman, Established, Greenhorn... Could be used to differentiate? I like the thought of three levels of general skill acknowledged though... Or four... Or something?

Terms like veteran and new seem useful as well... Not just for categories with artists, but say "best new commenter/Critic" "best veteran community person" ...etc.

-a cap for Awards may be a good idea... But honestly we have sooooo many EXCELLENT artists on here I don't know if anyone would win more than a couple categories at most. :o

But hey, lets keep talking/discussing this... More suggestions too please! Love the ideas/point made so far! Very helpful insights! :)

PS.ideas and suggestions from new people, or less active individuals would also be fantastic... What could we do to encourage/help you to participate? :D

Edited September 10, 2015 by TheErrantShepherd

[Anacybele]

I like the idea of awards, but does this place even have regular forum awards? :P Oh well, I still like the idea!

The category ideas sound good to me too. But let's also have best map, best battle sprite, and best mugshot categories.

[NICKT™]

Different categories for different fields of Fire Emblem spriting does sound like a good idea, at first.

But I'd imagine that the competition for the other fields won't amount to much and it'll be a clear run for everything except mugs because it's the thing everyone does most.

[Anacybele]

Hm, that might be true... Ah well, it was an idea. :P

[NICKT™]

I don't agree with the sentiment and psychology behind the idea of convincing people to sprite and join the community through offering rewards, but like I and Shep mentioned, if it works, it works.

So yeah, might be worthwhile chucking up the spriting categories if it gets at least one person to see it and think "Hm, I might give it a go".

Edited September 10, 2015 by NICKT™

[Anacybele]

Yeah, I agree with that too. Spriting should be done for fun, not just rewards...

[Lt.Smirks]

Well it wouldn't be a competition anymore than we already have just in our sprite topics, I mean we all want to have the best sprites. This isn't like BBSS or the Mug splicing comps, these are nominated by members from your topic(probably) and not submitted directly. So there's no real difference in what you're spriting, it's just a sort of "Best of 2015" compilation. Which is motivation to improve because who doesn't like to be recognized?

[ErrantDShepherd]

As Smirks said. It's not really about a prize or reward, more about recognizing people. :)

...and yeah, it would basically be a "Best of 2015" type of thing.

As I said, if there is a better term than award please lemme know. Award was basically the term used as I could not come up with a better one to describe this sort of event. :p

It's more about encouraging participation, as the "prize" isn't really a prize... More just recognition for what people are already doing. :)

Regarding the various types of categories...Yeah, possibly we might have lots of nominees for certain areas. But then, that may be just a case where that is what is. Some categories will have tougher/higher competition. Doesn't mean the other ones aren't worth voting on/recognizing.

Portraits/Battle Sprites/Maps would be my thought for the three types of sprite art we see here... Although there are other categories that could be thought of.

Edited September 10, 2015 by TheErrantShepherd

[Teapot]

IMO, just fuckin' don't. It would literally just become a popularity contest. If you want to feature stuff, do a random feature system, or have people nominate people for a feature. Don't call it "best" or whatever. Just feature a spotlight artist or work. Giving it a title gives it unnecessary prestige.

[ErrantDShepherd]

I think the idea of features/spotlights are a great idea and suggestion. We should discuss this idea more. :)

I do still think some form of event/Awards/whatever is still a valid idea as well.

There is always the potential of something like this devolving into that, and I get the distaste towards ideas that feel like a "popularity contest". IMO I feel we are capable of avoiding that, there have to be ways to prevent to mitigate that type of outcome or thinking... Rather than just avoiding an event like this. :\

We have multiple forms of competitions in the forums that generally have not devolved into popularity contests... Some like the maps competition rely on PM based submission, many of the voting threads in the competition forum keep the entries unnamed when the vote is conducted as well.

I realize this type of event does name people. Are there ways around this? ...is naming people going to make this a popularity contest? I dunno, that seems to be maybe underestimating the voters/artists/commenters we have in this community. :s

We aren't Reddit, or 4chan... Or some other site... I think at its best, our community is more than capable of thoughtful, meaningful nominations and voting rather than making choices based purely on who they think is "cool" or popular... At least that is my hope.

