Posts with tag fan-fiction

I've been pretty vocal in the past about my intense love for Travels through Azeroth and Outland. It's a five-year, player-penned travelogue that takes readers on an expansive journey through every zone in the pre-Cataclysm game. Over the years, it's attracted a lot of attention due to the incredible quality of its writing and storytelling. Not only does it have its own TV Tropes entry, but even Blizzard's taken notice, and we've gotten the opportunity to interview its writer.

Even if you're not a roleplayer or all that interested in WoW's lore, Travels has an unsettling capacity to get you thinking about the deeper implications of the game's quests and become absorbed in the narrator's observations. It is, quite simply, one of the best pieces of fan fiction I've ever read and a hugely addictive story. If you haven't read it, please do. You will never see the game the same way again.

But, as with all good things, Travels has reached its end. While Zac, its author, plans to post some story cues related to the Cataclysm expansion on his travelogue's forums, he's wrapped up the main storyline, and our beloved narrator -- a Forsaken named Destron Allicant -- is riding off into the sunset. I was lucky enough to talk extensively with Zac about what spurred the travelogue, how he sees the various Azerothian races, and good versus evil in Blizzard's universe.

This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.

With the massive number of players logging in every day to WoW, there's an equally expansive amount of art and media coming from that player base. Very few games have ever brought out such a community of creative minds showing the rest of us their vision of a fantasy world. From machinima to custom WoW dolls (I mean action figures -- right, guys?), to Horde/Alliance-themed cakes, there are a ton of different venues for artists of all varieties to express their passion for the game.

I've just recently begun to start watching WoW-based machinima and have discovered there are quite a few masterpieces out there from people who seem talented enough to write or direct feature films. After the Cataclysm launch, I'm going to start an ongoing fan fiction story about a rogue and what his life is like after Deathwing ravages Azeroth. It should be plum full of adventures and high jinks! Although I'd love to include custom artwork with that story, my drawing skill ends at stick figures, so I'll have to use to screen shots.

Out of all the different art, videos, and other "warcrafts," are there any you'd like to participate in? Or maybe you already check out great fan art, make custom troll outfits for cosplay, or bake cupcakes shaped like murlocs. What are your favorites?

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on our Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

Recipes, action figures, art -- the fans of Warcraft are a creative bunch, and Kyt Dotson is no exception. Rather than artwork or crafts, however, Kyt creates vivid worlds with the written word. Kyt's latest work, The Helvetica Venture, can be found on Vox Ex Machina. The story involves a starting blood elf character named Helvetica and her adventures in Azeroth, but it takes a humorous twist to the usual form of narrative storytelling.

On the table nearby, taking up the only clear space in the entire room, is a green box. Imagine a box, an ordinary 5¼"x 7½" video game box sporting fold-out inserts for the cover and a preternatural lightness to its heft that belies the contents stored within. Emblazoned over the surface-above the oh-so-handsome staring face of a blonde elf with vorpal eyebrows and nuclear green eyes-display the words: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

"You haven't played one of these games before, have you?" asked the screen that comes up after she installs the game.

Take a look after the break for more information about Helvetica and her creator.

Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play?

Finally, I return home after a bit of bliss. Fun is over -- it's time to get serious by talking about fan fiction. Sort of. You see, fan fiction is one of those areas that people love to hate, hate to love and everything in between. What is it about fan fiction that gets people so upset and so defensive? Is it the personal nature of the craft, the accusatory piggy-backing on other people's characters, or just that so much of it is mind-numbingly terrible? Who knows? Today, we're going to explore a few of the concepts of fan fiction in a very no-nonsense, barely legal way, to give you aspiring authors something to consider while writing your own fan fiction or even original content.

With my post-vacation bliss now completely out of my system, thanks to reading so much terrible fan fiction in preparation, I am happy to share with all of you a story that I've been writing for the last minute and a half. Don't be cruel, now. It's pretty much going to become the greatest story ever told. Enjoy.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. Sample the whole spectrum on WoW.com's Arts and Crafts in WoW page.

There's knitting together a World of Warcraft-themed scarf or emblazoning a T-shirt with Alliance pride, inviting your game of choice to mosey along hand-in-hand with your hobby of choice -- and then there's oozing WoW-themed personality through every creative pore of your sweating brow. Jay Scullin comes from the second camp. A web designer by day, Scullin is a WoW-centric artist and blogger by night. When the sun goes down at the end of a long day, on comes his work lamp and in comes a flood of rich, color-saturated ideas pouring forth in his computer-generated artwork and a fanfic account of his character's progress through WoW.

Scullin originally created this portrait of his beloved gnome mage Ollo Ollovious of Uldaman (US-A) for last year's Blizzard fan art contest. Using Photoshop and Illustrator with a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet, he painstakingly labored over some 12 hours to keep the representation as true as possible to Ollo's in-game demeanor. In yet another character-focused project, he blogs at Legend of Piket, the ongoing tale of his level 76 protection warrior's ascent through Azeroth, Outland and Northrend. Join us after the break for a brief conversation with Scullin about what keeps his creative pot bubbling with Azeroth-influenced projects.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more.

