The Ironic Sequel to the last Anime RPG Design Contest

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > The Ironic Sequel to the last Anime RPG Design Contest

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Hey nerds. It's me again, your friendly neighborhood TheSoundNinja. Remember that time I ran an Anime RPG Design Contest and we had over 40 Goons sign up and ended with a surprising upset?

May that tournament rest in peace. While you're here, want to do it all again?

The rules are more or less the same as last time, but I'm working with a convention that started up last year in Pflugerville, Texas named Okashicon. They're throwing in some prizes, and I'm gathering more in the leadup to the start of the contest. Don't worry about the schedule being as tight - We've spread the contest over 12 weeks instead of forcing you to complete it all by the end of February. I wanted to invite all of you to enter (since if you're local it would be nice to meet in THE REAL WORLD). The posts below will look pretty familiar if you remember the last contest, and I'm hosting the Discord server for this one.

If you want to participate, Okashicon has a signup form here. You'll also need to join that Discord linked above to add submissions. Fancy post explaining it all down below...

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The original version of this contest happened two years ago after an argument on SomethingAwful resulted in a creation challenge. No one could come up with an Anime Tabletop Roleplaying Game that was available in the market that wasn't absolute garbage. So, I created a contest to fix this. We had over forty participants from around the world, but ended with a final eight who were judged and found WORTHY (though the others who finished also were worthy, they just didn't make it to the finals by a coinflip).

Okashicon is teaming up with me for version two of this contest. Over ten weeks, you'll be creating something amazing that you will own and can shove on your family and friends as proof that you aren't a complete failure. Even though I didn't get major in Business, DAD!

Unlike last time (where I tried to have everyone finish making an Anime RPG within the shortest month of the year), this time you'll have 10 weeks, with plenty of time for playtesting.

Before The Kickoff: Sign-ups. We'll be randomly drawing Genres for you (explained below), and letting you know at the...
The Kickoff: We'll be revealing the Genres each team has been assigned, along with the Modifier for the whole contest (yet again, we'll explain below). If you're local, you can come to the event! It'll be 7p CST February 2nd at Dragon's Lair Austin. Regardless, we'll be posting the Modifier online after.
Week 1: Game Concept and Ad-Blurb Post a submission on the Discord and tell us your game concept. Include a 150 word Ad Blurb that would go on the back of the book if it was sold in stores. You'll need to post that submission by Saturday, February 9th by 11:59p CST.
Week 2: Development Post a submission in the Discord telling us about some aspect of your game that you worked on this week. It can cover something you are having an issue on, but you need to show that you were working on the game this week. You'll need to post the update by Saturday, February 16th by 11:59p CST.
Week 3: Development Again Post another submission in the Discord telling us about another aspect of your game that you worked on this week. It can cover something you are having an issue on, but you need to show that you were working on the game this week. It can also cover something you have been trying to fix that you had issues previously, but it should be fundamentally different than the update from Week 2. You'll need to post this by Saturday, February 23th by 11:59p CST.
Week 4: Development, But More So Post another submission in the Discord telling us about another aspect of your game that you worked on this week. It can cover something you are having an issue on, but you need to show that you were working on the game this week. It can also cover something you have been trying to fix that you had issues previously, but it should be fundamentally different than the update from Week 3. You'll need to post this by Saturday, March 2nd by 11:59p CST.
Week 5: Rough Draft Post a rough draft, playtestable version of your game in the Discord. It should include all resources needed for someone to playtest (character sheets, charts, etc), but does not require final art or a fancy layout. As long as it can be playtested, you're good. You'll need to post your Rough Draft by Saturday, March 9th by 11:59p CST.
Week 8: Playtest Report For Weeks 6, 7, and 8 you'll be playtesting someone else's game. By the deadline for Week 8, you'll need to submit a reasonably detailed playtest report so that the game's owner can make changes in preparation for the next deadline. You'll have until Saturday March 30th by 11:59p CST to post it.
Week 10: Final Submissions After a couple more weeks to wrap everything up, post a judgement ready Final Version of your game in the Discord. While you do not need fancy art or a fancy, While you do not need fancy art or a fancy layout, you do need to provide it in the form of a PDF. The final submission is due in by Saturday, April 13th by 11:59p CST.

The judges will pick the finalists and announce their choices Sunday, April 27th by 6:30p CST.

There's a more formal rules document attached to the entry form and in the Discord, but here's they are in basic English.

