Quote from: LouProsperi on June 29, 2023, 04:39:05 PM
I'm not here to talk about the award. I'm clearly in the minority here, and I can understand why many of you have the views you have.

I may not agree with you, but that doesn't really matter. I am also of the belief that we can disagree agreeably. I'll even go so far as to apologize for my passive-aggressive approach to that part of the discussion.

That said, I do an have an issue with you casting doubt on my credentials as a RPG writer and designer, so I want to provide a bit more detail so you'll have a better idea of what I did for each of these.

Kudos to you for coming back. Though I understand that you might feel ganged up on, it's not coordinated or malicious. It's just due to the fact that this place allows open discussion of pretty much anything, so it tends to be quite lively. Contrast that with places that control discussions so that most disagreement gets filtered out.

Your credentials are very nice but they don't really matter to me for discussion purposes. The merits of the award are more interesting, but you don't want to discuss that, which is your right.

Quote from: LouProsperi on June 29, 2023, 04:39:05 PM

Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 29, 2023, 02:32:07 PM

Quote from: Theory of Games on June 29, 2023, 01:15:52 PM
Real nice, guys! You scared him off right when he was going to spill 

He did have some nice credentials - except for Treasures of Greyhawk. Total garbage.

Who knows what he did though? He could have just written about player safety or some other trite shit. For me, your 'credentials' are not with shit unless you've actually come up with an original concept or some innovative mechanics. Or you really were a pivotal figure in a particular game's development (including art, etc.).

Other than that, meh...

I'm not here to talk about the award. I'm clearly in the minority here, and I can understand why many of you have the views you have.

I may not agree with you, but that doesn't really matter. I am also of the belief that we can disagree agreeably. I'll even go so far as to apologize for my passive-aggressive approach to that part of the discussion.

That said, I do an have an issue with you casting doubt on my credentials as a RPG writer and designer, so I want to provide a bit more detail so you'll have a better idea of what I did for each of these.

* DC HEROES 2nd Edition: I play tested the game, and helped design (alongside Ray Winninger and Jack Barker) the stats for the characters in the "Background Roster Book" in the 2nd edition boxed set.

* CHILL 2nd Edition: I was the main person behind the changes to S.A.V.E. in the 2nd edition core rulebook. I also created the characters of RAX and Robert Alexander Davidson, the two narrators of the rulebook (though Ray Winninger wrote their actual words)

*TORG: I wrote short adventures called "Breaking New Ground" and "Full Moon Draw" in an adventure collection called "Full Moon Draw and Other Tales, a short adventure called "Bad Business" in an adventure collection book called "Cylent Scream and Other Tales", and wrote a supplement called "The Storm Knight's Guide to the Possibility Wars"

*Star Wars: I wrote a supplement called "Wanted by Cracken"

*AD&D Dark Sun: I designed a number of creatures in the Dark Sun Monstrous

*AD&D Greyhawk: I wrote two short adventures in Treasures of Greyhawk

*Shadowrun: I wrote an adventure called "A Killing Glare"

*Star Trek: TNG: I wrote about the planets Tellar and Andoria in "Planets of the Galaxy" and wrote the "Starbase 315" chapter of the TNG Player's Guid

*Hunter: The Reckoning: I wrote the chapter about Location-based Chronicles in the "Storyteller's Handbook

*Stargate SG-1: I wrote chapters in the Season One and Season Two sourcebooks.

From December 1992 through June 1998 I was the Product Line Developer for Earthdawn at FASA. During that time I lead the develop of the entire product line, designed rules systems, wrote supplements, and was (to use your words) "a pivotal figure in a particular game's development".

To be clear, I'm NOT saying that these credentials make my opinion any more valid than any of yours. I'm ONLY listing the above to provide more details about my work because you seem intent on questioning my credibility.


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

Lou,

Welcome back!

I agree with most of the other posters on the board on this topic (the DJ award is Woke garbage) but certainly there's room for rationale discourse here at the Site. That's quite different than other RPG forums, where rational discourse is considered "racism."

Wanted by Cracken: I have that one in my collection. Good work.

Star Trek Planets of the Galaxy: The Last Unicorn game? Used to own it. I can't recall your work on Tellar or Andoria. I do recall there was one planet where Sirna Kolrami came from. The obnoxious Strategema master who challenged Data. His planet was filled with obnoxious, anti-social people who only communicated in argumentative online forums. (I see what you did there, Last Unicorn.)

Quote from: LouProsperi on June 29, 2023, 04:39:05 PM

Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 29, 2023, 02:32:07 PM

Quote from: Theory of Games on June 29, 2023, 01:15:52 PM
Real nice, guys! You scared him off right when he was going to spill 

He did have some nice credentials - except for Treasures of Greyhawk. Total garbage.

