HomeSite News - The Results - HP Lovecraft Contest
H.P.Lovecraft Theme Week Contest
The results are in! After a fast paced week of voting and storytelling… We have winners!
Are you one of them? Join me after the jump and we will find out!
The results are in! After a fast paced week of voting and storytelling… We have winners!
Are you one of them? Join me after the jump and we will find out!
Host-man, Contest Admin
When we launched this contest, we really had no idea how well received it would be. It tested us because it was the first contest, and we needed to learn the ropes and ultimately, find the glitches in the system and work them out. Fortunately, this contest did reveal many glitches and we are quickly patching those holes and learning new methods of doing things for future contests.
Yes, I said future contests! This was just the first contest here at Eye of the Vortex. We wanted to keep the first one relatively small so that we could ensure that we can handle the larger contests, but now… its ‘GO! Time’. We have begun making contacts with some of the larger game manufacturers in the industry to see if they would be interested in providing prizes for our contests. I am happy to report that we have received positive feedback, and are moving forward with a few ideas.
With that said, please know that our next contest is going to be a good one. We have already received the prizes from Wizards of the Coast (who are not sponsoring the contest, simply giving EoV prizes to offer for the contest), and I must say… I am very jealous. They were very generous in their giving, and I am considering quitting this hosting gig so that I can try to win the prizes myself.
**COUGH Just kidding Boss COUGH**
We are still looking for a sponsor for the contest, so if you are interested in some face time, and would like to support our contest, then please contact our President, Chris Newton about it.
Let’s get in a commercial break and get rolling with the H.P. Lovecraft Contest results!
Welcome back!
We had a lot of people vote in order to enter the contest. It was by far the easier route of entry and 103 people proved that to be true. However, we had over 60 people take the time to tell us a little something about their thoughts of H.P. Lovecraftian influence. Let’s take a look at a few of those takes, remembering that they were asked to answer the following question:
"H.P. Lovecraft's work has a very influential legacy. Please make a short post explaining how Lovecraft has impacted you as a gamer."
**Begin recorded monologue, soft music plays in the background…**
With over 60 people leaving interesting comments about the influence of H.P. Lovecraft, I thought I would sit down and share some of the more touching stories, maybe a fluff entry or two, and the others. Let’s see what Uncle [Host] can pull up here **grabs his laptop with a pair of face tentacles**:
Ah, what a nice take, I appreciated that.
700 games?! Holy Mackerel!!
Oops! How did that one get in there? Heh heh…
1200+ board games!! Are you kidding me? Do you have a picture of your game room? This I’ve got to see!!!
You’re welcome chicot.
Yes sir, I did include all of these quotes in this article just so I could re-print this one-liner. *Big Tentacled Grin*Money in the bank right there.
Hint? What hint? I don’t get it… *Scratches head with a tentacle.* Nice try!
It never pays to be a skeptic.
Uh… thanks for the thoughtful comment.
My man Snark here giving me a much needed pick-me-up!
Ditto, I am really up now!
Deep…
Ah… err… delir.. what? Zym… who? Thanks for playing!!
The other side, not everyone is a Lovecraft-honk. InfinityMax proves that.
(Thanks GrantAZ, the check is in the mail *wink*)
Pimping ain’t easy you know…
All you AH noobs out there best get to readin’
**Note… Undead… skulk … is scared of skulking undead**
Do I comment after all of these? I’m getting a kink in my neck from reading…
**Mental Note: Don’t introduce AH to my two year old. **
Only a few more, I promise. Good stuff here!
Last entry submitted is…. **drum roll please**
**End of recorded monologue**
With that over with, we can now get to the real important part: Giving away free mone!
HOWEVER!!! Before we give away money, let’s pimp our sponsor one more time!
Don’t forget that for the rest of this month, Eye of the Vortex readers can save $5 off any purchase of $25 or more when they enter the promo code 'eyeofthevortexonline0430’.
Now let’s get to it! The prize winning contestants have been contacted already and informed that have won, however, since I am an evil mythos guy with long tentacles, I neglected to tell them what they won. They get to find out right now just like you do…
Our three door prize winners, each getting a $5 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com are:
yatsuatari
tempus42
palmer
Thanks for playing guys! Be sure to participate in our future contests and best of luck in those!
