Bungie.net Community
This topic has moved here: Subject: Community Write Along.....
  • Subject: Community Write Along.....
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • of 3
Subject: Community Write Along.....

"I'm uncomfortable."
-True Underdog
Young Grasshopper of The Year: ChorrizoTapatio 2012

A little bit of sausage, a little bit of hot sauce, a whole lot of awesome. Have a question? Ask me!
Chapter

I'm not gonna lie OP, these kinds of threads are the reason things get taken away. If DeeJ reads this I think he'll be annoyed by the fact that someone is whinning about it. I'm sure we're all upset we didn't get picked, I know I was disappointed, but you shouldn't make a thread complaining about it. And I'm not trying to be a jerk or act like I'm better than you, believe me, but things like this could possibly end with DeeJ, and Bungie, stopping with all the community conest and even some things they do because they want to (such as the Mail Sacks) because they don't want to hear people gripe about it. Just pick yourself up and give it your best try next time around.

  • 05.17.2012 9:59 PM PDT
  •  | 
  • Honorable Legendary Member

Sometimes starting back from square one does good...

Ask smart questions
http://catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

The MailSack is for fun and is a nice thing. You shouldn't complain that you didn't make to it. Be nice and cool.

[Edited on 05.17.2012 10:01 PM PDT]

  • 05.17.2012 10:00 PM PDT

I thought it was fun a creative. DeeJ was pretty general about the prompt too.

  • 05.17.2012 10:01 PM PDT

Key


Posted by: ChorrizoTapatio
Neither DeeJ, nor the Web Team are going to discontinue writing challenges, let alone mailsack challenges, let alone mailsacks because someone made a thread essentially saying, "I wasn't picked, so something must be wrong."

  • 05.17.2012 10:14 PM PDT

"We live in a special time; the only time where we can observationally verify that we live in a very special time" - Lawrence Krauss.

I was a finalist :P

You can't satisfy everyone; the objective was to come up with a continuation of a story knowing that it may not be picked to be a finalist, but giving it a go anyway. I am also pretty sure DeeJ explained his stance as to why some of the different types of stories were omitted from the final selection, and the reason he didn't mention it sooner was because he had no idea as to what the community would write about.

And no, this isn't a biased post; just last week I lost the lottery.

  • 05.17.2012 10:48 PM PDT

"I'm uncomfortable."
-True Underdog
Young Grasshopper of The Year: ChorrizoTapatio 2012

A little bit of sausage, a little bit of hot sauce, a whole lot of awesome. Have a question? Ask me!
Chapter


Posted by: CrazzySnipe55

Posted by: ChorrizoTapatio
Neither DeeJ, nor the Web Team are going to discontinue writing challenges, let alone mailsack challenges, let alone mailsacks because someone made a thread essentially saying, "I wasn't picked, so something must be wrong."


That's not what I was trying to get at. I was trying to say that people like the OP who complain about the things Bungie gives us could ruin everything for the rest of us. No one wants to do something for someone who complains about the stuff you do on your own will, you know?

[Edited on 05.17.2012 10:55 PM PDT]

  • 05.17.2012 10:52 PM PDT

Rock Chalk Real Talk
Minnesotan, currently going to school at KU.


@Geegs30

DeeJ said that they weren't able to pick the "best" of them, so they simply chose the funniest of the bunch as the finalists. I myself wrote a more serious entry, but I'm not disappointed at all. It was fun, I actually really enjoyed coming up with something off the top of my head that could be the start to a story. I wasn't in it for recognition or a prize, that'd just be icing on the cake; I just wanted a little writing practice.

[Edited on 05.17.2012 10:54 PM PDT]

  • 05.17.2012 10:54 PM PDT
  •  | 
  • Exalted Legendary Member

Posted by: CrazzySnipe55
Also, I feel like the point of a writing challenge is to pick winners based on their writing abilities and how they demonstrated them. Just as the point of an illustration challenge is to accurately illustrate the prompt or to just demonstrate your drawing abilities better than all the rest.

Picking things because they're funny and not because they fit the bill of what's being asked for is part of the reason I only skim the mailsack now a days.

I'm a little confused by this - are humor and creativity not "legitimate" forms or writing ability to you? There was no specific rule to create a serious story, and there was a flood of equally serious stories that, in my opinion, never caught my attention, likely due to the short length requirements. Writing a punchline can deliver more connection in a short amount of space because I don't have any desire to empathize on a serious level with characters I know nothing about. I mean, it was 5 sentences max.

Point is that I think the use of humor is an apt display of good writing ability in this case, because IMO that was the best choice given the medium and the short length limit, and the other finalists definitely delivered.

And for the record I'm not saying this to gloat or show pride. This would be my opinion even had I not made it to the final 7. I was very humbled to get in and there was a lot of technical talent in many, many submissions. But even if you don't agree with my assertions about humor, the results of this contest - and the nominees - are determined solely by personal preference. There will always be people who dont agree, but everyone is different and everyone's a critic. As long as we stick to the rules, I don't think I'll complain.

