Sort games by genres and make a list of top 3 in every list ? Best indie games ? Most innovative games ? Something like that... Making a list of just 10 favorite games seems a bit "crude". Ports also deserve a special list , you have to account for many people who played that games for first time on their iOS devices.
BTW, undeadcow, there's a little typo in your GoTW list. Bastion X. Almost had a heart attack thinking I had somehow missed a sequel to Bastion. LOL. Boson X, obviously. But sign me up for Bastion X! Sounds like a winner!
Do we wait till December 31st to list nominees or can we start listing now? Also 1) how many nominees do we get? 2) In the actual poll, do we only get to choose one game?
Wasnt Crex the one whos been doing this thread for the past years? Anyways, ports should be included, without them we couldnt play those on iOS. Besides, a port won last year GOTY if I remember correctly. Some of my votes are ports.
Crex has been doing the Game of the Year thread for the past few years. He has had a pattern of posting them in mid-November so with respect to him, now that it's December 10 I figured he wasn't going for it this year. Crex not posting a GOTY thread might be understandable with the grief he got last year. I gave Crex some credit for the GOTY stewardship in the original post and will expand that somewhat because I do respect his contribution over the years. Edit: I added reference to Crex's work in the original post and sent him a PM to keep things straight. I think it's be cleaner if people wait until December 31 to post nominations, but it's up to you. You can nominate as many games as you want, the original post says the top 10 nominations will be considered. Exact-Pscience suggested we nominate 20 titles, and I'm curious to see what people think a good nomination limit is. There can be only one game of the year. That just goes to show it's not impossible the GOTY winner will be a title that doesn't even exist. I totally agree, but logistical and forum limitations being what they are a poll of just 10 games seems the most reasonable. If people want to run a "Port of the Year" or "RPG of the year" etc etc thread then that's not a bad idea, but it'd be a lot of work to compile sub-categories, each requiring their own thread/poll/etc.
I'm not sure if Crex is still active/interested. Good point though. On ports, I'm 100% in. If a game is the "best" game of the year, I don't care whether it's a port or an original. By an indie or EA... Whatever. If we're not letting ports in I say let's not let in any free games or games by large publishers, what else should we disqualify? ... Haha. Anyway, yeah, I think ports should be included.
Also do we have to number/rank our nominees? Narrowing my favorites down to 10 or 15 could be easy, but ranking them will be tough
Funny, you might have just had Bastion, a port FWIW, on your mind since it was last year's winner. I think if we start breaking down into genres, it could get pretty overwhelming, but I'd be all for even just two polls - one for ports and one for original games. That way big PC/console ports like Xcom aren't bullying out independent original ideas specifically made for iOS.
This would be a great idea. Because I can see Frozen Synapse, XCom, Limbo, etc., being big contenders in a single forum, which isn't fair for the IOS exclusive games
What he said haha. I would have little interest in a poll that basically says to voters "you're not allowed to have that as you're favourite game because we said so".
No EA, SquareSoft, Gameloft, Ubisoft, Epic/Chair... Who else is big? Crescent Moon? If you want an indie game to win so badly, start a poll for indie game of the year. Ports have no more advantage than a big budget iOS exclusive. Really, it's all up to UC (thanks for putting in the effort to do this, btw), but if ports or any other game is restricted from voting, I'll personally not be taking part in the voting, it'll be a meaningless title (GoTY). In my opinion. Edit: I'll add, to anyone that says it's good "for a phone game" disqualifying ports just really makes their point for them. That point being that phones and tablets are not a viable platform for gaming. Thanks for the support PeteOzzy.
This seems to be the consensus so let's go with including EVERY release in eligibility for game of the year 2013. I really recommend people consider starting smaller polls for subgenres. If anyone does I'll add a link in the original post. It's not necessary to number/rank nominations but if post too many nominations excessive items further in the list shouldn't be counted.
Just wanted to add that, despite however I sounded in my previous post, thank you for taking on all this work undeadcow. I'm under no illusions how much effort it must take to organise things like this - the GotW alone must be a headache! I absolutely love lists like this and I fully intend to check out pretty much every game that gets even one nomination. The fact that we could make a top list minus ports and big titles just goes to show how good the platform actually is!
I guess i should just say this regarding my opinion as to why i wish ports were not included. One huge example is FF7. Let's say FF7 got ported this year. I think it would be odd to see a classic win a game of the year recognition 16 years later. It already stood the test of time and is considered one of the best games around, so it would be almost a certainty it would be included in people's lists. That said, this is an extreme example, and an opinion, and it's pretty sad that i have to explain this part coz i know there is at least one person who will counter my opinion just because i chose FF7 to be the example. I think Awp's suggestion to have separate polls for ports and iOS originals is a great approach. The downside is that there are a handful of ports that everyone can remember, and they are the only ones showing up in each one's lists. Also, some members will still probably want to see how these ports compare with the originals in terms of people's GotY.
My nominees: Penumbear - This is and continues to be one of my favorite IOS games, not just of 2013, but of my entire IOS gaming career. A wealth of content, challenging platforming that requires precision and timing, expansive levels to be explored, an inventive light/shadow mechanic that is used in so many unique and inventive ways, even boss fights and secret levels, and more. This is a must play (IMO) Badland - This game took the simplest control scheme possible and molded a varied challenging experience that combines physics puzzles, obstacle evasion, inventive power ups. The atmospheric art style is icing on the cake. And the fantastic post release support makes this game the model all premium game should follow. Type Rider - The platforming is fun, but the incredibly atmospheric level design that turn the history of typography into worlds to traverse make Type Rider a one-of-a-kind experience Starborn Anarkist - A recent addition, but so worth a spot on the list. Frantic bullet hell dual stick mayhem, randomized bosses and enemies, and a deep and open-ended ship building system that opens the door for myriad play styles. Boson X - Better than Super Hexagon? Maybe, thanks to new obstacles in every level, throw-your-device-out-the-window difficulty, and simple but responsive touch controls Beat Leap - Its minimal appearance hides a challenging and inventive game that, while paid now, was the shining example for free to play done right on IOS. Slayin - Addictive hectic twitchy fantasy action with bosses, upgrades, missions, and characters that play so differently that switching between them feels like a whole new game Icycle - Come for the platforming as the world itself alters and reforms around you, stay for the weird and abstract level design Duet - Frustating, challenging, stylish, yet graceful all at the same time Vector - Challenging auto-running evasion for the platforming fans, and wonderful and varied animations for the parkour fans
Well, this year is going to be really hard to decide the Top10. So many good games and it hasnt stopped.
