2009 Player Choice Awards: Results and Statistics
By
airhead,
Posted on: 2009-11-09 19:29 in Mission Architect
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Two of the winners were ones that I nominated as my first choice, while two of the second runner ups were also ones that I nominated as first choice.
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Originally Posted by Jail_Bird
I have a question for other people who voted in all of the categories. What was your hit to miss ratio? In my case, it ended up that I had voted for seven of the winners as my first choice, with the other two being my second. I'm curious to see how others who voted in all the catories did just to get some sort of basis of comparison.
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A Penny For Your Thoughts #348691 <- Dev's Choice'd by Dr. Aeon!
Submit your MA arc for review & my arcs thread
I didn't vote for my own arc and if I had, my math says I would have taken second place in my category. I just thought that anachrodragon's arc fit the description better than my own did. No gaming the system or anything else. I know I'm not being accused of it, but I wanted to point out that it shouldn't be assumed that someone will always vote for themselves. If there hadn't been a second place option, I still woudn't have voted for myself.
Personally, I don't like the two votes per category system and think fewer nominees would do us some good. It would mean more time spent getting the nominations ironed out, but would make it a lot more likely we would all have time to run all the arcs in a given category.
Any way you slice it, I'm glad this happened and Bubbawheat is awesome for taking the time to put it together. Congrats to everyone nominated!
I actually voted for Geek's before my own, because Speeding Through Time is just too damned fun. 
I really appreciate everyone who took the time to play The Next War on Drugs. The contest was a great idea, but moreso than winning votes, I think the most valuable thing I got from it was just more plays and more feedback on my arc. I really got some great comments and I feel like I know what changes I need to make, and then I'll mark this one final. So thanks for taking a look at my arc! It will be better off for your input.
Then I'll have to work on the sequel. There's still a boss out there that needs to be dealt with... 
Also, I want to say big congrats to all the other winners. As well as thanks to all of the participants for contributing some awesome arcs. I also think it would be kind of cool to have maybe a smaller scale themed contest every month... although I know it would take a lot of work to organize.
Congratulations to all the winners of the Player Choice Awards and, as many others have mentioned, a very big hand to Bubbawheat for organizing this!
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I think once there is a list of arcs that pass the first test, maybe send them (post them) to the forums but the devs then can play them and then vote for 'em. |
Originally Posted by Dalghryn
Re. The voting process: Unfortunately, public voting can devolve into a popularity contest, either deliberately or accidentally. If one creator is a member of a big SG, for instance, and word gets out about his/her entry, you can get a dozen votes for that creator's arc from people that only vote in that category. Ideally, the voting should be conducted by a committee chosen in advance, however the amount of work necessary would be insane.
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Public voting is 'nice' and all but...yeah, just a popularity contest more than likely. I know I didn't play any of the arcs at all (haven't touched MA in...uh, after the MA badge fixing)..just voted for BDV's arc because he's an sgmate/friend-in-game same goes for my 2nd place vote of PW's arc.
Leader of The LEGION/Fallen LEGION on the Liberty server!
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Wait, what? I won?
I won! I won!
Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!
*Bounces around the room*
I want to thank the members of the academy, Eva and Lazarus for nominating me (*nom nom*), my pet rock for keeping me company while I made the arc, everyone who's played it and liked it, everyone who's played it and didn't like it, Hero 1 for pushing to create the system, everyone else who worked on the system, and Dr. Aeon, just because he's doing AE stuff here, the panel of judges who selected my arc to pass the first cut, and Bubba for organizing the contest in such splendid manner!
*Pant* *Wheeze*
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Ancillary arcs?|
Originally Posted by Jail_Bird
First of all, I would strongly recommend renaming Epic category to something that isnt as loaded a term like High Level Arc. Epic means too many things to too many people. If you want to do an Epic category in addition to this, thats fine, too. I personally dont see a need for such a thing but, others may.
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@Dr. Aeon: Any chance of incresing the space for the arc title so I can fit the award in it as well? *Cough*
Did my arc have the longest title? I think it did...
