Origins Awards 2010 Nominations - Discuss!

[Ghostwind]

Erik-

I will say that we Academy jury members were saddened not to see Paizo submit Pathfinder and the Bestiary, but I understand your reasons.

 

[MerricB]

Thank you very much for explaining you reasons, Erik.

Cheers!

 

[Mark Plemmons]

That was surprising.

Nice to see Knights of the Dinner Table get a nomination.
As best "Game Acessory"...? That got a smile from us.

I guess it's the only category it could possibly fit in since the magazine category was dropped several years ago.

It's particularly nice this year, since it's KODT's 20th anniversary.

 

[jaerdaph]

Awards were handed out by fat stormtroopers and someone's poor bellydancer-dressed daughter.

Princess Leia: Aren't you a little too FAT to be a stormtrooper?

 

[Celebrim]

As an outsider to the area, I have to say that I was stuck by how strong the local board gaming community was, and how relatively weak the local role playing community was. I just don't think that there is the local passion necessary to hold a national convention that has relevance for RPG's in Columbus. Sad but true. Maybe there are some big organizations on the OSU campus that I'm missing, but for the size it is, it's just not as RPG friendly as I thought it would be. Origins still I understand a relatively important board gaming convention (at least, I know abunch of board gaming geeks that attend every year), at least for the USA were board gaming is still not back to the stature it held in the '50s. The name recognition is still there. I keep meaning to attend but RL seems to continually intervene.

As for awards being blazenly political and mired in corruption, it has happened to awards with much larger profiles than the Origin awards. I fear that sort of thing is inevitable. Awards kind go through cycles where they increase in relevance to the point that it really matters if you win, and then decrease in relevance because it does matter if you win and the purity of the award is ruined.

 

[Mr. Wilson]

It pains me to say I understand why the big RPG companies are backing out of Origins. Attendance has noticably declined over the past few years (I have gone to every Origins since 2004, minus last year because I went to my first Gen Con).

Honestly, I saw the writing on the wall when WoTC stopped coming. I hope it improves, because it is nice not having to drive/fly more than 30 minutes to get to a major event.

I hope the trend reverses itself, but I'm not so sure.

And Cro, I think the Central Ohio RPG community is pretty insular. Having lived in Central Ohio my whole life, I've only been part of one club, and that was in college.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

Well KenzerCo is a huge supporter of Origins. We haven't missed a show since 1993 and we'll be back this year.

I love GenCon but Origins has a special place in my heart. It's more centered on gaming IMO without all the distractions. And being in the same location for over 10 years gives it that old GenCon/Milwaukee feel.

I love it as an exhibitor. I love it as an attendee.

But we're located in the midwest so it's not a huge expense for us to attend and we always do well saleswise. I can understand why those companies on the west or east coast might have to choose one con or the other since they are so close together.

I'm just glad we haven't had to make such a decision.

Origins has consistently been one of the highlights of the year for me and has never failed to deliver. Sure attendance has dropped the last few years. Sales aren't what they were ten years ago.

But it's never been ALL about the sales to be honest.

We like showing up demoing product and hanging out with gamers who have supported us through out the year and bought or product.

Sort of our way of saying thanks.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

It's particularly nice this year, since it's KODT's 20th anniversary.

Hoody Hoo!! First round of drinks at the Bar on Two are on me.

 

[JLowder]

I just don't think that there is the local passion necessary to hold a national convention that has relevance for RPG's in Columbus.

Having a strong local base helps. However you can still draw attendees under the right circumstances. (Indianapolis is not all that far from Columbus, after all.) Origins is still a fun show, but it currently benefits from few of those circumstances.

Origins has always been known as a convention that is open to board gamers, wargamers, and minis gamers; that's always been part of its identity, something that used to make it somewhat distinct from Gen Con. But Gen Con grew to encompass those things--no surprise, as first TSR and then WotC more actively published card and board games. Now, with Gen Con being run by a company with no formal publisher affiliation, the con is even more flexible.

And the growth and strength of Gen Con is a real problem for Origins. It's so close on the map and on the calender that potential attendees--gamers, pros, companies--often have to select only one. It only takes a couple of companies selecting one show over the other (for whatever reason) to determine which show will attract the gamers and pros.

I attended Origins regularly for a number of years, but haven't gone lately because there are other shows (Gen Con, San Diego Comic Con) that are more important. As more and more publishers don't show up at Origins or send only skeleton crews, I can schedule fewer meetings and so have less of a reason to attend. I can also count on fewer impromptu meetings, which can often be more important than the scheduled meetings. I came up with the idea for Hobby Games: The 100 Best while at Origins and had several brief discussions with potential writers to see if they might participate, then spoke with Green Ronin about publishing the project. And it's good for the industry as a whole for people to actually meet each other and dispel some of the misperceptions that build up through e-communication--plus, it's a ball to hang out at Big Bar on Two and talk about sword-tossing in fantasy films with Erik Mona and other friends I rarely get to see.

The same dynamic applies to gamers, with official, company- or creator-run events in place of business meetings. As companies stop showing up, that starts a spiral. Fewer people attending means companies have less of a reason to set up booths and so fewer of your friends attend, which further erodes the attendance, which...

Wizard World Chicago--formerly the Chicago Comic Con--has had similar problems because of big comics shows in New York and San Diego and, yes, because of Gen Con. They're going to be hurt even more by C2E2, which in running (wisely) in April, not over the summer, and is doing a lot of things to actively counter mistakes Wizard World has made in recent years.

Origins could bounce back, but they need to take the C2E2 route and give some publishers a reason to return--or even just to send their top people. They need to figure out what they can do that Gen Con can't do well, what they can offer than Gen Con doesn't. Maybe they need to move the shows around every year, like they did in the past. They also have to figure out what has made the relationship between GAMA and some of the publishers so toxic and either work to solve the problems or find ways to work around those issues for the show.

That may not be possible. Some of the GAMA feuds with the bigger companies or individuals who are now important with bigger companies are long-standing and bitter. They also have some serious issues related to their identity as a publisher-run operation. (eg. Some years back I suggested that they run a more robust freelancer/creator track of programs, something Gen Con has rarely done well, but some of the GAMA board balked because they didn't like the idea of someone standing up in front of people at the show and suggesting ways to deal with companies--some of which were paying for booths at the show--who, say, offer unfair contracts or don't pay money owed.)

GAMA need to do the same thing with the awards--figure out what the goal should be and how to get there. They could make the awards better, but there are fundamental issues with the way GAMA is structured that make that very difficult to achieve. I think Paul Tevis and a lot of the board members now are sincerely interested in making improvements; I hope they succeed and bring the con and the awards back from the brink.

Cheers,
Jim Lowder

 

[Ghostwind]

Some years back I suggested that they run a more robust freelancer/creator track of programs, something Gen Con has rarely done well, but some of the GAMA board tended to balk because they didn't like the idea of someone standing up in front of people at the show and suggesting ways to deal with companies--some of which were paying for booths at the show--who, say, don't pay money owed or offer unfair contracts.

I remember that year very well. Man, did the caca hit the fan. I think Origins would really benefit from more freelancer seminars and such precisiely because it is so much smaller than Gen Con.