Everyone knows awards are dumb and everyone knows they're useful.
In our world "award-winning stuffmaker" survives a little longer and gets a little more of what she or he wants done before going down than "random unrecognized schmuck" regardless of whether those awards work the way smart people think they should.
When working on RPL with me, Jez Gordon went monstrously above and beyond the call of duty. He had to do it slow and between real jobs and paying attention to his kids. He did it because he wanted to show people how well a little cottage-press D&D book could be graphic designed and because he figured if people could see it then one day we could make that level of awesome the new normal and then he and other people in the field could actually get paid what they deserved. For the first time ever we were going to design an RPG book so a real person can use it.
James, likewise, sent the whole first print run back because the paper felt too thin. The loss was not insignificant. But the idea was: if we do this right, it will show people what "done right" means.
Aside from whether you think Red & Pleasant Land deserves four Ennies (I hope you think it does, we worked very hard on it and are pretty sure we did some things nobody else ever has), it will probably help all of us us get out more cool RPG books in the future that have that level of take-time-off-your-day-job-to-work-on-it if RPL gets fabulous prizes.
If you liked RPL but you're on the fence about whether it's worth your 60 seconds to click the link and tell everyone you know who enjoyed it to do the same, I'd simply say:
In DIY D&D we are (when life permits) trying to change things a little--change the way game stuff looks and feels and runs and the number of ideas-per-square-inch people expect. The competition this year is fierce and everything we're up against is much much much more familiar to the people who go to Enworld and know what an Ennie is. The award is impressive and useful precisely to the degree of how unlikely it is that this little press goes up against the majors and wins. Clicking the little buttons helps.
Best Adventure
Best Setting
Best Writing
Product of the Year
Also, I suggest throwing in for Contessa for Best Blog--those girls get shit done.
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1 comment:
Even knowing that awards are dumb and that who wins an Ennie is only tangentially related to the game's quality (I'm pretty sure most of the votes that got my company our Silver was because people thought the name was funny), it's still kind of a thrill when you get it, especially when you submit the nomination knowing you're the underdog. I hope you get to experience it (and have already cast my votes to help make that happen)!
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