I've played a good number of traditional games this year, and none of them matched the enjoyment I had with The Walking Dead. Since it is a game, I believe it is the game of the year.

Nope, the gameplay just isn't good enough. Story of the Year, sure. Game of the Year, no, in the end I consider gameplay more important than the story (of course the whole package counts) and there are plenty of other games that have way better gameplay and decent stories too.

I always have a hard time remembering which games came out this year, but I do know that this ranks up there in my top 3 for sure.

I think a lot of people seem to confuse the confines of a traditional "game" (as in how it resembles established genres and conventions) with what a "game" is. Games are about choices and decisions made by the player that have a real tangible effect on the game and themselves, be it strategies, tactics, or role-playing. That is exactly what these games were about. I don't know about you guys, but no series of choices in videogames has emotionally devastated me as those made in this game. My GOTY for sure.

Very good and impactful storytelling, perhaps the best this year, but there is not enough game there for me to consider it for GOTY. I don't agree with the idea that choice defines the essence of a video game.

If by "this" you mean "Binary Domain" then sure!

@RVonE said:

Very good and impactful storytelling, perhaps the best this year, but there is not enough game there for me to consider it for GOTY. I don't agree with the idea that choice defines the essence of a video game.

I mean, what would you relate the essence of a game to? Interactivity? If that were the case, you could call following an instruction manual to build a PC a "game".

@LackingSaint said:

@RVonE said:

Very good and impactful storytelling, perhaps the best this year, but there is not enough game there for me to consider it for GOTY. I don't agree with the idea that choice defines the essence of a video game.

I mean, what would you relate the essence of a game to? Interactivity? If that were the case, you could call following an instruction manual to build a PC a "game".

Just like, when 'choice' would be the essence of games, picking a coffee flavor would be a game. Note that I also made the distinction between game and video game. Anyway, I don't think this is a productive avenue for discussion.

Good story and characters, but the game part wasn't too fun for me. A lot of slumping from one interactive spot to the next, with no real thought involved. Then, occasionally, quick time events. I nearly feel asleep with all the monotonous walking around the train in episode 3.

I didn't have any major technical problems (other than not being credited for achievements in episode 3 and 4), but I can't endorse it for Game of the Year. Like others have said, the gameplay that is in it I found to be a frustrating, tedious mess. The controls felt very clunky, and other than Lee, I didn't find the voice work to be all that grand. I may have been able to overlook some of that if the story had resonated with me the way it seems to have for many people. Alas, it did not. I had no attachment to any characters, and none of the situations made me feel much of anything (other than some anxiety over when the next time I'd have to pound on 'Q' would arrive and make me replay that part several times). Plus, for a game that many people say is not about zombies, there a an awful lot of zombies in it. I hate zombies.

the meaning of the word "game" has changed. recognize this, or live a purgatorial existence. give this game a medal.

It's up there for me along with Fez, Journey and Borderlands 2.

After spending a day since the final episode, no it's not my the GOTY, their really is no difference in outcome for a game that keeps telling that you pick the decisions, it doesn't matter who you brang or killed it ends the same for everyone even though it was a well told story. It's in In my top 3 but I'm still sticking with AC3 or Sleeping Dogs but I know im in the minority here also Far Cry looking very promising. A game has to have solid gameplay to be my game on the year.

Like others have said: the story is great, but the "game" part of the video game is lackluster. You barely do anything. It's more an interactive movie than a video game.

Despite the technical issues I experienced I am calling The Walking Dead my GOYT 2012. The fact that many other people who experienced technical issues are doing the same should speak to the quality experience the game provided.

It beats Journey, Borderlands 2, FEZ, ME3, Witcher 2, Persona 4 Arena, Diablo 3, Asura's Wrath, and several other games that didn't come out this year that I played.

I'm loving the game but it makes me sad that this is the game of the year for so many. Look, I can really appreciate a story in a video game but again, this is a fucking video game. It differentiates from books and movies because of how interactive it can be. The Walking Dead is pretty much a choose your own adventure book and that for me, doesn't have as much merit as say... a first person shooter. I know, say all you want, but in this medium, game play is what matters the most and it should be regarded higher than stories in games. Sadly that is changing but whatever, I know this isn't going to be my GOTY for that reason alone. This year sucked for video games.

Technically this game is a shitshow. It's a real bummer that there are so many problems with it. It's also a testimate to the story that I still love it.

It may be my game of the year. I really liked Xcom too. I can totally see the argument that this isn't really a "game" and having that disqualify it from GOTY stuff... but this affected me more than any other game, movie, or piece of music this year.

@rebgav said:

@xyzygy: " Telltale plan to release the entire season on one disc for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on December 4, 2012; as well as this, a collectors' edition will be available, containing the first 48 issues of the comic. "

If only there was some sort of... games encyclopedia which was filled with the answers to your questions before you even asked them!

Do you mean Gamebomb.ru?

It's a great game, not my GOTY but probably #3 or #4. I had a few tech issues, but nothing huge.

@Bourbon_Warrior: If you listen to idle thumbs(maybe you do already), Sean and Jake, the lead designers/writers behind Walking Dead, don't hide the fact that they really mask the "choices" in such a way that it gives the player the thought they actually have that choice, but in reality it's the game tugging them along. They're smart designers as saving the characters I did felt like I actually affected the outcome, but I get where you're coming from.

