I finished writing up the email and just sent it off. Here's the final version of this year's top 20 with descriptions and reference links:
Two weeks of asking for Christmas ideas at GSP parties yielded 71 ideas, not a bad list considering how early it was. And then 16 more were pulled from last year's favorites and GSP DJs, Dancers, and Staff voted for their favorites to bring those 87 down to a top 20. So here you go. GSP's top 20 Christmas suggestions for 2011.
The full brainstorming list, with all the ideas gathered together in the first two replies this time, is at
http://www.gridstream.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19052
1) snowflake bikini
This has been a favorite since Vallikat first mentioned it a year ago and I still haven't found a good reference photo. The basic idea is to take a few of those snowflake nanosprays, shrink them down to just the right size, and wear them as a bikini. If Shades can get away with wearing just tattoos, why can't the rest of us have some spray-on tattoos to wear the same way? Alternatively, white lace snowflakes with silvery lace straps would be good too. That was suggested as an alternate form of the Spiderweb Bikini for Halloween, but at the time I'm writing this, I don't know yet whether we'll be getting that.
So, since I still couldn't find a good reference photo that really captures this idea, I made one. We want this:
http://www.gridstream.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=159604
Oh, and you'll have to actually click the image to get the full color version. The previews in that forum are reduced quality.
2) a nano that makes it snow
ARK Yarkona summoned a couple layers of nice white fog at Tarryk & Sprklygrrl's wedding and if that were just a little bit more opaque, it would look like accumulated snow. Add in a white version of the rain of cinders effect, with smaller, sparser particles, and you've got a little localized snowstorm. That might be a little harder on the engine than those Holiday Hologram Blasts, but easier on the eyes.
3) Santa tutu
The tutu mesh is already in game. Just make it red with white trim and wearable with either the Santa Suit or the Naughty List Bikini. Maybe it fits either the clothing or social back or leg slots and just adds the tutu without actually changing the leg graphics, regardless of what else is equipped in the other slots.
And if you think a "Santa Tutu" sounds silly, check out this example:
http://www.yandy.com/Sweetheart-Santa-Bustier.php
4) snow hecklers with carrot noses and top hats
We know the old engine can handle translucent critters because there are Silvertails. So how about pet ice hecklers that are silghtly bluish and translucent? Or pet snowmen? Or a cross between the two, a snow heckler with a carrot nose, coal eyes, and a top hat?
5) candy cane stockings and peppermint bikini
This one was suggested last year, too. This time I have a clearer idea of what it should look like, and still I can't find a good reference photo. The top is a twisted bandeau style bikini with a red and white swirl design on the cups, like a peppermint candy. The twist in the middle and sides are silvery to look like the twisted cellophane peppermint candies are wrapped in. The back is a flat strap of either the same silver or diagonal red and white stripes. Thigh-high stockings with red and white spirals like candy canes. Red and white diagonally striped boyshorts. Or maybe that's too many stripes. Red boyshorts with white trim would work, too.
I had to make my own examples of this, too, but you can't see the twists from these angles. If I have time, I'll make a side view that shows the twists. There are two versions, one all striped and one with less stripes, because the first one was a little much.
http://www.gridstream.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=159670
http://www.gridstream.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=159671
6) Christmas balls bikini
There are three versions of this idea, and in any case they should be nice and shiny in the new engine. The old engine will have to make do with bright colors, I suppose.
a) a full cup bra in red, green, silver, or white, with silver buttons on top to look like you're wearing two big Christmas tree decorations on your chest
b) Christmas ball pasties, no bigger than necessary
c) a microbikini that's basically the pasties tied on with a string of Christmas Lights instead of glued on.
The shoulder straps for either a or c could be green with little tassles all along the length, attaching to the button on top of the decoration to look like an ornament on the end of a fir branch, and the back strap a string of Christmas lights either by itself or on top of a tassled green lace "branch". I couldn't find good reference photos for this either, and didn't have time to make my own.
7) satin camisole and matching frilly little skirt with fur trim
We have a red tank top, but it only goes down to the waist. Wearing that with the red thong is kind of the right general idea, but a camisole should be lower. A top that sets the default legs to match would be good, but I think I'd rather have separate parts the same color as the new red thong so we have options to match.
I found a couple decent images of similar styles to what I had in mind, but none were quite right, so I made my own. It's posted on the GSP forums, here:
http://www.gridstream.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=159605
8) red and white teddy bears, and/or white polar bear dolls
Are the only teddy bears on Rubi Ka creepy looking Childhood Memories? What did they look like when they were new? They weren't originally made and sold to parents like that just to give kids nightmares, right? So where are the new ones?
