"Finish" is the official CS:GO term for a skin: as defined by counter-strike.net, it "can be applied to a weapon, which will have a variety of appearances from factory new to battle-worn." Finishes can be anything from solid colors to literal flames, and if you come up with a cool new idea, Valve might want to give you a big fat payday.

Announced today, the $1 Million Dreams and Nightmares Content Contest offers 10 cash prizes of $100,000 each for "an original, shippable, dream-themed weapon finish" for CS:GO. The rules are detailed here, but the basics are simple: you can go solo or in a team, your entry must be completely original, and all you need to participate is a valid Steam account with at least $5 in recorded purchases.

"We started the workshop on Steam about 10 years ago with the goal of creating a centralized hub for community-created content," said Steam's CEO, David Harris. Since then, over 5 million content creators have contributed and published over 20 million new items for various games on Steam for millions of gamers worldwide to purchase. And as anyone who plays these games, including CS players, know, many of the most iconic in-game items, maps, and more are created by members of the community. The Dreams & Nightmares Content Contest is designed to further support this community.

For those who are artistically inclined but have no experience in sexing up digital firearms, the Dreams and Nightmares contest page includes a guide to creating and submitting finishes and all sorts of both raw and applied as skins for inspiration images are included. There is also a FAQ covering more detailed questions: by entering the contest, Valve is granted a non-exclusive license to use the work in CS:GO, but all ownership rights remain with the entrant), and the winner will be chosen by the CS:GO development team.

The Dreams and Nightmares CS:GO Art Contest begins today.