I am genuinely surprised.

The conspiracy theorist in me also thinks the disc version delay (of 1 week), which was announced 4 days ago, is expressly to add some language about winning the Spike VGAs GOTY.

Good, that game deserves it.

I was so freaking happy when I heard Walking Dead won. It totally deserved the award.

@Fluttercry said:

I was so freaking happy when I heard Walking Dead won. It totally deserved the award.

Did you (flutter)cry? Sorry.

I'm just happy that before award season is in full-swing they have taken home a big one.

It's such a good game that could use the publicity. I hope it helps raise the standard of video game writing. And I would be happy to see a lot of games steal their dialogue system. The sense of urgency combined with the frequent option to not say anything is brilliant - especially since that inaction can sometimes bite you in the ass.

100% deserved to win. A game that has a story that can me me cry like a baby is definitely GOTY material.

I was shocked. SHOCKED.

I agree with the decision 100%, but I never would have expected the VGAs to give their GOTY award to a game so... so... deserving of it. Maybe the VGAs are finally starting to grow up.

There's hope for humanity.

@awesomeusername: possibly....

@Kerned said:

Maybe the VGAs are finally starting to grow up.

lol

Personally, it's my #2 (I think the game had a bunch of issues), but it's great to see them win.

It was the game I was rooting for of their nominees.

@awesomeusername said:

@Kerned said:

Maybe the VGAs are finally starting to grow up.

lol

Yeah, I know. I man can hope, right? :)

I tried to hold back, but couldn't help myself. This was totally me:

Of the games nominated they did a decent pick, still though... the nominations were crap.

I was shocked. It was a great VGA all around, unrecognizable even. Sam Jackson was good, fun skits, great trailers, deserving winners! Had a great time!

Am I the only person who doesn't give a shit about the VGA?

Is it even worth talking about? Can't we just talk about the trailers and ignore the rest? This means nothing.

It's a good pick and well-deserving, but I'd rather not get so caught up in it that I ignore the usual VGA bullshit and poor award choices and presentations.

@Kerned said:

@awesomeusername said:

@Kerned said:

Maybe the VGAs are finally starting to grow up.

lol

Yeah, I know. I man can hope, right? :)

Hope is for the weak!

@Snail: Nope, everyone hates it. It's an embarrassing, insulting, steaming pile of excrement. The only thing people usually talk about on here is how awfully fucking terrible it is/was. I think it should be completely ignored but you can't stop people. So whatever.

@awesomeusername said:

Hope is for the weak!

@Snail: Nope, everyone hates it. It's an embarrassing, insulting, steaming pile of excrement. The only thing people usually talk about on here is how awfully fucking terrible it is/was. I think it should be completely ignored but you can't stop people. So whatever.

Yeah I know, I go on forums too. That's why I don't get all the excitement over this The Walking Dead winning GOTY business.

Still firmly believe it's a mess of a game that plays like absolute shit, but the story and characters, such as Lee and Clem, aren't exactly easy to come by in this medium.

@Fluttercry: You're such a pony.

SUCK IT SHANE SATTERFIELD!

I really don't know why people are so surprised. That game has the momentum of the internet as well as the enthusiast press, of course it was going to win.

@Snail: It just deserves all the praise it can be given and even if it wins GOTY at this shit-show, it's still something. A lot of people that watch it are not as big as gamers than people that use game sites like Giantbomb, Gameinformer, etc. so it gives it more recognition. Hopefully the game will sell a shit ton more copies. It deserves to be played by everyone.

@awesomeusername said:

@Snail: It just deserves all the praise it can be given and even if it wins GOTY at this shit-show, it's still something. A lot of people that watch it are not as big as gamers than people that use game sites like Giantbomb, Gameinformer, etc. so it gives it more recognition. Hopefully the game will sell a shit ton more copies. It deserves to be played by everyone.

^^ this right here ^^

@Snail said:

Am I the only person who doesn't give a shit about the VGA?

Is it even worth talking about? Can't we just talk about the trailers and ignore the rest? This means nothing.

Well, this thread is about the VGA Game of the Year award, not any of the trailers. And if you were making a point on the whole GOTY thing in general (not just the VGAs), it's accolades. Nothing wrong with the industry having its critics arguing and swooning over their selection of best of the best and making it known as such. Something to strive for, something to talk about, something to look forward to. Good for all.

Almost all. I suppose if your favourites are shat on you won't be having a good time. Or if you just don't give a fuck and want more trailers it wouldn't be a good time. Oh well, it's only around a month of this stuff anyways.

