eurydicebound (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
eurydicebound) wrote2004-05-11 12:03 pm
eurydicebound) wrote2004-05-11 12:03 pm
The Academy and the Origins Awards
Well, for the second year in a row, I've seen really deserving products that I voted for get completely swept away by products that were less deserving but far more mainstream... and at least in one case, of only questionable eligibility. Don't get me wrong, there were some good products that made it on to the list of nominees, but there were more that didn't. I think I've basically come to the conclusion that as it is now, the Academy is doomed to this sort of thing. Companies can (and do) finance the memberships of their employees and encourage them to vote for their product. Hell, FASA certainly did that back in the day. I see no reason why no one else does -- it isn't against the rules, after all. Between this and some other odd factors, such as the difficulty in people reviewing everything that comes up, etc., we end up with things like every product of WizKids ending up with final nominations, even if they weren't always worthy of them, simply because it's well known or because their name is involved.
I don't mean this to be sour grapes. Lord knows, I've got friends at WK and at WotC, just to name two, and I enjoy the occasional bit of work from both companies. They do have quality work, but not everything they do is worth an Origins Award. Not everything anyone does is worth an Origins Award.
It was just more of an epiphany... what the awards need if they are to award groundbreaking design and game quality is to have fewer members, preferably unconnected to the products as a whole or at least to full-time employment with companies in the industry, possibly 11 or 15 or something voters on the board total, and then have everyone who wishes to nominate things send in enough copies for everyone on that board to have one. Once the final nominations are made by that board, maybe then we could have the public vote, if there's still a need for it. But right now, I simply don't see the current system as working. At least, not and accomplish the aforementioned goal, which is what I had always seen them as trying to do.
I'm aware of how utterly unlikely the above changes are, and frankly, although I believe in them, I know others would be equally opposed for what are likely good reasons I haven't thought about yet. Since I can't agree with the methods of the organization, though, I don't feel I have a place among its members. It just feels wrong to participate in something I don't agree with, sort of like being there under false pretenses. I think I'm going to therefore just let my membership lapse at the end of the year. It won't exactly be a great loss to the Academy as a whole, after all. :)
Oh, and Nicole, should you read this... I still think you're doing a good job at herding all these cats. It's no reflection on you whatsoever.
I don't mean this to be sour grapes. Lord knows, I've got friends at WK and at WotC, just to name two, and I enjoy the occasional bit of work from both companies. They do have quality work, but not everything they do is worth an Origins Award. Not everything anyone does is worth an Origins Award.
It was just more of an epiphany... what the awards need if they are to award groundbreaking design and game quality is to have fewer members, preferably unconnected to the products as a whole or at least to full-time employment with companies in the industry, possibly 11 or 15 or something voters on the board total, and then have everyone who wishes to nominate things send in enough copies for everyone on that board to have one. Once the final nominations are made by that board, maybe then we could have the public vote, if there's still a need for it. But right now, I simply don't see the current system as working. At least, not and accomplish the aforementioned goal, which is what I had always seen them as trying to do.
I'm aware of how utterly unlikely the above changes are, and frankly, although I believe in them, I know others would be equally opposed for what are likely good reasons I haven't thought about yet. Since I can't agree with the methods of the organization, though, I don't feel I have a place among its members. It just feels wrong to participate in something I don't agree with, sort of like being there under false pretenses. I think I'm going to therefore just let my membership lapse at the end of the year. It won't exactly be a great loss to the Academy as a whole, after all. :)
Oh, and Nicole, should you read this... I still think you're doing a good job at herding all these cats. It's no reflection on you whatsoever.
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Thus it's usually (although not always) the bigger companies that can afford to do that. Considering the number of companies out there who can and do send them out... imagine you're a member, and you got a box of 5-10 books, all from different companies, to review to vote on. You're a distributor, freelance writer, game developer, publisher... whatever. Your time is fairly limited, in other words. You might be able to read them all, or you might not. And that's only a sampling of the products up for the vote; even if you could buy your own copies of the others, would you have the time to read them all? WOULD you read them all? In a perfect world, we all would. (But in a perfect world, RPGs would sell at least as well, if not better, than self-help books. :p)
That leaves spotty reviewing, and trying to rely on reputation for the rest that you didn't have time to look at for yourself. It's unfortunate, but that's the reality of the system.
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