It’s time to announce the winners of the latest Tournament of Simulations (ToS). We asked for nominations in January, and you responded by nominating a whopping 64 absolutely incredible games from across the community. That’s definitely a modern tournament (since 2011) record, and maybe even of all time (since 1999). It just goes to show that simming and online role playing is far from dead. In fact, it’s as strong as ever.
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! In case you’re interested, this is how we select the winners. With that on the record once again, here are your 2020 tournament winners:
In 2019, we announced plans for an in-person simming & online role playing convention to tentatively take place in 2021. Unfortunately, 2020 had other ideas.
If we’ve learned anything over the last 12 months, it’s that we can’t anchor on anything during this pandemic. Assuming vaccines have been widely administered and COVID-19 is shrinking in the rear view mirror, we’re going to try this again for 2022. Clearly, there are a lot of ifs here!
Assuming all works out…
…If you’re interested in participating, please fill out this short survey.
This article was posted at the request of John Nugra, the Administrator of the Simming Prize.
The Simming Prize dates back to 1999 in honoring the very best of the online role playing community. Up to five Prizes are awarded annually to people, sims, clubs, and other organizations that (1) exemplify service, quality, and dedication within play-by-post online role-playing; or who (2) pioneer new technology or techniques within the community. The Prizes can recognize a significant onetime accomplishment, or sustained contributions over a period of time. The Simming Prize is presented in the memory of longtime role player and leader Seth Cotis.
After careful consideration and thoughtful deliberation, the Simming Prize trustees and judges hereby award the 2019 Simming Prize to:
2020 was unlike any year most of us have ever experienced before as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc. Beyond the most unfortunate loss of life, many have also lost jobs, friendships, and more. 2020 is certainly a year none of us will want to repeat! With that said, all wasn’t bad, at least in roleplaying. We did publish a few articles that we hope you found helpful. As is our annual tradition, here are some of the best from 2020.
2020 has finally come to a close, which means it’s time for the annual Tournament of Simulations (ToS) competition. For those who may not be familiar with ToS, this is where you can enter your role play to potentially win a prize at no cost or risk to you! Judges from around the community go through all of the entries and grade them on story, characters, and readability. All sims will be considered, regardless of any club or fleet affiliation. We then present awards to the top-scoring games. The games that don’t place are not announced. That’s right: you’ve got nothing to lose, so why not enter?
Okay, enough on that. How about we get on with the nominations…
That’s right, if you haven’t already heard, FallFest X is on Saturday. Our team from Pegasus Fleet and Independence Fleet have put in a lot a work to create a dynamic and provocative list of events backed by an outstanding infrastructure. It’s going to be a great day, and we want YOU to be a part of it:
It doesn’t matter if you’re into Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, or something else entirely. Or if you prefer chat sims, play by e-mail, or message boards. If you’re a simmer or online role player of any persuasion, there will be something there for you! But what do you really get out of FallFest? Here are 4 reasons you should attend:
You’ll get to rub elbows with many prominent members of our community. In fact, some of the most successful and influential role players and simming leaders of all-time will be attending and facilitating events. Learn from the best!
You’ll hear about the latest and most innovative techniques and strategies for leading a successful role play. Indeed, there will be multiple events dedicated to running better games. Discover what’s working for others today!
You’ll be able to role play with others from different clubs and genres. With a diverse set of hosts and settings, you’ll experience a wide range of concepts and ideas. Challenge the simming norms and help break barriers!
You’ll have fun! All simmers and online role players, regardless of rank or club affiliation, are invited to attend and participate. There’s no way to energize your sim or club than to come back with a fresh perspective.
Big announcement time: After nine years of sponsoring the Simming Fall Festival (aka FallFest) and three years of sponsoring the SciWorld Online Convention, we’ve decided to turn management of both events over to TNU Project, where Josh Hina will continue in my role as General Coordinator. Josh and TNU will maintain the club-host model that we’ve used, but they’ll be handling all of the behind the scenes stuff that Ongoing Worlds has typically done.
Ongoing Worlds will sponsor FallFest 2020 while TNU Project will then assume sponsoring responsibilities for SciWorld 2021 and all future SciWorlds & FallFests. Sponsoring these two premier community events, which are steeped in role play history has been one of our greatest thrills here are at Ongoing Worlds. However, it’s simply time to move on, and we have no doubt that Josh and everyone at TNU Project will continue to make them better and better. To aid in the transition, Pegasus Fleet and Independence Fleet will be jointly hosting FallFest 2020 and SciWorld 2021.
