creative-writing
Latest
EVE Evolved: Emergence in the sandbox
We often hear about the amazing things players get up to in EVE Online, from full-scale political wars and massive heists to collaborative business ventures and high-profile kills. While we can all enjoy these tales of high-powered exploits from afar, they can be difficult to relate to the actual game experience. Most of us will never be the puppet master pulling the strings of alliance warfare or the mastermind of some great theft, but we don't have to be. Smaller examples of emergent and opportunistic gameplay exist all over EVE in the daily play of thousands of individuals. I've always thought of EVE less as a game and more as a giant social sandbox with spaceships -- a story about what people do when left alone in each other's company. Players naturally take on roles for which they have a strong aptitude, crafting completely new gameplay styles for themselves in the process. The entrepreneurs among us spy opportunities never imagined by the game's developers, tech-savvy individuals sell web-services, and artists craft propaganda for recruitment or a war on their enemy's morale. Countless players carve their own game out of the EVE universe, and there's no reason you can't be one of them. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the unique gameplay experiences players have engineered for themselves over the years and the community that makes EVE what it is.
One Shots: Red alert
One of the things we love to get from readers -- aside from great One Shots -- is little stories written about the screenshots in question. As a bunch of writers and MMO fans, the double-awesome of role-playing combined with creative writing sets our hearts a-flutter. As an example, this short, yet entertaining Star Trek Online tale comes to us from occasional One Shots contributor, Redwense. Remember if you'd like to take part in the fun, email your screenshots and stories to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and the name of the game. On that note, here's his report from the front lines of Star Trek Online. Be sure to read the rest after the break! In Club 47, someone asked me how it was like to be in the chair of the USS Hallimere. He said I was a hero. %Gallery-85937% %Gallery-9798%
Read excerpts from the winners of Blizzard's writing contest
Blizzard recently ran a global creative writing contest: write fan fiction set in any of the main three Blizzard universes (Diablo, Warcraft, or Starcraft - no Lost Vikings, apparently), submit it to Blizzard, and win fabulous prizes. The grand prize winner (one Andrew Moeller Sarah Pine) won a trip to Blizzard HQ to meet the devs, as well as a Frostmourne sword. Seven runners-up got signed novels and other lore paraphernalia. The winners were announced back in May. So why am I bringing this up now? Well, Blizzard has posted excerpts from all eight winning stories on their web site. I have to say, aside from the overuse of adjectives and adverbs that tends to be endemic to fan fiction (write with nouns and verbs, people), this is some pretty enjoyable writing. I'd like to see the full stories; I wonder if they're going to be released at some point. Edit: To read the entire grand-prize-winning story by Sarah Pine, click here.
Blizzard creative writing contest winners announced
Remember the Blizzard creative writing contest that happened during March and April? I'm pretty sure many of our readers entered, but for those who missed it the idea was to write a story up to 10,000 words in length and set in the Warcraft, StarCraft or Diablo universes. Well, Nethaera finally announced the winner (a story entitled In the Shadow of the Sun by Sarah Pine), runners up and a bunch of honorable mentions via the forums. Unfortunately there's no other information about the stories themselves, which universes they are set in or what Blizzard are going to do with the winning entries (personally, I'm betting on some kind of anthology). So head on over to the forums to find out if your entry made it to runners up or got an honorable mention.
Realm maintenance for Tuesday March 31st
The winds swept across the frozen plains making swirling geometric patterns in the snow laden prairie grass. This was a cold day in the northern land, both in weather and in heart. For it wasn't only the snow, but the chilled waters which were causing the kingdom concern; up and up they went, rising over the rivers banks. The land's people thought they could hold them at bay but none could be sure.The engineers flew over the homesteads of their countrymen, working diligently in their flying machines to hold back the mighty waters. And while things were quiet now, it was predicted by those with foresight to not be quiet for much longer. More movement in the waters was coming, and it was something that no man wanted to see. The kingdom was under the protection of the councilmen and councilwomen, yet they were impeded in their efforts at every turn by the maniacal Lich King, laughing and taunting them with his powers over the frozen wastes. "Petty mortals, do you really think you can withstand the power of the mighty Scourge?" he chided the citizens who dared brave the cold north. Sitting atop his ice crowned citadel there was nothing he couldn't see, nothing he couldn't do. For the domain of the north was his and his alone. Except upon this day the voice of the gods and the wizards of Dalaran opened up their mouths and spoke in unison.
Blizzard looking for short stories based on its games
If you consider yourself to be quite the wordsmith, we suggest turning your attention to a recently announced contest from the PC gaming juggernauts at Blizzard. The developer is currently asking literarily inclined fans to produce 3,000 to 10,000-word short stories set in the universe of the Warcraft, Diablo or Starcraft series. The author of the judges' favorite novelette gets a free ride to Blizzard HQ to meet the team's writing staff, and will take home a replica Frostmourne sword with which they can behead their harshest literary critics.You can check out the official rules here. Yes, they're disqualifying entries containing any obscene or lewd activities -- so save your "throbbing" and "heaving" for your breathtakingly erotic Sonic the Hedgehog slash fiction.[Via Big Download]
Blizzard announces Creative Writing Contest
Here's some awesome news for all Lore Nerds and aspiring Lore Nerds out there: Blizzard is holding a creative writing contest. You are invited to write 3,000-10,000 words in English about the world of Diablo, Warcraft, or Starcraft. If you've always felt your character's RP story could give Rhonin a run for his money, here's your chance. The contest is global too, so almost anyone can enter, with a few exceptions. Check the official rules for complete details. And yes, there are prizes, too. The grand prize winner will get a trip to Blizzard Headquarters to meet the Blizzard writing staff and a Frostmourne sword, while 7 runners up will get a signed collection of various Blizzard novels. The deadline is April 12th, so you'll probably want to pick up that pen as soon as possible. Good luck and happy writing to everyone planning to enter!
Dear Blizzard, please pay me lots of money
I do a lot of checking the Blizzard Job Opportunities page, even though I'm fully aware I don't have much of a chance of landing a spot on their team. A shame, really, considering how sexy and charming I am! And such a hard worker, too!Erm. Anyway. I check the job opportunities page all of the time, because really, who wouldn't want a shot at working for Blizzard? I know a lot of my guildmates do the same, though not necessarily for the same reasons. Me? I'm all about creative writing and I'm a huge lore buff. No matter the game, if I'm playing it, I want to know all about the lore and backstory of the world. I even take that nerdity a bit further, and spend a lot of my free time brainstorming lore for my guild. For example, my guild's backstory is based in Northrend, so on and off I've been preparing for an intro to Wrath of the Lich King for us. It's an RP server, so it's not too bizarre to have a detailed behind-the-scenes story, and it'll give the guild's roleplay a bit of a jump start when the time rolls around. Fuel for the collective creative fires and all of that.So needless to say, I would jump all over a creative writing, quest design, or really any other lore-centric opportunity that came my way. Unfortunately, I don't really have the professional experience necessary, so it'll be a good long time before I have a chance higher than zero. Regardless, I check at least once a week simply to stare longingly at the Job Opps. Guildmates of mine do similar with things like programming and graphic design. Some days I think we're obsessive, but most of the time I just pretend we have high aspirations. It makes me feel better when I do.Who else is with us on this? I'm sure most people have at least thought about working for Blizzard once or twice.Edited for clarity.
