On Monday of this week I announced a contest in which all you had to do to enter was take a picture of yourself from either the waist up or the shoulders up and mail it to me for a chance to win fifty bucks. On Monday I had six people enter. On Tuesday I had three people enter. On Wednesday and Thursday I had 0 people enter. Ah, the short attention spans we have all SQUIRREL!
Seriously though, today is the last day to submit your photo to me. Your photo will be used as a character’s photo in Robb Sherwin’s upcoming work of Interactive Fiction, Cyberganked. Your name will also be entered into a random drawing to win a $50 gift card. If you need more specifics about the type of pictures or characters you can re-read my original announcement.
I can’t imagine why more people haven’t sent in a photo. Here are the reasons why (in my head), and my answers to them.
“I am not very photogenic.”
Some of the characters in Robb’s new game include “man on street corner” and “girl in restaurant.” Surely you fit the bill for those. No costumes necessary for those!
“I feel stupid having my picture taken.”
I did too. It lasts about 30 seconds. And, unless you show them, nobody in real life who knows you will ever see your picture in this game. Your real name will not appear in the game next to your picture.
“I hate gift cards and money. I have no use for $50.”
Throw the gift card into the drawer under your microwave and re-gift it.
“Robb probably already has all the pictures he needs.”
Robb most definitely does not already have all the pictures he needs, otherwise I wouldn’t have launched this contest. Robb has dozens of characters he wants to implement and dozens more he would like to. He is even creating new characters based on some of the photos that have been received so far.
“I don’t want to be a bad guy in Robb’s game.”
Not all the photos will be used for enemies. Some will be used for good guys. Some will be used for neutral characters. Some will be used for background characters.
Those are all the excuses I can think of. What are you waiting for?
Midnight
is
the
deadline!
Tonight
is
the
night!
I shaved the other day for a job interview. Do I need to send in another picture without the shades?
Hey, I wanted to write just a tiny bit in case you are wondering who I am and how this game is being developed.
First off, thanks to everyone who has submitted so far. I will get you all a graphic of what you will look like in the game in two forms – the smaller picture for the game itself, and then the larger version that I crop from.
But I also want to assure everyone reading this that I will put my blood, sweat and wallet into this game like never before. I first started making text adventures in 1998. I printed out a copy of the Inform Designer’s Manual and read it cover to cover. The fact that I have a programming job now is due to that book and my passion for making text-based games. My last one, Cryptozookeeper, was fairly well-received and I will work just as hard for all of you on Cyberganked.
I’ve already spent over $1000 on this new game, which I’ve been working on since July. I’ve been lining up actors and actresses to play the selectable “player characters,” and I have been shooting them in my friend’s haunted house. I’ve licensed some music that I think will add atmosphere. I am trying desperately to photograph a nearby set of missile silo tunnels without getting arrested this weekend. While this is more of a character role-playing game than a text adventure, I can promise you that experiencing it will provide the pleasant nostalgia of a time when everyone enjoyed games like The Bard’s Tale, Wizardry, Wasteland and Might & Magic as well as provide a better story and characters. I know I was personally pissed when publishers stopped investing in this sort of RPG. I still miss them, and I suspect many people that follow Rob’s liked them as well.
Thanks so much for reading.