This week we'll move to a single exploitable image. On March 8, Blizzard's co-founders got to play a little StarCraft II on the NASDAQ's big screen before ringing its closing bell, as part of the publisher's 20th anniversary celebration. But we all know they secretly run our financial system.
I don't have the best 'shop skills but I do know you could do a number of things with that, such as giving it a different background, putting another game on that screen, or swapping out Frank Pearce and Mike Morhaime for someone or something more hilarious. Whatever you choose to do, that and the funny are your core ingredients. The rest in this Iron Chef of image comedy is up to you.
This is your no-frills step-by-step procedure to participation in the Kotaku 'Shop Contest.
1. Create your 'Shop.
2. Upload it to a free image hosting service. I suggest imgur. It's stupid simple. No account is necessary.
3. This is very important: You must use the URL of the image itself. In imgur, this is the second URL it gives you after you upload the image. It's under "Direct Link (email & IM)"
4. At the beginning of the comments roll, click "Start a New Thread"
5. To the right of your name, select "Image."
6. Paste the imgur URL in the image URL field. It's the field that says "Image URL."
7. You can add editorial commentary if you want, but you can hit submit and your 'Shop entry will be uploaded to the comments.
You know the rules: The 20 best will get rounded up and published at the end of next Saturday. Meantime, I and the rest of the starred commentariat will approve and promote as many as we can so folks can see them and pass judgment.
As an added inducement, I want to let you know I do star commenters who send in worthy/funny submissions - whether or not they're chosen for the final 20. This may not happen immediately. I usually start rounding up a gallery by the middle of the week. This is my subjective call, but I do want to recognize as many contributors as possible, and show gratitude for making this such a popular feature on weekends.