Mark your calendars because Paranoid’s 15th anniversary is speeding towards us like a bullet train.

Friday, 19th June

aka 7 weeks today!

Have to be honest I woke up this morning in a bit of a panic because this suddenly felt a hell of a lot closer than yesterday. Only one day, but the change in the month was like eeeeeek!! Despite knowing about it since last month, it still feels like it has snuck up on me. Anyway! That means I don’t feel entirely ready to unveil everything, but I also don’t feel like I can wait any longer.

Calendar events have been made in game, and also on the website event calendar.

So what does ‘path to celebration mean?
This isn’t just any social party – this is a big birthday for Paranoid. It deserves to be marked in a special way, and that involves a countdown to the big day. So first off:

Paranoid’s Next Contest – A Housing build challenge

That’s right! We have had two transmog contests and now we’re going to have our very first housing contest! So how is that going to work exactly?

• MAX build size of one small room, and it could be smaller. Want to use a cupboard, or a corner of a room? Go for it. The max isn’t the requirement, it’s the limit. We don’t want to intrude too much on people’s designs for their home, or their decor budget.
• The THEME is “Friends and Family”
• How you interpret that is entirely up to you. Creativity is kinda the name of the game here (more on that in a moment).
• Submissions will be in two parts. Screenshots/video and also opening up your home for visitors. Unlike the previous transmog contests, entries aren’t anonymous.
• In order to submit your entry, you will be required to have a guild member account.
• PRIZES – the winner gets their choice of crafted decor (including any decor added in Midnight!!). Everyone who participates will get their entries showcased, and a badge added to their members website profile [I know I said this about the last transmog contest too, and I still haven’t coded it /cough. It’s coming I promise.]

The Judging
Unlike the previous transmog contests, where you guys voted/ranked entries based on what you liked the best, we’re taking a more… scientific? approach. I had some feedback that offering criteria would ease anxiety around voting, and I also think it could help with entries too. So we’ll be asking the guild to vote based on these criteria:

• How well the entry matches the theme
• Layout/lighting
• Unique kitbashing ideas (kitbashing is merging decor together to create the impression of items we don’t have. Common examples I’ve seen would be modern stoves, or computer/TV setups etc.)
• Storytelling

This is why there are two parts to submission. To get a real impression of a space, it’s best to visit (hence asking for you to allow visitors to your home during the voting period). However, it’s potentially more difficult to ‘set the scene’, or get across the storytelling, when the space is deserted. Screenshots/video will allow to ‘present as intended’ e.g. with your character sitting somewhere in the scene, performing some kind of emote, or having others in the scene with you. As I said the name of the game is creativity, it’s kinda inescapable through the very nature of housing because it’s so freeform.

Somebody did give feedback, through the feedback form, not to allow the use of addons (like Narcissus) to take screenshots so everyone is on an equal playing field. I debated over this because being fair is hugely important to me. However, I feel like it’s really a case of a ‘tool in a toolkit’, ‘arrow in a quiver’, type thing. Not something anyone has to use, but something that is available to everyone should they choose. I’m aware that some folks will then feel like they are pressured to use said tool, when they’d prefer not, and as always I am open for feedback on this. I don’t have that kind of mentality so I could be underestimating the impact. If I’ve made the wrong call then let me know.

Important Dates

• Deadline for Entries – Midnight Friday, June 5th (so 5 weeks today)
• Home permissions for the entry house must be set to allow visitors, when I check on Saturday 6th and reveal the entrants.
• Voting will be open from the time the entries are revealed, until Midnight Thursday, June 18th (the day before Paranoid turns 15).
• The winner will be revealed at the party in game! And subsequently announced on the website/forum/discord (and contacted if they can’t make the in game event).

How do I submit my entry?
The form for doing so will be going up closer to the deadline. We’ll be doing everything through the website, and that requires me to handcode the functionality and I haven’t finished that yet. However, you’ll be able to find everything very easily.

15th Anniversary Portal

A new permanent page on the website ^^ will function as your one-stop shop for the links/info for everything to do with the ‘path to celebration’ for the anniversary. When this page is updated we will try to let you know via discord/the forum/in game MotD but you can also just check back often.

How else can you be involved?

It wouldn’t be a path to celebration with just the one contest would it? No, when I said we’re making this special I really meant it!

• Awards – Part heartwarming acknowledgement, part light-hearted fun. No prizes as such, apart from badges unlocked on the member profile to mark the award. A form will go up where you can submit nominations for categories like:
  • Guild MVP – “Always There, Always Helpful”
  • Newcomer of the Year – “Most Active New Member”
  • Accidental Pull Specialist” – It wasn’t on purpose (probably)
  • “Map? Optional.” – Gets lost the most
  • “Transmog Is the True Endgame” – always looks fabulous
  • “Lag Is My Nemesis” – Defeated by forces beyond control
  • “The Unkillable” – Somehow survives everything
  • (categories aren’t finalized, and could be altered or added to before nominations go live)
• Paranoid Memories – submit screencaps, or anecdotal stories of fun/good vibes/heartwarming memories you’ve had with the guild. These will be locked for members only to view so there aren’t any privacy concerns. Intended to both celebrate the special ethos of our guild, marking 15 years of being a friendly/supportive place for folks with anxiety, and also to help preserve Paranoid’s history.
• Shorter, snappier contests using something like Worlds of Warcraft. The winner for this will be announced first at the in game party on the 19th (like with the housing contest winner), and there will be a small prize (TBD).
• Enter the Raffle. All active members of the guild will have a chance to enter (so if you can’t make the in game party you won’t lose out). We’ll be giving away something really cool (exact prize TBD) but we’ll be breaking open the piggy bank a little bit. As I said we want to make this birthday special.

What’s going to happen at the party?

The word ‘party’ does tend to put fear in people like us. I remember feeling quite sad, when someone said how anxious they had been before the Winter Veil social. So while, the actual party events haven’t been finalized (and are all subject to change), to ease any worries these are the sorts of activities we’ll be doing:

• Treasure hunt/Riddle solving/Scavenger hunt (I don’t quite know what to call it yet)
• Musical chairs
• Mount Mania
• We’ll be announcing the awards and the contest winners ^^
• Raffle will be held.

We hope this all sounds suitably exciting! Feel free to get in touch with any feedback/questions etc. As always we are here for you!

Let the path to celebration begin 🙂