The 2020 Cacowards

[baja blast rd.]

22 hours ago, Cinnamon Killjoy said:

...

*Because God knows, I hate some popular stuff and love some unpopular stuff...

 

2018 was especially ruthless. Most years, few would lose sleep over this roster of awardees: 

 

Cacos: Tangerine Nightmare, Northern Powerhouse, Bad Religion, Four Seasons of Doom, Unwelcome, Bury My Heart Knee-Deep, Deathless, Order of the Odonata, Super Mayhem 17, Ezekiel
Machaward: Project: Kate
HMs: The Iron Forge, Breathless, Mayhem Purple and Orange, Diabolus Ex, Demonic Deviation, TNT: Resistance, Black Room, The Quirky Domain, Mothership, Under a Freezing Sea, Monuments of Mars and Coffin Curse, Doomed in SPACE 

(The tier splits are hasty; don't read too much into them.) 

 

That year, all of those missed out from the pool of 20 winners and HMs. Not Jabba started his Not the Cacowards series partly as a net for the growing surplus, and I've been thinking about organizing a compact yearly rundown of the 40-60 most notable releases. It would be more egalitarian in presentation (no awards or recommended picks beyond mere inclusion). It could fill a crucial niche and serve as a handy counterpart to the main award publication, especially for those who simply want to know what exists and dive into what looks cool at a glance. 

 

You could imagine it hosted as an easily shared Doomworld thread, a list of entries like this: 

 

Example_Wad by Example_Author - Doom 2, vanilla, 600 maps

 

[3-5 minimized screenshots]

 

[100-150 words of summary and description.]

 

While 2018 was an extreme case, 2019 and especially 2020 have preserved the trend. There is far more content than ever before, but no easy way to gain familiarity with a wide range of possible favorites. On Discord, for example, I sometimes run into people asking questions like "is there a Mario-themed wad?" and having to be fortunate that someone is around to point them towards Super Mayhem 17.

 

I could not do all of that (or even more than a fifth or so) on my own, so I would enlist volunteers who want to chip in. 

 

This would allow the Cacowards to function in its intended role as a spotlight and deeper dive into that subjectively chosen tighter cast of award-winners, without the anxiety of omission and without relegating many of the misses to the obscurity bin. 

Edited December 26, 2020 by rd.

[Cinnamon]

3 hours ago, rd. said:

 

2018 was especially ruthless. Most years, few would lose sleep over this roster of awardees: 

 

Cacos: Tangerine Nightmare, Northern Powerhouse, Bad Religion, Four Seasons of Doom, Unwelcome, Bury My Heart Knee-Deep, Deathless, Order of the Odonata, Super Mayhem 17, Ezekiel
Machaward: Project: Kate
HMs: The Iron Forge, Breathless, Mayhem Purple and Orange, Diabolus Ex, Demonic Deviation, TNT: Resistance, Black Room, The Quirky Domain, Mothership, Under a Freezing Sea, Monuments of Mars and Coffin Curse, Doomed in SPACE 

(The tier splits are hasty; don't read too much into them.) 

 

That year, all of those missed out from the pool of 20 winners and HMs. Not Jabba started his Not the Cacowards series partly as a net for the growing surplus, and I've been thinking about organizing a compact yearly rundown of the 40-60 most notable releases. It would be more egalitarian in presentation (no awards or recommended picks beyond mere inclusion). It could fill a crucial niche and serve as a handy counterpart to the main award publication, especially for those who simply want to know what exists and dive into what looks cool at a glance. 

 

You could imagine it hosted as an easily shared Doomworld thread, a list of entries like this: 

 

Example_Wad by Example_Author - Doom 2, vanilla, 600 maps

 

[3-5 minimized screenshots]

 

[100-150 words of summary and description.]

 

While 2018 was an extreme case, 2019 and especially 2020 have preserved the trend. There is far more content than ever before, but no easy way to gain familiarity with a wide range of possible favorites. On Discord, for example, I sometimes run into people asking questions like "is there a Mario-themed wad?" and having to be fortunate that someone is around to point them towards Super Mayhem 17.

 

I could not do all of that (or even more than a fifth or so) on my own, so I would enlist volunteers who want to chip in. 

