OngoingWorlds blog

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

Feb
7

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Announcing the latest Simming Prize laureates

Category: Awards, Competition, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , , Leave a Comment

The Trustees of the Simming Prize are honored to announce our latest laureates:

* Charles Star of Independence Fleet – For his unprecedented contributions to the simming community. As a founder and long time leader within Independence Fleet, Charles has personally sponsored the launch of 21 sims and commanded 10 within the club. During his time as IDF CinC in the early 2000s and as Chief of Fleet Ops from 2010 – 12 he oversaw exceptional growth within the club. More recently, Charles has been a primary a leader within the larger simming community, serving as the administrator/coordinator for SciWorld, FallFest, the Tournament of Simulations, and the Squiddie and OWCH awards. He is a member of the OngoingWorlds Board of Advisers, and has been the instigator of community wide April Fools jokes. Charles is also a storehouse of simming knowledge, and has been a primary contributor to the Roleplay Wiki and the OngoingWorlds Blog. Read More

Jan
1

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It’s time for the 2016 Tournament of Simulations (ToS)

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: 7 Comments

ToS2016That’s right, it’s time for our annual Tournament of Simulations (ToS) competition!  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 universe (yes, it’s ToS!).  Indeed, Ongoing Worlds is officially calling on on YOU (yes, you!) to enter your simulations and online role plays in the 2016 edition of ToS.  This will be the 12th tournament to be held (the first happened in 1999).  Nominations will be accepted through January 31st, 2017. Winners will be announced sometime later.  Here’s how to enter: Read More

Dec
17

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Simming Prize nomination season!

Category: Awards, Roleplaying community Tags: Leave a Comment

The Simming Prize

The Simming Prize

Tis’ the end of the year!  Which means it’s impossible to take a step around here without stumbling across someone trying to hand out an award.

And guess what?  I’m pleased to announce the Simming Prizes are now accepting nominations, which you can submit by going here.  The deadline for nominations is January 7.

So what are the Simming Prizes?  Well those of us at the Prizes like to think of them as the Nobel Prizes of the simming and play-by-post online role-playing community.  (We have a healthy ego!)  By this, we mean the Prizes are intended to honor people & organizations that have made significant contributions to our collective gaming community.  We are not in the business of evaluating and finding the best sim of the year (we leave that task to our able friends at the Tournament of Simulations).

Read More

Dec
9

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How to Win a Squiddie (and other awards too)!

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , , 11 Comments

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

We have received a few questions about how we choose the Squiddies winners (2016, 2017, 2018) and what makes a good candidate.  Before we get to that, I want to do two things first:  1) Explain the Squiddies to anyone who might not be familiar with them, and 2) Provide a brief overview of some of the other major annual awards within the greater simming and online role playing community.

  1. The Squiddie (officially the “Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Roleplaying”) is presented annually to three entities: one person, one sim, and one sim club.  It also consists of three categories: Excellence in Roleplaying, Originality & Innovation, and Facilitating the Community Experience.  The award is sponsored by us, Ongoing Worlds, and was first presented in 2013.
  2. The Squiddie is one of three families of major community-level awards.  The oldest is the Simming Prize (officially the “Prize for Simming and Online Role Playing in Memory of Seth Cotis“), dating back to 1999.  Originally awarded by the Simming League and later by Ongoing Worlds, it is now bestowed by a group of trustees.  It is presented to up to five entities each year and is named in memory of an early influential simming leader.  ToS (“Tournament of Simulations”) is the final group of awards.  In ToS, volunteer judges from around the community read posts form participating games and choose winners in different categories that may vary from year to year.  ToS also dates back to 1999.  It is currently presented by Ongoing Worlds, but began in the Simming League as well.

Clear as mud?  Fantastic!  So here’s how we choose Squiddie winners… Read More

Nov
18

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FallFest VI is in the books & another OWCH

Category: Awards, Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

fallfestvi-500

2016 Simming Fall Festival
image by Myrkul Sharr

What a FallFest!  Indeed, the 2016 Simming Fall Festival was one for the ages.  For those who missed it on Saturday, we had a schedule full of provocative discussions, live role plays, and interactive trivia games.  Attendance was strong throughout, with some individual events registering as many as 40 participants.  It’s a real testament to the power of our broader community.  And it was a blast! For book related information go and check this.

