Design a forum skin competition

EAUK_Competitions · 23-05-2008, 11:04 AM

We have 5 Nintendo DS' to give away and all you have to do for a chance to win one is design a new forum skin! That's right, we are looking for original and creative designs that we can use on the forums. We will be selecting 5 of our favourites, which will then be voted for by you guys to determine which one becomes the default forum skin for the Off Topic section.

Because it will be for the off topic section the theme does not have to be gaming related, it's completely up to you. The only condition is that you have the rights to use any images that you select.

So, the format:

1. Download the templates from here and design the forum skin. A forum skin consists of the background image, Main/Status icons, Posting icons, Text Buttons and Nav Dividers.

2. Send a screenshot of your design to forumadmin@ea.com. Do not post your designs on the forums.

3. You have from today until the 13th June 2008 at 23:59 GMT to post your entry.

4. The EAUK Admins will then have a week to select our 5 favourite skins. We will then open a poll for you to vote on which will be posted on the 23rd June 2008. The 5 chosen winners will each receive a Nintendo DS.

5. The poll will run for 1 week and will close on the 30th June 2008. The winners design will be set as the forum default for the Off Topic section and will be user selectable.

Additional instructions:

Step 1: Background

The background is the image that sits behind the forums. This is called bg_ea.jpg. It doesn't have to take up the full screen as it can be centred behind the forums like the Rock Band skin.

Step 2: Status Icons

The status icons tell us when there has been a new post. There are 2 sets. The first are on the main page and are 45x45 pixels. There are only two of these you will need to change; statusicon/forum_old.gif and statusicon/forum_new.gif.
The other set are 32x32 pixels and there are a few variants. Don't worry about making one for each, just show these ones:

New Posts - statusicon/thread_new.gif
No new posts - statusicon/thread.gif
Thread locked - statusicon/thread_lock.gif
You have posted in this thread - statusicon/thread_dot.gif

Step 3: Buttons

There are various different buttons on the forums but again don't worry about designing each one although the option is there using the .psd templates. As there are so many I would advise changing a few just to show what style you want them to have. buttons/threadnew.gif would be a good one to change.

Step 4: Nav Dividers

Nav dividers are the gradients you see above and below each forum. On the EA Main skin these are the same image repeated throughout. This doesn't have to be the case as the Rock Band skin will show. The colours for each once can vary.

The way the Nav Divider works is that it is 1 pixel wide but repeats horizontally. Again if you want to add style or shape to this then feel free to as you are not limited to a repeating image. The forums are 750pixels wide so your nav divider will also need to be 750 pixels wide.

Step 5: Extras

The extras include rating images (found in the rating folder) and the down arrows (misc/menu_open.gif). You may find some others on the forum you want to change so feel free to.

If you find you can't work out which file you want to change, find it on the forums, right-click it and go to Properties. The end of the file location will tell you where to find it and what it's called.

I hope I've covered everything, please feel free to ask any questions you need to. And remember, be as creative as you like!

Please read the full Terms and Conditions before entering!

EAUK_Competitions · 23-05-2008, 11:05 AM

Design a forum skin competition TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. General

The opening date and time of the competition is 23rd May 2008 at 00:01 GMT and the closing date and time is 13th June 2008 at 23:59 GMT.

2. Restrictions

This competition is open to all UK residents aged thirteen ( 13 ) and over only, excluding immediate relatives of employees of Electronic Arts (‘EA’) or their respective parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies or any other person connected with this competition. Proof of age will be required.

3. Rules to participate

To enter this competition, entrants must:

Stage 1

• go to http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/i.../templates.zip and download the templates required for the creation of a Forum Skin from the Competition thread

• create a skin, which must include a Background image, Main icons, Posting icons, Text buttons and Nav dividers using any photo and image manipulation software.

• entrants then have until 13th June 2008 at 23:59 GMT to email a screenshot of their design to forumadmin@ea.com.

