OngoingWorlds blog

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

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

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 (20162017, 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

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2014 Simulation Cup Results… Finally!

Simulation Cup

2014 Simulation Cup

It gives me great pleasure to (finally) introduce the winners of the 2014 Simulation Cup!  Before we get to the results, however, I’d like to quickly remind everyone what the Simulation Cup is and how it works.  It’s an annual competition that’s normally called the Tournament of Simulations where role play games of different clubs and genres compete against each other in a friendly manner for several awards.  This year, each participating sim submitted one mission/episode/thread that was completed during 2014.  Each submission was then evaluated by three judges on a specific criteria set.  The games receiving the highest marks are now recognized.

Evaluating sims will always be subjective and this is especially true for the Simulation Cup.  We’re not here to identify the best sim or sims as this is impossible.  Instead, we recognize 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!   Read More

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The 2015 Tournament of Simulation is Now Calling all Entrants

simcup2015UPDATE: The Nomination window has been extended through February 29th, 2016.

Hear ye, hear ye!  Hosts, participants, and club leaders alike are all hereby invited to enter their games into the the oldest and most prestigious competition of the simming and online roleplaying universe:  The Tournament of Simulations!  Indeed, Ongoing Worlds is officially calling on on YOU to enter your simulations and online role plays in the 2015 edition of ToS.  This will be the 11th rendition of the tournament, which was first held in 1999.  Nominations will be accepted through January 31st, 2016. Winners will be announced sometime later.  Here’s how to enter: Read More

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Still time to enter your game for the Simulation Cup!

Simulation Cup

2014 Simulation Cup

About a week and a half ago, we announced the 2014 Simulation Cup (historically known as the Tournament of Simulations).  Thus far we’ve received nominations for 18 outstanding games.  And what a group it is!  Everyone who entered a sim into the competition should have already received a confirmation email.  If you have NOT received your confirmation email, please forward your entry form to me at star [dot] idf [at] gmail [dot] com.  Just want to make sure we don’t miss anyone.

I also want to let everyone know that we’ve extended the deadline to submit your game(s) to 24 hours after the publishing of this post.  So there’s still time if you missed the last window… Read More

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2014 Simulation Cup – Nominate your game

2014 Simulation Cup

2014 Simulation Cup

That’s right–it’s that time of year again.  It’s officially time to accept entrants for the only sim and role play competition that dates back to the last millennium (more specifically, 1999).  What, you haven’t heard of the Simulation Cup?  It’s an annual event where sims and role play games have the opportunity to showcase their excellence and compete against each other in a friendly manner to win various prizes.  Oh yeah, it’s usually called the Tournament of Simulations (ToS), which you might be more familiar with.

How to Enter

The sim’s host (or host’s representative) will submit the short entry form below along with a sample of their role play activity.   Read More

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Introducing the 2012 Simulation Cup Winners…

The Simulation Cup

The Simulation Cup

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the winners of the 2012 Simulation Cup!  But before I get into that, I’d like to briefly explain what the Simulation Cup is and how it works.  Filling in this year for the annual Tournament of Simulations, the Sim Cup is a one-time competition allowing role play games of various clubs and genres to compete against each other in a friendly manner for several awards.  Each participating sim first submits one mission/episode/thread/chat session that was completed during 2012.  Next, each sim’s submission is evaluated by two judges on a specific criteria set.  The games receiving the highest marks are then recognized.

Evaluating sims will always be subjective and this is especially true for the Simulation Cup.  We’re not here to identify the best sim or sims as this is impossible.  Instead, we recognize what we think are the best sims in our opinions.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.  And that’s fine.  As said earlier, each participating game was graded by two different judges. Read More

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2012 Simulation Cup

The Simulation Cup

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Simulation Cup is hereby officially open for entrants!  What is the Simulation Cup you might ask?  It’s a one-time competition where sims and role play games have the opportunity to showcase their excellence and compete against each other in a friendly manner to win various prizes.  And here’s how it works…

How to Enter

The sim’s host (or the host’s representative) will submit the following short entry form along with a sample of their role play activity.  Our judges will then rate that sample in several different areas. Once all sims have been evaluated, we’ll announce winners in various categories across the different genres. Sims that do not place will not be named. So if you’d like to enter your sim, please email Charles Star at star.idf@gmail.com with the following information: Read More