Shit, yea Volgarr too. Both of those games are so damn good. Gunpoint being my personal GOTY.
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Rock Paper Shotgun's GOTY 2013 [John Walker responds to your deep concerns]
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Shit, yea Volgarr too. Both of those games are so damn good. Gunpoint being my personal GOTY.
Atraveller
Banned
He didn't know RPS was a pc centric site, that kind of response is understandable.
TekGryphon
Banned
Oh come on. Rock Paper Shotgun covers promising indie titles from conception to Kickstarter to development to release. They give more face time to quality indie titles than most 5 other gaming websites combined.
They picked games they were most excited about and I can assure you all the games they put on this list were titles they covered multiple times excitedly through the year.
The list only looks hipster to people who don't know shit about the PC indie market. The AAA-Indies (lol) like Project Eternity, Wasteland 2, that new Richard Gariot game, and Elite are all coming out in 2014. This was the year of closet indie games and I'm glad RPS didn't shut them out in the cold just because they didn't have massive Kickstarter portfolios.
jim-jam bongs
Member
It's on the banner of their site, it would take two seconds to know that they're a PC gaming site before posting.
"Yeah, people who act like their opinions are fact are terrible. My opinion is fact doe."
Atraveller
Banned
My guess is he has never visited the site.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
The list has two of my own top 10 games for 2013 on it (Desktop Dungeons & Monaco) so it's okay by me.
And yes, RPS specializes in PC games with an emphasis on indie games.This list shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone who follows them.
And yes, RPS specializes in PC games with an emphasis on indie games.This list shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone who follows them.
GillianSeed79
Member
Man, I thought the reaction to the New Yorker Top 10 list was funny. I've always seen RPS as a very PC-centric site, so I can see why it's all mostly PC games. That's actually quite a cool list and reminds of games I really need to play like Papers Please, Proteus and Brothers. Also Stanley Parable is in my personal top 10 list.
Also there's going to 50 other media sites that will have the standard AAA console GOTY list. I'm pretty sure TLoU has already racked up a bunch of GOTY awards already.
Also there's going to 50 other media sites that will have the standard AAA console GOTY list. I'm pretty sure TLoU has already racked up a bunch of GOTY awards already.
Weltall Zero
Member
What you're advocating is the disappearance of all platform-centric sites, so that everything becomes an uniform mass of multipurpose sites that, inevitably, would either only cover the most widely known games, or bombard the reader with so many articles per day that nobody would be able to read them. You know what? No thanks.
If you label your list "best games of the year" then indeed you have reason to feel unconfortable". If you however say "best games I've played", then you're being accurate. By that token, "best games on PC" is accurate. I don't see what having played console games educates, enriches or adds to a list of PC games if by definition you can't put them there (that's obviously besides the point that the assumption that they, in fact, only played PC games because they work in a PC-centric site, is baseless in itself).
Spirit of Jazz
Banned
Bioshock 1 had one major plot point, the story turned to shit once it ended and outside of that 1 moment it wasn't as well told of Infinite, it lacked the ambition of infinite and failed to cohesively use its main theme in developing a satisfying ending, it also lacked any kind of meaningful character relationships. On top of all that the one decent plot point shared a whole lot in common with SS2. I'll take the smarter AI as a joke, especially given they had so much less to take into account than the AI in infinite. Also the stronger sense of place is utterly subjective, Fort Frolic is the one area of the game that stuck with me.
Bioshock 2 wasn't balanced at all as a shooter and didn't offer the depth of options that Infinite provide with its power combinations, high mobility, and huge combat arenas with terrain advantages along with a wider variety of enemies. Minerva's Den wasn't the best piece of content. Those are all still opinions, I feel Infinite was better than the other Bioshock games in just about every way as somebody who really enjoyed those games when I first played them.
No, but I'll check it out. Thanks!
CecilRousso
Member
It's a great list. I don't think that Kentuck Route Zero deserves to be GOTY since it's barely a game (much less then Gone Home), but other then that, the list is very good. RPS is supposed to be a site that treats indies, niche games and AAA equally, and their two recent GOTY lists shows that.
