fan-fiction
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Kirby's Dreamland 'movie' trailer is the stuff of nightmares
The Kirby we know and love is "one tough cream puff," but in this short from the mind of one MB McClain, he's a serial killer who ingests his victims in order to absorb their souls. His lovable antagonist from the games, King Dedede? He's a grizzled detective who vows to capture Kirby ... dead or alive. Yep, folks, it's another day of disturbing gaming videos here at the 'stiq.In fact, if you have any little ones, we suggest you shoo them away before watching the trailer (more of a short film, really) after the break, lest they grow up to make the kind of video you're about to fuel six months' worth of nightmares with. While we're not sure McClain's Kirby could ever carry an entire film, he could make a good second-rung slasher absorber in the next Freddy vs. Jason.[Thanks, BPM!]
LGJ: Fan sequel? Still not legal.
Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: Lots of news has been popping up lately about fan-made sequels to some of the most beloved games of bygone days, Chrono Trigger and Star Fox being just two of the more notable examples. As most of you have likely noticed, these games follow a pretty predictable pattern: a bunch of fans put in a ton of work on a sequel to their favorite game, those fans tell other fans until that project ends up getting noticed by the blog-o-sphere, and then the lawyers of the original game maker eventually squash the project to an often loud outcry from the fan community. It's the 21st century re-telling of the fan fiction legal drama, and when it comes to copyright law, the story really hasn't changed.This all relates back to those rights that make up copyright, which we've discussed on a number of occasions in this very column. In fact, the primary right is the control over derivative works, the very same right that is often cited in the machinima realm. In short, the holder of a copyright has the right to control works based on the work protected by copyright, such as sequels and prequels. That would seemingly address all fan sequels, correct? If the issue were that cut and dry, I likely wouldn't be taking the time to write a column on it.
Blizz publishes new Gadgetzan Times
This got somewhat lost in the news shuffle over the holiday weekend, but Blizzard has posted another issue of their extremely irregular Gadgetzan Times fan-fic-oriented newsletter, for the first time since May 2008. This time around it consists of two pieces of short-form fan fiction, an amusing "classifieds" section, and a slightly half-hearted crossword about the dungeons of WoW. It's an interesting thing for Blizzard themselves to come out with, as it has been from the start. I really like the idea -- characters from Azeroth report on events in and around their world -- but it could use a little more polish and effort, not to mention a more regular timetable. On the other hand, they're still publishing more regularly than my Illusionary Tactics column. Maybe I should not call this particular kettle black. Anyway, it's certainly a decent diversion for a few minutes if you're stuck at work or bored at home, so go ahead and check it out.
One Shots: A story for Sunday
Maybe it's just us, but the drone hives we keep seeing are getting even more wicked-looking; giant, dark, amorphous structures looming in the depths of space. However, along with today's gorgeous EVE Online screenshot, we also have a tremendously cool short story to go with it from Ryl'avin Redwense! As it's a bit long, we'll be placing part of it behind the cut rather than editing it. If you'd like to send in a short story of your own to go with your screenshot, email it to us at oneshots [AT] massively [DOT] com. Now, on with today's excellent EVE Online tale from our very talented reader! "Warp drive, active." Ryl'avin Redwense lost count of the times she had heard that from the NeoCom. It was her second day out of Federation space, and the bridge crew aboard the Swiftwind let out a collective gasp as the warp bubble collapsed. This time, she counted. There were those few warps you did remember. %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.
You have to watch the Mega Man movie trailer
Fan-made movies typically fluctuate in quality from "total waste of time" to "amusing, but probably still not a great use of time." But we have to admit that the trailer from Eddie Lebron's upcoming Mega Man flick has us intrigued. You can see it just after the jump.Though we're excited to see the robo-battles, we're a little nervous about being exposed to Dr. Wily's mustache for any considerable span of time. Is he serious with that thing? It looks like he let Mr. Snuffleupagus sleep on his upper lip.[Thanks, Ebichu]
A BlizzCon-ticket winning piece of fan fiction
A couple of weeks ago we wrote about Pixelated Executioner's little fanfic contest, in which he was giving away a BlizzCon ticket (sans goodie bag) to someone who sent in the best piece of WotLK fan fiction, and here's the payoff: he's now posted the winning piece on his website. I have to say that I'm not usually a huge fan of fan fiction (mostly because it's not usually any good -- PE does mention that there were plenty of Mary and Gary Sues in the mix, and technically the winning piece features another one), but any story that adds a little personality to the spider-people of Azjol-Nerub, not to mention throws in an appearance by the Explorers' League, is a winner in my book.Plus, it worked out well for everyone -- PE decided that he would give away the goodie bag to the winner, and apparently she submitted the story for her brother, so they could go to BlizzCon together. Very nice. Of course they (and everyone else at BlizzCon) are formally invited to come say hi to us at the to-be-announced WoW Insider reader meetup. Very nice story, Anujaresh, glad to see the BlizzCon ticket found its way into some worthy hands.
