Are remasters going to count in GAF's GOTY voting?

Y'all worrying about remasters, I'm worrying about my votes actually holding any weight. Earth Defense Force 2025 and Lightning Returns aren't getting jack shit from the majority of Gaffers, Dark Souls 2 and Ground Zeroes are the most weighty titles on my list.

#DaStruggle.

Dragon Age will holds its own, don't you worry.

But seriously, if you think your vote won't matter... then don't vote and further compound the problem. That said, I imagine there are a couple of left-field (i.e. non-AAA) games released this year that stand a good chance of getting in the top ten, thanks to apparently "insignificant" votes like yours.
 
Dragon Age will holds its own, don't you worry.

But seriously, if you think your vote won't matter... then don't vote and further compound the problem. That said, I imagine there are a couple of left-field (i.e. non-AAA) games released this year that stand a good chance of getting in the top ten, thanks to apparently "insignificant" votes like yours.

Eh, I was making a angsty and snarky comment. MGS4 winning twice and Little Big Planet coming in at 2nd place in 2008 taught me that GOTY lists are no biggie. Tons of indie games will get one vote from one user.
 
If somebody didn't play Ocarina of Time til last month, should they still be able to vote for it this year?

Being behind on the times shouldn't be an excuse for allowing this.


its not about being behind the times, it is about a financial/hardware barrier preventing them from playing that game before. If the newly released game is on a olatform they now have, they should be able to vote for it. The game is still released this year.
 
Yes, Rebirth should be eligible. On the other hand, I enjoyed TLOU: remastered and current gen GTAV, but it would be awful if they pushed other stuff out of the list (which seems likely considering how weak a gaming year 2014 has been). It seems hard to argue for making Rebirth eligible while not allowing TLOU and GTAV. A difficult problem to solve, really, and I hope that someone comes up with an intellectually satisfying reason for "doing the right thing".

So I can vote for any PC game any year? Neat.

I don't think the usual "remasters" should be eligible. Something like Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, which has a huge amount of changes and tons of new content is different. Perhaps it should be like journal submissions of conference papers: at least 30% completely new content :P

Checking the previous rules, something like Rebirth was eligible :
Remakes and significant upgrades to previously released games

While the higher resolution/framerate/shaders/whatever remasters wouldn't have been:
Ports that are basically “HD ports” of existing games with no changes besides upscaling the game

And yeah, I don't see Rebirth and the GTA/TLoU remasters as the same thing. One is essentially a new (iterative) game in its contents and mechanics while the others are better performing versions of existing games.
 
Would it really make any difference if they were? Most folks in this community are reasonably sensible and would tend to vote for a game that gave them a new experience (or so i like to believe) so even if they were included I cant see them doing great against the likes of Dragon Age and Bayonetta.
 
Y'all worrying about remasters, I'm worrying about my votes actually holding any weight. Earth Defense Force 2025 and Lightning Returns aren't getting jack shit from the majority of Gaffers, Dark Souls 2 and Ground Zeroes are the most weighty titles on my list.

#DaStruggle.

My vote will most likely go to Wasteland 2 ... you're not the only one :P #dealwithit
 
Would it really make any difference if they were? Most folks in this community are reasonably sensible and would tend to vote for a game that gave them a new experience (or so i like to believe) so even if they were included I cant see them doing great against the likes of Dragon Age and Bayonetta.
New experiences like the two sequels you mentioned? ;)

I get what you mean, but I do find it funny that there's a stress on originality for a list that will be thoroughly dominated by new entries in old franchises.

My vote will most likely go to Wasteland 2 ... you're not the only one :P #dealwithit
I'm fairly sure my number one will be The Crew. Now there's a title that ain't in danger of denting the charts!
 
New experiences like the two sequels you mentioned? ;)

I get what you mean, but I do find it funny that there's a stress on originality for a list that will be thoroughly dominated by new entries in old franchises.
Yeah i know what you mean. The new IPs this year have failed to live up to the hype with the exception of Mordor.
 
I'm pretty sure they always have.

And people are spending more and more time and money on them

Just because movies dont do it, doesnt mean we cant be better than that industry and not only reflect Reality in terms of pleasure and consumption but also to celebrate what is of so high quality that we double dip
 
its not about being behind the times, it is about a financial/hardware barrier preventing them from playing that game before. If the newly released game is on a olatform they now have, they should be able to vote for it. The game is still released this year.

