And the Nominees Are . . .

This is the penultimate entry on the Big Box (I think) and the saga of the Origins Awards nominations. The other gentlemen of the jury got their votes in, and GAMA has officially announced the nominees. The full details are listed here, but here are the results of the category I helped put together:

Best Role-Playing Game Nominees: (Role-Playing College)
Ars Magica 5th Edition - Atlas Games
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Game - Wizards of the Coast
GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition - Steve Jackson Games
The Authority Roleplaying Game and Resource Book - Guardians of Order
World of Darkness Storytelling System Rulebook - White Wolf

Best Role-Playing Game Supplement Nominees: (Role-Playing College)
Dark Champions - Hero Games
Eberron Campaign Setting - Wizards of the Coast
GURPS Dragons - Steve Jackson Games
GURPS Fantasy - Steve Jackson Games
Unearthed Arcana - Wizards of the Coast
Vampire: The Requiem - White Wolf

I'm pleased - these are good games. All the results were in my top ten, though not all of them were in my top five. There are things I voted for that did not get on the list, because while I may have thought well of them, that opinion was not held by my fellows (or, more truthfully, they felt that other projects rated higher in their esteem). Most of the entries had at least three of the five jurors putting them in their top tens. All in all, its a pretty good representation of the industry as it stands in 2004.

What happens next? Well, there will be voting by the Academy membership, and announcement of the winners at the Origins convention in Columbus, Ohio. Nope, no open voting this year - its more like the Oscars than the People's Choice Awards. However, membership in the academy is free, with the following requirement - "Any person with a verifiable published credit for writing, design, sculpting, illustration, graphic design, editing, line development, or brand management in three or more gaming products is eligible for admission to the Academy. Admission to the Academy is free to those eligible." More information for those interested (and the preceding definition includes a number of the readers of this journal) can be found here.

Now, I'm a big believer that the horse race is as important as the result, and I hope to see reactions to the list - which game is the obvious favorite, which ones should not have made the list, and the obvious travesty of justice that left out "Fuzzy Bunnies: The Heckening"). And I think that's good. The day before the Oscars, everyone talks about you. The day after, you're the answer to a trivia question. Part of the reason for awards is recognition, but part is also promotional. So if you're nominated, go promote - if you didn't have a good game, you wouldn't have made it this far. It is an honor to just be nominated.

And I just saw on someone else's journal that they picked up the D&D Basic and Vampire, mentioning in passing that they were Origins nominees. so I think my work here is done.