Rule 1: All participants must be 13+. No team may have more than three members, but individuals are welcome to enter.
Rule 2: Your game MUST embody your assigned Genre and incorporate the contest-wide Modifier.
Rule 3: Your game must be an original IP. Even if you got permission from Go Nagai to create a Cutey Honey RPG, you wouldn't be able to use that IP for this contest.
Rule 4: Your game must be original for this contest. You can modify or use an already existing engine (like D&D 5e or Savage Worlds), but the Genre needs to represented by your mechanics, and the game must be created during this contest.
Rule 5: You can do whatever you like with whatever you make - sell it, give it away, lock up all copies in a safe and bury it in a graveyard - but by participating in this contest you are giving Okashicon and NinjaHELL! Productions permission to use your submissions and Final Submission in advertising and media (such as the finalists being featured in an Actual Play podcast being produced by NinjaHELL! Productions).
Rule 6: You are expected to submit by the dates listed in the schedule above (those dates will be bolded and added once the Kickoff location is secured) by 11:59p CST
Rule 7: Because we know life can both suck and throw unexpected hurdles your way, your team will have one Late Pass.

Late passes allow you to miss a deadline and still be in the running. As long as you submit both the missed deadline and the current one, you'll still have an opportunity to win! Now, as anyone who has watched anime has seen, being late to class requires a punishment. You'll need to write 150 word fanfic related to someone else's entry and submit it by that deadline as well. Not good at writing? You also can submit fanart or some other fan creation of another team's entry instead.

We'll be posting the contest-wide Modifier at the Kickoff event. It's something you'll have to include in your entry. Anime can be released in different ways and are created to serve different purposes and entertain different audiences. The best way we can simulate that is to introduce a "Modifier", which every entry has to utilize. Will you have to make a mash-up of two genres? Will you need to use your RPG to promote an item for sale (which, for some reason, is sold seperately)? Does it need to encourage a Melodramatic story, or an ULTRAVIOLENT ONE?

We'll be posting more information about prizes after the Kickoff event (and throughout the contest as we�ll be sweetening the pot as we go), but the main prize are free passes to Okashicon 2020 for everyone in the winning team.

...oh, and $100 CASH...

Oh, and everyone who participates will be getting code to buy passes for $25 for this year's Okashicon just for signing up and participating in the Week 1 deadline.

The Clarifications of the OP of the last contest's thread is still accurate. Any new ones will be added to the Discord and here.

Liquid Communism posted:

Clarification question: From the rules on the site, "Without an exception, a team that doesn�t attend the Kickoff will need to use a late pass to stay in the contest."

Does that mean physical attendance, or is the Kickoff going to be simulcast with Discord? Because if it's physical, then anybody outside of south Texas is at a pretty huge disadvantage.

Crap, that was badly worded. No, you do not need to be physically at the Kickoff to participate in this contest. You need to be registered to participate, and be a part of the Discord by the Kickoff. Not doing so will require a late pass to stay in the contest.

Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I could have sworn I had changed that, but there�s been copying and pasting between versions and that slipped through the cracks. I�ll adjust it.

The exact wording has been changed to:

Official Rules posted:

There will be scheduled meetups associated with the contest. While we understand that showing up to them are not possible for everyone, we are going to be checking attendance for only one of them: the Kickoff.

Before the end of the Kickoff event, you�ll need to have signed up for the contest on the link here and joined the Discord. Once you do, you�re all set for the contest.

Without an exception, a team that doesn�t sign up for the contest and join the Discord before the end of the Kickoff event will need to use a late pass to stay in the contest.

TheSoundNinja fucked around with this message at 05:22 on Jan 24, 2019

# ? Jan 22, 2019 19:26

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# ? May 5, 2024 03:14

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

[Team] Gorillas Approaching Anarchy [Alien Rope Burn]
My Exciting Life With A Fantasy Foreigner!
Genre: Slice of Life

***********

[Team] Future is Myao [Mr. Misfit]
Genre: Horror

***********

[Team] Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communists [Hedningen / Landslide]
Shattered Masks: No One Is Innocent
Genre: Mystery

**********

The Agency [Agent Rush]
Genre: Sci-Fi

Team It's Just Erika
Genre: Sentai and/or Tokusatsu

***********

Budget Cuts
Team Anime IS Blood
Genre: Dystopia

***********

Team �therzea Conquest
Genre: Religion / Religious

*********

Team Striderpals
Genre: High "Seas" Adventure

********

Team Kaguya-Hime
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Punk

***********

Teamusclaw [Remusclaw]
Genre: Food and/or Cooking

***********

LASS UNS TANZEN: F�r Morgen Sind Wir Tot
Team Eight By Twenty Two [HostileV]
Genre: Police and/or Organized Crime

TheSoundNinja fucked around with this message at 17:08 on May 24, 2019

# ? Jan 22, 2019 19:26

Liquid Communism: Mar 9, 2004; Out here, everything hurts.

Clarification question: From the rules on the site, "Without an exception, a team that doesn�t attend the Kickoff will need to use a late pass to stay in the contest."

Does that mean physical attendance, or is the Kickoff going to be simulcast with Discord? Because if it's physical, then anybody outside of south Texas is at a pretty huge disadvantage.

# ? Jan 23, 2019 11:37

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Liquid Communism posted:

Clarification question: From the rules on the site, "Without an exception, a team that doesn�t attend the Kickoff will need to use a late pass to stay in the contest."

