Cosplay Bounty: Dress Like a Fool, Win Portal 2! IT'S OVER?

[figmentPez]

As much awesome cosplay as I've found for the Good Cosplay Thread, there are still some characters I've never seen. Characters that I really want to see portrayed. So, to get those costumes made or found, I've put a price in their heads (er, figuratively. No kidnapping or beheading cosplayers, please.)


Grand Prize: Portal 2 (PC/Mac via Steam, coming out April 19, 2011) and Portal (pre-order bonus)


Other Prizes:
- Humble Indie Bundle 1 & 2 (PC/Mac/Linux via Wolfire Games, but also redeemable on Steam)
- Zeno Clash (PC via Steam)
- Plants Vs Zombies GOTY (PC/Mac via Steam)
- Portal (PC/Mac via Steam)


How to enter?
To be eligible for the Grand Prize:
Dress up as one of the characters on my bounty list, Any character that hasn't appeared in one of the Good Cosplay Threads prior to the start of the contest (Ask in this thread or PM me if you'd like to me to confirm your character) make up a Halforums.com fan sign, snap a photo, upload it to this thread and affirm that you made the costume in the pic. So throw an orange sash over your shoulder, scrawl the name of this webzone on some paper and take a pic! Maybe everyone else will be even lazier than you are. (Wait, one of the characters wears an orange sash? I've said too much!)


For the rest of the prizes:
Either make an entry eligible for the Grand Prize or find an existing photo of someone cosplaying a character, save it to your computer and then attach it to a post in this thread (citing the source). The first person to submit any found photo will be the one who gets the credit (if the original cosplayer or photographer steps forward and can prove their identity, I'll see if I can come up with a reward for them as well, should that pic win).

Multiple entries will be accepted, but you can only win once.

Entries will be judged on:
- Overall impression and ease of identifying the character
- Quality of the costume
- Degree of difficulty
- Accuracy and attention to detail
- Quality of the photo (both technical and artistic)
- Bonus Points for props, telling a story with the photo and smiling (even out of character)


Nudity is not allowed. Any entry that would need a NSFW tag will be disqualified.


Deadline for entry is April 12th, 2011


I will announce the winners as soon after the deadline as I can (with the goal of getting Portal 2 to the winner in time for them to have it at release). I'll rank the photos, and the highest ranked photo eligible for the Grand Prize will get Portal 2. The highest ranking of all of the remaining photos will then get their choice of the remaining games, and so on until all the prizes are awarded. (Hopefully there will be more than five entrants.)




Disclaimers:

• This contest is not open to people related to me, or my (non-existant) employees.
• If anyone else is added to the list of judges, they will be ineligible for prizes as well.

• This contest is not associated with Valve Software, Wolfire Games, ACE Team, PopCap Games or any other game company whose products I'm giving out.
• Prizes are provided by me because I thought it would be fun.
• I am not a lawyer and I don't know the law about doing contests. If it's illegal for you to dress up in costume in your country, or enter a contest, or whatever, don't enter. Also, don't be a dick and cheat or otherwise spoil things for everyone.

I'll release the first set of characters on my list later today. See you around noon CST.


Any questions?

----

Suggested Bounty List (my orginal picks, but there's a lot more to choose from now).

