I was about to do that - I was just polishing it off when I noticed the new condition. Oh well, good thing I enjoy writing (even though I kind of suck at it :D).

Not bad, not bad at all. As specified earlier, changes are allowed until the voting starts, and voting isn't until February, so if you feel there's something that could be made better, feel free to do so.

Okay, here is my entry. This story is true.

When I was a little girl, my family didn't have a videogame system or a computer. The kids next door, however, had a ton of games on their Mac. I practically moved to live there. My first game love was Manhole, a children's game from Broderbund in the style of Myst (but, you know, with grayscale graphics and no puzzles). It was a simple thing, but something about it fired up my imagination like no other. I played Manhole many times over until the neighbour kid realized it's not cool to play with girls, and I was banished from their Macintosh (as well as their house).

"Playing videogames" got a whole different meaning for me after that. I built my own computer from cardboard boxes and designed a whole line of games for it. If I had a friend over to "play videogames", I gave her a stack of floppy discs (also made from cardboard), each one with the name of the game written on it. Then I hid inside the cardboard computer and waited for my friend to slid a disc through a hole ("disc drive"), and started the game. Each game consisted of a stack of drawings, each one with a different scene from the game. The games were controlled by sticking fingers trough holes on each side of the screen, so I could see even from inside the box which way the player wanted to move. Then I'd just swap the appropriate drawing on the "screen". Sometimes my friend had to yell commands like "Okay, I'm gonna kill the dragon with the sword" and I'd swap the dragon drawing with a picture of a treasure. I had a memory game, a puzzle game, word games, and many different adventures. Although my hardware (cardware?) had certain limitations, unlike the neighbor’s grayscale Mac it could display as many colors as a box of crayons. As a downside it was a bit temperamental. If you weren’t able to recognize what the pictures on screen were supposed to be, it would call you a dummy.

A couple of weeks ago I was cleaning up, and found a cardboard floppy disc with "Manhoul 2" written on it with wonky letters.

So, about a year ago I was babysitting my niece, and I showed her my DS to keep her occupied for a while. It turned out she absolutely fell in love with it, and plays with it every time we meet. Once when she told how much she'd like to have her own DS, I told her about the cardboard computer I made when I was her age. The next time we met, she proudly showed me a cardboard DS she'd made, complete with a cardboard stylus and all.

I wonder if I could play my Manhoul 2 on it.

Dang, so I wasn't the only one playing with cardboard PCs! I made one with my friend when I was about 6. We had a really hard time trying to remember the QWERTY layout when drawing the keyboard. We then spent many a night sitting around it in said friend's attic and 'playing'. Afterwards I believe was the time I've gotten my PSX and that's an entirely different story...

Darn, you got me reminiscing now.

Alright, so I wrote one just now... I may return to edit it when I have more time, but hopefully it's passable.
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Her puffy tail danced rhythmically behind her as she leapt from branch to branch. In her little paws was a piece of wood that served her as a staff – the last line of defense between her and the beasties of the wilderness.

Following the spritely squirrel intensely was a young mouse that she had saved from an angry hawk not too long ago, unfortunately not nearly in time to save his father who had perished defending his boy. That little mouse had been by her side ever since.

The two soon approached a clearing. Tumbling into the soft grass below, the pair carefully surveyed their surroundings.

‘I don’t like the looks of this,’ the squirrel uttered softly. ‘It’s just too quiet. Ready yourself boy, I think we’re in for some trouble!’

As soon as the last couple of words left her mouth, the ground shook furiously, jolting and unbalancing the surprised squirrel. The ground before them erupted into a storm of grass and dirt. For a moment the world seemed to be covered in a veil, but as the dust settled the little squirrel realized what she now faced. With a loud and terrifying squeak, the large mole sent shivers down her spine – freezing her in her tracks.

Drool dripped down the monster’s mouth, and when it opened, even more seemed to gush out. It spoke. ‘Ahh… I thought I smelled something… delicious.’ The thing laughed, spraying slime in every direction. ‘Tell me, are you fools searching for the sceptre as well? A hamster already came looking for it, but he too, stepped into my lair… and now...’ it pointed to its round belly, and laughed once again.

