sugarvalves [1963573] —
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Make a Map competition results finalised after three-month judging process. Five top prizes winners revealed. Judges thoroughly impressed and tired and sick of looking at maps now.
Heasleys4hemp has just been announced as the winner of the Make a Map competition. As a result, Heasleys has been awarded the usual ribbons, prizes, points... and a Gold AK-47 worth $25 billion.
"I am so absolutely grateful to all of the judges for selecting my map as the winner. Thank you all for your time and I really hope you all enjoyed my map." - Heasleys4hemp
Pictured: Shiny shiny go bang bang.
Unlike the AK shown above that was taken from the collection of Saddam Hussein, the Gold AK given to Heasleys4hemp was pilfered from the inventory of ItsZahid, a player who was placed in federal jail last year for having imaginary brothers. But Heasleys victory is very much a reality, having been confirmed by a panel of three judges earlier today after nearly three months of deliberation.
"Winning the Gold AK will be a Torn Life changer, regardless of how absolutely filthy Zahid left it."
The Make a Map competition opened in October 2020 and asked players to submit a Christmas-themed map that took players on some kind of adventure, story, or otherwise interesting experience. There were three pages of entries into this competition, but the judging team took their time to evaluate each map in intricate (and often excruciating) detail.
The level of entries we received far surpassed our expectations, and while it was tough to separate some of the top prize-winners, the judges were unanimous in their choice for first-place.
"Winter in Gatlin was a passion project for me, it was something I was working on before the competition was even announced. I just really wanted to make a map that people would enjoy, maybe even get a chuckle out of some of the messages I placed around the map. I wanted the map to be a unique experience for everyone. A map you could explore for hours and not even find everything."
"I spent an enormous amount of time on this map. There were times I was sitting in class building this map using a chromebook trackpad. It was a pain at times, but I loved every second of it. Being able to add funny messages or unique areas to the map knowing my friends would laugh and enjoy it was my fuel to work on this map." - Heasleys4hemp
Heasleys4hemp wasn't the only winner though, with the four other players chosen to receive a high-value, rare item from our ritzy prize pool. Here is the full list of the top five winners, along with their map names, and the reasons we chose them:
First - Heasleys4hemp - Winter in Gatlin
Heasleys4hemp was the clear winner in the eyes of the judges, as Winter in Gatlin not only scored high in playability and technical execution, it also fulfilled the brief of being a genuine Christmas-themed map. It was a joy to explore every nook and cranny of Gatlin, with its considered design and satisfying layout complemented by some excellent writing. The messages Heasleys included helped you partake in enjoyable side quests, made you laugh, and served to make Gatlin feel like a real place. A worthy winner that is well worth your time when Christmas Town opens once more later in the year - just be wary of those f**king geese.
Prize: Gold AK47
Second - Smokey123 - Chedburn Towers
Chedburn Towers was one of the most uniquely laid-out maps we came across this year, and that was just one of the reasons why it was a pleasure to play. As with many of the top five, the idea behind this map was executed to a high technical standard, with the compact nature of each level offering a welcome change to the open-world nature of most entries. Every level of Chedburn Towers was interesting in its own way - I still laugh every time I see the Chat Logs - with a mixture of witty references and questions keeping you entertained while you search for Chedburn’s elusive vault.
Chosen Prize: Santa Hat '04
Third - MightyGoober / SashaFierce - Among Us Torn
Among Us Torn was a wonderfully creative interpretation of the brief and a lot of fun to play. MightyGoober and SashaFierce stayed true to the gameplay and style of Among Us, using the mapmaking tools at their disposal in a number of inventive ways - their use of parameters was particularly clever. This map is also great for players who lack the required number of friends for Among Us to get in on the meme action. Overall, we thought that Among Us In Torn had strong visual appeal, and was straightforward enough to navigate without being boring or repetitive.
Chosen Prize: Christmas Stocking '09
Fourth - Zordork - The Grinch That Kidnapped Santa
Zordork’s map really kept our attention thanks to its well-written quest that continually drove it forward. At no point did this map feel like a grind, which is a testament to the skill Zordork demonstrated in pacing their story through the use of numerous snippets and clues. There were also many clever uses of teleportation to break up the map into clearly defined areas - the Pirate Ship was particularly amusing, but I did worry when I entered the cellar of the workshop that a Pulp Fiction gimp scenario was about to take place. One thing we always appreciate in any map is the considered layout of the shops and games, which in this case were integrated into a neat little town area, as opposed to being plonked down in one big splodge.
Chosen Prize: Christmas Card '09
Fifth - JoeBoro - It's Snow Joke
Our final prize winner was JoeBoro, whose map scored highly in many different areas, especially his use of parameters and layout. This felt like a map that really had a huge amount of effort put into it, with the Labyrinth and Mountain areas particularly intricate. And even when there were areas JoeBoro couldn’t finish, such as the Mansion, he came up with some entertaining role play to explain how it was being refurbished. The Dark Forest questions were harsh but compelling, and it all paid off with the prize of the chest-laden area found at the end.
Chosen Prize: Christmas Cracker '04
So those are our winners. The judging team consisted of myself, our Community Manager, bogie, and our Christmas Town creator, Amonette. We all worked hard to ensure the entries to this contest were judged with a level of scrutiny that befits the huge amount of effort put into them. There were many other original and entertaining maps submitted that didn't win a prize, so please don't be disheartened if you didn't place. We have sent Donator Packs to a handful of players who didn't make the final cut. One of those players was Fizzloges...
