If the Artist position is the only real issue, maybe eliminating that position is the right way to go. (Maybe replace it with a PvE'er position or something.) Those with mad art skillz can still be useful in card design, etc. Or maybe the rules for artist events should clearly say "the picture that best represents x", emphasizing the idea rather than the artistic ability. That's prolly not enough, though.
I don't think this is an issue here, but it's always worth considering what happens if one team runs away with it. We can't expect teams that are essentially already eliminated to maintain interest over the last four weeks.
Masters are given a bonus for success in War during the Trials. Is the plan also to give a bonus for success as a Boss during the Trials? Or is that a bad idea given that being a Boss isn't compulsory?
It might be an issue, it might not. But I don't think we should just remove that role because art has always been a big part of the forums and CCG's in general.
Sure, we could emphasize the idea rather than the artistic ability, but most people will still vote based on their own system. I would be amazed if a stick figure with a great idea would beat a technically superior picture in a public poll. If we look at past art polls, the technically superior usually wins.
If everything goes as planned and we get enough participants, then yes I think Forum Brawl should give a bonus to Trials. It would motivate Masters to participate and it makes sense.
Do you really think its going to be a big issue?
I don't know. I just think that 2-4 people dominating and others having no chance to win, is a real possibility. Of course it depends a lot on the actual tasks. And maybe we shouldn't speculate it too much and just make it happen. IF it fails, it can always be fixed in Forum Brawl #2.
I didn't think being a General was compulsory either. The only thing that should be compulsory is managing the card section.
Well, actually the idea is that Master title is kind of a reward, rather than a job. Original plan was that Masters would have to keep their card sections organized, but I've kind of discarded that plan. It doesn't sound right to have people first fight like crazy for the title, and then reward them with work.
I think Master title should be about many volunteer projects and events where the Master can join.
Perhaps you should combine the Artist and Writer role into one role. This way more people can fit into the role and you will only need 60 participants instead of 72, essentially killing two birds with one stone. You could also name it something like "Creative Arts" and incorporate a variety of art styles such as video, music, writing, and both digital and hand-drawn art. For example a task could be: Create a work of art that captures the themes and abilities of your team's element. So the Creative Artist of the Air team could write a poem about Air, use Photoshop to make an epic picture of all the Air cards, or record a video where he/she jumps off buildings in an attempt to capture the freedom of Air. The submissions would be judged by both skill level and how well it captures the element as a whole, so if one person is the greatest digital artist in the world, he/she will not necessarily win every challenge.
Like already mentioned, painting art and writing are two totally different things. Many are skilled in one of them, but very few in both. Finding 12 artists is difficult enough, finding 12 artists who can write, would be a nightmare which would lead to us getting mostly awesome stories and stick figures, or crappy stories with great art.
That "Creative Arts" thing is pretty interesting though. It would require well-rounded skills and would be a bit difficult to judge, but it could work.
im not sure i understand the purpose of the artist position existing at all if you dont want the team with the best person in that position to have an advantage over the team with with the worst person in that position, and potentially win the contest due to the artist. remove the category if you dont want that position to cause a swing in the points standings.
Art is a big part of Elements and forums so I don't think it should be removed. All we need to do is maybe tweak the role or the tasks a bit so that a person with superior skills doesn't auto-win all the tasks.
