The competition this time round is to write the first passage of a novel which stars your favorite gaming character (or any game character you'd like to write about, you don't have play favorites)
The passage could be come from a whole new adventure for the character or from a novelisation of the game they featured in, it's up to you. Also you're not bound by the location/period/genre of the original game, you can do what ever you want with the character.
There is a word limit of 300 words - just think of it as the first page of the novel where you have to prepare the reader for the story to come.
So, have fun and voting will start on the 9th (unless I've completely misunderstood the format in which case I'm sure someone will let me know...)
In the gritty streets of Phatt Island, you gotta be tough.
Work is slow. The phone's on the hook, stubbornly refusing to ring just like it has been for the past half hour.
I'm about to call it a day when a feisty broad stumbles through my door. She's a brunette; they always are. She's got legs that could knock out Mike Tyson and a rack that could hold an Italian mother's entire spice collection.
She needs a job done. Who doesn't in this town? Says some undead zombie pirate keeps trying to kidnap her and make her his corpse bride. I bite back the urge to laugh - I've never heard such a far-fetched story in my entire career - and say something vaguely reassuring, urging her to continue.
She must see something of the skepticism on my face, because she assures me it's true, gets desperate. He tried to get her on Melée Island, she says, and Plunder Island too. She says something about a hare-brained scheme to have some sort of supernatural undead wedding. I'm only half listening.
I take the job anyway. When a job needs doing, it needs doing by a man who can hold his breath for ten minutes.
There are many states of consciousness - or “awareness” of the outside world - but none quite as peculiar as the one encountered after having ceased to sleep, without being fully awake yet. A single moment of total ignorance, it is somewhat unique in our existence – we are alive, and we are aware of this fact, but we don’t know who, why, where or when we are, what has happened before or what is to be expected in the future. Apart from maybe a few scraps of the dream that has just ended, our mind is totally empty – but instead of being alarmed by what seems to be amnesia, we stay calm. At some level, we just KNOW our brain will kickstart in a split second, scanning relevant memories and present us a quick summary of who, where and when we are, as well as a decent guess at the “why” of these factors.
Imagine my surprise when, after the fading of the scattered pictures, my mind STAYED empty.
Surprise was quickly followed by curiosity, then shock. Adrenaline, in combination with ancient instincts, caused me to snap to full attention and assume a half-sitting position, eyes opened and senses sharpened. The data they collected did not help my stress levels. I appeared to be positioned on a rusty steel bench, covered in blotches of what might have been blood or rust; judging by the texture, it probably was both. Shadowy figures shambled in the distance, their jerky motions seeming... wrong somehow, nearly human, but not quite. The air was thick with the sickly odor of decay, accentuated by a slight but sharp note of formaldehyde. The scenery was somewhat reminiscent of a moriutary… albeit one straight out of a nightmare.
To my continued surprise, I was overwhelmed not by fear, but frustration. As a last memory bubble rose from the murky depths of my unconsciousness, I spoke my first words.
“Hell… not AGAIN.”
----
+10 taste points if you can identify the game. 323 words total. In my defense, the game is also incredibly wordy, but if needed, I could remove a couple of adjectives.
Quote from: Akatosh on Sat 31/01/2009 16:40:51
+10 taste points if you can identify the game.
It's not Sanitarium, is it?
Nope. Here's a hint: what happens next involves
Spoiler
a flying skull and a lenghty tattoo.
Full Throttle? :)
Two good, though quite different entries so far.
Akatosh, I'm willing to let the extra 23 words slide, though I think it would be interesting to see if they could be taken out and still maitain the stong stucture and flow that the piece has got now (but then again I'm an obsessive editor, with editing taking longer than the actual writing)
Space reserved for hopefully an entry. No trophies? No big deal, just asking.
Akatosh's entry is quite clearly
Spoiler
Planescape: Torment
And I really like it, and I'm not just saying that because I really like the game it was based off!
Moonlight drenched the dock and glistened in the calm waters. Its presence signified little change to the agent, his eyes emitting a slight glow as they modified the stream of information that sparked to his brain by adding light to the somewhat dark scenery that surrounded him. His emotionless face surveyed the jetty as he slowly stepped toward his brother.
The agents steps made slight low echoes into the sea below him, the sound reverberating off into the night like a dying heartbeat. The terrorists took no notice, feeling nothing to fear. They believed they had control of the island, their numbers were far superior to whatever this government decided to throw at them. Although they walked like terrorists, held guns like terrorists and even fought like terrorists, they were fighting for a human cause. They were still human.
It was something the agents brother sought to remind him of, all throughout his training. They were still humans, treat them as you would any civilian. They deserved your compassion. The agent himself hadn't yet come to a conclusion about how he felt about these terrorists, as yes they were human, but the question arose 'did their aggressive actions belie their humanity?'. Troops he'd worked with in training believed in following orders to the letter, and defending truth and liberty with all heart and soul. But, as the wise armourer to the agents organization once replied "It's all meaningless if you lose your heart and soul in the process".
The agent considered what it all meant; truth, the soul, humanity, terrorism and wondered what he was fighting for. Could he really make a difference without losing his humanity?
That has
got to be:
Spoiler
Deus Ex
And if it is, good freakin choice as well :D
Quote from: Ben304 on Fri 06/02/2009 11:04:04
That has got to be:
Spoiler
Deus Ex
And if it is, good freakin choice as well :D
I'd have to say I'm right with Ben on this one.
As for spoils for the winner, I'm a pantstastic artist but will try and rustle up a pizza-trophy or some such for whoever ends up triumphant
Has voting started yet? If so, mine goes to Akatosh since Planescape: Torment is badass.
I think it's still 10th in most places on Earth. :P
Isn't that when voting starts though?
Oh, I didn't noticed that voting started from the 9th. Sorry about that.
But it's not a common practice to write the date of the end of the voting in the subject. We usually write the deadline of submission (like you did in the last round) there.
Sorry about this - once again my haphazardness leads to confusion :P
But yes, voting... I'm going give my nod to Dudeman Thingface, though was a damn tough call.
Akatosh.
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f289/unclemum/prize3.png)
My attempt at a prize for who ever comes out on top (sorry it's not uber-great, and I wasn't sure of what size to make it but thought too big would be better than too small)
That's pretty awesome. I'd have been proud to have that in my sig if I'd had a hope in hell of winning this. :P
The kudos go to Akatosh then, a worthy winner
Yes! Thanks, people, and kudos to Dudeman... I honestly didn't know if I could win against you...
I'll start the next compo soon. Ish. Like early tomorrow.
Congratulations Akatosh.
I'm honestly surprised someone didn't for you, your work had a great flow.