Video Game Poetry Contest

Objective: Write a piece of poetry inspired by, or about a video game.



Dates: September 1, 2009 ― September 30, 2009

Introduction: For years, video games have served as a source of entertainment. It is likely that many of you have, or have had a video game console in your home at one point or another. The impact video games have had on our culture is undeniable. While some video games revolve around a simple concept, others are layered with complex story elements. Video games have come a long way in the past few decades, and now many video games look to do more than just entertain, but to tell a story as well.

For this contest you are challenged to write a piece of poetry inspired by, or about a video game. If you are unsure of where to start, or how to approach this particular contest, take a look at some video game inspired poetry that I've written over the years. While the objective of the contest is clear, there are several ways you can express your own creativity, while still keeping the theme of the contest in mind.



Examples:

Using the haiku format I've written a few short pieces, one of which was inspired by Super Mario Bros., and another about some classic arcade games. One of the better pieces I've written using the haiku format is this piece inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, in which I used the primary story of the game to structure each haiku to represent a different in-game day.

However there are more open-ended and creative ways to incorporate the theme of video games into a poem. In my most recent piece, I crafted the words in such a way that each verse resembled the shape of a different Tetris piece. In another poem I used various video game titles and subtitles to create a unique piece of writing. Though what is perhaps my favorite piece of all is this piece that was inspired by the game Braid.

How you choose to craft your poem is entirely up to you. There is a lot of room for creativity in this contest, and I, along with the judges, look forward to reading your entries.



Rules:
The only rule for this contest is that entries must be submitted between September 1st and September 30th. Poems written before or after this date will not be accepted.

Submitting Your Contest Entry
To submit your entry for the contest, simply send me a note linking to your contest entry. Please do not write your contest entry in the note, submit it as a deviation first. All entries will be listed in a custom widget that I have added to my journal page.

When referencing specific video games, it would be beneficial for you make note of those games in the author's comment.



Prizes (not including journal features)

With the exception of the poetry book, all of the prizes listed here have been donated by ^StJoan by way of community relations. Honestly I cannot thank her enough for her support. She has been able to secure a lot of wonderful prizes for this contest. Alicia, you are a great person and an amazing GM as well. If you plan on entering this contests I would definitely encourage you to drop by her page and thank her for her generosity.


1st

• Basic Artist Bag


• 6 month premium membership


• An autographed copy of my book of poetry Shades of Green.

2nd

• Emoticon Stress Balls


• 3 month premium subscription

3rd

• Emoticon Buttons


• 1 month premium membership

Journal Features
If you would like to feature the results of this contest in your journal, please leave a comment on this deviation. I shall add your name to the list and use that deviation to keep an up-to-date list of all members who have been kind enough to donate a journal feature.

If (10) or more members offer to feature the results of this contest in their journal, I shall hold a raffle for those donors. The winner will be selected at random and they will receive one of the four Emoticon Stress Balls. (The blue one.)



Judges
The following deviants will be offering their services as judges for this contest.

1. `Anavah


2. =Cyantre


3. ~GirlOfGreys


4. =Mattiello


5. =Osiristhrasher06


6. ^SparrowSong


7. *Tuttlebird

Results
The results of the contest will be posted once all of the judges have had enough time to read and select their favorite entries. Judging for this contest begins on October 1st, and ends on October 31st. If all of the judges get back to me before the end of October, I shall post the results sooner.