Gamedev Game Writing Competition - Round 3 Welcome to the first running of the Gamedev Game Writing Competition the goal of the competition is to bring the members of the community together to show case and sharpen their writing talents. The focus of the competition is to explore writing as it applies to video games and the associated demands of that medium. The competition is open to everyone and everyone is encouraged to enter and vote on their favorite entries! The contest will be broken down to 5 rounds each with a week to complete entries and followed by a week where readers can vote on their favorite pieces and judging. The winning entry from each round will be used as basis for entries in all future rounds. Rounds Round 1 – Introduction – Winning entry 5 Round 2 – Character Profile – Winning entry 7 Round 3 – Plot Sketch Round 4 – Scene Script Round 5 – Climax and Dénouement Round 3 Theme: The setting for the climax is Anahata the fourth veil. Objective Create a 500 to 3000 word plot sketch for the game described in the previous two rounds. The setting for the games climax will be Anahata the fourth veil. Start Date 12:01am GMT Saturday the 11th of October. End Date 12:01am GMT Saturday the 18th of October. Judging criteria: style - The overall quality of the writing including grammar, punctuation, spelling, and use of language. Creativity – How effectively the subject matter and theme of the round where used as well as the overall creativity and originality of the piece. Applicability - How appropriate the submission is to the game medium and how good a game it would make. Popularity - The pieces rating based on votes from readers. Rules: -Entries must be between 500 and 3000 words. Entries that don’t satisfy this criteria will be disqualified. -Entries must be received before 12:01 am GMT 11th of October, late entries will not be considered. -Entries that do not have the climax at the setting of the Anahata the fourth veil will be disqualified. -There is no limit on the number of entries that a person can enter. -Entries must be entirely original work. -Submission should be sent by private message to TechnoGoth and must not contain any identification of the author to ensure anonymity in the popular vote round. - Lastly and Most importantly have FUN! [Edited by - TechnoGoth on October 11, 2005 6:53:10 AM]

*blink* Anahata the 4th veil? Huh okay. But do you mean veil, as in a curtain, or do you mean vale, as in a valley?

Doesn't the character description for Anahata explains that the name stands for "the 4th Chakra"?
I assume he means that the climax of the plot is reaching Anahata (the event), for Shai, the character. i.e. getting her wings (if I have read the entry correctly).

It does mean that, but TechnoGoth is saying it has to be the _setting_ for the climax, which means it has to be a place, whether a physical place or a spiritual place.

LMAO :-D
Well, if we already start on ambiguous grounds...
this is going to be funny, I think.
(I am so ashamed I am not participating, but I am only starting my school year and I am already swamped in Game Dev assignements :( )

Quote:Original post by sunandshadow
*blink* Anahata the 4th veil? Huh okay. But do you mean veil, as in a curtain, or do you mean vale, as in a valley?

I meant veil as in curtain. But I'll accept either. I leave the interpretation up to the writer. Hopefully some interesting story lines can be written using that setting for climax.

Quote:
Doesn't the character description for Anahata explains that the name stands for "the 4th Chakra"?
I assume he means that the climax of the plot is reaching Anahata (the event), for Shai, the character. i.e. getting her wings (if I have read the entry correctly).

The character Anahata does not have to have do anything with the story. The only characters you have to inlude are Shai and Airre Running in Flowers. I leave it up to you to decied what the setting is and what it represents. If you need help people can always brain storm some ideas.

Well there seems to be a lot of confusion about this round so I’ll try my best to clear it up. First off the theme for this round is in no way connect to the entry Anahata I know its confusing but I wanted to include some mysticism in the plot and using the chakra seems like good idea and 4th one seem an appropriate for a climax point. The theme in this round refers to the name of a setting it could be a physical location or a metaphysical one that it up to the writer.

For those who don’t know what the fourth chakra is they may find this helpful:

Quote:
From the active, fiery solar plexus, we are thrust into a new and different realm. From the world of the body and manifestation, we break deeper into the softer touch of spirit. From the focus on the self and its desires and actions, we embrace a larger pattern, and dance our tiny part within the web. We transcend our ego, and grow toward something greater, deeper, stronger. As we embrace the

Heavens,we have more than ourselves. We expand. We have reached the central part of the chakra system. It is our core, the inner spirit that unites all the other forces above and below, within and without. Above, we have our abstract spirit, the mental realms, and below we have our "worldly" chakras. The task of chakra four is to integrate and balance the realms of the mind and body. In so doing, it brings a radiant sense of wholeness to the entire organsim and a realization that we are an exquisite combination of both spirit and matter. Within this sense of wholeness lies the seed of inner peace, which takes root and grows firm as this chakra is opened. The symbol for the heart chakra is a circle of 12 lotus petals surrounding two intersecting triangles, forming a six-pointed star. The triangles represent the descent of spirit into the body and the ascent of matter rising to meet spirit. In the heart, the cosmic and the earth energies combine, forming a star that radiates from the center of the chakra. The six points can also be seen as relating to the six other chakras, each represented at this center. The colour for this chakra is green, and its seed sound is Lam.

The heart chakra is the center of love. The love we experience at the level of the heart chakra is distinctly different from the more sexual and passinate love of the second chakra. At the fourth chakra, the love is no longer object dependent. The love we feel is felt toward everything we encounter, because it is felt within as a state of being. At the heart, our love is no longer one of need or desire. Instead, it is one of joyous acceptance of our place among all things, of a deep peace that comes from lack of need, and of a radiating quality that comes from harmony within the self. Love takes the emotional content of the second chakra and balances it with understanding from the seventh. The understanding tempers the desire, and allows us to see beyond our own needs.

The element of this chakra is air, the least dense of our physical elements. Air, as an element, is commonly associated with knowledge, love and things that are light and spirited. Air represents freedom, as inthe birds that fly. Air represents lightness, simplicity and softness. Air also represents breath,the vital energy of life. The Hindus call it prana, the Chinese call it chi, the Japanese call it ki

So after reading that ask yourself what type of setting you can derive from that and what is it significance as the location for the climax could. There are seven chakras in total so by having the climax at a place named after the fourth could imply that that first three must also be passed through before reaching there. Again I encourage you to be as broad with your interpretation as you can.

Some random ideas for settings based on the theme are:
-A gateway that connects heaven and earth
-A chamber in the inner sanctum of the royal palace.
-An internal battleground where Shai confronts her Hate.
-A temple deep within Arbor Grand that maintains the balance of the different environments.
-A hidden valley home to the true followers of Daheen
-A distorted realm that hold the source of all life.

Don’t let the fact that name of the setting and the name of character from round two are the same. The theme merely gives the name of the location for the climax what it is, where it is, and why it is important is entirely up to you.