2.15 "The Last Embers"

[riczhang]

I actually tried to work some of these out.

[Cedarpoint1111]

Lol I really thought they were the questions you mother fucker jones!!!!! Bitch.

[Cedarpoint1111]

I wasted about an hour doing just the first 3 questions and then I gave up and decided to finish them tomorrow. You are lucky I didn't do them all lol.

[The Creator]

I wasted about an hour doing just the first 3 questions and then I gave up and decided to finish them tomorrow. You are lucky I didn't do them all lol.

Well if you had then I guess I would have taken the higher of the two (assuming you would still do the others)....but then again, I would have had to do those questions myself (albeit with the answers already published, but there would still be a lot of calculating on my end). I really didn't expect anyone to try those at all.

[The Creator]

We'll be revealing the nominees for Player of the Season over the weekend. The first nominee for Player of the Season is...

Totem (finished in 5th place)

Four others will join him to vie for the most prestigious award I can declare at the Awards Ceremony, to be held Monday during the Finale.

Edited September 23, 2012 by The Creator

[The Creator]

The second nominee for Player of the Season is...

DoctorWho (finished in 7th place)

Also, I'm curious as to your thoughts on Season 2, as expressed in the poll. I would appreciate any criticisms, comments, or concerns that would help me decide what kind of options I should keep for Season 3 and what I should change. I already know Season 3 will have some format changes and other surprises not ever used in Box Office Alliance before, but I would like to know what from Season 2 you guys liked the most, so that maybe we can see that happen again. For instance: Second Chance Challenge, Creator Challenge, etc. I would also appreciate knowing what flaws with Season 2 detracted from the quality of the game and the experience you have as a player so I can know not to repeat those if possible. I know Season 2 introduced some changes from Season 1, and Season 3 will be introducing some major changes from Season 2 that I think you will all be interested in.

[The Creator]

Guys, the finale comes today.

The awards show will be held, the winners will be announced, and Player of the Season will be crowned. All starts soon. I hope to see some excitement from the players. I want this to be a memorable Season Finale. Going in, I have my early projections of who the winner will be.

Acsc1312:

63% chance of winning

CEDAR:

37% chance of winning

I should mention though that the two are about evenly matched really, so my figures are definitely conjecture based off seasonal performances. If we look at just the last two weeks, where CEDAR placed 1st both times, the projections would look more as follows:

Acsc1312:

30% chance of winning

CEDAR:

70% chance of winning

The poll indicates a tie vote right now. This makes it more interesting.

Also, the third nominee for Player of the Season is...

riczhang

That's perhaps the most surprising nominee so far, but if you look at his performance over the half of the season he participated in, he was one of the two most powerful players and would have made it much farther if he didn't sacrifice himself by preventing a face-off with Totem in the Challenge Week 8.

Edited September 24, 2012 by The Creator

[The Creator]

Box Office Alliance: Season 2

---In Review---

We're almost there!

Before the Awards Show start and the final scores accounted for, I want to take a brief moment to post my thoughts on the season.

Season 2 was another personal season to me. It let me really establish nice forum-based friendships with new people and enrich those I established with some players from Season 1. I invested most of my time spent on the forum each week (especially on Mondays) into the game, and I think it proved to be effective. I can honestly say that for my part, I have done a much better job hosting Season 2 than I did in Season 1. Once I figured out how to correct my errors from Season 1, I was able to manage Season 2 with more punctuality and proper management, without altering rules, adding rules, or letting Challenges and scores drag behind schedule. I can confess that for my part as the host, I enjoyed running Season 2 more than I did Season 1.

As far as the experience goes, I think Season 2 was better than Season 1. There were more twists and turns and surprises than in Season 1. One thing you have to consider is that as the host, I love to throw out surprises. I don't want an ordinary box-office predicting game. If you haven't noticed, I name each episode with a title, giving each week an episodic theme. I try to let each season have its own theme, make the games feel connected on a weekly basis. In a sense, I make the game feel like it's an actual TV show, only missing a plot...although at times there's enough substance for a plot, and this season offered many such instances. Season 2 was a fun ride, and I think (and hope) that the players enjoyed it because there was a lot to follow, a lot of players participating, and a lot of fun little surprises along the way. And in the ways Season 2 deviated from Season 1, I think it improved in quality and entertainability.

