Dreams of the Skies [2011 Anniversary Edition]

[KomiTsuku]

I don't really remember the old version. if I'm not mistaken, the new version has better art, better character development, better story line, and new character. my favorite character is Kat and really love her dialogue.

did you do the art yourself? if not, where did you get it?

thanks

It's probably better if you don't try to remember the old version. >.>; Yep, the new version has better art and, depending on your POV, better character development. I wanted to include Kat in the original version, but she was left out due to constraints. She was going to appear in the never-finished sequel, but...

I did the art for the first version, which is part of the reason why I'd avoid remembering it. For this version, however, the very good folks at CDS did the art.

[psyduck]

It's probably better if you don't try to remember the old version. >.>; Yep, the new version has better art and, depending on your POV, better character development. I wanted to include Kat in the original version, but she was left out due to constraints. She was going to appear in the never-finished sequel, but...

I did the art for the first version, which is part of the reason why I'd avoid remembering it. For this version, however, the very good folks at CDS did the art.

at least you can do the coloring. thanks for the info

[KomiTsuku]

It's probably better if you don't try to remember the old version. >.>; Yep, the new version has better art and, depending on your POV, better character development. I wanted to include Kat in the original version, but she was left out due to constraints. She was going to appear in the never-finished sequel, but...

I did the art for the first version, which is part of the reason why I'd avoid remembering it. For this version, however, the very good folks at CDS did the art.

at least you can do the coloring. thanks for the info

I didn't do the coloring either. >.<; I am in absolutely no way an artist. All I did for the art in the 2011 version was the textbox. I am just a simple cruddy writer.

[KomiTsuku]

Since we are coming up on the 4th anniversary, I want to do something special again. Any ideas?

[redeyesblackpanda]

Ah, I remember reading through this...

Plushies? We could have a massive auction for them on eBay, and have the proceeds go to charity, or something

[KomiTsuku]

Ah, I remember reading through this...

Plushies? We could have a massive auction for them on eBay, and have the proceeds go to charity, or something

You did? I feel I will regret this, but what was your opinion of it?

If I'm going to be making plushies, I'm going to be making them of Faye from Rising Angels first. But a contest or some sort of charity event isn't a bad idea.

[KomiTsuku]

I know this is likely to result in a triple posting by me, but I'm pleased to announce that our 4th anniversary celebration has been decided! Stay tuned tomorrow for the revealing of the largest ever IDHAS writing and art contests with first place prizes of $200 up for grabs! I can barely contain myself with the excitement!

[KomiTsuku]

And here is that fabled triple post!

Four years ago, a small English visual novel was released by a no-name man with little to his name other than fleas and a scanner from the early 90s. That first pathetic visual novel, that first drug into the world of VN creation, were the humble beginnings of one of the most egotistical EVN makers to plague the world. As we sit on the anniversary of that first game and the upcoming releases of some of the most ambitious projects imagined, I think it is time for a little celebration of how far we've come. With this, I'm happy to announce the start of the Dreams of the Skies 4th anniversary art and writing contest!

For those of you who have never played Dreams of the Skies, shame on you. You can download the story from here. The story is only around 30 minutes to an hour long.

Plot: Tobias is a 23 year old one winged angel. He’s lived his whole life shunned by the angelic society for being a freak and by human society for being the member of a society that nearly destroyed itself ten years ago in a war that engulfed angelic society. However, all of that is about to change. Following an ancient legend, Tobias is about to regain the wing he never had and claim the heritage that was denied to him. All it will take is one simple thing, murder.

This contest is two sided, a separated art and writing contest. I'm not an artist myself (the orignal version should highlight that), but a writer. Both writers and artists are welcomed in this contest.

Theme: Past, Present, and Future

Prizes, what you all are interested in! Both the writing contest and art contest have identical prizes. Now, I'd like to give out more than large cash prizes, so if there are any donations to our contest, I'll welcome them. If the winner doesn't have Paypal, I'll send your winnings via DA points, though I have no idea what you could do with 16,000 pts.

First place: $200 USD via Paypal

Second place: $100 USD via Paypal

Third place: $50 USD via Paypal

That's right, there is a whopping $700 of prizes in the pool, making this the largest contest IDHAS has ever ran.



Deadline: October 25, 2012

Results announced: November 1, 2012



Judging: All pieces will be judged on creativity, originality, and plain old awesomeness (writing will also be judged on grammar). All pieces will be reviewed by the dynamic IDHAS trio: Chief Editor Komi and his two bumbling assistants. Depending on the number of entries, we might include a fan vote in there as well.



Art contest rules:

You must have 1 Dreams of the Skies character and 1 non-DotS character. It can be your OC or a fanart. For the DotS character, you can use any character from either the original or remake.

Proper credit must be given to all characters!

You must include the theme in some way, shape, or form.