Does that mean physical attendance, or is the Kickoff going to be simulcast with Discord? Because if it's physical, then anybody outside of south Texas is at a pretty huge disadvantage.

Official Rules posted:

There will be scheduled meetups associated with the contest. While we understand that showing up to them are not possible for everyone, we are going to be checking attendance for only one of them: the Kickoff.

Before the end of the Kickoff event, you�ll need to have signed up for the contest on the link here and joined the Discord. Once you do, you�re all set for the contest.

Without an exception, a team that doesn�t sign up for the contest and join the Discord before the end of the Kickoff event will need to use a late pass to stay in the contest.

TheSoundNinja fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Jan 24, 2019

# ? Jan 24, 2019 03:49

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

We have our participants posted! We'll be primarily interacting on the discord for this contest, as there are some non-tradgoons participating.

Still want to sign up? You still have time, though it'll use up your late pass.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 19:10

DNA Cowboys: Feb 22, 2012; BOYS I KNOW

It's tempting, but this isn't a good chunk of time for me. Have fun!

# ? Feb 9, 2019 02:21

PHIZ KALIFA: Dec 21, 2011; #mood

drat! Bummed I missed this.

# ? Feb 21, 2019 19:51

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

PHIZ KALIFA posted:

drat! Bummed I missed this.

Well, this might turn into a regular thing if the con likes it!

# ? Feb 22, 2019 01:30

GenderSelectScreen: Mar 7, 2010; I DON'T KNOW EITHER DON'T ASK ME; College Slice

Congrats to the winner; who ever they are. :shrug:

# ? Apr 30, 2019 21:39

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Sorry for the wait, but I have updates! Things have been crazy over here.

EDIT: Okay, so here we are! We have our four finalists, and are beginning the judging this Tuesday. Let's talk about what that looks like this time around...

Each week, we're meeting to playtest over five hours. The first ~ two hours are dedicated to recording an episode where we record the character creation and session setup (Part 1), followed by a short break, then the night concludes with a ~ two hour gameplay session with the main judges presenting their scores at the end of the episode (Part 2).

So, who are the main judges?

Me, obviously. I founded a comedy troupe called NinjaHELL! Productions back in 2007, and have gotten involved with podcasts, dumb YouTube series, and trying to sell some games.
Kendall, who was a main judge last time and regularly creates dumb YouTube content with me as a part of NinjaHELL!
Lara, who joined NinjaHELL! as a part of Roll The Page (our actual play podcast) and runs her own blog
Alice, who has been involved in Geek Culture content creation for a few years now (including a local cable access show dedicated to celebrating female geek fandom)
Courtney, who has also been involved in Geek Culture content creation for a few years now, including the show alluded to above and has worked with me on some content for NinjaHELL!

These judges are the only ones who have any say on the scores for the finalists, and will be deciding who ends up ultimately winning.

In addition, we are going to have some guest judges, who will be showing up during the judging to participate, but will have no say on scoring or placement. They have some sort of expertise, and got super excited reading about the finalists.

Saul Ravencraft, paranormal researcher and presenter. He hosts a film series in Austin, Texas dedicated to horror b-films and has just started his paranormal podcast back up (Down the Rabbit Hole). Also, may or may not be magic himself, as he has a mysterious aura around himself similar to what one would experience upon entering a Fae's territory.
Calvin Johns, owner and lead designer of Anthropos Games (which you may know of from their game Fantaji, which is the subject of a partial F&F). He has a PhD in Anthropology focusing on Alternate Reality Games, and regularly carries too many cans of Dr. Pepper into restaurants where he orders Dr. Pepper to drink (this actually happened, and I witnessed it).
Danielle Blizzard, Lead singer and one of the founding members of the band "Autumn Stay" (which happens to be running a Kickstarter for their next album), Dani is also a bit of an Anime dork who went to high school with two of the head judges (meaning she has blackmail material on both of them from when they were younger and weirder).

So, what order are we judging the finalists?

Shattered Masks: No One Is Innocent (Featuring Calvin Johns)
Curtain Call (Featuring Saul Ravencraft)
My Exciting Life With a Fantasy Foreigner! (Featuring Calvin Johns)
SynchroTech (Featuring Danielle Blizzard)

EDIT: Added our fourth guest judge.

TheSoundNinja fucked around with this message at 07:48 on Jun 10, 2019

# ? May 24, 2019 17:02

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

It is time for the judging to be listened to! This and the next episode feature Calvin Johns from Anthropos Games.

Episode 1 - "Shattered Masks: No One Is Innocent" by Team Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communists (Hedningen and Landslide; Part 1)

# ? Jun 10, 2019 07:58

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# ? May 5, 2024 03:14

Ettin: Oct 2, 2010

Congrats to the winners! I'm unstickying this thread for now so I'm taking this opportunity to thank TheSoundNinja for this good contest. :allears:

# ? Aug 2, 2019 15:51

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > The Ironic Sequel to the last Anime RPG Design Contest