Blizzard Entertainment has launched the 2011 Global Writing Contest!
You sit at your typewriter, hands frozen in fear by the sound of crumpling paper from the darkness behind you. Shadows of broken quills encroach on your sight's periphery but slither out of view when you turn toward them. Summoning your courage, you lash out at the apparitions before they fade, only to awaken in a cold sweat with pencils and pens gripped tight in your clenched fists. You know what this dream foretells: the 2011 Global Writing Contest is upon us!
The Prophecy of the Unblinking Eye portends of a time when writing contest judges, mad with ocular fortitude from judging the 2009 and 2010 Global Writing Contests, would brazenly unleash the powers of the Ocunomicon. Seeking rituals to infuse themselves with the twisted souls of fel ocularians, they look to wield powers not meant for this or any other contest. But the sacrifices of semicolon keys and left-handed quills have only just begun, their Inkwells of Despair not yet depleted—there is time yet to save this contest!
Competitors are asked to write a short story between 2,500 and 7,500 words (no out-of-boundary is allowed) set in the Warcraft, StarCraft or Diablo universes. These are to be submitted in .DOC format with a proper title (no "Untitled" or such variations are allowed).The grand and runner-up prizes include the Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo archives, which are collections of books. The Warcraft archive, for example, contains various stories written by Chris Metzen, Richard A.Knaak, Christie Golden, and Jeff Grubb. In addition, the grand prize includes a trip to Southern California for a meal with Blizzard's writing staff, a Doomhammer™ hammer by Epic Weapons, as well as the Warcraft: War of the Ancients Archive and World of Warcraft: Chronicles of War. Check out the following link below for a full FAQ:
Are you participating? What ideas do you have for it?
Diablo III Beta testing: what does it entail?
It's been 10 years since Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (2001), but in Sanctuary, the dark fantasy world of Diablo, twenty years have passed since noble heroes saved the world during the events of the last installment of the series.Now, in Diablo III, you are again summoned to rejoin the battle against the minions of the Burning Hells. As soon as you step into Sanctuary, you will be greeted by a familiar face: Deckard Cain -- he'll be filling you in with what's been happening upon your reunion in New Tristram.
FEATURES
Each play-through is a new experience thanks to the randomized elements of Diablo III: randomized maps, monster distribution, scripted events, and loot all make for highly replayable gameplay.
All five classes — the fearsome Barbarian, the mysterious Witch Doctor, the mystical Wizard, the dexterous Monk, and the enigmatic and deadly Demon Hunter — are available, each bringing swift justice to the enemies of Sanctuary in their own way.
Other familiar characters have returned. Aside from Deckard Cain, the villain Leoric, the Skeleton King of Tristram Cathedral, has risen again and is spreading his horrific plagues once more. You may potentially be called upon to put a decisive end to him once and for all.
Artisans and Followers of Sanctuary will provide companionship during the beta test. | |
AUCTION-HOUSE
The first way of obtaining new gear is by slaying mobs, and the second way is to purchase with gold. Now Blizzard introduces a tertiary option: the "Auction-House" concept introduces a marketplace which players can use to post items they acquire for other players to buy. The catch? You can use either in-game gold or
real-world money to purchase from other players.Put up things you don't need for other players who may be desperate for what you've got. If you don't use an item, you might as well put it up for auction.There is a smart search functionality that allows you to sort out the items with best effects on your character.
The auction house is a system created to keep players from using unorthodox (and sometimes unsafe) methods of procuring items, such as repeatedly advertising in Battle.net chat channels or giving credit card information). This way, Blizzard provides a riskless alternative to third-party real-money trading organizations and the danger of transaction scams and account thefts. The Auction House will be included in the Beta.
OBJECTIVES
As expected, with this Beta test, Blizzard intends to test the functionality of their hardware and patch delivering and to gather feedback on the experience of the upcoming game.The number of people invited for the beta test as well as the duration of the beta are still uncertain, but Blizzard affirms that they may invite more players if the need arises.One thing is certain: your progress in the Beta will not carry on the retail version.
If you haven't yet entered the
Diablo III main website, I highly recommend you to do so!What are your thoughts on the divulged information so far?
Welcome Pharaoh_!
We will take this chance to publicly welcome
Pharaoh_, our new World Editor Help Zone, Triggers & Scripts and Spells moderator. He is an experienced user who has been around since 2008 and has helped many users in their Warcraft III modding endeavors. He will be aiding
Bribe and
Maker, who have also been promoted recently.
Due to the absence of the entirety of our Map Moderation Staff, we are also considering hiring another Map Moderator in the near future.
Thank you for the attention!
