Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest

Full Article » Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest Posted on Apr 9, 2001 7:18am by Archangel « Back  ¦  »  Printer Friendly Page Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest THE SCENARIO CONTEST - YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! Want world wide fame? (and a new Computer!) Test your scenario making skills against the best in the world. Can your Charlemagne rise to power? Your Harold Haardraade lead the "Viking invasions" in England? Will Salah al-Din attempting to prevent Richard the Lion-Heart from taking Jerusalem? Only your scenario designing skills (and history :) will tell. Enter your finest scenario to win one of several awesome prizes from ENSEMBLE STUDIOS. The Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest begins 09 April 2001 and ends 21 May 2001. No entries will be accepted after midnight, 21 May (CST). To enter, contestants must create and submit a scenario using Age of Kings: The Conquerors. HEROES OF THE AGES GRAND PRIZE One Grand Prize Winner will receive a Dell Dimension 4100 1GHz desktop system (including a 19 inch Dell P991Trinitron monitor, a 32MB NVIDIA GeForce2 videocard, and a 40GB harddrive)!   More Prizes listed below! ENSEMBLE STUDIOS HEROES OF THE AGES THE SCENARIO The theme of the Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest is, as the name suggests, heroes of the ages. To that end, scenarios submitted for the contest should be historically themed and should involve a hero (a larger-than-life historical figure) from the Age of Kings time period (roughly 400 to 1600). Some examples of good choices for a scenario for the Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest: Charlemagne's rise to power and efforts to build an empire, Harold Haardraade leading "Viking invasions" in England, Salah al-Din attempting to prevent Richard the Lion-Heart from taking Jerusalem during the Third Crusade. Some examples of bad choices for a scenario for the Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest: the historical figure Merlin and his epic fight against the dragons that used to thrive in medieval Britain, the one where the scenario is identical to any other scenario except for the fact that one unit is [insert random hero name here], 5,000 Longbowmen on one side of the map and 5,000 Paladins on the other, anything where the hero is "that dude from Gladiator". All in all, the scenario should succeed in conveying a sense of the hero's story and his or her role in the historical situation selected. That said, there are a lot of different styles of fan-created Age of Kings: The Conquerors scenarios; historical recreations, RPG-ish conversions, semi-cinematic sequences inspired by popular films, and so on - all providing ample proof that people can make scenarios which are vastly different from one another. However, what we're really looking for in the Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest is: is it a fun scenario? So, above all else, submitted scenarios should be fun. Submissions should also consist of a single scenario only. Submitting campaigns (multiple scenarios) will result in disqualification of the entry. All files needed to play the scenario must accompany the scenario submission. If you do anything complex, I suggest you include a "ReadMe" text document that describes what needs to be done as part of your submission. Any submissions that cannot be played after a reasonable attempt will be disqualified. Submitted scenarios should take around 45 minutes of actual clock time (not game time) to play at the default (1.5) game speed. Submitted scenarios should be playable at all difficulty levels available in Age of Kings: The Conquerors. Submitted scenarios should include full text for instructions, hints, victory messages, defeat messages, etc. Submissions must be done entirely with Age of Kings: The Conquerors. Scenarios using "mod packs" are not permitted and will be disqualified. Submissions must be playable from start to finish without requiring the use of any cheat codes. Any scenario requiring the use of cheat codes to play will be disqualified. HOW TO ENTER Steps for entering the Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest are as follows: 1. Create the scenario you want to enter and gather all of the files needed to play it. 2. Address an email to: Contest@EnsembleStudios.com. Contest Questions can be sent to same email address. 3. Attach all of the files needed to play your scenario to this email. 4. IF YOU ARE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER: In the body of the email, write your full name, your address, and the best telephone number for contacting you during the day. 5. IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE: In the body of the email, write your full name, then the full name of your legal guardian, your address, and then the best telephone number for contacting your legal guardian during the day. 6. Send the email. Scenario submissions which are not received in this manner, do not work, do not include adequate instructions for making them work (if those are needed), or fail to include some element of the information requested above will be disqualified. JUDGING Contest submissions will be rated by appointed Ensemble Studios employees. Scenario rating will be based on a point system involving the following criteria: ° Is the scenario fun? (0 to 35 points) ° Does the scenario convey a sense of the hero and a historical theme? (0 to 15 points) ° Is the scenario map well made / attractive in appearance? (0 to 15 points) ° Does the scenario demonstrate creativity? (0 to 15 points) ° Is the scenario playable within (roughly) 45 minutes? (0 to 10 points) ° Does the scenario include good story / instruction text? (0 to 10 points) The Ensemble Studios judges will meet and discuss ratings for the submitted scenarios, selecting the final winners via group vote. Winners will be announced on 18 June 2001. Final selections made by the Ensemble Studios judges are NOT subject to ANY debate.. THE PRIZES Five winners will be selected from the entries submitted. All prizes are subject to availability. If a prize stated below is not available, an equivalent prize will be substituted. GRAND PRIZE One Grand Prize Winner will receive a Dell Dimension 4100 1GHz desktop system (including a 19 inch Dell P991Trinitron monitor, a 32MB NVIDIA GeForce2 videocard, and a 40GB harddrive)!   Judges, employees of Microsoft, and employees of Ensemble Studios are not eligible for this contest. What? I want one of these! SECOND PRIZE One Second Prize Winner will receive a Sony DCR-TRV 11 Digital Video Camera!   Why record your Conquerors games? Turn this puppy on and catch yourself and the game in action. THIRD PRIZE One Third Prize Winner will receive a Cannon PowerShot G1 Digital Camera!   Very useful for showing you friends that you actually beat the 5 Korean Computer players by yourself. HONORABLE MENTION PRIZE Two Honorable Mention Prize Winners will receive a deluxe Ensemble Studios Gift Package including several of the following items:   Enough "Stuff" to turn your computer room into a AGE shine. » Strategy guides for all Age of Empires games signed by the Ensemble Team » Age of Empires posters signed by the Ensemble Team » Age of Empires games signed by the Ensemble Team » Ensemble Studios team shirts » Age of Empires music CDs » Microsoft Voice Commanders » Ensemble Studios wristwatch » Ensemble Studios pen set » Copies of the Ensemble Studios E3 video ADDITIONAL CONTEST RULES All submissions become the property of Ensemble Studios. No submitted materials will be returned. Judges, employees of Microsoft, and employees of Ensemble Studios are not eligible for this contest. Entrants can submit more than one scenario for consideration. Each scenario must be entered in the contest separately. Regardless of the number of submissions entered, entrant are eligible to win only in a single category (that is, no individual can win both second and third place). All scenario submissions must reflect original scenario design work of the entrant. Any attempt to present the work of another as your own (for example, using an AI script written by another scenario designer) will result in the immediate disqualification of the entry (and any others submitted by the same entrant). »» ENSEMBLE STUDIOS Contest Page.      Full Article » Ensemble Studios Heroes of the Ages Contest « Back  ¦  »  Printer Friendly Page

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