HISTORY OF THE CEREMONY OF THE AWARDS

The eGame Awards were created based on the idea of Chad on the eGame Central forum.  Before long, Dan thought Chad's idea was a good one, and set out to make sure it became a reality.  Dan contacted Steve in early 2002 and the eGame Awards were born.

The eGame Awards were originally titled the E-Game Oscars, but soon Steve requested the name changed to the eGame Oscars, to help better associate the Awards with eGame Central, which did not use a hyphen between the "E" and "Game."  In addition, the "e" was to be lower case.  Not long after, the name was again changed to the eGame Awards, as the Academy that runs The Academy Awards holds multiple copyrights on the title "Oscar" and we really didn't want to risk getting in any trouble, as we've heard of lawsuits from the academy before. 

After Dan was added to the eGame Central staff as the official awards coordinator, it was agreed upon that the Awards would be held every three months, representing a different season of the year.  The first to take place would be the Spring 2002 Awards. 

The Spring 2002 Awards took place on April 21, 2002 in a chatroom on the eGame Central site.  The awards were hosted by Dan, with other staff members presenting the awards.  10 Awards were given, with the highest being the Best Host and Best Overall Game/Series Award.  Survivor Webcam, which was a relatively unknown game at the time burst onto the scene winning 3 awards.  The Cybermole Project, perhaps the best known game at the time, also won 3 awards.  Survivor X won Best Overall Game/Series, and Dan Baker of Who Will Survive won Best Host.

Soon after the Spring Awards, there was an uprising of dissent against the Awards.  Hosts wanted more involvement, and the eGame Central staff began working on new plans.  They instituted two new categories for the Summer Awards, Best New Game and Best Amazing Race Game.  They also expanded the amount of nominees in each category from 4 to 5.  At the Summer Awards, held on August 4, 2002 in the same comfy theater (aka "Chat room"), Survivor Webcam was back with a vengeance.  It won 4 of 12 awards, including Best Overall Game/Series.  No other game won more than 1 award. 

Between the Summer and Fall Awards, hosts still called for additional involvement.  Dan had been working on new plans for the awards, and installed them for the Fall 2002 Awards.  The plans included the staff dividing up who came up with the primary list for nominations in each category, and then the staff choosing the best 4 games.  After the first 4 nominees were announced in each category, the hosts were allowed to vote for the last nominee in each category.  In addition, both new categories from the Summer Awards (Best New Game and Best AR Game) were abandoned, instead replaced by Best Cast and Best Competitor.  Nomination applications were accepted for Best Cast, Competitor, and Host for the first time, giving the judges a better view at who would win the award. 

The final new plan for the Fall awards was the "YOU VOTE" feature.  The YOU VOTE feature allowed the general host public to submit a ballot, with the overall combined host opinion counting as the equivalent of 1 judge vote.  Hosts welcomed all of the plans with open arms.  On awards night, November 24, 2002, the hosts and viewers alike joined together in the comfy eGame Theater.  Only half way into the show some hosts and viewers began to get rowdy.  The awards were postponed and moved to the new, AOL Theater.  Because of size restrictions in the theater, not all hosts were able to attend, including Steve himself.  Therefore the awards were relocated to the general eGame Host Forum, where announcements were made every 3 minutes with the winner of the next award.  Survivor Webcam once again was the leading Award Winner, winning 2, including Best Overall Game/Series.  The Mole Hill, a newcomer to eGame Central also received 2 awards.  Dan Baker, who recently announced his retirement from hosting, once again won Best Host.

At the Winter 2003 Awards the format of the awards stayed the same.  The awards were held on February 16th, 2003.  The only major change was that the awards moved to a new theater where the crowds could be controlled better.  Highlights of the show included "Joan River's" red-carpet arrival show prior to the actual show as well as the after party put on by her following the awards.  Other highlights included the announcing of The Real World Dallas as the winner of Best Mole game, prompting the original creator of the joke, the host of EE and BBSD to climb up on to the set behind the presenters and stay there until security finally got him down and back in his seat.  The Mole Hill was the big winner of the night, taking home 3 awards including Best Mole Game, Best Website Design, and Best Overall Game.  The SCS series was the only other winner of multiple awards, taking home two: Best Host and Best Survivor Game.

As the awards committee looks toward the Summer 2003 awards they have announced two major changes.  First, there will only be 3 seasons of awards, held every four months: Summer (June), Fall (October), and Winter (February).  The other change is that all hosts who have won 3 awards for their series of games will be inducted as members of the eGame Academy, and will have permanent voting rights each season.
This page includes both the history of the Ceremony of the Awards and the history of the Award itself.  The Ceremony history is listed first, followed by the Award history.
HISTORY OF THE eGAME AWARD "E"
The original eGame Award was made at the launch of the eGame Oscars by Dan.  It featured a golden "E" that was tilted to the left atop a marble pedestal.  The E's tilt reminded many people of the Enron "E" and that is indeed where the inspiration came from.

This model of the Award was used for the Spring and Summer 2002 Awards.

The generic Award is seen at the right.  Notice the "E-Game Oscar" title on the pedastal, this original graphic was created before the name of the Awards was changed from the E-Game Oscars to the eGame Awards.
At the time of the Fall 2002 Awards, Amanda from The Mole Hill offered to create a new, sharper design for the Awards.  She sent along her first sketch, which was immediately chosen by Dan to to become the new Award model.  It also features the tilted E, however it has a sharper golden tint, as well as a black pedastal instead of the old marble.

This model of the Award was used for the Fall 2002 Awards.

The generic Award is seen at the right.  This award is also just about a quarter-half inch taller than the former eGame Award.

At the Winter 2003 awards the design was once again slightly changed.  The base was engraved with orange letters instead of the traditional white.