Silence is Golden

Okay here are the instructions I was given:

Steve,

Congratulations! You have been selected to advance to the next round of the Ultimate Gamer Test.

The Next Challenge:

Produce a 3 minute video in which you pitch your favorite game to a theoretical fellow gamer who has not played it before.

You must then post the video to a publicly accessible web site (like YouTube, etc.) and send a link to the video to UGT@wizards.com by 11:59 p.m. EDT, Sunday, July 8.

The videos will be judged on three criteria:
1. Engaging - does your video engage the viewer and make them want to keep watching?
2. Compelling - does your video make the viewer want to play your favorite game?
3. Overall Presentation - is the quality of your video good? Is it entertaining to watch?

Considerations when making the video:
* Your video must be P.G. No nudity, bad language or obscenity of any kind (we know, this was the first thing you thought of).
* Be creative. There are many ways to show off your favorite game.
* You must appear in your video.
* The video can be no longer than 3 minutes.
* Be sure that you post it to a publicly available web site (no password, etc.)

Five finalists will win a trip to Gen Con, Indianapolis from August 16 -19, with 4-day passes, airfare, and hotel paid for by Wizards of the Coast. In addition, the winner will receive a seat on the Gleemax Advisory Board as well as $1000 in Wizards product. The runner-up will also receive a seat on the Gleemax Advisory Board. See http://www.gleemax.com/articles/rules.html for full rules and details.

Win or not, I had an incredibly fun time doing this. Taking off on the "Be creative" phrase, I went and put together an olde-tyme, silent movie...complete with the music that sounds like it is coming from a tin can (or is that just my speakers?). Honestly, I don't know if that is what they are looking for or not, but I had fun and learned how to use the iMovie program that was hiding on my computer.

There is a lot more I would have like to do, but given the limitations on available equipment, time, and my lack of acting ability, I think it turned out alright...for what it is. Besides, fake-aging the movie covered up a lot of blurry and bumpy shots (VERY small camera...like cell phone small. Not exactly the best thing for a project like this.)

In any case, HERE IT IS!. It's about 8 MB in size, so if you are on a dial up, it might take awhile. Just remember, I got my education in Anthropology, not Cinematography!

So...honestly...does it make you interested in playing the game, or are you just left with: "That guy is an idiot..."?