I've been reading an anthropological analysis of the World of Warcraft for an upcoming 15 Minutes of Fame that talks about the game as an "active aesthetic experience," a collective expression in which the participation of all is key to the entire experience. One of the things I'm most looking forward to talking about with the author is the incredible creative energy that WoW breathes into so many talented artists, writers, crafters and musicians. From WoW-themed arts and crafts that tickle our fancies to re-imaginings of the very artistic underpinnings of the game soundtrack and art itself, the World of Warcraft has inspired so many people across the world.

While obviously we could invite you to scroll through our backlog of World of WarCrafts columns (and indeed, if you're interested in any sort of creative effort, we think you should), we decided to make things simple. We'd like to invite you to our new resource guide, Arts and crafts in WoW. From how-to instructions for arts and crafts, to recipe "strats" bringing you the flavors of Azeroth, to soundtracks and artwork and fan fic and more, we've gathered the best of our galleries and in-depth features together in one place. We hope you find it as enjoyable and inspirational as we do ... Welcome to the sights and sounds of the community of World of Warcraft!

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World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including arts and crafts, fan art, WoW-themed recipes, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by emailing lisa@wow.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

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World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself; contact our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

"This has never happened to me before. I'm a good pilot, dammit! Ugh, I know I'm going to be charged for it too. Serves me right for renting out a Cartel Zeppelin, dammit!"

It was a dark, steaming jungle night in northern Stranglethorn. The ambient noise of the forest is astonishing. An endless natural orchestra of birds, insects, and mammals play in the lush canopies and dank undergrowth. Much like the Swamp of Sorrows, rain is a daily occurrence in Stranglethorn Vale.

After Spirra crossed over the mountains it looked as if we would soon reach the goblin metropolis of Booty Bay. Then an unexpected storm blew us badly off-course. Spirra took this in stride, saying that it would just take a little longer, and that she could stop by Grom'gol if I wanted. Then, drifting low over the verdant jungle ceiling we heard a staccato of gunfire rise from the tangled landscape. Bullets shattered the propeller and pierced the balloon, and we streaked to the ground. It ended suddenly when Spirra's zeppelin impaled itself on a tree. Fortunately, neither of us was badly hurt. We climbed down the tree, carrying what supplies we could. Of our attackers we found no sign. ("Stranglethorn Vale," Travels Through Azeroth and Outland)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually be in Azeroth? To travel from place to place, staying in inns or with friends and acquaintances, taking in the sights and logging it all down in your journal? Find yourself transported as you see Azeroth and Outland through the eyes of itinerant traveller Destron the mage, as documented in the fan fiction Travels Through Azeroth and Outland. This ongoing, lore-based tale is deep -- deep enough in quantity to have accumulated years' worth of entries, and deep enough in content to be recommended by TVTropes.com.

ATTENTION, ARTISTS: Submit your own illustration of Travels Through Azeroth's main character, Destron, for a chance to have your art featured here at WoW.com and on the main page of Travels Through Azeroth. Join us after the break for more details.

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself; contact our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.

Ahh, March ... Roaring in like a lion comes a rush of WoW-inspired creativity from fans and readers. (Hopefully, we won't find ourselves sheeped like lambs by the end of the month -- but that's a matter better left to Mr. Archmage Pants.)

First up, the only lambishly sweet of the bunch this week: yes, it's My Little Zhevra. This handmade custom named Zebu the Zhevra comes from thatg33kgirl at Deviant Art. (If Zebu provokes squees of cuteness overload, be sure to also check out last summer's My Lich King Pony.)

Custom art for hunters, several selections of fan fiction, a custom character figure from a WoW.com reader, plus wicked wallpapers for warlocks, all coming up after the break.

This got somewhat lost in the news shuffle over the holiday weekend, but Blizzard has posted another issue of their extremely irregular Gadgetzan Times fan-fic-oriented newsletter, for the first time since May 2008. This time around it consists of two pieces of short-form fan fiction, an amusing "classifieds" section, and a slightly half-hearted crossword about the dungeons of WoW.

It's an interesting thing for Blizzard themselves to come out with, as it has been from the start. I really like the idea -- characters from Azeroth report on events in and around their world -- but it could use a little more polish and effort, not to mention a more regular timetable. On the other hand, they're still publishing more regularly than my Illusionary Tactics column. Maybe I should not call this particular kettle black.

Anyway, it's certainly a decent diversion for a few minutes if you're stuck at work or bored at home, so go ahead and check it out.

Blizzard recently ran a global creative writing contest: write fan fiction set in any of the main three Blizzard universes (Diablo, Warcraft, or Starcraft - no Lost Vikings, apparently), submit it to Blizzard, and win fabulous prizes. The grand prize winner (one Andrew Moeller Sarah Pine) won a trip to Blizzard HQ to meet the devs, as well as a Frostmourne sword. Seven runners-up got signed novels and other lore paraphernalia.

