Wednesday, July 4, 2007

...and I'm spent.

That's it. Depending on your timezone we either finished on time, or we didn't. Here we were 33 minutes late, but luckily it's the internet, and I can pretend I'm in Pacific or Mountain. Heck, I could just ignore Daylight Savings Time. Yeah, that's it...

Ok, so I've been working on this for nearly 24 hours now. Cut me a little slack.

We're done.

Technically that's not true. We need one judge to break a tie for Best Supplement, but then we're done. That's it. Every other category is posted.

Look for the nominations to be announced very soon. I want to say Friday, but don't hold me to it.

I'm going to maintain this blog a little longer, as I said before, so don't go away just yet. I'll discuss the nominations once they're announced, and answer any questions anyone might have.

Let me say this: I am happy with every nomination.

That doesn't mean that all of my personal picks made it. In fact, I'm a little depressed that two of my top 5 didn't make it into a single category, but everything that's on those lists deserves their spot. There just wasn't room for everything.

I seriously need to thank some people. First, Denise, Russ, and Rich did a fantastic job making these awards happen. There wouldn't be any awards without them. Of course the people who took a chance and voted me as judge need to be thanked as well, it was an awesome experience. Thanks also to the publishers and writers who submitted products. I loved so much of what I read this year, and it really did change the way I think about gaming.

I also need to thank the other judges. I can't believe you pulled it out like that at the last minute. It was completely amazing, and I am in awe. Oh, and I can't forget the podcasters who came together and helped me to create a whole new category. If I list you all this will be a long post indeed, but let me give a special thanks to Daniel Perez of the Gamer Traveler, who I know got the word out for me far better than I could have done alone. Oh, and Paul Tevis of Have Games, Will Travel. Believe it or not your thorough reviews helped me to first understand, then love, one of my favorite entries. Not to mention a story I have to tell you some time about how you made me get to work a half hour late, and then leave again, after listening to your show.

Finally, I need to thank my commenters,the people who stuck with this disjointed blog the whole way through, and the guys from the forums who helped me out. I don't know everyone, but Fred (Hicks?), Dave (Chapman?), and Jeff Combos, if you get a free second at GenCon, let me buy you a drink. In an industry full of cool people you guys really stand out.

Ok, enough. Exhaustion is setting in, and my wife and kids haven't seen me in three days. I'm off to convince the little ones that their dad still loves them before slipping into the blissful darkness of sleep.

Besides, this has dragged on far too long already.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Kevin called the last judge, the tie is broke. We are now DONE!

Fred said...

Yep, Fred = Hicks. :) I'd love to see you at GenCon; drop by the Forge Booth!

Daniel M. Perez said...

Hey, dude. I was very glad to have helped. :-)
Drop by the podcasting party so we can all say hi!

Unknown said...

I'll definitely be there. Right now the entirety of my plans for GenCon include the ENnie Awards and the podcasting party.

Oh, and apparently the smuggling of alcohol to the Forge booth.

Anonymous said...

Aw, shucks...thanks for the kind words.

I'm really looking forward to seeing you at Gen Con, but the only way I'm letting you buy me a drink is if I buy the next round. After that, we'll have to engage in some sort of elaborate social challenge involving bouncing dice into a shot glass.

Uh-oh. Did I just invent a gamer drinking game? I think I'll call it "Critical Hit," or perhaps "Called Shot to the Liver."

In any case, I'm really glad you and the fellow judges survived the big push. I am in awe of all that you've had to read, digest, and somehow rank against each other. It's a Herculean task, and you deserve some some time off.

Enjoy the rest and we'll see you at Gen Con!

Paul Tevis said...

"Oh, and Paul Tevis of Have Games, Will Travel. Believe it or not your thorough reviews helped me to first understand, then love, one of my favorite entries. Not to mention a story I have to tell you some time about how you made me get to work a half hour late, and then leave again, after listening to your show."

Awesome. We'll have to make time at GenCon for this.

Unknown said...

Definitely.