The squirrel grasped onto her staff tightly, and quickly advanced to try to tackle the giant mole. Her sidekick ran close behind her, his sharp teeth showing. The mole braced itself for the impending attack. As she came within arm’s reach of the beast, the thing lunged at her. Acting almost on instinct, she pounded the staff hard into the ground and used it to vault over the great mole. The squirrel then proceeded assault it while it was still disoriented, smacking it continually with her staff. It cried in agony, and slowly turned to face her. Unfortunately for her, she could not break her momentum in time and allowed herself to be grabbed by the mighty creature. It laughed, encasing her in goo. Unless she acted fast she was to suffer the same fate as the hamster, but struggling led nowhere, and she was running out of time.

The mouse, seizing this moment, leapt up at the monster and sank his teeth completely into its neck. Completely taken by surprise, it dropped the squirrel, and shook the mouse off of its shoulder. However, the damage had been done – it shrieked and finally collapsed.

Poof! The body exploded into dust, leaving behind some supplies that no doubt once belonged to the poor hamster. There was no use letting the stuff go to waste, so the squirrel scooped up what she could – a healing potion, a pair of boots, and some gold coins. The two looked at each other and smiled.

Their joy was short-lived, however. The ground once again trembled, the earth itself seem to be collapsing. The mole was digging too close to the surface, it seemed. Most of the ground before them had already given way, leaving only sparse patches behind. The adventurers ran as fast as they could, jumping from platform to platform, each of which sank into the abyss shortly after from the increased weight shifting upon them.

Just then – tragedy struck. The mouse, being less agile than the squirrel, missed a step and fell into the depths along with the piece of earth he was stepping on.

‘Mouuuuuusey!’ The squirrel yelled in horror, but there was nothing she could do. The only reasonable course of action was to keep going, and hope the little guy somehow made it. A tear left her eye, only to be carried away by the wind.

Just keep running, come on! She told herself. Just keep ru-

*PAUSE*

‘Did you say something, mom?’ The boy shouted to the other room.

‘I said it’s time for dinner, honey!’ A gentle voice floated in from the kitchen. ‘Play your little game after, okay?’

‘Fiiiiine,’ he replied, half in protest. He put down the controller and slowly mustered the strength to stand from his chair. He stretched, and finally walked toward the door. ‘Comin’ mom!’

On the screen was a squirrel frozen in time. She stood on a small patch of grass which seemed to be sinking down into the void, but she was poised to jump. Her face looked determined, composed, and fearless. Her eyes however, adorned with a few blue pixels, told a different story…

hahah i'm using minecraft too, only ingame...

Because this disappeared off the first page for many of you - thereby lessening the chance of me reading what awesomeness you may write - I'm bumping it.

Bumping for the sake of it being an awesome competition.

A bump. Not because I'm expecting anything new soon, but because it may get the attention of someone who hasn't yet taken notice of the competition - and I want to know what kind of wicked ideas they may get.

Please read the entirety of the OP if you haven't already.

Here's my entry. It's a bit amateurish, and not really finished yet, but I think it will make do. Sorry for the length, you can tl;dr all you want. Enjoy.

Note: the full story has 16594 characters, so it's far too long, but I just can't shorten it now that I wrote it in at least a manageable chunk. I will just post it in two/three pieces, and if I'm disqualified, so be it. (and to tell you the truth, it would have to be at least three times longer to be fully completed)
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1.

It wasn't even that big of a sword...


Please stop kicking me, the blue clouds aren't red yet...


Wait...

