After listening to the most recent episode of "The Hot Spot" I decided to take all the Staff Top Ten lists over the years, and turn them into definitive game of the year lists. As much as I appreciate the discussions and deliberations, I always found the idea of having to concede your preferred game choice because you just don't have the energy to argue for it to be a little sad. That got me thinking "What if there was ANOTHER (not necessarily better) way?".
Here's how I did it:
I already had a spreadsheet floating around with some friends that already had the formula's worked out. There may be some errors I didn't catch, so my apologies in advance.Using the data from The Unofficial Giant Bomb Game of the Year Database I took the 10 games off of the staff's game of the year lists and awarded them points based on their location on the list.
10th Place = 1 Point
9th Place = 2 Points
8th Place = 3 Points
7th Place = 4 Points
6th Place = 5 Points
5th Place = 6 Points
4th Place = 7 Points
3rd Place = 8 Points
2nd Place = 9 Points
1st Place = 10 Points
Some games were tied with Points. I consider these games to be interchangeable in terms of their position on the list. I'm not sure what condition Google Sheet's used (alphabetical, Left to Right based on list location, etc) to determine what went above the other.
Example: 2008
Rock Band 2, Saint's Row 2, and Geometry Wars 2 ties for 9th/10th10th place with 9 points each.
I took some liberties on whether or not I included some staff top 10 lists or not, settled some tie breakers on individual lists on my own, excluded some choices that were not actually games, and other various anomalies
Example: in 2017
Brad was disqualified because he did not make a top 10 and I could not determine a proper ordered list.
Settled a tie for the #10 spot on Matt's list based on him exclaiming "Game X is actually better than Game Y [But I still can't decide what I preferred]
Jason named "The Switch" in his 10 spot so I just excluded it all together.
Thanks for hanging out! Here's the Google Spreadsheet with all the information I used. I can assure you, I didn't think too hard about this, but it did take an entire saturday afternoon.
I came to California all the way from Toronto, Ontario for a couple weeks vacation. In San Francisco today, I went to check out where the whiskey media offices were. Why not?
I was just reading this thread and couldn't help but become rather irritated with some people posting.
Not the reason why you were thinking.
The OP created a topic on the games forum for discussion, and multiple users kept posting things like:
@emergency said:
Should have just commented on the video...
@Anwar said:
Is it really necessary to make a thread just for this? Couldn't you post that in the comment section of the video? ...
@Grissefar said:
@Belmont_Shadow said:
Brad literally kept destorying those boxes even though you use them for the switch. I wish i erased my memory of OoT, would love to experience it as a new game again.
You can make comments for a video for a reason, dickhead. Don't just come here and shit on Brad before you have produced your own Quick Look.
Seriously? The thread was not created to "...shit on Brad...". The thread was created to discuss a specific area of the game, demonstrated by Brad in the quick look. Sometimes, a separate discussion in the forums is NECESSARY because a you may have a good point to make, however in the (at the time of writing this) 10+ pages and 400+ comments, what you said WILL get lost.
tl;dr The real point I'm trying to make here is, if there is a thread that you don't understand, or that you don't like, DON'T COMMENT ON IT. If you don't think it should exist, why bump it to the top and bring MORE attention to it instead of just letting it die? To increase your forum post count more, thus proving your forever alone-ness?
It just doesn't make sense.
On a side note, I could not complete that quicklook because I was raging way too hard because of the boxes.
There was a time long ago, when the Golden Goddesses still walked amongst their people. After the creation of the world, each deity fashioned a race to serve and glorify their names.
Din created the Gorudo, the mountain tribe, who lived upon the slope of the great Mt. Via, where they thrived by mining the mountain for precious metals. Din dwelt among her people and they gave praise to her as she instructed the in the way of the hammer and the blacksmith.
Farore created the Dekiri, the forest tribe. They lived within the depths of the Fairy Woods, living off of the lands and profiting off of its bounty. Farore dwelt among her and they gave praise to her as she instructed them in the way of the bow and the woodsman.