What if they never played OoT because they could only afford one console per generation and didn't go with a Nintendo one until now? How do you verify whether or not the guy voting for GTA V didn't own a 360 or PS3, or couldn't afford the game?
 
One of the biggest issues with these vote threads is that many don't play games within their year of release, and some don't even get the opportunity. Remasters, updates, and complete editions further exacerbate this situation for those that want the full experience of a game (at reduced price, in a single time frame, or otherwise reasonable expectations for a gamer in these times).

I know that this would take some effort, but I think a yearly complied GOAT thread would be an interesting solution. Something constructed similarly to the NPD predictions threads; editable at any time and automatically counted. Addressing both the most recent GOTY, previous years, and Game Of All Time, it would be an elegant solution to multiple issues like gamer delayed vote division, multiple versions, and region specific delays.

Some specific instances and nuances such as thread division, standardized naming, true remakes (or reboots for GOAT category), and syntax would need to be addressed, but in theory it should be fairly easy to implement from the existing system.
 
Y'all worrying about remasters, I'm worrying about my votes actually holding any weight. Earth Defense Force 2025 and Lightning Returns aren't getting jack shit from the majority of Gaffers, Dark Souls 2 and Ground Zeroes are the most weighty titles on my list.

#DaStruggle.

You think that's bad?

My GOTY is Curtain Call.
 
Does this mean that sports games are out since most are just the same as last year, but with updated rosters and a couple of new features?
 
For all the flack Reggie got for "It's not the same game it's not the same content" it seems he was speaking for many.
 
Could a sequel film win best picture of the year? Yes, it's happened (once). Could a rerelease win best picture of the year? Yes, it could (Although that has never happened).

It isn't that these films are literally banned from being considered, it's that most mediums value originality and creativity, and nothing is as unoriginal and uncreative as a movie that literally already came out, just with slightly fewer pixels or slightly worse special effects or something.

What voting for a re-release would suggest of the "hardcore" gaming community is that we place little or no value or originality and creativity, which is a criticism that is already leveled at us, as we approach Final Fantasy XV and MGS5 and GTAVI and Call of Duty 473.

I don't think giving weight to those beliefs is a particularly good idea.

This assumes a similarity to films is in order. Or at least the most justifiable one.
& so I'd argue against that assumption. Games are inherently more complicated. For example, sports games to me are just a lick of paint rereleases even if they are not marketed as such.
Are we going to ban sports games because you want a new 'film' to win?
Lots of people don't just concentrate on the winners.
Granted, it is not likely to make any significant splash, but I would really like to see how PES does this year.

On a separate point, I think people should apply a common sense approach to rule changes. Instead, of dictating, let us democratise the process, as much as possible.
 
As someone who wouldn't vote for any game that was remastered this year, even if it was the first time ever that the game released, I have to say: I'd be fine with them counting. If some of these games won, this would be rather telling though in that
(a) The game was overlooked before
(b) The users on this board love being sold the same game over and over again
(c) This year was abysmal

From my perspective, I would interpret it as a huge part of (b) and a slight bit of (c).

On a slightly related note (speaking of remasters), I've played GTA5 for the first time this year and it
was the least fun of all games I've played this year. And I've played Sonic Boom on Wii U to completion. The "drive along the GPS line" part of the gameplay which took about half the time of the main game
was offensive to me.

EDIT @the one who was asking about Left Behind: As far as I know that's a game-like DLC, right? So I'd say yes, because NSLU counted too last year. Got 53 points.
 
How come I voted for MGR:R (PC) last year? It was out Jan 9th. Was there a rule that we could vote for games that were out until the voting closed? Or did I just not notice that we had entered a new year?!

As for remasters, I don't feel any new rules are needed, except for the rule that if you voted for a game previously you shouldn't be able to vote for it in the re-mastered version again.

Voting for DLC does seem silly, but whatever floats yer boats, gentlemen. I don't think a rule is needed for this either. Neither remasters or DLCs will get far in the lists anyway.
 
IMO, stuff like MCC and Pokemon ORAS should count but GTAV and TLOUR shouldn't.

But writing that out, it all seems rather silly.

Just make a rule that if it was a new retail release in 2014 it automatically qualifies. You can then add that the GOTY must be a novel experience.
 
Personal opinion is for the rules to be more inclusive, rather than stricter.

Much more than for a notion of "giving new games a chance", I think a GOTY list, especially one voted by community, should be allowed to simply reflect the most popular titles sold in that year.

