Let’s play guess my favourite thing!
- It is a game.
- It is not a video game or a board game or a table game or a playground game.
- You play it with a select group from all over the world.
- It involves a tournament of 16 horribly cobbled together montrosities of flesh and steel fighting it out in no holds barred deathmatches to determine who is truly the king of beasts. Those involved play a character of their choosing and root for their favourite champion, an act which influences the outcome of the matches. Things inevitably become more and more epic as the game progresses, as winners bolster their armaments and losers piece together new ways to get back on top. This is not only narrated but illustrated as well through a collaborative effort between the organizers and those involved. Sometimes there are songs and cartoons as well. It is amazing.
- It is Zoofights.
Summarily, Zoofights is an annual month-long forums event over at somethingawful. If you didn’t know, SA’s forums are essentially the heart of the internet. Yes, 4chan maybe the raw, unfiltered source of a vast majority of internet emergences, but SA imposes some order on all this noise and gives me a bit of hope for the internet as a social forum. Access to the forums is limited unless you buy a $10 account, which allows you to post in threads and view a much larger chunk of the site. By charging for participation and strictly enforcing site rules, the administrators quite effectively filter out a lot of the general internet shit-throwing that usually goes on. As a result, people actually cooperate in creative efforts such as Zoofights. Which I am going to talk about some more.
The organizers invent sixteen combatants who will enter into the tournament. These are guided somewhat by the setting (Victorian Steampunk for ZF III, TimeFights for IV), though really, anything goes. Past favourites include Steamcrab and Bisontrain, as well as jokey meme contenders (still awesome, though) such as Oh the Huge Manatee. These creatures are imbued with a ton of personality through the organizers’ descriptions as well as really charming cartoon pencil drawings of the combatants as well as their fights. Many of those who participate in the thread also contribute art for it, so you end up with quite a lot of imagination and talent being put on display. Everyone posting in the thread creates a setting-appropriate character and posts as them exclusively, rooting for their favourite and crying foul when their champion is torn apart. Shit goes down, it is quite riveting, and I really can’t do it justice in describing it.
Have a look at Zoofights III (my personal favourite) over at the forums for the firsthand experience, or check out the brewing Zoofights V. This upcoming Zoofights appears to be set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with mighty champions such as “bucket of ants plus owl on rop” and “tortois w/ angry face on it,” so you know it will be epic. I’ll be joining in this time around for a front row seat. Come and join me; I will personally ensure that you have a good time.
And keep your internet dial turned to this station as I will soon be posting my very own carbound Zoofights, run during my recent trip to Lloydminster!
Tags: creativity, zoofights