• Select characters from Telltale Games Sam & Max
  • Girl Stinky
  • Grandpa Stinky
  • Maimtron 9000
  • Sal the cockroach
  • The Narrator
  • Toy Mafia
• Characters from Zeno Clash
  • Hunter
  • Ghat
  • Deadra
  • Father-Mother
• Select characters from the Monkey Island games
  • Wally B. Feed (MI2, CMI)
  • Morgan LeFlay (ToMI)
  • Winslow (ToMI)
  • Anemone (ToMI)
• Select characters from other video games
  • Prince Alexander (King's Quest 6)
  • wizard (Magicka)
  • any faction leader or unit from Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
  • Muncher (Number Munchers)
  • Super Solver (Super Solvers)
• Select characters from assorted webcomics
  • Cailyn Asher (Finder's Keepers)
  • Lord Cardinal (Finder's Keepers)
  • Old Man Morlock (Finder's Keepers)
  • Death (Finder's Keepers)
  • Eve (Applegeeks)
  • Commander Badass (Manly Guys Doing Manly Things)
  • Sarah "Jonesy" Jones (MGDMT)
  • Jared Kowalski (MGDMT)
  • Icebreaker Squad (Angels 2200)
• Bibbo Bibbowski (DC Comics)
• Alley Viper (G.I. Joe)
• Eddie Hawkins (Hudson Hawk)
• Howard and/or Nester (Nintendo Power)
• Handi Snacks (Kraft)
• Dreamfinder and/or Figment (Journey into Imagination at EPCOT)

 

[AshburnerX]

Have you picked your judges yet?

 

[figmentPez]

Have you picked your judges yet?

No one has volunteered. So far I'm the only one judging. I'll take applications from established members of the fourms and internet celebrities.

 

[AshburnerX]

I'd be up for it, since I sent in requests anyway (even though you found them easily).

 

[figmentPez]

I'd be up for it, since I sent in requests anyway (even though you found them easily).

Excellent, it'll be good to have a second opinion.

Also, to be fair, at least one of your suggestions didn't show up in an image search when you first sent them to me, and another I could only find a pretty horrible example of. So you'd picked some obscure ones, but not quite good enough. Some of who would have been my first choices have already shown up in the Good Cosplay Thread because I surprised myself by finding them (Glottis from Grim Fandango and Milla Vodello from Psychonauts).

 

[figmentPez]

The first set of characters on the bounty list comes from Telltale Game's entries in Sam & Max series. I've seen Sam & Max cosplay, but I don't think I've spotted any TTG characters.

On my list:


Girl Stinky - the cranky and self-centered co-proprietor of Stinky's Diner would be quite a catch, if she weren't such bitch (she might be a mermaid, too). Extra points if your Halforums.com fan-sign is printed in Helvetica (heh, who am I kidding, I don't know the difference between Arial and Helvetica.)


Grandpa Stinky - the even crankier original Stinky. The tattoos might be tricky, since it's hard to find a clear screenshot of them.


Maimtron 9000 - a killing machine that speaks only in song lyrics.


Sal - a good natured cockroach. I'm not really expecting anyone to pull off this costume, but it would be fun to see.


The Toy Mafia - a gang of mobsters who wear cartoon bear heads. I'd love to cosplay this myself someday.


The Narrator - likely inspired by Rod Serling in the Twilight Zone, I thought the intros to The Devil's Playhouse were hilarious.

Okay, those are my picks for today. More tomorrow from other media.

 

[figmentPez]

Today I've got characters from Zeno Clash. I love the art style from this game, kind of Maurice Sendak meets Planescape: Torment all done by Jim Henson.


Hunter - Saying that Hunter is insane is a little redundant, everyone in Zeno Clash is bonkers, but Hunter is something special even then. He hunts his prey by tying explosive barrels to squirrels, sending the rodents after his target and shooting the barrel when explosive is close enough. The first fight with Hunter is one of the best moments in Zeno Clash. Skip to about 2:30 in this Youtube vid to see the first meeting with Hunter


Ghat & Deadra - Ghat is the main character in Zeno Clash, and Deadra accompanies him for most of the game.


Father-Mother - is the main villain of the story. The game starts out with Ghat apparently killing Father-Mother and then has both flashbacks to why that happened, and continuation of the story after all of Ghat's brothers and sisters want to kill him in return. Father-Mother is a damn creepy creation, and possibly the most insane of any of the characters in Zeno Clash.

There are some other fun characters like Golem, Rimat, Oximeter and more. I'll definitely accept personal cosplay of other characters from Zeno Clash, should you decide another character interests you more. Found photos of other characters will work as well, if you can definitely show that they're cosplay of a specific Zeno Clash character, and not just a similar aesthetic.