This whole "they're just doing it for the attention, hipsters!" discussion is just silly.
And if you can't be bothered to read the comments the writers have made for each selection, then there is no point in caring about the list at all. There is some really good texts to find there.
This whole "they're just doing it for the attention, hipsters!" discussion is just silly.
And if you can't be bothered to read the comments the writers have made for each selection, then there is no point in caring about the list at all. There is some really good texts to find there.
shinobi602
Member
I'm definitely not advocating that. I wouldn't like that either. But personally I would really only take GOTY lists seriously from a site that covers all platforms, as they can cover the widest spectrum of games. Even then, they're still flawed as, still being human beings, they can't possibly play every great game that comes out each year.
I don't really take GOTY lists seriously to begin with, really.
jim-jam bongs
Member
So I should make an allowance because he didn't click the link in the OP and decided to post something dumb rather than spend the two seconds needed to learn what their site is about? That's not how I roll.
Anyway, this thread was my first Christmas present of the year.
Weltall Zero
Member
Huh, I'm also surprised they ignored Gunpoint. That's weird, didn't notice it before you guys mentioned it.
My guess is that some people are quick to condemn stuff without knowing the first thing about them.
My guess is that some people are quick to condemn stuff without knowing the first thing about them.
Holy Order Sol
Member
These people probably missed that they're PC only, but fuck originality for originality's sake.
ab.aeterno
Member
It's crazy to see people complaining that they included a large number of indie games on their list. Since when did indie games stop being good because of a difference in size and scope?
That seems extraordinarily low for you.
Haunted
Member
Only game I don't know from that list is Hexcells.
Thanks for alerting me to that game, RPS! Looks like a not-random Minesweeper variant with a hexagonal structure.
Thanks for alerting me to that game, RPS! Looks like a not-random Minesweeper variant with a hexagonal structure.
Gunpoint and Sir, You are Being Hunted most likely omitted due to being developed by RPS editors (John Walker; Jim Rossignol).Shit, yea Volgarr too. Both of those games are so damn good. Gunpoint being my personal GOTY.
It's not even actually a "list", they just ran 24 articles over the course of 24 days of the games they liked the most last year and not a single game / article sounds unreasonable. The reaction in this thread actually, uh, surprises me, to say the least.
I also want to emphasize again that most sites claiming to be platform-neutral aren't actually so in practice. Most of the sites which claim to cover everything clearly have a preference, and over time this tends to build on itself: for instance, if I start with a modest preference towards mobile games, I will probably attract a more mobile-centric audience, which will only create further incentive for me to focus on mobile games, which will attract an even more mobile-centric audience, and so forth.
I think this is a phenomenon which can be observed across most general purpose gaming sites and in awards shows like the Spike VGAs. Technically, yes, an indie game made for the PSVita could win GotY on the Spike VGAs. I'm sure we all agree that this is extremely improbable, however, and the suggestion that such games are seriously considered is just a pretense.
Weltall Zero
Member
Why? Explain to me how having played console games inform me as to what the best games on PC are. Or failing that, explain to me what's illegitimate about either wanting or providing such a list.
The thing is that a "best of PC" list is immensely valuable to me, especially if it includes less-known stuff, because I already know about most if not all console releases. Games released on PC are more numerous by at least one order of magnitude, and while the less worthy games are much more numerous as well, there's still some awesome stuff that I wouldn't know about were it not from sites like this (and even more so, GAF itself).
I don't even know what we're talking about then.
This year was defined by games that were mostly mediocre and inoffensive, but nothing worth talking about either. Compared to 2010, 2011 and 2012 that's a huge improvement though!
Hexcells is basically Minesweeper plus Picross. It's amazing.
I had no idea it existed until RPS did a feature on it.
I knew about Sir but I forgot that Gunpoint was related to RPS. That would explain it.
IcyRhythms
Member
You really have a problem with the opinions of others. Someone(in your mind)loses credibility because their opinion differs from that of your own. That's um...idk how put it other than to say pretty pathetic
Barkley's Justice
Member
Hear hear!
