Dead Space was released in January 2011 and it is definitely a worthy contender for the competition. Possibly even a winner.
Useless, sure. Stupid? No. It's really fun talking about what game is best and what not. Kind of reminds some of us to get games we had forgotten about, too.
Well not for the sake of conversation, sure that's always interesting, but the idea that one game can take a place above all others. Surely all games cannot be compared on the same grounds.
Well I, myself see all of the 10 games that get to the vote as winners as it is still impossible to say which is best in everyone's opinion.
Any game is comparable to a PC/PS3/360 game. The problem is, it won't win the comparisson. I mean, come on, if you compare the console version of Dead Space to the iOS one, you'll see a MAJOR difference. For me Dead Space is a good iOS game, but after playing it once there isn't anything that makes me come back to it like for example the multiplayer in Modern Combat 3. (local multiplayer never gets old until the next game in the series comes out. ) For me, my top 3 list for the year will probably be something like 1. Modern Combat 3 2. Groove Coaseter 3. ??? (still undecided, but I guess it'll be Infinity Blade 2 after reading Infinity Blade: Awakening...)
Each year various awards are presented for best movie, best book, best website, best looking person, knighthoods, Time person of the Year, best toilet, best restaurant, and a number of other subjective topics. Games are no different.
So your argument is the classic appeal to authority fallacy. Just the best of whatever is performed in other areas doesn't mean that it's wrong to begin with. And certain things are different like best looks because that's on the same level of comparison. Games, like books or restaurants, are specialized into categories, such as schmups and shooters just as books have different genres and restaurants have different themes. What I'm trying to get at is that it would make more sense if they made the best game of the year for xyz genre so that it's on a fairer playing ground.
This is just a fun thing the community does. TA puts together a GOTY article that's divided into genres for the official one.
That's a far more reasonable suggestion. The TA Forum GOTY thing isn't a big formal judgement on games, with multiple categories, it's just a chance for TA forum members to vote on which games were popular this year. The process is as much about the discussions leading up to the voting, as the voting itself. As BackToThis mentions, it's a bit of fun.
I know, I know. I just meant that the title itself, "The Game of the Year" is a misnomer. I did say though that it's not entirely wrong in the context of purely having fun.
Some of my votes; WarmGun: For the sheer fact that the next update is a beast, also its the first Online FPS based on the Unreal Engine the iOS platform has ever seen. Though it is best enjoyed with an iPad 2 and iPhone 4s. Dream Track Nation: One of my favorite games of all time. Minecraft: Pocket Edition IF the devs add survival then this should be the GOTY. I can't get enough of the whole infinite building thing. I don't know why Minecraft is so intriguing but I cannot CANNOT get enough of it. Sprinkle: Amazing water physics and a cute art style, the game is pretty original and looks amazing on all devices. Mage Guantlet: Nuff said. 90's Style RPG brings back nostalgic memories from my SNES days.
"Stupidest thing ever" is a FAR more sweeping generality than GOTY. And since I think Stupidest Thing Ever is a more stupid distinction than GOTY, then I guess GOTY is not - in my opinion - the stupidest thing ever.
There's still time to play Aurum Blade, which is free, before you finalize your decision. Not only is it an excellent hack 'n slash, it also redefined the way I see in app purchases by presenting a fair and fun model. Edit: Aurum Blade may no longer be free; but is well worth $0.99.
GOTY Announcement: The nomination window has been pushed back to 12/15 - 12/23. This will give recently released games an equal opportunity in the poll as well as gamers more time to finish up any games they need to.
I respectfully suggest the nomination window be sometime after the end of the year to allow for play of end of year titles and due consideration. It's not a race and closing nominations before year end, even with App Store lockdown, seems nonsensical. Not everyone can immediately purchase all games and I for one will be coasting on Christmas gift cards to nab some I could not afford earlier. There's no need to botch input by carelessly rushing.
Agreed. There's nothing wrong with announcing the GOTW after the year is over. That's what TA typically does for its official GOTW article. Nominations should go from the last week of December (lockdown period) through the first week of January. After these two weeks, a poll can be set up and allow votes of one or two weeks. You'll have the results by mid-January. Nothing wrong with that.
