NagoyaHammer 2012 - Feedback

[kojibear]

With regards to the painting contest, it may be more appropriate to have two separate contests, one to be judged by professional standards and one by hobbyist standards. I know I would feel quite intimidated to know that my entry was going up against very talented painters. Though I appreciate that time wise having two separate contests might be difficult, but you could do one on each day.

[Primarch]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback.
I have moved the speed painting contest discussion elsewhere as it was developing into a thread of it's own, so it should have room to grow.

I'd like to address some of the points that have been brought up.

On Time Limits.
Next time, I will make sure that this is addressed more clearly. As it was, we had some time left at the end of the day. Perhaps making each round a little longer and only playing the 3 games would be better. Either way, a ruling about how and when to finish a timed-out game will be present for NH2013.

On Nomikais.
The after-gaming drinks will be kept on, but perhaps lightweights shouldn't attend the Nijikai?

On Japanese Rules.
This is probably my biggest problem as an organizer. I can't read and write Japanese very well and I rely on others to translate it for me. (Thanks again to Asch and DL for their efforts this year). Similarly, I have no idea what information or discussion takes place on the Mixi boards. Next year I will be sure to send ALL the details to Asch and then Ikeda-san, but if anyone else wants to help out it would be most appreciated.

On Playing Faster.
I will address this elsewhere as it relates more to how individuals play than the event itself.

On Painting Contests.
This seemed to cause the biggest discussion with people asking for more categories, more judges etc. Sadly, this just isn't possible. The GW Golden Daemon awards are a painting contest first and foremost and they expect to get hundreds of entries and the judges will spend all day looking at them. NagoyaHammer is a gaming event and we expect to get maybe 20 people attending. M_i_J very kindly volunteered to be the judge (Or did I bully him into it? Whichever), but he was there to play games as well. He had to use his lunchbreak to look over all the entries and pick out the ones he thought were best. More categories means more entries which means we need longer to pick out a winner. Since many of the models were also part of people's armies that means the judge and the entrants get less games in.
If anything, next year's contest will be the same size if not smaller.
There have also been some comments (or more accurately people saying "I am not even going to comment about it") regarding the way the contest was judged. I think that M_i_J did it in the best way he could with his little formula for working out scores. Simply put, it is too easy for one person to be bias and that will affect who wins. Having multiple judges doesn't help either as then you need more time for debate and discussion. Getting upset because you lost because the judge didn't base their decision on first impressions is pointless as their is no reason to believe that you would have won based on that criteria either. For people who are even considering entering the Golden Daemon or Crystal Brush awards, using more advanced techniques and doing a good job on EVERY part of the mini is vital if you want to win. If you are entering a model for a contest take the time to file the mould lines off, rather than complaining that it is an unfair stipulation. Heck, I will do it for you if you ask nicely.
So for those who won, well done.
For those who lost, take this as a sign that you need to step up your game. I spent 10 minutes talking to M_i_J about one of my entries just to see what he suggested. I probably wont do ANY of it (too time consuming), but it is a good idea to get feedback anyway.
I think next year we will go back to a voting system for the painting, that way M_i_J can enter too.

[me_in_japan]

I blame Prim completely, for everything

what can I say? I did my best to be as fair as possible, and I can hold my head up and say that I chose the winning minis based on which models were best painted, not which models I liked best. I gave clear, and frankly pretty dang detailed descriptions of what I was looking for before the contest. Everyone was on a level playing field. This was not an artistic expression contest. You'd have gotten nil points if you had entered a messy bed and some underwear. Minis were judged based on technical criteria as laid out in the contest guidelines. Note that hese governed how the mini looked, not how that look was achieved. For example, I didn't (and still don't) care how a smooth blend was achieved - airbrushing, glazing, layering, wet-blending, or just dumb luck. If the blend was there, you got credit for it. Likewise, if rough-and-speedy technique was in evidence (dry-brushing, I'm looking at you, here) then you got marked down for that. How fast/slow you painted the mini is also irrelevant. There are GD winners who can churn out a GD winning model in a couple of weeks, and others who spend all year on it. The judges dont care. Neither do I. It's also important to remember that overal composition is as much a technical element as which method you use to apply your paint. The overal winner (bambi-rider) was fairly simply and cleanly painted, but it had very nice composition. Colour choice was good (the palette was kept to greens and browns, except for the striking use of pale blue as an eye-catcher on the blades), and the placement of contrasting light and dark tones was also very effective. Finally, after adding up all the technical points, if two or more minis were within one point of each other in terms of technicals, they were re-examined, re-scored, and if they stayed the same, then then and only then was my gut instinct consulted. I honestly cannot think of a fairer way for one person to judge an artistic contest.

I don't mean to sound like a stuck record here, but if you didnt win and you want to win, practice more. That's all there is to it, really. Practice enough, study enough, and you'll be on your way to winning a golden demon, much less a Naghammer trophy...

Good luck, y'all

*MiJ runs for the hills before the angry natives start pelting him with rocks...*

[Spevna]

On Painting Contests.
"I am not even going to comment about it".

I did wonder what was meant by that.

[Tenorikuma]

Practice enough, study enough, and you'll be on your way to winning a golden demon, much less a Naghammer trophy...

I have to say, I've been looking through that website with photos of past Golden Demon winners, and if the Japan competition is roughly on par with other smaller ones like Australia's, I think there are several painters here who would have a shot if they spent the time on it, particularly in categories like 40K squad or fantasy regiment.

[Danguinius]

I`m kind of repeating my earlier post, but I think it needs to be repeated.

The painting contest was handled well. MIJ is a great painter. He made a list of points to consider when judging painted models. He applied that list of points to each model, vehicle and squad entered in the contest. Three (different) people won. I don`t see why anyone should be fussing over this...and I don`t understand why the format needs to be changed at all. More judges would just cause disagreements and take longer to actually choose a winner.

I`m not known for my painting, but I don`t think I`m bad either. If I take my time, I can paint well. I entered one of my best minis (pCaine) in the best model category. I took a long time blending his jacket and painting his face. I customized the base so he was standing on a Menoth Venger`s Shield. I took my time with that mini and I think it`s one of my better ones (and I have tens of thousands). When I put my minis on the mini judging table, I looked at other people`s entries; there were a lot of very good ones up there. Possibly, better than mine. If anyone could judge that...it would be MIJ. He judged that my pCaine was not the best. I can live with that. I tried. Someone (or maybe several people) painted better than me. I lost. End of story. I love looking at wonderfully painted minis - we all do, probably - so I was happy to see other people win. They tried hard. They painted great stuff. So, I`m happy for them. I`ll try harder next year. Where is there any controversy in this?

I believe the painting contest should be done roughly the same way next year, if not exactly the same way.

My two yen.

Danguinius

[YellowStreak]

Hi all,

Not really feedback as I wasn't a player, but just wanted to say I enjoyed dropping by on the Friday and meeting everyone. It's certainly given me a urge to start doing some more painting and gaming!

Cheers,

J.