What's wrong with it? What do you feel is missing?
shinobi602
Member
I agree with that, I'm fine with "best of PC" or "best of Xbox" or "best of Playstation", etc, much for the reasons you just said. I was simply saying that I care more for multiplatform sites when it comes to a 'general' GOTY award. But, yea I'm not big into the lists. I think we agree on the same thing, but words are getting in the way lol.
inHallways
Member
Absolutely this. I truly do not understand the type of mindsets that wishes, even requires, such lists to conform with their own. It is one thing if you have played all the listed games already and did not enjoy them, in that case it is pretty understandable to decide that the sites views do not match with your own and to just move on, but when many people have not heard of a lot of these games and yet dismiss them off-hand it baffles me.
Surely seeing a list of games you know little about being lauded as the best of the year should bring about some sort of excitement in those who enjoy games for y'know the fun and entertainment provided? It could prove a wonderful jumping off point from which to try out a bunch of new games that you may well find to your liking. That, to me, is exciting and something to celebrate.
Always such negativity... I really don't get it.
Liked episode 1 of Kentucky Route Zero quite a bit but never got around to playing the next one.. will probably tend to that sometime over the holidays. Can't say I agree with the pick but it is a game that can get under your skin, can see how it would leave that kind of impression on folks.
The list overall seems fine for PC games in 2013, indie heavy but that's where the platform shines. One thing that I've noticed in myself though over time is I'm becoming more critical of smaller, personal titles than ever before. If I'm going to allow myself to nitpick ambitious AAA projects than it's only fair to subject the clever, stylized indies I play to the same kind of process, even if it's on harder to define terms (Is Proteus too passive for it's own good? Is Monaco a better idea on paper than it is in practice?). Basically I wouldn't be able to produce 24 PC titles worth high end of the year praise without some padding, and I'm not sure RPS has either.
The list overall seems fine for PC games in 2013, indie heavy but that's where the platform shines. One thing that I've noticed in myself though over time is I'm becoming more critical of smaller, personal titles than ever before. If I'm going to allow myself to nitpick ambitious AAA projects than it's only fair to subject the clever, stylized indies I play to the same kind of process, even if it's on harder to define terms (Is Proteus too passive for it's own good? Is Monaco a better idea on paper than it is in practice?). Basically I wouldn't be able to produce 24 PC titles worth high end of the year praise without some padding, and I'm not sure RPS has either.
Outright Villainy
Member
Gunpoint was made by Tom Francis, who used to write for PC gamer. Never seen any mention of John Walker being involved at all, do you have a source on that?
Haunted
Member
Now that you mention it, It's completely possible I just confused the two. :lol
My bad, and an odd mistake to make. Sorry Tom/John!
I think there might be some confusion. Jim Rossignol wrote a bunch about Gunpoint but he was a little concerned about doing so because he is good friends with Tom Francis.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/30/hands-on-gunpoint/
SloaneRisette
Member
Am I the only one psyched by the Euro Truck Sim 2 representation?
MutonCommander
Banned
Yet he didn't hesitate to post about the site's goty selection.
RadarScope1
Member
If I had one Christmas wish on GAF, it would be that "lol shitty hipster indie games" would become a ban-level meme in 2014. Reactions like some of those seen on the first page remind me that even though I love games, I sometimes hate the majority of gamers. That's why I love GAF, though, as you don't see as much asshattery around here as elsewhere.
If you're looking for a place for low-level discussion and drive-by posts, then luckily we have a site for you - it's called GameFAQs.
If you're looking for a place for low-level discussion and drive-by posts, then luckily we have a site for you - it's called GameFAQs.
On the plus side, it's a handy way of identifying people who's posts should always be skimmed over.
Nope, it deserves credit. I'm upset we can't vote for it in our GOTY voting.
phantomspiker
Member
I really wunna play KRZ, as soon as it goes on sale I'm buying it.
I find it absurd that ACIV is on there but Last of Us and Bioshock don't even get a shoe in. You can debate the merits of those games being included if you wish, but ACIV OVER them?? Very debatable.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
That is one bizarre list... Dishonored DLC?