Pictured: I'll try my very best.
Thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the victors. Now please don't show me a Christmas Town map ever, ever again.
"I am so absolutely grateful to all of the judges for selecting my map as the winner. Thank you all for your time and I really hope you all enjoyed my map." - Heasleys4hemp
Pictured: Shiny shiny go bang bang.
Unlike the AK shown above that was taken from the collection of Saddam Hussein, the Gold AK given to Heasleys4hemp was pilfered from the inventory of ItsZahid, a player who was placed in federal jail last year for having imaginary brothers. But Heasleys victory is very much a reality, having been confirmed by a panel of three judges earlier today after nearly three months of deliberation.
"Winning the Gold AK will be a Torn Life changer, regardless of how absolutely filthy Zahid left it."
The Make a Map competition opened in October 2020 and asked players to submit a Christmas-themed map that took players on some kind of adventure, story, or otherwise interesting experience. There were three pages of entries into this competition, but the judging team took their time to evaluate each map in intricate (and often excruciating) detail.
The level of entries we received far surpassed our expectations, and while it was tough to separate some of the top prize-winners, the judges were unanimous in their choice for first-place.
"Winter in Gatlin was a passion project for me, it was something I was working on before the competition was even announced. I just really wanted to make a map that people would enjoy, maybe even get a chuckle out of some of the messages I placed around the map. I wanted the map to be a unique experience for everyone. A map you could explore for hours and not even find everything."
"I spent an enormous amount of time on this map. There were times I was sitting in class building this map using a chromebook trackpad. It was a pain at times, but I loved every second of it. Being able to add funny messages or unique areas to the map knowing my friends would laugh and enjoy it was my fuel to work on this map." - Heasleys4hemp
Heasleys4hemp wasn't the only winner though, with the four other players chosen to receive a high-value, rare item from our ritzy prize pool. Here is the full list of the top five winners, along with their map names, and the reasons we chose them:
First - Heasleys4hemp - Winter in Gatlin
Heasleys4hemp was the clear winner in the eyes of the judges, as Winter in Gatlin not only scored high in playability and technical execution, it also fulfilled the brief of being a genuine Christmas-themed map. It was a joy to explore every nook and cranny of Gatlin, with its considered design and satisfying layout complemented by some excellent writing. The messages Heasleys included helped you partake in enjoyable side quests, made you laugh, and served to make Gatlin feel like a real place. A worthy winner that is well worth your time when Christmas Town opens once more later in the year - just be wary of those f**king geese.
Prize: Gold AK47
Second - Smokey123 - Chedburn Towers
Chedburn Towers was one of the most uniquely laid-out maps we came across this year, and that was just one of the reasons why it was a pleasure to play. As with many of the top five, the idea behind this map was executed to a high technical standard, with the compact nature of each level offering a welcome change to the open-world nature of most entries. Every level of Chedburn Towers was interesting in its own way - I still laugh every time I see the Chat Logs - with a mixture of witty references and questions keeping you entertained while you search for Chedburn’s elusive vault.
Chosen Prize: Santa Hat '04
Third - MightyGoober / SashaFierce - Among Us Torn
Among Us Torn was a wonderfully creative interpretation of the brief and a lot of fun to play. MightyGoober and SashaFierce stayed true to the gameplay and style of Among Us, using the mapmaking tools at their disposal in a number of inventive ways - their use of parameters was particularly clever. This map is also great for players who lack the required number of friends for Among Us to get in on the meme action. Overall, we thought that Among Us In Torn had strong visual appeal, and was straightforward enough to navigate without being boring or repetitive.
Chosen Prize: Christmas Stocking '09
Fourth - Zordork - The Grinch That Kidnapped Santa
Zordork’s map really kept our attention thanks to its well-written quest that continually drove it forward. At no point did this map feel like a grind, which is a testament to the skill Zordork demonstrated in pacing their story through the use of numerous snippets and clues. There were also many clever uses of teleportation to break up the map into clearly defined areas - the Pirate Ship was particularly amusing, but I did worry when I entered the cellar of the workshop that a Pulp Fiction gimp scenario was about to take place. One thing we always appreciate in any map is the considered layout of the shops and games, which in this case were integrated into a neat little town area, as opposed to being plonked down in one big splodge.
Chosen Prize: Christmas Card '09
Fifth - JoeBoro - It's Snow Joke
Our final prize winner was JoeBoro, whose map scored highly in many different areas, especially his use of parameters and layout. This felt like a map that really had a huge amount of effort put into it, with the Labyrinth and Mountain areas particularly intricate. And even when there were areas JoeBoro couldn’t finish, such as the Mansion, he came up with some entertaining role play to explain how it was being refurbished. The Dark Forest questions were harsh but compelling, and it all paid off with the prize of the chest-laden area found at the end.
Chosen Prize: Christmas Cracker '04
So those are our winners. The judging team consisted of myself, our Community Manager, bogie, and our Christmas Town creator, Amonette. We all worked hard to ensure the entries to this contest were judged with a level of scrutiny that befits the huge amount of effort put into them. There were many other original and entertaining maps submitted that didn't win a prize, so please don't be disheartened if you didn't place. We have sent Donator Packs to a handful of players who didn't make the final cut. One of those players was Fizzloges...
Pictured: I'll try my very best.
Thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the victors. Now please don't show me a Christmas Town map ever, ever again.
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