How do you view game industry awards such as the ENnies, Origins Awards, BGG Golden Geek Awards, and Spiel des Jahres? On game forums, blogs, and podcasts, you find a gamut of opinions of the various awards. Some would say they are unfair or unbalanced. Others say they are just hype to sell more games. Others proclaim with great pride that they have won an award and quickly put logos, badges and stickers on their websites, game boxes, and books. As a freelancer, I consider them appreciation by the industry and fans for hard creative work.
At Gen Con this year, four games I was involved with as a freelancer were up for ENnie Awards. Two of them won Silver ENnies: Achtung! Cthulhu: Terrors of the Secret War won for Best Cover Art and MUTANT: Year Zero won for Best Rules. I was very surprised when Chris Birch, owner of Modiphius, asked me to stand on stage with the team to accept the awards. After the ENnie awards ceremony there is a picuture with all the winners. It was such an honor to be on stage with some of the icons of the rpg industry that I have respected for so long and enjoyed there games. Chris Birch surprised me again on Sunday while we were tearing down the Modiphius booth. He presenting one of the 2015 ENnie silver medals to me for my work on Achtung! Cthulhu and Mutant: Year Zero projects. He said I was an integral part of the team and helped Modiphius win these awards. He felt this would not be the last ENnie award-winning project that I would be involved with as a freelancer.
My first ENnie! Earned it for my work with Modiphius.To me, winning the ENnies reflected the appreciation of the judges and the fans for the great games we produced as a team. Being presented the actual medal almost brought me to tears. I know to many it is just a trinket, but to me, it symbolizes the hard work we did as a team and the appreciation the publisher has for my contribution. Receiving that medal challenges me even more to be the best freelancer I can for all the publishers I work with. I will display it above my desk in my home office as a reminder of all the hard but fun work, deep friendships, and many blessings I have as a freelancer in the game industry.
Have you been involved in a project that has won a gaming award? How did it make you feel? Does it challenge you to be even better for your next project?