Random Contest Closing

[Stephanie (swordlilly)]

From the New Features:

We hope you've enjoyed the Random Contest! We've loved seeing all your amazing creations over the years. It's time for this particular contest to come to a close, but we hope you've all enjoyed it as much as we have. For the final Random Contest, we're challenging you to... Well, you will have to find out! Good luck to all the entrants, and congratulations to last week's winners.

I'm not much of a crafter, but I've always enjoyed looking at people's apple-sculptures, posters, hand-woven rugs and whatnot. It's sad to see this contest end.

At least they're notifying us about this, rather than what they did with the Lenny Conundrum: letting it fade away and not updating it for years. I'm still kind of vaguely hoping they'll bring that one back. ^^;

[Stephanie (swordlilly)]

(sorry for double-post, hopefully the quotes will justify it)

I just noticed that this conversation already started on the Gloat/Cry thread. Should we move it here? I feel like this is significant enough of a change to justify its own thread.

Oct 24, 2014 18:14:59 GMT -5 @natthewriter said:

RIP, Random Contest. ;_____;

Oct 24, 2014 18:43:25 GMT -5 doctortomoe said:

THEY'RE ENDING THE RANDOM CONTEST!?!?!?!

AGGGHHHH!!! *Flips table*

I still need that avie, and I can't draw and I have sooooo many good ideas for this one! *Flips more tables*

Oct 24, 2014 19:05:10 GMT -5 Bianca <3 said:

That announcement on the news seemed so sudden!! Since I'm more of a writer than an artist, I got the avvie from the poetry one they did a few years ago, but I feel so... sad it's going to be gone. Did people just not enter?

Oct 24, 2014 19:47:14 GMT -5 Breakingchains said:

I'm quite sad about this, too. I sort of saw it coming--for months they've been posting reminders in the news like "Don't forget you only have a week to submit!" and that made me suspect participation was dwindling. ._.

Oct 24, 2014 20:02:14 GMT -5 Duke Pikachu said:

Posted most of my opinion on the closing of the Random Contest on Jellyneo, so I'll give the gist of it here:

Of course I'm sad to see it go, however I'm hoping this also means TNT will be focusing their efforts on parts of the site they've been neglecting over the year like the Battledome. Considering how much staff they lost it might be for the best... and this doesn't mean the RC won't ever return. Just right now it's not needed.

Oct 24, 2014 20:11:45 GMT -5 Komori said:

Pretty sure the RC judges weren't programmers, Pikachu.

XD TNT has said again and again and again, so much that it's kind of sad. Just because they introduce/change/remove one feature of the site doesn't mean they aren't fixing bugs/creating items/other things Neopians whine for. Like, if they suddenly got rid of the Neopian Times, it wouldn't mean suddenly Droplet's freed up to do something like create Flash games.

[Ginz ❤]

I'm so sad to see the Random Contest closing. D: It was probably my favorite creative contest in Neo. Though, regrettably, I didn't participate nearly as often as I should have! I would always say I should enter more, but rarely got around to it. But I thought it was a very creative contest and I loved the concept! I really enjoy crafting, so that also appealed to me.

I can't say I'm very surprised, though. Even years ago I remember them constantly extending the deadline to give time for more entries. But it's still a shame. I will miss it and remember it fondly!

[Carolyn]

I feel like a part of my neo-experience is dying with the RC closing. :/

*Shakes head* Such a shame, really. Hopefully this means they are replacing it with something just as good if not better.

[Komori]

Yeah, I regret not participating more. I would've liked to have won 1st place for the trophy.

[downrightdude]

I'm glad I got the avvie and trophy (Despite being third place), but the contest was such a nifty idea and I liked seeing all the unique creations. D:

Maybe they were getting fewer and fewer entries?

[Joker]

Wow, I'm glad I got that avatar when I did o___0
Still mad about the Lenny Conundrum...

[doctortomoe]

I've got less then two weeks to learn how to draw. I don't want to miss out on the avie

[Stephanie (swordlilly)]

doctortomoe, if you have any Neopets plushies you could try to position them in an interesting scenario and then take a photo, like what TNT has been doing for the past few Caption Contests? Or maybe if you lack a tablet and fancy equipment, you could try drawing on paper. TNT is usually not too selective about the third-place winners.

I got the avatar with a third-place entry when they had the fruit-carving contest. I'd never tried to actually carve a fruit in my life, but the contest motivated me to go out and buy a cantaloupe, and watch Youtube videos on how to carve fruit. The result was not that spectacular but I placed. XD;

Ahh, I will miss this contest.

I wonder if the reason for the low number of entries has to do with the amount of time it takes to craft an entry? I know that I've been interested in doing a couple, but was just intimidated by the amount of work I would need to complete in a short period of time. Not to mention, having to do a trip to buy supplies, since I live in a dorm room and don't have supplies easily at hand.

[doctortomoe]

I don't have any plushies...but I do think I have some of the TCG's. Maybe I could work something with that?

Wait, I need a scanner too. And a camera.

[Nova]

Awww yeah, I knew this was inevitable =( Still really sad! I was fortunate to get third place at a really easy writing contest. I always liked seeing all the really creative things people managed to come up with.

[Duke Pikachu]

@ Komori:
Maybe the BD wasn't the best example. However this still frees up some staff's time which they can put forward to other things. I'm assuming it would be the Content Department that judged the contests? I don't think TNT has a department just for running contests.

That said, low amount of entries probably was what made TNT decide to do this. I imagine it came to the point where if you submitted an entry it was probably a guaranteed win.

However I do think maybe TNT should encourage other kinds of artwork in the Art Gallery, like maybe have another section for non-drawings. Just a thought.

[Deleted]

Aw, man! Now I'll never get that avatar! Dx Just one more thing I can't do, bleaugh…

[Coaster]

Looking at the recent number of winners, yeah, it is a bit odd and telling that the numbers for third-place winners have been consistently lower than the 50 they were at a year or so ago. Quite a shame that it's ending, but since most of them are in a crafts/visual art medium, most entry "types" that go in the Random Contest could easily make it into the Art Gallery anyways. Which I presume most of us already know, given that most of the complaints seem to be about the avatar/trophy (as an account achievement) being retired, or about the fact that a contest is ending in general.

...One thing I'd like to ask: how is this going to affect title categories on this forum? 0_o nevermind, I was confused and thought it was necessary for the Jack-of-All-Trades category rather than just for Random Contestant much like Neovisionist is still around even though Neovision's been gone for years

[Chao]

This is really sad. I was always looking forward to the new ideas they'd come up with for it, though out of lack of talent I would not participate in the rounds requiring drawings and out of principle I would not participate in round I had to work with food. But others... If I had the time and an idea, I participated.

As for extending the deadline, from what I've seen over the years, it only happened when the projects turned out to be more time consuming than expected, like with the last throw rug one. So it happened not that regular and could not relate to too few entries I dare say. Though of course today's winners of the playing cards number fewer photos than the throw rug contest...

Guess I'll have to come up with nice craft ideas and enter them for the Art Gallery.