CheeryMoya wrote:Funnyguts wrote:Third place! I'm pretty happy with that. I'm glad so many of you liked Anniversaries, Adversity, and Pepper. I'd still love feedback on the game though, even though the competition is over.
Whoa, that
was your entry? After all this time it was the one story that didn't end up blending in with the vast majority of other entries I played, so I guess you did succeed in writing something memorable.
Granted, I only played the bare minimum of 10 >_>
I'm surprised 4Dimensional didn't get up in the top 3, considering there was loads of talk about it. Was 4D just confusing? I wish I had more time to play all the entries and participate more, but this contest was interesting nonetheless.
For me,
Anniversaries actually pretty much blended in with most of the other entries (I played them all, by the way). I recognized that it was competently written and constructed, more so than many other entries, but it just didn't have that 'wow' factor for me. It pretty much followed the prompt to its logical conclusion, which is fine, but when you get a whole bunch of entries that do roughly the same thing, it just... didn't do much for me, personally.
My top three, on the other hand, all had something special to them that made them stand apart from the other entries.
It's All Your Fault was my top pick, and I'm disappointed that nobody else voted for it. If this contest was being judged solely on the quality of the writing, this entry should have won hands down, with
For Stellie as a close second. I think it's the best written work from the LSF community, except maybe for
That Cheap and Sacred Thing, and definitely the most vibrant character study. And it tackles an issue that's incredibly relevant to all of us today in a society that generally thinks it's moved past sexism. THE most original handling of the prompt, completely redefining the concept of "disaster" that really drives the characterization home... I am really, really sad that this didn't get more votes, even though pretty much everybody agreed that the writing was excellent. :<
Outlook of Spirit Commission was my second pick, and I am MIFFED (no offense, Funnyguts) that it got bumped out of third place by
Anniversaries. When I first started playing the entries, I loved it but I didn't think I'd put it in my top three because you know, it's "just" a parody... but after I finished I realized that this was actually one of the funniest, wittiest, cleverest entries in the bunch. I've written a long ass review about it so I won't go into more detail here.
And of course,
For Stellie was my third pick. Everybody's pretty much said all I want to about it. I looooved the professor. The writing is stellar (haha), vibrant, and full of personality. It had a strong, stylized, almost farcical quality to it (to all the people who complained about realism issues - that's exactly why this entry works so well! It's a heightened, more awesome version of reality!) There was a humour, light-heartedness, and warmth to everything that was so infectious and charming. The plotline, in of itself, wasn't all that groundbreaking... but the sheer strength of the writer's voice and the characterization just sold the entry completely. Every word from beginning to end was perfectly placed (all right, the spirit was laying it on a bit thick towards the end, but still). And those last two words *swoon*. I am just a sucker for title drops, especially when they're done well, like this one is.
@CheeryMoya:
4Dimensional is too flawed to be considered for a top three, even though it's written in a way that provides awesome fodder for discussion. It has great potential though, and I'd really like to see the creator take it and tighten it up, maybe figure out what they really want to convey with the story. I almost feel like without the shackles of the prompt and the sprite, the creator could expand the basic sci-fi elements into a world and a story that's truly compelling. By the way, if the creator wants to identify themselves and come and talk to us a little about what they intended with this piece, that would be really, really awesome. Just saying.
In any case, congratulations to all the winners and everybody who participated! I had tons of fun discussing the entries and trying to figure out what's considered "good writing" in the VN format. Thank you again, papillon, for organizing this, and I certainly hope to see more events like this in the future!
Also, thank you so much to everybody who voted for and/or reviewed
Fairy Tales! I'm happy that so many of you enjoyed it, and I'm really grateful for the critiques. I will be releasing a revised standalone version of it at some point, with all new art by the godly and fabulous Carassaurat, so if you have more criticisms or suggestions for this piece, please go ahead and tell us.