Let's not forget that we also have the official Annual MA Awards, the biggest and most open comp. This doesn't even include the Player's Choice awards.
A Penny For Your Thoughts #348691 <- Dev's Choice'd by Dr. Aeon!
Submit your MA arc for review & my arcs thread
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Sure they are, by people called "editors".
| Furthermore most of those successful authors are never told what to write |
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Well, to be fair, an editor isn't exactly going to tell you what to write. He or she is going to tell you that things need to be tightened or trimmed and pretty much leave it to you to decide how to do it. If you refuse, their response is generally to either tell you, "Thanks for submitting with us, but we've decided to go in a different direction," which is code for "Don't submit here again" or to tell you "It needs some work. Why don't you let me see it again once you've had a chance to work on it," which is code for "You're talented and I'm not going to burn bridges with you, but I am right and you and wrong."
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Detered yet again....| To enter the contest, as of Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 (a) you must be 13 years of age or older, (b) if you are a minor in your country of residence, you must provide the entry as set forth under 1.1 with your legal guardian's approval and you must provide written approval of your entry to the Contest, and consent to these Official Rules and Conditions by your legal guardian (This written approval shall be provided within 14 days after the receipt of request by the Sponsor), (c) you must have Internet access, an email account and access to a personal computer, (d) you must be a resident of the United States (excluding the State of Rhode Island, and excluding Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, military installations and commonwealths), Canada (excluding Quebec) (Canadian residents will be required to answer an additional mathematical question in order to claim their prizes), or the European Union. |
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And when they get famous enough that they don't think they need editors anymore the quality tends to take a serious nosedive.
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Originally Posted by Venture
Sure they are, by people called "editors".
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Originally Posted by Venture
Sure they are, by people called "editors".
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Originally Posted by Sister_Twelve
Well, to be fair, an editor isn't exactly going to tell you what to write. He or she is going to tell you that things need to be tightened or trimmed and pretty much leave it to you to decide how to do it.
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Originally Posted by Lady_Dee
I disagree. Most of Hollywood is made of remakes; it has exploded in just a few years.Furthermore most of those successful authors are never told what to write, they are successful for doing what they wanted. Good example would be the "Harry Potter" series. Was the author told what to write? No. If she was, I am sure she would not be as rich and famous as she is now. You are famous for using all of your abilities not bits of them.
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Structure is good, especially for a competition - it can be very tough to judge things that have very little in common. Also limitations create a challenge for entrants - more than just an open remit - it forces creators to push themselves - so the really creative people should be able to work within those restrictions and still thrive.
Besides, if it was just an open competition then there would be less incentive for the devs to run the competition at all, as they already have a completely open and ongoing competition in place for Dev Choice picks (and the AE awards) that has no such limitations.
It's funny, I've been working on an arc for quite some time that fits the criteria of this contest. Except for the level range.
Somehow I don't think low level characters and Malta are going to go well together.
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It's to do with legal restrictions regarding a contest. Because it is explicitly being marketed as a contest run by a corporation operating within the U.S. they are following U.S. law with regards to competitions. Because a specified prize exists, regardless of its inherent lack of monetary value, the corporation is vulnerable to suit if that competition comes under question for any reason. The company has to take legal advice as to how it is allowed to market and conduct the competition, and that costs time and money. They choose the U.S. and the E.U. in general because that enables the largest part of the playerbase for their dollar, as generally speaking the laws regarding contests are pretty uniform. State or national variations mean that they would have to take more legal advice for that specific case, which is why they don't involve Rhode Island, or, say, Australia. The diminishing returns quickly make going after smaller populations ineffective. Most U.S. corporations have a policy of not even trying to include these places in contests at all, because it makes it simpler to oversee their design.|
Originally Posted by Lord Mayhem
Yeah that is rather disappointing - according to the rules as they are written I can't enter either because where I legally reside is not part of the EU (even though we are geographically part of Europe), and is obviously not in the USA nor Canada either.
