Quote from: walkerp;221203Thanks for these updates, Zachary the First!  While I don't like the trend of what you are relaying to us, it's really cool to get an inside (albeir justifiably obfuscated) look at the process.  Keep fighting for the little guy!

Well, I don't want to sound like that--I'm going for quality--be it big or little guy, and equal recognition of the same.

Yeah, it kills me not to be able to say more, but I figure a murky update is better than none.

Soooo....still waiting for those final categories.  Huh. Wonder what's going on?

In the meantime, a very few minor category switches/adjustments look like they're going through.  Good news for a few of the products I was in favor of is looking a little more likely--I waiting to hear back from one person one category, another I'm waiting on a category to be released, and there are about two more that I don't have strong hopes for, but are possibilities.  I won't get 'em all in, but I think the final results will be a bit more representative of all the judges, myself included. Again, listen to me talk without saying anything.

I do want to say, however this works out, I'm proud to be part of a hobby that has so many wonderfully creative people.  And just because you didn't get 'em this year, doesn't mean you won't next year, if you honor me or whomever it is with the trust of evaluating your hard work.

Geez, I can't wait to discuss this all with you guys.....

Well, now we're waiting on 2 categories.  And I am so far going 1-for-4 on changes I wanted that I'd mentioned before.  There's one in particular I am not giving up on, however.  As we head into the week's end, this might go on for a bit.

Still batting only 1-for-4 at this late hour.

Christ, am I on that different a wavelength here?  I thought I had a pretty goddamn good idea of what constituted quality in a gaming product.

Thanks Zach. Greatly appreciated!

Zach,
Not meaning anything nasty but could it be that the other judges simply look and say "Sure, its good, but no one will vote for it. No one has even heard of it. It would be a waste to nominate it." I can see that logic very easily with a public voted award. I mean, really, why nominate something if there is similar quality (or even slightly lesser) products with bigger fan base? Yeah, helpful and good exposure but from a judges point of view, you are setting up categories for fans to vote for their fav games. So, nominate the game with 300K sales or the one with 300?

Just sayin' man,

Bill

Well, you know, I really think everyone wants to get it right.  And I'm cocksure enough that my default opinion is that I am right.  That makes it tough sometimes, especially when my convictions are really, really strong.

We'll see.  I think this will end up being a pretty good year for small press.  There will be some definite surprises.

As for me, its once more into the breach--I have one or two things I don't feel like conceding yet.  We have 6 remaining issues/confirmations, and voting should be done tonight.  Nominees go live on Tuesday (unless they push it back).

EDIT:  Looks like they might go Thursday instead.  They need a few days on the technical side of things, I think.

Done and done, I think.

Noms are released Thursday.  I think publishers who got a nod will be notified just ahead of that.

I'll say it again:  this is gonna be an interesting year!

The wait is killing me!  

Is there only one category for Podcasts/E-zines and Websites?

There is only the one Best Podcast/FanSite (to include E-zines) category this year.  That was the call the ENnies folks made.  One of the categories was lacking in enough entries to make it a category on its own--well, it could have been, but some of it would have been lame, to be honest.

The combined category was tougher, make no mistake, and it really was down to the wire, as much as any category we had.

So the awards nominations will be out tomorrow, and before the discussion, storm, and flaming starts, I wanted to put a few things out there:

1) I expect the ENnies announcement will come out sometime over the course of the day tomorrow. I will be at work until about 6:30 Eastern time, then I need to spend some time with the kids, etc. I will be online tomorrow night, and will peruse all the forums, boards, announcements, flame wars, and rants at that time. If you see a discussion you feel could use my input, leave a comment, PM, or shoot me an email! Heck, if you have a question, let me know! I'm all about being as accessible as possible!

2) Some of the judges are not comfortable facing the onslaught of commentary and unfortunate nastiness that generally seem to accompany the announcement of, well, anything in our hobby. That is their call. I'm willing to discuss anything under the sun, but please keep in mind that I need to respect the other judges' privacy (so know, I can't tell you what their vote sheet looked like, numbers 1 through 5). If they want to share, they'll share. I'll discuss as far as the nice ENnies folks will allow, and if I'm elected again next year, will push to make that discussion go even further.

3) Please don't ask me to say anything really not nice about a product. I get it--you'll be less than happy with some of the nominees or folks who missed the cut. Hey, I've got products I liked that missed out, too. I'm just asking you to remember whatever you or I think of a product, that's someone's baby. And as fairly and impartially as it needs to be judged for the awards, I'm not going to go off on how much I hated Game X or Podcast Y.

4) Stand by for more commentary as reactions for the awards nominations and reactions to the same unfold. And, as I said, if you see something I don't, keep me posted! Again, I aim to be as public and accessible as possible--that's what you guys elected me on, and that's what you're gonna get.

Quote from: Zachary The First;2236152) Some of the judges are not comfortable facing the onslaught of commentary and unfortunate nastiness that generally seem to accompany the announcement of, well, anything in our hobby. That is their call.

To my mind, some transparency and communication is a fundamental part of being an ENnie judge (one you are doing extremely well).  If they aren't up to sharing their decision-making process, then they shouldn't be judges.  It also makes me suspicious that they aren't confident in the validity of their own choices.  I'm hoping we can find out later which judges did not do a decent job of communication so we can not vote for them.

Kvetching aside, I'm looking forward to seeing some action!  

Thanks again, Zachary.

And they're out.

Notable locals: Roma Imperious and 2 Fisted Tales.

Other stuff I'm "thumbs up" on:
World on Fire, City of Brass, Pathfinder 1 & 8.

Links, please.

I can tell you what's not winning an ENnie for best website and that is the ENnies website.  Wow is that ever a mess both front and back side.  Come one people, at least make it simple!

Quote from: walkerp;223819Links, please.

First page of nominees:
http://www.ennieawards.com/08/2008noms-1.html

(publishers aren't out yet, so the meat really starts on page 2):
http://www.ennieawards.com/08/2008noms-2.html


Flyer with all the nominees:
http://www.ennieawards.com/08/08noms.pdf