For your consideration...
[Cross-posting with the Summer Revolution.]
So, the Ennies Voting is supposed to be live today, according to their voting page.
It's not, yet, but I'll try to be patient. :)
In the meantime, let's look at the ballot, and how I might vote in support of the "indie" games out there. Note, I'm voting this way because I like what I'm supporting and I have a bit of an indie-support agenda besides, but I'm pretty impressed with a lot of the products in these categories, indie or not, so please take all of this with the necessary grains of salt!
Best Fan Product: I'm going to go with Flames Rising here. They've been a strong supporter of horror games both indie and not, and I've personally had nothing but positive interactions with their staff. It's a pity podcasts got lumped into this category, but that's on the podcasters -- they didn't provide enough submissions to support the two categories separately.
Best Art, Cover: The indie vote here is Thousand Suns, from Rogue Games. If you're going non-indie this time around, there's a lot to love here. The Scion covers have been gorgeous, and I pretty much love everything I see at Green Ronin's booth whenever I drop by -- Pirate's Guide to Freeport being no exception.
Best Art, Interior: Alpha Omega from Mindstorm Labs is our closest indie fit here (they're with IPR), and boy, they're entirely spot on about the art on this one. Check out some interior peeks (scroll down to see them) over at IPR's site. Outside the indie track, I know I drooled openly at Solomon Kane, and Changeling was pretty evocative.
Best Cartography: At present, indie doesn't really compete here. In a pinch, I'd throw Green Ronin some love, but I have to admit that I'm not yet well versed in most of these guys.
Best Production Values: What a kooky category! I think I've said most of what's to be said about the stuff here, already. Alpha Omega may well deserve your love.
Best Writing: I'm terribly biased here. For me, it's a fistfight of the indie kind between Monsters and Other Childish Things and Trail of Cthulhu, with Two-Fisted Tales swinging in with a surprise left cross. I won't tell you which one I'll pick above the others, but I have much love for the work and words of Ben Baugh and Ken Hite (both of whom have done/are doing work for Evil Hat, so yes, I'll fess up to being a little biased).
Best Rules: Trail of Cthulhu's here again as an IPR-sold contender. Alas, I have little knowledge of the other entrants, so Trail gets a firm and enthusiastic first place vote from me, here.
Best Adventure: Indie doesn't do adventures that often, so I'm not too shocked this one's devoid of things I've seen!
Best Monster/Adversary: Oh my (elder) gods, The Book of Unremitting Horror is full of exactly what this category's about.
Best Setting: Another fairly unfamiliar category here, though Warp World is from BTRC, a frequent member of the Forge Booth.
Best Supplement: Why, Ennies? Why must you stack Evil Hat up against Exile Studios (let alone Green Ronin) again? You can guess I'll be casting my vote for Spirit of the Season, while looking fondly upon Exile's Secrets of the Surface World. Those curious about Spirit of the Season can check out the special Ennies 40-page extended preview available for free on DriveThruRPG.
Best Accessory: I have never seen a sturdier nor more impressive GM screen than the one available from Exile Studios. For me, at least, it wins by a mile, and that's in a category full of worthies.
Best Miniature Product: If we didn't sell Disposable Heroes paper minis over at IPR, I'd still be a fan. What's particularly smart about this PDF product set is that each one contains three versions of the minis art, so you can print out ones according to your preference -- flat "chit" style, "teepee" style, or "prism" style. Badass.
Best Regalia: Hobby Games: The 100 Best from Green Ronin would have my vote even if they didn't include Amber Diceless and My Life With Master on their list. A fantastic book from a bunch of people I really respect.
Best Electronic Book: No indie contenders here per se, though I look upon the efforts of Open Design with a fair amount of enthusiasm.
Best Free Product: How did I not end up with all of this schwag? I stink.
Best d20/d20 OGL Product: Blue Devil Games didn't field a contender this year, for which I weep.
Best Game: I adore Monsters & Other Childish Things and would encourage folks to give it support in this category. Any game that's like Calvin & Hobbes where Hobbes is an eldritch horror from beyond the stars deserves some love. (Og: Unearthed is no slouch either -- and recently spawned a variant in my head built around zombies instead of cavemen.)
Product of the Year: Did I mention Monsters & Other Childish Things has completely captured my imagination? There's a reason I knew Benjamin Baugh was the right man to write Don't Lose Your Mind!
Fan's Choice: Best Publisher: So much to love here. I'm from Evil Hat, and if you like us, we really appreciate your vote. Other worthies from the indie and IPR scenes include Arc Dream, Cubicle 7, Exile Games Studio, Lumpley Games, Mind Storm Labs, Pelgrane Press, Precis Intermedia, and Schrodinger's Cat Press. Which isn't to say I don't have some love for the folks I'm NOT listing!
Thanks for tuning in, folks. That's as close as we'll get to a "ballot" this year. I'll put up a notice when it crosses my radar that Ennies voting is actually afoot!