I’d like to personally thank everyone who had a part in making FallFest 2016 happen–everyone from chair Myrkul Sharr and his leadership team at Obsidian Fleet to the event hosts to anyone who had a role behind the scenes, be it IT support, graphics design, advertising, or something else.  Finally, I’d also like to thank everyone who attended and participated.  Simply put, without you bringing your energy & ideas, there would be no FallFest.

For those of you who unfortunately missed FallFest this year, we’ll see you in 2017.
Read More

Jun
21

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The 2016 Squiddie Award Winners

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , 3 Comments

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Last month, we asked for nominations for our top award, the Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing (aka the Squiddie).  You responded with 29 absolutely outstanding nominations.  For anyone who missed those posts, the Squiddie is presented annually to one person, one game, and one club.  Each of the three winners is awarded for one of the following respective areas:

  • Excellence in Role Playing
  • Originality & Innovation
  • Facilitating the Community Experience

As you can imagine, narrowing the list of 29 nominees down to 3 winners was extremely difficult as there were many top-notch people, games, and clubs recommended.  But we had to do it!  Without and further ado, here are your 2016 winners… Read More

Jun
1

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Congratulations to our 2016 Squiddie Nominees

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: 1 Comment

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

The nomination window for the 2016 Squiddies (aka the Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing) closed yesterday.  As some of you will recall, we asked the entire simming & online role playing community to nominate the best people, games, and clubs for the highest honor bestowed by this organization.  You answered with nominations for 29 outstanding people/games/clubs.  And what a fantastic list it is!  Without any further ado, here are your 2016 Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing nominees in no particular order… Read More

May
5

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The Awards Season Continues: Squiddie Time!

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: 1 Comment

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

We recently concluded the Tournament of Simulations (ToS) and presented two more Ongoing Worlds Community Honors (OWCH).  However, it’s now time for the pinnacle award bestowed by Ongoing Worlds: The Squiddie!  (Officially, the Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Roleplaying.)  If you’re not familiar with the award, check out our past winners:

Here’s how it works:  Each year we present Squiddies to three different entities: one person, one sim/game, and one club.  Prior winners are not eligible for future awards.  Squiddies are bestowed for exemplifying one or more of the following characteristics, primarily during the previous calendar year:

  • Excellence in role playing
  • Originality and innovation
  • Facilitating the community experience

Nominations may be made by anyone using the form below. Read More

May
1

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Introducing the Two Newest Ongoing Worlds Community Honor Recipients

Category: Awards, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: , 3 Comments

The OWCH awardWith the Tournament of Simulations completed, it’s time for us to honor the individuals behind another absolutely fantastic role play:  Rhiannon (aka Emily Wake) and ryjones are hereby awarded the Ongoing Worlds Community Honor (OWCH) for their outstanding service as moderators of the 2778 A.D. sim.  Indeed, founded less than a year ago in August 2015, the game has seen an astounding 2177 posts since!  It has not only exceeded all expectations in terms of quantity, but it has also set the pace for Ongoing Worlds sims in the flash or short form posting style.  This has allowed for many fascinating and unexpected turns in the story.  If you’re looking for an adventure, this game is where it’s at!  Congratulations to both Rhiannon and ryjones!  Well done! Read More

Apr
30

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2015 Tournament of Simulations Winners

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: 8 Comments

simcup2015It’s time to introduce the winners of the the 11th Tournament of Simulations (ToS)!  In case you missed it, ToS is an annual event where role play games of different clubs and genres compete against each other in a friendly manner for several awards.  The first tournament was held all the way back in 1999.  This year, each participating sim submitted 10 posts that were written sometime during 2015.  The posts were then evaluated by three judges in three different categories on a 1-10 scale: Story, Characters, and Readability/Grammar.  The games receiving the highest marks are now recognized.

As I say every year, evaluating sims is a subjective art and this is especially 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.

Without an further ado, here are your winners…

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