GUI Olympics 2004 Details
Saturday, February 28, 2004 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
This Monday, the GUI Olympics 2004 will begin. It's a contest to see who can create the world's best visual styles, icons, and Winamp 5 skins. Sponsors include Stardock, Nullsoft, ATI, nVidia, and others. Microsoft is also providing prizes to the contest. In total, over $10,000 (closer to $15,000) in cash and prizes will be given out including ATI video cards, an Xbox, tons of software and probably some surprises.
You will be able to enter skins individually or as part of a team. The top teams will get a big bonus prize. Anyone can form a team and there are no restrictions on the size of team (though obviously the bigger the team, the bigger the split in the prize money). You could have a Team MyfavoriteWebsite or a Team "l33t". It's up to whoever starts the team (on Monday there will be a mechanism on www.guiolympics.com to create your own team).
The rules are fairly straight forward. You have to enter submissions that are NEW. They can't be things that already exist. They also have to be in WindowBlinds visual style format. But if you've ever made a .msstyles visual style, it's pretty easy to make a WindowBlinds one and SkinStudio can convert a .msstyles file to WindowBlinds visual style format. And then from there add the missing features to make it competitive.
The contest begins on March 1 but JUDGING won't begin until April 5 so you'll have over a month to actually put together your stuff. And judging goes on during the entire month so you may potentially have nearly 2 months depending on what events you're concentrating on.
Here is the schedule of events:
April 5: Most minimalist visual style, Most creative Winamp skin, Most original icon package
April 8: Best Power user visual style, Most useable Winamp skin
April 12: Most usable visual style, Best power user Winamp skin, Best "themed" (icons go together the best) icon package
April 15: Most creative visual style
April 19: Best themed* visual style*, Best themed* Winamp skin, Best pseudo-OS icon package
April 22: Best Pseudo-OS visual style
April 26: Best overall visual style, Best overall Winamp skin, Best overall icon package
April 27: Top Team/Individual: WindowBlinds, Top Team/Individual: Winamp, Top Team/Individual: Icons
April 29: User's Choice: Best visual style, User's Choice: Best Winamp skin: User's Choice: Best icon package
*themed skin as in the whole skin keeps to a particular theme.
16 Events. Over $10,000 in cash and prizes. Anyone can enter.
The judges will be admins/employees from Stardock, Neowin, deviantART, and Nullsoft.
So there you have it. WB visual styles, icon packages, and Winamp 5. For $10k to $15k in cash and prizes spread among 16 main events.
Regarding entries:
Submissions will begin mid Monday afternoon. Most submissions probably won't come in until April so don't feel rushed. But remember, youc an update your stuff as often as you want.
When you do enter in a submission, you will first which contest (WindowBlinds, Winamp, Icons). Then you can pick up to 2 events. All skins will automatically contend for the various "Overall" contests (i.e. "best overall skin" for instance).
Example, to use MetalX (top skin from GUI Olympis 2002) as an example, I would probably do:
[X] Best Power User Visual Style
[X] Most Usable Visual Style
[ ] Most Creative Visual Style
[ ] Best Pseudo-OS Visual Style
[ ] Best Minimalistic Visual Style
[ ] Best Themed Visual Style
We learned, the hard way, how problematic it was to judge 140 skins for every contest. That's just not doable.
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Reply #22 Sunday, February 29, 2004 9:16 PM
Reply #23 Sunday, February 29, 2004 10:21 PM
Reply #24 Sunday, February 29, 2004 10:48 PM
Reply #25 Monday, March 1, 2004 2:27 AM
Essencay hopes that if anyone decides to make a garish, ornate fluff WB with screamin' orange and hot pink colours that they don't put an inspired by credit to him
Reply #26 Monday, March 1, 2004 3:59 AM
| #27 by treetog - 2/29/2004 10:48:50 PM for my experience in the first GUI Olympics, power of use is the skins that uses the most complete of wb features available. |
Absoloutely! nothing is better than a complete fully Professional skin.
Reply #27 Monday, March 1, 2004 9:45 AM
poweruser skin = a skin with as meany features available as possible (e.g. smart buttons, compound skin, plug ins, different colours, toolbar icons, widgets galore, animated buttons)
minimalist skin = as much a design statement as anything - unobtrusive, un-fussy, no fancy extra bits, pared down to the essentials.
(I don't think that 'power user' refers to the 'user' really. - it's more about the skin. 'Power Skin' would be closer to it.)
