GCA 2007 (It's over! We need suggestions for next year!)

[daidaishar]

SamhainStar

Quote:

Also I would like to have an option to argue our reviews next time

To be honest, it makes you look much better of an artist if you can sit and take crits, however crazy, great or unfair and stay quiet. It's a really really hard thing to do...the temptation to argue, or explain yourself is very great.

more often than not, it seems like people are making excuses when they argue critique.

The way I see it, critique essentialy gives you a chance to take a look at your work through and outsider's eyes. Anything that you try to explain in reaction to it is something that you see it your work that for some reason isn't getting translated into the result that others see, which is a problem that needs to be addressed. For example, if there's confusion over something that will be explained later in the course of the story, the fact that it's being critiqued might be a tip off that the way your are handling it is creating confusion rather than suspence. instead of arguing over how it will be explained later, or explaining it to the person directly outside of the comic, you should take another look at the way you present it in your comic.

Granted, I tend to be a non-confrontational person anyways, but that's my take on the matter.

[Duchess of Daisy]

sweatdrop I can't believe I missed this entire thing. It looked pretty cool. Maybe I can help out for next year.

[Mr McGrumpypants]

Nightmaresky

Also I think just extra points at the end would be nice. Not like the other sections being judged, but lets just say the artist has a character page. They can get on extra point. Or the fact they attemped to color some part of their comic. Give an extra point. I know not all artist know how to do character pages, and etc. But for those web artist that put an extra attemped to do better should be rewarded. I think that's all the things I can come up with....
What do you think?

We didn't think websites should have much focus because regardless of how awesome the site could have been, it wouldn't mean much if the comic itself sucked. Comics like Megatokyo get absurd amounts of attention and yet they barely keep a functioning site together. Then you might get others that have plain sites (ie Dominic Deegan) and the comic is still just as good.

If I had to judge Megatokyo with the things you wanted as criteria for a website, I'd probably rip Fred Gallagher a new a*****e because he does almost zilch to add to the site's pages. The character and story pages still say "it'll get done when i feel like it" (which comes off as more than a little egocentric) and they've been like that for as long as I can remember. A webcomic shouldn't need a seperate wiki just to tell you what the official site itself should say.

Long story short, it wouldn't have been fair to judge people trying to show off a little artistic prowess with a bigger emphasis on the technological side of things.

[Bella Roi]

What matters most is that the comic (most recent page, the first page and the archive) is accessible through as few clicks as possible. I hate having to hunt for anything. ]<

[Kaxen]

Miser Bellatrix

What matters most is that the comic (most recent page, the first page and the archive) is accessible through as few clicks as possible. I hate having to hunt for anything. ]<

Agreed. I end up being more critical when the website is too hard to navigate. "THIS BETTER BE DAMN GOOD BECAUSE IT WASTED FIVE MINUTES OF MY LIFE TRYING TO FIND IT!"

I think I'm sickeningly easy to satisfy with websites. If the buttons work, it follows the two-click rule, and the color scheme doesn't give me a seizure, I probably like the website...

[Mr McGrumpypants]

SamhainStar

Quote:

I can't think of a short explanation for this...I have known a handful of people who get by in life using aggression to dominate people. Even on the internet, there are people who will avoid answering or getting in the way of someone who is like this. The complication of the internet means words can't always be interpreted in the right way, because humour is also dictated in pitch and everything.

One of my managers thrived on the silence of her staff with fear using aggression. People are strange creatures indeed sweatdrop

I may be aggressive with people, but that hardly means I want them to keep quiet when they don't agree with me. Sometimes I make comments that aren't very sensible and the first thing people should do is point out my mistake. It's very easy for me to get a big ego and think too highly of myself, so I need people pointing out my mistakes frequently to keep myself in check.

For all the bitching and yelling I do to other people, though, I'm really hard on myself when it comes to my writing. I'm frequently regretting the way I've written something or seeing how I could have done something better when it's too late.

[Bella Roi]

Kaxen

Agreed. I end up being more critical when the website is too hard to navigate. "THIS BETTER BE DAMN GOOD BECAUSE IT WASTED FIVE MINUTES OF MY LIFE TRYING TO FIND IT!"

I think I'm sickeningly easy to satisfy with websites. If the buttons work, it follows the two-click rule, and the color scheme doesn't give me a seizure, I probably like the website...

With hosts like Smack Jeeves, I learned the hard way that you can't really go beyond the basic layouts. You can't use iframes, you can't use separate layouts for the comic pages themselves.... That leaves very little room to do much else since you have to adjust the layout so that your pages can fit in it. And I personally hate trapping a comic page between side menus. =|

So next time, if the comic is hosted on SJ or DrunkDuck, let's keep that in mind.

But, I'll tolerate simplicity if there isn't something else to butcher my want to read a comic. Such as having the pages be stuck in a frame, oh gods I hate that. ._. Or when they're all on the same page, holy s**t.


On a completely irrelevant note, I ******** hate changing diapers.

[Kaxen]

It does kind of suck that Smackjeeves won't do iframes. I like iframes...

Oh god, all the comics on one page is terrible! I hate people who do that... I think the only time I put up with something similar is when a guy put his pages in sets of four on every page.


I don't think there is a possible way to like changing diapers...

