Why Should You Vote In The ENnies?

Here are some thoughts on awards, and why I personally think you should vote for them. I was asked on Twitter why D&D needed to be nominated for an award, and whether it would affect its sales. So. When the ENnies judges evaluate products, one question they never ask themselves is "Will this nomination affect this product's sales?" They also never ask themselves "Does this company need an award?" What they ask is "Do we think this product is among the best in this category?" You may or may not agree with their conclusion (and that's OK - if everybody liked everything in the world exactly the same amount, it'd be a pretty dull world; plus the judges are elected, so there's a great opportunity to vote judges more to your liking next year! Or run yourself!), but that's how it comes about.

Here are some thoughts on awards, and why I personally think you should vote for them. I was asked on Twitter why D&D needed to be nominated for an award, and whether it would affect its sales. So. When the ENnies judges evaluate products, one question they never ask themselves is "Will this nomination affect this product's sales?" They also never ask themselves "Does this company need an award?" What they ask is "Do we think this product is among the best in this category?" You may or may not agree with their conclusion (and that's OK - if everybody liked everything in the world exactly the same amount, it'd be a pretty dull world; plus the judges are elected, so there's a great opportunity to vote judges more to your liking next year! Or run yourself!), but that's how it comes about.

Awards aren't about sales. They're about people. At least, these ones are; I can't speak for awards in general.

When I and Eric Noah started the ENnies 15 or so years ago, all we thought was "Wouldn't it be cool if the fans got together and congratulated some of the awesome stuff out there?" And so we organised a little process, and a whole bunch of companies participated, and we all had a blast just saying "Well done!" to some people who had produced some awesome stuff that year. That's still what it's about.

Companies get their sales-based rewards in the form of profit. Individual writers and artists get personal rewards in - amongst other ways, of course - the very pleasant form of being awarded and lauded in front of their peers. Fans give publishers money, sure. But in this case, they also get chance to congratulate the contributors to a product on a more direct, personal level. It makes people feel good.

And a room full of people feeling good, enjoying seeing their friends and peers being publicly lauded is a good thing, especially in this increasingly toxic internet environment. It's a couple of hours of sheer positivity.

So WotC or Paizo or any other company might or might not need an award; I honestly don't know. That's not the point though. Let's assume they don't. The people who worked on it and who are part of that company? They may well very much appreciate and enjoy an award. They may well get something positive out of fans saying "Hey, good work!" And let's face it, these days a lot of people are spending a lot of time saying exactly the opposite.

Awards are about people and community and positivity and a break from cynicism. Anyone who bangs on about sales is missing the point. And when you've seen a few people getting their first award, whether they work for a big company or are a one-person publisher, you know that it matters.

So go vote in the ENnies! Because even if you hate award ceremonies, or you don't think they matter, or you don't think anybody needs an award, or you only feel qualified to vote in one or two categories (you're definitely qualified to vote in the best cover art category - the ballots even link to the product pages) ... what you're actually doing is giving a little something positive to the people who worked on the games you love. It won't change their life, but it will make them smile. And that's why it's worth it.

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Janx

Hero
Makes sense. But it can change the creator's life.

I think another benefit to the designer/writer/artist is that if the game they worked on gets an award, they can put that on their resume. Or their boss will see, that project was well recognized, and give the creator more work.

I don't think the judges need to be thinking like that. Keep on just judging the work on its merit. That is what makes the side effect happen because the award is genuine and earned, so to speak.
 


aramis erak

Legend
I've voted in the ennies for years. It's not a quick process (15min typically over the last few years)... but it ain't hard. And, at least for "Best Cover Art", no one has any excuse because you can open the link in a new window/tab and check the covers online.
 

Zak S

Guest
If you like what someone does--especially if they're a scrappy indie publisher, the chance of getting more stuff like that increases if it wins awards.

The award itself may mean nothing but the words, like words on a resume, can open the door for more of that kind of thing.
 



Unikore

Villager
To be honest, I wanted to vote but when I saw the amount of voting to be done and the unconventional system (manually assign ranks) I closed the window.

Edit: I don't want to sound mean, just honest feedback.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Morrus

Well, that was fun
Staff member
To be honest, I wanted to vote but when I saw the amount of voting to be done and the unconventional system (manually assign ranks) I closed the window. Not in the mood, sorry.

You can vote for as many or as few categories as you wish. Just vote for one if you like!
 


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