We’ve kept you waiting long enough…
It’s time!
The 2019 Normal Happenings
Blog Awards!
What a wild ride it’s been this year! We’ve met an amazing community of people we’ve met along the way! We’ve organized these blog awards as a way of saying thanks. If you’re reading this, you’re quite simply a wonderful person. Even if you didn’t get an “official” award, just by being a part of this community, know that we adore you. Anyway, we’ve delayed the awards for long enough, so let’s give the people what they came for!
About badges:
You can put these on your blog’s sidebar or footer, if you’d like! They are transparent PNGs, so they should be fully compatible with your layout. Just save the image, put it in your theme, and link it back to this post!
Pro-tip: If you have a dark colored background, here’s a handy online tool I often use in the absence of Photoshop to invert the colors to white. Also, feel free to add a white or black background if you need to.
Or, just sent me a message on Twitter and I’d be happy to send you over a sidebar badge to your specifications. Also, I’m just a human and there are a lot of badges. I tried to be perfect, but if I messed up a spelling or any little detail, let me know and I will fix it immediately.
Anyway, let’s get started!
2018’s Kindest Blogger!
Nominations!
Games With Coffee
Nominated by Alex Sigsworth!
The Gaming Diaries
Nominated by Shoot the Rookie!
“I actually feel guilty about having to nominate just one person, but I’ve nominated The Gaming Diaries because she is always there with supportive comments – not just about blogging but about mental health and other issues. She always helps you out by supporting your blog posts and taking part in community events you organise and she is just a great person to have around!”
Livid Lightning
Nominated by Adventure Rules!
“Ellen is super supportive of all the members of the game blogging community and is in the comment section of any blogger I’ve ever found to follow. She’s always reading and recommending posts from other people and it’s hard to find someone who will have your back more when you need it. As an example of her kindness and supportiveness, I’ll link one of her update posts – every month, she recommends articles from 13 different bloggers for her followers to read.”
Nerd Side of Life
Nominated by TWOTALL4UFOOL!
Overthinker Y
Nominated by Hundstrasse!
Just being one of the nicest and most approachable people within the community… Rock on good sir! Rock on!
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks
Nominated by Livid Lightning!
“She is actually not a narcissist at all. In addition to posting her own epic works, she’s super supportive of so many bloggers!! No words to describe her awesomeness.”
Sheikah Plate
Nominated by NekoJonez!
“She was so kind for to me in 2018. She provided a listening ear.”
And the winner is…
You want to know the truth: this was the most difficult one to pick. In a community flowing with kind and supportive people, how were we supposed to pick the kindest one? But after doing some soul-searching, and seeing what she’s done across the community this year, we decided on Livid Lightning. Thank you, Ellen, for all you do across this community, and congratulations!
2018’s Most Creative Blog Post!
Nominations!
Double Jump | Double Jump’s Game Awards
Nominated by TWOTALL4UFOOL!
Git Gud at Life | Fontaine’s Script for the Semis
Nominated by Adventure Rules!
“GGAL wrote an entire film script for his submission, and the way he constructed it to cut back and forth between past and present created a compelling and funny story that showcased his character perfectly.”
McWritestuff | Badvice – How to get over a breakup
Nominated by The Reel Anna!
“I firmly believe Alex deserves to win this category because he’s an impressive writer and one of the most creative people I’ve ever met! He puts so much thought and creativity into his posts. It truly inspires me!”
Overthinker Y | Five Reasons to Embrace Diversity in Fiction, Even If You’re an Incorrigible Bigot
Nominated by Livid Lightning!
“Chris of Overthinker Y is an awesome human. I loved how creative his hilarious post about how important diversity in fiction is.”
Overthinker Y | Master Xehanort in Blogger Blitz Round 2 – Breaking the Broker
Nominated by Shoot the Rookie!
“It has a Powerpoint. Made by Xehanort. What more do I need to say?”
Shoot the Rookie | The Gamer’s Guide to Glasglow
Nominated by Hundstrasse!
