About

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.

Concept by JediJerboa, Written by Cib, banner by Cyprezz

In a dark cold gloomy room sits a small brick fireplace, a pale crimson flame dances with a burning crackle. Long shadows are cast as a soft glow illuminates the room. A peaceful figure lies curled in warmth and contentment. The soft rhythmic purr of a slumbering cat fills the room, met with only a faint scratching of a twig against a moonlit window. A gale of wind blows fiercely through the night as other creatures seek their protection from the weather. The screech of an owl as it patrols the sky and the rustle of leaves from a brave scourging mouse. A symphony of sounds collide with a wondrous buzz of life. Tales both big and small, untold of feather, teeth and claw.

Your task is to create an original story from the perspective of an animal in your chosen form of writing. Entries must be between 300 and 2500 words. Entries that do not follow either one or both of these requirements will be disqualified.

To enrich your story you may use image editing software (Photoshop, GIMP) to create graphics or illustrations or include Minecraft screenshots in order to entice your readers but you must create a coherent balance within your entry. You may also insert 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 ingenuity

For 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 presentation

You 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 cohesion

Make 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, February 9th, 2019 @ 12:00 PM EST. The contest entry period will end on March 4th, 2019 @ 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 March 4th, 2019 @ 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.

Legal Terms

By participating in the event, participant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and regulations and the decisions of Planet Minecraft are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this event.

No cash substitute or transfer of prizes is available. Prizes are awarded without warranty of any kind from Planet Minecraft, express or implied, without limitation, except where this would be contrary to federal, state, provincial, or local laws or regulations. All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. Decisions of Planet Minecraft and the voting system are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this event. Return of any prize/prize notification may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Any potential winner who cannot be contacted by email within 15 days of attempted first notification will forfeit his/her prize. Potential prize winner(s) and their parents/legal guardians may be required to sign and return an Affidavit or Declaration of Eligibility, a Liability/Publicity Release within 30 days following the date of first attempted notification. Failure to comply within this time period may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Planet Minecraft at its sole discretion shall reserves the right to disqualify any Participant from the event if it reasonably believes that the Participant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the event by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or abuses, threatens or harassment of any other Participants, Planet Minecraft employees and affiliates.

Limitations of Liability:

By entering, entrants agree to release Planet Minecraft, and their officers, directors, employees and agencies from any claim, loss, liability, damage or injury of any kind arising from their participation in the event or their receipt or use of the event prize.

Winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes associated with acceptance and use of prize.

Any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this event, or any prize awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by arbitration. Claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this contest, but in no event attorney's fees. These Official Rules shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maine, United States of America, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this event are hereby excluded, and all Participants expressly waive any and all such rights.

Disclaimer:

Planet Minecraft will not be held responsible if for any reason the event is not capable of running or operating as planned due to infection by computer virus, fraud, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, technical failures, or force majeure that, in the sole opinion of Sponsor, corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this event. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with or abuses any aspect of the event, as solely determined by Sponsor, and to cancel, terminate, modify, or postpone the event until a later date. Sponsor assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, or other failure of or related to the software platform on which the event is played, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in this event.

Offer void where prohibited.