Players' Choice Awards: Best Dual-Origin Level Range Arc!
It's a new era, the era of the Mission Architect. Can you save the Universe from...
The Invasion of the Bikini-clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space? - Arc ID 61013
Gratz to the winners, I saw a lot of good arcs in the 3rd and 4th place ranks that I had forgotten about.
Thanks to Doc Aeon too for rednaming the thread so maybe a few other forumites might catch these awesome arcs.
"...his madness keeps him sane.": My Profile on VirtueVerse
Can You WIN the Internet? MA Arc #85544
Inhuman Resources - At Work with IE #298132
Task Force Mutternacht #349522 <-- 1st AE Challenge
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Actually, this is pretty much what I have in mind. Something similar to the Fan Art Wars in the Screenshots & Fan Creations forum. Going one month at a time, possibly with some overlap in there. Still working out the details. Definitely starting with something about custom mobs though.|
Originally Posted by anachrodragon
Also, I want to say big congrats to all the other winners. As well as thanks to all of the participants for contributing some awesome arcs. I also think it would be kind of cool to have maybe a smaller scale themed contest every month... although I know it would take a lot of work to organize.
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Originally Posted by Jail_Bird
I have a question for other people who voted in all of the categories. What was your hit to miss ratio? In my case, it ended up that I had voted for seven of the winners as my first choice, with the other two being my second. I'm curious to see how others who voted in all the catories did just to get some sort of basis of comparison.
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Also, looking back through the judging process. Categories will be chosen much more carefully to try and avoid any overlap next time. Since there were several arcs nominated in one category and didn't do well, when they could have done much better in a different category.
Thanks everyone who voted for my arc, I really appreciate it.
And congrats to all the other winners and runners-up ... some really awesome arcs.
131430 Starfare: First Contact
178774 Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name ( 2009 MA Best In-Canon Arc ) ( 2009 Player Awards - Best Serious Arc )
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I think no. Spread the wealth, I say.|
Originally Posted by GrinningSpade
In the judging process we eliminated arcs that were nominated for more categories. This gave us more arcs to nominate but it also meant that arcs lost a chance of winning a category they were nominated for. I am curious what everybody else thinks of this ruling. Should we allow double or tripple categories per arcs next year or not?
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Although this should be spelled out in advance, so people whose nomination gets nominated for another category can choose to nominate a different arc.
I don't believe we had any issues with having to decide which category the multi-nominations would be in, since they all got an automatic pass in one category due to multiple nominations, but some plan for how to deal with arcs nominated for multiple categories that don't get the popularity vote in one should be in place just in case. Maybe have the judges decide a few days before nominations close?
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Originally Posted by Dalghryn
Re. Authors voting for themselves or not: I think it should be set up to be all of one or the other. In other words, either authors should not be allowed to vote for themselves, or they should automatically be considered as having voted for their own arc without the option to change it. With all respect, this issue became a gamemanship thing, and every effort should be made to eliminate gamemanship in future awards.
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| Re. Previous award winners: I may be opening another can of wrigglers here, but I think previous winners of any kind should be ineligible. I'm all for spreading the wealth and recognizing arcs that haven't been recognized since there's so little recognition to be had. Dev's Choices, Hall of Fame, Guest Authors, and Previous Player Award Winners have had some spotlight already. Shine it on other people. |
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| Re. The voting process: Unfortunately, public voting can devolve into a popularity contest, either deliberately or accidentally. If one creator is a member of a big SG, for instance, and word gets out about his/her entry, you can get a dozen votes for that creator's arc from people that only vote in that category. Ideally, the voting should be conducted by a committee chosen in advance, however the amount of work necessary would be insane. |
Any time you have anything chosen by the people, there will be a possibility of a popularity contest. I'd hope the people involved are mature enough to go beyond that and vote for what they considered the best arcs. Sadly, it seems in at least one case I'm wrong. Possibly require voters to add a brief comment, stating why they chose the arcs they did?
