Search      Members      Groups      Profile      Favorites      RSS      Register      Log in
Spotlight Competition 3 - We have a winner!

 
(currently a favorite of 0 users)
   Storygames Home -> City Central -> City Auditorium -> Auditorium Archives
View previous topic :: View next topic  

Author Message
Smee
Revered IFian



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Topics: 166
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:41 am    Post subject: Spotlight Competition 3 - We have a winner! Reply with quote

April is here, and the spotlight voting will begin on April 8th.

Out of our qualifiers, we currently have 4 who have accepted



These authors need to get us an excerpt from their storygames of roughly 200-500 words, which will be required reading for all voters. So make sure to pick a part that really shows off your story. Razz

Please PM either myself or Crunchyfrog your excerpt before April 8th.

~

Qualification time is over, so no additional storygames will be eligible for this competition, but there is still time for the qualifiers who haven't yet accepted a place to make it in. Get in before April 4th, or wait until next time.

~

Voters - watch this space, and be ready to read the excerpts and make your choice. The winner will get their own forum and be featured on the City of If homepage.

Happy Playing Smile

_________________
The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own Satanic Herd!


Last edited by Smee on Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Shillelagh
Citizen



Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Topics: 20
Posts: 398
Location: Kansas

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So... voting? How will this work?
_________________


Ihniwid Chapter 5 is up- find it here!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998


Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The contestants should have all PM'd their excerpts by now - I didn't get any, but Smee said the other day he had received 3 - he may be waiting for the fourth before putting up the poll.

Due to time differences, he'll have wanted to wait until midnight passed GMT, so I expect he'll put the poll up today. It will run for a fortnight.

During that time we'll be asking for a 50 word blurb and a small icon picture to represent the stories from the contestants, so that Key can put the winner up on the front page promptly.

If the vote ends in a tie, Key will cast the deciding vote. Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998


Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK just heard that Smee has been delayed RL-wise the past couple of days, but the poll will be posted soon. Watch this space. Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Shillelagh
Citizen



Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Topics: 20
Posts: 398
Location: Kansas

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds good. Thanks Crunchy, thanks Smee. Should the four participants vote as well? Or are they restricted due to conflict of interest?
_________________


Ihniwid Chapter 5 is up- find it here!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998


Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Participants are allowed to vote if they want to, either for their own or each other's storygames. Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Smee
Revered IFian



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Topics: 166
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The poll is up, and voting can begin. It sure is a tough one this month!

Excerpts for the qualifiers - please ensure you read these before voting :

~

SparkleSteps by Tikanni Corazon

Quote:
Milo jumped. Something had woken him. But what? He got out of bed and looked around. There seemed to be nothing out of place in his bedroom, so he went across to the door, opened it, and looked out into the small lounge area, between his and Winnie’s rooms.


All was quiet, but something wasn’t quite right. He scanned the room, frowning. Then it struck him, the window was open. It hadn’t been when they went to bed. He guessed that Violet must have come in and opened it, and that’s what woke him. He was just about to go to bed, when he noticed something lying on the floor, near the window. He walked up to it and saw that it was one of the books from the shelf. He picked it up. It was a selection of Fairy Tales. But what was it doing over by the window?


He went through to Winnie's room. His sister was sound asleep. He gently shook her awake.

“Win, have you been up tonight, reading?” he asked her, in a whisper. Winnie shook her head sleepily.

“No. Why?”

He told her what had happened, how he had been woken by something, and came out to find the window open and the book on the floor. Winnie got out of bed, and followed him through to the lounge, and he showed her where he had found it.

“Mabye it was Violet?” she said, yawning.

“But why would Violet come into our room at night, just to read a book?” replied Milo, “And then leave it on the floor! It doesn’t make sense.” Winnie shrugged.

“I’m still tired, Milo. I’m going back to bed.” She turned, and started back towards her own room, but was stopped by a gasp of surprise from her brother.

“Winnie look!” She turned back, and looked where he was pointing. She let out a gasp of her own.


At that moment, the moon had come out from behind a cloud, and the light streamed in through the open window. Where it touched the floor, footprints had appeared. But no ordinary footprints. These glittered,and sparkled, like sunlight on water. There were two sets, one leading from the window to the bookshelf, and another set leading back.


Milo and Winnie followed the footprints leading to the window, and looked out. The same sparkle-steps led across the rose garden, over the grass…and into the forest.

“What are they? How did they get here?” asked Winnie, unable to take her eyes off them, all thoughts of sleep having now left her. Milo shook his head.

“I don’t know Win,” he replied, then he let out another strangled gasp, staring down towards the forest, his eyes wide with shock. Winnie looked down, and bit back a cry.


There, amongst the darkness of the trees, were two gleaming eyes. They shone, bright as stars in a night sky. And their gaze was directed straight at Milo and Winnie.