The winners were announced back in May. So why am I bringing this up now? Well, Blizzard has posted excerpts from all eight winning stories on their web site. I have to say, aside from the overuse of adjectives and adverbs that tends to be endemic to fan fiction (write with nouns and verbs, people), this is some pretty enjoyable writing. I'd like to see the full stories; I wonder if they're going to be released at some point. Edit: To read the entire grand-prize-winning story by Sarah Pine, click here.

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about Pixelated Executioner's little fanfic contest, in which he was giving away a BlizzCon ticket (sans goodie bag) to someone who sent in the best piece of WotLK fan fiction, and here's the payoff: he's now posted the winning piece on his website. I have to say that I'm not usually a huge fan of fan fiction (mostly because it's not usually any good -- PE does mention that there were plenty of Mary and Gary Sues in the mix, and technically the winning piece features another one), but any story that adds a little personality to the spider-people of Azjol-Nerub, not to mention throws in an appearance by the Explorers' League, is a winner in my book.

Plus, it worked out well for everyone -- PE decided that he would give away the goodie bag to the winner, and apparently she submitted the story for her brother, so they could go to BlizzCon together. Very nice. Of course they (and everyone else at BlizzCon) are formally invited to come say hi to us at the to-be-announced WoW Insider reader meetup. Very nice story, Anujaresh, glad to see the BlizzCon ticket found its way into some worthy hands.

And here's another BlizzCon ticket contest (see, we told you there'd be more). Pixelated Executioner got his hands on an extra ticket (though he's taking the goodie bag, but beggars can't be choosers, we suppose), and he's offering it up in a story contest -- to enter, you've just got to punch out an original Wrath of the Lich King-related story, at least 700 words, and send it over to him on his blog.

It's only for US residents, and you've got to find your own ride and hotel at BlizzCon -- you'll have to meet him at the gate to get in, and he apparently wants a picture (and to supposedly publish the story, so anyone who doesn't want to be in the spotlight can probably pass now). But after you say hi to him, the rest of the conference is yours -- if you're interested in hitting every chance to grab a BlizzCon ticket you get, better start writing.

The entry is due by September 14th, and PE's email is on his blog. Good luck to everyone who enters, we can't wait to read the winning story.

The Gadgetzan Times has returned from a long hiatus. Apparently, however, they are in a bit of trouble, with reports of difficulty retaining their goblin reporters. Because of this, the editor-in-chief has switched to a new idea: soliciting stories from the adventurers themselves. If you've written fanfiction about the World of Warcraft, you can now submit to for a chance to showcased in the Gadgetzan Times. There's versions for every language, with a different story for each language.

If you've always wanted to be a Goblin journalist, here's the closest you can get. Submit your stories, and maybe we'll see you in the next editon.

Liuceijya of the Silver Hand realm and I share a common insanity, a folie-a-deux if you will. Both of us are participating in something called NaNoWriMo. When I ran into her during the kick-off party for this crazy project, she turned out not only to be a reader, but a reader with fan fiction on the brain. We started talking simply because she was wearing a The Forsaken Metal t-shirt, and I recognized a fellow WoW fan in the group of stodgy half-crazed authors. The more we spoke, the more I realized that her fascinating story should be shared with you readers, as I know there are more than a few fan fiction writers out there.

WoW Insider: Can you explain NaNoWriMo a bit for those that don't know what it is?
Liuceijya: NaNoWriMo-- National Novel Writing Month-- is a balls-to-the-wall, kamikaze approach to writing that by its very nature emphasizes quantity over quality. The aim is to get something, anything down on paper (or computer screen or papyrus scroll) because after all, you can always tweak it later. Participants start on November 1st and the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel (or approximately 175 pages) by the end of November 30th.

How long have you participated in NaNoWriMo? Which years did you finish?
This will be my fourth year of NaNoWriMo; I started in 2004 and have participated every year since. Unfortunately, 2004 was the only year I actually finished because I was not yet playing WoW at that point. I made it to about 12k in 2005 and 20k in 2006; this year, however, I have decided to give in to the demon that is WoW and write some fan fiction. Perhaps it'll keep me off the game itself long enough to actually finish. *grin*

I love fan fiction, I always have. There is a point where an author or artist ends the story and those that have been enthralled with it pick it up and continue the journey. With WoW the opportunities for fan fiction are numerous, since it's a persistent world we roam, and we make what we will of the characters we play. I guess you could say our role play today is the fan fiction of tomorrow.

Thus it was with relish that I began reading the tale of Spooner, a paladin struggling in a world of frustration until he finally encounters his ultimate form. I won't spoil it for you, and I'm sure there is considerable debate that could arise from this author's viewpoint, but remember, it's how he sees the progression in the game, and to some extent so do I. Anyway when you have a moment pop on over to the European forums where this story was posted and add a little art to your day.

[thanks Dego!]