Hi guys,
As some of you may know, fighting games are gradually moving into the traditional “eSports” scene, which today is dominated by Starcraft 2. Custom stick building and the incredible work you all do is one of the most unique aspects of the FGC. So to showoff your talents to our new eSports audience, SRK is commissioning an interesting art piece.
The contest is to design and build the ultimate custom “arcade stick” for playing Starcraft 2 on the PC!
Prizes
All prizes will be paid out through PayPal.
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[]1st place: $1000 award PLUS the cost of parts to build the stick. The winning stick will also be featured on State of the Game, the #1 Starcraft II podcast.
[]2nd place: $250
[]3rd place: $100
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Contest Rules
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[]IMPORTANT: The first phase of this contest is a design contest. Only the winner of the design contest has to build the stick!
[]Your stick must emulate a PS2 or USB PC keyboard. When plugged into a PC it must be recognizable as a keyboard by Windows, with the correct button assignments (see below).
[]This is a design AND build contest. You must be able to build your design with the highest standards of quality. We want to show this thing off, so it’s gotta be super clean.
[]Working in teams is ok.
[][Here is a suggested button assignment and layout](‘http://shoryuken.com/sc2contest/sc2 button template VS.psd’). If you’re an SC2 pro and want to use a different layout go for it, but you had better really know what you’re doing.
[]I highly suggest you use 24mm buttons for the 1 - 5 and QWERTY keys. 30mm buttons spread your hand out quite a bit. The template uses 24mm buttons for all buttons except the CTRL, SHIFT, and Space keys, which are 30mm buttons.
[]All designs must use this logo to showcase the SRK tech talk forum. You can take some creative license with the logo.
[]Special features are encouraged! Use your creativity. This is an ultimate build contest.
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Deadlines and Submissions
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[]The deadline for posting submissions is March 31st at midnight PST.
[]Submit your design by PMing me (inkblot). Don’t post your design to this thread. I will post all the designs after the design deadline.
[]The deadline for the winner to ship the completed stick to SRK HQ is** May 14th**. If you don’t think you can build the stick by then, please do not apply.
[]Post your design in this thread. The design must include enough information so that I can easily see what the finished product will look like.
[]In your submission post to this thread, include:
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[]Final versions of any custom artwork you’ve designed
[]Pics or renders of the case you’ll be using
[]A rough estimate for the cost of materials.
[]A super-brief stick-building resume. Sorry, I don’t know all you guys by name. A few links to sticks you’ve built in the past is fine.
[*]Anything else that you think is helpful, like a render of what the final stick will look like.
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Questions?
Post any questions to this thread.
Q & A Time!
Q: Should I put a trackball or trackpad on this thing?
A: If it’s going to work awesomely, go for it. If it’s a gimmick and will not work well while playing the game, it doesn’t help your design.
Q: Is this contest open to people outside the US?
A: Yes, anyone in the world can compete.
Q: When do I build the stick? Do 2nd and 3rd place have to build the stick too?
A: I will announce the winner of the contest after the March 31st design deadline, at which point the winner builds the stick and ships it to SRK by May 14th. The 2nd and 3rd place winners do not have to build the stick.
Q: What do I need to include in my submission? Sketches, renders, technical drawings?
A: You need to include enough information for me to tell what the stick will look like and have confidence that you can actually build it on time! If you’re using custom artwork, that artwork must be in it’s final form, not a sketch. Renders always help, but if you’re just using custom artwork on a standard case you don’t necessarily need one.
Q: Why a custom Starcraft II controller? Is there a problem with a keyboard and mouse?
Nope. In fact a mechanical keyboard + good mouse is an excellent Starcraft II controller. So why the contest?
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[]This gives SRK a chance to show off the art of stick building to the SC2 community, at a time where they are already being introduced to fighting games through things like the IPL SFXT exhibition that went down last week.
[]It’s fun! Think of this as one of those contests you see on cable TV like “Ultimate Biker Buildoff.” It’s a chance for people to get creative on an outside-the-box project (no pun intended), and win some cash. If this works out maybe we’ll do more build-offs.
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That said, the controller has to be a pretty good Starcraft II controller. If it’s impossible to use, it goes against the spirit of the competition.
But who knows. Maybe someone will come up with a design that is actually better than a standard keyboard.
Q: What’s the target user or audience here? Is this supposed to be an object d’art that gets put in a display case as a trophy, and only theoretically usable, or something that should be able to cope with player abuse like spilled soda and the occasional table flip? Is this supposed to be for a casual player who might want free button mapping, and macros, or for tournament competition where those things are frowned upon?
A: It’s an art piece, but it will get occasional play in exhibitions. But this is not just about looks. Utility features that make it a better controller, like free button mapping, will be considered in the design.