~

Fate's Companion by Chokiba

Quote:
The letter sat on the mantle, just where she said it would. I hadn’t really doubted her, but in some part of my mind, I suppose I had wondered if it would be there or not. I knew that I shouldn’t have doubted Tulane. Another thing I knew, was that she didn’t lie. Whether it was because she couldn’t or because she didn’t see the point, you always knew that whatever Tulane told you was the truth. Of course she said that it was the Fey’s truth she told to those she didn’t like. For those of you who don’t know anything about the Fey (which I didn’t until after I got to know Tulane very well), the Fey are what most people call Faeries. They’re not those cute little sweet nature things Hollywood tries to pull over though. Fey are tall and beautiful. They are graceful and hypnotic.

They are dangerous.

While Fey cannot lie, they know how to twist the truth better than a crooked, silver-tongued politician. I’ve met one and I remember the experience well. It had been one of the first days I had come to Tulane’s home after learning some of what she actually was. She hadn’t been alone as I thought she would have been. She had been with the most beautiful man that I had ever seen. His hair had been long and a ray of colors from gold to red. His eyes had been gold and if I had paid attention I would have noticed that they were dead despite the bright smile on his face. The instant I saw him, I had this insane urge to giggle and doll myself up to try and gain his attentions. I would have been lost to the Fey the moment I saw him if Tulane hadn’t intervened. She had grabbed me by the arm and marched me to one of the upstairs room and locked me inside for the next hour. When she had finally come back for me, I was back to my normal self and the Fey was gone. Tulane explained the situation, but after that day, we never spoke of it again.

I shook my head bringing myself back to reality. It had been months since I had even had a remote stirring of the memory. That couldn’t mean anything though. It was a coincidence and nothing more.


~

Ye Immortals by Kalanna Rai

Quote:
Battered blue eyes were the only thing that showed age, peering out from an ageless face with a century of sorrow. It was a ruin, the ceiling sagging as the roof slowly collapsed. The walls tilting like a fun-house as the wood of the floors warped and waved like a carved sea. Cobwebs hung like chandeliers and dust lay in a loving blanket over the debris. The door sagged open on rusted hinges while the boards that had held it shut until moments ago lay around his feet like discarded toys. Glass from the broken windows sparkled in the beams of sunlight that eased their way through the devastated shutters, long ago nailed shut.

Each step forward was uncomfortable giving off the feeling of one desecrating a tomb. Broken furniture loomed at him from every direction, reaching out with jagged ends like accusing fingers. Here and there were spots on the wallpaper where things had hung long enough to leave their mark. But where these things, these photographs and precious memories had gone was unknown. He wanted them. He felt like a tree whose roots had been severed. He knew where they should have been, remembered the rich soil, but the connection had been lost.

Hands trailed across the walls and the dust followed him in glittering trails. Each step brought forth a creak as the ruined house moaned in the pain of his presence. What had happened here and why had it been abandoned. They must have known he was coming back. He'd told them he'd be coming back. Tears lurked in the corners of his sky blue orbs and they were not just from the irritants in the air. Chains of pain squeezed him until he couldn't breath. Constricting a heart already unsteady in it's beats.

Upstairs was worse than down. The leaks in the roof had let in water and mold now gave the walls the color as it ate the paint. Here he was forced to tread carefully and test each step before committing his weight. He didn't want to fall through or to bring the wreck of a home down on top of him. Fitting end that would be for a man who'd bargained with death and won. But he couldn't stop himself from investigating the ruin. He owed it to those left behind.


~

Tempora Crepusculi by Shillelagh

Quote:
Isaac stood patiently in his crystal prison, waiting for time to resume flow. It had stopped at midnight, just as it always had for as long as Isaac could remember. Not that Isaac ever could remember- that was the problem of the Occurrence. Whenever the amethyst crystals appeared, Isaac could remember every single instance when it had occurred. But as soon as they disappeared, he would forget. Everyone would forget. He lived a completely normal life, totally oblivious to the nightly prison which he had to endure.

…Under the twilight sky, the supernatural population roamed the streets freely, paying no heed to the lesser humans encased in amethyst… Fey creatures seemed to be the most common, but Isaac would observe demons as well, if the Occurrence happened while he was visiting the darker parts of town…

-----------------------------------------------------------

“You wouldn’t dare,” said Itori.

“Try me,” said Metos. It held up its clawed hand to the others, stretching his fingers in jest before plunging them through the crystal straight into the back of Alex’s neck. Isaac watched in horror as his friend sank unconscious to the floor, his body propped up in a mockery of life due to the restriction of the amethyst prison. His grief was cut short by the sudden howl of Jaikneb.

“Jaikneb, wait!” said Itori, putting his hand on the wolf man’s shoulder. “Remember the Code! Alex will be fine, as long as he stays inside the crystal. Metos can’t hurt anyone unless you…”

“Unhand me!” yelled Jaikneb, pulling off Itori’s arm and charging straight for Metos. The howl had transformed him somehow; Jaikneb’s bristling fur could not account for his sudden change in mass. The frenzied, muscular wolf lunged at a demonic opponent which did not even flinch.

Itori could do nothing but watch. The demon’s trick had worked. Metos grabbed Jaikneb’s leading arm, and used his momentum to throw him bodily at Isaac. Jaikneb hit Isaac’s amethyst crystal with a sickening crunch. The wolf man fell to the ground whimpering in pain as the force of the impact caused the crystal to start cracking along the lines of impact.

