With the GB community GOTY list submission starting up I was thinking about what I would put on my list. I loved (PC) Jazzpunk, Mordor, Binding of Isaac, Geometry Wars, Transistor, South Park & Valiant Hearts. But then I remembered P.T. (see bottom) It's what has now become one of the most infamous corridors in gaming and rightly so. For me this was the best gaming experience of this year.

Do you think this "singular promotional game" or "demo" for a game should be eligible for the main site goty list?

Or would you just put it up as a really good demo with Stanley Parable & the other good ones?

Edit: Its important to note if this is a singular experience because it has been said that P.T. represents Silent Hills in terms of style not gameplay or setting; or is it a demo? I think it should be considered but I was wonder what other people think about it. Probably wins best graphics & sound design too, with South Park & Jazzpunk behind it.

SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS 2014! GO HAVE 'EM!

I think it is as nothing in P.T will be in Silent Hills.

That's... actually an interesting question! I'd say it's probably fair game.

Yes. It's one of the most interesting game of the year. I did not play it because it' 'cary but it does need to be talked about.

Personally, I think so. Yes, it's a "demo", but, at least from what I gather, none of that content will be in Silent Hills. If you cut away the marketing speak, it's just a standalone (promotional) game. Other similar things have a place in the site; for example, The Border Lands.

I wanted to put it into the 'What Did We Miss?' thing but it wasn't there.

no

Also Jazzpunk for best graphics/sound design... what? are you high?

It's not really a retail release so I don't think it qualifies into that category.

I think I remember Patrick discussing including in his personal list.

I'd like to put it on the list but it isn't registered as its own thing on this damn site.

If you want it in your top 10 then go for it friend.

It may exist to basically just tease a game coming later and act as a bit of a taste of what that might be, but it's also a complete package on its own. It isn't a demo chunk of a larger game, it's a statement of intent wrapped in a game of very condensed scope.

I'd say it's totally fair game. I can certainly see why it would resonate with somebody enough for them to pick it for a GOTY list. And yeah, it's stupid gorgeous. That Fox Engine lighting system is phenomenal.

Think about it: If you barred P.T. from inclusion in GOTY lists for being a free game that is promoting something, you'd have to do the same with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Training Lair, and then everyone would have to re-write their top 10s.

Neither are Shadow Complex, Bastion, Journey or Brothers and those have all made it onto GOTY list easily.

PT is a playable teaser, not a game. It doesn't even have it's own GB wiki page.

While I don't think it would qualify as a retail game, I would like it to be considered for something. Best Surprise of the Year, graphics, sound, something.

Personally, I think it was very successful for what it was and should be recognized in some way, just maybe not as a proper game of year candidate.

It might not be in any of the game specific categories, but it might be in one of the categories they make up like a coolest thing award or something. I dunno.

@corevi: those are retail releases - as in full length games that were sold for money. PT was a demo for a future product. I think there is an obvious and huge difference between PT and Shadow Complex.

Definitely not. The name itself just means playable teaser. That's like giving a film teaser the award for best film at the oscars.

Any rules for top ten lists, especially personal ones, are silly.

Demo or not, "retail" release or not, P.T. is the most memorable video game thing this year.

I believe it would qualify for the staffs personal "Top 10," lists. My concern is that it is not an actual release, but a, "playable teaser," and I do not believe that demos, betas, or early access titles should qualify for the, "game of the year," awards.

I think it could be a great "honorable mention", if nothing else.

I tried to vote for P.T. in the, "What Did We Miss," poll, but it wouldn't let me.

I think it'll be a huge oversight if it doesn't get recognition. The atmosphere, sound design & graphics are unmatched by other games in the genre or out of it. I think most would agree that the puzzles fell short, although it could be argued that, as a an exercise in group problem-solving, they did what they were intended to.

Sure, it's a 'teaser' for a different (presumably more substantial), experience, but it's also explicitly intended to stand on its own as a self-contained experience and, as such, is far more effective than any number of full games I can think of from this year.

I'd put it in my top ten "you have to see this" list. So many of my friends who don't play video games were blown away by the experience and I think that alone speaks volumes.

@monetarydread: But all the content in P.T is most likely completely unique to P.T and won't be in Silent Hills.

P.T. is a playable teaser/demo. Asking for this to be included in GOTY lists is the same as asking for a demo for a 2015 game that comes out this year to be eligible for the 2014 Game of The Year lists. Whether that be as it's own thing, or as the actual game, it just makes no sense. This ties into what I said above, P.T. does not have it's own wiki page because it isn't it's own game, it is only mentioned in the body of the article for Silent Hills.

