The Scummies, 2011... Live! (ish)

[zoraster]

Others argued that it wasn't really a new "mechanic," just kind of like an out-of-game hydra. They said it didn't inherently change the way the game was played, in the thread, and I just ... well, totally disagreed.

That would be a fundamental misunderstanding of Team Mafia, and an appallingly narrow vision of what a mechanic is, but thank you.

[Iecerint]

Psychic Mafia was fun. It's hard to believe how many of our early game reads were on-track.

[Amrun]

Everyone's opinion was valid. I just happened to have a different one.

[Benmage]

How was Stars Aligned III received by the voters? (under best town category)

[Amrun]

Didn't judge that one as I was up for that award.

[Rhinox]

I bet everyone was all hatin' on color concentration mafia saying we didn't deserve best town because scum played bad

[katsukiknowsbest]

@Zora: Well, I mean, I was part of the winners, it's just...I dunno, not the best memories of the game. Ythill was probably who most would consider the most talented of that scum team and he really dropped the ball.

OH WELL I GOT A SCUMMY BANNER SO I'LL QUIT LOOKING GIFT HORSES IN THE MOUTH =D

By the time Ythill got to post half the town was already cleared so he really had no one to push. And the players he pushed turned out townie when they posted so not much be could do.

[xRECKONERx]

Regarding Team Mafia:

I'm not sure why it didn't win. Our group only got to judge the second half of the awards and then the first half versus second half finals. We were all shocked that Team Mafia didn't make it. Anyone who says it wasn't really a mechanic or that it didn't change the way the game was played obviously didn't play in it, or play the same way SDC did. Being constantly active in four games at once and trying to catch scumslips cross-game based on certain teammates making mistakes was a brand new mechanic, as was the scoring system which made certain decisions like Fate/Nacho bussing Fugitive in AMG a very risky decision. In fact, Magua's Marketplace mechanic was more "stale" than Team Mafia, as buy-your-powers have been done time and time again... I still think he's perfectly deserving of an award, but I know for our group, if Team Mafia had been up there in the finals, it would've been a slam dunk victory.

Here's to hoping Team Mafia 2012 actually wins it.

[xRECKONERx]

Psychic Mafia winning Best Town was also decidedly unexpected... but all of the nominees for Best Town Performance were rather weak compared to past years' winners. I think the fact that Psychic Mafia ended on D2 with a perfect victory and town was able to work together to derail wagons on other townies while not falling victim to severe infighting is what gave it the edge. I think it was up against Back to the Future Mafia in the finals, IIRC.

[Vi]

In fact, Magua's Marketplace mechanic was more "stale" than Team Mafia, as buy-your-powers have been done time and time again... I still think he's perfectly deserving of an award, but I know for our group, if Team Mafia had been up there in the finals, it would've been a slam dunk victory.

Here's to hoping Team Mafia 2012 actually wins it.

"I still think he's perfectly deserving of an award" very obviously in practice means

He should not have gotten an award

. Scummies are zero-sum.

Here's to me challenging Team Mafia 2012.

[xRECKONERx]

Not really. The best people for the award don't always win. It's not a perfect science. People who don't win can be deserving, as can those that do.

[Vi]

Not really. The best people for the award don't always win. It's not a perfect science. People who don't win can be deserving, as can those that do.

I don't disagree. But there's only one award. The problem is more systemic than a matter of a preferred candidate not winning.

[zoraster]

I don't think it's necessarily wrong to say that Magua was a deserving winner, but shouldn't have won. To "deserve" it is a matter of being worthy of an award in abstract. And I think marketplace mafia meets that standard. It may not have been innovative in its overarching theme -- Trader Mafia and others certainly used somewhat similar mechanics -- but it may have been done it the best. And I think we risk incentivizing the wrong behavior if we overvalue NEW NEW NEW at the entire expense of something that is evolutionary and well executed.

And so when you say something is "deserving" of an award in the abstract, you can still say that in the particular competition between different games, it should not have won.

It's a way of saying, in other words, that we don't need to drag down one game in order to elevate another. I certainly don't begrudge Magua winning an award even if I think our game should have won it instead.

In any event, no sense crying over spilled milk. The judges have a tough job.

[Parama]

omg

arguing about fake internet awards

ON THE INTERNET

such a big deal

who really cares

[zoraster]

omg

arguing about fake internet awards

ON THE INTERNET

such a big deal

who really cares

1. Aren't you the one who was arguing about what your title was?

2. Pulling out the "it's the internet! stop taking it so seriously!" thing in an internet community rings really hollow, and damages the community itself. We take mafia and our community seriously. I see nothing wrong with that.

3. You have 13,000 posts here.

4. It makes it feel particularly aggressive when you yourself HAVE one of those awards.

[SleepyKrew]

I believe this is where I say "Oh schnapp".

[Parama]

1. which is related how
2. well maybe we should stop being so stuck-up then
3. ya mafia is fun y'know
4. because I totally deserved it yeah no

[Xalxe]

Goddammit guys, can we keep drama out of the Scummies thread? Please?

[SleepyKrew]

That's a funny joke thar Xalxe.

[Xalxe]

Shut up fetusboy.

[SleepyKrew]

That's a new one. I'm curious as to its conception.

[zoraster]

Wow. Surprisingly clever.

[UberNinja]

SleepyKrew learned what class was as soon as he joined TEAM BIFADMVOC.

Or maybe he brought the class... I'm not sure. Either way, I agree w/you Z.

[SleepyKrew]

Def the latter.

[Vi]

I certainly don't begrudge Magua winning an award even if I think our game should have won it instead.

What you've been doing kind of looks precisely like begrudging Magua winning an award though.

I mean

I don't think it's necessarily wrong to say that Magua was a deserving winner, but shouldn't have won.

"oh second place should have been FINE for Magua! He did such a good job."

Now, and listen to this--

Based on wild hearsay that I might just be making up but I'm probably not, there were four-ish games in contention for the award.
*Maf. MetaMafia
*RPG Maf.
*Team Maf.
*Marketplace Maf.
off the top of my head.

All of them took a ludicrous amount of effort over and beyond your average game, were mechanically successful, and would all be good candidates for an award. Furthermore, Scummies aren't AFAIK intended to be some lifetime achievement award (unless you're MeMe); they're roughly a measure of who's hot right now. Would it be wrong or otherwise a bad idea to turn the winner-takes-all Scummies we have now and create a one-to-five-person WINNING! tier over and above the rest of the nominees?