“That demonstration should be more than enough to remind you of your place,” said Melos. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from Fraternity Row during the Crepusculum.”


~

Fantasea by Scissorkitty

Quote:
"“Why do you always get to eat the minister?”

“Because you don’t do it right, and I was here first, wasn’t I?”

“I don’t ‘do it right’?”

“Yeah. You leave all the twiddly bits. Those are the best parts!”

“Well, I don’t like them, and that’s quite besides the point- you got to eat the last one.”

“Shhh, shh. Settle down. We’ll flip for it. Heads or tails?”

“Heads! No. . tails! No, wait, you always cheat, you bloody bastard! I- “

“Shhh.. Here he comes.”

The office was dark, the heavy burgundy brocade curtains drawn tightly shut against the night and chill outside, the fire lay silent and cold, long since dampened. As the ornate wooden door creeked slowly open on old bronze hinges, the Minister fumbled for the lightswitch, his hand neatly ensconced in a pair of kid leather evening gloves, and his mind neatly ensconced in an earlier glass of find scotch whiskey. So intent was he on his task, the Minister failed to notice two pairs of red eyes laying hidden in the darkness. The wires buzzed to life as he finally fingered the switch into action, and then lay hissingly dormant - the bulbs snapping softly, but refusing to light. He pushed the button again, confused.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be bothering with that, now.”

“Yeah.. I wouldn’t be bothering with.. Hey!”

There was a tearing, a short muffled shout, and then the chewy sounds of a very sticky toffee being removed from its wrappings. Happy munchings and slurpings filled the thick darkness, and the second voice whined again.

“You really are a monster, you know.”

“Mmmm. Yes. I know.”


~

Voting ends end of April!


_________________
The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own Satanic Herd!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Smee
Revered IFian



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Topics: 166
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Definitely a tough call this month, I've been enjoying all these storygames.


Keep the votes coming in folks,


Happy Playing Smile
_________________
The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own Satanic Herd!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998


Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's looking close! Shocked

Still plenty of time to vote!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
D-Lotus
Venerable IFian



Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Topics: 103
Posts: 4123
Location: Hollywood, USA

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hah! This is that part where nobody votes for weeks and then somebody slips in a vote in the last minute. The inactivity is probably the most agonizing. Surprised
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Reiso
Respected Citizen



Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Topics: 17
Posts: 917
Location: Western North America

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I rather enjoy Kalanna Rai's gift for description, so I have to go with Ye Immortals.
_________________


Sector 17 -- Rebuilding... ... ...

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter--bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter
And because it is my heart."  -- Stephen Crane
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998


Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Poll closes on 30th April - just a few more days to go. If you haven't voted yet, hurry! You don't need to have played all of the storygames to vote - just make sure you've read all the excerpts posted in this thread before making your decision.

The winner will be spotlighted on the City of IF home page and will get their own forum.

Cheers!
CF
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998


Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One more day of voting... hurry!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Crunchyfrog
Honorable IFian



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Topics: 168
Posts: 3998


Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2010 4:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

...And the poll is closed - Tempora Crepusculi takes the Spotlight!

Congratulations to Shillelagh on the win. Well done! Clapping

The new forum and front page update will be ready very soon!

Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Shillelagh
Citizen



Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Topics: 20
Posts: 398
Location: Kansas

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2010 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Boxed Oh, man, you guys... I didn't think I'd actually win this time around!

Congratulations to my competitors, of course- it's not easy to qualify for this contest, after all. And, of course, a special shout-out to Tikanni Corazon, my closest competitor. I can't wait to see you guys in the next Spotlight Competition.

Man, this is an honor. I haven't even been here two months, and here I am. I feel like a rogue upstart- bursting onto the scene, weaseling my way into the competition... let's hope I don't burn out, eh? I can't wait to see what's in store next for Isaac and Co- I've got some ideas, but who knows what'll happen? You guys have already thrown my plans awry with your DP votes.

Be on the lookout for this next chapter- it's going to throw everything you thought you knew about the work on its head. Or maybe not. How well have you followed the foreshadowing?
_________________


Ihniwid Chapter 5 is up- find it here!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Author Message
Smee
Revered IFian



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Topics: 166
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Items
Legends
Fables
Strata-gems

PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2010 7:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent going Shille - congrats on the win Very Happy
_________________
The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own Satanic Herd!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message

Who is your Spotlight winner?
Sparkle Steps by Tikanni
33%
 33%  [ 3 ]
Fate's Companion by Chokiba
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Ye Immortals by Kalanna Rai
22%
 22%  [ 2 ]
Tempora Crepusculi by Shillelagh
44%
 44%  [ 4 ]
Fantasea by Scissorkitty
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Total Votes : 9
Who Voted: Chinaren, Crunchyfrog, D-Lotus, Emperor, Reiso, scissorkitty, Shillelagh, Smee, Tatkret Sos

Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic   printer-friendly view    Storygames Home -> City Auditorium -> Auditorium Archives All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group. Forum design by mtechnik, customized by City of IF
All site content © City of IF or the respective storygame authors.   Terms of use
Home   Book   Storygames   FAQ   Greek myth   About   Policies