You have a single prize to award to one noun — person, place, thing, or event — in recognition of excellence in gaming for the previous year, from July 2010 to July 2011. This is a prize of celebration and recognition only. No trophy, no money, no stickers, no medals.
What do you call your prize?
To what do you award your prize for the past year?
A single prize: Easy. Kickstarter.
Massive game-changer (excuse the pun), the full ramifications of which are only just now beginning to be realized.
What do I call it? The Alea.
My own game – I don’t care which one, I don’t want any votes for it (them) either, and I want everyone else to vote for themselves, too. People, nay, Gamers that are passionate enough about a game, event, place, person or thing to want to nominate it for an award are probably exactly the kind of people that make this tiny little hobby so great. And since I cannot nominate all these great people (the rules say “pick one”), I vote for myself and encourage YOU to vote for yourself, too! I dub it the “Pat on the back for being Awesome”.
The winning noun: Love.
The award: The False Hope.
Nothing more than love pulls each of us through the year, from day to day, hoping we’ll fulfill the joyous obligations of our loves. And I love it for it.
Kickstarter. I thought of that before seeing Gar’s comment, too.
I would call it the Gamechangers. I like that name. For things that have made a significant change to the way we publish or play games.
I would have to agree with Kickstarter, though it falls slightly out of the category. For an rpg, Fiasco. For boardgame, Survive: Escape From Atlantis.
The “Bloody Hell” award for making my jaw drop and frown furrow involuntarily.
Award to Nathan Russell (of Peril Planet) for mashing together The Sound of Music and a Clockwork Orange in 24 hours for a competition.
My “Insanely Fun” prize goes to PAX East 2011! It represented nearly everything that was excellent in gaming, including a HUGE and very active tabletop gaming area (with vendors in the gaming area, which makes ALL the difference!)
My Gamechanger Award nominee is the large format mobile device. I may be a year too soon. Kickstarter is a solid choice; watching it is like watching the Dutch tulip market in February, 1637.
I don’t know. I would have the award selected from a broad group of knowledgeable people, who would be given a mission to balance popularity and innovation, and would neither be insular nor a mob, and would be active players of RPGs, instead of scenesters who’d just like to keep their hands in.
The award would be given at a ceremony where there was music, but no filk, you have to wear a suit or decent dress, and where the food is good, the venue licensed, the doors mostly closed to rubbernecking and where for once, participants in the field would act with some self-respect.
Hey, can I play this game even if I’m already doing it? 🙂
http://www.thousandyeargame.com
Doesn’t exactly fit your parameters, but it’s pretty much my own take on the DJAs.
Innogametion.
Minecraft.
Lego finally done right for the PC, and spawning a whole new class of games and gameplay. Right now, all you can see is what’s above the water of this iceberg-sized innovation.