2020 Halloween Design Contest

A cool breeze caresses the skin, hinting at coming frost. Leaves dance as they fall from their trees, a fiery contrast to the chilling air. The days grow shorter, the nights grow longer, and the world is beginning to still. Fall is here and the excitement for coming celebrations are warming the hearts and homes of Istarians.

It is that time of the year again, Istarians! This is our 4th Halloween Design Contest, in which you can submit designs and ideas for masks, costumes, stories, or banners for rewards and incorporation into the game.


Creating your Entry
You do not need to have the knowledge of modding Istaria to make or submit entries! We are providing you with blank templates that can be dropped directly into your resources_override for your convenience in testing.

General

• You can submit anything with any theme, but remember, this is a Fall Festival and a Halloween contest - keeping to these themes betters your chances!
• All masks and items will be offered through the Fall Festival and nowhere else.
• You may submit items outside of these general categories and guidelines, but ask and check to be sure it could qualify.

Dragon Masks

• Please download the mask template files here.
  
  • The mask template is simply a guideline for the maximum boundaries of your mask. You can make it as small and complex as you want within these guides. (You can go lightly outside the boundaries, but be wary that you are edging into territory that might cause issues in-game.)
• The PNG file is the one you will be modifying for your mask. The DEF file is simply so you can test it in-game. This replaces the Draconic Union Head Scale. You do not need to convert the PNG into AGH to test. Simply place both files into resources_override.

Biped Masks

• Please download the mask template files here.
  
  • Please try to fill the entire mask template. While you can go smaller, as the mask is a 3D model, you risk making pieces float. If you wish to smaller, shrink inwards from the outer edges and do not disconnect pieces.
  • Biped masks are mirrored and therefore everything you do on one side is 1:1 with the other side.
  
  
• The PNG file is the one you will be modifying for your mask. The DEF file is simply so you can test it in-game. This replaces the Skull Mask. You do not need to convert the PNG into AGH to test. Simply place both files into resources_override.

Murals

• Please download the mural template files here.
  
  • While not fully necessary to submit a design, this file will give you an idea of the bounds and shape of your canvases.
  • Murals must cover the entire canvas with no intended transparency. Transparent areas will be filled in with the lair rock texture.
• The PNG file is what you will be modifying for your banner or mural. The AGF is simply to replace the Lair Mural Keeper for testing in-game.

Banners

• Please download the banner template files here.
  
  • While not fully necessary to submit a design, this file will give you an idea of the bounds and shape of your canvases.
• The PNG file is what you will be modifying for your banner. The AGF is simply to replace the Dragon Racial Banner for testing in-game.

Stories

• Your story can be told by any NPC in the world, though it will be referenced or re-told by an NPC in the Fall Festival to bring attention to it. Be specific if you want to request an NPC to tell your tale!
• Stay within Istaria's lore and do not invent new lore, unless it is small. For instance, you can talk about a new kind of fish you've come up with, but don't start inventing factions within the Withered Aegis unless they're fictional.
• Stay around 400-800 words as a general guideline!

As there are tons of races, costumes do not have a template specifically. Ask if you have any questions.

How to Submit your Entry

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Send an e-mail to [email protected] containing the following information:

Recipient Character Name: The name of the character in which you wish to receive reward(s) and credit.

Server of Character: The server the character above is on.

Entry Information: Any extra information goes here, such as context to your entry or additional requests to the above, such as NPCs of preference for telling stories.

Attachment containing your entry.

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For masks, costumes, banners, and murals, please attach:

• Raw working file (PSD preferably)
• PNG Texture Image
• Any associated SHA, DEF, or ENT files if necessary.

For stories, please attach:

• A docx or other rich file format containing your story. Google Docs and other cloud hosting services are fine.

Judging and Fairness

The winners of the contest will be voted on by the entire development team internally, with any ties being broken by myself. Names will be stripped from submissions and visuals / stories alone will be judged.

Entries will be ranked based on:

• Quality
• Creativity
• Uniquity

Three submissions per person maximum.
A submission is counted per design or idea. For instance, if you submit a mask for both dragon and biped, but they share the same design and similar artwork, this counts as one entry with two variations. If you submit a multipart story over a few quests, then this counts as one entry.

Variations and multipart stories do not directly raise your chance of winning - it's simply to allow more freedom in how you enter.

No person can win more than once.
This refers to the three set places, first, second, and third. A person placed in the categories could also get a runner-up addition, but only the rewards from the first three. One person cannot place first and second with different entries.

Amount of entries does not change your win rate.

Each entry is considered individually, but grouped per player, as to prevent double-placing. We will not be giving any favorites towards people who have submitted more or less - only on the standards mentioned above!