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| Mandating voters to cast in at least two categories could be an option, but that has its problems, too. I'm not certain what the solution would be, but we don't want this to become a popularity contest instead of a contest based on the merits of the arcs. If public voting does continue, however, I think it should be by PM to Bubba or his designees. That would eliminate other issues of gamesmanship. And, looking back at whether or not authors should vote for their own work, it would also make it much less problematic for them to do so (or not) if their decisions aren't being scrutinized in public. |
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
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There is a disadvantage to this approach, that being that it's possible for a popular arc to sweep all the categories, which makes the whole thing kind of less interesting. Still, it's a discretion thing.|
Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
I think no. Spread the wealth, I say.
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| Agree. Although arcs that receive Dev's Choice after nominations have closed should still be eligible. |
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| Not letting everyone vote would be against the spirit of "Players' Choice." Keeping the votes private would not really help, since you can't stop people from discussing their votes, or their thoughts on the arcs. We had the option to vote privately, and I think that was a good idea. |
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| Any time you have anything chosen by the people, there will be a possibility of a popularity contest. I'd hope the people involved are mature enough to go beyond that and vote for what they considered the best arcs. Sadly, it seems in at least one case I'm wrong. Possibly require voters to add a brief comment, stating why they chose the arcs they did? |
Astoria in D Minor, a horror arc. Arc ID: 41565 - The Beating Heart of Astoria: A Play in Five Acts. Arc ID: 170547 - Ignition of the Machine, a story with robots. Arc ID: 318983
Captain Skylark Shadowfancy and the Tomorrownauts of Today. Arc ID: 337333 - Signal:Noise, where is everybody? Arc ID: 341194
@The Cheshire Cat - Isn't it enough to know I ruined a pony making a gift for you?
12 second horror stories - a writing experiment.
Captain Skylark Shadowfancy and the Tomorrownauts of Today. Arc ID: 337333 - Signal:Noise, where is everybody? Arc ID: 341194
@The Cheshire Cat - Isn't it enough to know I ruined a pony making a gift for you?
12 second horror stories - a writing experiment.
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Yeah, that's kind of what I meant by "spread the wealth." Allow as many arcs to be recognized as possible, therefore, one category per arc.|
Originally Posted by The_Cheshire_Cat
There is a disadvantage to this approach, that being that it's possible for a popular arc to sweep all the categories, which makes the whole thing kind of less interesting. Still, it's a discretion thing.
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| I'm not sure which arc you're referring to here, I didn't run everything but most of the stuff that won would have been my picks or at least something that I think deserved it - but otherwise it's a good idea. From an author's perspective it's not very helpful if someone just says they like your arc; it's much better if they give a brief explanation WHY they liked it. |
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
Fantastic work Bubbawheat! Very professionally run.
Since you've asked the forum, some trivial comments from me below.
Re: nominations thinned to only be represented in one category each
I thought this was good. I felt my own arc was as a drama with added comedy, but heck, this is the Player's Choice, not Author's Choice, and players put it where they felt it belonged. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me, I never imagined it'd do so well!
Re: eliminating arcs that already have other front-page awards
I agree with Eva Destruction, leave out those already awarded. We were lucky to have this competition run coincident with Dr. Aeon's awards, so those arcs got included, and got plays they deserved as well. Perhaps this decision can wait til the next Player Awards is about to begin.
Re: nominating arcs - stretching beyond this forum
I agree the process did lean towards MA forum regulars. But I don't think self-nominating alone will solve this. Hopefully Bubbawheat might be able to work with Dr. Aeon to get this competition some in-game attention? Probably just guiding players to the forum from one of those pop-up ads during login.
Re: nominating arcs - how to ensure the author is still around?
Authors might go, but they might come back too, so if their stuff is really awesome, it should still win. I don't think anything needs to change here. With the changes to each release of the game, neglected arcs get buggy and that can rule them out during the semi-finals. By that process, most arcs that get through will have recently active authors.
