Origins Awards (was Re: [HoE] Re: Origins Dinner)

[Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>]

GMPrime@aol.com wrote:

> I'd be shocked if HOE wins this year.

I'd say its still got a pretty good shot at an award, although I can see how
you might feel that way.

HOE wasn't really anything new. The mechanics and system are all pretty much
DL, so it doesn't have the same innovating feel that I got from Deadlands.  DL
was really a fresh of breath air in a market that had gone a little stale and
in a genre that had never really been done well before.

As far as genre, though, I was very pleased with HOE. Until HOE came along, no
one had done a really good post-apocalypic game.  It's got a lot of the same
elements that made DL so fresh, but with a more modern backdrop to the
cthulhu-horror stuff.  And its got the same flexibility that made DL a great
success. Wanna do a Night of the Living Dead or Army of Darkness shoot-em-up?
No problem.  Supernatural investigation with high casualty rates? No problem.
Political intrigue and lots of social interation rolls? No problem. And the
playing cards and poker chips still kick ass.

But is HOE a game of the year?  I dunno. Great system, but a lot of new space
opera games (another genre that is tough to do) came out this year.  We'll see
what happens.

I think Brave New World has a better shot at snagging an award, if done well.
Champions: The New Millenium looked great but I haven't seen it strongly
supported, and I don't know much about the other Superhero games, but it looks
like there's plenty of room in that genre for some new titles.