pi4t, I agree. I also thought the winning entry was fairly blah, but I suppose it comes down to personal tastes. I've never liked sci-fi in role-play, and to this day dislike the original Starship Traveller. It's all relative I suppose. If the 2012 entries were released in book form, the group's best seller might be an entry that didn't even win a prize in the original competition. Go figure.

C-Star
Fri Nov 9 08:23:06 2012

It's a bit like how runner ups in The X Factor often end up more successful than the winner themselves. It's all just a matter of opinion I suppose.

asgardian
Sat Nov 10 00:31:08 2012

C, exactly. No offence to Wayne, but I don't think anything that is decided by the "masses" can ever be truly objective and accurate. But, what the heck, we're not saving the world here. The object is to have fun.

Wayne Densley
Sun Nov 11 06:27:30 2012

Hi pi4t,

The unexpected size of the entry list for the Windhammer Prize this year will require changes to the voting process and also the competition timetable next year. These changes will be made available as a part of the release of the 2013 guidelines next April. I can say there will be substantially increased prize money for all winners next year as well, and a broadening of the number of awards given. The changes will ensure that more authors get the recognition they deserve for their great work

The sheer size of the entry list was problematic for some readers and I will be making changes to the competition format to make this more manageable. I will be maintaining the mass voting process however, as it is the best way to meet the objectives I have set for the competition regarding broadening the exposure of authors, and the feedback that the voting process generates. This year more than 100 pages of feedback was forwarded from voters and for many of the entrants this is an important benefit of their participation.

I am also going to review the timetable to accommodate the time needed to consider all the entries. How that will be adjusted will be worked out in the new year.

Thanks to everyone who participated this year, and to all the readers who took the time to go over the entries. It was a great comp that wil definitely be continued in 2013.

Regards
Wayne Densley
http://www.arborell.com/

Robert Douglas
Sun Nov 11 14:35:16 2012

I agree that fun is part of the Windhammer Competition, including excited anticipation of what's going to appear on the competitors list. But C-Star may have a point about the runners-up being successful in their own way. I consider all who entered Windhammer must have a certain talent for writing and creating adventure gamebooks.

As with X-Factor or Britain's Got Talent: I believe all the finalists have that star quality. They're chosen by public vote and often it's determined more by people's favourite entertainment circle, i.e: singing, dancing, magician, or comedian.

C-Star
Sun Nov 11 14:55:05 2012

@ Robert Douglas

Now that you mention it, that's actually a good point. Many people may prefer certain genres in their gamebooks to others eg. some people may prefer sci-fi to fantasy. These people would naturally be biased towards these genres and vote for them, like how people may vote for singers over dancers, even if they are at the same talent level.

With school and laptop troubles, I didn't really get to take a look at much of the entries, just a (very) brief look at Ulysses' entry because I knew him from this site. I suppose that's my bias there.

asgardian
Mon Nov 12 02:03:39 2012

Yep, all the same phenomenon. I believe the winning entry this year actually wasn't that good, but got through more because it was different. And last year's winner was OK...but just not that well written and more of the stock standard fantasy. I can only say it depends on who is available to vote, what their current tastes are etc etc. That said, kudos to Wayne for continuing to try and coordinate such a competition.

Robert Douglas
Mon Nov 12 13:20:59 2012

If the masses can't be relied on to vote, do you reckon Tin Man could do the selecting? All three entries would be published in their magazine, after all, so perhaps the magazine should have a say in the matter? Or, must public vote remain in place? Personally, I still consider public viewing of all entries and fan feedback should remain in place, whatever the case.

Gaetano
Mon Nov 12 20:50:10 2012

The winning entry wasn't one I personally voted for, but I did enjoy it. Zachary has entered the contest for a few years now, and it's been fun to watch his general writing and storytelling improve so much. Congratulations to him!

I did vote for one of the merit award winners, "Academy of Magic". My other vote (and my personal favorite in the entire group) was for Leidren Sweever's "Hwarang and Kumiho". It was a fun game to play in a rather original setting (Korea, as opposed to a more generic Asian setting) and I learned a lot about ancient Korean culture, without feeling like I was reading a history lesson. Plus, the storyteller device was brilliant- I've never seen anything quite like it in another gamebook.

If anything, I felt like since there were so many entries, we should have been allowed to cast more than two votes- it was VERY difficult to choose two out of over twenty submissions.

Zach
Mon Nov 12 23:17:06 2012

Thanks Gaetano, I'm glad to hear you think I've improved since Phobia! Reader feedback is one of my favorite parts of Windhammer. I think this feedback has helped improve my writing a lot these past few years. I don't agree with everything that's said, but almost every comment brings up something valuable that I might have otherwise overlooked. I try to keep this feedback in mind when writing something new.

@asgardian I really tried to make Final Payment different. People seem to be divided about it in many respects, but I think at least in that sense I succeeded. If you have any specific criticisms about FP, I'd really like to hear them.

asgardian
Tue Nov 13 07:23:46 2012

Zach, all OK here. Nothing was meant as a personal criticism. If anything, I would hope that perhaps another voting system might be suggested based on discussions here? I do like Robert's suggestion of Tin Man. Assuming of course that Wayne wishes to trial a different method. It just seems logical that as the number of entries increases in size, the rules in turn evolve in accordance with this growth. We'll see.