Re: players voting instead of a panel
I would hate to have to be that panel. It was hard enough trying to cut the categories to five, so that voter-players would only have to play 5 arcs to cast a vote. I say let the players continue to vote. It would be great if there was a mechanism that ensured voters played all finalist arcs in that category. Even if players do vote for their buddy instead of the 'best' arc, its the plays that count when you don't win. And 80% of finalist arcs don't win Also, while it has elements of a popularity contest, it is not the same as Hall of Fame. In this process, there is no "unpopular vote" (griefing) so a love-it-or-hate-it arc could win, since there's only the love
Re: Is 'Epic' really epic?
As I said in the "behind the scenes" notes, I think an arc written for the biggest heroes needs to be appropriate for their status. That doesn't mean it has to 'save the world' every time. Even little things can require major heroes, such as mentoring a protege. So, no, epic arcs don't have to be grandiose at all. But they do have to be appropriate for that stage of a hero's career (this is true of every category -- AVs are usually a bad idea in TO arcs). I like the name 'epic'. It's for players with epic powers. It's not a movie, it's an arc.
Re: Authors voting for themselves?
Is good. But those authors should know they have to be sure, and play the other arcs in the category before voting! Again, a matter of trust between players and organizers, but if it ever did get out of hand, organizers could call abusive players/authors to check opinions of other arcs. The threat of the snap audit! Might never happen. But... it... just... might.
Re: More time for voting?
Perhaps. The schedule was staggered as the category finalists were released, not sure how much that helped/hindered. I wouldn't want this to drag on too long, but I'd like to see categories be played thoroughly. Maybe even 4 finalists in each category?
(new topic) Are 'SO', 'TO', 'DO' good names?
These are a bit technical for my liking. I agree with how the level ranges were determined. The Arena uses wrestling/boxing terms to split this up. Ideally, something could be sourced from other composition awards here. Or elements of a story: Chapter 1/2/3/4, Prologue/Introductory/... but whatever is chosen needs to avoid leading players to expect any particular kind of story, other than the level range.
Re: MCM's best custom critter
Great idea. It could be a contact, it might not even be a custom (such as Becky in Becky's Revenge). Just a great actor. It would be impossible to expect a player to play ALL arcs to pick this 'objectively' so it'd need to have nominations just like other categories, and might even be a secondary award, selecting from just the finalist arcs (again to avoid making the voter's effort ridiculously big).
Pardon ramble, airhead
Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
Arc: Coming Soon: The Incarnate Shadow Shard of Fire and Ice Mender Rednem needs you!
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I don't know what it's like on the NA side, but the billboards for ads over on EU have been abandoned for a while now. It'd be nice if we could convert them to advertise community events such as this when they're not in use.
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Originally Posted by airhead
Re: nominating arcs - stretching beyond this forum
I agree the process did lean towards MA forum regulars. But I don't think self-nominating alone will solve this. Hopefully Bubbawheat might be able to work with Dr. Aeon to get this competition some in-game attention? Probably just guiding players to the forum from one of those pop-up ads during login. |
A Penny For Your Thoughts #348691 <- Dev's Choice'd by Dr. Aeon!
Submit your MA arc for review & my arcs thread
Wow! I didn't even know about this contest until today. I'm really honored that I was nominated at all (for my arc "Seeking Men" for Comedy), and very flattered that I tied for 3rd.
The best part of this contest is that I have a huge list of great arcs to play through! Grats to everyone and thanks Bubbawheat for organizing this! Also thank you to Lazarus, who nominated me and who, if I remember correctly, must have been one of the first people to leave me feedback or even play my arc.
And thank you, Liquid, for telling me that I won a contest that I didn't even know about!
That made my day.
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I like this idea. I'd have voted for the Injustice Legion from Wrong Number's arcs as the best custom group if I could have.
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Re: MCM's best custom critter Great idea. It could be a contact, it might not even be a custom (such as Becky in Becky's Revenge). Just a great actor. It would be impossible to expect a player to play ALL arcs to pick this 'objectively' so it'd need to have nominations just like other categories, and might even be a secondary award, selecting from just the finalist arcs (again to avoid making the voter's effort ridiculously big). |
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Dangit. I thought I left a feedback tell about the contest when I played the arc. Sorry about that. Hopefully things like this will work out smoother next time. (coming soon)
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Originally Posted by Fatare
Wow! I didn't even know about this contest until today. I'm really honored that I was nominated at all (for my arc "Seeking Men" for Comedy), and very flattered that I tied for 3rd.
