I'm not trying to say that art is unimportant and useless, and that you shouldn't make use of your talent in this contest. I was simply trying to offer some counterpoints to show that art isn't necessarily the most important thing in character creation.

My main point is, if we were to make artwork the most important reason for voting for a character, then a lot of very good, well-described, workable characters wouldn't stand a chance of winning -- even though we have a perfectly good idea of what they look like from written descriptions, and an artist can easily draw them later on. (In fact, that's one of the prizes.)

For the purposes of this contest, a text blurb or a decent-looking doodle is just as good as an astounding art piece. What is he wearing, why is he wearing it, and would it look cool in the game? You can answer those questions with a paintbrush, a crayon, an MKA Kreate-a-Fighter screenshot, or a paragraph. It's the actual clothing and body elements that make up the character's image that are important, not the medium. Therefore, in order to judge the costume fairly, I have to ignore the art style altogether. Similarly, if I were to vote on the next President, I would have to ignore his charming personality and the attractiveness of his face and listen to his ideas. That isn't communism, it's critical thinking.

These contest entries are character pitches: what do they look like, what's their story, what might their moves be. Some people, like you, have a grand artistic vision. Others started out with a story and built everything else around it. Others had a gameplay feature in mind (that's me) and hunted for a character type to pull it off. No one approach is better than the others, because at the end of the contest whoever makes the best whole character should be the winner -- even if they have no fingers to hold a pencil and have to type with their toes.



This is a depressing fact that makes me worry for our society. Even though humans have invented "reason," and the ability to read and understand mountains of text is such an important skill to have in our lives, our brains are still hard-wired to take visual shortcuts. That's why it's so easy for advertising psychologists to control our minds like a cadre of supervillains, and why we'll probably never be rid of racism.



Okay, then let's take a non-iconic example: Hotaru. Hotaru is more unique and visually interesting than many of the classic fighters, but a weak story premise and lackluster moves made him unpopular with fans. Even though he had arguably the best new look in MKD, he still managed to be dull and generic. Whereas people enjoy Havik because of his chaotic moves and personality -- just about every Chaos fan character plays off that. A pattern emerges, yes?



Yes, I was being hyperbolic when I said nobody cared about CSZ's appearance. Obviously some people would and did, but their voices were far less loud and numerous than the story complainers. Even the "now he's just another robot" complaint has as much to do with story as appearance.



Some people still complain about their looks. But most of the complaints are about those characters being pointless additions to the games, contributing little or nothing to the story and having weak, derivative gameplay. That's why Reiko, a very interesting-looking guy who's popular with fan artists, still gets a lot of hate anyway -- and probably why he never saw a second game until he was called in for Everyone-ageddon. Rain actually got more fan love than Reiko, and he was just a palette-swap ninja until MKA.

Point is, the best new characters don't get popular just because they look interesting -- it's because they are interesting. That's why Havik and Kenshi win, and Reiko and Hotaru lose.

The MKOmmunity
Group A: Vipehr: 8 | Rik'Ki: 7
Group B: Blight: 3 | Neuros: 12
Group C: Wei-Lu: 10 | Kwah Dah: 5
Group D: Maia: 14 | Gus: 1

The Judges
Group A: Vipehr: 1 | Rik'Ki: 3
Group B: Blight: 1 | Neuros: 3
Group C: Wei-Lu: 3 | Kwah Dah: 1
Group D: Maia: 3 | Gus: 1

Final Day 17 Result:
Group A: Vipehr: 1 | Rik'Ki: 2
Group B: Blight: 0 | Neuros: 3
Group C: Wei-Lu: 3 | Kwah Dah: 0
Group D: Maia: 3 | Gus: 0

For updated information visit the Kreate-a-Kharacter VII hub.
For an extra perspective, check out the KAKVII Roleplaying thread.

DAY 18:

Group A: Glacier versus Eastwind
Group B: Dead Soul versus Sogratse
Group C: The Simberleen versus Kwah Dah
Group D: Ameerah versus Gragtek

FIGHT!

Eastwind
Sogratse
The Simberleen
Gragtek

THIS is zero hour for me and Kira. Thus I am voting in favor.

