timetokill
Banned
This is not the voting thread! The voting thread will go live around the 19th. This thread is for discussion of the rules for this year.
Hello GAF!
In about 5 days I will open the voting for GAF's Games of the Year 2010. After Anihawk passed the torch, he suggested some experimentation with the scoring system could be in order. Last year I did so, with mixed feelings from some posters. A few sent me private messages with helpful thoughts and suggestions for this year's system, and I'd like to say thank you to those individuals.
Last year's system was a tiered system where users allocated up to 10 points for a game. The reasons for this were many, including reducing the range between the top pick in a list and the bottom pick, as well as encouraging people to really consider their list as opposed to just listing everything they played that year. Also, the tiered system helped remove some of the arbitrary ordering of games. Sometimes the difference between your #5 and #6 game really isn't that meaningful.
I got a lot of positive feedback on that system, and people enjoyed the results.
That said, there was some criticism. The main complaint was that people wanted to list more games in general. Many wanted to list ten games and have them ranked in some way. Some complained that last year's format discouraged listing ten games. Lastly, some people were still annoyed by the "one game listed" ballots.
In general, this thread is here to let people discuss the rules for the voting before the official thread goes up, so we can avoid some of the confusion from last year.
This year's rules!
So with all of that out of the way, here's what we're doing this year: a hybrid of the two systems.
Voting Rules
Short version: List up to ten games, 1-10. I'll do the rest.
This year we will be attempting to parse the thread with a script provided by Cheesemeister, who has also been very helpful as a sounding board for this year's system. In the OT I will include a list of nominated games, which will expand based on people's entries. This serves two purposes: 1) to make it easier on the parser, and 2) to make it easier for voters to remember which games came out this year! All you have to do is copy+paste from the list of games into the provided sample ballot that will be included in the OT. I will still be going through the thread and tallying some things, in part to ensure vote compatibility, so don't worry about it too much.
It's not complicated, I'm just being thorough here.
---
Of course, people want to know how the picks will be scored. It's a simple system based on the rules above.
Scoring Rules
Here are some example ballots, and, in italics, the amount of points they would receive. Note: you do not have to put the points down yourself. That happens automatically.
Example Ballot A - 10 games (20 points allocated)
1. Game A - 4 points
2. Game B - 3 points
3. Game C - 3 points
4. Game D - 2 points
5. Game E - 2 points
6. Game F - 2 points
7. Game G - 1 points
8. Game H - 1 points
9. Game I - 1 points
10. Game J - 1 points
Example Ballot B - 7 games (14 points allocated)
1. Game A - 4 points
2. Game B - 3 points
3. Game C - 2 points
4. Game D - 2 points
5. Game E - 1 points
6. Game F - 1 points
7. Game G - 1 points
Example Ballot C - 3 games (6 points allocated)
1. Game A - 3 points
2. Game B - 2 points
3. Game C - 1 points
As mentioned before, you can list anywhere from 1 to 10 games. The scoring is done to "optimally" allocate points in your list, giving the most points to your top game (your GOTY choice) and moving down in tiers from there. If this seems like a lot to take in, don't worry about it -- the easiest thing to do is simply list your games in order and not worry about the scoring too much
That said, if there is anybody that would still like to assign the points yourself (while keeping in line with the scoring rules above), please let me know.
Other discussion
Other notes - I will be retaining the additional awards I introduced last year (high quality, best new IP, etc.) and will also be running statistics on the makeup of the ballots and so on like I did last year. I also will not be posting a running total, just as I did not last year, in order to discourage strategic voting.
I think this system is a good compromise between last year's system and the previous systems, and tackles some of the issues brought up with any of the systems used so far. Unlike last year, this format explicitly encourages you to post more games (up to 10), and it allows for general ordering for those votes. It also retains some of the tiered system from last year that allowed games to be placed on equal footing. It keeps the reduced range between the top and bottom ranked games, which should allow some of the smaller titles to shine as they did last year.
Anyhow, that's about it. Sorry for the length of this post -- the system is really not complicated at all, but there were various requests for a discussion thread, and it seemed a good idea to explain everything before voting started, so that everyone could share their opinion.
Thanks everyone!
Hello GAF!