I would like to see P.T. get some recognition though. It deserves that much.

It's definitely got some recognition already.

It's cool to see so many people excited about Silent Hill games and horror again.

Guys, remember when you first found out that P.T was actually a new silent hill game? That shit was fuckin cool.

You mention the phrase, "most likely," meaning that it is possibly unique or possibly going to be co-opted in the future. Since we do not know, we cannot assume that this teaser is going to be a standalone product. THen there is the fact that it is clealy labelled as an interactive teaser and Hideo Kojima has come out and said that this is just an interactive trailer, not a game, so I believe it should be treated as such. If you listen to the previous GOTY podcasts, the rules are pretty clear and I doubt that they will be broken.

Playing through P.T. is absolutely one of the top ten game experiences I've had this year.

I know that a lot of people have a good impression of PT, but this is a question that's very subjective. If you like horror stuff or smaller experiences like The Stanley Parable, you could argue that it should be considered. Honestly, even if it were considered, not everyone on the staff did/wanted to play it, and it'd likely be a quick thing to get cut for that reason. Top 10 lists, sure. But I don't see the point. There are ten or more things that the staff as a whole would like place above PT.

yes.

if gone home was eligible i don't see why p.t. wouldn't be

Sure, why not.

Absolutely not; it's a demo that isn't even representative of any actual game. Granted, it's probably the best demo I've seen in a long, long time, but it's still not a game.

If they want to include it in the "Best Moments" category or similar, I'm all for that, though.

I don't buy the it's a demo argument. Demos are representative of the final product, this was something made completley separate, and it's not indicative of how silent hills will actually play. It's free and it's to promote something else but in my mind it's totally a game.

P.T. isn't a demo of the final game, but it's own game. While it's called a playable teaser, it isn't the same as a movie teaser that usually contains more content related to the final movie. It shouldn't matter that it isn't a retail game, as other games that weren't retail have qualified before - it doesn't matter that they didn't win.

P.T. is as much a game as Gone Home, even if it doesn't have its own Giant Bomb wiki page. That said, even though I think it should qualify, I doubt the Giant Bomb crew will consider it.

It's presented as a free game it is a game that has a trailer for another game at the end. As said before The Border Lands, Duty Calls: The Calm Before the Storm & Super Meat Boy HANDHELD! falls in the same category and have a games listing on the wiki. P.T. is just better.

The free game presentation, it has a release date and ESRB (not sure if esrb is fake? edit: It's got to be real. So the ESRB view it as a game!) (url looks crazy): https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/en-us/games/pt/cid=UP4511-CUSA01127_00-PPPPPPPPTTTTTTTT?smcid=pdc:en-us:pdc-games-detail-p-t:buy-download:p-t-ps4:up4511-cusa01127_00-pppppppptttttttt

@cirdain: I don't think they could get away with using a fake ESRB rating. Maybe a completely fake ratings board rating, but they'd get into trouble with the ESRB by faking one. The best they could have done using an ESRB logo without getting an actual rating is the NR rating.

@sergio: @cirdain:

It being a demo or not is not the problem, only the first what 15-20 mins are worth anything, after that all there's left is a bunch of obscure and obnoxious "puzzles" that make absolutely no sense at all (by design of course).

it's viral YouTube/twitch fooder, it has absolutely no place among real goty material.

It really bothers me that P.T. doesn't have its own wiki page on Giant Bomb. We have no evidence of overlap between P.T. and Silent Hills and they're two totally separate releases.

I placed P.T. on my GOTY 2014 list as "Silent Hills" since that's the only thing that came up. Arguing that it's not a game is silly since I downloaded the thing on PSN where it's advertised as a game. I believe it's also been revealed that this is a stand alone story that's meant to give an impression of what Silent Hills could be.

Um, can we give PT a wiki page now, given that the Giant Bomb staff awarded it best horror game?

It's better than most games this year.

If Frog Fractions made it on lists in the past, this is certainly eligible.

I say P.T. is a game in it's own right, cause let's be real... Silent Hill won't be the same format as P.T. And it was so damn good, it deserves it's own category. Damn, P.T. was so good...

It is a video game. You play it on a video game console.

It became playable, by the public at large, in the year 2014.

It is a 2014 video game.

Yes. My favorite "game" of the year probably doesn't even qualify to be on a top whatever list and it isn't a full release at all. It's an hour and a half teaser for a game probably coming out in 2016.....but it was the most effective experience I had in video games this year. Scariest piece of video game content I've ever played and also its mere existence was a mindfuck. Silent Hill by Hideo Kojima? Have my babies.

yes,because it is its own complete package and is one of the best games of the year.

@beachthunder: That would be good :)