Who knows what he did though? He could have just written about player safety or some other trite shit. For me, your 'credentials' are not with shit unless you've actually come up with an original concept or some innovative mechanics. Or you really were a pivotal figure in a particular game's development (including art, etc.).

Other than that, meh...

I'm not here to talk about the award. I'm clearly in the minority here, and I can understand why many of you have the views you have.

I may not agree with you, but that doesn't really matter. I am also of the belief that we can disagree agreeably. I'll even go so far as to apologize for my passive-aggressive approach to that part of the discussion.

That said, I do an have an issue with you casting doubt on my credentials as a RPG writer and designer, so I want to provide a bit more detail so you'll have a better idea of what I did for each of these.

* DC HEROES 2nd Edition: I play tested the game, and helped design (alongside Ray Winninger and Jack Barker) the stats for the characters in the "Background Roster Book" in the 2nd edition boxed set.

* CHILL 2nd Edition: I was the main person behind the changes to S.A.V.E. in the 2nd edition core rulebook. I also created the characters of RAX and Robert Alexander Davidson, the two narrators of the rulebook (though Ray Winninger wrote their actual words)

*TORG: I wrote short adventures called "Breaking New Ground" and "Full Moon Draw" in an adventure collection called "Full Moon Draw and Other Tales, a short adventure called "Bad Business" in an adventure collection book called "Cylent Scream and Other Tales", and wrote a supplement called "The Storm Knight's Guide to the Possibility Wars"

*Star Wars: I wrote a supplement called "Wanted by Cracken"

*AD&D Dark Sun: I designed a number of creatures in the Dark Sun Monstrous

*AD&D Greyhawk: I wrote two short adventures in Treasures of Greyhawk

*Shadowrun: I wrote an adventure called "A Killing Glare"

*Star Trek: TNG: I wrote about the planets Tellar and Andoria in "Planets of the Galaxy" and wrote the "Starbase 315" chapter of the TNG Player's Guid

*Hunter: The Reckoning: I wrote the chapter about Location-based Chronicles in the "Storyteller's Handbook

*Stargate SG-1: I wrote chapters in the Season One and Season Two sourcebooks.

From December 1992 through June 1998 I was the Product Line Developer for Earthdawn at FASA. During that time I lead the develop of the entire product line, designed rules systems, wrote supplements, and was (to use your words) "a pivotal figure in a particular game's development".

To be clear, I'm NOT saying that these credentials make my opinion any more valid than any of yours. I'm ONLY listing the above to provide more details about my work because you seem intent on questioning my credibility.


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

I'm not impressed... You play-tested some shit, and wrote a few creatures and a scenario or two. If you came up with the idea/concept of Earhdawn then I'm impressed. If you did the mechanics I'm not, as I always hated them (that, and Shadowrun).

But you are clearly a fucking dipshit. Because we are all talking about some shitty award and whether it's legitimate or not. But you came on here, and start bleating about how great the candidates are and how it's not about diversitaaay at all. We called you on your crap and then you start saying that everyone here has fuck all experience in RPG land and just how super dooper your credentials are.

As was pointed out. No one gives a shit about your credentials. You're the one who started the ad hominem attacks in the first place. You big baby.

Greetings!

Lou Prosperi, how did you like working on Treasures of Greyhawk? What would you have done differently, if anything? If you could do more for that supplement, what would you have done? Do you think that Greyhawk development could have been more extensive and robust?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 29, 2023, 06:37:22 PM
As was pointed out. No one gives a shit about your credentials. You're the one who started the ad hominem attacks in the first place. You big baby.

No on cares in the sense that his credentials mean fuckall as to the legitimacy and/or notability of this "award". I, for one, would like more people with industry experience to post here because you can get some good information about, I dunno, the INDUSTRY. But you gotta have a thick skin...and you'd think someone who wrote stuff for publication, much less RPG stuff, would be able to put up with the grumbling rabble. Alas...

So yeah, he started off as a total ass, but if he actually makes a reasonable argument I am totally willing to listen.

Quote from: Brad on June 29, 2023, 09:59:45 PM
So yeah, he started off as a total ass, but if he actually makes a reasonable argument I am totally willing to listen.

Absolutely. I'd be willing to listen to any reasonable argument as well. But when you come in guns blazing you're opening yourself up for people giving it back to you from the off. Hostility breeds hostility...

And it would also be cool to have more industry pros talk here as well.

Quote from: SHARK on June 29, 2023, 06:42:08 PM
Greetings!

Lou Prosperi, how did you like working on Treasures of Greyhawk? What would you have done differently, if anything? If you could do more for that supplement, what would you have done? Do you think that Greyhawk development could have been more extensive and robust?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Hello!

