December 10, 2012 - Dota Team
The Dota 2 Polycount Contest began on October 8th and officially
ended this past Monday December 3rd. Over that two month period the
Polycount modeling community submitted more than 1,000 entries to the
Dota 2 Workshop.
We aren’t exaggerating when we say that the sheer magnitude of high
quality submissions has blown us away and that judging entries has been
difficult because so many sets could have been winners. We have no doubt
that a very large number (if not a large majority) of the sets
contributed in the course of the contest will eventually be incorporated
into the game. If your favorite entry didn’t win, don’t despair. There
are enough great items here that we will see entries ship for the
foreseeable future.
Incorporating feedback into a design is an important part of game
development that a contest can’t easily capture. Many of the contest
submissions demonstrate this challenge with items that are 95% of the
way to excellence, but need a few rounds of adjustments to be true
winners. Some common flaws we discovered while judging were:
- An overabundance of detail in small areas. In Dota, patches of small
detail can look good in the profile view of a hero, but tend to become
hard to read during the normal course of the game. Where and how to use
detail, what color values, levels of contrast to apply on that detail
are critical considerations when creating items for Dota.
- Not taking advantage of value gradients that could enhance a hero’s
readability. If the brightness and tone of the colors at a hero’s feet
are as intense as those at the head, the character can become difficult
for the eye to break apart at a glance. More on this in our Dota 2 art guide.
- Some sets are extremely well executed and quite beautiful, but at
the same time don’t push on the character design enough. This is always
in a delicate balance. Items should be recognizable as unique and
enhance the hero’s identity without being so radical as to shift the
lore into too alien a territory.
Winners and losers can’t be judged by the Workshop presentation
alone. Many of these flaws only became apparent when we examined the
items closely in game, under real game lighting and motion. As a result,
some of our picks may surprise you. When relevant we will describe the
tough decisions we faced.
Moving forward, we want to create an open discussion with the
community about the techniques that enhance items to top tier status. To
the extent that we can help teach, we will. To the extent that we can
improve our tools to make it easier to iterate, we will. Initially this
may manifest as blog posts from the art team, but longer term we expect
to see Workshop features aimed at making iteration easier and technical
feedback more visible to the community.
We will announce 3 winners today, 3 Wednesday, 4 Thursday, with the
grand winner being unveiled on Friday. Trying to rank the top ten sets
in order isn’t our goal. They do not all succeed or fail in the same
way. All winners will be available for purchase or as drops in next
week’s update.
Our selection of winners, then, is about capturing the contest
entries that we feel represent the highest quality on all possible
dimensions. In order to recognize the broadest range of set designs, we
chose to not select two winners for the same hero. This doesn’t mean
these other sets won’t be sold in the Dota store or appear as drops in
future updates. Expect to see more sets ship in January.
Let’s get on to the first set of winners.
A collection of three items created by Ze Blu Spy. Dota 2 Polycount Contest Finalist.
On
the trail of a curious cipher which might decrypt an ancient codex of
the Hidden Temple, Lanaya stumbled upon a cache of hidden garments in an
arboretum sacred to the Three Shades. Three garments, wrapped in the
petals of an enormous nightshade, on which were inscribed the names of
those ethereal Shades that lent their attributes to each piece: madness,
terror and death. Most would consider these poor qualities in their
attire. But for Templar Assassin, donning the Deadly Nightshade is an
accelerant to wisdom.
Our
first winner is a solid entry in every way. The modeling execution is
excellent. Detail is used to add appealing flavor to the portrait. The
design pushes Templar Assassin in a distinct direction that maintains
her identity while telling a new story. The hero is readable at a
glance, with large areas of color and contrast providing a sense of
shape to the character.
Our second winner…
A collection of five items created by Squid. Dota 2 Polycount Contest Finalist.
Trinkets
and tall tales are just a few of the ways a drifter can make a living
out in Riftshadow, but there’s a lot more in the waste if you know how
to look, and where. You’ll want a guide and someone who knows their way
in a fight; that should let you scratch the surface and take in some
history. Getting rich from the ruins though, that’s another matter. If
you want to learn Riftshadow’s darkest secrets, you better tip well and
know how to keep your mouth shut.
There’s
very little criticism we can level against this set. Squid has captured
Meepo’s personality and exaggerated it without going over the top. Here
is a well farmed Meepo, spending his gold on the fanciest gear
Riftshadow has to offer. The execution is top tier, with excellent work
on the modeling, texturing, color choices, and use of detail. This is a
very detailed set that reads clean in game at normal game distance. For
us, the set was a contender for the grand prize winner. Great job,
Squid.
And today’s last winner…
A collection of five items created by Farfarer. Dota 2 Polycount Contest Finalist.
In hushed tones, legends have long been whispered of the near-mythical stormcrows.
Enormous,
powerful and reclusive, these strange, scarce birds range across the
highest peaks of the Prefect mountains, hidden from the world by a
constant bank of dark cloud. Their rare sighting are ill omens, said to
portend storms soon to follow.
Legends
also tell of those who have dared try to harness the power of these
creatures for themselves. For the only way to return after stealing one
of their eggs – a potent source of power – is to wrestle control of a
stormcrow and ride it down to the ground, miles below.
Stormcrow’s
Spirit by Farfarer excels in design and execution. Here is a completely
new identity and story for the Witch Doctor thoughtfully captured in
every detail. We’re particularly fond of the giant crow egg in sling and
the wicked crow-bone divination staff. If we had any suggestion for the
set it would be to enhance the contrast among the feathers on the back,
but this is a minor observation. We may also make an adjustment to the
lighting and camera angle in the portrait to draw more attention to the
wicked mask (something workshop contributors currently can’t do, but
hopefully will be able to do soon).
Remember to check back tomorrow for another set of winners!