• Only one (1) skin can be submitted per forum member

Stage 2

• the top five (5) skins will be chosen by EA based on originality and creativity and will then be made into full forum skins where the community vote for their favourite design.

• The chosen 5 winners will need to return a form that will be sent to them by Friday 21st June 2008.

• The winning design will then be set as the default skin for the forum within 30 days of the voting ending.

4. Voting and Winners

Stage 1

• EA will have one (1) week, starting on 13th June 2008 and finishing on 20th June 2008, to decide on their favourite five (5) skin designs.

Stage 2

• The Community will vote for their favourite Forum Skin and the Forum Skin with the most votes will be the winner. In the event of a tie the winner will be decided by EA.

• The voting starts on 23rd June 2008 and closes on 30th June 2008.

5. Prizes

Stage 1

• The creators of the final five (5) skin designs will each receive a Nintendo DS™

Stage 2

• The designer of the forum skin with the most community votes will have their design set as the default skin for the Off Topic section of the forums and will be user selectable.

6. Results

Stage 1

• The winners will be announced around the 23rd June 2008 in the forum thread and they will be sent a private message on the forum.

Stage 2

• The winner will be announced in the forum thread and they will be sent a private message on the forum once voting has finished around the 30th June 2008
A full list of who won will be available for four (4) weeks following the day of the selection of winners. This list can be obtained by writing to CRM Community Team, Electronic Arts Ltd, Onslow House, Onslow Street, Guildford , Surrey, GU1 4TN.
Entrants agree that they may be required to take part in publicity without further consent or payment. Such publicity may include their names and/or likeness.

7. Data protection

In order to participate in the prize draw participants must provide certain information on themselves. This personal information is collected and processed only for the purposes of organising, running and monitoring the competition, as well as for carrying out publicity activities on it. The organising entity shall be considered the data controller for the database containing this personal information.

8. General Conditions

By entering, entrants warrant that their submissions are their own and original creations and do not violate or infringe the rights, including, without limitation, copyrights of any third party.
There are no cash alternatives to these prizes. They are as stated and are non-transferable. If due to circumstances beyond the control of Electronic Arts, Electronic Arts is unable to provide the stated prizes, Electronic Arts reserves the right to award substitute prizes of equal value. All prizes are subject to the terms and conditions of the supplier.
It is a condition of entry to this competition that the finalists assign ownership of the copyright in the forum skin/design to Electronic Arts. If your skin is selected as one of the final five designs we will send you an Assignment of Rights form that you will need to complete and return to CRM Community Team, Electronic Arts Ltd, Onslow House, Onslow Street, Guildford , Surrey, GU1 4TN. Any finalists who do not submit this Assignment of Rights form will not be eligible to continue to the second stage of the competition or receive a prize.
Any entry, which does not comply with these rules may be deemed invalid at the sole discretion of EA. Use of a false email account will disqualify an entry. EA is not responsible for technical, hardware or software malfunctions, misdirected entries, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, inaccurate, lost, late, illegible, misdirected, garbled, damaged or delayed electronic or other communications or other technical problems related to website entries.
By entering this competition, entrants agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and by any other requirements set out in the promotional material, which may be amended or varied at any time by the Promoter.
In the event of a dispute, the decision of EA shall be final and legally binding. No correspondence will be entered into.
This Prize Draw is governed by and is in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
The Promoter of this Prize Draw is Electronic Arts Ltd., Onslow House, Onslow Street, Guildford , Surrey, GU1 4TN.

B53n3 · 23-05-2008, 12:13 PM

Do we jsut give you the idea then do you get your designers in to recreate them or do our originals go up?

Speshal Crayon · 23-05-2008, 12:53 PM

This should be fun.

EAUK_Omni · 23-05-2008, 01:03 PM

We'll be using your originals where possible.

Speshal Crayon · 23-05-2008, 01:11 PM

Y'see how you have to have the rights to use the images, are we allowed to use any images of EA games that we find, screenshots, for example?

CornishFairy2 · 23-05-2008, 01:36 PM

Ooh! We've been needing a lick of paint in the Off topic section, the Chat thread's paint is peeling a little around the window.