I slowly stand up, trying not to cough too hard and with too much bile. I still have my dignity. Sometimes.
"Are we there yet?" I said.
"Well, Yan, finally! I could have sworn I was growing old from looking at you snore."
It was the priest, Mela. What a stupid name she had. Pretty face though, with long, brown hair. And none too experienced, too. Just... perfect.
"It's not my fault you have ears and eyes. Blame your parents. Now, where are we?"
"Some sort of a dungeon, by the smell of it." She said, sniffing the air in mid sentence.
"Your perception is superb. By the Gods, an actual dungeon. How original." It wasn't, really. Half of the Nations economy was dungeon raiding based, the other half building dungeons. One could say we were in a depression, and mines were the norm.
"What's the last thing you remember?" she asked.
"Not liking you. Then, a fart joke. No, it was the other way round. You didn't laugh one bit at my epic flatulence expression. I didn't like that. I put my heart and...er...soul into that joke."
"You're a bard, and all you ever do is make fart jokes. I wanted an original ballad, something to clear my mind. Wait... Griffin was there. And so was Aaron. Were we eating dinner?"
I remembered now. Yes, we were eating dinner. Some kind of soup with mushrooms. Mushrooms... "I think I know what's going on. We were high, and now we're low. Underground. It's as low as you can get. And prisoners, probably." Up to this point, I was looking around for my gear, but found only empty space with a few lit torches and all kinds of dirt. We were in a small room, with no obvious doors leading out.
Mela was starting to get nervous. "I don't like this place. It feels like it's full of dead spirits. Do you..." she hesitated "Do you think we are all prisoners here, locked up separately, or are we the last ones left?"
I tried to calm her. "You're thinking too fast. We're trapped, that's for sure, but what happened to our companions is just wild speculation. Before we blacked out, assuming you did too, they could have had the chance to flee, or were never taken in the first place. One thing is certain: We're not dead, not yet anyway, and maybe that's how our jailers are trying to keep it. Now to think, who would like to have us kept in the first place. Who hates us..."
"Half the girls from Fairlance region?" Oh, the wit this girl possesses!
"No, it was half last month, I reckon. Now it's no less than three quarters. I..." Then I realised something. "But enough about me, let's talk about you. Seen any elves lately?"
"They are real! I told you a thousand times, they came to me, and it was them that thought me the final healing rituals. And don't you start mocking them again!"
I wasn't about to. "Look behind you." She did, and was quite taken aback by the sight. Oh bloody hell, she screamed and jumped some distance back, with me in the way. What got her so exited? It was a stupid elf.

2.

"Are you sure it's not a song of the Brother and sister? The dialect might be foreign to me, but the general flow of text is the same. And if it is the song, then at least we know they might be friendly."
"No, it can't be. It's crazy to think otherwise. These things don't just happen to be written on a moldy old wall in the middle of a room in a dark and damp underground vault where you wake up from inexplicably loosing consciousness while peacefully eating soup in a tavern and minding your own business, and I certainly wouldn't give two shits if it was! Now if one old paladin would... kindly... try to stay focused to the task of finding a way out of this hellhole, we can set the world straight, kill those responsible, and find a nice retirement home for the likes of you. Comprende?"
"Insufferable!" Shouted Aaron.
"You called?" I replied. It was a shame we didn't have a painter with us. The look on Aaron's face after Griffin's rant was worth a king's ransom. All that kindly bearded charm usually present was replaced with shock and red faced rage, also usually present when Griffin was near. I turned my head to Griffin "Is this nice old man disturbing you, mighty Warrior? Should we call for the the city guard, or a priest? Oh look, we have one present. Tell me, kind lady, is there a remedy for pathological fear of our most distinguished generation?"
She was not in the mood: "That's his way of saying it's nice to see you're both all right. We were just..."
"Who the fuck is that?" said Griffin, half shouting and pointing at the elf.
"Allow me to introduce myself." Our new companion spoke, "My name is Fif, servant to our master, and keeper of these halls."
"You call these halls?" Aaron asked, a bit grimly "It's a rats breeding ground. Not to mention their latrine." Aaron usually didn't talk like that, but obviously he was still mad from the jab from The Griff.
"Our halls are in a state of disrepair, and to be completely honest, were never the sight of the great halls of your lords. But we make do."
"I've got a couple of questions." said Griffin, "First, who. Second, where. Third, why, and fourth..." he suddenly made a fist, and was about to punch Fif, and he would have succeeded to, if it wasn't for that meddling kid, Mela. She jumped in the way just in time, and caught Griffin off balance. They both tumbled to the side, awkwardly throwing insults at each other while struggling to get up. That reminded me of an anecdote when she did a similar thing to me ten minutes ago, and almost broke my arm. She said she was sorry, that she was frightened by the sudden appearance of the elf, but now I see she just likes to jump at men. Ah, they grow up so fast.
"Dammit girl, do you know I can crush you with..."
"Are you insane??!! Punching The first peaceful elf you ever meet? No wonder you are banished from every village you come across. He's here to help us, to guide us out of here. Now stop being such an ASSHOLE..." I whistled in admiration "AND CALM DOWN!"
"Right, sorry." Griffin apologising? What planet are we on exactly? "But I don't trust him."
"He's right." And now Aaron agreeing with Griffin?? Stab me. "You said he can guide us out of here. How do we know that to be truthful, Mela? He can very well take us even deeper into this dungeon, and to who knows where..."
"I... I just know. Trust me, okay?"
"Well, I can't. Not unless the elf can distinguish us with with an explanation or two."
Suddenly, Fif made a gesture of disagreement "That is quite impossible. I can guide you on the right path, but to tell you anything relevant, I cannot. I am forbidden."
"By who?" Asked Aaron.
"The Master."
I took the bait "No, Fif, I told you no such thing. Go ahead, tell them everything."
They were all less than amused.