 

This would allow the Cacowards to function in its intended role as a spotlight and deeper dive into that subjectively chosen tighter cast of award-winners, without the anxiety of omission and without relegating many of the misses to the obscurity bin. 

I'm relatively new to the extended DOOM community and the absolute plethora of well-crafted content it presents, so far. I've played some 10-20 PWADs, so keep that in mind when I say:

I don't think that the Cacowards are inherently bad for people looking for things to play through. Also, I think that the case of "WADs left out" is not nearly as bad as you (and also me in my previous post) make it out to be. Good stuff will always find its way down to the players, no matter if it gets included in a list or not.

 

On the contrary, I fully support the notion that, as long as it doesn't entail animosity towards "lesser" performances, we should definitely elevate those who go above and beyond, and reward extraordinary achievements. I understand your trepidation, but at the same time, I have a suspicion that you're doing yourself a disservice by wondering too much about those who are "left out," e.g. runner-ups. Because, being as organic as it is, the DOOM community will make sure that good WADs get played a lot. Maybe not all of them - it's not a perfect system - but the unending chatter we all unerringly participate in on this site will make sure that good shit will be played. And that's the most important part. :)

The "Not the Cacowards" example is an interesting one, but in my opinion that is just what happens as soon as any gathering of people try to rank-order anything. There will always be dissidents, no matter how carefully you go about it. However, I agree with what you allude to in that, we probably need something beyond the Cacowards to either "pick up the slack," or simply just to offer a contrary viewpoint, or a different approach. What that would be I have no answer to - I wanted to be a journalist 15 years ago but I know nothing about it right now - it might be a separate article (maybe even amateur-based), a separate selection of people, a different point of view trying their best to go against the grain... I don't know.

I just think that if you work on the Cacowards you probably shouldn't worry. We'll all be there to talk about stuff that's not on those lists (hell, that's how I discovered and learned to love Pirate DOOM!). In addition, most people on DOOMWorld are pretty clever, so we already know that the Cacowards are mostly just that: acknowledgement of splendid performances, but at the same time not a guide to what you should and should not like.

I hope I make sense. I rambled a bit.

Edited December 26, 2020 by Cinnamon Killjoy

[SiMpLeToNiUm]

If the Cacowards are like the Academy Awards of Doom WADs, where are the small film festivals and competition venues? I think that's the question that needs answering in regards to "those left out."

 

There simply aren't enough events that organize and structure themselves around a similar ethos as the Cacowards, and if there are, they should be a bit more push to populate them. Think small-town contests and "competitions." I think it's about time someone's work be held in a bit more formal regard without having an "Oscar" on their shelf, if you catch my meaning.

 

Doom Master Wadazine is taking a similar approach to this already, but I think it'd be cool to see numerous awards programs appearing; not to dilute or take the meaning out of achieving prestige for your work; quite the opposite.

 

There's always the "King of Awards" in any activity, but what about some other small-time ones?

[dew]

12 hours ago, Cinnamon Killjoy said:

We'll all be there to talk about stuff that's not on those lists (hell, that's how I discovered and learned to love Pirate DOOM!).

I'm glad you have a wholesome, understanding outlook on the process and how it can never be 100% objective or all-encompassing, however it should be pointed out that Pirate Doom actually did get a Cacoward in 2013. Missing out on that would definitely be a crime!

[Cinnamon]

2 hours ago, dew said:

I'm glad you have a wholesome, understanding outlook on the process and how it can never be 100% objective or all-encompassing, however it should be pointed out that Pirate Doom actually did get a Cacoward in 2013. Missing out on that would definitely be a crime!

Hehe I almost suspected as much, but I wasn't certain, and it felt a bit dishonest to go ahead and google up a WAD just to prove a point. It does, however, make me irrationally happy that Pirate DOOM got an award. It's great!

As to the 'outlook,' well, I think anyone with any experience in (any) this community would realize as much. It's like when I do top-10 lists of music: I do it for fun, but it can never, ever be objective. It shouldn't be. Also, that's part of the beauty of discussing/ranking creative endeavors - there's no right way to do it. :) Hence it fosters innumerable fun discussions.