Group 1: Eastwind
Group 2: Dead Soul
Group 3: The Simberleen
Group 4: Ameerah

Group 1: Eastwind
Group 2: Dead Soul
Group 3: The Simberleen
Group 4: Ameerah

Group A: Eastwind
Group B: Dead Soul
Group C: The Simberleen
Group D: Ameerah

here are my votes.

A. Eastwind
B. Dead Soul
C. The Simberleen
D. Ameerah

My guy (Wei-Lu) has won 3-1 so far... how well does that place me in the standings?

I think Wei-Lu is currently third in his group... With that score, I think he would also be third in every other group except Group B, where he would be fourth. He could be second in his group if he doesn't lose any more matches and Mizrath loses his next match, though.

Eastwind
Dead Soul
Simberleen
Ameerah

Whoops, meant to edit my last post, not post again...

Group A: Eastwind

Group B: Dead Soul

Group C: The Simberleen

Group D: Ameerah

A. Eastwind
B. Dead Soul
C. The Simberleen
D. AmeerahÂa

Are you kidding?! There's always time for a Full-Kontact Character Beatdown!


GRAGTEK

Name: Our first thought is that the Lin Kuei captured a Zaterran and decided to cyborg it, creating a Mortal Kombat-sized version of Mechagodzilla. That would be so boss to hear the announcer introduce that one onstage. It would be a real goddamn dinosaur laser fight.

Appearance: Unfortunately it's just an older-looking Kano who's spent too many years in the sun. Now we can already hear the objection: For the last time, he's NOT Kano! He's... DIFFERENT than Kano! But that would be an incorrect assertion, and here is a list of reasons why:

1) First and most obviously, it's the face. He has hideous facial damage on one side that he covers with a bionic heat vision viewer. But that's different! Kano has it on his right side, but Gragtek has it on his left! It's totally not the same!

2) Well then, how do you explain the small trophies of his conquests that he ties into his beard, just the way Kano kept a lock of Sonya's hair in MKDA? But Kano kept that because he lost! Gragtek keeps his because he won! That's not just different, it's BETTER!

Story: 3) Oh would you look at that -- he's also a ruthless mercenary thug working for Outworld. But... but he's dif--

4) And also, he got his cyber eye augmentation from (guess where?) the Black Dragons. Yeah well... um... werepiranhas! KANO NEVER HAD WEREPIRANHAS.

Touché, good sir. You win this round. (But considering Kano hails from Australia, the land of the most bizarre and deadly animals on the face of the earth, there's a good chance that he had those too.)

After reading through his story, it seems like Gragtek spends a good chunk of his life not committing any actual genocide, but getting drunk in taverns and telling wild stories about his golden years when he was genociding shit left and right. In his farfetched tavern tales, he's a conquering badass who single-handedly hunted down and destroyed entire species that nobody ever heard of. The one time he claims to have exterminated a people that was actually proven to exist (the cryomancers) it's a race that famously isn't even extinct, and the whole thing turns into a big fish story about the one that got away. We're left to question whether Gragtek was ever involved in the cryomancers' demise at all, or if he's just drunkenly taking credit for the work of Shao Kahn's entire army.

Nowadays Gragtek does nothing to back up his outrageous claims. He spends his years knocking back bottle after bottle of terrible Outworld beer, telling everyone who will pretend to listen that he'd totally go back to doing genocide again, if only Shao Kahn would resurrect him some Zaterrans to kill. In his heart he knows damn well the Emperor would never do that... but that ain't his fault the Emperor's holding him back, now is it?

The bio admits more than once that Gragtek might just be making up a bunch of baloney -- and after hearing his drunken were-fish tales, we're inclined to believe that. In the end, we feel a little sad for the deluded old scuzzball. He tries so hard to be a badass, but winds up sounding more like Grampa Simpson.

Gameplay: First of all, who is John? Is his name, like, John Gragtek or something? That's actually a pretty cool name, like an action hero. Maybe all this posing as a mercenary is just him trying to live up to his name.