So, the Ennies Voting is supposed to be live today, according to their voting page.
It's not, yet, but I'll try to be patient. :)
In the meantime, let's look at the ballot, and how I might vote in support of the "indie" games out there. Note, I'm voting this way because I like what I'm supporting and I have a bit of an indie-support agenda besides, but I'm pretty impressed with a lot of the products in these categories, indie or not, so please take all of this with the necessary grains of salt!
Best Fan Product: I'm going to go with Flames Rising here. They've been a strong supporter of horror games both indie and not, and I've personally had nothing but positive interactions with their staff. It's a pity podcasts got lumped into this category, but that's on the podcasters -- they didn't provide enough submissions to support the two categories separately.
Best Art, Cover: The indie vote here is Thousand Suns, from Rogue Games. If you're going non-indie this time around, there's a lot to love here. The Scion covers have been gorgeous, and I pretty much love everything I see at Green Ronin's booth whenever I drop by -- Pirate's Guide to Freeport being no exception.
Best Art, Interior: Alpha Omega from Mindstorm Labs is our closest indie fit here (they're with IPR), and boy, they're entirely spot on about the art on this one. Check out some interior peeks (scroll down to see them) over at IPR's site. Outside the indie track, I know I drooled openly at Solomon Kane, and Changeling was pretty evocative.
Best Cartography: At present, indie doesn't really compete here. In a pinch, I'd throw Green Ronin some love, but I have to admit that I'm not yet well versed in most of these guys.
Best Production Values: What a kooky category! I think I've said most of what's to be said about the stuff here, already. Alpha Omega may well deserve your love.
Best Writing: I'm terribly biased here. For me, it's a fistfight of the indie kind between Monsters and Other Childish Things and Trail of Cthulhu, with Two-Fisted Tales swinging in with a surprise left cross. I won't tell you which one I'll pick above the others, but I have much love for the work and words of Ben Baugh and Ken Hite (both of whom have done/are doing work for Evil Hat, so yes, I'll fess up to being a little biased).
Best Rules: Trail of Cthulhu's here again as an IPR-sold contender. Alas, I have little knowledge of the other entrants, so Trail gets a firm and enthusiastic first place vote from me, here.
Best Adventure: Indie doesn't do adventures that often, so I'm not too shocked this one's devoid of things I've seen!
Best Monster/Adversary: Oh my (elder) gods, The Book of Unremitting Horror is full of exactly what this category's about.
Best Setting: Another fairly unfamiliar category here, though Warp World is from BTRC, a frequent member of the Forge Booth.
Best Supplement: Why, Ennies? Why must you stack Evil Hat up against Exile Studios (let alone Green Ronin) again? You can guess I'll be casting my vote for Spirit of the Season, while looking fondly upon Exile's Secrets of the Surface World. Those curious about Spirit of the Season can check out the special Ennies 40-page extended preview available for free on DriveThruRPG.
Best Accessory: I have never seen a sturdier nor more impressive GM screen than the one available from Exile Studios. For me, at least, it wins by a mile, and that's in a category full of worthies.
Best Miniature Product: If we didn't sell Disposable Heroes paper minis over at IPR, I'd still be a fan. What's particularly smart about this PDF product set is that each one contains three versions of the minis art, so you can print out ones according to your preference -- flat "chit" style, "teepee" style, or "prism" style. Badass.
Best Regalia: Hobby Games: The 100 Best from Green Ronin would have my vote even if they didn't include Amber Diceless and My Life With Master on their list. A fantastic book from a bunch of people I really respect.
Best Electronic Book: No indie contenders here per se, though I look upon the efforts of Open Design with a fair amount of enthusiasm.
Best Free Product: How did I not end up with all of this schwag? I stink.
Best d20/d20 OGL Product: Blue Devil Games didn't field a contender this year, for which I weep.
Best Game: I adore Monsters & Other Childish Things and would encourage folks to give it support in this category. Any game that's like Calvin & Hobbes where Hobbes is an eldritch horror from beyond the stars deserves some love. (Og: Unearthed is no slouch either -- and recently spawned a variant in my head built around zombies instead of cavemen.)
Product of the Year: Did I mention Monsters & Other Childish Things has completely captured my imagination? There's a reason I knew Benjamin Baugh was the right man to write Don't Lose Your Mind!
Fan's Choice: Best Publisher: So much to love here. I'm from Evil Hat, and if you like us, we really appreciate your vote. Other worthies from the indie and IPR scenes include Arc Dream, Cubicle 7, Exile Games Studio, Lumpley Games, Mind Storm Labs, Pelgrane Press, Precis Intermedia, and Schrodinger's Cat Press. Which isn't to say I don't have some love for the folks I'm NOT listing!
Thanks for tuning in, folks. That's as close as we'll get to a "ballot" this year. I'll put up a notice when it crosses my radar that Ennies voting is actually afoot!