A Portent of Things To Come...?

So MMORPG and Paragon Studios have teamed up to offer the players a new contest in which to participate. The grand prize for this contest is... however... a little... well... shall we say... odd?

Trust me... I know odd...

I'm not talking about the five year subscription to the game; that's an awesome prize. I'm more thinking about the flying out to California... to get a haircut from Positron.

Don't get me wrong... I would LOVE to win this prize. I've already put in my entry. (Although to be honest I'm already thinking about how cool it would be to time it so I can guest-co-host one of the weekly U-Streams with Zwillinger... an idea guaranteed to give the poor lad nightmares until the contest winner is determined)

It makes one think about what the prizes might be for future Paragon Studio contests...

* Win a three hour class with Frietag on how to properly cook popular German cuisine! The winner shall also receive a free cholesterol test following the class...

* This month's prize will be to spend an evening at a local nightclub with Sexy Jay! Male winners will be given lessons by the king on how to properly woo ladies at the club. Should the winner be female, she and Sexy Jay will simply hang out at the club without any lesson plan for the evening. Note: SJ has requested that female winners supply a recent health clinic screening report prior to arrival at the club.

* Winner's of this contest will attend the "How To Abuse Your Power And Get What You Freaking Want" seminar with guest speaker Second Measure. First runner up will attend the "How To Get An Annoying Co-Worker Out of Your Office" talk by Synapse.

* Ten winners will be drawn at random from those who enter; those selected shall each win a random HAT actually worn by an employee while on a recent Ustream talk! A second drawing of ten more candidates shall... ALSO win HATS! A third drawing of ten more candidates shall be invited to attend the Great Hat Addiction Intervention of 2011 where we will finally try to get to the bottom of what the heck is up with all these guys and their freaking HATS!

* The winner of the Attention Junkie contest will be granted a special nickname of their choice in a here-to-for unattainable color on every character on their account. They will also have their name mentioned at least 10 times per Ustream episode for the next four weeks. Finally, they are guaranteed to have at least one Red Name respond to any post started by them in the Forums for the next year. Likewise, any person posting directly after the winner will have "First After the Attention Junkie" automatically added to their post.

* Pick ten movies that Tunnel Rat HASN'T seen then force her to watch them with you!

* Karaoke Night with Zwillinger!

* Touch Beastyle's Hair!

* Black Pebble will whisper ONE thing the Developers are currently thinking about planning to maybe possibly eventually work towards introducing into the game at some undisclosed time in the near or far future in your ear. Note: The winner must sign a non-disclosure agreement in their own blood in the presence of a personal servant of Sata... er... the NCSoft legal department.

* Draw something on the White Board!

* Leave memorial flowers at the base of Pohsyb's box.

* Pitch a story line idea to Doc Aeon... listen to his delighted laughter when you ask him if you will retain intellectual property rights or at least get paid for the idea if it makes it in-game.

* 48 hour Anime Marathon!! Yes, you can be locked in a small 10x10' room for two straight, uninterupted days with Beastyle and TheNet watching whatever Anime they choose! Note: Acceptance of this prize will require the signing of a Mental Health Liability Waiver.

* Adopt a QA! The Winner can pick any un-named QA employee in the office and give them an official "Arbiter" name of their choice.

And of course (as usual), EU players will be completely exempt from any "decent" competitions

Oh, I hope Zwillinger read this. There are many great ideas. In fact, I would enter just about all the contests with those prizes. I'd be giggling at the absurdity of it as I did, but that's okay.

I'm rooting for you to win the current contest, Steelclaw! Just think: Steelclaw getting his haircut by Positron on Ustream while Zwillinger narrates the biggest tangent ever. Bonus if Zwillinger gives Steelclaw a hat to wear afterwards.

Niiiiiice.



First Post After A Red Hat?

Why do I keep thinking that flying a player out to Mountain View and letting Positron cut their hair sounds less like a contest the player won, and more like a contest Positron won.

And I am utterly surprised that no one has yet asked for a Flowbee powerset.

It's the Coiffure Coalition!

Led by Captain Hairdryer, able to tease tall bouffants with a single comb!

With his trusty side kicks Bruce the Shampoo Boy and Trixie the Gel Girl.

Along with with their friends Shears, Flat Iron, and Wonder Curl, they are on a mission to save the world from Bad Hair Days!


(and yes, I /do/ have these people in a tabletop game... as an npc group)