Anyway. According to the description, Gragtek's fighting style is apparently based on just making stuff up (like the moves, and the name) which really comes as no surprise. He does carry quite a mixed bag of genocide gear: acid balls, bear traps, everything you need to efficiently wipe out an entire civilization and leave no survivors. The only weapon he carries that's useless for mass murder is his flamethrower, which he never bothers to use in his fights except to club you with it in his X-ray. We figure that's because ordinary, non-Sektor flamethrowers from the local army surplus have such a short fuel supply that he needs to save that limited juice for his Fatalities.

He also has some non-weapon specials, the FHV Fist and the Jumping FHV Fist. After an extensive Google search we're still not sure what "FHV" stands for, but we've narrowed it down to two guesses. Either he punches his victims in the mouth with fists of cat herpes -- or more likely, it stands for "For Hire Vehicle" and John Gragtek's real job is driving a taxi.

A taxi driver who is also a serial killer, because in his second Fatality we learn that he loves to collect faces from his victims. This kind of sordid Ed Gein-style trophy killing isn't quite the same as being a one-man instrument of mass extinction, but at least we give him credit for actually murdering people and not just talking about it. At this point though, we have to demand to see a Werepiranha or Sister face (maybe stitched into his outfit, or worn as a mask) which would be much better proof that he actually killed those things than a random tooth and a scrap of wood.

Personality: At first Gragtek seems like an annoying but lovable old goof at the bar, regaling us with his tall tales and threatening to herpes-punch us if we say we don't believe him. A little irritating, but a good source of entertainment and mostly harmless. But then we imagine him cutting off our faces in the back of a taxi, looking at us upside-down and saying, "Soon I can only see your body with my natural eye...." and suddenly we're praying that he didn't secretly lace our beers with Rohypnol.

Conclusion: Gragtek is a surprisingly disturbing character, but probably not in any way that was intended. His moves are playable, and he seems to be based on an interesting idea as a leader of Kahn's extermination squads. But the more his bio makes jokes about his past and his fighting skills, the less we're able to take him seriously.


Beatdown Lineup: Mizrath

Now that I have a bit more adequate internet connection, I can type more than just votes. I will break the long message into two parts.

I am surprised by the two mysterious (but non-counting) votes for Blizzard on Day 17. Hopefully those voters (and more) will support my character in his final match against Remnant.

As for the whole discussion about artwork, I believe that it complements the story, and neither one should be done as an afterthought. An illustration or a story/bio can be done first, but some thought must be done at least for the other. Umbrascitor mentioned about the generic palette swap characters becoming fan favorites through their unique story lines. However, the mysterious aspect of the younger Sub-Zero (through the obscure magazine photos and revealed portraits/drawings for MK3) sold the character by separating him from the ninja mold, with the story about his renouncement of the Lin Kuei and being hunted by former robotic acquaintances/friends to support the images. Cyber Sub-Zero was an unexpected twist and might have bastardized the character, but a way to take the character now is similar to Cyrax from the original timeline- create a look like Cyrax’s MK:DA humanistic alternate costume.

Even the bosses are better known for their appearances before their stories: Goro and Kintaro's appeal include that they are four-armed creatures. Kintaro's original MK2 story was not fully developed, as he was just a replacement sub-boss after the apparent death of Goro. But what sold him was that he had Goro's looks with modifications, such as the tiger appearance, more interesting moves than his predecessor, and harder arcade gameplay. His MK9 bio does little to rectify the situation, other than to explain that he is from a lower-class Tigrar race of Shokan and that he became Shao Kahn's new bodyguard by slaying many Centaurs, but his updated appearance and move animations like the flamethrower, stomp 'n' slide, and victory pose of popping up the grounded loser into his hand make him more memorable. Of course, both Goro and Kintaro had displeasing updates, such as Goro's nipples being implanted on his midsection rather than his chest in MK:D, MK:A, and MK:SM, while Kintaro obtained a less muscular, feline, and somewhat feminine appearance in MK:A.

