| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Alright, its tiem for the big show! The last round of the competition and what could be the defining moment for one of of lucky and talented designers! So who has the lead, who has momentum, who's the scrappy underdaog that Hollywood has taught us to love?
Lets take a look:
Matt Duval:
Strongest Round- 2nd
Weakest Round 1st
Overall- Consistent resume of solid desgin (just by top 4: best archetype, 2nd best monster)
Biggest strength- seems to understand voters well, his choices with designing a new drake, and the ring teh temple bell power were praticularly smart choices.
Weaknesses- not quite as flashy as some of his competators, didn't think round 4 was as strong as round 2 or 3, might be losing momentum.
Scott Fernandez:
Strongest Round- 3rd
Weakest Round- 2nd
Overall- In my opinion Scott has the momentum right now, his rtound 3 and 4 were dramatically better than round 2, also this is scott's second time in the competition, seems he has learned a thing or two about the competition!
Weaknesses- I feel you wander to the edge of disaster sometimes. The yellow tongue hulk while an amazing monster was a detail or 2 shy from over the top, the forecaster was just a little gonzo, and the encounter could have been a disaster if not for your strong writing and fun twists. Your stuff has an edge but while a strength it is also a potential weakness.
Pedro Coelho:
Strongest Round- 4th
Weakest Round- 1st
Overall- Like scott you have picked up momentum, I'd call you a dark horse, I can see you winning this thing but itll be a surprise for many. Your round 3 was more solid then I first read, and your round 4 was quite good, tell me we might be creeping into your strength as a designer.
Weaknesses- Round 1 & 2 would not have gotten by me as a judge. Clearly others saw something I didn't. I imagine there's some barriers for you in the competition as I suspect most of the voters are US based.
Steven Helt:
Strongest Round- 1st
Weakest Round- 2nd
Strengths- You've designed for a 3PP and you have an old school gaming astetic which resonates with geezer gamers like me and Clark. There's a quality to your writing that is hard to beat.
Weaknesses- The old school vibe is a a double edged sword it can hurt you as easily as it can help.
Bold predictions!
Consistency is between Scott and Matt for me. Momentum is between Pedro and Scott for me, and quality of writing is between Steven and Scott for me. Site unseen I'm predicting Scott has the lead right now and is the competitior to beat!
Of course this is my track record before round 3 winners were announced. Make of that what you will (I named 8 favorites 5/8 advanced to round 4, 2 of those 8 are in round 5) looks like I didn't see scott and pedro coming...
I hope someone enjoys my effort to foster discussion and continued interest in this competition but sometimes I feel like a Billy Idol singe.
"dancing with myself, dancing with myse-elf..."
Hang on duder, I will get you your hair gel...
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I think it's a bit of a moot point, honestly (though I appreciate efforts to keep the forums going). : )
I know there was some discussion about looking at the designer's overall body of work, but I think each round is its own monster, honestly. Maybe early on, previous rounds' work factors into decisions, but I think unless two submissions are REALLY close, the pitch is everything.
Last year, I ended up voting for "Doom Comes to Dustpawn," for example, since I thought it was the best choice even though I hadn't liked much of what Mike had submitted earlier in the contest. Alternatively, at least one person thought I was among the strongest of competitors after Round 2 last year and I promptly flamed out (similarly, I thought Sam Pollack was among last year's best but then ended up being really disappointed in his Round 4 entry).
To be honest, for putting out entries that I personally like overall, I have to say Steven is impressing me. His 1st round item is a favorite of mine, and it is totally going into my home games, its just that good.
His 2nd arch type I also like quite a bit. Evilish, yes, disturbing, yes, a nice counter to happy nature witches, heck yes, and I LIKE IT! It was well thought out, and very much fits the River Lands as per the challenge.
Round 3, a killer ice spider log, gota love it. It reminds me of dungeon siege and the awesome spiders that pretended to be stalagmites. No over powered, but dangerous enough while being interesting.
Round 4, unfortunately this is where IMO there is some issues. I understand not all of us (including myself) are not artists. However I would suspect that superstars as Pazio sees them would use a map maker program. The map is just not inspired, and does not do justice to what I feel to be a good and solid encounter.
Prediction for final round, stepping up the quality of visual materials could vastly improve Steven's chances of ending up a superstar. Best of luck sir.
