Ha! I'm in, too.
-- o --
Kevin Kulp
Kevin "Piratecat" Kulp has been gaming for 27 years and has been an ENnies judge in 2001,
2005 and 2007. He has also been M.C. for the ENnie Awards Ceremonies in 2005, 2006 and
2007. A gamer since 1980, he first joined EN World while playtesting 3e D&D in 1999. He has
since helped run the site as an admin, staying highly active in community game days and
helping promote games ranging from D&D to Feng Shui, Call of Cthulhu, Dread and Paranoia.
In the real world Kevin is currently a video game designer working on Pixar games, as well as
a former expert on sleep, fatigue and alertness. In the past he has playtested, written or
edited several RPG products professionally, including Grim Tales, Skull & Bones, and the
psionic adventure Of Sound Mind. With a passion for gaming and a love of RPGs, Kevin looks
forward to culling through this year's products to find the best of the best.
2008 ENnies Judge Questionnaire
1. When did you join the RPG hobby and what inspired you to become involved and stay with it?
I started gaming in 1980 as part of our high school’s afterschool club that was run by a
Social Studies teacher. One of my friends told me, “You’ve got to come to this D&D club.
Mr. Lincoln has a ring that causes diarrhea!”
I had to find out what he meant.
I think the game got me right there. It still hasn’t let me go.
2. Since you joined the hobby, what roles have you played (e.g. vending, professional
writing and publishing, reviewing, convention organizing, homebrewing, playing, GMing,
etc.)?
For more than a decade I was very involved in the RPGA’s “Classics“ game modules, both as
an author and as a judge; I ran close to 200 RPGA games, and won “Best RPGA Judge” at
GenCon several times. More recently my focus has been on building relationships through EN
World game days and events. I also run my own campaign, and I host both small conventions
and local game days. I have served as an ENnies judge three times, most recently being this
past year. I’ve also been honored to act as M.C. at the ENnies awards ceremony for several
years running.
In past years I’ve been lucky enough to write and edit for several publishers, including Bad
Axe Games, Green Ronin, Sword & Sorcery and Fiery Dragon. My psionics module “Of Sound
Mind” was actually nominated for an ENnie at the time. It’s worth noting that this adventure
may be independently updated to 3.5 D&D and e-published by Fiery Dragon at some point in
2007, with no involvement by myself. Should this occur, and I be nominated as a judge, I
plan to recuse myself from judging any category it may appear in.
3. The ENnies require a major commitment of time and mental energy. What resources do
you bring that will help you discharge these responsibilities? Will your gaming group or other
individuals be assisting you?
As a former editor and proof-reader, I have experience in reading quickly and accurately. I
also have a proven system of evaluation and ranking that has served me well in past years
that I have judged. I read carefully, take copious notes, and playtest as needed.
4. What interests, experience and skills do you bring from outside the hobby that you
think will make you a more effective judge?
My full-time job is as a video game designer, and I have a background in writing, editing and
proofing. The combination of design skills and a literary background help me evaluate
candidates for writing, design and playability. I am lucky to be friends with talented artists
who also teach me what to look for when evaluating art and production values.
It’s not mandatory, but I think it’s very important for judges to have a vast knowledge of
games when evaluating books and products for the ENnies. Knowing what games have come
before, what games currently exist and how game mechanics interrelate has proven essential
to me when judging in the past.
5. What styles and genres of RPGs do you enjoy most? Are there any styles or genres
that you do not enjoy? Which games best exemplify what you like?
I prefer games which do not require constant cross-referencing of the rulebook once the
game rules are learned. Call of Cthulhu, Feng Shui, Paranoia, D&D, Mutants and
Masterminds… all these are examples of games which can be run without the GM ever having
to check the rules. When a game requires me to regularly and systematically cross-check
tables in a screen or rulebook, I tend to run it less often.
6. What system do you think is best designed? Is it the one you play most?
The question is, best designed for what? Dread (which won an ENnie in 2006) may be the
best designed horror game I’ve seen, because it’s the only horror game I know of whose
mechanics actually make the game scarier instead of distancing the players from the story.
In comparison, I have a deep and abiding love for D&D despite its relative complexity. D&D
does a wonderful job of recreating the type of fantasy campaign I wish to run, and so I’ve
been running it throughout all of its editions.
When evaluating games, the trick is to compare their design to their goals. Battletech or
Champions are never going to be rules-lite, and that’s a fine thing; they’re not trying to be,
and should be evaluated accordingly.
7. What games have you played in the past year? List up to 10 RPGs you have played the
most.
My bi-weekly game is a long-running D&D campaign. I love other systems, though, enough
that I throw my own mini-con for 50 or so people solely as an excuse to play all the games
we’d never normally find players for! In the past year I’ve played Mutants & Masterminds,
Time Master (using True 20 rules), Savage Worlds, Warhammer FRP, Dread, Call of Cthulhu
(classic BRP system), D&D, Paranoia (both 2nd edition and XP), and Feng Shui. I also have a
game of Esoterrorists planned, and with luck a game of Hollow Earth.
8. Briefly summarize the criteria you will use for judging products in the different
categories. How will you deal with comparing products of vastly disparate lengths, medium
(PDF vs. print), or mechanics to prose ratios? Will innovation and originality play a major
role?
I place high stock in good and interesting writing, and in effective editing. I have very little
tolerance for typos. A book should be able to communicate its theme or “mood” through both
words and art, and then succinctly lay out rules that make it fun and easy for players to sit
down and play. Many “indie” games are particularly effective at this.
What is a game trying to achieve? A 16 page pdf has different goals than an 800 page
campaign setting. Judge each one accordingly, and focus on the ultimate utility to a GM or
player. “How often will I want to use this book” is a fine question for helping evaluate an
entry. So is “does this art and cartography boost the product to new heights, or does it drag
it down?”
I tend to rate effective use of innovation and originality reasonably strongly. There are times
when a game simply uses an odd mechanic to be different, and that impresses me far less
than when a mechanic is elegantly and effectively integrated into the design. A good
example is the use of playing cards in Deadlands; they added to the game, they fit the
genre, and they simply made the game more fun.
9. How will you judge supplements or adventures for game systems whose core rules you
are unfamiliar with or you believe are badly designed? What about for systems that are out
of print?
Playtest! If something looks clunky or particularly impressive, it’s often worth getting friends
together to try it out. If a game can’t be evaluated without an out of print system, there’s
ebay or my local game store. Luckily, my library of older games is fairly extensive, so I
haven’t run into this problem very often.
10. How would you like to see the ENnies change (categories, policies, etc)? What should
remain inviolate?
Ironically, I think that electing qualified new judges every year– “fresh blood” – is very
important to making sure that the awards to not become entrenched in a small group’s
personal biases. I’m always amazed that so little politicking or bickering happens between
ENnie judges, and that’s largely due to a mature and effective judging and evaluation
system. Even with that, electing representatives each year with different experience can
only improve the process. For instance, Master of the Game’s blog this past year was a
fantastic tool for opening up the ENnies process to the RPG community.
Thanks very much for listening. Pay attention when ranking the potential judges, and help
make the awards process the best it possibly can be.
BONUS: (optional) If you were an RPG, what would it be, and would you play it?
I’d be
“Robogorilla versus the Vampirates of Ninjasaur Island,” a pulp mecha-horror action
game I’ll some day design, and I’d play myself
in a heartbeat.