Shao Kahn is the best example of imagery either supporting or exceeding his story: he may have the "Conqueror of Realms" tagline and ties with some of the other cast, but his badass samurai-gladiator look and his in-game animations, especially when his huge ego shows by his taunts and laugh. His looks suffered with the Halloween skull mask in MK:ANNIHILATION and with his human MK:LEGACY appearance, but his MK:CONQUEST costume was different and one of his best- since the live action visuals and stories of other characters were assimilated into the games, I am still waiting for Shao Kahn's CONQUEST appearance to appear as an alternate costume.

The examples above relate to this competition. Although artwork was "recommended" and optional, it can make or break the character (I admit that I actually look forward to seeing artwork when I view the character bios). Artistic ability, such as taking into account anatomical proportions, may not play a factor in winning votes, but an illustration effectively sells the character’s appearances rather than a long, descriptive text- and the Ekimaru drawings are not bad, by the way. Of course, there are a handful of effective characters- Blight, Dead Soul, Mizrath, The Simberleen, and Gragtek –who have illustrations only.

I do not mean to disrespect McDaniel, but I would like to dissect “Gus” with the previous statements. First, the illustration may not be the greatest, but it shows that he is a typical wife-beating redneck with tattoos, a tank top, gauze-taped arms, and frayed denim shorts. His story takes the idea further by making him (and his family) commit the extremely disgusting taboo of incest and have a family of 12 with “his wife, who is also his sister” (a statement in which one mention could have sufficed). The finishing moves (“Hospitality”?) and victory pose offer nothing special but his obsession of others making him sandwiches, but the strongest part of his description is his X-Ray Move, as you can picture this as realistic and almost chuckle at it. When I first read that he swung his arms as a fighting style, I thought of Skate’s special vertical circle tantrum swing, accompanied with a grunt, from the STREETS OF RAGE series. Since his appearance and bio are more lackluster than Stryker, who is a generic cop with no special powers, Gus does not belong in the Mortal Kombat universe, even if he is a joke character. Some more effective joke characters are Dan from the STREET FIGHTER ALPHA series and Deadpool from MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3: although they may taunt with playful ridicule or make silly remarks, they fight seriously and have grounded, even sympathetic (and perhaps semi-relatable), background stories.

Another post I wanted to comment on was Ekimaru’s Full-Kontact Kharacter Beatdown. Ekimaru’s flaming head may have been previously featured on Scorpion’s “Ghost Rider” alternate costume from MK:DA, but the trademark falls more on Sweet Tooth from the TWISTED METAL series. Also, I was surprised that umbrascitor failed to mention that there was a Fire God in MORTAL KOMBAT MYTHOLOGIES: SUB-ZERO; he was the Raiden-esque boss fought prior to Sub-Zero’s attempt to retrieve Shinnok’s Amulet. But before you cry foul, here are a few defenses for Ekimaru.

First, the revisions of the demigod Rain possess mainly the same powers first seen by the Water God from MKM:SZ, such as the water shooting from the hands or from underground (as seen by his X-Ray starter), the teleport (uppercut), and the water shape-shifting/formation. The later revisions of Nightwolf gave him a lightning move similar to Rain’s, which lightning moves in MK debuted from Raiden. The one who almost resembles an existing Mortal Kombat character even made a guest appearance in MK9: Kratos. Kratos from GOD OF WAR series bears red tattoos, white skin, a bare chest, two long swords, and plots (or even succeeds, in a ending) to destroy his master like Quan Chi, whose MK:DA version premiered three years before GOD OF WAR.

As for the weapons and moves, the dual broadswords were used by Quan Chi, but became more deadly (especially through usage in Fatalities) by Shujinko. Mileena’s trademark sais are Li Mei and Sareena’s weapons in MK:DA and MK:TE, respectively. Sonya inherited Liu Kang’s Bicycle Kick since MK3 (as well as Kitana loosely with her Pretty Kick), Noob Saibot uses Reiko’s shurikens, and the MK:A Blaze uses pretty much Onaga’s moves (“Blazaga”?). Mortal Kombat had many cop outs when they retconned character stories/deaths, even with the use of clones following the murders of Shao Kahn in MK:DA and Shinnok in MK:A.

It is so easy to point out preexisting attributes from other characters and immediately call a new combatant unoriginal. With the examples above, it is highly unjust to pass of Ekimaru as a superfluous Scorpion or reiterated god, as it is to say that Blizzard is an unnecessary third-wheel Sub-Zero or a male Kitana.