3.

"Is it just me," asked Griffin, "or does everybody have the feeling that this situation can't get more absurd? Here we are, down to our basic clothes, without food, equipment, weapons, probably being led astray by a mythological ancient creature you can only see on tapestries and painted on tavern doors for good luck,..."
"Oh shut up." Responded Mela, "They were once there for me, I'm sure they will do the same now. Otherwise, why bother."
Griffin continued: "Ah, I see, so they once already abducted you, put you in an underground lair, and though you a spell or two? Couldn't they, I don't know, wrote you a letter or something? I don't see how this is necessary."
It was Aaron's turn: "Look, you two, I'm sure that's all well and good, but it won't help us in any way right now. Let's just stick to the task at hand, and we can theorise later. First thing's first: We must stick together, and use our abilities to the maximum at a given situation. Yan, please look for traps."
"Sure, no problem, but this task would be easier if Fif would actually walk in front of us and, you know, guide us, and not walk behind us as if he himself doesn't know if and where the traps are."
Fif opened his mouth again, which he rarely did: "I can assure you, I will not simply tell you where to go, but merely be your guide in the form of advice and lore, if the situation demands it."
Gods, what a monotone voice! I'd rather risk a fatal trap than listen to his "Lore". Good thing he's mostly silent. And these passages! They stretch on for miles. No more than three people can walk side by side on them, but their height can stretch to the combined height of ten full grown men. Was this build for giants? Thin giants? Tall spaghetti men? I'm hungry.
"Hey Griff, now that you don't have your axe with you, I can basically kick your ass easily, right? Like you once said, all my might is in my axe."
"No, I said my axe is as mighty as me, and that we make a great pair. And I have no doubts that I could quickly defeat you, axe or not."
"Heh," chuckled Mela, "Do you think, with my superior power of jumping into people, you would be a mach for me? You think you could kick my ass, Yan?"
I responded "Oh no, I would never kick your ass, that's out of the question."
"Really?" She asked, with surprised admiration of my new found gentleman ways.
"But I would spank it, definitely"
"Really?" Now she sounded less impressed.

I agree it would be difficult to shorten the story while keeping all details, though it may be possible to cut larger portions and keep the overall story. Or just submit part of it. It reminds me of entering the final area of Baldur's Gate (I haven't reached the underdark in the sequel yet). On the other hand, I'm not sure where the game is, it really sounds a lot like your standard fantasy fare to me (even if it knocks on the fourth wall at times, not breaking it).

I really enjoy reading these stories, and would love to read more. Especially RaggieRags' story made me smile. It's not me you're trying to impress though, it's whoever we can get to vote next month.

Half the month is gone and there aren't even enough entries to give out all prizes. What's with you people?

Saw the thread just then. Working on something now. Great comp btw.

Just getting this up in the general conciousness again. You have less than two weeks - until the end of January - to submit and do final edits to your stories. And just a tip: better be a day or two early than a few minutes late.