The Village and Pillage update to Minecraft is going to add all-new features like giant pandas, new villagers, and crossbows. However, one new feature will depend on the outcome of a newly-announced contest. The Minecraft Cat Contest will give players a chance to have their real-life feline friend become one of the many new skins for the in-game cats. The contest is being done with the help of pixel artist Jasper Boestra, who will convert the lucky cat into a Minecraft skin.
The post announcing the Cat Contest explains just how to enter:
All you have to do to enter is take a photo or video of the cat you think deserves to be in Minecraft, then share it on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #Minecraftcatcontest.
Potential entrants have until November 12 to submit their selected cat. After the deadline passes, a community team will look through the entries the narrow it down to three finalists. From there voting on the finalists begins on November 16 (with details on how to vote being announced at the same time,) and the winner gets announced on November 19. The lucky winner will be immortalized in Minecraft “furever” as one of the new cat skins that will appear in the Village and Pillage update.
The official rules page for the Cat Contest describes just what the team is looking for in a new cat skin. The main judging criteria involves how unique the cat looks, whether it would be possible to render the cat into Minecraft, and how appealing the cat would be to other Minecraft players.
The cat skins in Minecraft already have an actual real-life cat among their numbers. The tuxedo cat (black with green eyes) skin is based off of Newton, a now-deceased cat formerly owned by Mojang employee Jeb.
Entries for the Minecraft Cat Contest are eligible from now until November 12.