Write a Wrath of the Lich King story, win BlizzCon tickets
And here's another BlizzCon ticket contest (see, we told you there'd be more). Pixelated Executioner got his hands on an extra ticket (though he's taking the goodie bag, but beggars can't be choosers, we suppose), and he's offering it up in a story contest -- to enter, you've just got to punch out an original Wrath of the Lich King-related story, at least 700 words, and send it over to him on his blog.It's only for US residents, and you've got to find your own ride and hotel at BlizzCon -- you'll have to meet him at the gate to get in, and he apparently wants a picture (and to supposedly publish the story, so anyone who doesn't want to be in the spotlight can probably pass now). But after you say hi to him, the rest of the conference is yours -- if you're interested in hitting every chance to grab a BlizzCon ticket you get, better start writing.The entry is due by September 14th, and PE's email is on his blog. Good luck to everyone who enters, we can't wait to read the winning story.
WoW: Fanfiction writers needed for The Gadgetzan Times
This breaking news could impact every World of Warcraft lore aficionado and record keeper. The goblin writers at the Gadgetzan Times went on strike today over their contractual residuals in the flourishing new media market. "Oh noez," we also find this unacceptable. To help fill the blank pages the editor-in-chief wants to bring new promising writers on board and is now accepting submissions from all adventures across Azeroth and Outland. If you often put down your weapons to pick up a pen and write about your own WoW fanfiction check out the submission guidelines. Who knows, maybe thousands of onlookers might read one of your stories in the near future. The Gadgetzan Times is published in different languages and each rag features a unique story.[via, WoW Insider]
The Gadgetzan Times returns, looks for submissions
The Gadgetzan Times has returned from a long hiatus. Apparently, however, they are in a bit of trouble, with reports of difficulty retaining their goblin reporters. Because of this, the editor-in-chief has switched to a new idea: soliciting stories from the adventurers themselves. If you've written fanfiction about the World of Warcraft, you can now submit to for a chance to showcased in the Gadgetzan Times. There's versions for every language, with a different story for each language. If you've always wanted to be a Goblin journalist, here's the closest you can get. Submit your stories, and maybe we'll see you in the next editon.
The world's greatest fan-fic: Half-Life: Full Life Consequences
If you've ever needed concrete proof that children are, indeed, our future, look no further than Half-Life: Full Life Consequences, an awesome piece of classic fan fiction written by a nine-year-old and then animated by a group of evil geniuses.By the way, if you need to win an internet argument any time soon, we're willing to bet that "zombie goasts leave this place!" and "BECAUSE YOU ARE A HEADCRAB ZOMBIE" are pretty much going to be the trump card of choice for the foreseeable future.[Thanks, Cavalorn]
CoH Fanzine looking for submissions
Hear ye hear ye... calling all writers and artists, the City of Heroes Fanzine is looking for a few good submissions to include in their next issue! So you live in the city that never sleeps. No, not Las Vegas. Or New York. You "live" in the City of Heroes. You've been patrolling the mean streets of Paragon City for a few years now and you think you've got what it takes. You're big, bad and altogether mean. But can you write or draw? If so... head on over to the Fan Submissions web page, read up on all the legal mumbo jumbo about how the stuff you submit no longer belongs to you once it's submitted... yadda yadda yadda. If you're game (pardon the pun)... get crackin' and let the Fanzine showcase your dazzling work. The deadline for submissions is February 11th, so get your pen stroke on!
