With two exclamation marks, so you know it's serious.
Last year, TPG hosted Scribble Labs, an experimental spin-off of the popular and enduring Scribble tournament phenomenon launched by GBA in 2021. The goal of his experiment was to take the Scribble Formula, which has largely been galvanized into an ideal shape already, and keep innovating by seeing what kind of new experiences can be drawn from it through small tweaks and additions.
Today, one year later(ish) this chaotic mad science project announces its return... in stereo!!
What is Scribble?- Scribble is a competitive drawing tournament, spanning 5 rounds that last one week each.
- At any point each round, you may request a prompt from our trusty Discord Bot. Once you receive the prompt, you have 3 hours to complete a drawing relevant to that prompt.
- Your drawing is limited to a 600x600 pixel canvas (or 10x10 cm), and must use a limited palette of only three colors: Black, White, and one color you choose at the beginning of the tournament.
- At the end of the week, your drawing will be pitted against the drawing of another artist who had the same prompt as you. The winner will then be decided by vote.
What does the subtitle "Double Vision" mean? What is the gimmick of this tournament?
- Scribble is traditionally a Singles format. This iteration is NOT. We are hosting the first Scribble Doubles format, and seeing how viable it is. That's the experiment.
- Players do not compete individually, but in teams of 2!! Think Double Dash. You may either sign up with a friend, or by yourself (in which case you will be paired with another random participant at the beginning of the game). Teams are permanent and will not change for the entire duration of the tournament.
- These teams of 2 must then compete with other teams in a unique challenge each round.
- At the end of each round, whichever team is voted the victor wins a point.
How is this scored?
- During each round, teams will face off against each other in a match. In that match...
- ...Player 1 from Team A will battle Player 1 from Team B.
- ...Player 2 from Team A will battle Player 2 from Team B.
- At the end of the round, voters will be asked to make three decisions. These decisions are...
- Who did better, between Team A's and B's Players 1?
- Who did better, between Team A's and B's Players 2?
- Which Team did better when comparing all four pictures?
- Whichever Team wins more of these decisions is declared the victor and receives a point. It doesn't matter whether they win 2-1 or 3-0.
What will each round's challenge be?
- Round 1: STACK BATTLE
- While drawing, you may use your own chosen color in addition to the color of your teammate, coming to a total of four colors (Black, White, your color, your partner's color).
- Round 2: RELAY BATTLE
- Instead of 3 hours, you only get 1 hour to begin drawing your picture. After that, you will swap drawings with your partner and have another hour to bring each other's pictures to completion.
- Round 3: SABOTAGE BATTLE
- Before the start of the round, you will be asked to come up with a simple condition, like "Must contain a chair", or "Don't draw (specific character)". Your opponent will also set a condition.
- Your partner and their opponent must follow your set conditions while they draw. You in turn must follow theirs.
- Round 4: SYNERGY BATTLE
- Similar to Labs 1's Tri-color round. You draw with a palette of 3 colors total, neither of which can be Black or White. This version is not as free-form as Labs 1's though. Your palette will be defined as follows:
- Your first color is the one you signed up with.
- Your second color you pick either from your partner, your opponent, or your opponent's partner.
- Your third color you may choose freely. Try to find one that synergizes with the first two.
- Similar to Labs 1's Tri-color round. You draw with a palette of 3 colors total, neither of which can be Black or White. This version is not as free-form as Labs 1's though. Your palette will be defined as follows:
- Round 5: OLYMPUS BATTLE
- The gimmick of this round is a secret. No, the secret is not that you will be made to fight your partner.
- A more in-depth explanation of the challenge will be given at the beginning of each round.
When will this start?
- The goal is for this tournament to start on March 17, and run for five to six weeks.
- People will (usually) get 5 days to draw, one day to vote, and one day to rest.
Is there anything else I should know?
- Scribble's success is largely dependent on trust and goodwill, which applies doubly so for a doubles format.
- Due to the collaborative nature of this game, it is technically possible to cheat by giving your partner information they shouldn't have (e.g. by showing them your picture for Relay Battle ahead of time, or telling them the condition you're planning to set for Sabotage Battle).
- By signing up, you are promising me I can trust you. You will not try to undermine this trust by giving yourself or your partner an unfair advantage.
- Some notes for traditional artists:
- I realize Relay battle is not kind to you. I unfortunately don't know how to fix this. If you are a traditional artist, I have to ask that you submit a digital picture for at least this round. All other rounds should be fair game for traditional art.
- Some rounds require use of additional colors, which may present a problem. I will be lenient in cases where you can't find an exact match for a color you need. Just try to get them somewhat close.
- Traditional artists will be allowed an additional 15 minutes of time beyond their displayed limit for the purpose of scanning, or getting a good photo, or similar. Trust applies here as well; please do not use this extra time to tweak your image.
- There are some further notes on Relay battle I will get into later.
- Like Scribble Labs 1, this game is highly experimental. Some elements of this game may turn out to be unfeasible, stupid, broken, or heavily impractical. Please be aware of this and don't be too frustrated if things break down. We're throwing science at the wall here.
- This is NOT the official next main Scribble game. That one will be hosted by someone else later this year, probably in Summer.
How do I sign up?
- To sign up as a team of two:
- Post your and your partner's name.
- Post your and your partner's color (hex code and color name)
- Get your partner to like the post so I know you have their consent (or they can make their own post. W/e as long as I know what's what).
- Feel free to come up with a swanky name for your team.
- To sign up as an individual:
- Post your name
- Post your color (hex code and color name)
- You will be assigned a random partner if free players are available at the start of the game. Otherwise you will be selected as a backup.
- Feel free to use the awards discord to look for a partner. Let me know if you want to group up with one of the other free players.
Useful links:
Scribble Deathmatch 2021
Scribble Showdown 2022
Scribble Scrabble 2023
Scribble Smorgasboard 2024
Scribble Labs 1
Picture Pilgrimage 2024
The Spirit of Scribble
