Vote for stabguy!
to vote for Stabguy.
Guys, he's only in 3rd place! Get votin'!
2nd place!
1st place!
I'm starting to feel the love. EA17 says he got a facebook account just to vote for me! Thanks for your support. My (non-THB) YouTube subscribers aren't coming through in significant numbers.
The voting deadline is December 20 at 6pm Pacific Time. I will take this off the front page then (or when my entry gets 100 fist bumps, whichever comes first).
I even asked a few of my gamer friends to vote. We got you, buddy!
I have your vote. Now I need your advice.
I suspect one of the other contestants is using sockpuppets to stuff the ballot box and praise his own entry. Now he has taken it a step further and used one of the sockpuppets to trash talk every contestant whom he trails in votes, including me.
At first I didn't realize the situation and responded to the criticism. I tried to take the high road. If the judges read the comments I want to make a good impression. Then the contestant came back (as himself) and replied to my comment, explaining the sockpuppet's position and agreeing with some of "her" points.
If you want to read the comments, see lyrica2010 (contestant) and subjekteins (sockpuppet) here and here.
So, how should I handle this situation? My goal is to look good to the judges, who ultimately will decide if I deserve first place. I could continue to respond as if they were two people, or call him out about using sockpuppets, or report her comments as inappropriate, or let it drop, etc. Some of you probably have experience with this situation and have clever ways of dealing with it.
Also, if someone could prove that lyrica2010 = subjekteins it would strengthen my position.
The voting deadline is today. If you haven't already voted, please do so now:
http://apps.facebook.com/respawnarmy/activities/2818970
Sometimes the voting screen comes up blank for me, or with some of the comments missing. When that happens I go back and click the link again (using the browser's "reload" feature does not work). Machinima is proud of this Respawn Army app but it's still in beta and has a few bugs. Please be persistent.
Here is how I handled the sockpuppeteer. Instead of confronting him in the comments on my video or his video, I commented on another victim's video. I said things like, "Don't sweat the criticism. This is another one of the contestants in disguise. Sour grapes because nobody is voting for him. etc." This way I was able to tip off the judges (if they actually read the comments) without sounding defensive.
The voting deadline has passed so I moved this off the front page and into the AC2 forum. Thanks again for your support. Voting was not as easy as clicking one link. I appreciate your efforts.
The bad news is that I finished fourth place in the voting. It's hard to compete with those who make Respawn Army their home base and already have a following there. The sockpuppet guy ended up voting for himself so many times that he boosted into first place today.
The good news is that it doesn't matter! The top 10 vote-getters advance to the judges. They are the ones who pick first, second and third place. This guy spent all night stuffing the ballot box for nothing. The slate is wiped clean and the videos are judged on their own merits. In fact, he may have gotten himself disqualified. Tampering with the operation of the contest and unsportsman-like conduct are against the rules.
The best news is that I've already won a Roxio Game Capture! You see, this was round 3 of 3. I recently learned that I finished second in round 2. The theme for that round was "Funny Falls: Ezio's not-so-finest moments". I nearly failed to enter but then I scrounged up a blooper from an Antonio Maffei assassination and submitted it. The judges must have liked my silly captions. 
Here's everything that I won for second place: $100 gift card to GameStop, Machinima sweatshirt, Roxio Game Capture, Assassin's Creed Revelations Game for Xbox 360, Assassin's Creed pin, a set of Assassin's Creed branded playing cards and a black Assassin's Creed Revelations T-shirt. Approximate retail value: $334.98 USD. Not too shabby!
If I manage to place first in round 3 then they will upgrade my gift card from $100 to $250. What's more is that the judges will review all three first place winners (from rounds 1, 2 and 3) and select one to win the grand prize: $5,000 cash.
Congrats stab! I was a bit worried earlier. I saw this topic was updated a while ago, clicked the link and saw you in 4th all of a sudden. I actually saw the sockpuppet user's video and it's just a compilation of chain kills and easy air assassinations cutting away right before he gets hit. Not very creative. The judges better know talent when they see it.
it's just a compilation of chain kills and easy air assassinations cutting away right before he gets hit. Not very creative.
That was my opinion too. Mr. sockpuppet sent me a long, rambling private message on YouTube. I'm still not sure why. One thing he said is that he's not interested in the individual round prizes, just in the ultimate assassin title (i.e. the $5,000 grand prize). Some assassin... all he does is chain kills. 
Come to think of it, he's not even eligible to win any prizes in this contest. It's only open to residents of the United States and he lives in Germany.
Come to think of it, he's not even eligible to win any prizes in this contest. It's only open to residents of the United States and he lives in Germany.
I kinda hope he wins now.
Well done, Stab. But next time there is an AC video contest please inform us early so we could also enter it! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USM_fZNXoP0
FYI, here's my entry that won second place in the "Ezio's funniest home videos" round. I think my plan was to stealth assassinate the first two guards and poison the third such that he would thrash around and kill Antonio. It was an utter failure. 
Haha, fails make the best videos.
Congratulations!
Now start pumpin' those Revelation videos all of us have been dyin' to see.
NOW!!!
CONGRATS STAB...!!! =D
I'm glad things worked out for ya, now aim for the 5000~ x3
The odds of me winning the grand prize are slim to none. Roxio jumped the gun and announced the winner of round 3 on their facebook wall. The thing is, this guy lives in Canada and is ineligible to win any prizes. I don't know how they're going to handle it. The fair thing to do is to give first place to the runner up (assuming he's eligible) and shift everyone else up one position. We don't yet know who finished second and third. Several other contestants are also ineligible so there could be an avalanche effect.
I wasn't counting on winning the grand prize anyway. It's hard to know what will resonate with the judges, especially those who are unfamiliar with Assassin's Creed gameplay. An action cutscene may look more impressive on video than a difficult Eagle Strike. The main thing I wanted to win was the Roxio Game Capture, which is now on its way.