@Jazzycola said:

@Bourbon_Warrior: If you listen to idle thumbs(maybe you do already), Sean and Jake, the lead designers/writers behind Walking Dead, don't hide the fact that they really mask the "choices" in such a way that it gives the player the thought they actually have that choice, but in reality it's the game tugging them along. They're smart designers as saving the characters I did felt like I actually affected the outcome, but I get where you're coming from.

Episode 5 was the shortest of them all, they could of put in a few different endings but because they didn't it really wasn't a choice your own adventure game, more like kill off some characters that really don't matter. I loved the game don't get me wrong but saying upfront that your choices matter is a bit of a lie, you could play the game anyway you won't but everyone ends the same way, hope they try most choices in the next season I really hoped they made alot of money out of this.

@Bourbon_Warrior: That's kinda the point, though. Video game design usually revolves around making the player feel like a god. Whether that means literally in the case of God of War or Prototype or having the power to save one life over the other like Walking Dead, in the end the game wants to keep you playing. The game wants you to think that you have the power over all these characters lives. It's about the journey rather than the destination for most games which is why most games have incredibly horrible endings. They build and build and build, but there's just no way to meet your expectations(if you like it that much). It's why Mass Effect 3 could never have met anyone's expectations on it's so called choices. There is just no way to plan for everyone's diverging playing styles.

@Jazzycola: But their really is no gameplay to it, you don't find better weapons by searching around the enviroment, their is really no choice in the whole game that matters and everyone gets the same ending. Its a interactive story with the same outcome for everyone. I loved it but people are praising it for something that it is not, it is a great story and thats it. There really is not one choice in the game that honestly matters.

This whole project wouldnt have had any impact if it hadnt been for the choices the player got to make throughout the games, so it's absolutely qualified as a game. It's so much more than a story, the player was actually active throughout the story, and the choices were incredibly meaningful.

So yeah, I disagree that the game was just a great story. It was something new that many had tried before with varying degrees of success, but these guys nailed it and deserve our praise. They've advanced the medium we love and brought a gravitas that I just havent seen before in any other game.

@Bourbon_Warrior: I don't think anybody is praising it just because of it's "choices". People are praising it because they enjoyed the story. I liked it cause it had a pretty good story. I have my severe problems with it like the action sequences, the villain in the 5th episode, how certain characters from the previous episode have contradictory behavior, and how oddly edited the whole thing is, but I can honestly say I wasn't angry that me saving a particular character didn't matter since he/she conveniently dies later on. And honestly the best choices in the game were one's that had no impact on the story (see episode 2's food choice).

@Jazzycola: I loved the story too, but when you are saying a game is GOTY you really have to find all it's flaws a few different endings was pretty much what I was expecting. The food choice was easy I hated Larry so he missed out on food, Katja didn't want food so Larry was the only one that missed out. The 2 best decisions in the game for me was letting Ben fall to his death an crushing Larrys skull, that pretty much sums up how I played the game =)

Great story, but I don't think there's enough interesting game in there to make it game of the year, at least for me. It's certainly up there however.

@Bourbon_Warrior: Probably don't want to use the term "you" when talking to a person who doesn't believe it's anywhere near Game of the year material.

Im tired of giving them free passes on their animations, in a game that is built around character interaction and story telling, and to still have blocky animations and glitches throughout the series and the rest of their games. 
 
I mean, some multiplatform open world games with exponentially less room to work with memory wise have way better anims and immersion, it's starting to get ridiculous. 
 
Maybe I'm looking at this a little too much through my developer eyes, but anyway, they could make an effort on that end at the very least... 
 
Some of the animations in Walking Dead look like the blocking animations animators where I work use as preview before doing the real thing.

No, I don't think this is the Game of the Year.

Story of the Year, certainly. But not Game.

@TheAsker said:

I just finished the last episode and I'm still shaken. What an absolutely beautiful conclusion to a masterful game. I haven't been this emotionally overwhelmed from a piece of fiction since I read The Road, which was years ago. I feel compelled to recommend this game to everyone I know, those who play or do not play video games. In a year with disappointing sequels and tired franchises, here comes an ADVENTURE game to blow everything else out of the water. I consider this a triumph.

I don't agree with you. I predicted the ending since the first 10 minutes of the game, and really, only a handful of choices mattered, and in the end, none really did matter. That said, I loved the game. But is it a '' beautiful masterpiece ''? Not to me, no. But hey, that's my opinion.

Agreed, it's my GOTY for sure. I shed man tears in episode 5.

I don't know when the argument about it being a "game" started, because it most certainly is a game, but I think what a bunch of us were saying was that the game part of it played like shit. It was clunky, it was boring, it was (in specific circumstances) poorly designed and it was more of a slog than it was enjoyable. Just my opinion there, of course. I do think it's fantastic, but I can't endorse a game I didn't want to play as a GOTY contender.

But is it really a game?

considering all the other games this year have been rather bad/poor

the one that is good shines through everything

I disagree with your opinion, but I respect your right to have said opinion.

Personally, I felt the illusion of choice was far too apparent and that the whole 'stranger' twist at the end was ridiculous.

Also, I feel there's not enough actual 'game' here to justify it as being 'game of the year'. Perhaps 'Interactive Story of the Year", but for me, personally, I just don't feel like there was enough to it outside of the story for it to have a chance of snagging my personal GotY. But everyone's lists will differ, so to each their own. Yay for diversity!

PS:

@Max_Cherry said:

But is it really a game?

I thought this discussion was already settled back when Flower came out and brought up again with Journey. The question for people claiming it's not a game would be to ask why it's not a game. Then they could go on and show us how every point and click adventure game from the past however many years were not games.

It's on the list... I'll say that much, awesome game.