People are upset that staff continued to choose them as contest winners when there were many other entries arguably more deserving of a win. Getting the UMAs for cheap is not really relevant. In my opinion, "When The World Was New" looks sloppy and rushed. There were several other entries that were on theme and more polished that didn't win. Yet, 888 still won. To your point: if the contest is run like a contest, purely based on effort, skill, and fitting the theme, then why did so many qualified entries lose to one that has very noticeable errors (see the halo) and fits the site art style less than others? I have no idea why staff continues to pick them over others, but the outcome of this contest is only proving the point of every person who suggested staff was playing favorites before. That to me is far more unfair than suggesting staff give two more contestants a chance to win more often. It's easy to see how this behavior could be discouraging for future contestants.
Re: Rockbreaker's
In my opinion, "When The World Was New" looks sloppy and rushed. There were several other entries that were on theme and more polished that didn't win. Yet, 888 still won. To your point: if the contest is run like a contest, purely based on effort, skill, and fitting the theme, then why did so many qualified entries lose to one that has very noticeable errors (see the halo) and fits the site art style less than others?
I have no idea why staff continues to pick them over others, but the outcome of this contest is only proving the point of every person who suggested staff was playing favorites before. That to me is far more unfair than suggesting staff give two more contestants a chance to win more often. It's easy to see how this behavior could be discouraging for future contestants.