EAUK_Omni · 23-05-2008, 02:07 PM

Using images of EA games should be fine.

AarontheblueSmurf · 23-05-2008, 04:04 PM

Whoo the ideal i made(well i think) went through

Good luck to the people who enter

Sumo · 23-05-2008, 04:20 PM

I'm really looking forward to having a go at this

Great idea for a comp (even though we are doing all your hard work

)

Also, are there any sort of instructions anywhere? At the moment all I seem to have is a picture back, template pack, and I've not got a clue where to begin

B53n3 · 23-05-2008, 04:43 PM

Can we recolour the buttons, etc?? so instead of yellow for post reply a Red. Can we edit fonts also??

Tom · 23-05-2008, 05:21 PM

I Like the Skin like it is. Plus i got a DS already. Good Luck Guys.

J-Star · 23-05-2008, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumo0506

I'm really looking forward to having a go at this

Great idea for a comp (even though we are doing all your hard work

)

Also, are there any sort of instructions anywhere? At the moment all I seem to have is a picture back, template pack, and I've not got a clue where to begin

Exact same as me im not too sure what i have to do, ive downloaded the pack any instructions?

Speshal Crayon · 23-05-2008, 05:57 PM

Mine is basically finished. I'm not sure if I've got everything though.

Sumo · 23-05-2008, 06:15 PM

How did you start, Speshal Crayon?

Did you find any instructions or anything anywhere?

Speshal Crayon · 23-05-2008, 06:18 PM

I took a screenshot of the forum and worked with it in Photoshop, using the templates for the different parts. I'm assuming, we design it - they create it?

Sumo · 23-05-2008, 06:19 PM

Speshal Crayon

I suppose that's how they expect us to do it!.

J-Star · 23-05-2008, 06:30 PM

so you add to the BG?

Speshal Crayon · 23-05-2008, 06:31 PM

That's what I did anyway.

Sumo · 23-05-2008, 06:35 PM

Thing is though, the off topic section (if we're talking general discussion) is very long, so one screenshot wouldn't suffice. You'd have to take multiple screenshots, merge them all together and then create your skin on top of that.

dbuggy455 · 23-05-2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speshal Crayon

I took a screenshot of the forum and worked with it in Photoshop, using the templates for the different parts. I'm assuming, we design it - they create it?

I think they want all the template images done for them aswell, but you can make them from your design in photoshop i should think.

Edit:
Thought i'd be nice and post a .psd of the template screenshot i made. It's not the full length, but big enough to show what you want to show.

J-Star · 23-05-2008, 08:19 PM

i havent got a clue how to make it, can anybody tell me?

AarontheblueSmurf · 23-05-2008, 08:21 PM

Hmm all of the Ea games on the Forum E.G

Sims at top
Then Need for speed
Mirrors edge
C&C
Ect

or do something like on you Get In site

Sumo · 23-05-2008, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbuggy455

I think they want all the template images done for them aswell, but you can make them from your design in photoshop i should think.

Edit:
Thought i'd be nice and post a .psd of the template screenshot i made. It's not the full length, but big enough to show what you want to show.