Nayru created the Hylians, the plains tribe. They built villages and lived off of the fruits of the fields and the sea, as well as through trading with the other tribes. Nayru dwelt among her people and they gave praise to her as she instructed them in the ways of the farmer and the fisherman.
There was a boy who lived among the Hylians. His nets would not bring fish, nor would his fields yield crop. “Who is this boy?” the Hylians would ask. “Who is this child who cannot hear what Nayru teaches?” Because the boy could not do these things, they cast him out. “Go and live with the Dekiri in the Fairy Woods. Surely they will have use of you there.”
So they boy left the villages of Hylia and joined the Dekiri in the Fairy Wood. He lived with them for some time. His arrow would not fall game, nor would his axe level trees. “Who is this boy?” the Dekiri would ask. “Who is this child who cannot hear what Farore?” Because the boy could not do these things, cast him out. “Go and live with the Gorudo, on the mountain slopes. Surely they will have use for you there.”
So the boy left the Fairy woods and joined the Gorudo on Mt. Via. He lived with them some time. His hammer would forge no steel, nor would his pick break stone. “Who is this boy?” the Gorudo would ask. “Who is this child who cannot hear what Din teaches?” Because the boy could not do these things, they cast him out. “The Hylians and the Dekiri before us have passed you by. Truly, you are a useless boy.”
So the boy left the slopes of Mt. Via and began to wander the land. “The Goddesses have rejected me!” he would cry. He truly was alone, a boy without friends. Now this boy was a clever boy, more cleaver than most would dare to imagine. That very night, he hatched a scheme. “The people adore the Goddesses for the skills they preach, so I shall make their power my own!”
The boy climbed to the top of Mt. Via, where sat Din, the Goddess of Power, Fire, and Earth. “Great Goddess of Power, it is said that your strength is beyond compare,” began the boy, “but I have heard talk from some of the Gorudo that not even you have the strength mountain nr back and carry it across the land!”
Din rose up in a prideful fury. “Who speaks as this, doubting the strength I possess? I shall lift this mountain upon my shoulders and carry it far into the east!” So the Goddess placed the mountain on her shoulders and began her march.
Within the mountain, the blood of the earth began to seep into the caverns, liquid fire bubbling as Din’s ire fueled it. Where the Goddesses stepped, the land was scorched, leaving a desert in her wake. She reached the edge of the Hylian Plains and stopped, before setting the mountain down on the eastern side of the grasslands.
“Let no one doubt my strength again!” Came the voice of Din.
“Oh, surely none are as strong as you, Goddess, but what of your people? The men of the Gorudo are within the mountain yet, and the bubbling blood of the earth threatens to burn them whole! The hot sun beats down upon their wives, waiting in a land turned wasteland for their husbands to return to them.”
Din was shocked to see what she had done. She entered the mountain and hardened the skin of the men until it was as rock, so that they might withstand the scorching heat of the magma. She entered the desert and darkened the skin of the wives so that they might endure the sun, raising great cliffs to provide shade.
When the men came out of the mountain and returned to their homes in the desert, their wives screamed in fear at the hardened skins of their husbands. “What curse has Din laid upon us?” they cried. “What provoked her to remove us our mountain and our men?” They cried this for the mere sight of their husbands caused them to recoil in horror at their grotesque appearances. “We shall have no more of men!” they cried, driving the men from the desert. They settled in the cliffs and named themselves the Gerudo, turning their backs on the Goddess.
The men cried out from the mountain sides. “What curse has din laid upon us? What provoked her to remove from us our wives and our homes?” Their anger fueled their strength, as they tore into the mountain, carving out caves and vast hollows. So great was their fury that the mountain top exploded in a rain of fire and rock. They settled in these caves and named themselves the Goron, turning their backs on the Goddess.
Seeing her people reject her, Din fell into despair. In the depths of her grief, the boy came to her and stole her power away, claiming it for himself. “Now none are as strong as I!” he proclaimed.