Hehe, my theme song if I ever had one :)
Something similar. In RPGSS Fantasy I pegged two of the remaining as Top 32. This is just me trying to see the designer behind the item as the judges are so capable of doing. Congratulations to Matt and Pedro for proving me SO wrong! I figured Scott at Top 8, and Steven in the top 4. (one of my Top 4 actually coming true? This might be the first time since Neil’s run.)
I’ll have to go back and look at my voting record to see what I thought of everyone in the various rounds. Though I agree with Jacob, (this last round is make or break), predictions are a major part of any contest. Fan favorite or cinderella story? Both make for a good, fun contest. This year has proven no different. :)
Nice analysis GM_Solspiral.
Scott Fernandez:
I feel you wander to the edge of disaster sometimes. The yellow tongue hulk while an amazing monster was a detail or 2 shy from over the top, the forecaster was just a little gonzo, and the encounter could have been a disaster if not for your strong writing and fun twists. Your stuff has an edge but while a strength it is also a potential weakness.
Honestly, this is what I love about Scott's work in this contest. He's proved really, really good about pushing the envelope - and at the same time, knowing how far it can be pushed. The combination of near-gonzo with pro chops and attention to detail is precisely what I consider most Superstar of all :)
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 8
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
and very much fits the River Lands as per the challenge.
I'm going to put my jerk hat on for a second ;) and point out that the Riverlands exist on Westeros, and the River Kingdoms exist on Golarion. I can't count the number of times that I saw people refer to the river lands during the competition. It sure is nice to finally be able to say something about it.
I now return you to your regular discussion.
Thank you for pointing out my mistake, pardon my typo, the River Kingdoms.
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
,
Dedicated Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 8
|
Thank you for pointing out my mistake, pardon my typo, the River Kingdoms.
No problem. I knew what you meant (which is the point of communication, after all), but it is one of those niggling things that picks at me whenever I see it. :)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Maybe its the power of facial hair in your avatar, but when Ziv comments, I always pay attention.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Maybe its the power of facial hair in your avatar, but when Ziv comments, I always pay attention.
It's funny - when I see someone without an avatar, or with one that's obviously fantastical, I make no inferences as to that person's appearance. But when someone has such a down-to-earth avatar as Ziv's, I find myself assuming that that avatar actually approximate's the person's face.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Ziv has the cousin to the mustache of authority (see drmcninja.com) the beard of criticism!
Like my fellow Jacob, I firmly believe that in the final round, it's all about the adventure pitch. It's really wide open now, and the history of this contest shows that anything can happen at this point.
That said, I have Scott pegged as the guy to beat this year, with Steven a strong second.
Star Voter Season 6
|
I'm rooting for Matt, with Scott a close second. Their encounters were my favorites in the competition with good area details, compelling story and great use of the monsters chosen. While it might be tricky to really bring it out in a game, that bit with the will 'o wisps in Mienka's Cauldron was haunting....shiver.
This is too hard for me to judge right now. I'm pulling for Pedro, but Steven and Scott both have captured my attention in each round.
I've specifically tried to divorce my knowledge of prior entries to what I am currently reading from each Superstar. To me, and probably a lot of the voting public, it is "what are you doing for me right now" as opposed to "what have you done for me".
I know the judges are very likely to consider the previous rounds entries, as they in a day-to-day capacity look at freelancer's historical performance before passing off new work to them.
Pedro is my prediction though. Scott is my runner-up if I was forced to choose but I wouldn't be surprised at Scott winning it all.
Matt Duval is my favorite for now, and I think he has what it takes to win this year.
@ the Jacobs- I suspect it would make a difference if there are 2 entries that both come out really good. IT is entirely possible to be on the fence as to what entry is the best, I'd say body of work would make a great tie breaker.
From what we have seen it will be close. Probably four way close. Even here each of the four have favored status from someone. :) Its going to be a good finish!
@ the Jacobs- I suspect it would make a difference if there are 2 entries that both come out really good. IT is entirely possible to be on the fence as to what entry is the best, I'd say body of work would make a great tie breaker.
Very true. If I have a hard time picking a favorite from two or more entries, I will definitely take the contestants past work into account.
Everyone has done some good work, but no one has excited me in every round. So I'm pretty much open to the pitch itself as the sole determiner at this point.
I give everyone an even chance at this stage, no expectations that one will dominate the round.