We started with 18 members divided into 9 teams. At the start of the game, "The Crimson Knights" dominated. Totem and riczhang were the most potent forces on the market. They dominated the first quarter of the season with ease and resulted in gaining notoriety and being labelled as the highest priority targets and greatest threats of the season. For that reason, they were disbanded a few weeks later when they started to dwindle in their success, but they remain the most historically notorious team of "Box Office Alliance", a status I don't think will be overthrown any time soon. Right off the bat I could tell Season 2 was going to be interesting when RichWS was eliminated in the first week. Rich had made it all the way to the Top Ten games in Season 1, so his eliminated was a shock to me because it happened so early.

...which brings us to Week 2, "Gathering Storm." By far one of the most hectic weeks in all of Box Office Alliance, "Gathering Storm" was also one of the most surprising and ill-fated. First up we faced the chaos of the forum messenger being down, which resulted in some mishaps for the teams trying to submit answers on time. Then, when results came in, "The Knights" swept again...but it's what they did next that alarmed everyone. They sent "The Firerisers" into The Challenge against each other. Alfred and Townzy had made it to the Final Five Championships in Season 1, and Alfred won the final game in "Reflections" (S1.16). But now the duo went into The Challenge, and in a surprise blow Alfred was eliminated. The twist was astounding. Everyone had Alfred pegged for returning to the Top Ten and even the Final Five games after his awesome performance in Season 1.

Week 3 wasn't able to match that hype, but it did result in the first of many double-eliminations to be held over the Season. InFamous and Tawasal were both eliminated after "The Knights" dominated for their third consecutive week, setting a new record, and "The Black Stallions" were formed from the remnants. But Week 4 brought everything from the first quarter crashing together into a blitz of intrigue. "Rising from the Ashes" was titled after the potential resurrection of "The Firerisers". "The Knights" won again and one of its members, Townzy89, turned on the team to resurrect his then-eliminated teammate of "The Firerisers" The Dark Alfred, who won Season 1 and was eliminated 2 weeks earlier. This was one of my favorite weeks of the season because it was the first time the Creator Challenge was used. Unfortunately, Townzy lost and was eliminated, and Alfred was unable to return to the game...yet.

It was the end of the first quarter, and at last "The Knights" were overthrown by "The Shadowkillers" in Week 5. "The Shadowkillers" would go on to be the leading team of the season, but they were off to a shaky start when they lost the second Creator Challenge of the season. However, Weeks 6-8 were marked by a different presence..."The Black Stallions". Forged from the ashes of the two teams who lost members in Week 3, "The Stallions" consisted initially of Xeno and DoctorWho, two strong players with a vengeance. The team dominated Weeks 6 through 8, and even pulled off a massively impressive victory in the Dark Knight Rises Special (Week 7). They assimilated Totem of "The Crimson Knights" onto their team after a surprise downfall of the season frontrunners in Week 8, when riczhang was slain in a double-eliminated Challenge most unexpectedly.

In "Second Chance" (Week 9), the Second Chance Challenge took over the ratings. We tuned in to watch the eliminated players of the season vie for a chance at re-entry in the first Challenge of its type to be held in Box office Alliance. In the end, it came down to a three-way race between Alfred, Tawasal, and JackO. Alfred and JackO were re-admitted onto "Team Destiny"...destined to win with their lust for vengeance. Alfred in particular had his mind set on eliminating Totem, who caused his elimination in Week 2 and consequently forced Townzy to play his hand in the tragic Creator Challenge of Week 4. Alfred had a lust for ousting Totem, his largest nemesis, from the game...and he would get that chance soon. "Team Destiny" would climb to the top for one week, but the other weeks left all went to "The Shadowkillers".

The Top Ten games began with "The Long and Winding Road", after JackO and Alfred had been resurrected and ten final contestants were established. As always, these were my favorite games to host and watch as events unfolded between Weeks 10 and 15. "The Shadowkillers" would dominate here, minus Week 11 when "Team Destiny" pulled a victory. It is evident that "The Shadowkillers" is the team of the season, but "The Crimson Knights" (Week 1-8) give them a run for their money. The closest elimination of the season came in Week 11's Double Elimination Challenge when Goffe Recall just narrowly got cast out and DoctorWho went on for one more week before his elimination in Week 12. The Final Five Champions were determined in Week 12, and Totem, acsc, CEDAR, Alfred, and JackO were geared for the most competitive games of the season.