The boy then left the mountain and entered into the Fairy Wood. He climbed to the top of the tallest tree in the forest, where sat Farore, Goddess of Courage, Wind and Nature.
“Great Goddess of Courage, it is said that when you play your flute, the world dances. Yet there are those among the Dekiri who say that not even your music would give the trees reason to lift up their roots and join in the reel.”
“Is that so?” asked the Goddess. “Then perhaps I should play a tune for them.” She raised a flute to her lips and played a jig. The notes wafted through the forest and the trees stirred in the plots. The Goddess increased the pace and roots sprang from the ground as the trees rose to give motion to the lively tune. The Dekiri, who had made their homes in the trees, cried out in fear as they leapt from their homes and avoided being trampled by the reeling trees. They fled to a nearby clearing, where they believed themselves safe.
The Goddess noticed this and stopped playing, but the trees began to hum the tune themselves and continued to dance. The homes they housed in their limbs were torn to pieces as the trees swayed their many arms. In a panic, the Goddess led the trees deeper into the forest, where she bound them. The trees were Dubbed Deku, and the area was named the Lost Woods as the continuous dancing of the trees made it impossible to navigate. To this day, you can still here the trees singing the song.
The Dekiri cried out “What curse has Farore laid upon us? What provoked her to destroy our homes and possess our woods?”
The goddess heard these words and was angered. “I did my best to save you from my folly and this is how you respect me? You call yourselves cursed, so cursed you shall be! You whine as a child whines for a lost toy, so children you shall remain for eternity!” And so the Goddess laid the curse of youth upon them, allowing them to never grow old and yet die young, with life unfulfilled. To guard over these children, she appointed a guardian spirit to the tree upon which she sat. The Dekiri, in their spite, took the name Kokiri and turned their backs on the Goddess.
Seeing her people reject her, Farore fell into despair. In the depths of her grief, the boy came to her and stole power away, claiming it for himself. “Now none are as cunning as I!” he proclaimed.
The boy then left the wood and journeyed to the great lake of Hylia, where resided Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, Love, and the Sea.
“Oh Goddess of Wisdom, your knowledge knows no bounds and your word is respected by all. Yet I have heard some talk among the Hylians that not even your words could tame the seas. Surely if you proved them wrong, they would be grateful to you for easing their lives!”
Nayru smiled, for she had seen through the boy’s scheme and had prepared for this. She stood and raised her hands above the waters. “Be still.” she called out, and the waters became flat and level, with only wind ripples disturbing the surface. The Hylians marveled at this and exclaimed to one another, “Look! The seas have been made clam! No longer must we pray for our safety as we cross the waters in the search of fish to eat and goods to sell!” The Hylians began to lose faith, but Nayru fell not into despair.
As the boats set sail, monstrous creatures stirred within the deep. One ship was swallowed whole by a giant fish, one splintered by tentacles of water, still another crushed by a Giant eel. The sailors prayed to the Goddess to protect them from the leviathans.
Nayru, hearing these prayers, created a race to govern and control these creatures and named this race the Zora.
Nayru then spoke to the Hylians, “Because you did not turn from me in your time of need, you will be blessed among the nations. Your power will grow to encompass the others and you shall rule over them with wisdom and justice.”
Nayru then spoke to the Gerudo, “Because you were the first to turn away your protector in your time of need, despite what she had provided for you, you will be cursed among nations. For a thousand generations, you and your people will remain confined to the desert. Because you have forsaken men, so shall men forsake you. Only once in a hundred years may one of your wombs bear a male, and he shall govern you with fear and cruelty until his death.”
Nayru then spoke to the boy. “Child, why have you caused these terrible things?” she asked.
The boy stood and spoke back angrily, “Your people reject me for I cannot learn what you teach! If I could gain the powers and skills that the Goddesses posses, then they would be sure to accept me!” The boy fell into despair as he realized he would not be able to obtain Nayru's power.