Leidrin Sweever
Thu Nov 15 19:17:29 2012

My personal thanks to all who have enjoyed my story despite my imperfect English! And my thanks to those who did not but took the time to read it! Your feedback means a lot to me!

Andrew Wright
Sun Nov 25 03:30:40 2012

Ashton Saylor is currently going through a critique of all the 2012 Windhammer entries here:

http://www.ashtonsaylor.com/

cheers

Andy Wright

pi4t
Mon Dec 10 13:06:01 2012

Just played through Ookle of the Broken Finger over quite a while, and have been pleasantly surprised by how good it's been. It has a very...unique style (first person, for a start) which seems odd to begin with but quickly seems normal. It really helps to get into the mindset of Ookle, and helps to characterise him in a way which, for instance, Creature of Havoc never managed (for me at least).

I also really enjoyed the humour, and was physically laughing several times during the adventure, especially those parts involving Graham, and/or the Wall Tossing.

Ultimately, though, I think what makes this my favourite adventure so far is the way that there's so much nonlinearity, but in a way which keeps a sense of direction and avoids the adventure getting boring (as has a tendency to happen in some others, such as The Enchanted Windmill).

I spotted one small typo, which I think was genuine, in section 81:

'Jimmy thinks that were looking for an Iri... Iri... gation?'

We're is the correct spelling, and as the other 'mistakes' seem to be showing Ookle's pronounciation and choice of words rather than grammatical errors in writing, I think it's a mistake. A quite minor one, though.

I didn't mean to make this into a review, but as I seem to have done so, I'll give it a rating of 5/5, best so far :)

Brewin'
Tue Dec 11 07:38:14 2012

Hi everyone, it's probably about time I dropped in here to say hello :)

For those that don't know me, I've published two novels, another gamebook (Infinite Universe) through Tin Man Games, edited/re-worked another four Gamebook Adventures, and am working on a number more (including Gaetano's forthcoming sequel to Slaves of Rema: which I also worked on, another by Ashton Saylor, and J.H.Brennan's Sagas of the Demonspawn series - all through Tin Man Games), plus a number more that haven't been announced yet and somehow keeping a day job...

I also did a (highly subjective) review of this year's Windhammer entries (including my own Trial of the Battle God) and I certainly agree with pi4t above as I voted for Paul Gresty's entry. (He also has a kickstarter campaign for a '30s gamebook where you play an investigative team in New York that is in its last days and needs more pledges to go ahead, so I'd urge you to support it: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1615043334/arcana-agency-the-thief-of-memories-a-full-color-g )

Anyhow, I'm glad my Windhammer reviews were deemed (relatively) "fair" and "constructive" - it's hard to be both honest and inoffensive when critiquing someone else's blood, sweat and tears. It helps me to remember that it doesn't matter how good something is, when you put it "out there" you'll always get people that love it and others hate it (and even more so if you push boundaries and try different things as I'm inclined to do). I think we all have great things to offer if we put our mind to it (and Robert Douglas I know you're still waiting for me to get back to you: sorry!) and I certainly don't wish to see anyone discouraged or considering "giving up" :(

Last thing I'll add for the benefit of those here, is that I've put together a "gamebook simulator" which you can use to simulate and evaluate combats in the Fighting Fantasy and Gamebook Adventures systems: http://www.thebrewin.com/blog/entry/brewin-s-gamebook-combat-simulator

(and of course there's lots of other stuff over on my site too, but enough shameless self-promotion haha)

Cheers and happy gamebooking,
Andrew Drage (aka Brewin')

Pat
Wed Dec 12 07:19:51 2012

@ Brewin': Thanks for the Gamebook-Combat-Simulator, it a real handy tool!

Wayne Densley
Fri Mar 1 11:24:17 2013

Entry guidelines and competition timetable now available for the 2013 Windhammer Prize

Arborell.com is pleased to announce that the competition guidelines and timetable for the 2013 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction are now available.

All prospective participants should note that there have been changes to the competition rules and all authors should be aware of these changes prior to submission. Most important amongst these are the provision of a new set of commendation awards, a significant increase in the cash prize pool, changes to the competition timetable, voting rules and how the entry list is presented during the voting phase.

This contest is proudly sponsored by arborell.com and continues in its sixth year as a means to promote the gamebook genre, and to provide exposure within a competitive environment for aspiring gamebook authors. In particular this prize values creative and original works of gamebook fiction. The challenge given to those who wish to participate is to develop a full gamebook experience whilst meeting stringent requirements regarding length and original content. This competition is open to all gamebook writers and requires no entry fee or other costs.

All information regarding the 2013 Windhammer Prize can be found at: http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html

More information regarding the sponsor of this competition can be found at:
http://www.arborell.com/

Regards
Wayne Densley
2013 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
Chronicles of Arborell
http://www.arborell.com/

SCC
Wed Jul 17 11:12:32 2013

Good to see the judging period for the Windhammer competition will be extended this year if the number of entries blows out. I still believe that last year a number of entries didn't even get read by the majority of fans due to the high volume. We'll see if things are any better this year.

duffmeister
Sun Sep 15 12:14:51 2013

The Windhammer competition has begun! Hurray!

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