[Mr McGrumpypants]

There is if you've got a fetish for urine and/or feces. But that's something we won't get into.

[Bella Roi]

Killjoy.

[ladyranozenth]

Wow, the new forum is stange. I guess it's fine though.

Well, to start, I liked all of the reviews. It's about where my standards are, generally, so it helped. I read some comics just to find out what you were talking about, and I learned some stuff I can use myself.

I didn't really see any problems with VH's reviews, they were pretty funny and easy to read...Miser was sometimes a little too overwhelming, but it is important to read through all of it. Just a little tiring as compared with the others.

Although you guys probably already know, a little more organization would be nice. Also, for the points system, maybe weight each judge's ratings based on their expertise?
Like this:
Art expert:
Art
5-Paneling
5-Medium
5-Consistency
5-Technical skill
5-Backgrounds

Writing
3-Execution
3-Pacing
3-Speech
3-Grammar/Spelling
3-Literary Value

Writing expert:
Art
3-Paneling
3-Medium
3-Consistency
3-Technical skill
3-Backgrounds

Writing
5-Execution
5-Pacing
5-Speech
5-Grammar/Spelling
5-Literary Value

Comics guru
Art
4-Paneling
4-Medium
4-Consistency
4-Technical skill
4-Backgrounds

Writing
4-Execution
4-Pacing
4-Speech
4-Grammar/Spelling
4-Literary Value


or like this:
Casual comic reader:
30pts
Obsessive comic reader:
50pts
Comics expert:
40pts
Comics fan/but biased:
35pts
or something.

Additionally, maybe the addition of extra points, where each judge gets so many points (if the same number of entries were involved, maybe 5) and gets to distribute them however they want, for whatever reason. For example: if the artist put in gratuitous fanservice, the judge that likes that could give all of their extra points for that, or if there was an awesome site design, a judge could give that an extra point.

Also, if you need more judges, I might be able to jump in. I ended up reading every comic in this contest anyway, so I might as well judge then too. I read them rather quickly, too...which may not be a good thing. [This is also a function of whether or not I end up entering, which is a function of whether I quit being lazy and actually work on my pages instead of taking my time watching tv with my Calculus homework lying undone on the table.]

I hope this helps. I can't donate, because I'm more of a lurker, forum wise, and barely have any gold at all, and there's no way I'd spend real money on digital items.

Ugh, how much time did I spend on this? I should be working on my physics hw. I think that's why I got on the computer, anyway. I haven't even made a tab for the website I need to be on to do that...
Either that, or I should go to bed...it's almost one and I feel like the sandman whacked me with an anvil because the hammer and the sand didn't work.

I should walk briskly away from the computer now. I probably won't, though.

[Bella Roi]

I spent ages writing those things and you're complaining about a read that's no longer than what, five minutes if you're slow?

I have no trouble imagining that it can be tiring for someone the review wasn't directed at, though. But still, it's for the artists/authors, not for anyone else, so GTFO. (Unless you were one of the contestants, and if that's the case then LAWL)

In any case, your suggestion sounds ridiculous to me, and I'm not saying that merely because you ruffled my feathers. It sounds unnecessarily retarded (ohh yes I did) and will make my brain explode if I'll have even MORE points to distribute. Grah.
And rewarding something as absolutely foul as fan-service with More points? I'm not even going to comment on that.

You get a big fat "NO" from me. But hey, I'm still not sure if I'll be a judge again so whatever.


Damn, babies make me cranky and even more short-tempered.

[Sluvotsky]

ladyranozenth

Wow, the new forum is stange. I guess it's fine though.

Snip snip snip

I didn't really see any problems with VH's reviews, they were pretty funny and easy to read...Miser was sometimes a little too overwhelming, but it is important to read through all of it. Just a little tiring as compared with the others.

Snip snip snip

Snip snip snip

TL;DR
*Overwhelming list of statpoints*
MOAR TL;DR

I hope this helps. I can't donate, because I'm more of a lurker,

TL;DR

Dude.
You don't seem to have a problem with being tiring yourself. >:

[Nightmaresky]

I think the judges did a good job. Besides, As much as I would like to have some comic guru looking at my comic, I don't think that's going to happen.

Also, I was only suggesting the additional point thingy. Don't shoot me! >.<

I agree on the crappy layout of a website. I read an unholy amout of comics, web comics included. And Once I found a good story, the art work was average, but I just couldn't get over the bad layout. And I tried! It took me 3 hours for only 50 pages! Because I had to click on every page and there was no next button. UGGG!!! Sorry just wanted to get the frustration out. Plain pages shouldn't get point deducted. As long as I can read the comic without having to go on a treasure hunt, I really don't care about the layout. So what if the lay out if plain. As long as you can read the comic, I don't think you should get any points deducted.

(LMAO on the comment on Megatokyo. I feel the same way.)

Hey... If I wanted to be a judge for next year what would I have to do?

[Mr McGrumpypants]

The problem with weighting each judge based on expertise is this: pretty much the only person who does what they do for a living that was a judge this year was Tregory, who writes articles. I don't know what Miser does, but I'm just a high school student with a love for a comics and a really big ******** mouth. Other than Tregory, I wouldn't really say we have much right to act like we're professionals.

Oh, how's Junior behaving, Miser? xd