Between the subreddit and some observations within this comment thread, I'm a seeing a lot of "THIS CATEGORY IS A MESS," which I agree with, but then seeing limited suggestion on how to improve it. I don't think this category is a mess so much as the discussion itself. I'm not sure how the crew chiefly receives their feedback, but since this isn't a category I want to see killed, I think a conversation of how it can be refined is crucial.
I love Alex's, I assume, intention with this category as a way to celebrate all the "environmental storytelling" this year; e.g. Zelda, Assassin's Creed, Horizon, Nier, Night in the Woods, etc. But I identify with Jeff as not understanding the group's rubric. I didn't find the segment as frustrating to listen to as most because I enjoy the "Fly on the Wall" aspect to these discussions. If they're working it out as they discuss it, that's interesting to me, but as a Game Of The Year presentation, yeah, maybe it should have been defined a bit more beforehand.
I think things got away from everyone once it became a conversation of how game play, mechanics, and literal interaction within the world affect enjoyment and exploration of that world. I think the conversation should have been kept to presentation of lore, setting, and world-building, but not on a technical level. I think the distinction between that and Best Story is that Story is strictly about a narrative within that world and World is about the dressing and set pieces around that story. And I think the distinction between World and Best Open World is that you can present a detailed world even if the game is linear and guides you down a specific, maybe even disconnected (Act I, Act II, Act III...), path. Last of Us, for example, is linear, but that world is intriguing even if it's not open. And I think all of this differs from Best Styyyyyyle as that category is usually about the methodology to present the game; i.e art, mood, feel, tone, game play, how dope it is, etc.
I'm not claiming to have figured it out, but the conversation around this category bummed me out. Like I said, I don't wanna see it killed off for next year. I think there's room for a category like this; it just needs to be shaped better. I'd like to believe the crew presented it to us like this because they knew it wasn't perfect, and that they were expecting feedback on it for next time. Maybe not. I think the bulk of the conversation has been awesome this year. Having such a huge staff has made the discussions longer, but it's been so cool to have so much contrast and different interests and perspectives represented. Abby and Ben have been doing an awesome job for this being their first go-rounds of this stuff.
Anyway, that's it. I just wanted to say my piece, but if no one thinks this opinion hangs, we can take it off the list. Happy Game of the Year, duders.
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