The Goddess od Wisdom came upon the boy and in his despair, took the powers which he had stolen and returned them to her sisters. She then spoke again to th boy. "You truly are a lonely and miserable boy, but you have done many terrible things and punishment comes to all. You know of power courage, but you will never recieve from us, the gift of wisdom. To you we give the curse of immortality, to live forever and watch all about you wither and die. However, so as you will not bring harm to our land and our peoples once more, we shall imprison you."
The goddesses rose into the air in a triangle pattern and surrounded the boy, gesturing towards him. In a spectacular flash of light, the boy disappeared and in his place was a mask. The mask was heart shaped, with two large yellow eyes peering out above purple lines of darkness, spikes glistening on the edges.
"Your old name is no more," spoke Din.
"We give you a new one here and now," spoke Farore.
"You are Majora, meaning trickster," spoke Nayru.
"But Majora has another meaning," came the voice of all three. "It also means 'One who is alone,' for no matter where you seaech or how far you travel, you will never find friendship or love."
Din spoke to the others, "My sisters, we cannot allow this evil to remain in our world, for his hatred and despair will surely leak out and corrupt the land!"
Farore sang out in agreement, "Then we shall make a new world to serve as his prison, so that ours is not tainted by his malice."
"Do what you will," Nayru said, "but know that I will not lend my wisdom to such a world. Let him craft the order as he sees fit."
So Din, with her strong flaming arms, cultivated the land and created the red earth. Farore, with her rich soul, created all life forms that would tend the earth.
After all of this, Nayru approached and said, "I give but one law for this world. Should all life within it be one day extinguished, the prison will collapse and the spirit within set free."
"Why do you do this, sister?" asked Din. "Why do you allow this window for one who has wronged us so greatly?"
"Because," Nayru replied, "I pity him."
2 Comments
IT WAS A FIRE FIGHT! Eugh... why do people keep telling me they don't like Halo, when they played it for the first time three years after it came out, or they only played it on PC? How can someone be so blissfully ignorant?
A lot of PC gamers say this to people who say they don't like Half Life 1 or 2... they say they're the kind of games you kind of had to be there for. Example: it wouldn't make sense outside of the context of all the anticipation and excitement of the release, and when it was a new and technically amazing game. This is a pretty easy concept to accept.
Kaboom. I'm here to say the same about the original Halo. Many of the things people take for granted in FPS today stems from what Halo did to repackage the FPS, and a lot of it was born out of making an FPS work on a console controller. Shit you might think is insignificant now, like being able to melee and throw grenades without changing weapons, to the two weapon system, to vehicles you control with an FPS configuration... all came from here. I am very aware that Halo did nothing new, but no other game before it packaged all these little features into one FPS, and no one made it work as well as it did.
ZOMG Jetpacks! Now, so many other FPS games have followed in it's footsteps, and people who didn't play Halo on the original Xbox, when it was new... well, they don't "get" it and just how fucking amazing it was... for the sole fact that they only cottoned on to it a lot later, or that they played it on PC. Because Halo is a console game from the ground up, it doesn't work on PC... plug in a controller if you must... but what I'm saying is, 99.9% of the hate for the Halo franchise comes directly out of ignorance.
TL;DR, there's me trying to articulate why Halo is considered such an important title. Say what you want about the game, but you're deluded if you want to deny that it changed the FPS forever... for better or for worse. HATERS GONNA HATE 1 Comments
My local game store was pretty awesome when these came out. They set up TV's and had tournaments and everything. It was pretty sweet, although I didn't stay for the tournament, because I wanted to buy the game, get home, and play the shit out of it... I was 14 when Halo 2 came out and I got to the Scarab mission (the first encounter) before my female parental unit told me it was time for bed (3 am). I was 17 when Halo 3 was released and I was only able to get to Tsavo highway before the female parental unit came down stairs and ruined my fun... lame... ha ha, (I beat both games the same day after school)
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