“The idea of a gaming guide to their home city is imaginative and something I’ve never seen done before… as well as providing my wife and I with a fantastic day in the city when we were there last year.”
And the winner is…
Overthinker Y | Five Reasons to Embrace Diversity in Fiction, Even If You’re an Incorrigible Bigot
The brilliant Chris has gotten a lot of love in these nominations, and we agree that this post exemplifies just how creative all of his work seems to be! Congratulations, Chris!
2018’s Best Solo Blog Post!
Nominations!
Adventure Rules | Adventure Rules Reviews 2018
Nominated by NekoJonez!
“Man, I love end of the year lists where somebody uses a different take then the usual ‘top 10 games of the year’ list.”
The Gaming Diaries | The Media and Gaming Addiction
Nominated by Shoot the Rookie!
“This article reads like professional journalism if professional journalism wasn’t in fact biased against video games. It is wonderfully written and the research and presentation are really top drawer.”
Later Levels | The Hardest Thing About Blogging
Nominated by Livid Lightning!
“The superb post by the lovely Kim of Later Levels about her blogging struggles. A lot of people in the community can relate!”
>Also nominated by TWOTALL4UFOOL!
And the winner is…
The Gaming Diaries | The Media and Gaming Addiction
Pix1001 from Shoot the Rookie is right — this is a very professionally developed blog piece. As a researcher myself, I loved seeing this issue analyzed from all sides. I would love to see a series from TGD based on this topic, and maybe this award will inspire them to make one. Congratulations to The Gaming Diaries for best blog post!
2018’s Best Collaboration!
Nominations!
Adventure Rules | Blogger Blitz
Nominated by Livid Lightning!
“No explanation needed I’d say :P”
>Also nominated by Later Levels!
“Ian has been one of the most encouraging and supportive bloggers I’ve had the chance to meet, and he puts so much hard work into the annual Blogger Blitz event. It gives everyone the opportunity to meet new bloggers and inspires a bit of friendly competition while celebrating our hobbies. It’s this kind of collaboration which puts the positivity here on display and shows just how welcoming our community is!”
Overthinker Y and Shoot the Rookie | High Score Haute Couture
Nominated by Adventure Rules!
“This was a fashionable collaboration between Shoot the Rookie and Overthinker Y that, while small in scale, was overflowing with passion and just seemed like FUN. You could tell both bloggers loved what they were doing and reading these posts was a blast.”
The Well-Red Mage | Final Fantasy: A Crystal Compendium
Nominated by Shoot the Rookie!
“This was the first major collaboration I ever took part in and it is absolutely stellar. The level of writing and the knowledge of the Final Fantasy series which are on display here is absolutely astounding, and the whole thing really felt like a big deal, like a really important piece of work. All the writers were part of a Discord group for months where we batted about titles, ideas etc and that made me, who was pretty new to the community at the time feel really welcome and involved.”
And the winner is…
Adventure Rules | Blogger Blitz
I have to think that, of all the categories, this had to be the surefire lock! Of course we were going to select Blogger Blitz! Nothing seems to unite the community like this event, and Ian should be lauded for his ingenuity in developing it. Congratulations Ian!
Oh, and thanks everyone who nominated The Games That Define Us, even though I specifically told you not to. 😀
2018’s Best Overall Blogger!
Nominations!
Adventure Rules
Nominated by Shoot the Rookie!
“What can I say about Ian that hasn’t already been said? He puts out the highest quality content every couple of days, writes about a wide range of games including not only video games but also table top RPGs. He puts on absolutely wonderful collaborations and community events and also supports other people’s events. He is a great guy to chat to and a pillar of our community.”
AmbiGaming
Nominated by Livid Lightning!
“The awesome WordPress Goddess of Wisdom who works hard to show video games in a positive and scientific light. I love her expert articles on psychology/mental health/gaming topics and her Year of the RPG project was pretty epic, eh!”
Later Levels
Nominated by Hundstrasse!
