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Mini-Boss Creation Finale
Like a tired old song, the If You Could Make a Mini-Boss Contest draws to a close with one gapping problem: I screwed up again. Don't take this the wrong way. The entries were great. They were numerous, well thought out, and very devoted. I guess people took a cue from Dedede-Daimyo and made pictures for some themselves. Good for them. The problem came with, I believe, one time of opening my big, fat mouth. I thought it would be good to designate certain entries as good scaffolding or role models for future entries, pointing out which I thought were nice and imitatable. It began out with a good few, and then a drought came by. Finally, the submission of Gabriel spurred slapping that one last "Good Example" title. Now, in the analysis of the submission, I chiefly praise the appearance, the picture, and the general actions and behavior. However, it seems like everyone, from that point on, saw one thing: do stuff like the smoke screen attack. This leads back to the initial statement about the entries being good. They were real good. Innovative, original, well thought out. The problem is that I tried to impede such routes. The Animal Friend Contest fell down a shaky path, so I wanted the Mini-Boss Contest to be of a simpler make. Mini-bossese aren't complicated. They are pretty mundane for the most part. Some of these actions were too complex for even a full on boss to use, really. Again, don't take it the wrong way. It would be awesome to have battles with some of these thought up elements. They'd be good stuff, really. The problem is that If You Could Make A... is suppose to be about the seamless blending of fan creations with game creations. The goal is to get fans in synch with the actual games so it's not terribly out of place. In tagging certain aspects, unintentionally, as prime examples, I feel I contaminated many entries. Regardless, the show must go on. This time, since there were so many great entries (not that I'm sayin' anything about the first contest, really >_>), there won't be any one winner. Last time, I think it was pretty one sided. There really only seemed to be one person who truly grasped onto the ideals of the Animal Friend. This time, there will be several fields of criteria awarded honors, and even runners-up noted. The first consideration is for the Simply Great entries. These, in a sense, followed the path laid out truest. There were no fancy bells and whistles, but, then again, there weren't suppose to be. Some came out a little on the short end with their details, but they had enough there to paint a perfect picture of what they were trying to get across. In my mind, they were great. Jumpah takes the carrot cake in this field. It was, in my mind, the truest definition of what a Hi-Jump mini-boss would be. I mean, it was a rabbit and jumped. It also had the best case of star making, in my opinion, which really seemed to be over done at some points. Stars when missing a grab? Stars made after shooting not stars? Some submitters put more heart into the matter than others. I know everyone tried, but some were More Dedicated to the cause. This is a reflection of what Dedede-Daimyo did in the last contest where he not only offered to make a picture of the pet and all eight of its abilities, which alone was a well thought out feat. These people just tried harder, and I feel their devotion is worth mention. Moogong was, already, a good mini-boss. It had original and believable repetitions and fit over all well, but this wasn't enough for Mints. Oh, my no. He had to go and make a full-on game in which people could not only see what his mini-boss was like but interact with her as a player would in a game. 'Cuz he made one. That was basically Kirby. That's dedication. Sorry, other guys. Fancy pictures alone didn't cut it this time. Needless to say, the filler art I make for submissions is a far way from great. However, some submissions came with Fine Artwork that wonderfully allowed them to stand out above the rest. Mainly because we were drawn to looking at them due to the picture. Fright-Light stole the show with his enormous, multi-panel spread. Don't take that the wrong way, however, as it could have been just one picture, and it'd be up here. It's a wonderful example of color pencil. No filters or scripts for instant wonder digital art here. It's pure hard work and a worthy outcome. Kudos. I made mention of all the wonderful ideas that came up, many being Very Innovative. Even if more fit for a pull out boss battle in my personal opinion, they really showed some wonderful creativity. Glow had the interesting twist of giving the player the chance to shine some light onto its mysterious form. This notion came up again, but Glow was the first one received to sport it. So, sorry, it takes the cake. Tornatail piqued my interest as well. The arena spikes were an interesting for the mini-boss to utilize. And Gabriel, who's smoky screen would yield a real challenge to over come. Now, I'm not the only person getting a say this time around. I wanted to know what people thought, and, those who took the time to voice that opinion (it'll be cut down even more next time, I swear), helped contribute to the Highest Rated mini-boss. The patrons of Rainbow Resort have acted as the judged based upon the criteria that were stated at the start of the contest. Based on their thoughts and opinions, this is who best fit the definition of what fit the bill! I didn't vote or get any sway in the matter. I've included the top five contenders and their ratings, based on a system utilizing the questions asked. No one got a perfect score, not even my offered example (he didn't even make the top spots!).
Before getting on to the crowning ceremony, I just wanna get something off my chest. There were just some little things that really got to me. I know they shouldn't bother me, but they did. So, I air them here. My Pet Peeves about mini-boss submissions. Now, some of these items won't resonate with viewers as the offending submissions were simply brushed aside. The one's that normally were skipped over or that had parts edited out was the "Try all the different flavors" variety of submission. These people thought, "Oh, I won't just make one mini-boss. I'll make two! But, it's not really two, it's more like one-and-a-third since the other one is just basically the same thing but gives a different ability." Yeah, that's what's called lazy graphical design. One of the things in the contest was to make a new creation and not to base it off of a pre-existing creation, so people would make a new enemy and base another one off of that. And this isn't the Hothead/Bubblehead relationship, either. I'm plainly talking about, "This one is orange instead. New ability." The next noteworthy trend was that so many entries wanted to be Sharp Spook, but tended to want to have three powers, never two, if not more. These poorly put together patchworks weren't made for what people thought in their hearts but seemed more like they were designed for the contest.
And now the grand finale, the crowning moment. I've assessed all sorts of factors to determine the Best in Show entrants. Many factors were considered, such as fan reaction and implied effort and feeling behind a submission. No, outstanding artwork doesn't win any favors in this decision, just the effort seen behind what was done. So, with all these inputs sorted, a true, all around winner was not found. Seriously, doing it this way cut off the top and bottom of the runners and left a gooey, nougat middle. It didn't work. There were too many conflicting factors. So, I did it the good ol' method -- the lesser of evils. I pretty much looked for one that didn't break any rules and just was a mini-boss while offering enough spice to stand out from the crowd without standing on their shoulders. Aureus was that someone. It was an entirely believable mini-boss. It fused together feats already seen by T.A.C., the Copy helper and giver, and Droppy, the guy who took Kirby's abilities and changed into that enemy. If there were to be a copy mini-boss, of course it would power pilfer Kirby and Co. More than that, it offered a unique method with mini-boss battles: no help. It was almost guaranteed to be fought classic style as helpers and abilities probably wouldn't last long. Any damage done with these would be refilled once it obtained its target. And, really, it wouldn't be teetering on the brink when it bagged a power. This would definitely happen at the start. It is, essentially, just resetting the mini-boss fight with a new foe and just Kirby's natural talents. And that's how it all shake 'n' baked down. I offered too simple a color-by-numbers task, and a lot of folks went and added tones and highlights. Meanwhile, Aureus used goldenrod instead of yellow. And that's how I sum thing up -- with a coloring book analogy. Stay tuned for the next installment, which still ain't gonna be Round Knights of the Table, orrr not! |
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| Last Updated - December 4th, 2008 | |
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