If 2014's GOTY top ten is filled with re-releases in lieu of straight-up new games, that's an interesting, important reflection on the year (in terms of both gamers and publishers) and valid discussion can come from a spotlight being shone on it in that way.
 
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Personal opinion is for the rules to be more inclusive, rather than stricter.

Much more than for a notion of "giving new games a chance", I think a GOTY list, especially one voted by community, should be allowed to simply reflect the most popular titles sold in that year.

If 2014's GOTY top ten is filled with re-releases in lieu of straight-up new games, that's an interesting, important reflection on the year (in terms of both gamers and publishers) and valid discussion can come from a spotlight being shone on it in that way.

I agree.
 
Would it matter? In the end you could just do everything and once the results are tallied, you can omit the remaster/rerelease titles to find your game of the year outside of those.

At least that is how I will look at the list. It is still interesting to know, which was the prefered rerelease, but I can easily omit them
 
Suikoden 2 is being released on PSN this week. A lot of people will play it for the first time ever, because it's been extremely rare until now. Would you agree to Suikoden 2, a 1998 PSX game, being eligible for the GotY 2014 awards because of this?

Well..

Game Of The Year should reflect more the quality of games played by a sample during that year (in this case Gaf) than the quantity of games released in a calendar year.

Lets create a greater implausible scenario: if 90% of the voters elected Suikoden as their number 1 experience in terms of Games played in 2014, shouldnt that be acknowledged as something meaningful? We should celebrate greatness during a period. And if the majority of people spent their "Gaming" time during the Year of 2014 playing X game, that should be noted. We vote based on experience and not based on calendar. Thats the best test of a product quality. It will never happen because the majority of voters in 2012 did not play Ocarina of Time during that year, but if they did, shouldnt that be celebrated? GOTY is a global consciousness prize, it should be as open as possible. And quality will surface

If in 2014, X game released in 1990 is still the most played game and the first that comes to mind in terms of pleasure, ie, if Pong or Tetris beat Dragon Age or Shadow of Mordor in a comprehensive sample of knowledgeable and passionate consumers of a product, I am of the opinion that X game should win 2014 GOTY.

In conclusion, we are talking about scenarios that will never happen, but they are the cornerstone of this argument. And I get the perspective of celebrating the Year instead of the Games. I much prefer the reflection of people's interests and how they spent their time. I think its the best analysis for dismantling weak and not hands-on arguments about nostalgia that always are part of forums like this. Always testing the robustness of something through the time. We cant do that with Athletes for example, because they turn old and no longer can play. But with art we can. And should be tested

Yeah, I know, a bit confusing. I am kinda in a hurry. Will subscribe for quotes
 
Does that mean that PC Gamers can vote for GTA 5 to be GOTY 2015?

I mean there are probably a lot of PC Gamers who didn't got to play the game until now, and according to those defending TLOU and GTA 5 it would be just fair no?
 
Game Of The Year should reflect more the quality of games played by a sample during that year (in this case Gaf) than the quantity of games released in a calendar year.

Well, the thing about your implausible scenario is that regardless of timing some votes wind up being unacknowledged. Even if a huge number of people decide to play an older game in a given year it is still disregarding the votes of those that enjoyed the game the first time it was released. Thus the votes for a given game are becoming segregated over time, which is the same issue we are seeing with remasters (just with them having an actual impact). It feels unfair for someone to vote for a game this year and know it will have no impact because super popular games are spilling over into multiple years or because the game they are voting for had an initial following that already voted.

GOTY should be a comparison of games that released in that year. All games should be delegated to their very first year of release. If you want to compare an old game with newer games, then why limit yourself to only games that have been re-released. That should be a GOAT vote.

I still think the best solution is to allow someone in any year to vote for and impact any previous GOTY vote, while running a concurrent GOAT vote. And even better, because votes change we can see and record how GOTY (and runner ups) for each and every year evolve over time.
 
I would be really disappointed to see a remaster win GOTY. I'm not sure about making them ineligible though. The thing that comes to mind is Xenoblade, which released in Japan, Europe and NA in 3 consecutive years and was voted for each time. I still think the game was robbed by its release schedule, but should it have been made ineligible in 2012 for the NA release? Should people who voted for the 2011Europe or 2010 Japan releases been allowed to vote again, to give the title proper representation?

I feel like the answer to those questions at least slightly influencrs the answer to this one.
 