But hey, maybe like you suggest not using titles like "best" or "most" at least is a step in a better, less biased direction. This event/awards idea is meant to include after all... rather than exclude. ;)

Please keep the ideas and feedback coming. Everything is helpful, and I will try not to invalidate or ignore you or your suggestions or thoughts. Even if you think this idea is the worst, or have concerns, please tell me why... So at least I know and we can try to address those concerns? ;)

Or hey, if you think you have some solutions, or fixes, ways to prevent the worst(like a cap on how many categories someone can win) please share. :)

Whether this thread results in an award event after all, or something different and cool like the features/spotlight idea... I feel like its worth discussing. :D

(Also, lemme know if I am being cheesy, or coming across as trying too hard with all these mentions of "community" or potential buzzwords. I will try and tone it down. XD too many damn emojis Errant. Too many acronyms! )

Edited September 11, 2015 by TheErrantShepherd

[Anacybele]

That spotlight idea sounds good to me too. Bulbagarden actually does something similar in the writing section with the fics there. Each month, a fic is chosen as fic of the month. Here, we could do a spriter of the month or sprite of the month.

[ErrantDShepherd]

Yeah... A spotlight/feature idea would be cool... The Far from the Forest forums has an interview thread where users nominate other users and then ask about 5 questions each which the interviewee can choose to answer or not depending on their comfortability.

Would a Sprite Art/Spriting forums interview thread be something that people would be interested in? This could either be, alongside spotlight/features and awards/recognition threads... Or in place of.

http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=50680

Edited September 11, 2015 by TheErrantShepherd

[NICKT™]

Getting to know more 'bout the regulars seems like fun, though I don't look forward to my own.

I'm a cunt and everyone knows that.

I'm leaning more towards a community event that didn't resolve around anything competitive.

We've had one or two in the past, but a lot of our current contests are competitive and dwindle in numbers and fall to the regulars very, very often.

Not sure if it's because they're competitive, but I'm projecting my hate for competition so fuck off.

[Lenh]

I'm not really keen on being interviewed personally, unless it's just revealing something small and enough people are in (similar to a question of the day going on in the Project section).

At the easiest and most passive I can think of just badges/achievements (Created X# things), but the forum structure isn't friendly towards allowing it to be automated, and keeping track of it would be a pain. Rewarding that would be fun (also questionable), alternatively you could use that activity to random select your highlights (instead of/in addition to a comment?).

For the having something be judged and awarding a title based on a subjective (best anything / most improved / etc.), I agree it's probably isn't something to dig into. This section is small and familiar people already have their ideas of where everyone else stands, or time passes enough that someone else comes along and makes themselves more worth the title.

Secret Santa 2016 Community Event

[Anacybele]

Ooh, the interview thing sounds fine to me. I mean, I never opted out of the one in the FFtF one, so...

[Mew]

Secret Santa 2016 Community Event

YES~

Kind of agreeing with the general response here, it will become a popularity contest and even if it doesn't, I don't really think getting a title bestowed upon you is a healthy attitude for a community. Everyone has done such awesome work that I wonder if there is some other way of making that more rewarding. I really like the idea of doing spotlights though, and interviewing people. I don't come on SF much anymore but I still talk to many of the people I've met through here and I'd love to learn more about them. It could also be a cool way of discovering people who have been working hard on their thread and haven't received a lot of attention, I'd be interested in that because I don't check SF as much as I used to.

[ErrantDShepherd]

Yeah, I think with the interviews/spotlight type deals... We could try to focus around questions revolving around art, their creative process, what inspires people, art/artists they enjoy/they model after?

I think there are lots of possibilities there that don't have to go into personal details, unless said interviewee is OK with it.

In fact, what the FFTF thread does is people can opt out if they don't want to do an interview... In the same vein we could have people opt out of personal questions, and also how someone wishes to answer any question is of course completely up to them.

"Not going there. Don't want to talk about that. No comment. Not comfortable talking about that..." All of those are examples of valid responses. :)

Edited September 12, 2015 by TheErrantShepherd

[Toa]

I agree with feature/interview being the way to go

I really like the secret santa idea :O

[Anacybele]

Someone suggested a secret santa thing? I must've missed that somehow. That's a good idea too! Though it obviously can only be done at Christmas time. :P

[ErrantDShepherd]

...ooh, secret Santa? So...like spriting something special for somebody as a surprise gift, eh? I like it! :D

Tons of great ideas and feedback! I can see where people are coming from in regards to not wanting to potentially open a can of worms that could be a "Popularity Contest"/Awards/Prize thread...

The spotlight/feature idea sounds really promising, liking the sound of secret Santa and sprite forum interviews... I'd still like some way to recognize people in the community in some fashion... Any suggestions, of do you guys feel the current potential spotlight/feature events and interviews would cover that aspect already? :0

...BTW once again, this is some good stuff, lets keep brainstorming, keep it coming. ;)

[Teapot]

We've had Secret Santa Events in the past, but things tend to fall through as people get busier around that time of year. We stopped doing it since a lot of people had trouble delivering their side of the trade.

Doing spotlights is already recognizing people. You're giving them positive public exposure. You don't need to give awards to people to recognize their efforts.