In about 5 days I will open the voting for GAF's Games of the Year 2010. After Anihawk passed the torch, he suggested some experimentation with the scoring system could be in order. Last year I did so, with mixed feelings from some posters. A few sent me private messages with helpful thoughts and suggestions for this year's system, and I'd like to say thank you to those individuals.
Last year's system was a tiered system where users allocated up to 10 points for a game. The reasons for this were many, including reducing the range between the top pick in a list and the bottom pick, as well as encouraging people to really consider their list as opposed to just listing everything they played that year. Also, the tiered system helped remove some of the arbitrary ordering of games. Sometimes the difference between your #5 and #6 game really isn't that meaningful.
I got a lot of positive feedback on that system, and people enjoyed the results.
That said, there was some criticism. The main complaint was that people wanted to list more games in general. Many wanted to list ten games and have them ranked in some way. Some complained that last year's format discouraged listing ten games. Lastly, some people were still annoyed by the "one game listed" ballots.
In general, this thread is here to let people discuss the rules for the voting before the official thread goes up, so we can avoid some of the confusion from last year.
This year's rules!
So with all of that out of the way, here's what we're doing this year: a hybrid of the two systems.
Voting Rules
- You may list from 1 to 10 games
- Your points will be allocated automatically in a tiered format
- Non-consecutively numbered entries will not be counted
Short version: List up to ten games, 1-10. I'll do the rest.
This year we will be attempting to parse the thread with a script provided by Cheesemeister, who has also been very helpful as a sounding board for this year's system. In the OT I will include a list of nominated games, which will expand based on people's entries. This serves two purposes: 1) to make it easier on the parser, and 2) to make it easier for voters to remember which games came out this year! All you have to do is copy+paste from the list of games into the provided sample ballot that will be included in the OT. I will still be going through the thread and tallying some things, in part to ensure vote compatibility, so don't worry about it too much.
It's not complicated, I'm just being thorough here.---
Of course, people want to know how the picks will be scored. It's a simple system based on the rules above.
Scoring Rules
- For each game listed, 2 points are allocated
- The top game in a list will receive the most points
- The top game will receive a maximum of 4 points
Here are some example ballots, and, in italics, the amount of points they would receive. Note: you do not have to put the points down yourself. That happens automatically.
Example Ballot A - 10 games (20 points allocated)
1. Game A - 4 points
2. Game B - 3 points
3. Game C - 3 points
4. Game D - 2 points
5. Game E - 2 points
6. Game F - 2 points
7. Game G - 1 points
8. Game H - 1 points
9. Game I - 1 points
10. Game J - 1 points
Example Ballot B - 7 games (14 points allocated)
1. Game A - 4 points
2. Game B - 3 points
3. Game C - 2 points
4. Game D - 2 points
5. Game E - 1 points
6. Game F - 1 points
7. Game G - 1 points
Example Ballot C - 3 games (6 points allocated)
1. Game A - 3 points
2. Game B - 2 points
3. Game C - 1 points
As mentioned before, you can list anywhere from 1 to 10 games. The scoring is done to "optimally" allocate points in your list, giving the most points to your top game (your GOTY choice) and moving down in tiers from there. If this seems like a lot to take in, don't worry about it -- the easiest thing to do is simply list your games in order and not worry about the scoring too much
That said, if there is anybody that would still like to assign the points yourself (while keeping in line with the scoring rules above), please let me know.
Other discussion
Other notes - I will be retaining the additional awards I introduced last year (high quality, best new IP, etc.) and will also be running statistics on the makeup of the ballots and so on like I did last year. I also will not be posting a running total, just as I did not last year, in order to discourage strategic voting.
I think this system is a good compromise between last year's system and the previous systems, and tackles some of the issues brought up with any of the systems used so far. Unlike last year, this format explicitly encourages you to post more games (up to 10), and it allows for general ordering for those votes. It also retains some of the tiered system from last year that allowed games to be placed on equal footing. It keeps the reduced range between the top and bottom ranked games, which should allow some of the smaller titles to shine as they did last year.
Anyhow, that's about it. Sorry for the length of this post -- the system is really not complicated at all, but there were various requests for a discussion thread, and it seemed a good idea to explain everything before voting started, so that everyone could share their opinion.
Thanks everyone!
I would lean more to Zealous D system.