2007 Judge Selection

[Teflon Billy]

Questions

Do you plan on playtesting any of the material?

I have every year previous (as necessary and as time allows), i can;t see why that would change this year.

What prompted you to consider being a judge for the ENnies?

Force of habit

Seriously answer though: Love of the work. I've enjoyed the debate and the organization a lot in previous years, and look forward to it every year.

Would statements by those "in the industry" affect your opinions on a product?

I'm not sure I understand the question. Statements by most anyone could affect my opinion (my opinion is hardly set in stone), but I don't think Industry Pros would get any special consideration though.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Do you prefer Old World of Darkness or New World of Darkness?

OWD just becasue I had so much fun with it.

I realize that the new rules are better done, and that the old WoD setting didn;t make a lot of consistent sense...but damn I had a good time with it

Do you consider yourself a gamist, narrativist, or simulationist? (Fusangite already answered this one.)

If I recall correctly I am mostly Simulationist with a heavy dash of Gamist.

But honestly I've never had much truck with that GNS theory.

Will you be at Gen Con?

Come Hell or High Water

What about gaming appeals to you?

The Social aspect mostly. Close second is World Building.

The Tactical aspect of it takes the bronze

 

[Teflon Billy]

Your overall most memorable gaming purchase you made?

Probably the 1st Editon of GURPS. It was the frst functioning "Tool Kit" ruleset I had ever come across and I used it for everything for a lot of years.

Which one were you totally happy to plunk down money for.

D&D 3E.

We had pretty much whipped ourselves into a nostalgia-fueled frenzy in the year-long lead up to it's release.

Same deal with Mutants and Masterminds 1E. We had played the demo at Gen Con and then set about waiting, like, 6 months for the release.

 

[Teflon Billy]

What award given by past ENnies do you disagree with most? Why?

None. I've had a hand in all of them, and have been proud of them.

Have you ever been an ENnies judge before?

Yes. I am the prototype

For as long as the ENnies have been in existence, I've been there.

 

[Teflon Billy]

What is your opinion on materials produced for OOP games?

I have no "special" opinion on them that I am aware of.

How would you evaluate material for systems in which you have zero experience?

Try to get some experience with the system (however minimal). Barring that, try and track down the Core Rules (I'm guessing you are describing a situation with OOP material like you mentioned in the first sentence of your post) and take a look at them.

After over two decades of this, I'm pretty good at grasping rules.

I went out and bought a set of core rules for a supplement that was submitted a few years back. HERO maybe?

Anyway...do whatever I can to familiarize myself with it. A fairly "stock" answer, but the truth nonetheless.

What if any of those systems are highly complex? That is, the rulebooks are very dense and there may be many supplements. This can be the case for games with a long history, as in 15+ years.

Man, if I can successfully wade through Starfleet Battles' telephone book-sized rules compilations every few years for my buddy Fraser's yearly "weekend-long" games I'm not going to be fazed by RPG complexity

If you do not like a particular system, how will you evaluate supplements/adventures/whatever submitted for that system? Do you think there can be a good adventure for a bad system?

Absolutely. The most recent example of this kind of thing that pops to mind is the Gamma World Referee's Guide, which I thought was miles better than it's Core Rules (which, well, were not great).

What barriers are you anticipating in play testing submissions?

Time mostly. I have a gaming group that are pretty charged up this time of year to serve as my Guinea Pigs

Are you thinking ahead to come up with contingencies?

Not really. "Do my best to playtest as necessary" is about my whole plan. I have no plans to playtest every single item that comes through the door, and contingencies would be "over-planning" IMO.

 

[Teflon Billy]

What do you consider your strong point(s) as a judge? Weak point(s)?

Strong Point: My Certificate of Technical Communication. I went through a stint as a Manual Writer, and it has left me with a terrific ability to recognize well-written instructions and rules.

Weak Point: I tend to judge products wholistically, and sometimes small details can get overlooked in favor of a "Big Picture". I wish I had John Cooper's eye for detail...but I just don't.

What one characteristic as a judge do you bring to the table that differentiates you from the other potential judges?

7 years experience

What cultural interests do you have outside of gaming (i.e reading, comics, parenting, scuba diving, anything), that make you a better judge and why?

Well I doubt my background in Geek Culture are anything special compared to the other nominees...but they are there. I am something of a afficianado of lousy Chop-Socky, Spaghetti Western, Blaxploitation and Motorcycle Gang films of the 1970's (for whatever that's worth)

How important a factor is artwork (cover, illustrations, cartography) in your overall impression of judging products?

Big. I'm not one of those "Print it with no art, on newsprint and cut the price" types.

I like my books to be Nice Looking.

 

[hong]

I like my books to be Nice Looking.

Shameless hussy. I bet you say the same thing about your women.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Shameless hussy. I bet you say the same thing about your women.

Umm....yep. :\

 

[hong]

Well, it's not a BAD thing. I mean, sheesh!

 

[Mark Causey]

I know that I am a latecomer, but at the behest of a friend of mine I have entered my hat in the ring. I know that I don't show up on the list of nominees yet, but I am eligible and do have a second and hope to have that updated soon. I will post my bio that I submitted and try to answer the backlog of questions.

Hi! My name is Mark Causey. I've been roleplaying for about 11 years
now. I've bounced between traditional games (Marvel FASERIP, D&D (1st
Edition - 3.5), Vampire) to 'indie' games (Primetime Adventures, The
Shadow of Yesterday, Shab-al-Hiri Roach). I'm also into Japanese RPGs
(Tenra Bansho Zero, Alshard ff, Double X Cross).

I feel that I can provide a fresh mindset to the Awards. I will
honestly play any kind of RPG once I know what kind of fun the authors
want to provide (which is hard to ascertain, sometimes). I believe
that any game book or supplement, if written from the point of view of
the fun that occurred from actual play, can be a good purchase. My
philosophy on gaming is based on getting my group excited and having
fun, using the best system for the concept we want to play. I think I
can help award those authors and companies for their efforts based on
that philosophy.