Reply #28 Monday, March 1, 2004 9:50 AM
| 'Power Skin' would be closer to it. |
I agree. In my mind a power user skin is one that allows the user to be more powerful. Many features don't really help in this aspect in my opinion. I find the name power user skin misleading. Probably others do to.
Reply #29 Monday, March 1, 2004 10:55 AM
what if you wanted to make a skin for the contest that represented a cause? (As in not a website or a company)
Like for example, finding lost children?
Also, what about making a skin based off of a comic book like, for example, Green Lantern?
Reply #30 Monday, March 1, 2004 11:10 AM
So if your a power users you would have a computer that would be working beyond its normal uses and you would try to tweak it to get more 'juice' out of it.
So as a poweruser i would want a skin that gives me everything... yesterday.
[Message Edited]
Reply #32 Monday, March 1, 2004 11:14 AM
A design thats never been seen before and can't be based on something thats already out there. Cannot get anymore original than that, can you?
Reply #33 Monday, March 1, 2004 11:53 AM
| because power users want and use all programs to its fullest for whatever reasons. |
Not necessarily..... I consider myself a power user, but I don't use every feature in every program. I may have a program that does a great job of performing task a, b, and c, but would rather use another for task d. I also don't really care for WindowBlinds skins that have a multitude of features. I don't need, nor want a skin with lots of shortcuts built in. I find them distracting. I already have all my shortcuts setup the way I want them.
I think kongit is correct about a Power User skin not getting in the way, and essorant is correct that what is really meant by that category, is a Power skin............ not the same thing at all
It would really be helpful if the judges told us what the category really means to them. We can guess all day long, and still get it wrong.
| what if you wanted to make a skin for the contest that represented a cause? (As in not a website or a company) Like for example, finding lost children? |
You're free to use any winnings you may receive, in any way you wish.
| Also, what about making a skin based off of a comic book like, for example, Green Lantern? |
I seriously doubt that would be acceptable........ how can the skin be new and original if it's based off of something of that nature. Besides, you'd be basing your skin off copyrighted work for possible profit, and that's a big no-no, unless you have explicit permission to do so.
[Message Edited]
Reply #34 Monday, March 1, 2004 3:18 PM
I don't think there'd be a problem with having a skin based off something that exists AS LONG AS YOU DON"T USE ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL.
[Message Edited]
Reply #35 Monday, March 1, 2004 3:21 PM
| I don't think there'd be a problem with having a skin based off something that exists |
*whew* Thats good.
Reply #36 Monday, March 1, 2004 3:22 PM
takes the part he wants to hear. same here, i have ive hearing/reading/feeling. 
Reply #37 Monday, March 1, 2004 3:39 PM
I hope that doesn't make for a thin icon category. The standard operating procedure for many theme-style icons is to glass over or otherwise jazz-up commercial icons.
I am interested to see what an iconist can put together from scratch in such a short time.
[Message Edited]
Reply #38 Monday, March 1, 2004 5:43 PM
I've made a few myself, and whilst I made the graphics myself, I did base some of the custom file graphics on the existing logos and whatnot. This seems sensible in light of what an icon is all about - recognition of a file's function/identity. However, by copying the form of the existing logo, or basing the new icon on existing material, I presume that is technically infringing copyright.
So is there a necessity to completely re-invent the wheel everytime you do an icon for an existing program or filetype and come up with a completely original logo? What about the duty to the downloader who wants to be able to instantly recognise the icons without learning a new graphic vocabulary?
Reply #39 Monday, March 1, 2004 6:02 PM
We're going to be reasonably flexible. Obviously on icons you're going to have to base them off the original icons and such.
What we mean by copyrighted material is that you can't go and, for instance, visit the Star WArs website, take images right from the site and then make a skin that is reliant on that.
The moderators will let you know if there's a problem.
But let me give you example:
NOT OKAY: Taking the MacOS X folders and using them as the basis of your folder icons
OKAY: Making an icon package that has the Corel logo to represent the various Corel Draw files.
NOT OKAY: Making a Warcraft skin where the buttons and controls are lifted from Warcraft III.
OKAY: Making a Warcraft skin that includes the Warcraft logo in the Start menu background but has textures and controls that you made.
The rule of thumb is: If your skin is really someone else's work then that's obviously bad. So don't do that. )
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Reply #21 Sunday, February 29, 2004 9:03 PM