The Amazing Race > RFF's Amazing Race: Design Challenge

The Amazing Race: Design Challenge VIII - Final Round Design Show on Page 50!

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nrh2110:
Thanks for your comments Gamer.

The main reason the Detour is set up like that, like I noted in my comments, was to allow for altitude acclimation. I'm not a huge fan of having teams fly (especially for such a short flight) just to be immediately bunched up. I wanted to give them something to work for, and then bunch them up based on that, and then allow for the rest of the leg to be entirely around the theme of mountains.

I understand your feelings about the Head to Head, they're totally valid, and now realizing that it may have not been best to make that a Head to Head, but I agree with you about the TARUS implication of the H2H which is why I avoided putting it at the pit stop and allowed for a potentially tricky ARI. Since no teams will be expecting having to answer a question about the history of the palace and at most will just count the steps, so after having to have climbed a mount as a porter, they will be likely tired so after climbing 432 steps, they're going to have to descend them, find the answer, and climb again (and potentially have to recount) at the very least, so it allows teams to catch up/fall behind.

Hope this clarifies things. Thanks for your comments.

betheactress:
Thank you gamerfan for your constructive criticism! I don't really feel I should respond to anything since if my roadblock was confusing to the reader then it's my fault and I'll accept the penalty. I will say that I did try to make more gifs (since I have a lot of videos of the Flämsbana, but it was in winter so I didn't want the aesthetic of my leg to be mixed up and just keep it pure summer (even though if you look close, you can see the ice floating in the gif lol)

Declive:

--- Quote from: betheactress on July 30, 2020, 03:59:06 PM ---Thank you gamerfan for your constructive criticism!

--- End quote ---

Kamineko:


Kamineko's Comments

Hi all! I'm sorry for the delays.

I will start giving you my comments for your design. If somehow I missed some details in my comments that you already provided, please feel free to disagree. But if you added your extra notes after the leg has been posted, unfortunately I have to ignore that. You can still post that, so the audience can understand.

Remember that this is my personal opinion. It might be different from the other judges. All my criticisms are there to make your leg design better in upcoming rounds if you're safe, or in future seasons if you are eliminated.

One thing for sure that I've seen so far, there are some nice improvements compared to the first round. But there are also some legs that don't impress me.

I'm going to give my comments based on the order of the designs posted by Pi in the Design Showcase. Here we go!

Kamineko:


Kamineko's Comments


Design #1: Nuku [Aosta, Italy]

Show contentOh, you’re finally using the BBCode. Good job on trying, I appreciate that! :tup:

Teams are starting in Cape Town, South Africa, but I am not fond of the starting location. If it’s the Pit Stop hotel, then it’s okay, but I would like to know the Pit Stop location as well. Then, teams fly to Milan, Italy, where they have to drive to the Aosta Valley. So far, I like the location chosen. I’m surprised that there’s also a bullfighting event in Italy. I thought it only happens in Spain.

At the arena, although you mentioned that the teams are only watching the show, you didn’t include that on the design, which unfortunately I have to ignore for the scoring. After that, teams are going to a ski resort for a grass skiing Roadblock. The task looks fun, and it’s a new thing for me to see a grass ski task.

After that, they have to go to the village of Chamois. I like the location. I also like that teams have to take a cable car to reach the village. In the village, the Active Route Info task is enjoyable because it involves navigating through the village. But I would like it better if you provide the map and the pictures of the landmarks.

Your Detour has good relevance to the location they’re in. I like the Game On task since it looks fun. The Costume On is not that new to see on TAR, but a festival-themed task is always fun to watch on television. Finally, they’re going to the Pit Stop, which is a charming and picturesque location.

For my final comments, I appreciate your effort in creating the leg using BBCode, after last time all you did was take a screenshot of a Google Docs that you made. I have some minor issues with the picture size that seems too small for me. Overall, a pretty solid leg from you this time.



Design #2: MrDS [Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea]

Show contentSo teams are starting in Brisbane, before flying to Port Moresby. I like that you pick this city since I would love to see what this country can bring, also with its location that’s near with Indonesia and just beside the Papua province, I think some of the culture there might be the same with the culture here.

Their first clue is a cryptic clue. I think it’s not that hard because the keyword is somewhat apparent. But I wonder if there’s a name for it in the local language, which may cause the locals don’t know the exact location of the “Pyramid Point.” After that, they go to a national park for a Detour. I like both Detour tasks. For the feathers task, although the first part kind of reminds me of the Detour task in Malaysia on TAR24 Leg 3, the fact that you added the feather collecting and headdress weaving makes the task looks more interesting to watch. The story-telling task is also fun to watch. It’s just a classic learning-the-local-language task, but a small twist of telling a story combined with a dancing routine. It looks pretty tough to complete since they have to memorize the story while moving, but I love it because it adds another challenge.

Then they have to go to a harbor where they have to transport oil barrels. I like the task because it’s a classic labor task in third-world countries. This task also fits as a Roadblock, so making it an Active Route Info will make it easier to complete. After that, they have to go to the beach to search for a wedding procession. Your Speed Bump task is excellent. I know this culture of meal making since it is similar to the Bakar Batu ritual in Papua in Indonesia. I also think that the task is perfect for a Speed Bump.

The Roadblock task looks interesting since it’s rare to see a wedding tradition like that. Searching seashells can be a hard task, especially under the sun. Teams may struggle here due to the heat. So I hope that the shells are not buried and just there on top of the sand. Finally, they are going to the Pit Stop. But I don’t really like a speedboat riding to the Pit Stop since it will be a linear one without a chance of position shuffling after teams ride the speedboat.