I've made one of those too, dbuggy

23-05-2008, 11:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
EAUK_Competitions EAUK Staff Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 79	Design a forum skin competition We have 5 Nintendo DS' to give away and all you have to do for a chance to win one is design a new forum skin! That's right, we are looking for original and creative designs that we can use on the forums. We will be selecting 5 of our favourites, which will then be voted for by you guys to determine which one becomes the default forum skin for the Off Topic section. Because it will be for the off topic section the theme does not have to be gaming related, it's completely up to you. The only condition is that you have the rights to use any images that you select. So, the format: 1. Download the templates from here and design the forum skin. A forum skin consists of the background image, Main/Status icons, Posting icons, Text Buttons and Nav Dividers. 2. Send a screenshot of your design to forumadmin@ea.com. Do not post your designs on the forums. 3. You have from today until the 13th June 2008 at 23:59 GMT to post your entry. 4. The EAUK Admins will then have a week to select our 5 favourite skins. We will then open a poll for you to vote on which will be posted on the 23rd June 2008. The 5 chosen winners will each receive a Nintendo DS. 5. The poll will run for 1 week and will close on the 30th June 2008. The winners design will be set as the forum default for the Off Topic section and will be user selectable. Additional instructions: Step 1: Background The background is the image that sits behind the forums. This is called bg_ea.jpg. It doesn't have to take up the full screen as it can be centred behind the forums like the Rock Band skin. Step 2: Status Icons The status icons tell us when there has been a new post. There are 2 sets. The first are on the main page and are 45x45 pixels. There are only two of these you will need to change; statusicon/forum_old.gif and statusicon/forum_new.gif. The other set are 32x32 pixels and there are a few variants. Don't worry about making one for each, just show these ones: New Posts - statusicon/thread_new.gif No new posts - statusicon/thread.gif Thread locked - statusicon/thread_lock.gif You have posted in this thread - statusicon/thread_dot.gif Step 3: Buttons There are various different buttons on the forums but again don't worry about designing each one although the option is there using the .psd templates. As there are so many I would advise changing a few just to show what style you want them to have. buttons/threadnew.gif would be a good one to change. Step 4: Nav Dividers Nav dividers are the gradients you see above and below each forum. On the EA Main skin these are the same image repeated throughout. This doesn't have to be the case as the Rock Band skin will show. The colours for each once can vary. The way the Nav Divider works is that it is 1 pixel wide but repeats horizontally. Again if you want to add style or shape to this then feel free to as you are not limited to a repeating image. The forums are 750pixels wide so your nav divider will also need to be 750 pixels wide. Step 5: Extras The extras include rating images (found in the rating folder) and the down arrows (misc/menu_open.gif). You may find some others on the forum you want to change so feel free to. If you find you can't work out which file you want to change, find it on the forums, right-click it and go to Properties. The end of the file location will tell you where to find it and what it's called. I hope I've covered everything, please feel free to ask any questions you need to. And remember, be as creative as you like! Please read the full Terms and Conditions before entering!

23-05-2008, 12:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
B53n3 Pinky & The Brain Expert Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: The Chat Thread in Beth's arms. Age: 17 Gender: Male Posts: 11,674	Do we jsut give you the idea then do you get your designers in to recreate them or do our originals go up? __________________ The Resident Agony (aunt) Uncle

23-05-2008, 01:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
EAUK_Omni EAUK Staff Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Institute Gender: Male Posts: 3,130 Blog Entries: 7	We'll be using your originals where possible. __________________ Omni Community Co-ordinator Recently played: Need for Speed: Undercover Have you Met your match? Electronic Arts (If you add me on Xbox Live, message me to say you're from the forums)

23-05-2008, 01:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
CornishFairy2 Elite Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Glued to the computer chair Age: 17 Gender: Female Posts: 5,747 Blog Entries: 13	Ooh! We've been needing a lick of paint in the Off topic section, the Chat thread's paint is peeling a little around the window. __________________ Co-creator of The Onion.

23-05-2008, 02:07 PM	#8 (permalink)
EAUK_Omni EAUK Staff Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Institute Gender: Male Posts: 3,130 Blog Entries: 7	Using images of EA games should be fine. __________________ Omni Community Co-ordinator Recently played: Need for Speed: Undercover Have you Met your match? Electronic Arts (If you add me on Xbox Live, message me to say you're from the forums)