In fact, as my story suggests, Blizzard temporarily fills in the void left from Noob Saibot (his original) being sucked into a Soulnado- his whereabouts unknown -and Cyber Sub-Zero (his brother) being killed by Sindel in MK9. As his ending states, the brothers are alive (which will more than likely happen in MK10) after he reanimates them by killing Quan Chi and taking his amulet. But, as an added bonus, the original Bi-Han is cleansed and the three “brothers” form an unstoppable pact against the forces of evil. That example sounds more like brotherly love than “just doing his job.”

While a good point was made about why Blizzard was not automated at a time when the cyber-ninja initiative was new and hyped, it is safe to say that NOT every Lin Kuei assassin was automated. For example, when Sub-Zero challenged Sektor or even took control of the Lin Kuei, why did Sektor’s cyber brethren, being soulless and emotionless enforcers, not stop the Lin Kuei’s notorious target (Sub-Zero was marked for death by the clan), allow their clan to be hijacked, and eventually obey Sub-Zero’s commands as pupils under him? After all, Sektor could have had his Tekunin army right then if all of the assassins were automated.

I hope this post clarifies some erroneous thinking, though too late, for the competitors and judges.

I just noticed I misspelled my own characters name.....wow.

Eastwind
--pass--
Simberleen
Ameerah

Eastwind
Deasoul
Kwah Dah
Ameerah

Again, let me try to make my stance clear. I am fully aware that artwork helps to sell a character, and that's why I included good-quality artwork in my own entry. In Eastwind's case it would have taken too much text, while simpler designs like the Simberleen (or Liu Kang, or Johnny Cage) do fine with a paragraph. In this contest, art is regarded in the rules as a "visual aid" and not necessarily a centerpiece.

I feel it's more fair to all the creators to judge the costume description in whatever form it takes, be it written or illustrated or hastily doodled. I decided to make my decisions this way because last year I watched a number of really excellent characters get bumped off early, because people were stunned by the artwork of characters with obvious broken gameplay and/or stories that didn't make sense or fit MK. And that's not me being nitpicky like I am in my Beatdown reviews -- I'm talking about serious and obvious flaws winning over good content because of a superior "look." That's one reason I like this year's round robins -- it gives us time to get past that natural visual bias and actually think and discuss about why we're voting.

For the record, the exact same argument applies to the writing, too (and I also saw entries with good-looking writing get an undue advantage as well -- possibly even my own). When I offer my reviews, you might notice that I make exactly zero jokes about spelling/grammar and general writing ability. That's because, just like with artwork, I look past these surface touches and try to base my opinion on what you say rather than how you say it. Good, clear, and visceral writing also helps to sell a character (Ekimaru's bio is far above average in this too -- kudos!) but in the end this isn't a writing contest or an art contest. It's a character contest. Therefore I do my best to judge and compare characters over presentation.

Lastly, I want to be clear that even though I'm definitely preaching at you here, I am not trying to convert anyone to my way of judging. I am, however, trying to demonstrate a higher level of critical thinking that doesn't pander to our natural biases just to sell. This mentality of catering to base human instincts is the reason why pop music all sounds the same now, and why a blockbuster movie can sell millions with special effects even while millions of fans say it's the stupidest movie they've ever seen (looking at you, Michael Bay). Our entertainment has been scientifically proven to make us steadily dumber, less innovative, and more easily influenced as a culture, and the solution of course is to be smarter about entertainment.

Having amazing artwork for a character is icing on the cake. But the cake is important too, or else you'll end up swallowing a lump of sugar-coated shit.

(-- That's a metaphor, guys! I'm not accusing any character of being shit.)

By the way, anyone remember Pac-Man and Tetris? I wonder how much those guys spent on their art budgets, back when Donkey Kong was king of the visual jungle.



