Converted Legacy Event
This event was converted from our old contest and event system into our new jam format for historic preservation. Some details may be confusing in the new jam context.
And To a New Land He Goes!
Goal: Create a story about a new world
Written by CrazyPigglet
Banner background render credit to
Garden of East by
ibuildpixelsAfter returning to his lonely snowman, our hero felt like his thirst for adventure still hadn't been satisfied. So, he crafted himself a boat and set a sail across the great ocean! Through storms and waves, above temples and shoals of squid, Steve lost track of time as sun set and rose on the horizon. Life on the high sea was rough, and starvation and thirst started to kick in as resources disappeared, one by one. But suddenly, as rays of sunlight signaled a beginning of a brand new day, spreading across the ocean's surface like crystal, reflecting the light, Steve notices something in the distance. A new land! A brand new territory, never touched by a player, all for him to explore and rule over! And who knows what he might find!? He sets into a brand new journey, and to a new land he goes!
Your goal is to create an original blog in any form of writing (e.g. story, diary, poetry collection) which describes the new land and the brand new world our character has stepped into. You are allowed to be as imaginative as you want, going completely outside the borders of Minecraft, although, it would be nice to connect back to the game itself, with examples of what has changed and what stayed the same. You can use text and images. Your blog needs to have at least 300 words of just the story itself, and can have up to 3000 words of the story itself.
You may use image editing software (Photoshop, GIMP) to create graphics in order to entice your readers but you must primarily use text in order to illustrate your points. This can be text within an image graphic or text being inserted in the PMC text editor, but please also include a plain copy of the text.
Rules & Notes
1. Judging Criteria
1) Concept and ingenuityFor this contest, and blog contests in general your idea should be unique and interesting. Remember that often concepts that are imaginative and original but seem strange are better than concepts that follow a traditional format and idea. That said, you have as much freedom as you need in your writing, just as long as you follow the theme given.
2) Quality and presentationYou will be judged on the quality of your writing and the presentation of your idea. For higher marks, your writing should be detailed and rich in vocabulary, but it should also be able to keep the reader interested. A few sentences about what the clock looked like are great, but don't go into an entire paragraph that describes its gentle and rhythmic ticks.
Format your entry correctly, consider using spacing between paragraphs, colored text and bold/italics. Don't go overboard though. A well formatted blog can be more comfortable to read, but if done wrong with huge text, rainbow colors per sentence and such it can be an absolute eyesore.
Clearly lay out your blog and consider using images, videos and concept art to help illustrate your story if you want. Doing so can provide a small but just as important bonus in the Presentation criteria. Keep in mind however that your writing is still the most important part of your entry.
3) Structure and cohesionMake sure that your blog is cohesive and doesn't have any unintended sudden shifts of pacing, as such mistakes can make it feel rushed or unfinished. For example, if it took 10 sentences to describe how the hero got to the Evil Lair, don't make the fight last 1 sentence, it makes it seem like the slow journey was more important than the goal itself.
To gain top marks you must also ensure that your entry is well-thought out and shows clear structure with no grammatical mistakes. Although there are many different ways to write something, your writing style and the interest it attracts play a big part in the marking and the judges will be on the lookout for entries containing little other than perfection.
2. Ideas must be original and for this contest.
Do not use images, text or videos created by other people. Art commissions for your thumbnail and music to listen to while reading is alright, just as long as there are no copyright issues. Keep in mind that neither your thumbnails or music will be judged though.
Do not use existing ideas created by other people or yourself in a previous blog. Your story must be new and original for this contest.
You may use both images and videos to help you illustrate points, however the marks are awarded based on only the written word within your blog.
3. One entry per person.
Each user will only be permitted to submit one blog for this contest. You may edit your one entry as long as the contest is still running. If you decide to change your submission at any point, you are free to do so. However, you should not delete your original entry. Instead, use the "update submission" button to save the changes.
4. The contest will run for three weeks.
Post dates must be made after today's date, March 20th, 2017 @ 12:00 PM EST. The contest entry period will end on April 10th, 2017 @ 12:00 PM EST. Posts submitted after this date will not be accepted.
5. Take your time and have fun!
Remember, you have weeks to do this. You don't need to put something up right away - and even if you chose to, you're allowed to update your submission as many times as you want before the final close date of April 10th, 2017 @ 12:00 PM EST.
All of the normal rules of the site still apply in this contest.
Do not rush yourself to get something in immediately. This contest is not a random drawing - the submissions are judged by a panel of judges. It will not help you to submit anything less than fantastic, so take your time. If you notice that other users have submitted something better than yours, edit and update your own submission to make it even better!
Submit a blog like usual but check the box indicating it's for the contest. First Place
- $50 Steam Credit; games will be gifted to your Steam account. Winner may choose more than one game but the total must be $50 or less. Must have a Steam account to claim prize, no substitutes.
- A special gold, first place trophy in your profiles' trophy case
- Profile featured on PMC for 1 week
Second Place
- A special silver, second place trophy in your profiles' trophy case
- Profile featured on PMC for 1 week
Third Place
- A special bronze, third place trophy in your profiles' trophy case
- Profile featured on PMC for 1 week
Finalists
- A special finalist medal in your profiles' trophy case
Participants
- A special participant badge in your profiles' trophy case
Phase #1: Entry Period : ~3 weeks
This is the time that everyone has to create and submit a contest entry. During this time, judges are reviewing entries, anonymously voting and disqualifying those that don't meet the contest requirements. The PMC community is doing the same by giving diamonds, feedback, etc.
Phase #2: Review Period : 2 days
After submissions are closed, judges get 2 additional days to review late entries and cast their final votes. Their votes are heavily weighted in an algorithm that includes the community's votes and activity to determine the finalists.
Phase #3: Finalists Calculated : Judging criteria
After the finalists are calculated, judges begin anonymously rating each entry based on the criteria listed above on a scale of 1-10.
Once the site detects that all judges have cast their ratings on all finalists, the winners are announced.
Judges will be encouraged to participate, but will be disqualified from winning prizes.
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