The best part of this contest is that I have a huge list of great arcs to play through! Grats to everyone and thanks Bubbawheat for organizing this! Also thank you to Lazarus, who nominated me and who, if I remember correctly, must have been one of the first people to leave me feedback or even play my arc. And thank you, Liquid, for telling me that I won a contest that I didn't even know about! That made my day. |
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So we'd just be voting on their name, or would this be a costume contest as well, power set and design etc. or what? "Best dressed" catagory? |
Originally Posted by MrCaptainMan
I'd also like a new category added next year-Best Named Custom Critter. I dont mean custom group, i think our awards should have a Best Actor/Actress equivalent.
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Or Worst Dressed .............|
Originally Posted by Clave_Dark_5
So we'd just be voting on their name, or would this be a costume contest as well, power set and design etc. or what? "Best dressed" catagory?
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In that case, I may have a winner.
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In order for your joke misunderstanding to work perfectly, wouldn't i have had to say 'Best-Named Custom Critter'? :P|
Originally Posted by Clave_Dark_5
So we'd just be voting on their name, or would this be a costume contest as well, power set and design etc. or what? "Best dressed" catagory?
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I'd like to reiterate btw that I was not referring to a custom group but to specifically named custom critters. If someone suggests we have a category for Best Custom Group as well, I'm fine with that.
Hm, I wonder if Destiny from my arc The Audition would fit to both categories? Since shes's a hive mind, her entire group is one entity
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
[The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."
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Oh wow, I'm honored and humbled. Thanks to everyone who played and voted (even those who didn't vote for me! ), and especially thanks to Bubbawheat and all the behind-the-scenes volunteers who helped.
I'm only sorry I didn't have enough time to play and vote on arcs in all categories; someday I'll find time to get through all the Multi-Part arcs, I hope. They all look like they had great premises.
If anyone feels like putting a new contest together soon, might I suggest an MA Slam? Pick a topic/theme/phrase/enemy group and give all the contestants 1 hour, see what they come up with. I think it would be hilariously fun to do.
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While you can make the distinction between movies and arcs, I think that most players voting will not. As long as the name Epic is attached to this category I would bet you any amount of money you care to lose that there is going to be confusion over exactly what this category title means with most players voting for the "save the world" arcs over others. Like I said in my previous post, if you want the category to be all about voting for that style of arc, then that is fine. However, I got the distinct impression that the category was purely a designator for arcs for level 41 to 50 characters based upon how the other categories (TO, DO, and SO) where named. If this is the case, then I would recommend purely naming the categories by level bands (i.e. Best 1 to 15 Level arc, etc.). Ultimately, it is Bubba's decision and, while I agree that the term Epic does sound cool, I strongly feel that it is a term that is going to create more problems than it is worth in the long run.
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Originally Posted by airhead
Re: Is 'Epic' really epic?
As I said in the "behind the scenes" notes, I think an arc written for the biggest heroes needs to be appropriate for their status. That doesn't mean it has to 'save the world' every time. Even little things can require major heroes, such as mentoring a protege. So, no, epic arcs don't have to be grandiose at all. But they do have to be appropriate for that stage of a hero's career (this is true of every category -- AVs are usually a bad idea in TO arcs). I like the name 'epic'. It's for players with epic powers. It's not a movie, it's an arc. |
Jail.Bird
I would agree with the above poster that use of the word Epic is a bit of a misnomer. Potential confusion could be averted by renaming those categories to something more appropriate ie. Low-Level, Mid-Level, and High-Level.
I have a question for other people who voted in all of the categories. What was your hit to miss ratio? In my case, it ended up that I had voted for seven of the winners as my first choice, with the other two being my second. I'm curious to see how others who voted in all the catories did just to get some sort of basis of comparison.
Jail.Bird