Mark of the ninja is the real GOTY this year. Congrats to telltale and the walking dead nonetheless. :)

@TheHT said:

@Snail said:

Am I the only person who doesn't give a shit about the VGA?

Is it even worth talking about? Can't we just talk about the trailers and ignore the rest? This means nothing.

Well, this thread is about the VGA Game of the Year award, not any of the trailers. And if you were making a point on the whole GOTY thing in general (not just the VGAs), it's accolades. Nothing wrong with the industry having its critics arguing and swooning over their selection of best of the best and making it known as such. Something to strive for, something to talk about, something to look forward to. Good for all.

Almost all. I suppose if your favourites are shat on you won't be having a good time. Or if you just don't give a fuck and want more trailers it wouldn't be a good time. Oh well, it's only around a month of this stuff anyways.

I'm talking about the VGAs. They are immensely awful. They are cringe-worthingly stupid. They hinder the reputation of the video-game industry.

They fucking suck.

@Kerned said:

@awesomeusername said:

@Snail: It just deserves all the praise it can be given and even if it wins GOTY at this shit-show, it's still something. A lot of people that watch it are not as big as gamers than people that use game sites like Giantbomb, Gameinformer, etc. so it gives it more recognition. Hopefully the game will sell a shit ton more copies. It deserves to be played by everyone.

^^ this right here ^^

I think "gamer" is a term that someone who actually enjoys the VGAs, the audience that the VGAs cater to, would take seriously. Please don't use it. It's pretty dumb.

Other than that you have a good point, I suppose.

YAY!

@Snail said:

@TheHT said:

@Snail said:

Am I the only person who doesn't give a shit about the VGA?

Is it even worth talking about? Can't we just talk about the trailers and ignore the rest? This means nothing.

Well, this thread is about the VGA Game of the Year award, not any of the trailers. And if you were making a point on the whole GOTY thing in general (not just the VGAs), it's accolades. Nothing wrong with the industry having its critics arguing and swooning over their selection of best of the best and making it known as such. Something to strive for, something to talk about, something to look forward to. Good for all.

Almost all. I suppose if your favourites are shat on you won't be having a good time. Or if you just don't give a fuck and want more trailers it wouldn't be a good time. Oh well, it's only around a month of this stuff anyways.

I'm talking about the VGAs. They are immensely awful. They are cringe-worthingly stupid. They hinder the reputation of the video-game industry.

They fucking suck.

Oh... well, then... yeah.

Haha, this year really wasn't bad though. There really was less of that extreme pandering and missing the point bullshit. It was all replaced with glorifying Samuel L. Jackson, which was totally strange but I could get into it. I dunno if it's just having gotten so riled up over last years utter shit show, but the skits were funny, the writing wasn't awkward, the performances and hosts not entirely left-field, and the presentation a lot more respectable.

It actually seemed like something GameTrailers produced, more in line with GTTV or their E3 coverage, obviously with more spectacle. But if you don't like that stuff, this year was likely still a wash.

Walking dead is this year's Skyrim and it will run away with most of the GOTY awards, mark my words (not as widespread as Skyrim of course).

I mean how many times is walking dead going to get an award before you stop being surprised? it's hot, people have largely handwaved it's problems, it's got that sweet internet buzz, all the critics love it... all traits that Skyrim shared.

@TheHT: I don't like those GameTrailers/IGN-style videos where they're like "HEY THERE GAMERS. WE PUT A PRETTY LADY THAT KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT VIDEO GAMES IN THIS VIDEO ABOUT VIDEO GAMES BECAUSE YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES SO YOU DON'T TALK TO LADIES RIGHT? SO THAT OBVIOUSLY MAKES SENSE AND WE CALL YOU GAMERS BECAUSE YOU PLAY GAMES".

So yeah, I think I'll skip it.

@Snail: I didn't know what else to write it as so I just threw that in there but you get my point.

@TheHT said:

the performances not entirely left-field,

Snoop "Lion" performed. That is all.

@Snail said:

Am I the only person who doesn't give a shit about the VGA?

Is it even worth talking about? Can't we just talk about the trailers and ignore the rest? This means nothing.

yeah, the most recognised awards show for the new medium of video games on a channel most people get doesn't mean a fucking thing.

I wish I could roll my eyes harder.

@awesomeusername: He hosted a VGAs way back when.

@Oldirtybearon said:

@Snail said:

Am I the only person who doesn't give a shit about the VGA?