I do know of the Fire God, and I presumed that Ekimaru's "Kojin" was in fact that god, since it follows the same convention as Raiden and Fujin from Japanese lore. I might have called foul on that but didn't for three reasons: One, I already cried that foul with Ameerah and was I was proven wrong, so why do it again? Two, Ekimaru is much more his own person with only a connection to the Fire God, so really there wasn't much of a foul to be cried. Three, since the Fire God was never playable, I felt no need to add him to the already long list of playable fire characters.

I didn't really "fail" to mention him, I just decided not to because there were other points and jokes to make.



If it's so easy to point out how similar these attributes are, then why are so many people telling the same stories that have already told, and rehashing old and tired themes? Do we just not want new stuff? You might have noticed I even shot down my own character for using an exhausted plot device. I totally facepalmed when I finally realized what I'd done, and publicly slammed it the same way I do everyone else. If that's not just, then I must have a severely misguided definition of justice.



You may have missed it, but I did point that out as a strong mark in Blizzard's favor, and I recall having had quite a lot to say about it.



Answered your own question there. With the exception of the Grandmaster's son Sektor, who seems to retain a tiny bit of free will, the rest of the cyborgs follow rules and obey commands. Sub-Zero challenged Sektor for leadership of the clan, which according to custom in these kinds of clans is a one-on-one test of superiority. While human lackeys might have gotten emotionally involved and jumped in the fray, the cyborgs had to follow the rules. And when Sub-Zero defeated Sektor, they now had to follow his rules, at which point he presumably had them de-automated and formed the new Lin Kuei.

That was the whole point of the Cyber Initiative: to ensure that every single Lin Kuei followed the rules and no one was left with the emotional impulse to defect. Those rules are the reason that whole situation was allowed to happen.

Also, Sektor did have his Tekunin army right then -- it was called "the entire Lin Kuei." After Sub-Zero took it from him he "fled to Japan to form his own clan of cybernetic ninjas," and thus was the separate Tekunin clan born.



So do I. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm disparaging artwork here; I'm really not trying to. I enjoy the beautiful art pieces as much as everyone else does, I just don't account for it in judging.

Group A: Glacier
Group B: Abstaining
Group C: Kwah Dah
Group D: Ameerah

I cannot BELIEVE that X-1-0 reflects better than X-0-1! >X(

Hypothetical situation:
Apparently even if the loss in Ameerah's final matchup was UNANIMOUSLY DECIDED, Ameerah would still be considered better than Kira even though she LOST to her and Kira tied once instead of losing at all in the tournament.

Just how in the hell does that make any sense?! Just like I called it several days ago...

To have gone from almost sure thing for at least the semifinals to certain first elimination in the quarterfinals... I'll be over in a corner crying if anyone needs me. T______T

Misread your last post. That isn't the case. As you say, that wouldn't make sense. [See; Round Robin Table]

My apologies for not being brief and to the point in the first post. Should have stopped at one question. Mea culpa.

[Gee, now this all reflects badly on me... *puts on the dunce cap*]

I have a question about the Vipehr vs. Rik'ki scoring in the last round.

So...

Vipehr won the public vote which counts as 1 point. Rik'ki got two judge votes, which count as 1 point. So they should both have 1 point so far... But the third point is divided between them. Vipehr got one judge vote and Rik'ki got the other remaining judge vote... Which would mean neither of them get the third point, or it is divided between them, which would make it a draw.... But instead the whole point goes to Rik'ki, who then wins the match. This would suggest that when it comes down to it, a single judge vote matters more than the entire public vote. Could someone elaborate on this for me?

If it will help, look what happened when Kira tied with Persephone. Both the kommunity and the judges were split on them. Maybe that will better explain it?

But then again, at the start, it was denoted that kommunity vote only counts for 1/3rd, and the judges' votes account for 2/3rds. Will that answer your question?

I've wondered about that too, because the math seemed kind of weird.

The pattern so far looks like 1.5 Judge votes rounds up to 2, because three against one is a solid majority. Then a split Judge decision registers a tie with the MKommunity vote being the tiebreaker.

Since a 2.5 to 0.5 win is no different but more messy than a 3 to 0 win, it makes sense to round the numbers. But in Vipehr vs. Rik'Ki it would have been 1.5 to 1.5 (a tie) instead of 2-1 (a win) which seriously affects the score table.