Or art contests / design contests / any sort of contest where the reward is an opportunity to affect the world in some little way. I love UO, and getting to contribute a tiny little bit to the lore in the form of my Sudiva story was the most rewarding thing I've done in almost nine years of playing.
I understand the barriers to this sort of thing in terms of staff and time demands (having to read through a novel's worth of player fanfiction must be exhausting, let alone setting up player-made environments on every shard like the bank design contests), as well as controversy over winners and other issues that make it a formidable sort of thing to organise. So if these opportunities remain rare, that's okay. I just thought I'd mention it.
(I also never got around to publically thanking the organisers of the Sudiva competition, so - a very belated thank you to the judges, Mesanna, and the Stratics staff for the time and effort.
)
I understand the barriers to this sort of thing in terms of staff and time demands (having to read through a novel's worth of player fanfiction must be exhausting, let alone setting up player-made environments on every shard like the bank design contests), as well as controversy over winners and other issues that make it a formidable sort of thing to organise. So if these opportunities remain rare, that's okay. I just thought I'd mention it.
(I also never got around to publically thanking the organisers of the Sudiva competition, so - a very belated thank you to the judges, Mesanna, and the Stratics staff for the time and effort.
)