Diana Jones Award
Encyclopedia
The Diana Jones Award is an annual award for "excellence in gaming
". The award is unusual in two ways: first, it is not an award for a specific class of thing, but can be awarded to a person
, product
, publication
, company, organization
, event or trend – anything related to gaming; second, it does not count popularity or commercial success as a sign of "excellence". The award was first presented in 2001.
Nominees are circulated during the year to the committee
, which is mostly anonymous but which is known to include Peter Adkison
, Matt Forbeck, John Kovalic
and James Wallis
. The committee is anonymous to protect the voting process from interference, but individual judges are free to reveal themselves. The committee releases a shortlist of three to seven nominees in spring, and the award is presented to the winner at Gen Con
in Indianapolis in August.
The Diana Jones trophy was created in the UK offices of TSR in the mid 1980s to commemorate the ending of their license to publish The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game
. The trophy itself is a perspex pyramid containing the burnt remains of the last unsold copy of the game; all that is legible of the title is "diana Jones". (There is no relation of the award with fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones
.) The trophy was "liberated" and eventually ended up with the Diana Jones committee. The destruction of "one of the least-loved and critically savaged games of all time" was seen an appropriate symbol for an award for excellence in gaming. The trophy also contains a counter that reads "NaziTM" from the game. While the trademark claim was present at Lucasfilm's insistence, it led to rumors that TSR had tried to trademark the term.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
". The award is unusual in two ways: first, it is not an award for a specific class of thing, but can be awarded to a person
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
, product
Product (business)
In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...
, publication
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
, company, organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
, event or trend – anything related to gaming; second, it does not count popularity or commercial success as a sign of "excellence". The award was first presented in 2001.
Nominees are circulated during the year to the committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
, which is mostly anonymous but which is known to include Peter Adkison
Peter Adkison
Peter D. Adkison is the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast , as well as a hobby game professional.During Adkison's tenure, Wizards of the Coast rose to the status of a major publisher in the hobby game industry. Wizards achieved runaway success with its creation of "Magic: the...
, Matt Forbeck, John Kovalic
John Kovalic
John Kovalic is a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer.Kovalic is best known for his Dork Tower comic book, comic strip and webcomic, and other humorous work set in and about the fantasy role-playing game genre, such as The Unspeakable Oaf...
and James Wallis
James Wallis (games designer)
James Wallis is a designer and publisher of tabletop and role-playing games. In 1994 he founded Hogshead Publishing, a now-defunct company specialising in role-playing and storytelling games, and ran it until its sale in 2003...
. The committee is anonymous to protect the voting process from interference, but individual judges are free to reveal themselves. The committee releases a shortlist of three to seven nominees in spring, and the award is presented to the winner at Gen Con
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
in Indianapolis in August.
The Diana Jones trophy was created in the UK offices of TSR in the mid 1980s to commemorate the ending of their license to publish The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game
Indiana Jones (role-playing game)
There have been two publications of role-playing games based on the Indiana Jones franchise. The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game was designed and published by TSR, Inc. under license in 1984. Ten years later, West End Games acquired the rights to publish their own version, The World...
. The trophy itself is a perspex pyramid containing the burnt remains of the last unsold copy of the game; all that is legible of the title is "diana Jones". (There is no relation of the award with fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
.) The trophy was "liberated" and eventually ended up with the Diana Jones committee. The destruction of "one of the least-loved and critically savaged games of all time" was seen an appropriate symbol for an award for excellence in gaming. The trophy also contains a counter that reads "NaziTM" from the game. While the trademark claim was present at Lucasfilm's insistence, it led to rumors that TSR had tried to trademark the term.
Past winners
- 2001: Peter AdkisonPeter AdkisonPeter D. Adkison is the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast , as well as a hobby game professional.During Adkison's tenure, Wizards of the Coast rose to the status of a major publisher in the hobby game industry. Wizards achieved runaway success with its creation of "Magic: the...
