I like how I've made a ton of updates like I had originally promised.

R1 entries received: 23/64

Anyway just a reminder, the deadline is fast approaching. I'm writing this at 1:00 AM exactly on Monday, so that means you have a little less than two days to turn in your stuff. 47 hours to be precise.

Also guys, this is important. If you're going to submit your entry in parts (separate deviations) then that's fine, but please please please link the parts in the artist comments of your deviations and then send me the link to the FIRST part. It makes it so much easier on the judges and me when it comes time to read. I'm just gonna list the first link in this journal anyway because I have OCD about my journal layout and I'm totally not putting all of your fourteen links next to your name.

Finally, judging. I'm gonna be straight up and say that I have no idea how long it will take to judge this round. Hopefully not too long, and it should go faster than auditions, but I'm not going to make any promises I can't keep. I personally have a bit of stuff to take care of in the next week or so (being that July 11 is my birthday and I am going to take a break from Exchange stuff on that day because I'm a jerk) and it also depends a lot on how much the judges can get done. That being said, it's a lot easier to judge "two teams enter, one team leaves" than "FREE FOR ALL HERE ARE 132 PICK 64" so good news there.

Much like the auditions, I'll be keeping a progress-o-meter right here so you can gauge my progress, along with a how-many-judge-results-I've-received-o-meter to keep track of the overall progress.

Basically just hang tight and try to be patient. Judging will start immediately after the deadline, and we'll try to get it done ASAP.

The round results will be posted with yet another chapter of God-related shenanigans, and a few days later, the round two prompt will be up and we can do this all over again. 8D

So that's the game plan for the next however long everything takes. NOW GET BACK TO WRITING ... OR TWIDDLING YOUR THUMBS, IF YOU'RE ALREADY DONE, THOUGH YOU COULD BE WRITING A SWEET SE FOR ME TO PUT IN THE SWEET SE JOURNAL.

GOGOGO.

WITH INTENSITY,
MIPPINS

All Round One entries must be in by:

The night of July 7 at 11:59 EST (GMT -5)

For those of you having timezone trouble, here's a nifty map:
[link]

I'm located in the purple strip on the eastern side of the United States. In Ohio.

If that isn't specific, I don't know what is.

Convert my time to your time right now. Then get a sticky note, write YOUR deadline time on it and slap it on the side of your monitor, on your desk, on your face, on your dog, whatever. Write it on your calender and put it in the alarm on your phone. Do whatever you need to do to keep track.

This is serious now, guys. This is a real round. I can't take late entries anymore, and the excuse "well I'm in a different timezone and I got confused" isn't going to cut it. I'm giving you plenty of time and all the necessary resources to figure this out. Take advantage of that so you don't screw yourself over later.

If you have questions, note me. Preferably now and not like, a half hour before its due going "AHH WHAT TIME IS IT IN EST-LAND?"

OKAY NOW THE PROMPT.

THIS WILL EVENTUALLY BE A FANCY IMAGE! 8D

Before you read this, go read the prompt. Seriously this is just here for clarification. In writing this, I've assumed that you've already read the prompt itself. Plus, this isn't nearly all you need to know to write your entry. All of the necessary tools are in the prompt, and this is just the plainspeak version of the OBJECTIVE, not the SETTING.

Anyway.

The objective for this round can be described in three words:

Find the key.

In one of those many, many boxes on one of those many, many conveyor belts, there is a key that will open both doors at the other end of the room. The key is described in the prompt.

It's kind of like a scavenger hunt. I'm leaving it up to you guys to figure out how to include your opponent in this. You're welcome to do whatever you want with the room. If you want to include more machinery, weird stuff in the boxes (more keys?), other crap coming out of the conveyor belt, etc., then go ahead. You just gotta find the key. Points for creativity, of course.

When the key is turned in the lock, both gates will be pulled upwards and your characters will be free to choose a path. How you stop your defeated opponents from following you ... well, that's up to you.

