14 DAY TRIAL // Even the gaming world usually looks down on those passionate gamers who are interested enough in a videogame-inspired universe in order to put pen to paper (in this day and age, we’re talking abut keyboard to monitor) in order to create new story lines and events in those universes.
But it seems that gaming companies are now ready to take them seriously. Blizzard, the maker of titles that have huge fan bases, like Diablo, Warcraft and StarCraft, is announcing that it is holding a world wide creative writing contest that can bring those who enter some pretty cool prizes.
Blizzard is saying that those interested should create a story, related to StarCraft, Warcraft or Diablo (who’s ready to bet that World of Warcraft-oriented stories will be dominant?). All the legal details related to the contest can be found here. Bear in mind that you need to write in English and deliver a story between 3,000 and 10,000 words in length. Start writing because the entries need to be sent in until April 12, which means that you’ve got about a month to create your masterpiece.
The guy who will write the coolest piece of fan fiction will get a replica of the famous Frostmourne sword, while also being invited by Blizzard to take a tour of the headquarters of the gaming company, at their California location. Blizzard is also set to select seven other runner ups from amongst the contestants that are set to get signed copies of the novels released in the Diabo, the Warcraft and the StarCraft universes.
Maybe other companies should start launching such contests. After all, why should they pay authors to create game-related novels when it’s possible to crowdsource all that to the fans?