Scummies Ideas, Suggestions and Comments Thread

[xRECKONERx]

Anybody out there feel like pitching in? We've got writers but everybody is lazy and we wanna knock this out. If you're interested, PM me.

[diginova]

I'll actually go and update the graphics once the cards are done, now that I'm feeling productive.

[Venmar]

I would help, but I don't think my type of writing fits with the type you guys do for the ceremony.

Plus I guess it's too late to apply anyways.

[xRECKONERx]

Hey everyone, popping in from the SSC to say that we're starting to consider some changes/updates to the Scummies, and wanted to hear from the community about any awards they thought were obsolete, or any areas of the site they felt aren't accurately represented. I'll say that my proposals at the moment are as such:

#1) Merge Best Role + Best Mechanic into a new category, or maybe just call it "Best Mutation" and have it encompass any sort of minutiae of setup design that doesn't take into account the setup as a whole.

#2) Fix Best Setup. At the moment, only themed games are winning it, and I think it's because people look for "innovation" over solid setup design. Opens and Normals should get a shot at winning Best Setup, too, so maybe we change the criteria or how it's judged? Dunno, but I think it needs work.

#3) Make "Most Enjoyable Game" instead be "Game of the Year" and rather than give it an award, setup a Hall of Fame for all previous winners too. Instead of handing out Scummies for it, we just keep an archive of what games best categorized that year in games.

#4) Get rid of Name in Orange and instead make it the "Golden Fedora" lifetime achievement award that is only handed out by mith whenever he feels someone needs it.

[animorpherv1]

#1 seems bad to me (they're 2 similar concepts, but merging them would remove both purposes, and make it a category that only themes would ever win), but the rest are at least alright.

[xRECKONERx]

Uhh, themes are the only ones that generally win role or mechanic as is?

[xRECKONERx]

The issue with Best Role is that "new roles" are generally just spins on older ones and that falls into mechanic/mutation.

[UberNinja]

#1) nah
#2) /support
#3) /support (with the caveat that I would like to see the mod of the "game of the year" still get to have a scummy banner, just not all the players)
#4) yeah i could see that. i kinda like it

[Faraday]

#3) /support (with the caveat that I would like to see the mod of the "game of the year" still get to have a scummy banner, just not all the players)

^ I want that, too.

Best Setup isn't "wrong" atm it just tends to go to themes. Normals are atm eligible. A new open being eligible seems fine, I think?

[zoraster]

We could scrap setup and mechanic altogether and do:

Best Theme Design
Best Normal or Open Design

[Faraday]

I think that has some merit. Hm.

I kind of like it but let me think. It does stop the "Hey nice mechanic but you used it in a crap set-up" thing that's possible if winning best mechanic (in theory) but I'm worried Smooth Operator/Best theme game/best normal game all become not like ridiculously different. Eh.

[zoraster]

Well, here's what I'd say about Smooth Operator

Get rid of it or at least make it "Best Moderation" and make that award about the general body of work. Really make it about who is the best mod over the past year, and stop focusing on just vote counts and stuff. That can be a piece of it, but it should also focus on how fun the games were that he ran, how many, and so forth.

Then the "Best Theme Design" becomes the single game award.

I actually think Best Normal/Open will go to Open game design more than Normal. In that case, it goes not to the mod but to the designer.

[Faraday]

Yeah, the designer(s) of an open would win, obviously. That's fine, anyway.

I think Smooth Operator is already a "Moderator Excellence" award looking at the current description, so that's fine. (And it's BOW)

[Kublai Khan]

Nominees should not be allowed to judge the categories that they are nominated for anymore.

[Cogito Ergo Sum]

Best Normal or Open Design seems narrow and unlikely to draw many nominations. If we want those categories to be better represented in the Best Set-up nominations, what we could do is ask the relevant list mods to take a look at year's end? I'd also be willing to do it otherwise.

1) I think Best Role has a place as a Scummie regardless of whether it's a well-nominated category. We don't have to hand it out every year but I think roles like Vengecop deserve recognition (yes, I'm aware it didn't win.)
2) See first paragraph.
3) This thing feels like a way to get rid of the "players get Scummies" aspect of the award without simply doing so.
4) I don't think that could replace our current functionality. As in 1), I think the more appropriate action is to more explicitly acknowledge that some Scummies just don't get handed out every year.

[zoraster]

I think Smooth Operator is already a "Moderator Excellence" award looking at the current description, so that's fine. (And it's BOW)

It really, really, really is not. Or at least that has not been how it has been interpreted by the judges.

[zoraster]

Nominees should not be allowed to judge the categories that they are nominated for anymore.

They weren't this year either. There was too much nominee chatter though. My suggested policy for next year is to say that if you post in a category's thread, you're disqualified from winning it. That's good because it'll let people who are nominated but don't think they have any chance of winning to still say something, but with the knowledge it makes it a certainty. Generally speaking, it's not that hard to narrow nominees down to 2 or 3 even in the biggest categories.

[Kublai Khan]

Nominees should not be allowed to judge the categories that they are nominated for anymore.

Theoretically they weren't this year either.

EH.....

[zoraster]

edited my post.

[Faraday]

It really, really, really is not. Or at least that has not been how it has been interpreted by the judges.

Um, I meant that we just changed it this year. Last year it wasn't but we already decided to make the change you made for this year I'm pretty sure

[Faraday]

4) I don't think that could replace our current functionality. As in 1), I think the more appropriate action is to more explicitly acknowledge that some Scummies just don't get handed out every year.

Agreed, here.

[UberNinja]

We could scrap setup and mechanic altogether and do:

Best Theme Design
Best Normal or Open Design

I think Smooth Operator is already a "Moderator Excellence" award looking at the current description, so that's fine. (And it's BOW)

It really, really, really is not. Or at least that has not been how it has been interpreted by the judges.

What, it's a single game thing?

Ew

[zoraster]

no, it was still body of work this year (for the first year) it's just that it focused more on vote counts, not making errors and such. Which is all important, but it's not the be all. Not to take anything away from the award winner, of course.

[mastin2]

#4) Get rid of Name in Orange and instead make it the "Golden Fedora" lifetime achievement award that is only handed out by mith whenever he feels someone needs it.

I think in theory this is a good idea, but I kinda feel like it cheapens the achievement if it's something handed out every year or two. Basically, to me, it feels as if a Golden Fedora is like a "lifetime name-should-be-in-orange" reward, if that makes sense, a greater version of the reward. Something not to be handed out trivially, but to be handed out on incredibly special occasions.

[UberNinja]

Like for instance, once someone "retires", never to return to that account, it should be considered being awarded to that person.

i.e. Flay hanging up the holsters and moving out into a new chapter of his life, etc.