Just some tips that I think comprise some of the things the "Winning Spell" should have. I'm giving these tips because I most likely won't be in good enough health to submit an entry myself so these tips will do two things:
These tips will name the steps to making a "Complete Spell"...
&
As an ex dev myself, having run many community contests on UO, these are some of the things I would look for when choosing a Contest Winner (which I've done in the past) for a creativity contest... (keep in mind not being on the internal team I can't name specifically what they'll be looking for in a winner, but I have a few general ideas).
1. Make a "Complete Spell" . This means... write your own code (XML) , make your own Graphics using the Particle Cauldron (If you suck at using it like I do start practicing now, you have Half a Month to figure it out). Granted many people out there don't have the technical knowledge to write their own code for a spell and Stardock knows this. I can't say for certain that it will be a coding genius that ends up winning, but....I'm sure it will help and asking someone else to do the code for you would mean they'll want a cut of your prize and I'm also not sure on what rules Stardock may have on having multiple people work on the same entry.
2. Do more than just a few lines of a new spell description. I.E. make a Complete Spell. Here's an example of what NOT to do to expect to win:
Ice Blast:
Ice Blast showers your foes with shards of sharp ice.
Done!!! Canz I haz prizezez nowz?
...lol. That won't cut it people 
3. Try to come up with something Unique, don't make a spell based on a existing spell. Be Creative and Imaginative. Don't be afraid to do something Different. If it's something no-one has seen before that will be a big plus.
4. Make Sure the spell is Balanced, Unless.... it's supposed to be Un-Balanced. If it's a world ending/game breaking spell that does something super massive it should be limited to the end game (like the Spell of Mastery) or it should be Super Rare &/OR Expensive.
5. Add some Custom Content if you can. If you're handy at adding things like skins or new weapons or textures, now might be a good time to use them in the new spell if you can and Stardock doesn't say not to. It doesn't say anywhere in the rules the entry can't require a download. Keep in mind that could change though, since I don't see any "Rules" posted (might want to post some rules Island Dog ).
Edit: I found the rules Island Dog, how come there aren't any rules about people working together?
I hope that helps a few people out. I'm sure we're going to see a TON of cool spells getting entered in the next few weeks. I only wish I felt good enough to be able to take part my-self. Attention Dragonlance Team Members, just because your leader is sick doesn't mean you get to sit around. I expect one of you to step up and "bring home the gold" for the team hehe j/k guys.
Good Luck Everyone!!!!!
~Raven
Note to Scott and Brad (and Derek?) , if you guys want a "Impartial Judge" from within the community to help out just drop me a line. Even being sick I manage to check my forum PM's and my Yahoo and Skype Messages (Boogie and Frogboy have my Skype contact) every couple of days. Also, as some other posts have mentioned above, what are the chances some of the non-winning spells might make it into the game as well? Even if a spell doesn't "Win", it could be considered a "Consolation Prize" (not to mention a great honor) by the other entrants just to see their spell in game .
Cross posted from: https://forums.elementalgame.com/400121
Not Directly Contest Related:
In a way I can agree with my friend Mandelik as he's seen the same thing most of us old-timers here have seen. Even the "Official Spell Wishlist" Frogboy posted the other day isn't the first of it's kind. A couple months before launch Frogboy made almost that exact same post asking for spells and spell ideas. I remember because I made two entries my-self. There was also another community spell list floating around here somewhere. There has been No Shortage of spells offered up or pointed at that are in other games. There were/are At Least 900/1000 spells in those lists. How many of those were looked at for implementation? I know from getting lucky enough to talk with a few of the guys on the dev team that ALL of those spells were at the very least read by a member of the Dev Team, if not by Brad or Scott themselves, so...the devs DO pay attention to our suggestions and have indeed made many of them a reality in game.
I can also see the community frustration too and it's not unfounded. As cool as the guys and gals on the dev team are, they're only human, and they're limited on time, money, and have yet to learn the full capabilities of what the engine can do. Up until recently, if I had to go from a purely developmental view, I'd say the engine is Just Now starting to mature, even a little. Not to be harsh on the engine, as it's a good engine and a Lot of Love has been put into it, but the reason we haven't seen so many of our favorite fantasy staples that are par for the course in this kind of a game is because the devs have had to go to extreme lengths to learn How to make the engine do what it is they want it to do. Anyone who's done any serious modding here over the last few months can tell you as much. Getting the engine to do even the simplest of things like adjust certain stats based on weapons or skills or items and have them grow per level is either far harder than it should be, or flat out impossible without having access to and knowing how to use all the internal resources us modders simply don't have access to right now.
Should there have been a Lot more spells in Elemental at launch? Yes. Should those spells have been varied, different, and been far more impressive than what they generally were? Yes. Did the team have enough time to add them all and was the engine even capable then of doing those things? No, and that's not anyone's fault.
Now the team is not only asking for our help and input, but they're Also giving away cool shit too?!?!?! SWEET!!!!! If I wasn't sick and stuck in bed almost all day I'd be sitting right here in this chair working my ass off on some kick ass spells (even though I don't really need the Gfx card I could still put it in my wifes machine).
