Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Ah, summer. The lazy days, the warm breezes, the gigantic storm clouds, rain showers and lightning storms ravaging the local area. You know, I think I’d be better off staying inside. But that’s alright, because the Portal 2 Summer Mapping Initiative winners have been announced! Or rather, one winner and two plucky runner ups have been chosen from the 280 entries into the grand map-making competition for the well-received physics-bending puzzler. Who’s it going to be? Drumroll, please…

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On Friday we gave you guys the chance to win a mammoth stash of StarCraft 2 merchandise, including the above canvas artwork of Arcturus Mengsk. We asked you to describe, in 50 words or less, what you’d craft a star into, and why. And boy, did you ever respond. If I read one more answer relating to Dyson spheres I think I’m going to turn into a Dyson sphere.

Read the best answers and find out who our winner is after the jump. Good Luck Have Fun!
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Adrian Hon, ex-Perplex City, recently dropped me a line to tell me about the things he’s been up to since leaving Mind Candy. And one of them is an interesting opportunity for the more would-be-designers (i.e. the too many) in the RPS audience. Basically, Cancer Research are running a competition to design an Alternate Reality Game which will be used to raise awareness and funds for the charity. The best idea will recieve £1300 to develop the game, while being mentored along the way. What are they looking for? To quote from Let’s Change the Game‘s website

Remember that one book you read when you were young that completely changed your life? That’s what we want this game to be for everyone who plays it – an experience they will never forget. An experience that makes them see the effect cancer has on us all, and how we can help fight against it together.

In other words, a interesting opportunity to make a serious game with a purpose. The winning entry will be chosen by a panel of industry sorts, and the winner will have access to Cancer Research’s full resources (stores, ads, mailouts to 20 million people…). As Adrian put it, “It’s a great chance for aspiring designers to gain experience on a really significant game, and it’s an experiment to see if games and ARGs can effect real change.” First round 500 word entries need to be in by November 16th and all the details you’ll need can be found on the website.