Also the initial race thing that I totally forgot to detail. Basically, everyone in the Outer Ring and Death is like, "Okay there are 64 doors and 132 of you ... GO." Everyone runs, once the 64 doors are filled up, we have ourselves a tournament. The other 68 are stuck in the Outer Ring until R1 is over, when the doors will open again and everyone is free to roam wherever they want inside of the Labyrinth, as long as the path has been opened. When one of the 64 entrants gets into a door, it slams shut and locks them in, then the lights turn on as you saw in the prompt. Two teams per room, obviously.

What you have to include
-Your opponent (duh)
-The specified setting (duh)
-Finding the key
-Which door your team picks (if you don't include this in your entry, you need to put a quick note in your artist comments to declare a path. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT since it will directly impact the next setting. I will be keeping track of this and you are bound to your decision.)
-Also, I almost forgot but keep the key. You'll need it later.

Optional
-The opening race thing where everyone runs to the doors.
-Everything else

Take liberties, take chances, take creative licensing. Take a literary multivitamin, a nice warm shower and a nap, then take your shot at kicking some ass.

Take everything.

The roster is your friend. But, just in case you didn't hear me the first time.

Also entries will be linked here as they come in.

&

The Key - [link] Finders Key-pers - [link]

What One Believes - [link]

The Madhouse - [link] The Shame of Insanity - [link]

Needle in a Haystack - [link] Assess the Mess - [link]

Pandorian Boxes - [link]

& See the Carnies Run - [link]

Save the Queen - [link]

The Earthy Chill of Dusk - [link]

Vacant - [link]

Round One - [link]

&



One Last Glance - [link]

A Doctor's Touch - [link] Downward Spiral - [link]



One, A Tragedy - [link]















Cat's Fugue - [link]

Blue Monday - [link] Key to the City - [link]

Round 1 - [link]







Fire and Ice - [link]

& Key Up My Heart - [link]

Got questions about the round? GOOD, note me! If they're something that could apply to more people in the tournament, I'll list them here for your convenience.

1. What else is in the boxes besides the key?
   I dunno. You tell me.


2. What happens with the key is turned?
   The gears will start to turn (since it's that big line roughly in the shape of a T) and both gates will open. Describe that however you want, but my mental image is really super cool so don't disappoint me. > Kidding, I know you won't.


3. ...But, then can't my opponent follow me, even if they lost?
   Yep.


4. There's nothing stopping them?
   Nope. It's up to you how you deal with that. Either way, the Labyrinth and Death know who wins and who doesn't, so the defeated team can go wherever they want but they can't do the objectives after they lose.


5. What happens with the Outer Ring people?
   All the doors leading to R1 are closed now, but after Round One, the doors will open and everyone will be free to wander wherever inside of the Labyrinth, so long as the path has been opened. I think I mentioned this up top, too, but just for clarification.


6. How does a character actually win the round? Do they find the key first, get it in the lock first, enter a path first, or ...?
   Oh. Good question ... Uh, doesn't matter. Whichever you deem best suited for your methods. Technically it's just whoever gets into the next room first, but whatever you wanna do is fine.


7. What if, in the next round, my opponent and I end up choosing different doors?
   That's okay. Given the nature of the next challenge, it won't really matter. The objectives will be very similar, but the environment will be the catch. It messes with continuity a little, but it can be easily overlooked.


8. You said the doors close as soon as a competitor enters the room. What if the other opponent hadn't arrived yet?
   OH. I should clarify. There are 64 doors, two for each room. You and your opponent come through different doors on opposite sides of the same wall. Your door slams shut when your team gets through; same goes for the other team, but the doors can shut at different times.


9. Do the gates on the other side of the room close once you open them?
   Nope. They remain open. Also, the original doors that you and your opponent entered through will open again. Free reign for everyone, from here on out. Obviously you can only go as far as the prompts go, though, since you have to complete the objective before you can move on ... It's like some twisted Zelda dungeon, except in this case the 'small key' doesn't become suddenly useless after you use it. And, no, you don't get the hookshot after you defeat the Minotaur.