Announcing the Squiddie awards – The winners
Now that the Oscars are out of the way, it’s time to present the real awards, the Squiddies! The Squiddies (officially the OngoingWorlds medal for superior online roleplaying) are our own award for roleplaying excellence, where we invite all roleplayers to nominate their games, clubs and fellow roleplayers for an award. Nominations were given to us by a form on an article published back in January (we postponed our event to not conflict with SimEnc’s Simming Prize). We announced the nominations last week, and our judges have been working diligently to reach a consensus on the winners.
The competition was fierce as we received nominations for 19 individuals, nine sims/games, and six clubs. That’s right – we had to consider 34 outstanding candidates and boiled it down to 3: 1 game/sim, 1 club/community, and 1 individual. My, how difficult it was to choose the winners! We were looking for the following traits from the nominees:
- Excellence in role playing
- Originality and innovation
- Facilitating the community experience
So without any further ado, I’d like to present the 2013 Squiddie awards…
Excellence in role playing
Winner: StarBase 118: Operations (game)
Through its creative mix of combining the familiar with the cutting edge, StarBase 118 Operations has created a truly remarkable role playing environment. Its cast of all-star writers effortlessly does the impossible: making the game approachable while at the same time pushing new boundaries. Also being highly prolific, the game is able to tackle episodes of many different flavors and to explore those ideas in great depth and detail. StarBase 118 Operations traces its origins back to 1994, almost 20 years ago.
Beyond just relevant today, the sims has stayed true to its core while continually reinventing itself to adapt to the ever-changing role playing environment.
Originality and innovation
Winner: Star Army (club)
Through its highly original concept, Star Army has created in itself a highly electric club. Rarely do original concepts successfully spread beyond a single sim, and Star Army has managed to attract a member base of over 500 people. Developing a story and universe that teems in depth and realism, players of other genres flock to Star Army’s unique experience.
Through Star Army’s peer-reviewed central database of media files, its games are able to borrow and share ideas from each other, creating a dynamic story arc that remains consistent while at the same time diverges in many different directions. Originality at its finest, Star Army personifies what it means to take role playing to the next level.
They’re responsible for creating a really impressive gallery of unique images which really makes StarArmy stand out as a unique and exciting game. They’ve been especially active on social media throughout 2012, being extremely proactive in finding new members for their community.
We’ve got several articles about Star Army on our blog here.
Facilitating the community experience
Winner: AJ Wheeler of Independence Fleet (individual)
Through his superior leadership and a series of shrewd personnel moves, Mr. Wheeler has transformed Independence Fleet (IDF) into a simming powerhouse that continues to serve the greater community. Now boasting 25+ games, IDF is arguably the leader in balancing internal and external community. Not only does IDF posses a dynamic club culture, but it has also taken the lead in promoting events at the intersimming level, bringing clubs and games of all types and genres together. Being the leader of a large club like IDF can sometimes be a lonely job, but Wheeler has never hidden away his ivory tower. Approachable and down to earth, Wheeler presents a model for all in the community to follow.
The other nominees
If you’d like to see who else was nominated, check our earlier article. Each of those clubs/games/roleplayers are fantastic, and I hope there’s no bad feelings from those who didn’t win. But there’s always next year 🙂
The awards were judged by David Ball, Charles Star and Leon Archer.
