- Nov 25, 2013
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Dream, dream, dream:
The wheels of time keep on' turnin'... From the scandalous Wrangler to the humble Spawnroom Roller Door, we've seen tons of weapons, armaments, tools, pickups, objectives, devices, do-dads, thingamajigs, and zig-zommers Team Fortress 2 has to offer. But now it's time for something new, the time for a burgeoning jury-rigged paradise with support from our friends over at TFConnect: your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick a type of TF2 machine and dream up your own new one (or up to three, in honor of this being the 3rd TFConnect contest)! If you dream big enough, you might make it on-stream! More on that later.What do I make?
You would create at least 1 artpiece of a Dream Machine of your unique imagining.What's a Dream Machine?
A Dream Machine is a new gameplay-object for TF2! That means it does something like rerouting players, dealing damage, buffing allies, shielding the wearer, etc, etc. Something the teams fight over, or with, or even against - but it's got to be something fresh. Think "new" not "mashup" or "remix". Dream big!What kinds of Dream Machine can I make?
All Dream Machines must fit within one (or more) of the following Machine Categories...Machine Categories:
- "Equipment" (Any equippable armament, like a weapon, a support item like the Sandvich, a defense option like the Cloak & Dagger, etc)
- "Building" (Like Engi's buildings; must be placable by players somehow)
- "Objective" (Like the Control Point, Intel, Payload cart, Pipeball ball, PD point, RD core, etc, so long as there is an unmistakable entity of some kind)
- "Pickup" (Like a healthkit, dropped weapon, Sandvich, Mannpower powerup, etc)
- "Obstacle" (Should have some condition for getting through it, like a spawnroom door or a payload turntable)
- "Hazard" (A placed entity in a map that gives a special and unique disadvantage to its area, like a sawblade, grinder, train, etc)
- "Oasis" (A placed entity in a map that gives a special and unique advantage to its area, like a jump pad, boost pad, healing fountain, etc)
- "Enemy" (Something which attacks players or their assets, like MVM sentrybusters and tanks; does not have to be robotic)
Are reskins or rethemes of existing "machines" allowed?
Nope, that's not a dream, that's just an artpass!What about modified existing "machines" (like tweaked weapons)?
Only if it's really, really, really different. The point here is not to tweak, but to innovate something that is actually new. To dream.Deadlines:
Planning begins: Now! Get to thinking, but don't make any artpieces yet!
Contest begins: 2024 Nov 29, 12:00pm Pacific (3:00pm Eastern / 8:00pm GMT). Countdown clock here!
Submissions open: 2024 Dec 1, 12:00pm Pacific (3:00pm Eastern / 8:00pm GMT). A countdown clock will be provided.
Submissions close: 2024 Dec 2, 12:00pm Pacific (3:00pm Eastern / 8:00pm GMT). A countdown clock will be provided.
Voting begins shortly after: 2024 Dec 2, 5:00pm Pacific (8:00pm Eastern / 4:00am GMT). A countdown clock will be provided.
Voting ends: 2024 Dec 3, 3:00pm Pacific ( 6:00pm Eastern / 11:00pm GMT). A countdown clock will be provided. Don't miss it!
Rules:
- Everything you submit must be made wholly within the time limit. You may use assets that were publically available before submissions became open. The point is to be spontaneous!
- You can work on up to 3 contest entries! No other contributor limits apply. Have fun!
- All Dream Machines must have their own obvious and unambigous direct-gameplay purpose(s). Things like the Noisemaker or Giftapult aren't valid here.
- All Dream Machines must feature obviously unique mechanics. Something like "the stock minigun but with the half-zatoichi swapping restriction" would not qualify, unless it added something new you came up with too (like "you also have to be overhealed to swap" or something).
- All Dream Machines must be TF2-styled and have a unique depiction (even if it's just a mishmash of other things). Nothing gory, lewd, disgusting, etc may be present; it must be totally and completely safe-for-work.
- All Dream Machines must obviously stand out as gameplay elements, like the Payload cart + tracks, Merasmus, dropped weapons, etc.