For my final comments, your leg is almost perfect except the concern for the cryptic clue and the travel to the Pit Stop. Your Speed Bump is excellent for me. I also have some concern if this leg airs for a 1-hour episode, many things will be edited out. Maybe it will look better for a 2-hour episode. But overall, it’s nice to see you back into this game, and I hope you will continue to impress us in later rounds.



Design #3: BourkieBoy [Thredbo, Australia]

Show contentSo teams are starting in Auckland, where they have to make their way to Thredbo. Weirdly, teams are flying to Canberra then driving to Thredbo, but your clue said, “Fly to Thredbo, Australia.” I thought there is an airport in Thredbo, which is somewhat misleading. Also, what’s with the 20 hours connection in Sydney anyway? You can make the teams start in Sydney instead of Auckland to save some time, right.

Arriving in Thredbo, they have to find a burger bar where they have to participate in a mechanical bull competition. It’s not a new thing to watch in TAR. How many mechanical bulls are there? About the combined time, if someone got 15 seconds in their first try and then got 10 seconds, do they count as a combined of 25 seconds or only the 15 seconds is considered? After that, they have to make their way on foot to a landslide site memorial to pay some respect. I like moments like these on TAR, so good job on that.

Then they have to go to a lodge. There’s no need to say “Caution: Speed Bump ahead!” since only one team will complete that. The Speed Bump is eating Vegemite on toast, performing a “Tim Tam Slam,” and eating pavlova. I’ve tasted Vegemite before, and I know the taste, so it’s going to be interesting to see the team’s reaction to eating that. But my main issue is that the rule clearly stated that the Speed Bump task must be related to the mountains or beaches theme, and this task is not a mountain-themed Speed Bump task. What is a “Tim Tam Slam” anyway? I’m not Australian, so I don’t understand what that is.

After that, they get a Roadblock, which breaks a block of ice to get the clue inside. This task is not an original one since we’ve seen this task on original versions of TAR. Also, what’s the connection of the Roadblock with the chapel? I don’t understand. I think you randomly choose a landmark as a Roadblock location, and I’m sure that a chapel is a random one for sure. Then they get a Detour, which has the same name as the Detour in TAR Australia 2 Leg 10. I know that it’s not in the US version, but I cannot ignore the fact that the task name and the description are the same. Finally, teams make their way to a Pit Stop in an inn, which is not that interesting.

For my final comments, I know 100% that I should try to avoid commenting on the similarity with tasks from other versions of TAR. But I should mention this exact leg this time:

https://realityfanwiki.com/index.php?title=The_Amazing_Race_Australia_2_Leg_10
I think you should know why I attach that link because almost all your tasks are taken from that specific leg. The only difference was the Vegemite eating and the paying respect part, which did not redeem the fact that you didn’t create original tasks. Your locations are also really random and not that interesting to see. Too bad that you’re making a leg in your home country and what you show me is like this. I’m really disappointed in that because I expected much more than this from you, especially that you seem really proud of your country. It’s okay to take inspiration from previous tasks and then make it your own, but not taking all the tasks there for your leg is not a good practice.



Design #4: nrh2110 [Lhasa, Tibet]

Show contentSo, a good choice of picking the previous leg's location, which is a not yet visited location in China. I would love to see what kind of leg Chongqing can bring as well.

Teams have to fly to Lhasa in Tibet, where they have to go to Barkhor Square to get a Detour. The selling task can be chaotic since they have to sell stuff to the Chinese locals, which I know can be loud and annoying for some people. I hope that teams can complete this task without getting them insane. The smelling task can be hard to complete if teams are having it hard to differentiate the smells of incense. Also, in Lhasa, they cannot run as usual due to the elevation, so completing this task may take longer than usual.

And then they have to go to Pabonka Hermitage where they have to take a number for the next day's departure. Sorry, I don't like the placement of this since it will be anticlimactic for some teams, especially for the front runners. The next day, they face a Roadblock, which tells them to carry heavy loads on a mountain track. This task can be hard for some teams due to the elevation, so I hope that nobody will get medical treatment due to running out of breaths.

After that, they have to go to a monastery for a Head to Head. While the concept looks interesting, I cannot imagine how the debate proceeds. Maybe for a task like this, you can provide a video for it. Also, with the fact that you put the Head to Head after Hours of Operation (excluding the Roadblock) with time slots, I am not too fond of it since the teams on the last slot cannot catch up. Then, they have to go to Potala Palace for a step-counting task. I don't understand the task placement since it's too random. Also, what's the answer to the question anyway? Maybe at least the answer for the year should be provided later on. Finally, they are going to the Pit Stop in a wetland reserve, which I don't find interesting since all your tasks have the same theme, and suddenly you threw a wetland as a Pit Stop location. Perhaps if you stick to the historic landmark as a Pit Stop will be better in my case.

For my final comments, I like that you took an attempt to design a leg in Tibet, which can be hard. I am not too fond of the Hours of Operation placement with time slots followed by a Head to Head. Some of your tasks also concern me for the feasibility due to the elevation. Finally, your Pit Stop location is anticlimactic for me after beautiful sites you showcased before that. It's just a mediocre leg for me with nothing awe-inspiring. Maybe I suggest that if you're creating a task, don't be too hung up with a Fantasy Game task, since I think that you're designing this leg for a Fantasy Game instead for a Design Challenge; thus kind of limits what you can bring in the end.

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