Tomorrow it's back to adventure games with something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. No, yellow....!

 

[figmentPez]

Today's additions to the bounty list:


Wally B. Feed - Curse of Monkey Island (Lucas Arts)
Wally starts as a cartographer in MI2, but I think the pirate version from CoMI is funnier.


Morgan LeFlay – Tales of Monkey Island (Telltale Games)
*sigh* Easily the best new character that TTG added to the world of Monkey Island. Morgan is a talented and witty bounty hunter. A perfect addition to this costume would be a button that says "Ask me about King's Quest".


Winslow - ToMI
Guybrush Threepwoods new first mate during much of ToMI, Winslow is reliable, if a little strange.


Anemone - ToMI
An aquatic Vacaylian, Anemonae is skilled in boat repair and making Guybrush feel very uncomfortable.


Prince Alexander – King's Quest VI
The hero of Hier Today, Gone Tomorrow, Prince Alexander has not need to carry around large heavy rocks.


Wizard – Magicka
Not to be confused with Bobbin Threadbare (Loom), Black Mage (Final Fantasy), Orko (He-Man) or other robed magic users.


That's all for today. Back tomorrow with some webcomic characters.

 

[linglingface]

I want to make some of these even though I have no idea who they are!
I have zero time, though between now and SakuraCon!

 

[figmentPez]

I want to make some of these even though I have no idea who they are!
I have zero time, though between now and SakuraCon!

There are still some easier characters coming up. Who knows, you might be able to throw together something from bits and pieces you already have.

 

[figmentPez]

Today I've got some webcomic characters to add to the list. (I'm still working on pics for all of them, I hope to have them up later today)


Eve – Applegeeks
This android runs MacOSX and really hates Windows, and I love her despite that. She's such a charmingly innocent character, and I really wish Applegeeks still updated regularly, so that Applegeeks Vol. 3 can come out. Some of the best Eve stories haven't made it to print yet.



Cailyn Asher, Lord Cardinal, and Old Man Morlock - Finder's Keepers
This is a great webcomic that has a lot in common with Neil Gaiman's “Neverwhere”. The art is amazing, the characters are interesting and I'm very curious to see where the story goes.


Commander Badass, Sarah "Jonesy" Jones, and Jared Kowalski – Manly Guys Doing Manly Things
I know I'm not the only one who loves this comic. The humor is biting in it's criticism, but also can be touching when it reaches past the stereotypes it lampoons. (You know how I said some easier characters are coming? I figure Jonsey and Jared should be pretty easy.)


any character esp. Icebreaker Squad – Angels 2200
I want to show some love to a comic I've been reading since before it had a forum home on Halforums.


I'd also include Order of the Stick, but damn that cosplay turns out creepy.


Tomorrow: characters from a highly addictive video game.

 

[Officer_Charon]

.... My kingdom for a black and red biker jacket!

 

[figmentPez]

I've decided to add Death to my list of characters from Finder's Keepers that are on the bounty.

There have been many versions of death in fiction that I've enjoyed. I'm not sure why I usually find Death to be such an interesting character, but Finder's Keepers is no exception.

The rest of today's list of characters comes from Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, a turn based strategy game from 1999. I'll accept cosplay of any faction leader or unit, but especially:


Academician Prokhor Zakharov - I usually play as the University of Planet, as I favor a tech heavy strategy (and I'm not very good at the game).



Lady Deirdre Skye - the leader of Gaia's Stepdaughters the green faction in the game.


Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang - leader of the Human Hive a police state faction.

 

[figmentPez]

Next on the list:


Ingrid Third and Cornelius Fillmore (Fillmore!)
It's a cop show for kids. I'll admit I haven't seen all the episodes, but what I have seen is a lot of fun. (I was gonna pick Recess, which I've seen a lot more of, but I found a fair amount of cosplay for that one, especially Spinelli.)