Behind the Curtain: Making your own lore with Fan Fiction
Last week, I spoke about lore, story and ideas for evolving World of Warcraft. I can't quite remember how, but it got me thinking about how we could create our own content in any game we might play, not just WoW. I came up with two answers – Role Playing and Fan Fiction. There are better writers than I who know more about Role Playing, and I'll not embarrass myself by trying, so I'd like to speak about Fan Fiction today. Like many other people out there, some of the experiences I've had in MMOs have been just as exciting, frustrating and rewarding as some offline ones. Much of my time away from the computer is spent planning how best to maximise the time I'll be spending online, and how best to wring every last bit of content out of my experiences in-game. For a lot of players, not matter how immersive the game experience is, it's simply not enough, and the static nature of a game's story frustrates them to the point where they are driven to expand on it themselves. Or perhaps they simply don't want to be restricted to the game mechanics to tell their character's story.
Interview with a Warcraft fan fiction novelist
Liuceijya of the Silver Hand realm and I share a common insanity, a folie-a-deux if you will. Both of us are participating in something called NaNoWriMo. When I ran into her during the kick-off party for this crazy project, she turned out not only to be a reader, but a reader with fan fiction on the brain. We started talking simply because she was wearing a The Forsaken Metal t-shirt, and I recognized a fellow WoW fan in the group of stodgy half-crazed authors. The more we spoke, the more I realized that her fascinating story should be shared with you readers, as I know there are more than a few fan fiction writers out there. WoW Insider: Can you explain NaNoWriMo a bit for those that don't know what it is?Liuceijya: NaNoWriMo-- National Novel Writing Month-- is a balls-to-the-wall, kamikaze approach to writing that by its very nature emphasizes quantity over quality. The aim is to get something, anything down on paper (or computer screen or papyrus scroll) because after all, you can always tweak it later. Participants start on November 1st and the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel (or approximately 175 pages) by the end of November 30th. How long have you participated in NaNoWriMo? Which years did you finish? This will be my fourth year of NaNoWriMo; I started in 2004 and have participated every year since. Unfortunately, 2004 was the only year I actually finished because I was not yet playing WoW at that point. I made it to about 12k in 2005 and 20k in 2006; this year, however, I have decided to give in to the demon that is WoW and write some fan fiction. Perhaps it'll keep me off the game itself long enough to actually finish. *grin*
Forum Post of the Day: Shadow of the Death Knight
I love fan fiction, I always have. There is a point where an author or artist ends the story and those that have been enthralled with it pick it up and continue the journey. With WoW the opportunities for fan fiction are numerous, since it's a persistent world we roam, and we make what we will of the characters we play. I guess you could say our role play today is the fan fiction of tomorrow.Thus it was with relish that I began reading the tale of Spooner, a paladin struggling in a world of frustration until he finally encounters his ultimate form. I won't spoil it for you, and I'm sure there is considerable debate that could arise from this author's viewpoint, but remember, it's how he sees the progression in the game, and to some extent so do I. Anyway when you have a moment pop on over to the European forums where this story was posted and add a little art to your day.[thanks Dego!]
The lore we make
With so many fascinating places and quests in the game, players can get caught up for hours (or days, or weeks) in the world that Blizzard has created for us to play. But the beautiful thing about an MMO is that in the game we encounter the stories already in the game, as well as create our own. Many of us have built backstories for our characters, but have you ever considered taking a step further?Recently a player applied to a guild that has been creating their a lore of their own for their boss kills. Converge (A) on the Anachronos realm doesn't just post the normal group photo with the corpse of [insert epic monster here]. Instead they weave a tale about their exploits. Their most recent addition to this catalog is a poetic guide to running Karazhan: Attumen, a Huntsmen and his good horse Midnight, Offers a gear-check to prove you can fight. Hyakiss, Rokad and Shadikith three, Hide in the shadows before coming to see. Moroes, with four friends, will vanish a lot, Then return with the gift of a crunchy garotte. The Maiden, all holy, makes no exemption, And kills your tank during peaceful redemption. I know I am eternally fascinated by the artwork of the game, and I am equally overjoyed to see that artwork created about or even in the game itself. It's important to realize that we can create something beautiful with the tools given us in WoW, and we can use our creative talents in addition to simply playing the game. Have you encountered any personal lore or artwork created about the game?
Warlock fan fiction
Are you a big fan of WoW fiction and world lore? I ran across this little gem while surfing the warlock forums (*cough* I know I spend all my time there) and I wanted to share this with you. I combed the thread for all the stories until I made it to the post where he noted he was making a blog for the stories. This guy is pumping out some grade A material, imo.We have been kicking around the idea of doing something like this for WoWInsider... A weekly piece of fiction about our characters expliots on Akama. Would you guys be interested in reading that?