Well, the thing about your implausible scenario is that regardless of timing some votes wind up being unacknowledged. Even if a huge number of people decide to play an older game in a given year it is still disregarding the votes of those that enjoyed the game the first time it was released. Thus the votes for a given game are becoming segregated over time, which is the same issue we are seeing with remasters (just with them having an actual impact). It feels unfair for someone to vote for a game this year and know it will have no impact because super popular games are spilling over into multiple years or because the game they are voting for had an initial following that already voted.

GOTY should be a comparison of games that released in that year. All games should be delegated to their very first year of release. If you want to compare an old game with newer games, then why limit yourself to only games that have been re-released. That should be a GOAT vote.

I still think the best solution is to allow someone in any year to vote for and impact any previous GOTY vote, while running a concurrent GOAT vote. And even better, because votes change we can see and record how GOTY (and runner ups) for each and every year evolve over time.

I see your point

But you really believe that Super Mario 64 would have a chance in 2012-2014 for example?

We gotta start somewhere. Just because we never did it before, if we find a better metric we should apply it disregarding the hypothetical injustice of past events that did not use that metric

I know I am on a tangent. But I really find awards than only look at calendar (like the oscars) really flawed when it comes to test quality throughout time

In the end, you would probably get somewhat the same results because people live in the present and have short memory, despite nostalgia (and if they are honest they are not voting Bushido Blade as number one or Citizen Kane despite not touching them in that current year).
 
I see your point

But you really believe that Super Mario 64 would have a chance in 2012-2014 for example?

We gotta start somewhere. Just because we never did it before, if we find a better metric we should apply it disregarding the hypothetical injustice of past events that did not use that metric

I know I am on a tangent. But I really find awards than only look at calendar (like the oscars) really flawed when it comes to test quality throughout time

In the end, you would probably get somewhat the same results because people live in the present and have short memory, despite nostalgia (and if they are honest they are not voting Bushido Blade as number one or Citizen Kane despite not touching them in that current year).

I'm just saying that previous years should be recalculated on a yearly basis as individuals go back and play old games, change their minds, or play new versions of old games.

I was simply pushing the concept of a clean manner to address remasters and new first time players without having a change to their competition (unless the changes to the game warranted such ex. a remake, not remaster).

In the 2011 GOTY vote I didn't expect OoT to outperform Uncharted 3, Skyrim, MW3, and Dark Souls. But as a game of all time vote, I think people really will take the time to consider it.
 
Does that mean that PC Gamers can vote for GTA 5 to be GOTY 2015?

I mean there are probably a lot of PC Gamers who didn't got to play the game until now, and according to those defending TLOU and GTA 5 it would be just fair no?
I'm defending TLOU and GTA5, and I would certainly defend the PC GTA5 in 2015, just as I am defending the possibility of Valkyria Chronicles and FFXIII for PC here in 2014.
 
People are worried that GTA V of TLOU will win again. They won't. Let the votes decide. It's been a shit year for software but there's been enough new games to make this highly unlikely.
 
A game's a game. I say yes.

I have to agree.
Besides, some remastered games really add to the gameplay in meaningful ways and thus changing the tone of the game and/or enhance the core experience.
I would like to vote for those games as goty but i can understand why people want new games and fresh experiences for that category.
 
I mean... you sure about that?

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Stunning games no doubt. TLOU especially. But I'd be fairly confident they'd come up short in the votes on a board where a huge percentage would have already played them last year.

And as I say. Let the votes decide. If one were to win it would say more about the lack of quality this year than how good either of these were
 
Y'all worrying about remasters, I'm worrying about my votes actually holding any weight. Earth Defense Force 2025 and Lightning Returns aren't getting jack shit from the majority of Gaffers, Dark Souls 2 and Ground Zeroes are the most weighty titles on my list.

#DaStruggle.

Hey, at least those games have been played by more than 5 people here. Some of the games I've picked are only recognised by a few.

#HipsterStruggle
 
No way. Shove TLOU, MCC, and GTA V in your LttP pick. It doesn't matter if you think TLOU or GTA was better than every game this year. Hell I think Ocarina of Time was better than every game this year but I'm not going to vote for it. I'm even a bit on the fence about Pokemon ORAS counting and they completely revamped that game and added actual new content.
 
I just thought about what my 10 favorite games were this year and 3 of them are remasters lol. I'm only going to put this year's titles in my top 5 though.
 
There are more than enough remastered/remade games for them to warrant their own category imo, the game awards got it right on this situation.
 
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