I don't know what the specific reasons for the US+Canada+EU-only restrictions are - obviously it's something legal as I note that Rhode Island, Guam, Puerto Rico and Quebec residents can't enter this contest either. Curiously non-Quebecker Canadians will have to answer a mathematical question if they win to be eligible to claim their prize (though I wouldn't be shocked if it's 1+1=?  ) which suggests to me there's a legal loophole that NCSoft are using to make this contest eligible for potential contestants in most Canadian provinces/territories which doesn't exist in Quebec law.My residential details certainly didn't block my eligibility for Dev Choice, which in legal terms wouldn't seem all that different to an AE contest with an in-game prize which even the contest rules state has zero value (now watch them take my Dev Choice away from me  ). Strange.Oh well, whatever - I probably would have entered this time, seeing as I have a newly freed-up arc slot and time on my hands, but it's not worth getting bitter about. Good luck to the majority who are eligible to enter. |
Developer's Choice is not a competition because it does not fit the legal definition of a competition. It's why you can play a sports game with your friends for drinks or money, or an office can run a tipping pool to decide who gets to choose the next lunch menu, or whatever it may be. These are informal, unorganised, impromptu events involving a spontaneous prize. They are not explicitly legal, but there is no rational prospect of them seeing suit.
As for Hollywood and so on, the objective quality of mass-media works, using median critical reviews as the most valid measure of an indeterminate property, is surprisingly less significant on the list of traits that are statistically significant in determining the economic success of a venture. The marketing budget is always first by an overwhelming margin for film, music, novels, and video games, followed by total investment in the work for film and games, then the relevant maturity ratings for film and games, and finally median critical review. Novels have the marketing budget only just in front of critical review with total expense well behind, because of the great difference in that industry and its markedly lower tolerance for mass marketing, trending towards the others. Music isn't statistically reliable because it counts only reports from registered recording studios and not the much smaller but still statistically significant number of musicians who privately publish and market. MMORPGs are not well-represented in the video games reports because of the complexity of their busines strategies.
If none of that made sense then whether a piece of work does well has much less to do with how good it is than how much money people spend on selling it.
Think im going to enter this myself 
Got a few good ideas for a low level arc [favourite level range too!] so i'll give it a go! What have i got to lose eh!
@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!
This contest drew me back from across the ether! Ahem.
I really, really like the setting for this one. Sure, 'yet another kryptonite story' is the most obvious approach, but I think the wording is flexible enough to work for a lot of strange/epic arcs as well. And best of all, it's for 5-10... so these arcs could double as a sort of "hey guys, check out MA, it's fun!" introduction for new players too.
-- Z.
I agree this sounds like fun and I have been working on an arc for this challenge. I am avoiding playing anyone else's arc until I finish mine so I have a question for you all.
For a level 5-10 arc, do you think the a final boss should be created as a boss or as an elite boss?
@Gypsy Rose
In Pursuit of Liberty - 344916
The Vigilante - 395861
Suppression - 374481 - Winner of The American Legion's February 2011 AE Author Contest
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While EBs in the 5-10 range are really rare blueside they are not uncommon redside. I see nothing wrong with a EB at the end of the arc but there ought to be a decent reason for him being more than a boss.
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Originally Posted by ArrowRose
I agree this sounds like fun and I have been working on an arc for this challenge. I am avoiding playing anyone else's arc until I finish mine so I have a question for you all.
For a level 5-10 arc, do you think the a final boss should be created as a boss or as an elite boss? |
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There are EBs at that level in the canon arcs, though I suspect custom EBs are far more superior than their canon counterparts. Personally I wouldn't want to see an EB at that level, unless you have a really cracking reason.
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Originally Posted by ArrowRose
For a level 5-10 arc, do you think the a final boss should be created as a boss or as an elite boss?
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A Penny For Your Thoughts #348691 <- Dev's Choice'd by Dr. Aeon!
Submit your MA arc for review & my arcs thread
Hello Architects!
I wanted to give you all a reminder that this Wednesday is the deadline for the second Architect challenge!
If you're participating, make sure to have your arc submitted before that date!
Good luck!
Follow me on my blog or on twitter:
Dr. Aeon's Blog
Dr. Aeon's Twitter
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Oh sure, right, like I'm not sweating the deadline already... GEEZ THANKS PAL! |
Originally Posted by Dr. Aeon
Hello Architects!
I wanted to give you all a reminder that this Wednesday is the deadline for the second Architect challenge! If you're participating, make sure to have your arc submitted before that date! Good luck! |
(j/k of course! I hope to have mine done by then...)
