Congratulations to 2018's ENnie Award Winners!

Last night, at the Union Station in Indianapolis, the 2018 Gen Con EN World Awards winners were announced in a glittering ceremony, hosted by Andy Hopp, with guest presenters Stacy Dellorfano (ConTessa), BJ Hensley (Lone Wolf Development), Mark Morrison (Campaign Coins), and Amanda Valentine (Masks, Bubblegumshoe)! Congratulations go to this year's group of ENnie-winning writers, artists, designers, and more!

[video=youtube;_UiAhyIBK9c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UiAhyIBK9c[/video]​

 

[Morrus]

BJ works at Lone WOLF development; "Wolf" not "World"

Actually, it said "Wold", which is even worse. Damn you, autocorrect! That's not even a word!

 

[Zadmar]

I'd like to say a big thank you to the organisers! I watched the live stream, and was very excited when I won a Silver ENnie for Saga of the Goblin Horde I know there are veteran game designers who pick up loads of awards, but this was the first product I've self-published on DTRPG, and the award really helps draw attention to my work (I've seen a significant increase in downloads since the nomination).

 

[Traveller]

Actually, it said "Wold", which is even worse. Damn you, autocorrect! That's not even a word!

"Wold is an Old English term for a forest or an area of woodland on high ground" - so funnily enough actually keeping with in the genre ;-)

 

[VengerSatanis]

Congratulations to my main man Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design! Awesome job, hoss... thanks for making my products better. Let's kick ass another 3 years!

 

[Mistwell]

This is a really interesting list of winners this year. I have some stuff I may need to check out further.

 

[Zak S]

OSR annihilated this year!

And Harlem Unbound, which was awesome!

As for sales:

Yes sir there is absolutely a sales bump.

Jacob Hurst reported orders doubling now that Hot Springs Island won best adventure, and over at LotFP it's insane.

And, of course, if you voted for us--thank you!

 

[ajevans]

Congratulations to all the winners.

There is however one product that stands out from the rest and makes me scratch my chin.

Zweihander, best game? Better than Blades in the Dark, Delta Green, and Red Markets? Ditto for best product.

I own all of those products, all of which are good products, but feel the buzz on the latter 3 has been far greater than Zweihander, where most of the buzz seems to come from the author himself.

Maybe the buzz is all in forums I don't see??

 

[Zak S]

Congratulations to all the winners.

There is however one product that stands out from the rest and makes me scratch my chin.

Zweihander, best game? Better than Blades in the Dark, Delta Green, and Red Markets? Ditto for best product.

I've seen lots of people who like post-Forge games talk up Blades and Red Markets--though often while saying they regret they can't find anyone to play with, while I've seen way more discussion of people actually using Zweihander.

Many indie games are disproportionately discussed online because they emerged from online discussion scenes whereas Zweihander's fanbase is anyone who liked old Warhammer and just wanted it cleaned up a little and modernized--a way bigger group.

 

[ajevans]

I've seen lots of people who like post-Forge games talk up Blades and Red Markets--though often while saying they regret they can't find anyone to play with, while I've seen way more discussion of people actually using Zweihander.

Many indie games are disproportionately discussed online because they emerged from online discussion scenes whereas Zweihander's fanbase is anyone who liked old Warhammer and just wanted it cleaned up a little and modernized--a way bigger group.

Entirely feasible - we largely operate in echo chambers.

 

[Pauper]

Chaosium and Arc Dream Publishing cleaned up last night.

Chaosium is a perennial ENnie winner -- even in 2015, when WotC was cleaning up awards for releasing 5E, Chaosium still garnered a Gold and Silver.

And Arc Dream will be back next year, if my first couple of perusals of the Delta Green Handler's Guide is any indication.

Awards (these ones at least) aren't about moving product.

They may not be *about* moving product, but as Zak S. points out, they do help move product, which isn't a bad thing for products that deserve the attention. It does point out, though, that a curated list of nominees is likely more effective than a fan-generated list, as the fans will go for what's ubiquitous (see the guy asking for why Starfinder didn't win more awards), thus shining a spotlight on products that are already well-known rather than highlighting the 'hidden gems' that help make the RPG hobby as vibrant as it is.

Not saying that the ENnies have to go hipster, but they work better as hipster awards than as mainstream awards, I think.

--
Pauper