Alfred's goal was realized in Week 13. Totem went into The Challenge to square off against JackO and Alfred. In a shocking blow, Totem was eliminated, losing his first of many Challenges this season. Alfred managed to outlive his nemesis, so we can argue that even though Alfred would be eliminated one week later, he was satisfied to have at least accomplished some kind of victory for him and Townzy by exacting revenge on their foes (riczhang had been eliminated in Week 8, 4 weeks after Townzy and 1 before Alfred was resurrected). Week 14 brought us to the semi-final, and "Team Destiny" tried to overthrow the victorious "Shadowkillers", but unfortunately they lost and "The Shadowkillers" won again.

So we sit at the finale of the Season. It's Acsc1312 versus CEDAR. We anticipate an epic showdown. So let's give them hell guys. Let's give them hell.

[The Creator]

"The Last Embers" - Season 2 Finale

Who. Will. Win?

We are so close to seeing the winner. I am finalizing the scores. This is going to be an intense match. Acsc and CEDAR have been partners all season long, so we will be seeing a very tense showdown. Now up first, before I start with the Awards Ceremony for Season 2, I will reveal the final two nominees for Player of the Season:

CEDAR and Acsc1312 (you had to know that was coming. I couldn't give it to just one and not the other)

And now...the Awards Ceremony.

SEASON 2 AWARDS CEREMONY

This begins our list of awards to be handed out for player excellence, teamwork, sportsmanship, spirit, skill, strategy, friendliness, competitiveness, and alliance. There are approximately 25 awards this season, more than last season, and each award has a list of nominees attached. Some of the awards are Extra Creativity awards, not awarded to individual players or teams but to the season itself. I'll be unravelling the awards now.

The Behavior Award

This award recognizes the player who has been the most well-behaved player of the season. Now before I reveal the nominees, I should mention that this season had no major brawl like the one between CEDAR, Townzy, and Alfred at the end of last season, which was what prompted me to form this award to begin with. But there are those players still who stood out in friendliness and mannerism above all the others, and they are generally less noticed because they don't act unruly or as competitive as the bigger names. So, the nominees are:

-DoctorWho

-Fakhir

-Goffe Recall

-JackO

-Townzy89

And the winner is:

Goffe Recall (a well spirited and well-mannered individual, Goffe avoided being overly competitive or critical of other players and was always a benevolent force this season)

The Best Episode Award

This award recognizes which episode (game) I thought was the most exciting. We had several this season. The nominees are:

-"Gathering Storm" (Week 2)

-"Rising from the Ashes" (Week 4)

-"The Dark Knight Rises Special" (Week 7)

-"Second Chance" (Week 9)

-"Dust in the Wind" (Week 12)

And the winner is:

"Rising from the Ashes" (Week 2): The use of the Creator Challenge was an awesome twist and Townzy's tragic downfall and the end of "The Firerisers" was an unexpected loss.

The Award for Outstanding Teamwork

This award is given to the team that works hardest to get the job done and, more importantly, to the team who works together, sticks together, and fights for each other as true allies. This shows us the spirit of the game as the main target of the game is forging alliances with other members. The nominees are:

-"The Black Stallions" (DoctorWho and XenoZodiac)

-"The Crimson Knights" (Totem and riczhang)

-"Epic Sensation" (Fakhir and Schumacher FTW)

-"The Firerisers" (The Dark Alfred and Townzy89)

-"The Shadowkillers" (acsc1312 and CEDAR)

And the award goes to:

"The Firerisers" (Alfred and Townzy): You guys really stood up for each other. When Townzy faced me in the Challenge to attempt to resurrect his partner Alfred, I was proud to sense that spirit of alliance and felt sad to have to let Townzy go after such a bold but devoted move.

More are on the way. Stay tuned for the Finale Results. They're really close so far...

[The Creator]

The Award for Most Liked Player (NEW)

This award recognizes the player that was most well-received by other players, the one who other players would have been sad to see go (even though they'd rather further their own interests). The elligible players are:

-acsc1312

-DoctorWho

-Goffe Recall

-JackO

-Schumacher FTW

The winner of this award is:

Goffe Recall: I saw a lot of disappointment and awe when Goffe was eliminated in Week 11. He was well-liked perhaps because of his underdog status that gave way to some prominence after he joined "The Shadowkillers"

The Award for Most Respected Player (NEW)

This award recognizes which player others hold in the highest esteem, the one who may not be liked or feared, but who is respected due to his status. The nominees are:

-acsc1312

-CEDAR

-The Dark Alfred

-Totem

-XenoZodiac

The winner of this award is:

XenoZodiac: I have never heard people talk crap about Xeno. There's some joking between him, tawasal, acsc, and CEDAR that goes on at times, but Xeno has always been an admired and well-respected player.