I worked on that a LONG time ago (probably in 1991, since it was released in June 1992 and back then TSR worked very far in advance), but there are a couple of things I remember. I wasn't especially familiar with Greyhawk at the time (I was far more familiar with the Forgotten Realms), but I was a relatively new writer for TSR (I had previously contributed to the Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium). One thing in particular I wanted to do was to insert some references and connections to other Greyhawk titles, such as VECNA LIVES (which had been published in 1990). I don't recall if that ended up happening. As I recall I wrote 3 adventures, but they only included 2 of them for reasons I no longer remember. I believe they turned the 3rd adventure over to either the RPGA or to Dungeon magazine. I honestly forget where it ended up.

As for my thoughts on Greyhawk development, by 1992 Greyhawk had largely been relegated to the lower end of their product line. In the 1992 catalog, it appears last of the 7 campaign settings and only 4 products were released that year. By then the focus was more on Dark Sun, the Forgotten Realms, Al-Qadim, and Ravenloft. Even Spelljammer had more releases than Greyhawk in 1992, and Dragonlance has the same number of releases (4). I think the thought was that Greyhawk had had its time in the spotlight and it was time for new settings.  Whether that was the correct choice is hard to tell, but history tells us that this was the period when TSR was starting to produce more and more non-profitable products, so clearly some of their decision making was suspect.

You can find the 1992 TSR catalog here:

https://archive.org/details/tsr-catalog-1992/page/n1/mode/2up

Thanks for helping me take a trip down memory lane!


Lou Prosperi

Quote from: LouProsperi on June 29, 2023, 04:39:05 PM


I'm not here to talk about the award. I'm clearly in the minority here, and I can understand why many of you have the views you have.

I may not agree with you, but that doesn't really matter. I am also of the belief that we can disagree agreeably. I'll even go so far as to apologize for my passive-aggressive approach to that part of the discussion.

That said, I do an have an issue with you casting doubt on my credentials as a RPG writer and designer, so I want to provide a bit more detail so you'll have a better idea of what I did for each of these.

* DC HEROES 2nd Edition: I play tested the game, and helped design (alongside Ray Winninger and Jack Barker) the stats for the characters in the "Background Roster Book" in the 2nd edition boxed set.

* CHILL 2nd Edition: I was the main person behind the changes to S.A.V.E. in the 2nd edition core rulebook. I also created the characters of RAX and Robert Alexander Davidson, the two narrators of the rulebook (though Ray Winninger wrote their actual words)

*TORG: I wrote short adventures called "Breaking New Ground" and "Full Moon Draw" in an adventure collection called "Full Moon Draw and Other Tales, a short adventure called "Bad Business" in an adventure collection book called "Cylent Scream and Other Tales", and wrote a supplement called "The Storm Knight's Guide to the Possibility Wars"

*Star Wars: I wrote a supplement called "Wanted by Cracken"

*AD&D Dark Sun: I designed a number of creatures in the Dark Sun Monstrous

*AD&D Greyhawk: I wrote two short adventures in Treasures of Greyhawk

*Shadowrun: I wrote an adventure called "A Killing Glare"

*Star Trek: TNG: I wrote about the planets Tellar and Andoria in "Planets of the Galaxy" and wrote the "Starbase 315" chapter of the TNG Player's Guid

*Hunter: The Reckoning: I wrote the chapter about Location-based Chronicles in the "Storyteller's Handbook

*Stargate SG-1: I wrote chapters in the Season One and Season Two sourcebooks.

From December 1992 through June 1998 I was the Product Line Developer for Earthdawn at FASA. During that time I lead the develop of the entire product line, designed rules systems, wrote supplements, and was (to use your words) "a pivotal figure in a particular game's development".

To be clear, I'm NOT saying that these credentials make my opinion any more valid than any of yours. I'm ONLY listing the above to provide more details about my work because you seem intent on questioning my credibility.


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

Your credentials are not in doubt. They are documented fact. Opinions on the quality of those credentials may vary but that is neither here nor there. The focus of this thread is indeed the award itself which purports itself to be for excellence in gaming which is all well and good for an award. One can't help but notice that the front and center things about all those considered for the award are their skin color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Could the award committee explain why in hell any of that has fuck all to with excellence in gaming and why it need be mentioned at all? Shouldn't the quality of the product itself be the sole determining factor of excellence? If a product is great and is well received by the gaming community does it matter if it was written by an Indian lesbian, or a white straight nerdy man? Apparently for this award it matters MORE than the quality of the product itself which is why this "award" is little more than a joke and there is no good reason for a credentialed designer to attach their name to it other than bullshit virtue signaling.

