GOTY Power

It seems that there is weird power disparities that come out during GOTY. It really isn’t all members coming in equally, there are clear power differentials that come out in how the lists are finalized. I see it as this: from most powerful to least

1. Brad

2. Jeff

3. Vinny

4. Dan

5. Alex

6. Ben

7. Jason

8. Abby

9. Jan

Anyone else see this? Brad’s behavior on goty annoys me every year, 2018 being no different.

Do you mean some sort of strange scenario where a large group of individuals all express themselves in dramatically different ways that would be really weird to see listed like tiers in a fighting game?

Not at all. I mean that certain members exercise outsized influence to the end result.

This is the year it dawned on me that I really dont care about the results and I just sit back and enjoy the chaos while playing a game I like.

I'm glad they're as passionate as they are, it can be difficult sometimes. This is the first time in a decade I didnt bother to make a GOTY list of my own. Not because there werent good games, but because i'm still playing great games from that year and I dont see the point in listing games that could be worse than them.

I stopped listening to their GOTY stuff (and everyone one else's) a year or two ago, but there used to be a power dynamic - I think that's the case in any group of humans (or animals) though. I don't know about 2018, but Jeff then Brad or Vinny pulled the most weight, but due to those three's seniority and their personalities that makes sense. Brad used to be the most stubborn, maybe he still is, he'd force Destiny and other underwhelming games in the discussion since those were his favorites, which is fine, but he'd filibusterer so hard lol.

@deathstriker: Yea, it’s still happening

IMO it's not so much a power as it is in relation to the strength of their arguments and ways of expressing opinions.

Brad, Jeff, and Vinny in particular, in my opinion, are very well spoken. They know how to put forth and elaborate their thoughts. Sometimes to the point that it wins over others. It's not that the others AREN'T, but those 3 generally seem to elaborate the most when they are speaking. Vinny and Jeff went back and forth for a WHILE a few times.

I would disagree with Dan being that influential, it's more that he digs in his heels(in a loveable dumb way 9/10 ie Stardew Valley) before moving on.

Jan and Abby are exceptions in that Jan is largely focusing on the production side and Abby, and Jason to an extent, having largely different tastes in games from the rest of the group.

@reap3r160: My point is that if Brad liked some sort of Japanese bird dating simulator, it ends up a list, if Abby does, it doesn’t

@andyc80: Abby was able to push Dream Daddy onto the list much to everyone's chagrin in 2017. Austin did the same (which personally kinda annoyed me) with Invisible Inc as well though no one else played it.

SHOULDN'T there be a "power difference"?

@frodobaggins: if you designed it that way? Sure. It’s not presented to the audience that way.

I mean, that's just how anything works right? In your zombie survivor movie, it is almost always not a democracy where everyone hashes out their ideas and then votes on the one they want. People are loud, argue the most, become violent or if you're lucky smart and influential and they usually get some semblance of leadership roles and a hierarchy forms; or at the very least it does for a specific issue and the answer the group goes with.

I believe experience helps, sound arguments helps and very often games that came out matter. What I mean is, if mass effect 4 comes out this year and it's a hit and a great game, Vinny is going to try his hardest to get it ontop of the pile. If it's a bunch of games he enjoys but half forgot about, maybe he sits out just a little bit more.

This. I just can't bring myself to care about the imagined power dynamics of certain staff members or whether or not a certain persons argument holds more weight than others etc. etc.

My enjoyment of game of the year has a lot less to do about the pissing contest and a lot more about the dissection and broad analysis of the best games that came out in the year. Honestly, I think people take this stuff way too seriously and in my opinion, the whole thing would be a lot more enjoyable if we stopped overanalyzing the arguments themselves and instead focused on the celebration of the whole thing (both for the audience and the staff themselves). With that said though, it is what it is, do what you want.

I haven't dig into the goty 2018 yet...hell I don't think I am even done with 2017...what year is this again?

Ever since Vinny with ME2 years ago I feel like he isn't even top three on the list anymore, I would definitely put Dan above, I might even put Alex over Vinny.

While we probably want to value everyone equally Abby, Jason, Jan, and Vinny definitely lean toward the video production side of the site rather than editorial. Which probably affects the number of games they "need" to play or have time to play and still be consider "work"

Wow, weird, the 3 guys who have been doing this the longest get ranked as the 3 most effective in GOTY debates. Crazy.

I think you’re leaving out the Illuminati of Giant Bomb, and that’s Cool Baby, Luchadeer, and Small Businessman. No three manbabydeer should have all that power.

I don't think it's power so much as Brad's unwillingness to let anything go and sees other staff members' dissent as a challenge to be overcome.

@andyc80: wouldn't it be quite obvious to any long time listener? I'm not saying it is or isn't this way, I haven't even listened to this year's yet, but shouldn't the people who started the website, the "fathers" of this whole thing have their opinion weighted a bit more? I think that's fair and id also feel that way if I worked there.

I think it's weird to try and sus out social dynamics of people who you don't know but work hard to make stuff to make you laugh and have fun. Who gives a shit my dude

Giant Bomb is special and it totally THE SAME as anywhere else people work. How you manage yourself as a manager, how you manage those under you, and how you interact with people lateral bother above and below you in other departments is what determines the 'health' of the office space. Out of any part of an office job, managing people or being managed is the hardest part.

I think Abby settled in nicely this year. I had serious gripes with her last time around, but I thought she played the game well. I’d say she was more influential than OPs stack rank. She seemed to interject at the right times, share some good arguments, and read the room well when it was time to back off. I think this was my favorite Abby content to date, so good on her.

If anything, Alex and Jason seem to relent quite a bit, in my eyes. Brad goes full Bradmode at GOTY, which is always entertaining. The end of biggest disappointment was fun (for the listener). I was both with Dan (“c’mon, just say it”) and against him (“stop! stop! he’s already dead!”).

And yeah, I get that Jan is pulling double duty as producer, but I’d love to hear more from him.

@hippie_genocide: Brad always seems to be playing a machiavellian game during deliberations. It used to annoy me (Minerva’s Den...), but it’s become entertaining.

It’s also interesting how Alex and Vinny have seemed to become the voices of reason over the years.