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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fusangite" data-source="post: 3339226" data-attributes="member: 7240">What is your opinion on materials produced for OOP games?Given that some of my favourite games fall into this category, I am, if anything especially friendly to such materials. I think for us soon-to-be middle-aged gamers, nostalgia is a big part of the gaming experience. How would you evaluate material for systems in which you have zero experience?As I mentioned in some of my earlier answers, imagination, in very practical terms, is the most important attribute a judge can have. Fortunately, if the panel looks anything like last year’s we will have a collegial group of judges who will comprise a huge collective knowledge pool. I would probably turn first to my very experienced group of fellow gamers in Vancouver and Toronto to speak with someone who is used to the system (and hopefully borrow their core rules books) in question to help me get the hang of it. But let me be blunt: here is what I will not do: (a) make uninformed guesses (b) make additional purchases.What if any of those systems are highly complex?Well, then I will have to work a bit harder.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.Games with a long history are usually successful because they have a solid, relatively stable core of concepts and mechanics. I think immediately of Call of Cthulhu.If you do not like a particular system, how will you evaluate supplements/adventures/whatever submitted for that system?It would depend on why I did not like the system. If a system was simply not to my tastes (e.g. had a lot of mechanics whereby players interacted with story unmediated by their characters), I would put aside my own personal gaming tastes and evaluate how well the product served the needs, preferences and priorities of people who have these different tastes. However, if a system was just a fundamentally broken or bad system, I would evaluate the product based, in part, on whether it was able to rise above the poor system or, better still, incorporate some local fixed for the problems of the system.Do you think there can be a good adventure for a bad system?Yes. I have played them. Let’s face it: AD&D, the first game for many of us, is not, by present-day criteria, a good system. It was baroque, inconsistent and almost never fully adhered-to by its DMs and yet, most of my memories of great experiences with published adventures are of that game. What barriers are you anticipating in play testing submissions? Are you thinking ahead to come up with contingencies?I think you are underestimating just how many submissions judges receive. It is impossible to systematically play test the products submitted. Now, that’s not to say I will not play test some of them but I think any judge candidate who claims he or she is going to have a chance to play test everything probably has not had the experience of either being or, as in my case, being the roommate of, an ENnies judge. I hope to play test the candidates for “best rules” and “best game” but outside of those categories, the vast majority of products will be untested.What do you consider your strong point(s) as a judge?I would say my top four strong points as a judge are as follows: (a) Comparatively, I do not have much in the way of ties to the gaming industry as either a designer or as a consumer. I do a lot of gaming but it has been a long time since I was a big buyer of setting books, adventures, etc. I think that it is important to have at least one judge who can bring a fresh eye to the bewildering world of today’s gaming market and ask some of the questions that occur to people when they take a fresh look at something. Also, I think this means that I will not be bringing any preconceptions about designers either from personal interactions or from (b) Over the past 20 years since my favourite system went out of print, I have worked with a few fellow GMs to create home brewed game systems and other materials that I think stand up well to many of the products in the marketplace today. As a result, I think I have a pretty good handle on the process of designing systems; also, because I play test these new systems with my gaming group, I have a lot of experience thinking through and foreseeing possible flaws in a system and correcting them quickly. I think this also gives me a unique and useful perspective in knowing what elements of game systems and documentation are essential and which are flashy things put into a product to attract consumers at first glance.(c) Probably more so than any other judge candidate, I have extensive experience serving on the boards of non-profit organizations. Most recently, I have served on the board of a major non-profit advocacy group tasked with evaluating a series of voting systems to assist a government commission studying them. So I have recent and germane experience of how to work with a panel of people with differing opinions to evaluate collectively a set of real-world game systems. My experience as a chairperson, minute-taker and facilitator at dozens of meetings both in person and online in a variety of organizations I think uniquely situates me to continue the process I have been working on as an ENnies volunteer for the past two years: that of making the awards process more transparent, professional, open and systematic. (d) Imagination… not really much to say here: as I have said in some earlier answers, I think imagination is the most important attribute in a judge. I consider myself to be a pretty imaginative guy, enabling me to put myself in the shoes of players and GMs who have different priorities, tastes and play styles than my own.Weak point(s)?Obviously, a number of my strengths cut both ways. Not having too many ties to the industry may give me a fresh perspective but it will also mean that I will be spending more time than many other judges getting caught up on developments and standards that have developed in the industry. Similarly, my tendency to create small compact systems for home use may hurt me when it comes to big crunchy new systems because obviously, my own thinking about design has diverged from these designers’ thought and it will take some extra effort to get into that head space. What one characteristic as a judge do you bring to the table that differentiates you from the other potential judges?I think that my unique perspectives on what system means and the idiosyncratic ways that I have theorized about game design (and been able, as a result, to create some unique and enjoyable experiences for my players) are just that. For instance, having helped to develop a unique school of gaming, metatextual gaming (which I use for about 1/3 of the games I run), which I explain in this thread: <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=68315" target="_blank">http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=68315</a>, I think that I do bring sophisticated, unique and original ideas and ways of thinking to the table.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?A few things come to mind:(a) As I said above, my non-profit experience and governance advocacy work make me a strong candidate for a judge spot.(b) I also think that my professional work as a marker of undergraduate essays means that I already have a disciplined, systematic and thorough routine of checking and evaluating written material. (c) I’m also a really good party host. Actually that doesn’t relate to the ENnies at all except that I pledge, if elected, to host my own hospitality suite for Gen Con this year.How important a factor is artwork (cover, illustrations, cartography) in your overall impression of judging products?I will have to work hard to remind myself that this is an important part of the product on which I am required to render an opinion. Frankly, I tend not to notice visual things much, either in real life or in gaming.</blockquote>

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