Post by Espurr on Sept 4, 2022 22:02:58 GMT
Welcome to the Redshore Town Contest Hall!
Here you can find information about the currently running contest and post your appeals in the appeals board!
Of course, when contests aren't currently in operation, you are still allowed to post in-character threads here- aspiring coordinators are encouraged to book training times in the contest hall to hone their skills in between events, and during contests themselves threads may be made reacting to the events in progress.
How exactly do contests operate, though?
A contest operates, typically, with two rounds- an appeal round, where entrants attempt to dazzle the judges, and a battle round where entrants are matched together to duke it out for extra points (with more points potentially awarded for flashy battle performances).
This contest template may be broken with different second round formats or even unique finale rounds, but each contest will always have an appeal round without fail.
So what should I expect from a contest announcement?
When a contest is announced, it will be announced with a theme, mode, a limitation or set of limitations, and specialties.
*✧･ﾟ:･ﾟﾟ･*✧･ﾟ:･ﾟﾟ･*✧
A theme is the basic theme of each contest, typically left intentionally vague and kept to a few words at most. This is to encourage player creativity while still giving a coherent central topic for everyone to theme their appeals around!
Some examples of themes already run onsite are Fantasy and Mythology, Beginnings, and Triumph!
*✧･ﾟ:･ﾟﾟ･*✧･ﾟ:･ﾟﾟ･*✧
A mode is how the contest is formatted, with the usual modes being Singles, Swap, Doubles, and Partner.
A singles contest is a contest where each entrant uses one Pokemon throughout both portions of the contest, with second-round participants matched up randomly.
A swap contest is a contest where each entrant uses one Pokemon for the appeal portion, then a different pokemon for the battle portion. Second-round participants are matched up randomly.
A doubles contest is a contest where each entrant uses two pokemon throughout both portions of the contest. Second-round participants are matched up randomly, with battle rounds having potential to be double or single battles.
Finally, a partner contest is a contest where two entrants pair up, each picking one Pokemon to write a cohesive appeal that matches both the theme and what their partner writes. Then, for the second round, they are paired together. Each half of the pair is graded separately.
*✧･ﾟ:･ﾟﾟ･*✧･ﾟ:･ﾟﾟ･*✧
Limitations may be placed on certain contests that may make specific Pokemon unusable for the duration, including but not limited to:
These same factors may also be named as specialties, in which case using a Pokemon that matches the specialties of the contest gives one bonus point.
- Pokemon typing such as fire, water, or grass.
- Shape, such as the ones listed in the Pokedex.
- Pokemon color such as blue, red, or green.
Note that no points are lost for using Pokemon that don't match with a contest's specialties.
And what will I get from participating?
Are bragging rights not enough?
No?
Well, you'll be pleased to know that contests offer a variety of rewards that vary from contest to contest, including but not limited to Pokemon eggs, special items, berries, tokens, EXP, and more!
In addition to that, if your character is a coordinator, you'll get to show their skills in their element! ...Or, if they're still a rising star, you'll get to establish how they perform before they become the contest master they're surely destined to be! Right?
You will also get a fancy ribbon for your participation, with the simplest being for participation and the next three being for 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place respectively!
You can't really do much with these, but...you can certainly display them in your PC for bragging rights, if you want.
I'm sold! So how are they scored?
Contests are judged by 3 staff members (which may vary from contest-to-contest) on a variety of factors, for a total of 35 points per appeal. These points may be added to in future rounds of the contest, but will always inform an entrant's first round placement.
The factors appeals are judged on are as follows:
Grammar & Presentation (5) | Self-explanatory. For this category, you're graded on the grammar and legibility of your appeal, as in how easy it is to read. Grammar rules don't have to be followed to a T to get a good score in this category- creativity in formatting and sentence structure is encouraged if you believe it adds to your appeal, and experimentation is never unwelcome! Keep in mind, however, that these are meant to be high quality posts putting your best foot forward. If you want a high score in this category, be sure to check back over your posts for mistakes and bits that might need reformatting! |
Theme (10) | Your score in this category is based on how well you follow the theme of the contest, as well as how well you incorporate any themes that you might choose to implement on your own. For example, in addition to the contest theme, you might also want to theme your appeal after a particular kind of music, or include certain elements you've used before in prior appeals as a calling card for your character. The world is your Cloyster! In short, this category is all about picking a solid core to an appeal and sticking with it. The point is that we can see the central idea of your appeal without you necessarily having to state it outright. |
Appeal (10) | How appealing is your performance, really? Would it be enjoyable to watch? Would the crowd be awed, or be going wild? This category is all about your storytelling and descriptive skills. If your performance includes themed costumes or combines two moves for a beautiful result, this is the category you'd be appealing to. Keep in mind, though, that an appeal doesn't have to be pretty or beautiful to get a high score in this category- it just needs to be interesting and enjoyable to imagine as an actual scene! As a tip, when rereading your appeal, try to picture yourself in the audience- do you think you and the audience around you would be wowed? If so, then you've got your appeal! |
Creativity (10) | Last but not least, this category is about how innovative you were in your performance. The more unique of an angle you can get, the more points you'll get! If you can get people to think "oh, I would have never thought of that" or "I wish I did something like that", then you're on the right track! This score can be judged from a variety of things in your performance, like concept, moves used, how your character works with their Pokemon, and more. As a tip, the less like the other appeals and the more you experiment, the higher the likelihood you get a high score in this category! Just...be sure it's still sort of realistic, at least in line with the site's sense of realism. |
Bonus Points | Bonus points may be awarded to entrants who fulfill certain requirements, such as coordinators receiving an extra point per rank, Team Rocket members receiving up to one point via their class stealing ability, single points awarded from fulfilling specialties, and more! If there is an opportunity for bonus points that isn't listed here, you will see it in the contest announcement. |
As a side note, staff may also participate in contests, even if they are one of the judges. In this case, the other two staff judges will reach a consensus by themselves, with the staff member the appeal belongs to not allowed to influence their judging.
(Staff are encouraged to be critical with other judges who may have characters participating- no favoritism!)
In character, these scores will be presented as if three different NPC judges are delivering their own scores and critique, but out of character and behind the scenes your total score will be a single score determined by an agreement between the staff.
I still have questions!
Great!
This thread will be left unlocked so you may post them as a reply! Just...please no 'when's the next contest?' questions. The answer to that one is always going to be 'when we get to it', and that's not very satisfying, now is it?
Let's make some noise, Shula! Get out there and work your creativity!
| WORDS -- | TAGGED @everyone! | OOC -- | MADE BY Sifr @ THQ |
