Do you want to look at my zone?
- Yes! We are always looking for new talent. We are only interested
in zones with a medieval/fantasy setting however, so if you have
written about space aliens we won't be interested no matter how well
written it is. No modern references please!
Do I have to know how to code?
- No. Zones are written as text files in plain English. There is, however,
a certain amount of formatting you do need to be aware of, and you need
to know what flags are in which category. To simplify this for you and
for the coders, we ask you to download and use our free zone editor.
You can download Pquill here.
Can my idea be coded?
- Yes. Anything can be coded. Your only consideration as a writer is
to write brilliantly and be creative. Write what you want to see and
let the coder worry about coding it. The only time specials won't be
coded is if the coder decides a particularly complex special does not
enhance gameplay enough to warrant the time involved in coding it.
However, no amount of time is too much to spend on a very good special.
Don't try and make this decision yourself, you can't. Just write what
you'd like to have happen in plain English and let the programmer worry
about its implementation.
Where do I start?
- Start by sending a query letter to phoenix@terrabox.com .
Your query should give a brief outline of your zone, plot (if its a quest)
and anything you feel might make us interested in looking at it. We are
only interested in high quality writing, so please take some time and think
your ideas through before querying us. We are much more likely to be
interested in your zone if your query letter is well-written and your ideas
clearly organized than if your query contains misspellings and grammatical
errors.
Can I submit my zone elsewhere as well?
- If Phoenix accepts your zone, it becomes the property of Phoenix.
Zones are very rarely (as in never) installed in the exact form
in which they are submitted. There are always, at the very least,
some typos to be fixed and some sentences that need reconstruction.
Often the changes are broader than these - specials are modified
and/or added, plotlines revised, etc. Submitting your zone to
Phoenix is just the beginning of the writing process. The process
of editing, proofreading, editing, re-writing, re-editing, etc.,
is an intensive one. Our editors work on your zone to make it
compatible with the standards of Phoenix, often putting in as
much or more time than it took to write the original version. For
this reason, we definitely do not want to see the final version
of the zone turn up elsewhere. This is why we want you to know
from the outset that once we begin work on your zone, you retain
credit as the author, but the zone is the property of Phoenix.
This means that although every author is an individual and every
case is given individual consideration, we are under no obligation
to provide you with a copy of the zone as it appears on Phoenix.
A corollary to this caveat is that we are also under no obligation
to remove the zone at your request at any time in the future.
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