The Altarian Star Awards

from Stardock Forums
The intent of these Awards is to reward the efforts of our writers who have added so much color and life to the Meta-universe that we have here in the Forum.

The Awards would be given out every 4 months. The period of the inaugural Awards would be from 1 Apr 2003 to 31 Jul 2003.

A total of three Awards would be given out:

The Altarian Gold Star
The Altarian Silver Star and
The Altarian Bronze Star

This thread would contain the Award rules and regulations. I will open another thread named The Altarian Star Awards Nominations which would allow each of you to nominate up to a maximum of 3 stories that you believe is deserving of an Award.

The deadline for nominations would be 3 Aug, Sunday 2359 EST.

Once nominations are closed, a committee of neutrals will shortlist the most deserving nominations for the final vote. Each Metaverse registered Galciver then will have one vote that they may cast in a closed ballot. The 3 nominees with the highest number of votes will be honored with the Awards.

The nominations should be in the following format.

Author
Excerpt of the work that you are nominating (in quotes)
Short commentary on its context / Reason for your nomination

Note that you are nominating for the best stories, not the best authors so it is possible for an author to receive multiple nominations for different stories written.

That’s all the rules and regulations that I could think of now. I may add others if the need arises.

Have fun!
1,079 views 56 replies
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Hey Ray.

I've been writing a fan-fic. A first person perspective of the gal civ universe from one soldiers point of view. Some non-gal civ elements have been added like z coordinates, since space is 3 dimentional and not x,y only.

On my third chapter. Would this qualify?

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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Sure, but you must post your story in the Galciv forum before 31 Jul 03, 2359 EST to qualify for this round.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
I'll wait it out then. Have a lot of editing and clearing up I need to do. Thanks! and great Idea!
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
Yup, there always the 2nd Altarian Star Awards later in the year.

Do some polishing on your story. ;)
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
great Idea
End of quote


Thanks. I'm already thinking about the Award Ceremony to be held in the Stardock Chat.

Wonder who we should invite for the ceremony performances. :D

If any of you have ideas on how to make this more fun or wish to help out, do drop a line here.
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Once the nominations are closed, I would need 3 neutral volunteers to serve in the nomination shortlist panel.

Obviously, you must not be one of those nominated for the Awards.

Those with literary credentials (eg, professor in literature) will be favored.

No, I'm joking, anyone willing to help is welcome.
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Ray,
is a four month period too long?

I would suggest a one - two month period would be better because,

(a) It gives more frequent rewards
(b) The turn over of people on the forums is probably fairly high
(c) Peoples memories are probably not that good for four months back
(d) People would constantly be aware of the awards and would keep it in mind when they read something they really liked.

Great idea and I'll be very interested in seeing how it goes.

Paul.



~SDC~
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
I thought of that, Paul. I was thinking that the award gets less valuable if they are given out frequently.

But you are right. Four months is too long. Maybe two months would be better.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
A question: are we looking for best pieces of individual storytelling, or best pieces that advance the storyline, or what?

If the former, I'll volunteer for the shortlist committee. I'm "clean," having never written for the forum. (Though I've wanted to, other timesinks have gotten in the way.)
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
Excellent question, Michael.

Opinions everyone. What should the judging criteria be?
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
I'd say best individual work, regardless of plot arc.

Then again, perhaps you should listen to someone who has a shot of winning this instead of me. :p
[Message Edited]
Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
I'd say individual storytelling. It allows for more flexibility. It's my understanding that the broad brush strokes of the action have already been pre-planned, not much room for creativity.

~SDC~
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
well that rules me out.. my storys depend on others reactions... for what happens next... and its not easy thinking of things on the fly like that... unlike solo ventures where they can sit and write and amend for hours.... mine is all done when i read the others reply



~SDC~
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm looking for opinions from everyone, both writers and readers.
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
Ray- there are some submissions (not mine) that I would like to nominate. Will do so within 24 hours. Cheers.
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
That's great, Chris. Remember that each of us can make a max of 3 nominations.
Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top
Bluesteel:

The intent of these Awards is to reward the efforts of our writers who have added so much color and life to the Meta-universe that we have here in the Forum.
End of quote


The nominations should be in the following format.
Author
Excerpt of the work that you are nominating (in quotes)
Short commentary on its context / Reason for your nomination
End of quote


Even if you're branching off from somebody else's post or story, I think you can still qualify under Ray's suggested guidelines. It's how much the reader enjoys it that matters.

Ray:

A question: are we looking for best pieces of individual storytelling, or best pieces that advance the storyline, or what?
End of quote


Excellent question, Michael.
Opinions everyone. What should the judging criteria be?
End of quote


As per my comment to Bluesteel, I think you already have all the criteria that you need. "Just plain good" should be the basis for the judging, as long as the piece is cited correctly.

If I am not nominated (with my few awkward attempts, it's not bloody likely anyway), I'd like to volunteer for the committee. I'm taking a break from playing the game itself at the moment anyway.
Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top
Okay, since we are having a discussion on the Awards.

How frequently should the Awards be given out?

I said 4 months ealier but after considering Paul's points, I'm leaning towards 2 months.

Opinions.
Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top
First edition of the awards should cover the original four month spread suggested from April to July. The subsequent awards two months apart sound fine. As for the reward criteria, I suggest an all-around award based on anything the nominators find compelling about the story, whether it be a part of a long arc, a single short story, or even if just the ideas of the story grabbed the reader somehow.
Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top
A small voice of disagreement: I left this thread alone waiting to see what the response would be. I wonder if the lack of nominations means that players don't want to look back through hundreds of posts to find their favourite. Also, I wonder if it isn't nicer to simply have a way of recognising and appreciating writers without burdening us all with events, awards, rating systems, deadlines, etc.

Perhaps a system akin to the Baseball Hall of Fame, where people who have written well are simply applauded by the gaming community and voted on to an honour roll, without having to 'win' at someone else's expense or be judged? I commented in the Fellowship thread that I thought literary criticism was creeping in, and felt that this might act to discourage nervous newbies. I wouldn't want this to be that wolf in sheep's clothing, much as I DO like and support any effort to show appreciation to those who offer their writing as gifts to the gaming community. Perhaps every registered player could be eligible to vote and a writer would need 5, 10 votes or whatever to make it in to 'the Hall" or something like that. A non-competitive show of appreciation for literary gifts.

I mean, it's not as if we need to be involved in some endless point scoring exercise, is it? Oh, wait....
[Message Edited]
Reply #23 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm open to suggestions on what would be the most fun, Wombat.

What do the rest of you think?

Would awards be another endless point scoring exercise, discourage newbies, ete?
Reply #24 from Stardock Forums Top
I like the idea of awards every few month to say thanks for a fun piece of writing that cheered people. I don't think this approach would discourage new writers and contributions as it shouldn't comment on writing in general, just pick out things people liked and enjoyed.

There will be the issue that a lot of nominations will probably be topic or time based and appeal to people who were there at the time. I don't think this is a problem though. So long as any voting and discussions are positive (as in I like this one because) and not negative (as in this piece is crap) then all should be fine.

I would suggest you leave the nominations totally open for anyone to nominate any piece of writing for any reason of appeal. Original, inspiring, humourous, clarity, thought provoking. It can then be up to the short list team to determine if the reasons are good enough and which peices make it to the final.

I would also suggest only choosing a short list team after nominations close and ensuring that they form a representative section of the community (no more than 1 member of any empire, no more than 1 stardock member, no more than 1 high ranking metaverse member). Choose a new short list team for each award ceremony. This should increase the appeal.

Paul.

~SDC~