The Pivotal Moment
19 December 2005 - 20 February 2006

Proudly Sponsored by: ATI, DAZ Productions, eyeon Software,
The Art Institute of California - San Francisco
Game Developers Conference in association with the CGSociety are pleased to announce the first of its Graphic Impact annual animation competitions.

The next generation of video game consoles are so powerful that they allow artists to create film quality interactive imagery. Game Developers Conference and the CGSociety are partnering in the first of a series of competitions to celebrate the convergence of film quality rendering and interactive games platforms.

The Pivotal Moment competition will culminate at Game Developers Conference (March 20-24, San Jose, CA) where finalists’ artwork will displayed in the Graphic Impact Art Gallery located at the San Jose Convention Center. On Wednesday, March 22nd at the Game Developers Choice Awards, the competition will be detailed within the program and finalists’ artwork presented. Finally, on the evening of Thursday, March 23rd, winners will be announced during an exclusive awards ceremony and reception.

Your Mission

You must create an image, animation and story depicting a pivotal moment between antagonist and protagonist. Conveying an emotional impact to the player is the key to this competition. We want entrants to focus on the ‘hero’ moment between two characters.

This implies much more than just a fight scene. The focus could be on characters, about to lose or win, suffer crushing defeat or triumphant success. Facial expression, body language, lighting, color, composition, environment, sound effects, dialogue, camera, editing should all work together to deliver an emotional sledgehammer to the player. The scene can depict hand to hand combat, a race, a face-off, a game or anything else you can imagine and produce.

Prizes

Prizes include:
Six finalists will be sponsored to travel to San Jose, California in March 2006 and to attend GDC to collect their prizes at a special awards ceremony.

Judging

· The key task of this competition is to capture a moment and portray it in still and moving image and words heightening the viewers interest and emotion with each piece.
· Be creative and imaginative.
· Be original. Think beyond conventional imagery.

Judging will be undertaken in two stages:

· Stage One will judge a still image. (Still images will be used to screen the first round of entrants).

· Stage Two will judge 10 second animations and review all entry components (still image, animation & story) to select.

Six finalists including a winner for each of three categories will be selected.

Judging in stages is intended to mimic the process to attract players in the real world.

· In the first instance a powerful, often iconic, image is used to attract a player.
· Once the player’s interest is piqued they are prepared to commit more time to watch an animation.
· Hooked by the animation the player wants to know more about the story.

At each stage the impact and emotional engagement should be heightened, captivating the player more and more. At the end of the process the winning entries will embody a player’s reaction of “Gasp!... That’s - totally - awesome…” and leave an impression that they’ll never forget.

Stage One of the competition will be WIP (Work in Progress) allowing everyone to be inspired by each other’s vision and offer feedback and critique. Stage Two will be reserved for the submission of final entries only.

What's Next

1. Enter the Competition by registering with CGTalk (registration is free).
2. Submit your work in progress images during Stage 1 on a regular basis.
3. Participate in the Community by critiquing other's works in the respective forums.
4. Submit your final entry components during Stage Two. (Avoid the last minute rush - get your entry in early)