23-05-2008, 11:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
EAUK_Competitions EAUK Staff Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 79	Design a forum skin competition TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1. General The opening date and time of the competition is 23rd May 2008 at 00:01 GMT and the closing date and time is 13th June 2008 at 23:59 GMT. 2. Restrictions This competition is open to all UK residents aged thirteen ( 13 ) and over only, excluding immediate relatives of employees of Electronic Arts (‘EA’) or their respective parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies or any other person connected with this competition. Proof of age will be required. 3. Rules to participate To enter this competition, entrants must: Stage 1 • go to http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/i.../templates.zip and download the templates required for the creation of a Forum Skin from the Competition thread • create a skin, which must include a Background image, Main icons, Posting icons, Text buttons and Nav dividers using any photo and image manipulation software. • entrants then have until 13th June 2008 at 23:59 GMT to email a screenshot of their design to forumadmin@ea.com. • Only one (1) skin can be submitted per forum member Stage 2 • the top five (5) skins will be chosen by EA based on originality and creativity and will then be made into full forum skins where the community vote for their favourite design. • The chosen 5 winners will need to return a form that will be sent to them by Friday 21st June 2008. • The winning design will then be set as the default skin for the forum within 30 days of the voting ending. 4. Voting and Winners Stage 1 • EA will have one (1) week, starting on 13th June 2008 and finishing on 20th June 2008, to decide on their favourite five (5) skin designs. Stage 2 • The Community will vote for their favourite Forum Skin and the Forum Skin with the most votes will be the winner. In the event of a tie the winner will be decided by EA. • The voting starts on 23rd June 2008 and closes on 30th June 2008. 5. Prizes Stage 1 • The creators of the final five (5) skin designs will each receive a Nintendo DS™ Stage 2 • The designer of the forum skin with the most community votes will have their design set as the default skin for the Off Topic section of the forums and will be user selectable. 6. Results Stage 1 • The winners will be announced around the 23rd June 2008 in the forum thread and they will be sent a private message on the forum. Stage 2 • The winner will be announced in the forum thread and they will be sent a private message on the forum once voting has finished around the 30th June 2008 A full list of who won will be available for four (4) weeks following the day of the selection of winners. This list can be obtained by writing to CRM Community Team, Electronic Arts Ltd, Onslow House, Onslow Street, Guildford , Surrey, GU1 4TN. Entrants agree that they may be required to take part in publicity without further consent or payment. Such publicity may include their names and/or likeness. 7. Data protection In order to participate in the prize draw participants must provide certain information on themselves. This personal information is collected and processed only for the purposes of organising, running and monitoring the competition, as well as for carrying out publicity activities on it. The organising entity shall be considered the data controller for the database containing this personal information. 8. General Conditions By entering, entrants warrant that their submissions are their own and original creations and do not violate or infringe the rights, including, without limitation, copyrights of any third party. There are no cash alternatives to these prizes. They are as stated and are non-transferable. If due to circumstances beyond the control of Electronic Arts, Electronic Arts is unable to provide the stated prizes, Electronic Arts reserves the right to award substitute prizes of equal value. All prizes are subject to the terms and conditions of the supplier. It is a condition of entry to this competition that the finalists assign ownership of the copyright in the forum skin/design to Electronic Arts. If your skin is selected as one of the final five designs we will send you an Assignment of Rights form that you will need to complete and return to CRM Community Team, Electronic Arts Ltd, Onslow House, Onslow Street, Guildford , Surrey, GU1 4TN. Any finalists who do not submit this Assignment of Rights form will not be eligible to continue to the second stage of the competition or receive a prize. Any entry, which does not comply with these rules may be deemed invalid at the sole discretion of EA. Use of a false email account will disqualify an entry. EA is not responsible for technical, hardware or software malfunctions, misdirected entries, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, inaccurate, lost, late, illegible, misdirected, garbled, damaged or delayed electronic or other communications or other technical problems related to website entries. By entering this competition, entrants agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and by any other requirements set out in the promotional material, which may be amended or varied at any time by the Promoter. In the event of a dispute, the decision of EA shall be final and legally binding. No correspondence will be entered into. This Prize Draw is governed by and is in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The Promoter of this Prize Draw is Electronic Arts Ltd., Onslow House, Onslow Street, Guildford , Surrey, GU1 4TN.

23-05-2008, 12:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
Speshal Crayon Elite Join Date: Feb 2007 Age: 16 Gender: Female Posts: 6,774	This should be fun.