FallFest X
Yes, join us for FallFest X on Saturday, November 14th. It will be a full day of engaging discussions, interactive trivia games, and live chat role plays–in a Discord server open to all simmers and online role players, regardless of rank or club affiliation. Basically, this is where we all come together as one to share ideas, information, and energy!
AlexM of Pegasus Fleet & Ken Gillis of Independence Fleet will serve as co-chairs. They’ll be on point to build the schedule, advertise, and generally ensure that FallFest runs smoothly. It’s a big job, and they need your help!
What can I do?
Plan to attend: this is one-of-a-kind opportunity to meet & connect with other role players!
Invite your friends: let them join in on the fun too!
Contact star [dot] idf [at] gmail [dot] com if you would like to host a one-hour discussion, trivia game, or role play.
That’s right–it’s almost time for FallFest 2020 aka Simming Fall Festival X. If you’re interested in hosting & chairing the role playing world’s premier one-day community event, submit an application by August 28th. FallFest has been held every year since our first festival back in 2011.
For those who may be new to Ongoing Worlds, FallFest is a one-day online convention held annually in Discord chat rooms for anything and everything simming and online role playing. We remember our past and look to our future. It generally runs for a few hours and includes provacative discussions, trivia games, and live role plays. Originally intended to be a mini-SciWorld more friendly to European time zones, FallFest has since grown into much more!
We need a host & chair to make it all happen
The host is a club or fleet that partners with Ongoing Worlds to make FallFest a reality and success. The chair is an individual from the host club who serves as the point person to coordinate the schedule, advertising, and logistics. More specifically, the host and chair will work with the Ongoing Worlds staff to:
Select a date and time for festival (a Saturday sometime within September to December)
Design a unique 2020 festival logo. Last year’s logo is above.
Recruit approximately 8-12 volunteers to run individual one-hour events.
Work with those volunteers to create unique and engaging events (discussions, sims, and trivia games) that represent and support the interests of the broader community.
Create or provide the Discord chat rooms.
Promote and advertise the festival.
Host opening and closing ceremonies on the day of the festival.
Attend all FallFest events (usually two at the same time) to ensure that they run smoothly.
Be ready to improvise when things don’t go as planned.
Post-festival, provide a list of lessons learned for next year’s team.
The host should be a strong, robust club willing to provide the chair with all of the required volunteers and resources. Members of the host club/sim must be ready to attend the festival to help make it a success. In short, the host must fully back the chair.
The chair must be highly organized, self-motivated, and possess superior attention to detail. More importantly, he or she should be patient with others and willing to compromise when necessary. It takes a special person and to run FallFest–it’s a HUGE job!
Application
Applications will be judged by the Ongoing Worlds Board of Advisors based on the above criteria. Applicants should highlight their past experiences and capabilities and show how those traits make them the ideal team to plan & lead FallFest X. The host & chair may be selected before the application window closes. Unsuccessful applicants will not be revealed to the public. I will notify all applicants of the selection before the official announcement. Additional information may be requested from applicants before a decision is reached.
The application window will close on August 28th at 11:59pm EDT. All applications should be emailed to star (dot) idf (at) gmail (dot) com. If you do not receive a receipt confirmation email within 24 hours, please resubmit. Requested information:
Host name (club)
Host URL
Year Host was founded
Chair (person)
Chair’s e-mail address
Year Chair began simming
Why should this host & chair be selected? (≤ 250 words)
FallFest is a special time for everyone, but especially for the host & chair. For a few short hours, the entire simming and online role playing community will circle around you–It is the biggest event in simming. Those memories will last a lifetime.
Best of luck to all applicants! And for everyone else, see you at FallFest X!
It’s time to announce the winners of the latest Tournament of Simulations (ToS). Finally! We asked for nominations back in February, and you responded by nominating 29 absolutely incredible games from across the community. After a few delays, here we are with this year’s champions. In case you were wondering, this is how we select the winners. This is an extra special ToS as it marks twenty years since that first tournament back in 1999.
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 on the record, here are your 2019 anniversary year tournament winners:
OngoingWorlds is a website where you can work together to create interesting stories, and roleplay as any interesting characters. Either join a game or create your own.