9) candy cane shotgun
"Because Santa has violent moods, too." Various candy cane and icicle weapons have been suggested from time to time. This time, they actually got quite a few votes, especially for the shotgun. You could make them toy guns like the Mr. Squeaky Ray Gun, so they're sure to not impact game balance, or you could make a whole set and base them on mediocre Rubi-Ka weapons with one common special, so they're on par with your average vendor fodder. Maybe give them the same stats as the basic versions of those old Rubi-Ka weapons that can now be upgraded with kits. Pretty much any ranged weapon could be shaped like a candy cane. Hold the other end of it and it's a blunt weapon. Piercing and edged weapons could be either hidden inside the candy cane, like sword canes, or made of icicles. A candy cane with both ends curved would be a bow, and snowballs are grenades.
10) variations on the Naughty List bikinis
I'm sure you've noticed the Naughty List and Midnight Pumpkin bikinis are very popular. They've both been around for a while, though. How about some new variations on the Naughty List? Keep the same style and give them a new color and design and call them v2.0. For example, white cups/panels with a red gift box design and green straps, or green cups/panels with a white snowman design and red straps. Boxers too, of course, but preferably without the "Female only" and "Not Female" tags this time.
10) sexy Mrs. Claus costume
This one's a repeat, too. The Santa Suit and Naughty List Bikini are both great in their very different ways, but it would be nice to have something in between. A short, low cut dress the same color as the Santa Suit.
There are tons of examples of this on the net, but I just picked my two favorites to link here.
http://www.intimatewholesalers.com/Holi ... g-5250.htm
http://www.yandy.com/Mistress-Claus-Teddiette.php
12) snowball/marshmallow gun
A toy gun that fires marshmallows or snowballs, possibly triggering the Throw Snowball 2.0 effect or something like it.
13) shoulder-hovering snowflake light
A utility item like the Floating Torch or Never-ending Being of Light, but shaped like either a snowflake or a Christmas tree star.
14) little toy piggy
A little pink stuffed pig doll, holdable like a leet doll, but not by the tail. Maybe by a collar? Inspired by the one Gir plays with in Invader Zim, so preferably it should look close enough to remind someone of that. Not identical of course, but close enough for Gir fans to appreciate.
15) Christmas catgirl pet
A miniature Grind Girl pet, the size of a Dancing Mrs. Claus, in a little green "Santa's Helper" dress. And if you're going to make the dress for her, you may as well make a full size version for us, too. A social pet who follows you around and dances when idle would be preferable to making her a dancing doll that only lasts a few seconds like the others. I still think she should run and hide from danger, but if that's too complicated, maybe just unsummon her if you're attacked?
This dress is also easy to find lots of pics of at costume sites. Here's a good example:
http://www.santaclaussuit.com/10-10050/ ... stume.html
16) more Holiday Holograms
Three specific visual effects were suggested, but if you guys have something particularly shiny and sparkly and new in mind, that's good too.
- the blue shiny thing The Beast does (I haven't seen that myself, so I don't know what it looks like)
- particle fountains like the Expertise nanos, in red, white, and green, and more spread out in a larger, sparser cloud, perhaps lasting a little longer, since Expertise is already easy to cast in a wide variety of colors.
- personal snow machine (similar to the "snowstorm nano" suggested above, but in a smaller area and instead of falling anonymously from the sky, the flakes shoot up from the caster before floating down in a narrow arc)
17) red bustier like the Bunny Body
I'd love to see this shiny and satiny in the new engine, but for now, just a red version of that top, or better yet, the whole outfit, would be great.
18 (tie) pink silvertail doll and/or pet
DJ Sprklygrrl is *not* the only one who wants this, but she's probably the one who wants it most. And for the rest of us, more colors than just pink would be nice. Specifically white, tan, purple, fushcia, and light blue. Maybe peach. Zebra stripes would be neat. Leopard spots or tiger stripes would be funny. Rainbow stripes would be great. Whatever the color options are, they should be selectable by right-clicking (for dolls) or resummoning (for pets) so those who do have a strong preference can choose.
18 (tie) Christmas Tree hat
At Michizure's last MMOATP he replaced someone's head with a giant Christmas tree. That was disturbing on many levels and really isn't the idea we're going for here. This is a _small_ Christmas tree worn on top of the head as both a costume accessory and a light source. Strapping it on with a band that wraps under the chin should look right... except maybe on an Atrox. That kind of requires a neck to see under the chin, and this does sound like the kind of thing troxes would wear.
20) cheese and rice (paella?) dinner platter
A variation of the Christmas dinner plates from previous years, inspired by one of DJ Joanwilder's sayings. Paella is a fairly vague rice dish one might call the Spanish version of Chop Suey. Basically, it's leftovers and rice fried in a pan. In this case, with cheese. Maybe there's some diced malle or ground bronto in it. What would be the Rubi-Ka version of saffron?
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope some of it is useful and/or inspires some ideas for you.
In case you want more brainstorming, the whole list these were picked from is at
http://www.gridstream.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19052 That thread is still open, so there might be more there by the time you're ready to plan for Christmas.
Looking forward to Christmas already! And Halloween, too!
- Jezebelle