Hi.
Apologies about the tardiness on this. First we had a ton of ties on about 8 stories overall, then I said I'd post them two days ago and then stuff happened that isn't your fault but my own. Sorry.
But, we have winners. It took a process. I first started by letting moderators read and like the ones they liked (as well as the ones I liked). From those, I then passed the stories onto a group of acquaintances who write or review similar content on a regular basis, they told me their top three. And we had to go back and forth more than a few times on this, slowly weeding out a story at a time until we came to four winners, even though more than a few were as well liked as the winners. That's right, four winners. We got a tie for third. Rather than continue the back and forth, I figured I'd award both people.
And now, the winners.
3rd place:
The Blackest Friday, by IamTylerDurden1
https://drive.google.com/op...
Black Friday, by capjacksparrow
https://drive.google.com/op...
Both winners win a $50 gift card or similar payout.
2nd place:
Ruins of a Black Friday, by Wolf873
https://drive.google.com/op...
Wolf873 wins a $100 gift card or similar payout.
1st place:
The Bright Falls Black Friday Deal, by Kran
https://drive.google.com/op...
Kran wins a $200 gift card or similar payout.
And thus closes out a great December. Thank you for everyone who contributed and to those who helped review the entries.
WTMG's Leo Faria: "I have no idea what happened for MindsEye to come out at such a pitiful state, but even if it worked as intended, it would have been, at best, a truly mediocre cover shooter with a subpar “what if big techs were bad” story (spoiler alert: they also are in real life). But when you add in the horrendous framerate, poor optimization, braindead enemy AI, and countless bugs, then there’s no way to recommend this trainwreck, even to those looking for an ironic playthrough of a crappy game. Don’t bother with it, there’s plenty of fish in the sea right now. You don’t need to risk your stomach eating one that has eaten too many microplastics over the years."
Console Creatures writes, "Mario Kart World moves the series in a bold new direction with open world and battle royale elements but there's a distinct feeling of loneliness in the free roam."
Game Pressure met with the one and only Josh Sawyer at Digital Dragons and chatted about RPGs, Pentiment, Pillars of Eternity, the state of the industry, and the genre.
So honored to win and congratulations to all the people who took the time to write their own Black Friday story.
Truth is, i wrote my entry the first day I saw the contest in about fifteen minutes. I had attempted to enter another, more serious piece, but it just didn't flow so I stuck with my whimsical Death Stranding poem spoof.
I personally enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it. To anyone who has played or even heard about Death Stranding, you should get a real kick out of it.
This is an ode to my fellow Porters, and I encourage everyone to check it out. Not my most sophisticated work, but certainly my most fun. It's a short read, easy on the brain, good time stuff about Sam Porter saving the world from a Black Friday without stock. A storm hits, stores need stocking, and Sam has a particular set of skills. Enjoy.
Oh wow I honestly did not expect to win at all!
I did say to myself if I somehow were picked as the winner then it might give me enough confidence to actually write a proper book of my own... Maybe that's what I'll do for 2020!
Thank you so much and I hope those judging, and those about to read it, enjoyed/enjoy reading!
I'm a huge fan of Alan Wake so it was fun writing it!
Well, I'd like to imagine my short story was one of those 8 at least. But regardless, congratulations to the winners!
damnit i didnt know we also had to incorporate blackfriday into our story/poem! i could so easily have done that! oh well congrats to the winners