Is it even worth talking about? Can't we just talk about the trailers and ignore the rest? This means nothing.

yeah, the most recognised awards show for the new medium of video games on a channel most people get doesn't mean a fucking thing.

I wish I could roll my eyes harder.

As a quality filter? As a curator? No it doesn't fucking matter. It matters as a way to market this game to people who hadn't heard of it before. The audience of people who had never heard of this game series and the audience of people that enjoy the unbearably insulting shitshow that are the VGAs would overlap significantly in a Venn diagram, so I guess this is a good thing for TellTale, and I hope this brings them more revenue.

At least for once something of relevance would have come out of the VGAs that wasn't a CG reveal trailer.

Cool, I'm glad it was recognized. Apparently Journey won best PS3 only game too. It was a good year for downloadable games.

I'm going to attempt to play through most of this game before year's end so I'll be the judge of that. Right now, I'm frustrated with the "game" part of the game, but I'm loving the story and the characters.

@Dalai said:

I'm going to attempt to play through most of this game before year's end so I'll be the judge of that. Right now, I'm frustrated with the "game" part of the game, but I'm loving the story and the characters.

this will never change, by the way, so be prepared for lackluster gameplay.

but who cares when it's got lee and cleeeeem

@Animasta said:

Walking dead is this year's Skyrim and it will run away with most of the GOTY awards, mark my words (not as widespread as Skyrim of course).

I mean how many times is walking dead going to get an award before you stop being surprised? it's hot, people have largely handwaved it's problems, it's got that sweet internet buzz, all the critics love it... all traits that Skyrim shared.

You may be right. The spike awards are voted on by people from various game sites and magazine after all. The last couple games that won the Spike VGA's swept general critic awards. Skyrim, Red Dead and Uncharted 2.

@Snail: You're speaking from a place of ignorance, my friend. An awards show on a channel most north american homes receive is a big deal and a step forward that helps legitimize the medium. So yes, it does matter as a quality filter and as a curator. Add to that the fact that this year the show wasn't cringe inducing, was well produced, actually funny in the sketches, and Sam Jackson was a great host? I don't see the problem. The only thing that was remotely cheesy about this year's show was the award statues. Those things need a redesign. Badly.

If you want to sit there with your arms crossed and a pouty lower lip then by all means, don't let me rain on your pouty parade. The truth is this year was the first year the VGAs stepped away from the crass and the stupid and embraced the fact that they're an awards program and they treated their chosen medium with dignity and respect. And also a bit of humour. So yeah, the GOTY Award from the VGAs means a fuck of a lot more than a GOTY from anywhere else right now.

@Animasta: It's just not the sort of game that generally wins GOTY awards; that's what's surprising. It's a story-focused point-and-click adventure game - in 2012.

I think it's nice to see a game like that getting attention over all the safe, tried & true action/RPG/shooter stuff that is always getting all the attention and praise. Noting against that sort of game, but hooray for rewarding a studio for taking a risk and having it pay off.

@Animasta said:

@Dalai said:

I'm going to attempt to play through most of this game before year's end so I'll be the judge of that. Right now, I'm frustrated with the "game" part of the game, but I'm loving the story and the characters.

this will never change, by the way, so be prepared for lackluster gameplay.

but who cares when it's got lee and cleeeeem

I'm replaying it and there's actually more gameplay in episodes one and two compared to 3-5. I think Telltale realized the gameplay wasn't the 'thing' to focus on.

The VGA's were tonight? Oh shit I'm way out of the loop.

@Kerned said:

@Animasta: It's just not the sort of game that generally wins GOTY awards; that's what's surprising. It's a story-focused point-and-click adventure game - in 2012.

I think it's nice to see a game like that getting attention over all the safe, tried & true action/RPG/shooter stuff that is always getting all the attention and praise. Noting against that sort of game, but hooray for rewarding a studio for taking a risk and having it pay off.

I'm just mad that suddenly THIS is the game that has people ignoring lackluster gameplay because the story's great.

where were all these people when Nier was released, or Alpha Protocol? I find the story in both to be much better, alpha protocol being better at branching storylines (because it actually branches, unlike TWD when it just diamonds) and I found Nier to be much better at being depressing as fuck.

so don't mind me, I like the game (not as much as some here, admittedly), but meh.

@JasonR86: and really they should've considered trying to make the gameplay better or removing it entirely. this half step they did was kinda... not fantastic.

The VGA's are really starting to look like the legit video game awards.