Next up: the real money! In third place… the winner of a $10 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com:
Deathblossom
In second place… the winner of a $25 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com:
tlnordin
Last but certainly not least, the grand prize winner, who will receive a $50 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com, is the wielder of the Sword of Dead Cat!
Djklaus
Congratulations to all who won prizes and thank you to all who entered and made this a successful contest.
**Editor’s Note** I knew who won the contest a few days before composing this article. As I began to find suitable quotes, I had to laugh because not only did Djklaus randomly win the contest, but he also had the funniest line in the entries. I couldn’t have planned that if I wanted too. Thanks for the laugh DJklaus.
Yes, I said future contests! This was just the first contest here at Eye of the Vortex. We wanted to keep the first one relatively small so that we could ensure that we can handle the larger contests, but now… its ‘GO! Time’. We have begun making contacts with some of the larger game manufacturers in the industry to see if they would be interested in providing prizes for our contests. I am happy to report that we have received positive feedback, and are moving forward with a few ideas.
With that said, please know that our next contest is going to be a good one. We have already received the prizes from Wizards of the Coast (who are not sponsoring the contest, simply giving EoV prizes to offer for the contest), and I must say… I am very jealous. They were very generous in their giving, and I am considering quitting this hosting gig so that I can try to win the prizes myself.
**COUGH Just kidding Boss COUGH**
We are still looking for a sponsor for the contest, so if you are interested in some face time, and would like to support our contest, then please contact our President, Chris Newton about it.
Let’s get in a commercial break and get rolling with the H.P. Lovecraft Contest results!
Welcome back!
We had a lot of people vote in order to enter the contest. It was by far the easier route of entry and 103 people proved that to be true. However, we had over 60 people take the time to tell us a little something about their thoughts of H.P. Lovecraftian influence. Let’s take a look at a few of those takes, remembering that they were asked to answer the following question:
"H.P. Lovecraft's work has a very influential legacy. Please make a short post explaining how Lovecraft has impacted you as a gamer."
**Begin recorded monologue, soft music plays in the background…**
Knight of Roses wrote:
Lovecraft has been very inspirational in building hidden secrets to the cosmos and secrets humanity was not mean to know into the fabric of many of my campaigns. Used with a light touch, implied references to the mythos and Lovecraftian horror always add an element of danger and otherness to a game.
Ah, what a nice take, I appreciated that.
DaJackel wrote:
Lovecraft was the reason I became a gamer. As a fan of Lovecraft, when I heard of Arkham Horror I just had to have it, and, from that my collection has now grown to over 700 games!
700 games?! Holy Mackerel!!
cbs42 wrote:
Thanks for the contest!
To be completely honest, it has not impacted my gaming. I respect the influence that Lovecraft has on his genre, but it's just not a genre that generally appeals to me. My only foray into horror gaming is my copy of Last Night on Earth. I've been vaguely tempted to try Arkham Horror on occasion, but the game suffers from one of my pet peeves -- game bit overload, with a corresponding impact on setup and teardown time. I'm sure I'll try it someday, and I may actually like it, but it's not high on my priority list right now.
To be completely honest, it has not impacted my gaming. I respect the influence that Lovecraft has on his genre, but it's just not a genre that generally appeals to me. My only foray into horror gaming is my copy of Last Night on Earth. I've been vaguely tempted to try Arkham Horror on occasion, but the game suffers from one of my pet peeves -- game bit overload, with a corresponding impact on setup and teardown time. I'm sure I'll try it someday, and I may actually like it, but it's not high on my priority list right now.
Oops! How did that one get in there? Heh heh…
tempus42 wrote:
I've been a Lovecraft fan since I read my first story ("The Dunwich Horror") sometime in high school (probably right around 1980 or so). I didn't really know anything about HPL at that point, but I wanted to know more, so when we had to choose an American author as a subject for a major term paper, I chose H. P. Lovecraft. (I even had to prove he was American to my teacher, who also apparently didn't know anything about him.)
I was also getting more and more serious about games of all types during that period, and the impact of the Cthulhu Mythos on gaming was immediately apparent. I had been playing Dungeons & Dragons, and when I discovered the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, it was an obvious next step. I've played (or attempted to play) dozens of different roleplaying games over the years, but Call of Cthulhu is the only one I will still occasionally play.