23-05-2008, 01:11 PM	#6 (permalink)
Speshal Crayon Elite Join Date: Feb 2007 Age: 16 Gender: Female Posts: 6,774	Y'see how you have to have the rights to use the images, are we allowed to use any images of EA games that we find, screenshots, for example?

23-05-2008, 04:04 PM	#9 (permalink)
AarontheblueSmurf Banned Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South London :? Age: 13 Gender: Male Posts: 7,845 Blog Entries: 2	Whoo the ideal i made(well i think) went through Good luck to the people who enter

23-05-2008, 04:20 PM	#10 (permalink)
Sumo EA Veteran Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chile Gender: Private Posts: 13,251 Blog Entries: 3	I'm really looking forward to having a go at this Great idea for a comp (even though we are doing all your hard work ) Also, are there any sort of instructions anywhere? At the moment all I seem to have is a picture back, template pack, and I've not got a clue where to begin Last edited by Sumo; 23-05-2008 at 04:28 PM..

23-05-2008, 04:43 PM	#11 (permalink)
B53n3 Pinky & The Brain Expert Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: The Chat Thread in Beth's arms. Age: 17 Gender: Male Posts: 11,674	Can we recolour the buttons, etc?? so instead of yellow for post reply a Red. Can we edit fonts also?? __________________ The Resident Agony (aunt) Uncle

23-05-2008, 05:21 PM	#12 (permalink)
Tom Forum Junkie Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ohhh is it that tv show called "Location, Location"? Age: 14 Gender: Private Posts: 3,427 Blog Entries: 12	I Like the Skin like it is. Plus i got a DS already. Good Luck Guys. __________________ My Mind is like a new planet, It keeps on growing I might attack other Yoshi fans. Thanks 50 Cent

23-05-2008, 05:57 PM	#14 (permalink)
Speshal Crayon Elite Join Date: Feb 2007 Age: 16 Gender: Female Posts: 6,774	Mine is basically finished. I'm not sure if I've got everything though.

23-05-2008, 06:15 PM	#15 (permalink)
Sumo EA Veteran Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chile Gender: Private Posts: 13,251 Blog Entries: 3	How did you start, Speshal Crayon? Did you find any instructions or anything anywhere?

23-05-2008, 06:18 PM	#16 (permalink)
Speshal Crayon Elite Join Date: Feb 2007 Age: 16 Gender: Female Posts: 6,774	I took a screenshot of the forum and worked with it in Photoshop, using the templates for the different parts. I'm assuming, we design it - they create it?

23-05-2008, 06:19 PM	#17 (permalink)
Sumo EA Veteran Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chile Gender: Private Posts: 13,251 Blog Entries: 3	Speshal Crayon I suppose that's how they expect us to do it!.

23-05-2008, 06:30 PM	#18 (permalink)
J-Star Banned Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Midlandz Ting Posts: 2,589 Blog Entries: 3	so you add to the BG?

23-05-2008, 06:31 PM	#19 (permalink)
Speshal Crayon Elite Join Date: Feb 2007 Age: 16 Gender: Female Posts: 6,774	That's what I did anyway.

23-05-2008, 06:35 PM	#20 (permalink)
Sumo EA Veteran Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chile Gender: Private Posts: 13,251 Blog Entries: 3	Thing is though, the off topic section (if we're talking general discussion) is very long, so one screenshot wouldn't suffice. You'd have to take multiple screenshots, merge them all together and then create your skin on top of that.

23-05-2008, 08:19 PM	#22 (permalink)
J-Star Banned Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Midlandz Ting Posts: 2,589 Blog Entries: 3	i havent got a clue how to make it, can anybody tell me?

23-05-2008, 08:21 PM	#23 (permalink)
AarontheblueSmurf Banned Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South London :? Age: 13 Gender: Male Posts: 7,845 Blog Entries: 2	Hmm all of the Ea games on the Forum E.G Sims at top Then Need for speed Mirrors edge C&C Ect or do something like on you Get In site