Every year, when December rolls around I get excited. I am not excited for the lights, the singing, or family (all great things) but what really, truly gets me excited…is Giant Bomb Game of the Year deliberation. The Minerva's Den filibuster was amazing, the knife fights on whether Xcom is better then Walking Dead, and the Bombcast crew realizing the Illusive Man enjoys snorting space meth of blue ladies asses are all amazing examples of the brilliant and dumb shit that comes from GOTY deliberation.

GOTY, is also an amazing time to learn about games I would usually know nothing about. As someone that mainly plays multiplayer and Fighting games learning about Games like FEZ and Journey, realizing why people like Patrick Klepek and Jeff(a person who falls more in line with my likes) are so passionate about these games opens my eyes to how big and profound this industry is. It forces me to look at the genres I love and question how they stand against other, more emotionally resonant genres. Even though these smaller, experimental games were gaining prominence in Game Media I still felt like the games I loved were represented.

When the podcasts became available for 2013 deliberation I realized something that (at first) made me very angry. I realized that in the group the makes Giant Bomb amazing, I was the outlier. For me, Grand Theft Auto 5 was hands down my favorite game of 2013, with a fun story, memorable heists and Online that (while broken at first) allowed people from around the world to "hang out" I was absolutely in love. So imagine the pain I felt (like a dull blade cutting me) when I realized that the game I loved was getting the kicked around. How could these men that I have known for years, men that I have respected have betrayed me.

After I woke up from crying tears into my GTA 5 pillow (lie) I had to become secure in my own likes and dislikes. Rather then screaming the Giant Bomb crew for their list (OHMYFUCKINGGAWDHOWISSALTYBETS.COMNOTURLOFTHEYEAR!!!!) look at the games you love and be okay with them. Patrick may believe Papers Please is better then GTA 5 and you know what, that is totally okay (he has the right to be wrong ). I shouldn't say Giant Bomb is becoming a site that doesn't cater to my interests, I should be amazed that the Industry has grown in such a way where both triple A games and Smaller games can be equally profound.

My game may have not been loved by the Giant Bomb Crew, but games I don't like are l deeply loved by other people.

That is a pretty fucking awesome step for the Game Industry.