You don't have to look very hard to find HPL's influence in virtually all aspects of horror today. Many of my very favorite popular artists, from Stephen King to Metallica, have paid homage to Lovecraft. (I think King's "N.", a slightly modernized take on a classic Lovecraftian trope, is one of the most frightening stories I've read in recent memory.)
The amazing thing about HPL's works (the Cthulhu Mythos in particular) is that I think it's one of the very few themes that has crossed into every branch of gaming there is. There are Cthulhu-themed board games, roleplaying games, collectible card games, and even video games. (Miniature games might be a bit lacking, but I think there's even some Lovecraftian influence in something like Horror Clix.)
I have a fairly massive game collection including 1200+ board games and 600+ roleplaying game books, and I continue to buy nearly any item that carries the stamp of Lovecraft. And I know I'm not alone in this.
I was also getting more and more serious about games of all types during that period, and the impact of the Cthulhu Mythos on gaming was immediately apparent. I had been playing Dungeons & Dragons, and when I discovered the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, it was an obvious next step. I've played (or attempted to play) dozens of different roleplaying games over the years, but Call of Cthulhu is the only one I will still occasionally play.
You don't have to look very hard to find HPL's influence in virtually all aspects of horror today. Many of my very favorite popular artists, from Stephen King to Metallica, have paid homage to Lovecraft. (I think King's "N.", a slightly modernized take on a classic Lovecraftian trope, is one of the most frightening stories I've read in recent memory.)
The amazing thing about HPL's works (the Cthulhu Mythos in particular) is that I think it's one of the very few themes that has crossed into every branch of gaming there is. There are Cthulhu-themed board games, roleplaying games, collectible card games, and even video games. (Miniature games might be a bit lacking, but I think there's even some Lovecraftian influence in something like Horror Clix.)
I have a fairly massive game collection including 1200+ board games and 600+ roleplaying game books, and I continue to buy nearly any item that carries the stamp of Lovecraft. And I know I'm not alone in this.
1200+ board games!! Are you kidding me? Do you have a picture of your game room? This I’ve got to see!!!
chicot wrote:
Thanks for the contest.
I love games with themes and games based on his themes are just dripping with them where you can just close your eyes and submerge yourself in them. That's how the games should look like all the time, sit down, indulge and immerse yourself in what you're playing as if it was a live thing. I don't play games any more. I LIVE them!!!
I love games with themes and games based on his themes are just dripping with them where you can just close your eyes and submerge yourself in them. That's how the games should look like all the time, sit down, indulge and immerse yourself in what you're playing as if it was a live thing. I don't play games any more. I LIVE them!!!
You’re welcome chicot.
djklaus wrote:
Lovecraft impacted me - and all of us - by fleshing out the modern horror genre.
Because of him, the horror genre is no longer Bella Lugosi sneaking around a Transylvanian castle, but madness and paranormal and the occult; things much closer to our own world and our own fears.
You can't swing a dead cat in a boardgame store anymore without hitting a WWII game, and there are plenty of fantasy games to go around. But the world of Lovecraft is something completely unique; Detective pulp fiction, the occult, ancient worlds colliding with our own, etc.
Because of him, the horror genre is no longer Bella Lugosi sneaking around a Transylvanian castle, but madness and paranormal and the occult; things much closer to our own world and our own fears.
You can't swing a dead cat in a boardgame store anymore without hitting a WWII game, and there are plenty of fantasy games to go around. But the world of Lovecraft is something completely unique; Detective pulp fiction, the occult, ancient worlds colliding with our own, etc.
Yes sir, I did include all of these quotes in this article just so I could re-print this one-liner. *Big Tentacled Grin*Money in the bank right there.
Redgar wrote:
Nifty contest; thanks!
Three major ways. First, I had this excellent DM back in uni who liked Lovecraft. I remember this one time when my character (who had a tendency towards... fearless and brazen heroics) was exploring these catacombs (the rest of the party was busy doing something sensible). Things started normally enough (dusty room, couple of sarcophagi), but as I went on he started slowly introducing little bits that seemed out of place. Anyhow, to cut a long story short, my sense of unease ended up growing into a full-grown panic, and I ended up running out of the tombs away from... well, I don't actually know. There might have been absolutely nothing, and I still don't know whether he was only messing with me... or whether he really did have something unspeakable to ambush me if I persisted on my exploration.