You can submit up to two pieces for both contests total. Meaning you can put two in the art contest, two in the writing contest, or one in each.

Keep it under XXX rating. IDHAS has never been a family friendly studio, but let's keep the smut out of this one. You can toe that line, just don't cross it.

Also, for the your submission, you can either post it on here, PM me, or send it to my e-mail, chief@idhasstudios.com

All entries will get featured in a later blog. Not so much a rule, just something to note.



Writing contest rules:

See above

Length must be between 1,000 and 10,000 words.



Characters:

Tobias, our protagonist: http://www.idhasstudios.com/DotS/tobias.png

Josh, the sidekick manipulating everything behind the scenes: http://www.idhasstudios.com/DotS/Josh.png

Winy, the victim of a cruel fate and future: http://www.idhasstudios.com/DotS/Winy.png

Kat, the nerdy best friend trying to stop it all: http://www.idhasstudios.com/DotS/Kat.png

Qrinz, a character who was worked out after the original and replaced by Kat. Qrinz did get a graphic retooling, but long after her role had been replaced: http://www.idhasstudios.com/DotS/Qrinz.png

Doc, an evil character egging Tobias on from the fabled unreleased version 4: http://www.idhasstudios.com/DotS/Doc.png



As always, I'm here to field any comments, questions, or concerns! Remember, have fun!

[KomiTsuku]

Two weeks left on the contest! There have been zero entries so far, so now is the time to take advantage of that and go for it!

[KomiTsuku]

The contest is over. There's going to be a mini-review VN of the entries, so expect one more post on the 1st before this game goes back into the safe.

[dreamingdaze]

Hmm, this is interesting.

Out of curiosity, how do you feel this contest went? Rather unusual one, so I'm curious your thoughts on the matter. Or will that be in the mini-review VN?

[KomiTsuku]

Hmm, this is interesting.

Out of curiosity, how do you feel this contest went? Rather unusual one, so I'm curious your thoughts on the matter. Or will that be in the mini-review VN?

I will be addressing that in a longer form in the review. The short version is strong disappointment at the level of participation. There was honest concern that there wouldn't be any entries for the art section the day before it ended. The decision making process for the winners are going to be tricky (especially in the writing). I enjoyed all 3 writing entries quite a bit. However, I will not be doing anything like this again. The prizes could have gone a long way in game development. Did we have fun? Yep. Was it worth it? Not from the studio's CFO point of view.

Short short version: It was a fun idea to build morale and foster interest, but $700 in prizes for 8 entries just isn't worth repeating.

[papillon]

I only even found out this contest existed when you posted that it was ending. (that is, I did see the 'The contest is over' post earlier, but I never saw the contest before that.)

I don't really tend to camp the ends of completed games threads... I do read the Planet Renai feed, though, and I never saw anything there. Was it announced and I missed it?

If this thread was the main place you advertised, then 8 entries is a pretty *good* turnout... I've run contests with a lot fewer entries than that. More than once.

[Anarchy]

Same here. I only found out about it when you announced it had ended and it just CRUSHED me because those prizes are amazing. I am still incredibly pissed that I didn't know about this game and contest earlier. *sigh* Perhaps you could've put a link to the contest in your sig (because I've seen you post around the site, and something like that in your sig would've intrigued me), or maybe a separate thread announcing it in Creator Discussion? Because that forum was where I found out about other contests like The Worst KN/VN and Adversity Comp.

[KomiTsuku]

I only even found out this contest existed when you posted that it was ending. (that is, I did see the 'The contest is over' post earlier, but I never saw the contest before that.)

I don't really tend to camp the ends of completed games threads... I do read the Planet Renai feed, though, and I never saw anything there. Was it announced and I missed it?

If this thread was the main place you advertised, then 8 entries is a pretty *good* turnout... I've run contests with a lot fewer entries than that. More than once.

Nope, this was scattered across forums and art sites, as well as here and my personal site. You wouldn't see it on Planet Renai due to issues with my website not permitting posting to it.

EDIT:

Same here. I only found out about it when you announced it had ended and it just CRUSHED me because those prizes are amazing. I am still incredibly pissed that I didn't know about this game and contest earlier. *sigh* Perhaps you could've put a link to the contest in your sig (because I've seen you post around the site, and something like that in your sig would've intrigued me), or maybe a separate thread announcing it in Creator Discussion? Because that forum was where I found out about other contests like The Worst KN/VN and Adversity Comp.

But it ISN'T about creator discussion. The best place, sadly, for it on the forum for a contest celebrating a specific game is in that game itself. I do admit that assuming people would look at it when the thread popped up repeatedly to the top of the completed game forum was presumptuous but it highlights a point I made in another forum about BxG getting ignored. Then again, I always check new posts. Maybe I'm just the oddball here.