Well, the judges have (at last) come to a decision. Trafton was kind enough to write a short review for both of the races, so I will post that here. He really says all there is to say. However, I'd also like to add that it was very, very close. Both races are very good in their own ways. If ThO_Odin and Acid had worked together, you'd probably get the best Foo Race of all time. So, here's Trafton's infinite wisdom, which basically expresses the feelings of all the judges.

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Fooruman vs. Monk-Man (ThO_Odin)
The story. Foo Races stories aren’t exactly Jack London novels, and they aren’t meant to be, but every one has a distinct stupid story behind it. Fooruman vs. Monk-Man contains no such story. There’s something about Fooruman battling Monk-Man, but I was left wondering what this had anything to do with me. Oh well. At least he tried, although not very much. The story wasn’t even resolved in the end.

The look. Part of Foo Races is appearance, although not a major part. However, it’s good to have some entertaining or at least non-distracting eyecandy in race levels. Here, we see a 4.2 job. The Hocus Pocus tileset looks pretty bad here, with pointless invisible blocks (a design faux paus at this level.) It could be worse looking, but there’s not much creativity or effort here.

The fooishness. “Fooishness” is hard to measure, but it basically means how true the atmosphere is to the series. Fooruman vs. Monk-Man feels less like a Foo Races level than an unbranded level with Fooruman’s name slapped on. There are no in-jokes or anything, and Fooruman does not have any of his classic lines.

The puzzles. It’s hard to generate a lot of good idea for puzzles, so I’ll be nice here. The puzzles here are mostly minor variants of previous Foo Races puzzles. However, they are set up fairly well and seem effective. Nothing new, but everything seems functional enough to make up for this.

The layout. I frequently got confused while running around this level. It’s partially because all of the invisible blocks. In addition, the level ended a tad too quickly for me. Even with five loops, this level would be too fast and it isn’t challenging enough. Just a bit too confusing, and just a bit too short.

The verdict. Fooruman vs. Monk-Man shows many signs of life, but unfortunately appears that it would have been a better product if more effort and creativity was put into it. I probably wouldn’t consider putting it into a Foo Races pack.


Foospace (Acid)
The story. There isn’t any. There needs to be a story to make it a Foo Race.

The look. When I first looked at Foospace, I was surprised that it used the Space Warbase tileset. It would certainly be the first Foo Race to do so. It isn’t exactly a tileset that lends itself to levels like Foo Races. However, it looks fine, although there’s nothing Foo Races-related, which will become a problem. Tasty, but needs a dash of Foo.

The fooishness. Boo. Booooo. There just isn’t any foo. That’s right: Not a single foo reference in this level. Was this just a race level renamed to Fooscape or something? There really, really needs to be Foo-related elements added here.

The puzzles. All the puzzles here, like in traditional race levels, are more or less just running through the area as quickly as possible. Nothing here is creative, and nothing is new. Heck, there isn’t a single obstacle that involves an event. The elevator parts are cool, but not Foo Race-y. Creative spacial puzzles, and well-done layout, but there aren’t any Foo puzzles.

The layout. The layout, for a normal race level, is perfect. As a Foo level, it would be perfect. There isn’t much to say here, other than it’s a shame that this isn’t really a Foo Races level.

The verdict. Fooscape is a very spiffy race level, but not a Foo Races level. Acid shows great promise as a Foo Races level maker, but there need to be more creative puzzles and some hint of a plot line relating to Foo Races.

The Winner
ThO_Odin’s level suffers from a lack of professionalism, although it is much more Foo Race-y than Acid’s. As a level, it is significantly inferior. In fact, the puzzles and Foo Race-ishness are the only things that it have going for it. Acid’s level could have some puzzles added to it and a plot line easily integrated, but overall Acid’s level is the superior level overall, Foo Race or not.

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So, congratulations, Acid! Also, ThO_Odin certainly deserves an honorable mention, and his race will be included in the Foo Races loop. Good job to both of the contestants.

For Acid: You'll be getting an E-Mail in the near future, which will include the Foo Races Resource Kit and all the other info you may need. Again, congratulations.

For ThO_Odin: Your race was very much in Foo Races tradition. However, it lacked eye candy, and the plot was just a little confusing. If we have another contest (and we may), I wouldn't be surprised if you were the winner. Good job on your race.

For all the other foos: The contest is over. You should all send E-Mails of praise to Acid and ThO_Odin. They are superior beings, due to the fact that they actually submitted something.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
THE END.