Blizzard is prepared to open the golden gates to their nether-realm of creativity — dubbed Blizz HQ — to a lucky few, but only if they can show off a little creativity themselves.
It’s time for the company’s Global Writing Contest, once again!
I had considered an entry, myself, back in 2008, but instead decided to slack off and ended up missing the due date.
This year, I might actually step up and submit a piece. Who knows? I might actually win and have something to report back on from Blizz HQ. I am a writer after all…
I fancy myself the creative sort, having worked on a book of my own. And coming up with a story is even more easily done with an infrastructure for the characters, landscape, and powers from an existing franchise such as StarCraft, Warcraft, or Diablo.
If you’re interested in taking a shot, yourself, hit the jump to read the full description and rules for this year’s round of the Global Writing Contest.
Your weapons? They seem to be but a musty tome and quill*, but know that their power is far stronger than the armies of the Scourge, far craftier than the zerg Swarm, and far mightier than the Burning Hells. Ready your tools, scribe, and prepare for combat with the inky beast called fiction!
Whether you’re an accomplished writer or you simply fancy writing as a hobby, we encourage one and all to submit their creative works to our judges of official Blizzard writers and masters of lore. Their eyeballs are glistening and ready, their ocular fortitude intensified by the 2009 Blizzard Global Writing Contest.
Yes, last year’s contest was a marathon for the retina. After poring over story and ballad, adventure and romance, the judges ascended from their drool-covered keyboards to proclaim that they had succeeded in their charge: the 2009 winners had been chosen. News delivered, they then heroically passed out.
Do you dare test our judges’ optic mettle, laying your ideas and dreams beneath their unblinking gaze? If so, submit a 2,500- to 7,500-word short story written in English and set in the Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo universe by August 23, 2010, and earn your chance to visit the Blizzard headquarters and meet the writers and staff behind the lore of Blizzard’s games and books.
Included is a FAQ to answer some simple questions brought up by eager participants. They cover the basic replies to these questions:
- Is length a strict judging rule?
- English not being native language
- Title required
- Thought flow and writing style of short story
- In-game events / mechanics to be used or not
- utilizing font / background
- File format questions
And for those interested in the prizes being awarded this year:
Grand Prize: The grand prize winner will receive a trip to Blizzard’s headquarters in southern California, where you’ll meet and eat with the Blizzard writing staff. You’ll also receive your choice of a Diablo III “OVERTHROWN” barbarian diorama or a Frostmourne sword.
Runners-up: Seven runners-up will each receive a prize package of the Diablo Archive, the Warcraft Archive, the StarCraft Archive, and the Warcraft: War of the Ancients Archive, all signed by Chris Metzen, the cover artists, and Blizzard’s writing staff.
Good luck, and Godspeed to those who participate and enter!