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Warrior Gryphon
site owner
Original Poster
#1 Old 16th May 2011 at 9:19 PM
Default Introducing Monthly Themes
Hello everyone!

Many of the staff here at MTS are creators, and while there are request threads and other places to get inspiration, sometimes it can be a bit aimless. This is why I would like to introduce you all to...

Monthly Themes!

From June 1st there will be a monthly theme to inspire you all on creating custom content for your games. This does not mean you couldn't still create what you want - It's more meant as a guide, and each upload, when tagged correctly, will appear alongside other similarly themed creations..

People who take part in the monthly themes will get an achievement - there are no winners or losers, it's just a fun way to create!

What is the first theme?

We have already decided the first theme - Fitness, which will be the Monthly Theme of June. The rest of the themes will be selected from the suggestions you guys make, so please remember that if you would like to post a suggestion, read the rules and examples in the suggestion thread!

We will be accepting suggestions for the next 6 themes, based on a vote count of ideas posted to the thread linked below.

How do I make a suggestion?

To make a suggestion, please go to this thread and read the first post. This contains the rules and instructions, as well as examples - you have until 15th of June 2011 to post your suggestions. The 6 themes that get the most votes will be selected for the remaining months of July to December. Please see the suggestions thread for more information about how to vote.

We will post the rules on how to take part in a monthly theme once we open the first theme, but you can start planning your uploads already.

Have fun!

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
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Theorist
#2 Old 16th May 2011 at 9:55 PM
I thought I could just come back and hit the agree button when someone else said what a fantastic idea this was...but they haven't so I will. It's a great idea and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with and hopefully participate myself. Thanks for continuing to come up with new and interesting ideas for the members, we appreciate it.
Forum Resident
#3 Old 17th May 2011 at 3:02 AM
This is a great idea! I often find myself wondering what next to make. This will do it for me, haha.


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Alchemist
#4 Old 17th May 2011 at 1:49 PM
Great for those who need inspiration, like me!

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Scholar
#5 Old 17th May 2011 at 5:08 PM
This is going to be very inspiring, thank you, Delphy!

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure"

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Theorist
#6 Old 17th May 2011 at 7:11 PM
Quote:
"If you have any ideas, please do let us know. Limited comments and questions about this process are allowed, but above all, have fun and be creative!"

Since you asked... I was wondering if anyone else thinks the nomination/voting process would benefit from staff overview at the end where they can combine, tweak and adjust the wining themes if it makes sense to?

If the trend continues I can see Asylum, Apocalypse, Run Down and Hobo/Homeless wining four out of the six spots (as they should, they're great ideas that are distinctly different). But I'm not sure if it's because I'm a less experienced creator with limited ability to pull off my ideas or if other creators would find four months of similar themes like that hard to participate in as well? Creating a table or a wall paper that's good for one of those themes could easily fit them all. On the other hand, I can see it inspiring creators to come up with something different and step out of their comfort zone. I don't know really--I'm torn. Maybe I'm thinking too hard for something that's just supposed to be a fun way to generate project ideas but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

It's ok to disagree with me on this one. It would actually be helpful to see if I'm the only one thinking this way.
Blenderized to Pieces
retired moderator
#7 Old 18th May 2011 at 6:20 PM
Hi Honeywell! As far as I go., I would not participate in appocalyptic/rundown themes because they do not inspire me. I've lived in too many run down places to want those themes in my game. However, other people would love them to pieces... (I know because I get lots of requests to make that style of themed content) So.. I would just wait till something tickles my fancy - a happier theme...
Theorist
#8 Old 18th May 2011 at 9:55 PM
I agree with Honeywell, there's a lot of overlap in suggestions at the moment. For example prehistory, Native America, Animal print, and tribal stuff are all a little different but basically the same (Native America is a stretch but you get my point). Some of the most popular ones atm the are grunge related. There's also the issue of people posting topics that fit into another one already there (For example there is already a Fantasy theme posted but then someone posted witchcraft which would fit into fantasy). Hopefully you guys can work it so that we're not doing similar topics.

Hi I'm Paul!
Warrior Gryphon
site owner
Original Poster
#9 Old 18th May 2011 at 10:52 PM
Honeywell, we where discussing just such a staff overview of the suggestions earlier on, since, well, we've just had so many more of them than we thought.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Inventor
#10 Old 19th May 2011 at 8:00 PM
What a great idea. I can't wait to see the first theme posted and what wonderful variety of creations will be upload then.

It's okay if some of the named themes are similar, we won't have the same themes twice, I believe. It's great to see with what ideas other people come up with. It's also good to know what things they'd like to see uploaded. No one should be sad because their suggestions got some disagrees - no theme could win if all suggestions got the same votes, right? :-)
Test Subject
#11 Old 23rd May 2011 at 8:08 AM
Default Aliens
we should do alien sifi i cant find any good sims 2 alien stuff any were oh and a all channel tv like in bustin out
Mad Poster
#12 Old 25th May 2011 at 2:59 AM
THANK YOU SO MUCH, DELPHY!!! :lovestruc

And what Yogi-Tea said was very true. I think it's just a great way for creators to get a little bit of extra inspiration from the demanders asking for supplies--retail does it all the time with their customer polls and such to find out what's in The Now and such. If only EA would do the same thing--not that they'd CARE!
Test Subject
#13 Old 26th May 2011 at 10:14 AM
Default Double Meanings
Quote: Originally posted by Robodl95
I agree with Honeywell, there's a lot of overlap in suggestions at the moment. For example prehistory, Native America, Animal print, and tribal stuff are all a little different but basically the same (Native America is a stretch but you get my point). Some of the most popular ones atm the are grunge related. There's also the issue of people posting topics that fit into another one already there (For example there is already a Fantasy theme posted but then someone posted witchcraft which would fit into fantasy). Hopefully you guys can work it so that we're not doing similar topics.


A random thought, but is it possible the person who suggested witchraft meant wicca like the religion? I do not mean to seem argumentative if I am seeming that way, I am just saying perhaps they meant it in a way other than fantasy based.
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
#14 Old 27th May 2011 at 4:42 PM
Just a note regarding voting and themes - as it says in the theme suggestion/voting thread, the themes are meant to encompass all areas of creation - that is, not just building or object creation or clothing or whatever, but also mods - that is, everything. If a theme suggestion is too narrow (for example, I see "gothic fetish clothes" which is far too narrow), then it simply won't be counted, even if it has a lot of votes. We also may tweak themes a little bit to make them more inclusive of other areas, or combine two theme suggestions that are quite similar to each other to make it a wider focus.

Next time around, we will likely do just theme suggestions at first, compile them into a list of the viable ones, and then do voting on those.
Blenderized to Pieces
retired moderator
#15 Old 28th May 2011 at 11:30 PM
HI! I was peeking at the upload thread. Will there be a category for themes or is it something we have to flag on the descriptions, catergories, etc.


lol. For fitness wannabes, I was toying with making a muscle shirt for toddlers/kids. Either a shirt with muscles printed on it or a blowup hulk type of mesh. unisex of course. :D

I better get busy.. 3 day weekend...
Inventor
#16 Old 1st Jun 2011 at 12:17 AM
Just have to ask, but the themes are for both games right? Got a bit confused at one point. Hehe.
I think it's splendid idea. Was already starting to make an idea chart after hearing the word "fitness". It's nice to get inspiration from somewhere. That's how we work in my school aswell ^^ It's nice to get some creative challenges.
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