Rewards
This year we are going with a simple first-second-third placement system instead of going for categories. Additionally, we may incorporate runner-ups if there are enough beautiful designs to choose from!

First Place
Custom Title - A cosmetic title unique to your character that you get to choose.
Quality checks to avoid offensive, derogatory, confusing, or duplicate titles will be in place.
Will be granted following the next delta cycle.

Title: Harbinger of Fear - A cosmetic title that will only be given to winners of this contest!
Delivery will be immediate.

Unique Pet - A fun Halloween themed cargo pet will come bouncing your way!
Will be granted following the next delta cycle.

Copy of your Submission - If you submit a mask, you will be granted a copy of it!
Will be granted following the next delta cycle.

Loyalty Tokens - As an extra thank-you, 10 loyalty tokens will be granted to your account!
Delivery will be immediate.

Second Place
Title: Harbinger of Fear - A cosmetic title that will only be given to winners of this contest!
Delivery will be immediate.

Unique Pet - A fun Halloween themed cargo pet will come bouncing your way!
Will be granted following the next delta cycle.

Copy of your Submission - If you submit a mask, you will be granted a copy of it!
Will be granted following the next delta cycle.

Loyalty Tokens - As an extra thank-you, 8 loyalty tokens will be granted to your account!
Delivery will be immediate.

Third Place
Title: Harbinger of Fear - A cosmetic title that will only be given to winners of this contest!
Delivery will be immediate.

Copy of your Submission - If you submit a mask, you will be granted a copy of it!
Will be granted following the next delta cycle.

Loyalty Tokens - As an extra thank-you, 6 loyalty tokens will be granted to your account!
Delivery will be immediate.

Runner-Ups
Loyalty Tokens - 1 loyalty token will be granted to your account!
Delivery will be immediate.

Copy of your Submission - If you submit a mask, you will be granted a copy of it!
Will be granted following the next delta cycle.

Disclaimers and Conclusion

By submitting an entry to this contest:

• You agree to allow Virtrium to incorporate the work into the game Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted as-is or with quality modifications, attributed to the original creator.
• You agree to allow the work to persist in the game permanently.
• You affirm that you are submitting only your own original, unique work produced solely by you. You affirm that you are not incorporating any copyrighted materials or ideas not produced by you.
• You understand that violating copyright and trademark laws will result in removal of your submission and your awards from the game as a whole as well as potential suspension from the game system and/or banning from future contests.

With all that being said, have fun and be creative! Use this thread or the #contest section on Discord to discuss your ideas and share your submissions!

Deadline: October 31st, 2020

It is mentioned a few times that a costume may be submitted, but only masks, murals and banners are mentioned specifically. For clarification, if we wanted to create a piece of clothing that wasn't a mask would we be allowed to submit it?

Hi Quiiliitiila, that is fine, so long as you are able to convey to us how it should look / work.

I've updated the above post under 'Creating your Entries' with some more information to address questions that were missed prior.

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General

• You can submit anything with any theme, but remember, this is a Fall Festival and a Halloween contest - keeping to these themes betters your chances!
• All masks and items will be offered through the Fall Festival and nowhere else.
• You may submit items outside of these general categories and guidelines, but ask and check to be sure it could qualify.

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Stories

• Your story can be told by any NPC in the world, though it will be referenced or re-told by an NPC in the Fall Festival to bring attention to it. Be specific if you want to request an NPC to tell your tale!
• Stay within Istaria's lore and do not invent new lore, unless it is small. For instance, you can talk about a new kind of fish you've come up with, but don't start inventing factions within the Withered Aegis unless they're fictional.
• Stay around 400-800 words as a general guideline!

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More clarifications.

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Three submissions per person maximum.
A submission is counted per design or idea. For instance, if you submit a mask for both dragon and biped, but they share the same design and similar artwork, this counts as one entry with two variations. If you submit a multipart story over a few quests, then this counts as one entry.

Variations and multipart stories do not directly raise your chance of winning - it's simply to allow more freedom in how you enter.

No person can win more than once.
This refers to the three set places, first, second, and third. A person placed in the categories could also get a runner-up addition, but only the rewards from the first three. One person cannot place first and second with different entries.

Amount of entries does not change your win rate.

Each entry is considered individually, but grouped per player, as to prevent double-placing. We will not be giving any favorites towards people who have submitted more or less - only on the standards mentioned above!

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Entries are now closed! We will be sorting through the entries and casting our votes in the coming week or so. Stay tuned for the winner announcement!

P.S. I can foresee a lot of runner ups, you guys are incredibly creative and wonderful! Thank all of you for your enthusiasm! <3