Muncher (Number Munchers)
Ah, fond memories of using computers in grade school.


Super Solver (Super Solvers)
This guy (girl?) is a fashion disaster. Oversize winter coat matched with bright yellow shorts? Even I don't dress that poorly. Still, pretty good games.


Bibbo Bibbowski (DC Comics)
This particular frame of Bibbo is from just after Superman's death fighting Doomsday. With his hero gone Bibbo decided to do what he could to fill Superman's shoes. He went out to feed the homeless and then rescued a drowning puppy. He's awesome.

 

[AshburnerX]

Ahhh... Filmore. The only show the Disney canceled because it was popular with the wrong demographic. Then again, when your trying to shill toys, cereal, and snacks at 8 am, you don't want your biggest viewership to be 18-35 males.

 

[figmentPez]

The final set of characters is, well, kinda oddball. Not unlike myself.

http://www.yojoe.com/action/89/alleyviper.shtml

Alley Viper (G.I. Joe)
Named the Most Garish Cobra Viper by geek news site Topless Robot, this combat gear is absolutely laughable. I had this toy as a kid, and even then I was a little puzzled at how bright orange and blue could possibly work as camouflage. The second pic is actually of a re-issue with more detailed molding (though the photographer has put the shield on upside-down, grr!)


Eddie Hawkins (Hudson Hawk)
I'm not sure why, but I actually like this bad movie. I'll freely admit it is bad, but it's also a lot of fun. I rewatched it just a few weeks ago, and really enjoyed myself.


Howard and/or Nester (Nintendo Power)
Yeah, I've been a bit of a Nintendo fanboy since I was a kid, and I still subscribe to Nintendo Power. These comics were dumb, but I liked them at the time.


Handi Snacks (yes, the little packs of crackers and cheese from Kraft)
If someone can dress up as sushi, a falafel, american cheese or bacon and eggs, then why not one of my favorite snacks from childhood? I wouldn't eat these today, but I still love cheese and crackers. (the variation with breadsticks or pretzels instead of crackers will also be acceptable cosplay. Not the dessert version though, those aren't part of my nostalgia.)


Dreamfinder and/or Figment (Journey into Imagination at EPCOT in Walt Disney World)
This adorable purple dragon is part of the reason behind my screen name. Dreamfinder is no longer part of the attraction, but Figment is still there.



So, that's my list of characters for the Cosplay Bounty. I hope I haven't picked too difficult a list.

Does anyone want to announce what character they're going to dress up as?

 

[linglingface]

WTF handi snacks??? You're wacky.

 

[figmentPez]

WTF handi snacks??? You're wacky.

You're just now catching on to that?

 

[Bumble the Boy Wonder]

Fuck yeah, Hudson Hawk is awesome!

 

[Jiarn]

I would totally do that Hudson Hawk cosplay!

 

[linglingface]

I think I can find time to be Handi Snacks.

 

[LittleKagsin]

I'm definately participating! But, I'll let you guys figure out who I'm trying to be. =^^=
Sneaky sneaky.

 

[Silver Jelly]

http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/721

Maybe this was linked before in the forums, but just in case.

 

[figmentPez]

Maybe this was linked before in the forums, but just in case.

It got linked in Allen and Gusto's Webcomic Appreciation Jamboree but it's worth mentioning again. It was very nice of Coelasquid to give us a mention on her site. Hopefully it'll bring in some traffic and maybe we'll finally get the first entry for the contest.

 

[figmentPez]

Well, we've gotten a mention in blog posts on Manly Guys Doing Manly Things, and on Finder's Keepers but there still haven't been any entries. I really hope that there are lots of people working hard on costumes, otherwise I has a sad. There's cosplay out there to be found, though. Since I posted the list I've spotted four different characters from the list.

