Hall of Fame Nominations 2023

[Aethera]

It's that time of year again, time for one of the most anticipated events in the RPG Crossing calendar. It's time for the Hall of Fame!

The Hall of Fame is already home to some of the greatest games this site has seen, but we know there are more out there that deserve to join the esteemed ranks of the HoF. It's time to let us know about them.

All of our Hall of Fame games are nominated (and often seconded) by our members from games that have either been running for at least a year at the time of nomination or are already completed. These rules get laid out at the beginning of our nominations phase, after which everyone on site is invited to vote for two of the nominated games. The top results of the popular vote then are offered to our Community Supporters, who get final say in which games get inducted into the Hall of Fame. (Details at the bottom of this post.)

Good luck!
~Aethera

NEW in 2023! This year we are introducing the Hidden Gems category and the Extraordinary category, both of which will consider the same nominees (and additional honorable mentions, if any) to accept another two games each year. (There are usually three accepted, barring tied voting.) These new categories will double-down on our "quality, longevity, good implementation" definition of what makes a game worthy of Hall of Fame notice, and a game with only two players is just as worthy as one with fifteen groups. Unique game concepts, decade-long games, and games with repeated Post of the Month nominations will get another consideration for Hall of Fame induction even if the popular vote eradicates them from the running. If you have questions about this process, please PM Aethera and she will update the Q&A section at the very end of this post to clarify. These categories will be judged by a judges panel led by Aethera, the current Hall of Fame moderator. This panel was selected from volunteers that are a mix of new and familiar faces, a mix of name colors as possible, and they will have a rubric in front of them. If you would like to be a Hall of Fame judge for the Class of 2023, it's not too late to apply. You may not be in the running as a GM to be a judge, and we'd prefer you weren't a player either in any of the nominated games. Click here and fill out the brief form. Applications to judge will be closed on April 15th when nominations close or if Aethera fills a well-balanced group from those who have already volunteered.

Game Criteria Solo Games must have at least 300 in-game posts. Group Games are eligible if they meet one of the following requirements: the game must have been active for at least a full year on this site (this means the game's first in-game post must be dated on or before March 15, 2022); or, the game must have at least 750 in-game posts and have reached its intended conclusion (please demonstrate how it's reached that conclusion). Games which have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame are ineligible for repeat nomination. However, previously nominated games that didn't get in are eligible. Staff-run games are no longer eligible for nominations. Inactive games are eligible for nomination! Just because a game is finished or has died off, it doesn't mean that it's not a prime example of what we like to see. You can nominate any game that meets the criteria, even if you were/are a GM/player! It's not arrogant. It's nominating a game that you loved and thought was great – and that's what we want to see. You must have at least 100 posts to nominate a game. Any unsportsmanlike behavior will invalidate a nomination, whether that nomination was posted by the bad sport or not, to be judged by Aethera. This includes, but is not limited to, PMing everyone you know to vote for your game, leaning on people to vote a certain way, as well as pretty much anything that wasn't said publicly. Posting a message in OOC threads in which you're involved saying one of your other games has been nominated is fine. That's spreading the word, especially if you ask everyone to come read all the nominations. Spending time in private trying to determine which game you think should be nominated (instead of other equally good games) just to try and ensure a game gets into the Hall of Fame is gaming the system. (PS - engaging in bad behavior on the part of someone else's game just to trigger this rule is also verboten.) Instead of any of the aforementioned bad behavior, perhaps your time would be better spent finding the best sections of the game to demonstrate its quality? Please don't make me be the bad guy.

What we are looking for in a game Quality posts – good role-playing is always a plus. Longevity – dedication to a game on this site is one of the highest aspirations of a GM and players. Good Implementation – whether it's a very unique game idea or it's a classical game idea done very well, a masterful GM and players make any game fun.

Nomination + Seconding Format Name: (include a link) DM(s): Self-explanatory. Current Players: include past players if you wish Reasons for nomination: Describe your reasons for nominating the game and why you think it deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame. Links: You must provide at least one link to a section of ten posts which you would like reviewers to read. This link is allowed a paragraph of up to 300 words to set the scene. You may only provide two of these linked sections. (Please stick to only two links, as it's unfair to others if your game gets more points of contact from reviewers. You can always have someone second the nomination to get two more! Thanks.) Post of the Month Nominations (optional): If any of the players or GM(s) were nominated for POTM, feel free to provide links to those nominations in addition to the links above. (POTM has an archive of every nomination thread; it shouldn't take too long to find the thread for the month related to your nominated posts.) The two-link rule as stated above does not apply to linking to nominations made for Post of the Month. If someone in your game won Post of the Month, definitely make a note of that! All that a post must have to qualify for this second link category is a nomination, not necessarily a win. (We know that completed games may not have POTM nominations that you can easily figure out, don't worry, you won't lose points for that.) N.B. This year, "Post of the Month Nominations" is an optional category. Next year it will be required; this is your fair warning. All of this makes it easier for the community, the Community Supporters, and the judges panel to review.

SECONDING nominations should contain their own nomination and description so that the thread isn't cluttered with people just posting "I second this!" Nominations that are a simple 'I second this nomination' will be deleted. Please do not "third" or "fourth" or "fifth" a nomination. It's annoying. Two is plenty.

On April 15th (a month from now), there will be a public poll to narrow the list down. Approximately a week after that, these games will be brought over to the CS Forum where the Community Supporters will decide which games make it in!

Want a hand in the final voting process? Go ahead and become a Community Supporter!

You can peruse all the previous Hall of Fame inductees here.

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Q & A

 

Q&A Can a seconding post include game links? Absolutely! Whomever posts to second a nomination can provide all the detail that a regular nomination gets. The seconding is designed to advance the game by allowing another perspective and additional game highlights. Once a nomination is posted or seconded, can the original poster make edits to any typos or fix any broken links? Yes, you may edit the entries. Most people don't look at them until nominations have closed. You may lose points from any early birds (I do not ask people to re-read just because of a broken link), but that's the reality of posting something without proofreading it carefully first. Can we nominate Outplay? Nope. Site competitions are not games in the same sense as the rest of the site games, and besides, they don't meet the other posted requirements. They already have their own forums precisely so we can point at them and say "look there, that's some great roleplayers battling for a prize". Can you help open games where the GM ghosted, or someone took over a game when the original GM left the site, with private threads or secret text? No. Sorry, games are going to have to stand as they are. Game threads are under the GM's purview, and if that GM isn't around to open them, we won't do it either. We're trying to respect all our game masters' rights to do their games their way.