Nothing has opened my eyes to the invalidity of almost all awards (and I'm only saying almost because I can't think of any that actually matter to me any longer - but I'm sure there's one out there... somewhere)... than the last decade or so of cultural decay.

If Gygax himself introduced 1e D&D to the world today - he'd have been divebombed by the usual losers. Naw, I'm gonna go by the general consensus of people that can actually make a good point, however acerbic.

Why would I want an award from a bunch of degenerate retards who probably don't even play my game? /shrug. I could care less about this award, and *any* game nominated for it.

Hell if a game I wrote was nominated and for it and won - I wouldn't even show up to collect it.

Quote from: tenbones on June 30, 2023, 10:20:28 PM
Nothing has opened my eyes to the invalidity of almost all awards (and I'm only saying almost because I can't think of any that actually matter to me any longer - but I'm sure there's one out there... somewhere)... than the last decade or so of cultural decay.

If Gygax himself introduced 1e D&D to the world today - he'd have been divebombed by the usual losers. Naw, I'm gonna go by the general consensus of people that can actually make a good point, however acerbic.

Why would I want an award from a bunch of degenerate retards who probably don't even play my game? /shrug. I could care less about this award, and *any* game nominated for it.

Hell if a game I wrote was nominated and for it and won - I wouldn't even show up to collect it.

You're supposed to give a list of all your game writing credits here, so we know to defer to your opinion. 

Heh, I don't need anyone's deference. I'll happily debate my opinions (which when it comes to gaming - I'm *always* open to discuss) and defend my positions. My published writing credits? Well they're modest, I'd like to think I have some significant stuff under my belt. But the thing is... excellence in gaming comes much more from running/playing games than just designing them (but obviously that helps).

And sure, I've been doing this a long time and I definitely have my opinions (Like "Outside of financial interests of the obvious parties - why d20/OSR?"). The problem of course is no one trusts the opinions of these assholes that hand out these awards. The list speaks for itself. These are dogshit games. Opinion? Obviously. But I'm not wrong. And we all know it. DEFER TO MEEEEEEE!!!!!

Heeeey Big Lou's back! And why not: TheRpgSite is the coolest rpg forum in the multiverse!

Lou, we know you know the Diana Jones award is trash. You're an intelligent, compassionate, driven man who recognizes smoke when he sees it. We get it. You should hang around with us more often cuz I know you have stories!

What was your favorite project you did or didn't complete? Have you ever had to compromise your creative vision because a company wanted you to change something? If you had to fight any one RPG designer, who are you sure you could chokeslam?

Quote from: DKChannelBoredom on June 28, 2023, 07:00:14 AM

Quote from: Omega on June 27, 2023, 09:13:19 PM
And Nordic LARP got an award. That is hilarious as far too many nordic LARPers come across as thinly veiled racists at the least, and borderline murder wanna-bes at worst.

Could you expand a little... as a nordic larper I would like to know, who to avoid.

Also, Rosenstrasse is a good, and well tested, game.

They used to be all over the LARP forums and Youtube badmouthing "American" LARPing. Oddly they popped up less on RPG.net.
 
Usually things like pushing the violence and now not using real weapons was bad and on and on ad nausium. The "Thoku Manifesto" was particularly unpleasant with things like advocating that if someone were injured that you should stay in character. Or that handicapped people shouldnt be allowed to play. No glasses even. And other trash. I stopped paying attention after my roommate died as we'd planned to hit one up locally but never got a chance.

Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on June 29, 2023, 02:32:07 PM

Quote from: Theory of Games on June 29, 2023, 01:15:52 PM
Real nice, guys! You scared him off right when he was going to spill 

He did have some nice credentials - except for Treasures of Greyhawk. Total garbage.

Who knows what he did though? He could have just written about player safety or some other trite shit. For me, your 'credentials' are not with shit unless you've actually come up with an original concept or some innovative mechanics. Or you really were a pivotal figure in a particular game's development (including art, etc.).

Other than that, meh...

Nah.
Freelancer for mostly older stuff, late 80s, 90s from the look.
Myself, I think Tenbones and a few others here have done freelancing for various works. That can range everywhere from a whole module or story, to cleanup, magazine articles and so on, or even just little snippets that got added to a product because someone liked it.

And he commented after I posted.

Quote from: LouProsperi on June 29, 2023, 04:39:05 PM
*TORG: I wrote short adventures called "Breaking New Ground" and "Full Moon Draw" in an adventure collection called "Full Moon Draw and Other Tales, a short adventure called "Bad Business" in an adventure collection book called "Cylent Scream and Other Tales", and wrote a supplement called "The Storm Knight's Guide to the Possibility Wars"

Full Moon Draw was not bad really for a TORG book and the Storm Knights Guide I think still have.