OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

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SciWorld! Wow!


What a SciWorld we had last month!  In case you missed it, Bravo Fleet and Star Army partnered together to host the 2018 edition, which was an absolute blast!  As far as we know, this was the first time that two different sim clubs co-hosted the convention.  The first SciWorld was in 1999, and it has been held continuously since 2011.  We believe that this year’s SciWorld was the 16th, but we’re not positive as many records from the early 2000s are no longer available. Read More

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Congratulations to the 2018 Squiddie Nominees!

Congratulations to all of the 2018 Squiddie Nominees!  In response to our June post, we received 11 nominations for 10 people, 6 nominations for 6 games, and 3 nominations for 3 clubs.  In case you lost count, that’s 20 total nominations for 19 different entities.  All 19 are outstanding in their own right and deserving of top-level awards.  Unfortunately, we can only award 3 Squiddies every year: one person, one game, and one club.  We have our work cut out for us!

Without further ado, here are your 2018 nominees in no particular order… Read More

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Enter Your 2018 Squiddie Nominations Now!

The time is here!  Time for YOU to nominate the best from our community to win a Squiddie (aka The Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Roleplaying).  Each year we present Squiddies to three different entities: one person, one sim/game, and one club.  Squiddies are bestowed for exemplifying one or more of the following characteristics, primarily during the previous calendar year:

  • Excellence in role playing: Outstanding role play or leadership performance far above and beyond the typical person, game, or club
  • Originality and innovation: Using a new technology or innovation or combining existing technologies together in a new way to elevate the role play adventure
  • Facilitating the community experience: Enhancing interaction, cooperation, and/or collaboration among role players to improve or advance the community

You can read about past winners here: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 Read More

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2017 Tournament of Simulations (ToS) Winners!

The results are in and we have some winners!  If you’ll recall, we asked for nominations back in December.  If you’re not familiar with ToS, the original competition was held back in 1999.  For this year’s ToS, each participating sim submitted 10 posts that were written sometime during 2017.  The posts were then evaluated by three judges in three different categories (Story, Characters, and Readability/Grammar) on a 1-10 scale.  The final scores were then adjusted based on the individual judge’s respective averages and standard deviations to adjust for both hard & easy grading judges and judges with small & large ranges of scores.

As I say every year, evaluating sims is a subjective art, and this is certainly true with ToS.  We’re not here to identify the best games as this is impossible.  Instead, we’re here to identify what we think are outstanding role plays that exude excellence.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.  And that’s okay!  With that our of the way, here are your 2017 tournament winners: Read More

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Submit your 2017 Simming Prize nomination

Tis the season to be jolly! The nomination period for the 2017 Simming Prize has officially opened! Some of you may have heard whispers as we geared up and began the hunt for judges and nominees on the low key, but now it’s absolutely undeniable that we’re open and ready for business once again! Read More

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It’s 2017 Tournament of Simulations (ToS) Time!

With FallFest out of the way, it’s time to turn our attention to something else.  Ahem…  Role players, hosts, and club leaders alike are all hereby invited to enter their games/sims/role plays in the the oldest and most prestigious competition of the entire simming and online roleplaying world: the Tournament of Simulations (ToS)!  What, did you think it was some other competition?  C’mon!

Ongoing Worlds is now officially calling on YOU (yes, you!) to enter your simulations and online role plays in the 2017 edition of ToS.  This will be the 13th tournament to be held, and the 4th sponsored by Ongoing Worlds.  Nominations will be accepted through December 31st, 2017.  Winners will be announced sometime later.  Here’s how to enter: Read More

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What a FallFest!

What a FallFest, indeed!  A veteran simmer friend of mine even commented that it was the best FallFest or SciWorld ever held.  Believe me when I say that’s a high compliment coming from a distinguished individual!  For those who may have unfortunately missed FallFest, a week ago, we had a day full of provocative discussions, live role plays, and interactive trivia games.  Attendance and energy was phenomenal throughout.  It’s a real testament to the power of our broader community.  And as FallFest always is, it was a blast!

I’d like to personally thank everyone who had a part in making FallFest 2017 happen–everyone from chair Zachary O’Connell and his leadership team at Bravo Fleet to the event hosts to anyone who had a role behind the scenes, be it IT support, graphics design, advertising, simply inviting a friend, or something else I’m not thinking of.  You guys rocked it!  Finally, I’d also like to thank everyone who attended and participated.  Without you bringing your energy & ideas, there would be no FallFest.

See everyone at FallFest 2018 in about a year. Read More

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Congratulations to our 2017 Squiddie Award Winners!

Earlier this year, we asked the simming & online role playing community to nominate their very best for our pinnacle award, the Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing (affectionally known as the Squiddie).  You responded with 19 nominations for 17 different people, games, and clubs.  And my what an outstanding group it was!  The consistent high-caliber of the nominees made our job of picking winners extremely difficult.  For that reason, I want to personally thank everyone for providing us such a great group to choose from… even though it made our job more challenging.

If you recall, Squiddies are awarded to only one person, one game, and one club each year.  The prizes come in three categories (Excellence in Role Playing, Originality & Innovation, and Facilitating the Community Experience) and are awarded primary for actions during the prior calendar year.  In this case, 2016.  Without any further ado, here are your 2017 Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing Laureates… Read More

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Congratulations to all of our 2017 Squiddie Nominees!!!

Congratulations to all of our 2017 Squiddie Nominees!  After our May post, we received 7 nominations for 6 people, 6 nominations for 6 games, and 6 nominations for 5 clubs.  In case you lost count, that’s 19 total nominations for 17 different entities.  While it’s down from our usual ~30 nominees, we still have many absolutely outstanding candidates.  I can assure you that the competition certainly is fierce this year!  The level of commitment, creativity, and drive from our community never ceases to amaze me.  Let’s keep up the great role playing!

Without further ado, here are your 2017 nominees in no particular order…
Read More

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It’s 2017 Squiddie Time!

That’s right–now that the Tournament of Simulations is completed, it’s time to turn our attention to Ongoing Worlds’ pinnacle award: The Squiddie (aka The Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Roleplaying).  Each year we present Squiddies to three different entities: one person, one sim/game, and one club.  Squiddies are bestowed for exemplifying one or more of the following characteristics, primarily during the previous calendar year:

  • Excellence in role playing: Outstanding role play or leadership performance far above and beyond the typical person, game, or club.
  • Originality and innovation: Using a new technology or innovation or combining existing technologies together in a new way to elevate the role play adventure
  • Facilitating the community experience: Enhancing interaction, cooperation, and/or collaboration among role players to improve or advance the community

You can read about past winners here: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 Read More