  • 05.17.2012 11:46 PM PDT

In memory of those fallen in the defense of Earth and her colonies.

March 3, 2553


Posted by: DarkONI
The MailSack is for fun and is a nice thing. You shouldn't complain that you didn't make to it. Be nice and cool.

  • 05.17.2012 11:59 PM PDT
  • gamertag: ALI217
  • user homepage:

I'm gonna finish it. Just like Jigga did to the pyramid.


Posted by: Helveck.

Lol, of course you would enjoy this thing! You won it!

  • 05.18.2012 5:08 AM PDT

Feel free to send me messages, please be willing to wait 6-8 years for a reply.

1-7 hours if you at least tried to make it readable.

Immediately if you are Yax, Telec, or legendary.

Never if you are mythic, you guys smell funny.

I finished last with 2% of the vote, and I really did not care that much. My entry was done in 30 seconds and only entered as joke. What does it matter if you did not get picked or not. The winner probably only got a little T shirt.


Now I must return in my completely contest unrelated plot to destroy bungie.

  • 05.18.2012 5:26 AM PDT

Snakie Purple.

"Hamdog, Hamdog, Hamdog, Hamdog"-Hamdog.

Twatter


Posted by: SonicJohn
It's easier to make someone laugh than it is to make them feel emotionally connected in a couple paragraphs and take something serious.

On the internet of all places. I swear.

I'll emotionally connect you in a couple of sentences!

In the internet, of all places!


Anyways, on topic. Yeah it was kind of a bummer Deej only went for the funny ones, but they are certainly easier to get through/laugh at then attempting to be srs in a few sentences.

  • 05.18.2012 5:58 AM PDT

"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."

  • 05.18.2012 8:59 AM PDT

Snakie Purple.

"Hamdog, Hamdog, Hamdog, Hamdog"-Hamdog.

Twatter


Posted by: DeeJ
"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."

Way to rephrase what I said, loser!

  • 05.18.2012 9:18 AM PDT


Posted by: DeeJ
"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."
I'll take Saving Private Ryan over Big Momma's House any day, thank you very much.
:P

  • 05.18.2012 9:27 AM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
  • user homepage:

To insure no complaining in the next contest, I think they should just drop two people into an inclosed area to fight to the death, Mad Max style. I'm in charge of the wheel.

  • 05.18.2012 9:43 AM PDT

@Helveck

Just an Average Joe...


Posted by: burritosenior

Posted by: DeeJ
"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."
I'll take Saving Private Ryan over Big Momma's House any day, thank you very much.
:P


For the record, if you consider "big mommas house" a comedy, then your comedy standards are terribly low. Movies like those should be have their own genre of "mindless stupidity".

But to avoid getting too off topic, like I said I can't believe this is even issue for some people, and even then the whole idea of these things are to entertain and to kill time. Not to participate in a heated and vicious serious competition. Just take what you get and be happy with it...

[Edited on 05.18.2012 9:55 AM PDT]

  • 05.18.2012 9:52 AM PDT
  • gamertag: ALI217
  • user homepage:

I'm gonna finish it. Just like Jigga did to the pyramid.


Posted by: Butane123
To insure no complaining in the next contest, I think they should just drop two people into an inclosed area to fight to the death, Mad Max style. I'm in charge of the wheel.


Yeah? And you can be one of the first people to be dropped in!

  • 05.18.2012 10:09 AM PDT

GT: j0sh291
"Gentlemen. I be placed at a bewilderment. There I were, resting, when I hear a frightful row on deck. What be that first mate?"
-"Mutiny. And what fate befalls mutineers? I think we know the answer to that, don't we? Mutineers...HANG!!!"

Twitter:@j0sh291
Follower of Christ!

][-][ //-\\ ][_ ((_))

I didn't participated because, I knew I wouldn't make it

  • 05.18.2012 10:51 AM PDT
  • gamertag: ALI217
  • user homepage:

I'm gonna finish it. Just like Jigga did to the pyramid.


Posted by: Jose291
I didn't participated because, I knew I wouldn't make it


At least try!

  • 05.18.2012 11:44 AM PDT

Key


Posted by: CAVX
Posted by: CrazzySnipe55
Also, I feel like the point of a writing challenge is to pick winners based on their writing abilities and how they demonstrated them. Just as the point of an illustration challenge is to accurately illustrate the prompt or to just demonstrate your drawing abilities better than all the rest.

Picking things because they're funny and not because they fit the bill of what's being asked for is part of the reason I only skim the mailsack now a days.

I'm a little confused by this - are humor and creativity not "legitimate" forms or writing ability to you? There was no specific rule to create a serious story, and there was a flood of equally serious stories that, in my opinion, never caught my attention, likely due to the short length requirements. Writing a punchline can deliver more connection in a short amount of space because I don't have any desire to empathize on a serious level with characters I know nothing about. I mean, it was 5 sentences max.