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Custom EBs are pretty good at smacking down a high level character. I'd just stick with a standard boss in the 5-10 range.
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Originally Posted by ArrowRose
I agree this sounds like fun and I have been working on an arc for this challenge. I am avoiding playing anyone else's arc until I finish mine so I have a question for you all.
For a level 5-10 arc, do you think the a final boss should be created as a boss or as an elite boss? |
Arc# 92382 -- "The S.P.I.D.E.R. and the Tyrant" -- Ninjas! Robots! Praetorians! It's totally epic! Play it now!
Arc # 316340 -- "Husk" -- Azuria loses something, a young woman harbors a dark secret, and the fate of the world is in your hands.
Finalised and submitted mine this morning! Now I play the waiting game...
Bad Voodoo by @Beyond Reach. Arc ID #373659. Level 20-24. Mr. Bocor has fallen victim to a group of hooded vigilantes who have been plaguing Port Oakes, interfering with illegal operations and pacifying villain's powers. He demands that revenge is taken on these miscreants and his powers are returned! You look like just the villain for the job. Challenging.
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Hurrrgh don't remind me...
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Originally Posted by Dr. Aeon
Hello Architects!
I wanted to give you all a reminder that this Wednesday is the deadline for the second Architect challenge! If you're participating, make sure to have your arc submitted before that date! Good luck! |
BTW, cheers that at least now when we submit the email with the arc info, we get back a response notifying us that the email was received. Thanks for listening, Doc!
Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite
Dark_Respite's Farewell Video: "One Last Day"
THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE CONTINUES!
Book I: A Tale of Nerd Flirting! ~*~ Book II: Courtship and Crime Fighting - Chap Nine live!
MA Arcs - 3430: Hell Hath No Fury / 3515: Positron Gets Some / 6600: Dyne of the Times / 351572: For All the Wrong Reasons
378944: Too Clever by Half / 459581: Kill or Cure / 551680: Clerical Errors (NEW!)
THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE CONTINUES!
Book I: A Tale of Nerd Flirting! ~*~ Book II: Courtship and Crime Fighting - Chap Nine live!
MA Arcs - 3430: Hell Hath No Fury / 3515: Positron Gets Some / 6600: Dyne of the Times / 351572: For All the Wrong Reasons
378944: Too Clever by Half / 459581: Kill or Cure / 551680: Clerical Errors (NEW!)
Just realised the deadline's tomorrow. Guess it's too late for me make an arc for this comp after all. 
A Penny For Your Thoughts #348691 <- Dev's Choice'd by Dr. Aeon!
Submit your MA arc for review & my arcs thread
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Make an extreme/extreme EB and then play vs. it at level 10. How many powers does it actually use?
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Originally Posted by Defenestrator
Custom EBs are pretty good at smacking down a high level character. I'd just stick with a standard boss in the 5-10 range.
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Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
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Take one of your already-made arcs and toss in the line "Oh and by the way, I lost all my super powers too!" at the end of the contact's last speech to the player. =)
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Originally Posted by Tangler
Just realised the deadline's tomorrow. Guess it's too late for me make an arc for this comp after all.
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Originally Posted by Clave_Dark_5
Take one of your already-made arcs and toss in the line "Oh and by the way, I lost all my super powers too!" at the end of the contact's last speech to the player. =)
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My submission is a self-aware parody--it's win-win!
A Penny For Your Thoughts #348691 <- Dev's Choice'd by Dr. Aeon!
Submit your MA arc for review & my arcs thread
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OMFG you wrote Mercytown!? *loves*
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Originally Posted by Tangler
My submission is a self-aware parody--it's win-win! |
Bad Voodoo by @Beyond Reach. Arc ID #373659. Level 20-24. Mr. Bocor has fallen victim to a group of hooded vigilantes who have been plaguing Port Oakes, interfering with illegal operations and pacifying villain's powers. He demands that revenge is taken on these miscreants and his powers are returned! You look like just the villain for the job. Challenging.
You see restrictions, I see structure. Take away all structure, and you have... well, a cloud of hydrogen. (Maybe not even that - atoms are structure, yes?)
There is a "contest" that covers the full length and breadth of MA/AE - it's called "Dev's Choice." If your totally original and unbounded story is that awesome, maybe it'll get the nod.
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City