Calling All Artists, Torque and Unearthly Challenge

We here on the Torque team understand that art can make the difference between a mediocre game and a great one. We are constantly adding tools and new systems to make it easy to get your art into Torque and looking its best. As a result we want to reach out to all the artists in our community as well as other art communities around the web. Therefore the Torque team is happy to announce that they are proud sponsors of the Unearthly Challenge 2009 contest put on by the awesome folks that run GameArtisans.org.

Torque 3D Game Environment Award
Not only are we sponsoring the contest, we are providing a special award, the Torque 3D Game Environment Award, which includes free licenses to the entire suite of Torque Engines to the best environment using Torque 3D. All you have to do to be eligible is to use Torque 3D for at least one of your beauty shots in your contest entry. The winner of this award may or may not correspond to the winner of the Unearthly Challenge 09.

A Little Bit of Info About the Contest
Unearthly Challenge was started in 2008 to give environment artists a chance to showcase their work. Each year they invite users from GameArtisans.org, Polycount.net, LeewiArt and CGTalk to show off their talent and represent their various communities. This contest is unique in that it focuses solely on art for games and requires its contestants to operate within the limitations of today's games. We'd love to see people in this community displaying their Torque flags proudly.

Each contest introduces a new concept that the artists must build upon. This year the subject is the End Game, meaning your environment must convey the feeling of the final game environment. This could be anything from a destroyed battlefield, a portal to another dimension or a stairway to heaven or the bowels of hell. Your environment conveys the build-up of your game world to this final moment that your players experience.

The requirements fall within typical next gen game design, and your entries will be voted upon by a group of art experts in the game industry. Torque can be used to show the "beauty shots" of your environment. Unrendered screens using Max, Maya, or the art app of your choice are also allowed, but don't give the same punch as a game engine rendering your scene. Last year, 4 out the top 7 winning entries used a game engine to display their work. For more information on the exact contest requirements please check here.

Where Torque Fits In
One of the main requirements of the contest is to show the environment running inside a game engine or inside your art app lit in real-time, no renders allowed. With Torque 3D's revamped art pipeline and state-of-the-art rendering, you can really set your entry apart by proving that you art looks great and runs in a game environment.

But I Don't Own Torque 3D
Not a problem. For the duration of this contest we have a script-only, time-limited version of Torque 3D available. This means no object limits or watermarks and full access to Torque 3D's editor suite. You can find a link to that demo on the Unearthly site or here.

Torque Community
We know that there are a lot of top notch artists in this community and want them to come out and show everyone their talent. Because of this, we are offering a free license to Torque 3D Professional to each member of the team with the best entry that also displays their work to this community. The requirements for this award are as follows: The entry must be part of the Unearthly Challenge 09 and adhere to their rules. The team or individual must use Torque 3D for at least one of their beauty shot entries. The member or individual must submit blogs or forum posts on our community of their work in progress as well as their final entry. Entries will be judged on the quality of the environment and how well they displayed their contest experience to the community. A winner will be chosen on November 19th and may or may not correspond to the winning entries of Unearthly Challenge or the Torque 3D Game Environment Award.

So break out that Wacom tablet and start moving those polys!