The Odds

Gamemaker Interview: bent-unbroken (Apollus Maven)

[bent-unbroken used to be TheOldKiwi. Questions posed by sticky_wikkit]

1. You've never hosted a Games before but you've entered plenty, so clearly you know your way around. What do you think makes a good competition? What makes a weak one?

I think one of the most important things about a good competition is variety. That could be the writers themselves, but also the material competitors are given to work with. That means balancing out action tasks with tasks that focus on character development or description or dialogue etc. Because I firmly believe that these competitions should be about writing (and victors should rise and fall based on the quality of their entries, not how many friends they have to vote for them etc), a contest with variety allows people to play on strengths but to also develop areas they may feel less confident in. After all, a good writer never shies away from a challenge! Good contests are also ones where there's lots of interaction between contestants and those involved. We're excited about this, and we want other people to be as well! You can make some really amazing friends in these kinds of competitions – I know that from experience! So I believe one thing that makes a good competition is when there's an environment that those relationships and camaraderie can develop in.

On the flip side, a weak contest (in my opinion) is one that relies on gimmicks and flashy bits to sell itself, and where mediocre writing is rewarded because it flatters or panders to what's popular (and this isn't just writing contests – Fifty Shades, anyone?). Sloppy Gamemaking can also really let contests down as well. Anyone can be a Gamemaker, but not everyone can be a good one. That means presenting contestants with a variety of challenges, thinking outside the square and above all, not ever letting public opinion or the opinion of others influence results instead of the quality of work submitted. Nothing will lose an audience (or the interest of competitors!) faster than a competition where it's obvious who will win at the outset!

2. Some of the newer competitors might not know this (and some of the older ones might not remember), but you were the DNA victor way back in the day. What do you think made Tommy and the way you wrote him good enough to win; what, in your opinion, is what makes the difference between a victor and the rest?

Well this is a dive back into the past...ah, the good old days! Nostalgia aside, I honestly think what made Tommy such a great character was that he was just so different to any other character I'd ever written, so I could really just have fun developing him as a character without any existing conditions. I've probably tended to write myself into other tributes etc, and Tommy was just so...not me, so it was a chance to get creative and explore a whole new personality. Also, as DNA went on, I really started to gain confidence in what I was writing, which helped to take my entries to new places, which was great for me as an author. It's really important to believe in what you write! If you doubt it, then it'll show, and your audience won't believe it either. Tommy and the entries I wrote for him really helped to boost my confidence in my writing ability. So, I guess that's my roundabout way of saying confidence is vital for a victor. There's also areas to consider like the preparedness to take risks and not play it safe – life isn't easy and people struggle and fail and overcome, and it's important to remember that when writing characters! Tommy was flawed as anything, and he had plenty of demons to overcome, and he was no knight in shining armour, that's for sure. I'd like to think that's at least one of the reasons people voted him to victory – because he was believable enough.

3. On top of that, you've also written a few things of your own, ranging from fanfic to poetry and even the odd short story. What's your favourite medium to write, and why?

I honestly have no particular preference. Some mediums lend themselves to circumstances or emotions better, so it depends how I'm feeling when I'm writing! I love writing songs or poems because it's a way of digging into an emotion and you can be creative in how you do so, but also more succinct and precise. However! Short stories are fun too, because you can explore themes and characters in a deeper way, that can be exciting and interesting as well. I've yet to finish a long form story though, so I can't comment there – although maybe one day I'll finish the two half done novels I've got tucked away in a folder somewhere and complete the arcs for those characters (and if anything will be rewarding, I'm betting that will be)!