Inspired by an idea from Leodegan of Europa and acting on a suggestion from Mirt of Chesapeake we are pleased to announce, in a collaboration between Bioware UO, UOGuide and UO Stratics, with support from UO forums, the Sudiva Fan Fiction Contest. Background Existing lore relating to this lovely creature comes from 'A True Sacrifice', part of the Candle of Love quest (supplied here by UOGuide) As you meditate on the virtue of Sacrifice, you envision a dark, watery cavern. As your mind wanders through the cave, you realize that there is a treasure piled high against the wall. As you focus on the piles of gold and gems, a feeling of unbridled covetous washes over you with such force that your mind recoils away from the treasure. It is at that moment that you realize you are being watched, as you spot a dark form moving amongst the shadows; its eyes watching, ever-vigilant, over the hoard. You know you must find the source of this overwhelming greed if you are to continue down this path. You place Sudiva's Tear on the shrine and begin to meditate on the Virtue of Sacrifice. You find yourself sympathizing with Sudiva's plight. Although the great dragon played no small roll in bringing her own self to her current condition, your feel that no living being should be made to suffer so, regardless of how it happened. Your sacrifice has begun her healing process; hopefully someday she will be free from Astaroth's grip and can fly once against amongst the clouds. When you open your eyes, you notice that Sudiva's Tear has transformed into a Tear of Sacrifice. You quickly put it into your backpack, and prepare yourself to continue along your journey. The Concept Sudiva has paced back and forth for what seems like decades. How much does time pass in the belly of Covetous? As Covetous undergoes dramatic changes Astaroth's grip is broken signaling her release. The Contest Sudiva needs a new home. It is up to the community to create her story and the judges to choose a story that best represents her and her new home. Stories should address two questions: Where has Sudiva gone? Where will she come to rest to make her home? The Rules The contest begins NOW, and entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM UTC on Sunday June 3rd, 2012. Stories should be submitted to uocontests@stratics.com. They will be passed by Petra Fyde to the judges without the author's names to ensure total impartiality. 1. Only one entry per contestant. 2. Stories must not contradict existing lore 3. Stories must be the original work of the entrant. 4. Stories must not be longer than 1000 words and must be in English. 5. Stories must not have been previously posted elsewhere on the web. 6. Stories must not be posted anywhere public prior to judging. 7 Stories must not include any content that is indecent or inappropriate. Entries that do not satisfy these criteria will be disqualified. The Judging There will be five judges. One from UOGuide, one from UO Stratics, one from UO Forums and two from Bioware, selected by Mesanna The judges will select the top three entries, choosing stories that best represent Sudiva and her new home and showing originality, creativity and drama. The Prize A Dragon Statue Replica for the first three places supplied by Mesanna The winning three entries will be posted on uoherald and permanently entered into the lore. The winning writer will carry the title : Caretaker of Sudiva on the forums All entries will be posted in Stratics Fan Fiction section after the winners have been announced.
Would Mesanna consider granting the title "Caretaker of Sudiva" in-game instead of as a forum title? Pretty please?
Or both I think it's cool they are leaving this up to the player base to a large degree. And folks were saying they don't listen. WTG. Prove them wrong.
Or maybe win a dinner with Sudiva at the Twin Oaks Tavern in Ilshenar, might be a fun evening until you see your own name on the menu under Today's Specialty.
Unless all 3 entries direct Sudiva to the exact same location, and for similar reasons, how can they all become Lore? We only had the one, very unique Sudiva! And I was assuming Sudiva would be moved to where the author's place her, in game, but there's nothing within the contest rules as I re-read them now which insists it must be. A little late to raise it for those who've already submitted entries I know (including myself), but can you confirm if the plan is to give Sudiva a new home online, or she's just being removed and we write the lore as to why and where she goes as an act of fan-fiction made official? Finally, how soon after the deadline can we expect the results to be announced, do you have any clue?
UOHerald will post the top three, the winning entry will go into the lore. To the best of my knowledge (given that I don't work for EA) Sudiva will be moved to the location chosen by the winning author. We haven't, as yet, set a deadline for the judges, but I am anticipating being able to announce the winner not more than a week after the contest closes for entries, and preferably somewhat less. That will depend, to a degree, on the number of entries we receive. We still have 3 days left for people to send in their submissions.
Sadly, being the one person who not only has access to all the entries, but also the only one who knows who wrote what, I am not allowed to enter.
*watches the clock, taps fingernail on desk, go gets a drink of water, comes back, refreshes, go kills some stuff, refreshes, takes a phone call, refreshes, refreshes, looks at watch, go pulls some weeds, refreshes, thinks about what to make for supper, refreshes. 2 minutes later reads Baja forum, refreshes. Winners still not announced. Rinse and repeat 2 minutes later* All kidding aside, good luck to all those that sent entries.
Yup, going to be somewhat stressful waiting for the results; I imagine it'll be a few days at least, as the stories get passed around the Mythic office, cross checked for lore validity, Sudiva gets' physically crammed into all the locations to see if she'll fit, the manatees are put into the tank with their coloured balls...
Personally I am curious how many entries they had.... That's going to be a determining factor in how long it will take them to pick a winner.
Quick story, Sudiva dissolved into the matrix, spread her wings throughout the internet, married the super computer called Watson, they built skynet to take over the world, and redesigned the world into UO's image. Quickly, someone tell me how I can find an advance character token machine to help me survive.
It would be nice to have an evening of in-game storytelling where all those that submitted could read their story to the audience. I'd be happy to host such an event if there were interest.
Good luck to all the entrants. I just read the herald post which suggests they were all high quality entries. I assume they will all be made available to read when judging is over?
yup, I have them all set up on pages ready to just make visible when the results go up. Except for the three winning entries I'll be publishing them without the names until I get specific permission to add them by the individual authors.
Yes, they will all be published on Stratics. As for reading out the stories... I think an even better idea would be to act them out. As an EM event maybe? Dark Lady Of Sharp Pointy Teeth Mesanna could play Sudiva, and the authors, as a prize for simply submitting what is by all accounts a set of high quality tales, one of the other lead characters in their own story... Anyway, STOMACH BUTTERFLY TIME. I believe I can see references to my own story once or twice in the commentary, which is making me even more nervous... But good luck everyone, and let's all celebrate the creative arts no matter who wins.