“She is not only a fabulous blogger writing interesting and well thought out pieces, she is a friendly and proactive person within the blogging community who works hard to realise ideas in with an waveringly inclusive and positive outlook.”
>Also nominated by Adventure Rules!
“Kim has been like a mentor to me and I think many other game bloggers could say the same. She could easily be nominated for any one of these categories – she runs great community events, is incredibly supportive with comments and retweets, and her posts leave strong impressions with their creative ideas and well-written text. It’s hard to pick just one example of why Later Levels deserves this award in my view.”
>Also nominated by Neko Jonez!
“Kim is such a great blogger, I think more people should read her content.”
Neko Jonez
Nominated by TWOTALL4UFOOL!
The Well-Red Mage
Nominated by Alex Sigsworth!
And the winner is…
What can I say, the people have spoken! And I completely agree with the verdict. Kim simply must take come the crown for best blogger. Nobody has facilitated the community better this year, and she even helped Normal Happenings get off the ground. Congratulations on being blogger of the year, Kim!
Collaboration Contributors!
Normal Happenings has been honored with three incredible collaborations over the past year, and it all thanks to you. We could not have done it without each and every one of these incredible bloggers. You deserve the world for your work, but we hope these sidebar badges will suffice.
Here’s where you can find all of their hard work:
- Hyrule: See the Sights, Hear the Sounds
- The Games That Define Us
- Tracking Shells: Our Mario Kart Memories
TWOTALL4UFOOL’s Gaming and More
Patrons!
These wonderful people have chosen to support the quest of Normal Happenings with their funds. We could not be more humbled that people believe in our work enough to do that, so we want to say thanks!
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks
Mad Design Props!
We couldn’t have gotten off the ground this year without the insane design talents of Megan from A Geeky Gal. She deserves a badge all her own!
Edit from the future:
We’re also giving Alex from McWritestuff a very special badge:
Coming Soon: The Normal Happenings Starry-Eyed Discord
I am so excited to be announcing that the “official” Normal Happenings Starry-Eyed Discord will be launching next week! This optimistic community will be open to all Patrons, Collaboration Contributors, and anyone deemed to be a VIP of Normal Happenings. We’re pretty sure each of you mentioned in this post are going to get an invite, of course!
It will be an optimistic place to share and help to promote each others’ work, emphasizing stars to help promote posts and launch them far beyond our own community. It will also be a place to organize online video game tournaments, arrange blogging meet-ups, discuss cool topics, and inspire future writing ideas! I’ll tell you more on launch day, but long story short: I’ve waiting so long because I want it to be perfectly organized. You won’t have to wait much longer.
And with that, the 2019 Normal Happenings Blog Awards officially comes to a close. Again, from the bottom of our heart, thank you to everyone — all of our readers, followers, contributors, and patrons, for helping us have an incredible first year of blogging. Here’s to many, many more.
Is there anyone who you think deserves recognition we left out? Sound off in the comments!
Introducing Snail Mail Inklings! $5 tier Patrons will get a unique Inkling delivered to their mailbox each month. Responses will be featured in a very special blog post. Come be a part of the fun! Consider becoming one of the amazing patrons of Normal Happenings.
Great choice of winners, especially with Livid Lightning and Later Levels! Hopefully, I can win one of these one day.
Congrats to everyone!
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It’s an honor just to be nominated! It puts me in the company of all of these wonderful people and makes me so happy to have met and befriended you all! ♥♥♥
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Congratulations to all the winners, these awards are very well deserved for all of you ❤️ and well done to you Matt for pulling this off so awesomely, I hope it will become an annual event!
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Thanks Pix! Oh, it definitely will… and hopefully not a month late next year!
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Congratulations to everyone involved 🙂
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Wow, I can’t believe I was even nominated for something. I love my badges and I am displaying them proudly!!
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Aww thank you for the nominations and the win! I’m so honoured. This is a lovely event you have put together and it has come off brilliantly.
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