, founder of Wizards of the CoastWizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. - 2002: awarded jointly to Ron EdwardsRon Edwards (game designer)Ronald Edwards is a game designer, theorist, and an influential member of the indie role-playing game community. Notably, he is the creator of the Sorcerer RPG, the GNS Theory of gameplay, and The Big Model....
and his game SorcererSorcerer (role-playing game)Sorcerer is an award winning occult-themed indie role-playing game written by Ron Edwards and published through Adept Press. The game focuses on sorcerers who summon, bind, and interact with demons, which are powerful non-human entities who work with and against the sorcerer.-Setting:The game has...
. - 2003: awarded jointly to Jordan WeismanJordan WeismanJordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded four major game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry.-Biography:...
, a founder of FASA Corporation and WizKidsWizKidsWizKids, Inc. is an American New Jersey-based company that first made its mark in the game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. WizKids was purchased by and is a subsidiary of National Entertainment Collectibles Association. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a...
, and to NobilisNobilisNobilis is a contemporary fantasy role-playing game created by Jenna K. Moran, writing under the name R. Sean Borgstrom. The player characters are "Sovereign Powers" called the Nobilis; each Noble is the personification of an abstract concept or class of things such as Time, Death, cars, or...
second edition. - 2004: My Life with MasterMy Life with MasterMy Life with Master is an independently published role-playing game written by Paul Czege and published by Half Meme Press ....
by Paul Czege. - 2005: Ticket to RideTicket to Ride (board game)Ticket to Ride is a railway-themed German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder. The game is also known as Zug um Zug , Les Aventuriers du Rail , Aventureros al Tren , Wsiąść do pociągu , and Menolippu .The game won the 2004 Spiel des Jahres, the Origins...
, the board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
by Alan Moon, published by Days of WonderDays of WonderDays of Wonder is a board game publisher based in the United States and France. Founded in 2002, Days of Wonder distributes its games to 25 countries. It specialises in German-style board games and have branched out to include some online games. Days of Wonder has published games in English,...
. - 2006: Irish Game Convention Charity AuctionsIrish Games AssociationThe Irish Games Association is a non-profit body which is dedicated to promoting gaming in Ireland, by running, supporting, and publicising gaming events, while seeking to communicate and cooperate with others that do likewise....
, at Gaelcon and WarpconWarpconWarpcon is Cork's biggest gaming convention, and Ireland's largest student-run gaming convention. It is run every year, during the last weekend of January, and is now after entering into its 21st year....
, for their generosity. - 2007: The Great Pendragon Campaign, by Greg StaffordGreg StaffordFrancis Gregory Stafford , usually known as Greg Stafford, is an American game designer, publisher and shaman.-Glorantha and gaming:...
, a supplement for the PendragonPendragon (role-playing game)Pendragon, or King Arthur Pendragon, is a role-playing game in which players take the role of knights performing chivalric deeds in the tradition of Arthurian legend. It was originally written by Greg Stafford and published by Chaosium, then was acquired by Green Knight Publishing, who in turn...
role-playing game (published by White Wolf, Inc.White Wolf, Inc.White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
). - 2008: awarded jointly to Grey RanksGrey Ranks (role-playing game)Grey Ranks is a role-playing game by Jason Morningstar, independently published by Bully Pulpit Games. The game is designed for three to five players and puts each of them in the shoes of child soldiers during the Warsaw Uprising, serving as members of the Grey Ranks .- Game play :Play is conducted...
by Jason Morningstar, and to Wolfgang BaurWolfgang BaurWolfgang Baur is an American game designer, best known for his work with Dragon magazine. He designs role-playing games and also is known for his work at Wizards of the Coast.-Biography:...
and his Open Design business model. - 2009: DominionDominion (game)Dominion is a designer card game created by Donald X. Vaccarino, and published by Rio Grande Games. The game was released at Spiel 2008 in multiple languages, and voted best game of the fair by the Fairplay polls with a rating of 1.75 from 147 votes. Within two months of its release, Dominion was...
, a card game by Donald X. Vaccarino (published by Rio Grande GamesRio Grande GamesRio Grande Games is a board game publisher based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The company primarily imports and localizes foreign language German-style board games.-History:...
) - 2010: Boardgamegeek.com, a website edited by Scott Alden and Derk Solko.
- 2011: Fiasco, a roleplaying game by Jason Morningstar.