Eve Creator Awards

 

I'll be talking about this more on this week's The Safe Spot podcast with CrazyKinux, so be sure to check the latest episode which will be out on Tuesday.

In the meantime I can't let something like this pass without mentioning it on Eveoganda - that would just be weird. So here we go. If you missed it yesterday after the closing ceremony FC Convict took the stage to present the nominees and winners of the first ever Creator Awards, recognizing just a few of the amazing and talented people that make our community so awesome. If you read this blog at all you might remember that I was very confused back in March when the nominees were initially announced. I wrote about my confusion and left it at that. Others in the community were not so silent about their own confusion at my absence (thank you all!), but I continued to just take it in stride. And really not think about it anymore. All the nominees were worthy, no question. So what could I complain about without coming off like Trump and the Noble Peace Prize!

And that is just not my style. There will always be next year.

And then Thursday I get a rather cryptic note from Convict on Discord, essentially saying, "If I were you I might want to watch the Creator Awards on Saturday. I can't say any more." And I freely admit that the anxiety level in my life easily tripled. I had no idea what was happening. Or what might happen. As we all know, Fenris doesn't have the greatest track record when doing something for the first time. (Which tbh still sounds weird, Fenris doesn't have a track record at all! It's like two weeks old. We shall be wrestling with this for a long time I suspect.) The good news is that I needn't have worried.

The show was great and Convict proved himself the perfect MC for it. I've known this young man for almost two decades now and I appreciate him and how well he did during the entire ceremony. I did catch Orca on Friday saying something about a Polaris Award, so I suspected it might have something to do with that. 

For the record I haven't missed a Fanfest since 2014. And THIS is the one we decide to skip. Which is always the way isn't it? 

I want to be clear - I am overcome with emotion. It is always a truly humbling experience to be involved with so many talented and amazing people in this tremendous community of ours. And to be honored like that is an incredible moment in time. It has been a long journey. Full of challenges, debates, clashes, differences of opinion, misunderstandings, and out and out fights. But from the beginning my main goal has been to build a bridge between the creative community and the makers of Eve Online. To build bridges, open doors, and expand the connections between us all. To the betterment of all of us. That goal was not always appreciated. Or understood. But I remained steadfast and determined. And to be there to witness the Partner Program continue to grow and flourish, to see other creatives given licenses to use the Eve IP, to watch as those bridges have been built and those doors opened - and the Eve community flourish as a result - that has been the true reward for me.

And I am forever grateful to my friend for not mentioning any of that on stage. Although I do have a more current podcast up and running, otherwise he did a great job focusing on the positives. It was a tough assignment to sum up two decades of this journey in such a short time and he did extremely well.

And to all the other winners and nominees - many of whom I have helped in some way - congratulations. Well deserved. I take a small measure of pride in each of you and your accomplishments, not because I deserve any credit for them. I do not. But simply because I'm proud of each of you and what you've accomplished. Truly.

You can't play a game and be a part of a community over 18 years without a tremendous amount of passion and dedication. I had a vision early on of what this universe could be, I still do. And I was determined to do whatever I could to help it achieve that vision. We have more to do together. But every day we get closer. Together.

Thank all of you who reached out in the past few days to share with me, I sincerely appreciate you. It makes me so happy to hear from people who have my art on their walls, who I helped with some project, who were inspired to play this game because of something I did, or whatever the story might be. It means a lot to me. To know that it all meant something. That is was worth it. And that means more to me than any words could ever convey.

As always, onward & upward.