Well folks, contest time is around the corner. In less than a week, anybody who wants to enter better be there, or be square. Today though, I wanna talk about a new aspect to this year's Hacking Contest, the Media Panel.


As most will recall, last year's contest exploded in popularity and interest because we brought in Youtuber, SomeCallMeJohnny to go along with our fun. Along with Donnie joining in last second to do a stream on the SonicParadox site, the coverage was already quite huge. This still doesn't account for all the other people who did hacking showcases and various other streams. This year is no different, Johnny, MegaGWolf, and Donnie are all back, but this time, we've got a few more friends. Since January, I've been busy behind the scenes to get some of the biggest Sonic fans on Youtube to join in on the new Media Panel for this year, so expect high quality coverage, entertainment, and opinions.


"What is the Media Panel and why are they here?"


I'm so glad you asked Mike Hunt. The Media Panel is just as it sounds, a specific panel dedicated to livestreaming the hacks, making reviews of the hacks, giving their opinions, and a few other secret things that I can't reveal until Contest Week. Let me just say this though, with the Media Panel in place, it will definitely be a fun time for all. With livestreams happening every day and a dedicated radio service covering the contest, it'll definitely feel much more interactive and definitely will have the bigger community aspect feel instead of just the "Hacking Community" feel.


This year, the judges all agreed we wanted to expand the contest to people who aren't into hacking, or in some cases don't know much about hacking outside of a few things; but are into Sonic. After all, there is a Sonic Community outside the safe walls of SSRG and Retro, why not show them what cool things the imaginative and hard working hackers of this community can do? So what better way than have big names join in our fun and help spread the word of how this contest is the coolest around?


"Does that mean the Media Panel is also judging as well?"


No, though we have agreed that the Media Panel can help us break ties, if there is a case where there is one. Otherwise, the Media Panel is not judging.


"All this information is cool and all, but whatever. Let's get to the point, who's covering the contest this year?"


Good Question Mike. As I had mentioned, Johnny, Donnie and Mega G are all joining back with us in our fun this year. Here's a complete* list of our Media Panel Coverage and lineup.


- Mega G. Wolf

- SomeCallMeJohnny

- Cobanermani456

- Geek Critique

- SonicParadox

- Tails' Channel

- Bartman and SEGARetroChannel


Along with our Youtube and Livestream coverage, we also have Reverie, our newest judge, who is also hosting her radio show throughout the whole shebang. Just listen to RadioRev, and you'll be able to keep up with the happenings of the contest. If you can't watch it, you could always just listen in, right? I'll give more details about this aspect closer towards the contest week, so just watch out.


* Do note, this is simply our official list, knowingly there will be others who may join us, but can not or have not been able to confirm a finalized schedule of being able to participate at this time. Just listen to RadioRev, as her station will be providing news and updates on Contest events as they come.


"WOAH DANG SUPEREGG!!!! THAT IS SOME SERIOUS CAKE YOU JUST THREW DOWN! But I have one more question to ask. Watching streams is really cool, and the main contest is real cool, but is there anything else happening?"


Slow down there Mike, I was just getting to that!


Though I don't want to go into specifics, this year I do plan on having workshops and Mini-Contests to be held. More details to come, but this year's Mini-Contests won't be a mess, so it'll definitely be fun. As far as workshops go, I have something special in mind for it, but once again, I can't say all that much just yet. I'll talk about a little bit more right before contest week.



So there you have it folks, a rundown of what to expect during this year's contest. I hope this is the news you guys have been looking for. And remember folks, we the judges have been hard at work organizing the best damned Sonic Hacking Contest since 1891. We were getting close with last year's, but this year, we are definitely going to overtake the original contest.


As a closing, I'm gonna steal that old line from Spanner.


"Ready, set, and Procrastinate!"