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Monday, April 7, 2014

So, What Value is an "Ennie" to the OSR?

I had the page open on the ENnies website - I was about to enter Tenkar's Tavern as a blog entry to the ENnies, and then I thought - why? Actually, i thought "who cares what music gets played when one's entry places in the top three", and then I asked "why?"

Does it really make a difference in our corner of the universe?

Heck, do main stream RPG Blog readers even read this blog?

Beyond the Three Castles Award, is there an OSR award floating around that I don't know about?

Should there be?

Does it matter?

Should your bartender be partaking of the The Tavern's stock (Allagash Tripel Reserver, 25.4 oz, 9% alcohol) - is the fine Belgian Style Ale clouding my thoughts? - damn good brew thought)


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12 comments:

  1. Martin R. ThomasApril 8, 2014 at 12:19 AM

    I don't have much to say about the awards question. Will an award for an OSR product influence a non-OSR player to buy it? Probably not, which is sad, but people just seem to be too fixated on systems instead of ideas.

    I will comment on your beer though. I just can't get behind Belgians (beers). I've just not developed a taste for beer that tastes like sour fruit or sweet malt. I prefer piney, citrus, floral IPAs like ones I get at home in Southern California from Stone, Firestone Walker, and others.

    Right now unfortunately I'm stuck in a hotel bar in upstate New York drinking a local IPA called Medusa. It is... not good. Just kind of boring.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gothridge ManorApril 8, 2014 at 7:21 AM

    The only positive I could think of is it might bring a little more attention to our section of gaming. The people within the OSR probably won't pay too much attention other than congrats. You are already a known quantity, but think of of the new people you could piss off if you won that award Erik? :P

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  3. AnonymousApril 8, 2014 at 7:37 AM

    Fake ass industry awards only matter to people in the industry who covet such awards. There are so many stupid awards for everything that the all lose meaning. Even the Nobel Peace Prize is bullshit

    I could care less.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Greyhawk GrognardApril 8, 2014 at 8:22 AM

    I agreed with Degenerate Elite. I'm much more impressed by top sellers than awards winners, whether they be Ennies or the Three Castles.

    ReplyDelete
  5. czakApril 8, 2014 at 9:14 AM

    I'm a mainstream pathfinder playing blog reader. I found out about the osr through the ennie awards - s&w winning silver for example and other products being nominated.

    ReplyDelete
  6. DaleApril 8, 2014 at 9:22 AM

    You get the Awesome Award for having an osr blog i read constantly. Well played. Other than that, I pretty much ignore all the awards for rpgs.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AndrewApril 8, 2014 at 10:00 AM

    Well, I heard about Old School Hack because it won an ENnie, so there's that. Increased exposure.

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  8. Vile TravellerApril 8, 2014 at 10:39 AM

    It's advertising, same as any other. Most of it falls on deaf ears, but if it gets one more person into old school games it's a good thing - and I see you already have *two* commenters of that ilk above. Admittedly, a blog of goodness such as this probably attracts an unfair sampling, but still.

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  9. Von BednarApril 8, 2014 at 10:44 AM

    I am not an OSR gamer per se. I don't play OSR systems, but I use OSR ideas in my FATE and Savage Words games. Also, I read this blog on daily basis.

    I enjoy awards. I disagree with people who don't (especially the The Degenerate Elite - he might be trolling). I see awards as nothing else than a win-win for both parties. Winners and nominees get exposure, award givers get views. No one is getting hurt in any way.

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  10. Timothy S. BrannanApril 8, 2014 at 11:53 AM

    I like seeing who won the Ennies. I like going to their booths at Gen Con the day after and congratulating them. I have sought out smaller publishers and bought their games BECAUSE they won the Ennie.
    I can tell you that the people that have won the Ennie appreciate it and they appreciate the attention it gives them.

    @Joe: I know you say sales should be a determining factor, but I know you are smarter than that. 4e outsold Adventures Dark & Deep by several orders of magnitude, but can you honestly tell me that 4e is better than your game? I don't think you can. Is it "better"? Well I know you think so and you have good reason too. I also like it quite a bit myself, but I have fun with both games. So maybe an impartial panel of judges with a codified scoring system might have an opinion worth pay a little attention too.

    Looking over last year's winners. http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/about-us/2013-noms-and-winners/
    Those are some quality products.

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  11. RobertApril 10, 2014 at 3:37 PM

    Here’s the big difference between the ENies and the 3Castles: The people who vote on 3Castles actually have copies of all the candidate products. (And I’m inclined to believe that they actually read them too.)

    ReplyDelete
  12. RobertApril 10, 2014 at 3:38 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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