Hello, denizens of HaloCustoms! After long hours of heated discussion between our judges, the results are in!
...Is what I would like to say. I don't have the luxury of doing so this time around, though. Sadly, this competition saw unexpectedly low results despite its initial reception. In fact, of the 44 members that entered the competition, only 5 of them submitted their designs within the time period. While those designs were all commendable, we were naturally given less quality control with so few submissions to choose from. Don't fret, though! While there was indeed a small pool of designs, we did still select the two that we felt were the most well-designed and solid. Without further ado, here are the winners of the HaloCustoms Map Design Competition!
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2nd Place | Long John by Cheeze
2nd Place | Long John by Cheeze
"One of the factors we emphasized during the judging process was how well each design adhered to its given constraints. Even in name, Long John incorporates its two parameters well. Shaped like a long john donut, Long John boasts a solid symmetrical design centered around a destroyed bridge, similar to that seen on Chill Out. Cheeze has earned himself a $10 Xbox Live gift card!" -Aub
"In addition to making due with some frankly strange parameter's Cheeze came up with what is overall a pretty compelling design. This was no mean feat given the limitations of building the map within a rectangular box. The emphasis on vertical overlap was a nice touch, but ultimately much of the map is rather compartmentalized with many areas cut off from one another. It is likely that this would slow the pace of the game in 4v4 play and also make team movement somewhat unpredictable. Still, this is more the result of the map needing to be confined to a simple geometric shape. Overall, Cheeze did an excellent job with his given constraints and created a map which I would certainly not be opposed to playing in Halo 5." -Duck
"Monument was a strong contender on our list even before we began to scrutinize each submission. From the curved streets to the two identical towers, the design features a distinct blend of elements from both Countdown and Haven. As per Blaze's second constraint, the design incorporates two windows above top middle that are only accessible via clamber. Blaze has earned himself some Halo 5 concept art signed by Sparth himself!" -Aub
"Blaze's given parameters were arguably a bit easier, or at least less awkward, to work with. Still, Haven and Countdown are quite different from one another and Blaze did an excellent job of distilling both maps down to their core components and then combining them in a way which results in a very compelling new layout. Countdown's verticallity and emphasis on top control is present but, by incorporating elements from Haven, this design forgoes the cramped interiors which arguably held Countdown back. Using shallow puddles of water as a hazard for players using camo is a nice touch, even if this particular element wasn't one which could be considered when judging the map's layout itself. Overall, I would be quite interested to play this map in Halo 5." -Duck
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Congratulations to both BlazeDillon and Cheeze! We understand that the release of forge in December was a proponent in the lack of interest, so we'll work towards timing our events better in the future. Still, I would like to sincerely thank those that both participated in and submitted their design to the competition.