*The below section includes just a few interpretations and is meant to spark ideas, but feel free to get creative and weave your own interpretation into your story!

Dark Academia is an aesthetic and subculture concerned with higher education, the arts, and literature, or an idealized version thereof. The aesthetic centers on traditional educational clothing, interior design, activities such as writing and poetry, ancient art, and classic literature, as well as classical Greek and Collegiate Gothic architecture.

The subculture draws on idealized aesthetics of higher education and academia, often with books and libraries featuring prominently. Activities such as calligraphy, museum visits, libraries, coffee shops, and all-night studying sessions are common among proponents.

Seasonal imagery of autumn is also common. Imagery of Gothic and Collegiate Gothic architecture, candlelight, dark wooden furniture, and dense, cluttered rooms often occur. The subculture has been described as maximalist and nostalgic.

Here’s some plot ideas for inspiration:

The Haunted Library: A reclusive librarian guards a collection of ancient books rumored to hold occult secrets. When a curious student gains access to the forbidden texts, they unwittingly unleash dark forces that haunt the library and pose a grave danger.

The Mysterious Death: When a renowned professor is found dead under suspicious circumstances, a group of students takes it upon themselves to investigate. As they uncover clues and unravel the professor’s enigmatic past, they become entangled in a dangerous conspiracy that puts their own lives at risk.

The Cursed Artifact: A group of students stumbles upon a mysterious artifact hidden within the university’s archives, rumored to be cursed. As they investigate its origins and powers, they uncover a dark history of obsession, madness, and forbidden rituals that threaten to consume them.

• Entry MUST be submitted through the Google form provided- Access the form here. [ https://forms.gle/9NusV38T1YbiHEeZA 22 ]

• Entry MUST be at least 3 episodes long

• Entry MUST follow the theme of the contest: [Dark Academia] but is NOT limited to any specific genre

• Entry MUST include a “Gem Choice Menu” (preferably at the end of each episode) to receive gem prize (adding other gem choices are optional but NOT required)

• Entry MUST follow Episode content guidelines (Or be approved by Episode official team)

• Entry MUST be an original story exclusively for the contest

• Entries MUST have “DA:” in front of the title. (Example: DA: Academic Vampires)

  • Exception: If you are planning on entering both SC contest and DA contest, you do NOT have to put “DA:” in front of the title, you MUST, however, check the box “I’m entering the Summer Contest and Dark Academia Contest” on the submission form above!

• A panel of 5-10 judges will evaluate the first 3 episodes of each entry based on a specific rubric, contributing 100% towards determining the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

• Public voting will be conducted through a poll on this thread, though these results will not influence the contest winners. Public voting will be used to determine the popular vote. The winner of the popular vote will receive a shoutout on forums and instagram and a cover sticker png for popular vote winner.

1st Place:

• 546 gems spent on your story (Courtesy of @Episode_elaina, @r.lewis_writes ,@Pantherlilyart and @Naddywrites)

• Shoutout on Instagram and forums

• Cover sticker PNG (Dark Academia Community Contest Winner) (Courtesy of @Pantherlilyart)

• Advanced coded template (1) of your choice (Courtesy of @Pantherlilyart)

• Free art (Courtesy of @Naddywrites)

• A trailer or video edit (Courtesy of @Naddywrites)

2nd Place:

• 105 gems spent on your story (Courtesy of @Episode_elaina)

• Shoutout on Instagram and forums

• Cover sticker PNG (Dark Academia Community Contest Winner) (courtesy of @Pantherlilyart)

• Free art (Courtesy of @Naddywrites)

3rd Place:

• 66 gems spent on your story (Courtesy of @Episode_elaina)

• Shoutout on Instagram and forums

• Cover sticker PNG (Dark Academia Contest Winner) (courtesy of @Pantherlilyart)

You will have 12 weeks to complete the first 3 episodes of your entry.

Entries must be published no later than 11:59 pm Pacific Time on Saturday, August 29th, 2024 (EXTENDED). Please allow at least 3 business days for the review of backgrounds, overlays, and story cards

NO edits should be made (to episodes 1-3) after the deadline of the contest (to keep it 100% fair) HOWEVER, if you notice a mistake/typo/error etc. send us a DM and judges will NOT deduct any points for that error. Once winners are announced, you are free to make as many edits as you wish.

The template will be provided (no credit required) but feel free to create your own/ get creative with it and/or make changes to our template to match your story. You are strongly recommended to have this template in your story (all three episodes) so that judges are able to award you your gem prize if you win. We are lenient with this particular rule, but if you forget to add this one (or your own similar template), and you win, we will kindly ask you to add it at the end of each episode.

NOTE: ALL gem menus MUST meet the following criteria: MUST contain the following gem options in the menu: 17 Gems, 22 Gems, 28 Gems, 35 Gems (these are all already included in the template provided)

Choices will be included in the rubric for grading stories in this contest, BUT if you do not incorporate choices, it will not necessarily count against you. Using interactivity and choices properly in your story will gain you bonus points in grading, but there are other categories you can score bonus points in as well. So, if you don’t use choices, you can make up for it in other ways! In this contest, the goal is to offer freedom and creativity for authors to explore their narrative. We don’t want to punish anyone for not prioritizing choices in their storytelling. If you are looking to be featured by Episode, it is important to note that choices DO matter to them when choosing stories, so keep that in mind as well.

• Judges must be willing to read all contest entries and fill out the rubric

• Judges must have an instagram account

• Judges must have an episode forums account

• Judges must be knowledgeable on the contest rubric

Judges will start reviewing stories on the day after the deadline of the contest (August 11th, 2024). The judging period will last 4 weeks, but if we receive more entries than expected, we will need to extend it. We will make it clear on this thread that the judging period has been extended if that is the case.