- Dream OF the machines, not WITH them! No AI content of any kind is permitted, and any submission of such material will be invalidated and the submitter punished. Same goes for plagiarism or other forms of cheating.
Requirements:
- The name of your Dream Machine.
- Its Machine Category.
- An explanation of how it works. If it has stats / damage values / timers / etc, give the numbers. Try not to be any more vague than ingame item descriptions are.
- At least 1 piece of artwork depicting it - in any format! It could be audio, video, VScript [recorded demonstration & map required], an image, origami, a particle system, brushwork, a model, map-guyvered prop-collaging, a written story of it in action (at least 1000 words), a poem or song about it (at least 500 words), etc. In any case, it has to obviously depict your specific Dream Machine.
- (Optional) A description written in the same style as the ones player items get (even if it's not one).
Submission-table templates (mandatory) for submissions will be given in the submission thread when it opens.
Wait -- what the heck is the Pseudocontest part??
This is something new! A psuedocontest is a contest where there are is competition for mild prizes, but not places like 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Much lower stakes. We want this to be something easy and fun much more than we want this to be competitive. So, what's in it for you aside from raising awareness for TFConnect's charity run? You'll be competing for Machine Ranks in a public vote... and for time onscreen during the stream!Are you doing it this way just because the Jam is so close?
Partially! We're very glad to do something with TFConnect again in any case.Voting & Pseudo-Prizes:
When the voting period commences, each voter will go through the supplied Machine Rank categories and match up a minimum number of ranks with entries they feel fit the most. At the end when the tallying is done, each Machine Rank will be awarded to the entry that received it the most in the votes. If there are ties, all of those tied entries will be awarded that same rank. There's a category of "Ubermachine" Ranks that only some entries will qualify for. They're voted on and awarded the same way, though.All qualifying entries will be shown onstream in a gallery view (small images, no detail). Ranks win you better spots.
Common Machine Ranks: If you win one of these, you'll show up in a lightning-fast fullscreen slideshow.
- Scout's Dream
- Soldier's Dream
- Pyro's Dream
- Demoman's Dream
- Heavy's Dream
- Engineer's Dream
- Medic's Dream
- Sniper's Dream
- Spy's Dream
Strange Machine Ranks: If you win one of these, you'll get a shout-out onstream during the slideshow.
- Pusher's Dream
- Holder's Dream
- Pocket's Dream
- Pocket's Nightmare
- Camper's Dream
- Camper's Nightmare
Unusual Machine Ranks: If you win one of these, you'll get a more in-depth mini-segment.
- Most Likely To Cause A Ragequit
- Most Likely To Get A Killstreak
- Most Likely To Create A New Breed of Turtler
- Gotta Try It
- Most-rushed-to Pickup
- Best Building
- Outstanding Oasis
- Olympic Obstacle
- On-point Objective
Ubermachine Ranks: If you win one of these, you will be featured in an extended segment with full detail and discussion, showing all the artworks given (as allowed by time).
These are special Ranks that you can only get if you create an artpiece for your Dream Machine in one of the following unusual ways:
- Making your Dream Machine in Hammer - stock assets only, compile allowed.
- Making your Dream Machine in Hammer (hardmode) - any assets, but must be a screenshot in Hammer (no lighting preview allowed - get creative!).
- In real life (3D & 2D printing are allowed if you do additional artistry with it, i.e. paint it or make folding cutouts).
- A custom particle effect. They should feature prominently and enhance, not obscure, your idea. They must be particularly unique to qualify.
- A custom sound effect (no remixes allowed, must be original). Must be substantial and really "tell a story", not just a clink or a clack or a loop or a bloop or another wacky sound effect. Minimum length: 30s.
- A video (or map & images) of your Dream Machine in action ingame, with meaningful and bespoke ingame depiction (i.e. custom weapon viewmodel).
And the actual Ubermachine Ranks are:
- Most Menacing
- Most Impressive
- Most Innovative
- Most Exciting
- Most Well-styled
- Most Satisfying
- Most Creative
- Hale's Own