Second, Munchkin Cthulu!
Third, and most recently, over Christmas I played Arkham Horror. It was a great social occasion with a few mad Brits/Yanks/Canucks/South Africans, all of us together running away from horrors to fearsome to contemplate. Good times all around! (As a matter of fact, if I am lucky enough to win a gift certificate, I might just use it towards picking up Arkham Horror + a couple of expansions... hint hint...
)
Three major ways. First, I had this excellent DM back in uni who liked Lovecraft. I remember this one time when my character (who had a tendency towards... fearless and brazen heroics) was exploring these catacombs (the rest of the party was busy doing something sensible). Things started normally enough (dusty room, couple of sarcophagi), but as I went on he started slowly introducing little bits that seemed out of place. Anyhow, to cut a long story short, my sense of unease ended up growing into a full-grown panic, and I ended up running out of the tombs away from... well, I don't actually know. There might have been absolutely nothing, and I still don't know whether he was only messing with me... or whether he really did have something unspeakable to ambush me if I persisted on my exploration.
Second, Munchkin Cthulu!
Third, and most recently, over Christmas I played Arkham Horror. It was a great social occasion with a few mad Brits/Yanks/Canucks/South Africans, all of us together running away from horrors to fearsome to contemplate. Good times all around! (As a matter of fact, if I am lucky enough to win a gift certificate, I might just use it towards picking up Arkham Horror + a couple of expansions... hint hint...
)Hint? What hint? I don’t get it… *Scratches head with a tentacle.* Nice try!
potubus1 wrote:
I was a very strict D&D'er for 5 years, almost never played other board/tabletop/roleplaying games. One day one of the members of our group introduced me to Arkham Horror. I was a bit skeptical at first, but once we started up I was hooked. Since then I have become very involved in Lovecraftian lore. I have read many of his books and play Arkham Horror and Call of Cthulhu every chance I get!
It never pays to be a skeptic.
tebald wrote:
Please enter me for this contest and Thank You for doing this
Uh… thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Snark wrote:
Well, not much impact up to now. With 100$ prize the impact would increase
My man Snark here giving me a much needed pick-me-up!
darkfox3 wrote:
:wowzers: OOH ME! ME! ME!
Would love to get Innsmouth to add to my base game.
Would love to get Innsmouth to add to my base game.
Ditto, I am really up now!
K_I_T wrote:
The Cthulhu Mythos has had an impact on me as a gamer in various roleplaying and board games.
Deep…
Titus Crow wrote:
Lovecraft gave me a deeper appreciation for the vague, quiescent, turbid degeneration more commonly referred to as boardgaming. As delirious as it may seem, I count many of the repulsive, pasty fiends that are its disciples as friends. Indeed, my own countenance has long since metamorphosed into the zymotic, sallow hue of an adherent of the aberrant.
Ah… err… delir.. what? Zym… who? Thanks for playing!!
InfinityMax wrote:
I don't really like Lovecraft. I liked Arhkam Horror pretty well, though, and I had a customer order a dice tower with a vaguely Lovecraft-ish theme to it, so Lovecraft has made me money. So that's nice.
The other side, not everyone is a Lovecraft-honk. InfinityMax proves that.
GrantAZ wrote:
I only know of Lovecraft because of the game Arkham Horror. Thanks to this contest I know a little more and will definitely pick up one of Lovecraft's books in the future.
(Thanks GrantAZ, the check is in the mail *wink*)
burchamj wrote:
So, i just started reading HP Lovecraft, ive read quite a bit. And I'd highly recommend the HP Lovecraft podcast at HPPodcraft.com.
Pimping ain’t easy you know…
stormbringergrey wrote:
Woot ... a Cthulhu contest.
@kripple1301 … gauging the complexity of Arkham Horror is tricky. The RPG like aspects of the game make it very accessible to non-gamers, even people that aren’t familiar with the mythos, HOWEVER, at least one person in the group will have to know the game mechanics really well to keep it moving for the rest of the players. For that one person, understanding the game backwards and forwards will require at least 3 reads of the rules and 2 or 3 solo games. The biggest barrier I have to bringing AH to the table isn’t its complexity, it’s the length. No matter how well you know the game, there’s no getting around the fact that it takes hours to finish.
