Branstorming for ENnies 2003 -- improvements, changes, etc

[EricNoah]

Here are the results from this year's ENnies awards: http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20404

Feel free to post comments about how things could be improved for next year.

 

[Vigilance]

Wow... looks like WOTC was pretty dominant this year.

Congrats to all the winners

 

[EricNoah]

Yep! Though to be fair, you have to know that they submitted products that didn't even make it into the final five or honorable mentions in two categories, so already there are some d20 publishers knockin' at the door.

As I mentioned over on the General thread, Russ and I fully anticipate a good many months of weighing various options for the future. We want to hear from publishers, but we really, really want to hear from fans. If it turns out the fans want something different than the publishers ... I think we owe it to the fans to try to do it their way. I have some opinions on how "everyone can win" the situation some have been concerned about re: WotC's participation, but I think I'll wait and see if that comes about naturally.

What was so gratifying at the ceremony was to see how excited the nominees and winners were. No one was acting like this was some lame joke award. So it has its miniscule bit of "clout" and ultimately whatever decisions are made by Russ and Peter and whoever else get to finally make the "buck stop there" will be geared toward making sure it stays both legit and credible. And fun!

 

[Vigilance]

Legitimacy

Well... as I see it there are a couple of issues involved. Judged strictly on the quality of the work, I think WOTC would win a heads up competition with any small publisher.

Wizards can afford the best art, the best layout people, the best writers, can afford any licensing property it wants, etc. Only one publisher could really compete with Wizards in any of these areas, and that publisher is White Wolf.

So, I think in a lot of categories Wizards would be the hands down favorite every year. There's no point in whining or trying to rig the game for the small 3rd party publishers. Its the difference between playing for the Yankees and playing for Royals.

That said, I think the Ennies should represent small companies too.

Just one writer's opinion

 

[Matbs]

Also, WotC products have a much wider circulation than products by any other company. Since most people probably were voting only for products they knew (I certainly did), this of course means a huge advantage for the books everybody owns (i.e. WotC products) when compared to books owned by fewer voters. As such, there is always the danger that it is not as much quality that is rewarded, but rather quanitiy, in the form of higher circulation.

 

[Ghostwind]

Another point has to do with name recognition. Any product put out by Wizards of the Coast will be more recognized by fans over that by a lesser known company. People, as a rule, tend to gravitate to the familiar. This gives Wizards an edge in the overall fan base. A consumer is more likely to buy or own one of their products over that belonging to something from, say Mystic Eye Games. This is nothing that can really be corrected unless a company has a huge advertsing budget and becomes very aggressive with it. Frankly, the smaller companies don't have that kind of money (yet). So while I feel the deck is stacked slightly in favor of Wizards, there is no way to compensate for this fairly without being unfair to Wizards. If something was developed that gave a spotlight on the "other" publishers that leveled the playing field, I'd be all for it. Perhaps the addition of a couple of categories such as "Best Independent d20 Publisher" or "Best Use of the Open Gaming License".

Just some random thoughts that immediately come to mind and probably not reasoned out well due to the early morning hour here.

 

[Umbran]

Also, WotC products have a much wider circulation than products by any other company. Since most people probably were voting only for products they knew (I certainly did

Matbs has a point here. Part of this could be handled by the voters. A simple voluntary guideline - if you don't know three or more of the products in a category, don't vote in that category. After all, it's supposed to be a vote for the best entrants, not "the best entrants I've seen"...

 

[annadobritt]

What I wonder is what the results would have been if Wizards wasn't listed?

Not trying to be controversial or anything, I hope you understand. Merely curious.

 

[Lady Dragon]

I for one own most of the products that were nominated and I agree with most of these choices.If these small companies don't want to compete with WoTC then they should get out of the game.

WoTC did not win in every category they only won where they deserved to. I would like to here the arguments of anyone who thinks that Manual of the planes,Oriental adventures and Call of Chtulhu are not the best in there perspective categories.

I also think that the D20 companies are getting better at what they do all the time and that next year they will win more awards.

I also think that just being nominated is a great honor for these companies and it shows excellence on their part.Its also great to here that WoTC actually appreciated winning the awards that they won and it wasn't just a joke.

I do think more catagories need to be added next year.Perhaps even getting as detailed as best new rule that is inside the book.

And they could break the adventure category up into large and small thus not comparing lets say WoTC's Queen of the spiders which is huge to say a 48 page adventure.Heck they could break up several of the catagories in this manner to thus give the lesser publishers a chance.

But I do think they WoTC entering the contest really legitimized the awards so now those that won can say I won over everyone not just non-WoTC/big companies. I bet Malhavoc,green Ronin and Sword and sorcery are very proud having won the awards that they won.

 

[Nightfall]

Oriental adventures ISN'T a setting. It's just a bunch of kung-fu style stuff mixed in with maybe a little flavor. I'm sorry but I don't see how THIS can win over a great product like the Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad. THAT, to me, was a great product. I could stomach it, if it was the FRCS. Everyone likes it, even the people that hate the Realms. But Oriental Adventures?! Please. Show me where you can get detailed descriptions of a countries laws and punishments? Or where you can find out the personality and the clashes that result even in the same country, in that book? I'm sorry but I don't buy it. Nor do I buy the fact that Hollowfaust lost out for best cover art. (I can stomach losing to Freeport.) I know it's subjective, but THAT was great piece of art. Dark, grim forboding and yet completely heroic. I'm sorry I just don't see it.