The Award for Most Popular Player (NEW)

This award recognizes the player that others will most likely associate with Box Office Alliance Season 2. The nominees:

-acsc1312

-CEDAR

-DoctorWho

-riczhang

-Totem

The winner is:

acsc1312: Acsc is the star of both seasons so far because he has been in all 31 episodes of the game, so his star status marks him as the most popular player around...for now.

The Award for Most Underrated Team

This award recognizes the team that did a lot but wasn't acknowledged as one of the greats despite this. With less teams there weren't as many potential nominees, but three particular teams are automatically exempt from this award. So the nominees are:

-"The Dark Horses" (DoctorWho and InFamous)

-"Epic Sensation" (Fakhir and Schumacher FTW)

-"Rising Stars" (Electric and Goffe Recall)

-"Team Incredibles" (Avatarfan, Sims, and JackO)

-"The Warriors" (RichWS and JackO)

The winner is:

"Team Incredibles" (Avatarfan, JackO, and Sims): This team lasted a long time but never won and yet they made it to the top 3 of each week a couple times throughout their course.

[The Creator]

The Strategy Award (NEW)

This award recognizes the team that used the most strategic skills to pull off victories and crushing blows. There were a wide range of strategies, but the nominees are:

-"The Black Stallions" (XenoZodiac and DoctorWho)

-"The Crimson Knights" (Totem and riczhang)

-"Team Destiny" (JackO and The Dark Alfred)

-"Team Incredibles" (Avatarfan, JackO, and Sims)

-"The Shadowkillers" (acsc1312 and CEDAR)

The winner is:

"The Crimson Knights": Their strategy of eliminating the top dogs from last season in Weeks 1-4 caused quite an upset but led to their early dominance in the game.

The Underdog Award

This award recognizes the player who was most overlooked this season despite his skill. Most of these will be rookie players. The nominees are:

-Electric

-Fakhir

-Goffe Recall

-JackO

-Schumacher FTW

The award goes to:

JackO: He made it to the Final Five and came in 3rd place overall despite the odds being against him. He was the underdog.

The Challenge Award

This is Fake's award, but since Fake didn't show up this time around, we had no true Challenge King. There is actually a 3 way race for this award, and the nominees are:

-The Dark Alfred

-Fakhir

-JackO

-Totem

-Sims

The winner:

Totem: He's not quite the Challenge King Fake was, but Totem won all but one Challenge he participated in, set a new record for highest Challenge score, and made some daring risks by not purchasing immunities and going into The Challenge. He participated in 4 Challenges and won 3 of them.

The Team Spirit Award

This award recognizes the team that was the most spirited and mannered team of the season. The nominees are:

-"The Black Stallions" (DoctorWho and XenoZodiac)

-"The Crimson Knights" (riczhang and Totem)

-"The Dark Horses" (DoctorWho and InFamous)

-"The Shadowkillers" (CEDAR and acsc1312)

-"Team Incredibles" (Avatarfan, JackO, and Sims)

The award goes to:

"The Dark Horses" (DoctorWho and Infamous): Perhaps its their rookie status, but Doc and InFamous were very excitable during the three weeks their team existed. They had a lot of back-and-forth convos in their PM and they were always spirited in the games threads.

The Individual Spirit Award

This award recognizes the individual player with the most spirit in the game this season. The nominees are:

-acsc1312

-CEDAR

-DoctorWho

-InFamous

-Totem

The award goes to:

DoctorWho: A very spirited individual with a lot to say and all of it positive.

The Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda Award

This award, now retitled from last season, recognizes the individual who could've reached the Top Ten and probably would have if circumstances had permitted it. The nominees are:

-Avatarfan

-riczhang

-SchumacherFTW

-Tawasal

-Townzy89

The award goes to:

riczhang: Pretty obvious. He was a consistently powerful force all season long...well for the part he was in.

