Joke or not? I'd bet on the latter.
Yeah, I've teased the idea for a while and what the hell... let's make it official today:

ddrspot.com presents:
Silent Hill 4: The Room Cover-Art Contest

What's this contest all about?
Here's the premise: Select any musical track from the soundtrack of Silent Hill 4: The Room. Create a mock-up CD cover artwork inspired by that song, as if you were creating the cover artwork for its CD single. Elements of Silent Hill 4: The Room must be incorporated into the artwork. You are allowed to manipulate images and screen captures from Silent Hill 4: The Room. You may also draw free-hand sketches of images/themes from the game and then scan and manipulate them digitally.

What's in it for you?
Win a Japanese Silent Hill 4: The Room promotional CD, autographed by Akira Yamaoka! Pics will be added later.

So what are the specific rules?
REQUIREMENTS: All digital entries must adhere to the following guidelines:

* Less than 1 MB in size
* GIF or JPEG format only
* Must not exceed 800 x 800 pixels

* Each entrant is allowed a maximum of 2 submissions. No more than 1 entrant per household/mailing address and 1 entrant cannot win twice.

* All entries must be e-mailed to ddrspot AT gmail DOT com. The deadline for all entries is 11:59 PM, April 30, 2005. You may either attach your image into an e-mail or provide a link to it online. Within the e-mail, please include the following:

- Name
- E-mail address (your e-mail will not be sold or solicited to other lists)
- Phone number (or any other alternate form of contact in case you must be notified about a prize)

* 2 submissions will be chosen as the co-winners of the Silent Hill 4 CD Giveaway. The staff of ddrspot will select 2 winners based on their own unique criteria.

* Staff members of ddrspot.com and their immediate families are not eligible for this contest.

Quick legal stuff to cover my backside
* ddrspot.com reserves the right to modify any rules and regulations throughout the duration of the contest. This is done to prevent any unforeseen exploitations of the rules from occurring. Any modifications will be marked with a notice that will be posted in silenthill. Otherwise, ddrspot.com will let the final decision stand. Judges are ultimately held responsible for their decisions. Entrants are held responsible for thoroughly reading and abiding to the entire contest rule list. Entering this event will act as an acceptance of the contest's rules.

In submitting an entry, the entrant allows ddrspot.com to potentially use the image in future publications and/or promotional literature. There will be no compensation, other than visual credit for the image.

Any and all questions, comments, and concerns regarding this contest can be sent to ddrspot AT gmail DOT com.

Why are we doing this now and not earlier?
Baby, that's life. Got caught up.