 

[Tress]

I'm going to be honest. I expected something a little more accessible when you mentioned this project. I'm not a cosplayer myself and I would never do it, but I enjoying seeing all the work other people put into their costumes. I assumed that I would be able to just hunt for pictures and enter them. Instead, you gave a list of some of the most obscure and off-the-wall characters. I think you picked costumes so hard to find that no is going to be able to submit pictures they find.

Thus, the only entries will be from people making their costumes. The problem with this is twofold:
1) As I understand it, most cosplayers love dressing up in their favorite characters. They probably already have ideas they want to try, and aren't willing to switch to your suggestions.
2) Cosplayers like dressing up in known characters so they actually get recognized. I imagine the last thing a cosplayer wants to hear at a convention is "Wow... so, um... who are you supposed to be?"

Obviously I'm no expert, and maybe I'm wrong. But those were the first thoughts when I read your bounty list. That said, I think it would be great to see those costumes. I just don't think anyone is going to do it.

 

[figmentPez]

Yeah, I might have chosen requirements that are too narrow. The problem is that it's just too easy to find pictures of most characters with a simple Google image search for "character name cosplay". Most popular characters have already been played by someone.

 

[Tress]

Well, since you are in a contest mood... why not judge the best of a certain character or category? We often praise certain cosplayers in the other thread for either a) creativity, b) accuracy, or c) quality. So, if you wanted, you could have a contest that didn't reward someone for finding Cable, but rather the best Cable. Or, someone who did an excellent job of recreating the Iron Man armor.

I dunno. You could come up with better ways to run it than I could, if you were so inclined. I just think that it would boost participation.

 

[LittleKagsin]

As a cosplayer, I don't mind if people don't know who I am, though it is more fun when they do. =^^=

Cosplay is just plain expensive and it takes time to make a costume, even a cheap one. And it's hard since..this is probably the only thing this cosplay is going to be used for, for me. It's just taking me longer to get all of my items in place and I want it to look perfect. Even if it's just for a contest. =^^=

 

[Dave]

As I told good old FP before, he has carte blanche to do whatever he wants with the contest. Or pretty much anything else for that matter.

 

[figmentPez]

As I told good old FP before, he has carte blanche to do whatever he wants with the contest. Or pretty much anything else for that matter.

With the lack of participation so far for the found photos, it's clear my requirements were too strict, but if anyone has planned to make their own cosplay I don't want to pull the rug out from under them by changing the rules mid-contest.

If there are no objections, I'll open up the found photos portion of the contest to any character that hasn't appeared (correctly identified) in one of the Good Cosplay threads. That should open up the field a lot more as I know there are lots of characters that have been cosplayed but haven't quite yet been posted. I figure this rule change should be fine, since there haven't been any entries, so no one can be worried about their rare find being bested under more lax rules.

However, I'm not sure what to do about the grand prize, though. LittleKagsin, at least, has already started work on a costume, and I don't want to be unfair to her, or anyone else who has already started work under the current rules. I'd appreciate feedback from anyone who is/was planning on making a costume to try and win Portal 2.

 

[Dave]

Put out the bounty for the person who finds the best costume. If it turns out someone dresses up then they win by default.

 

[LittleKagsin]

For me, I don't mind the rule change.
I'm mostly doing this for the fun of it. =^^= If I happened to win, that would be awesome! But I want there to be lots of people that are able to participate. I won't feel cheated if the rules change. I'm good with whatever.

 

[linglingface]

Can't wait to see what you're putting together! Unfortunately for me, I am in a time crunch trying to get 3-4 costumes together in a little more than a month.

 

[LittleKagsin]

Can't wait to see what you're putting together! Unfortunately for me, I am in a time crunch trying to get 3-4 costumes together in a little more than a month.

Thank you!! I'm pretty excited for it!! =^^=
Oh wow, crazy! Since I'm only going to SDCC this year and one of my two costumes is 80% done. And the other one is going to be pretty simple. I've got me some time. =^^= Good luck with all of your costumes!!