The Best Episode Title Award

This just recognizes the title selected by me that I liked best. I had a theme going here...if you didn't notice the first episode was called "Igniting the Sparks" and the last episode is called "The Last Embers", with some emphasis here and there on a fiery theme, symbolizing "The Firerisers"' victory from Season 1. The nominees:

-"Rising from the Ashes" (Week 4)

-"The Long and Winding Road" (Week 10)

-"Dust in the Wind" (Week 12)

-"Fallen Champions" (Week 13)

-"The Last Embers" (Week 15)

And the award goes to:

"The Last Embers" (week 15)

The Biggest Surprise Elimination Award

Recognizes which player's eilimination was most shocking. The nominees:

-The Dark Alfred (Week 2)

-Townzy89 (Week 4)

-riczhang (Week 8)

-Goffe Recall (Week 11)

-Totem (Week 13)

The winner is:

Townzy89 (Week 4): His loss in the Creator Challenge was totally unexpected.

[The Creator]

We're down to the final few awards. Results are almost finalized. It's going to be one of those almost too-close-to-call moments. Stay tuned.

The Most Competitive Player Award

There's always competition in an alliance game like this, and the nominees for the players who exhibited the most competitiveness are:

-acsc1312

-CEDAR

-The Dark Alfred

-riczhang

-Totem

The winner is:

CEDAR: CEDAR is and will always be one of Box Office Alliance's most competitive players, always trying to get to the top...maybe he will this time.

The Award for Best Box-Office Skill

This award goes to the player whose skill at predicting was top-notch this season. There were some superior players. The nominees are:

-acsc1312

-CEDAR

-DoctorWho

-riczhang

-Totem

The award goes to...and this was a close call, but...

Totem: If he hadn't slipped in one week, he would have had the highest box-office average for the season (Doc's was highest). But he was more consistent than Doc, minus that one week, and was often at the top of the charts.

The following awards were foreseeable if you've been paying attention to the polls, to gauge player thoughts on these awards.

The Award for Best Team

A very prestigious award, this one goes to the team that had the most skill all season. There's only 3 nominees:

-"The Black Stallions"

-"The Crimson Knights"

-"The Shadowkillers"

A very tough one to call, but in the end it goes to...

"The Shadowkillers" (Acsc, CEDAR, and Goffe): The last team standing and the one that existed all 15 weeks, with 6 wins throughout the season. A hell of a feat.

The Rookie Award

Recognizes the new player with the most skill and status. The nominees are:

-DoctorWho

-Fakhir

-Goffe Recall

-JackO

-riczhang

The award goes to:

riczhang: It was a close call, but riczhang was the frontrunner (or co-frontrunner) for a good portion of the season. To note, Doc almost got this instead because he was a frontrunner also, but riczhang was more competitive and feared.

And lastly

The Veteran Award

Recognizes the veteran player with the most skill and status and strategy. The nominees:

-acsc1312

-CEDAR

-The Dark Alfred

-Totem

-XenoZodiac

The award goes to...another close one:

Totem: Totem was the most recognizably vicious force of the game, the biggest nemesis, the most feared...but perhaps also one of the most respected due to his skill.

We will continue with the Finale and with the Player of the season award soon. Stay tuned.

[Goffe]

The winner of this award is: Goffe Recall: I saw a lot of disappointment and awe when Goffe was eliminated in Week 11. He was well-liked perhaps because of his underdog status that gave way to some prominence after he joined "The Shadowkillers"

And the winner is:Goffe Recall (a well spirited and well-mannered individual, Goffe avoided being overly competitive or critical of other players and was always a benevolent force this season)

ooohhh creator, stop it

Edited September 24, 2012 by Goffeweenie

[Cedarpoint1111]

The wait is excrutiating.

[acsc1312]

[Totem]

Very cool Creator, love the summary and the awards! Just have to say season 2 was so much fun, it was more organised than season 1 because it was your second time running the game, you were always scoring quickly and on time, I really really enjoyed this season and had even more fun than I did in the last season of Survivor which is saying alot.

Just have to say a big thank you for running this game and season 3 should be awesome!

[acsc1312]

I will put it down that this is my favorite game on the forums. Yes, even more than BSG and Survivor. We can really tell that this means a lot to you, Creator.

[riczhang]

The awards are really cool, and thanks for running the entire season, and it's a really awesome game, hope that I'll be back for season 3.

[Cedarpoint1111]

WHOSE THE WINNER????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Creator]

I'm so sorry guys. It will be revealed shortly. I got whisked away to work. I thought I'd be finished before hand but I wasn't. But I'm almost done, and at least one of you will be very pleased. Haha.

It will be revealed in my next post.