Blizzard's holiday contests
by Amanda Miller 
Dec 18th 2007 at 9:03AM
It's the time of year for goodies and cheer, and all of Azeroth is celebrating Winter's Veil. The good folks at Blizzard have kicked off two contests that will let you tap into your creative and festive self, as well as giving you a chance at some nifty prizes. The Royal Photographic Society of Azeroth has hereby declared that they are in need of top notch screenshots featuring your WoW holiday celebrations. If you would like to brush up on the fundamentals and technicalities of in-game photography, check out our tips for taking screenshots, or read through Blizzard's guidelines.
If cooking and baking are more your style, then whip up a batch of something delicious and festive, take a photograph (or have a friend do it for you) and submit it.
As I will be preparing holiday goodies this year, I would send in my own photographs, except that the contest is only open to (most of) the United States. I will have to settle for merely munching on them, and perhaps posting one or two Well Fed Buffs, instead. Make the jump to learn about the prizes you could win, and what sorts of entries are likely to be picked.Both contests officially end on December 31st, 2007, so you have about two weeks to run around Azeroth and do all of your holiday baking. Here is what you could walk away with if your photos are chosen:
- Logitech G51 Surround Sound Speakers (either contest)
- A signed copy of the Samwise Didier version of World of Warcraft comic book (Azerothian shenanigans only)
- A signed copy of the Jim Lee version of World of Warcraft comic book (baking extraordinaires)
When it comes to festive screenshots, I think the playing field is a bit more even. Here are my tips:
- Pay attention to lighting. You may have very interesting subject matter, but bright lights and colors say celebrations and festivities all on their own. A poorly lit submission may not get noticed.
- Be careful to frame your shot properly. In other words, adjust your view until there are no odd spaces and things that you might want to crop out later. You are not allowed to modify your screenshots.
- Turn up your video settings. Even if this forces your gameplay to be slow, you can have them cranked up for still shots, and change it back later. Grainy submissions may also be overlooked.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rihlsul Dec 18th 2007 9:52AM
Those.... aren't the best prizes I've ever seen.
Chris Anthony Dec 18th 2007 10:19AM
The surround speakers are actually pretty nice.
As for the comic books - well, I can take a guess at why they're offering these. First, they want to promote the comic book; that's a no-brainer. Second, I suspect that they're heading off complaints that "you only give out the cool prizes when not everybody can win!". (viz. the Winter Veil "sweepstakes" prizes, for example.) Further on that point, they may be trying to organically limit the number of entries by making the prizes not entirely appealing.
Finally, even though the bubble of the 90s has burst (and good riddance!), there are still people who collect comic books for their perceived financial value rather than because they want to read the comic. This prize appeals to those people - for whom a signed WoW comic would have the double-whammy of broad appeal (nine million accounts) and creator contact. To a collector, the signed comics really are a good prize - and if the prize goes to someone who's not a collector, expect to see it on eBay within a few days.
Rihlsul Dec 18th 2007 10:24AM
I suppose. Not impugning comic books, mind, but I'm reading about Blizzard giving away speakers on a Blog about Warcraft where they're giving away a $5,000 laptop. So, more a comparative "lackluster".
Thander Dec 18th 2007 7:56PM
@3 The difference being this website was "given" a laptop by Dell as a promotion whereas Blizzard is paying for these contest prizes with their own money. There would be no $5k laptop contest if WoW Insider had to pay for the laptop out of their pocket.