Point is that I think the use of humor is an apt display of good writing ability in this case, because IMO that was the best choice given the medium and the short length limit, and the other finalists definitely delivered.

And for the record I'm not saying this to gloat or show pride. This would be my opinion even had I not made it to the final 7. I was very humbled to get in and there was a lot of technical talent in many, many submissions. But even if you don't agree with my assertions about humor, the results of this contest - and the nominees - are determined solely by personal preference. There will always be people who dont agree, but everyone is different and everyone's a critic. As long as we stick to the rules, I don't think I'll complain.
Please don't think for a second that I'm suggesting in any way that humor is not a valid medium through which one can express a profound level of literacy and competence in the field of writing. The reality of the situation is quite the opposite. I have an incredible amount of respect for people who can craft witty one-liners or any kind of well put together, and sometimes nonlinear joke or comedic passage, as I've tried it in the past and failed quite tremendously.

But, in looking at the quality of a piece of writing, along with that humor and wit that would be displayed in a piece written for comedic or farcical purposes must come a certain level of mastery of the English language so that it doesn't sound like a middle school student wrote it (I.E. avoiding repetition of textbook transitions like "then" and "also").

By this I do not of course mean that every piece of quality prose has to have a high-brow vocabulary and/or mainly be composed of words with a large amount of letters, merely that it should be "put together" well and flow like it was written by somebody who can write well. While there's no specific criteria for the "flow" or "feel" of a piece, it can easily be taken into account subjectively.

Looking at it now, the point I was trying to make earlier was stupid. The part of the challenge I took more of an issue with was the judging of pieces based on their originality rather than the quality of the pieces. I'm not in any way trying to say that those picked were not or are not of high quality. (I may have been trying to make that point in the past about some but the point was stupid and I've nevertheless changed my mind.) I enjoyed all of them.

But, to go back to a point I made in another post on the bottom of page 1, I could've written a story completely unrelated to the obvious tone of the prompt about a teenage girl getting her cellphone taken away and I would've automatically been a finalist if the winners were truly at that point still chosen by originality and creativity alone.

Is my point clear now? I don't mean that in a condescending way at all, I'm honestly wondering if it is. If not, here's a simple summation: I'm not so much taking issue with the pieces picked to be finalists, but the reason for which they were picked.

Also, I'm not legitimately mad at the situation at all. I'm just trying to make clear a way I think the writing challenges in the future could be improved. I apologize if I came off as butthurt in any way. (I can see how my sarcastic "But I wanted to win...." posts may have come across in that manner.)

  • 05.18.2012 12:42 PM PDT

Key


Posted by: ChorrizoTapatio

Posted by: CrazzySnipe55

Posted by: ChorrizoTapatio
Neither DeeJ, nor the Web Team are going to discontinue writing challenges, let alone mailsack challenges, let alone mailsacks because someone made a thread essentially saying, "I wasn't picked, so something must be wrong."


That's not what I was trying to get at. I was trying to say that people like the OP who complain about the things Bungie gives us could ruin everything for the rest of us. No one wants to do something for someone who complains about the stuff you do on your own will, you know?


Oh, okay. Yeah, I see what you're saying. While I doubt it'll ever get to the point where a large amount of people will feel like the OP does about the situation (in such an adamant fashion, too) to the point where they would see the community as a complaining, ungrateful group, your point is well taken.

  • 05.18.2012 12:43 PM PDT

There may not be a "I" in team, but there is a "I" in Win.


Posted by: Butane123
To insure no complaining in the next contest, I think they should just drop two people into an inclosed area to fight to the death, Mad Max style. I'm in charge of the wheel.

Hell, let's just start a hunger games. Let it be known as the "Bungie Games".
In all honestly, I was just wanting a simple answer. At the time I hadn't read down on DeeJ's post about the sincere war stories thing. I just voted. For Cavx nonetheless. Afterwards I went back to the vote thread to check who was winning and scooled down and saw it. My bad people. Good debate although.

DeeJ, your correct with the "Dying is easy, Comedy is harder". But, I would watch a war movie before a comedy, maybe comedy right after but war first erryday. Or a mix of the two, True genius right there.

  • 05.18.2012 3:03 PM PDT


Posted by: Helveck
For the record, if you consider "big mommas house" a comedy, then your comedy standards are terribly low.
Fun fact: That's why I chose it as an example.

[Edited on 05.18.2012 3:06 PM PDT]

  • 05.18.2012 3:06 PM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
  • user homepage:

Money, Money, Money, It's Loads of Money

Posted by: DeeJ
"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."


I can't be the only one who thought of Maxx Comedy...


Wait...

I can't be the only one who read Maxx Comedy??

  • 05.18.2012 3:09 PM PDT

  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • of 3