I wrote a detailed description of my experience teaching AH to noobs here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/4469050#4469050
@kripple1301 … gauging the complexity of Arkham Horror is tricky. The RPG like aspects of the game make it very accessible to non-gamers, even people that aren’t familiar with the mythos, HOWEVER, at least one person in the group will have to know the game mechanics really well to keep it moving for the rest of the players. For that one person, understanding the game backwards and forwards will require at least 3 reads of the rules and 2 or 3 solo games. The biggest barrier I have to bringing AH to the table isn’t its complexity, it’s the length. No matter how well you know the game, there’s no getting around the fact that it takes hours to finish.
I wrote a detailed description of my experience teaching AH to noobs here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/4469050#4469050
All you AH noobs out there best get to readin’
UndeadViking wrote:
Thanks for the contest - now let me skulk around the boards for a bit and see what I can find...
**Note… Undead… skulk … is scared of skulking undead**
Strom wrote:
H.P Lovecraft's literary genius is as relevant today as when he created his stories back in Weird Tales in the 30's and continues to capture my imagination today in RPGs, boardgames, card games and comics. I've often joked that reading Mountains of Madness - an amazing story that will test your love for Lovecraft and his unique style - is worthy of putting on your resume. Lovecraft is a master horror writer - more games please! Read HPL!
Do I comment after all of these? I’m getting a kink in my neck from reading…
kripple1301 wrote:
@stormbringergrey
Thanks a lot. I read your post on BGG and it gave me hope that maybe I can convince my group to try Arkham Horror. However the time it takes to play this game might be a deal breaker since its hard to keep their attention for more than an hour and a half.
Thanks a lot. I read your post on BGG and it gave me hope that maybe I can convince my group to try Arkham Horror. However the time it takes to play this game might be a deal breaker since its hard to keep their attention for more than an hour and a half.
**Mental Note: Don’t introduce AH to my two year old. **
Emperors Grace wrote:
I'd say that he taught me how to properly do horror in RPG's. That the imagined (with a tense build) can be more horrific than the seen.
I'll also give recognition for the "Night Gaunts" being the only piece of poetry that disturbed my ability to sleep and for the Necronomican giving us the Evil Dead series by way of inspiration.
I'll also give recognition for the "Night Gaunts" being the only piece of poetry that disturbed my ability to sleep and for the Necronomican giving us the Evil Dead series by way of inspiration.
Only a few more, I promise. Good stuff here!
DS-00-0 FSD wrote:
I actually got into Lovecraft's works because of my gaming. I was play testing Horrorclix and know most of the horror movie genre characters but had no prior experience with Lovecraft's characters. In order to have a better insight to the characters, I started reading his works and really enjoy them.
So I guess you can chock up one new Lovecraft fan because of my gaming habit.
So I guess you can chock up one new Lovecraft fan because of my gaming habit.
Last entry submitted is…. **drum roll please**
bwingrave wrote:
Thanks for the cool contest!
**End of recorded monologue**
With that over with, we can now get to the real important part: Giving away free mone!
HOWEVER!!! Before we give away money, let’s pimp our sponsor one more time!
Don’t forget that for the rest of this month, Eye of the Vortex readers can save $5 off any purchase of $25 or more when they enter the promo code 'eyeofthevortexonline0430’.
Now let’s get to it! The prize winning contestants have been contacted already and informed that have won, however, since I am an evil mythos guy with long tentacles, I neglected to tell them what they won. They get to find out right now just like you do…
Our three door prize winners, each getting a $5 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com are:
yatsuatari
tempus42
palmer
Thanks for playing guys! Be sure to participate in our future contests and best of luck in those!
Next up: the real money! In third place… the winner of a $10 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com:
Deathblossom
In second place… the winner of a $25 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com:
tlnordin
Last but certainly not least, the grand prize winner, who will receive a $50 gift coupon at Boardgames4us.com, is the wielder of the Sword of Dead Cat!
Djklaus
Congratulations to all who won prizes and thank you to all who entered and made this a successful contest.
**Editor’s Note** I knew who won the contest a few days before composing this article. As I began to find suitable quotes, I had to laugh because not only did Djklaus randomly win the contest, but he also had the funniest line in the entries. I couldn’t have planned that if I wanted too. Thanks for the laugh DJklaus.
Host-man
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