I haven’t read most of the discussion yet so this may have been discussed before. In any case, I am very concerned by the fact that @Mesonak’s original post and update responses make no implication or acknowledgement of whether each Hagah contest is going to be run simultaneously or sequentially. I would like clarification on where TTV stands on this, because my confidence in the Hagah contests weighs heavily on the answer.
I put my arguments forward as to how risky these contests are going to be if not run sequentially (or at least semi-sequentially) in the last feedback topic. However, I will repeat myself here:
To preface, I come from a position of wanting the Hagah to have a very high degree of visual consistency, to the extent of clone set groups such as the Piraka and Inika (the Piraka having essentially perfect consistency, the Inika having near-perfect). This, I believe, is what Lego would have done if they made all six Hagah.
My criteria for an ideal outcome for these contests:
Essential
- All Hagah have different masks, or an equal distribution of masks (e.g. two have Norik’s mask, two have Iruini’s, and two have another). I don’t think I’d mind if some of them had different versions of the same mask (e.g. Noble Komau for one, Great Komau for the other).
- Different spears, or equal distribution
- Different chest armour, or equal distribution
- Equal or near-equal distribution of metallic colours
Ideal
- Equal or near-equal distribution of arm types
- Equal or near-equal distribution of leg types
- Equal or near-equal distribution of thigh armour types
- Equal or near-equal distribution of shoulder armour types
- Equal or near-equal distribution of eye colours
- Equal or near-equal distribution of any other variable elements (e.g. feet)
Since some people agreed with (or at least understood) my position in the last discussion topic, and since no one outright lambasted me for feeling so strongly, I’d suspect this is a position I’m far from alone in.
The problem with running the voting periods for these contests simultaneously is that it is extraordinarily difficult to achieve consistency to such a degree. If I vote for four Hagah designs because those four in combination make for the most consistent team, the odds of all four winning will always be incredibly low. What’s practically guaranteed to happen is we’ll get one or two that fit a pattern, and one or two that break it. Someone brought up the example of three being gold and one being bright blue - now with Meso saying the group art contest wouldn’t be allowed to rectify this, there is a very clear risk of people like me becoming dissatisfied by the result of these contests.
We need to look at these contests differently to the Helryx and Artakha ones. Many of us won’t be voting for the best individual Hagah. We’ll be voting for the best team - it’s much harder to do that when you’re essentially voting blind. And if the only thing artists can do in the final ‘draw all’ contest is change masks, inconsistencies are much more likely to remain. In all likelihood, some people will look at the winning entries and wish they’d voted for different ones, because while they looked the best individually, they don’t look the best together. It doesn’t bode well for the contests if people start regretting their choices.
Say we ran the Gaaki contest, then the Pouks one, then Bomomga’s, then Kualus’. What that does is allow people to look at the entries for the current contest, put them side-to-side with the current line-up of canon Toa Hagah as it grows, and say “which one looks best with this line-up?” If someone enters a Kualus with metallic blue armour when there’s already three gold and two silver Toa Hagah, fewer people are going to vote for that Kualus, because they expect him to be silver. Sure, it’s not guaranteed to prevent an inconsistent Kualus from winning, but it’s certainly better than nothing.
I take issue with this response because while yes, having inconsistent colours doesn’t conflict with canon, we can do better than just telling people to deal with it. The fact that you acknowledged that having three gold and one bright blue Toa would look weird, and yet conceded to let that happen, worries me. If something looked weird in the Helryx or Artakha contests, voters would be able to do something to prevent that happening (i.e. by not voting for a weird-looking entry). Weirdness in the Hagah contests can (and probably will) extend beyond the sets themselves to the team as a unit. The community needs more ability to prevent the canon team from looking weird.
So, to reduce the odds of getting an inconsistent team, I would suggest:
- Either: run each contest completely separately, with pauses in between. This lets voters pick the Hagah that fits the team best, but also gives MOCists and artists time to adjust their entries so they can do the same.
- Or: Run the entry periods simultaneously, but the voting periods separately. Each winning Hagah is announced before the voting period for the next Hagah starts. This benefits voters but not entrants.
- Consider also: Give artists in the ‘draw all’ contest more freedom to change the designs to improve consistency. E.g. they can also change the colour, chest armour or blades (but only for the purpose of better consistency). This has the potential to annoy some people, and will need to be handled carefully.
I would personally suggest doing all of the above. The more opportunities people have to correct inconsistencies, the less likely these inconsistencies will still be present in the canon designs, and the fewer people that will be disappointed.
TLDR: At minimum, the voting periods for these contests (and announcements of the winners) need to be done one at a time. For people wanting clear group cohesion, voting for one depiction of character A without knowing which depiction of B, C and D will win makes it impossible to be confident in your decision. Crucially, it makes it much more likely that the winning entries will not fit well together.
The outcome of this contest should be to get a cohesive group of Toa, not a mishmash of inconsistent but good-looking Toa. If you run the voting sequentially, voters can vote on the basis of which Toa looks best with the established line-up, reducing the odds of an inconsistent-looking team.
These contests are inherently contentious to some - surely the best solution is to aim for the lowest common denominator and ensure we disappoint as few people as possible.