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[Toma]

The banner now contains every GOTY since 2006 and the only true GOTY for all years to come.

The result of past votings can be found here:
IndieGAF recommends 50 best Indies of 2013
IndieGAF recommends 50 best Indies of 2014


Another year, another 20-50 hard choices to make. Lets to go over the rules once again, but if you return from last year, the rules stayed the same.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Which games can we vote on? |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a community vote, so we'll vote on the PC games we, as a community, played last year. This means you can vote for any game in any of these threads:

• Indie Games 2015 [January]
• Indie Games 2015 [February]
• Indie Games 2015 [March]
• Indie Games 2015 [April]
• Indie Games 2015 [May]
• Indie Games 2015 [June]
• Indie Games 2015 [July]
• Indie Games 2015 [August]
• Indie Games 2015 [September]
• Indie Games 2015 [October]
• Indie Games 2015 [November]
• Indie Games 2015 [December]

... or any other PC Indie game that released this year, in case we missed including a particular favourite game of yours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| How will the voting work? |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The only thing you need to know:
You need to provide a list of 20 games, among which you will automatically share 210 points based on your ranking. You dont need to give any points, you simply rank the games. You are free to give multiple ranks to the different games, which in turn means that you skip the following places that would normally correspond to these ranks, like in this example:

1.lkjasd
2.gaksjd
2.gfsa
2.asdh
5.lkjasd: Reloaded

Additionally,you are free to include a second list of up to 30 more games, which will not directly get "points", but only Honor points, which will decide any draws these games might have. Consider it rank 1-50, divided into two lists.

If you want to know more anyway:
The reasoning for this voting system is to allow people freedom over how to judge their games, if you want to rate 20 games in the first place, that is perfectly fine but they will share the total amount of points you will give to your voted games.
The first 20 games will get proper points, like in this example:

1. 20 points
2. 19 points
3. 18 points
4. 17 points
5. 16 points

If you decide to give the same rank to multiple games, these games will get the average amount these ranks would correspond to, like in this example:

1. 20 points
2. 18 points - (19 + 18 + 17) / 3
2. 18 points - (19 + 18 + 17) / 3
2. 18 points - (19 + 18 + 17) / 3
5. 16 points

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| What are we going to use this thread for? |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three main things:
1. Your voting posts. Feel free to post an incomplete list with games you keep track of and edit that post until the end of the voting period. Do not post more than one voting post, but please edit your voting post if you already created one. Play some more games. Play games you missed, play games others loved, and possibly change your lists until the 19th.

2. Posts about games you think deserve a mention. If we look at this thread, it should be preferably filled with lots of posts about what makes all these Indie Games so good and why others should play them to include them in their lists. It is fine to post an older post about a game if you consider this post still representative of your current opinion and think it properly expresses why the game is as good as you think it is.

3. Writing up blurbs for the final GOTY thread, and we will need quite a few hands to get that done. So please stick around!

Any posts about the regular december voting, general Indie talk and similar issues still go into the current Indie thread:
Indie Games [December]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| What are we going to do after the voting? |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once the voting and vote tallying is done, I'll create a proper thread in the Gaming section, showing off the result as a "Best Indie Games last year we think you should be playing." with proper descriptions and pictures/gifs.

Please also stick around after you finished your post, there is a big chunk of work left once we are done with the voting. Writing up the Best of list is a big effort and we need every help!

 

[Toma]

Example voting list (from 2013's april thread)

List 1

• 1. Papers Please
• 2. Factorio
• 3. Kentucky Route Zero
• 4. Slave of God
• 4. Gorogoa
• 4. The Sea will claim everything
• 7. Cesure
• 7. Jelly no Puzzle
• 7. Maldita Castilla
• 7. Starseed Pilgrim
• 11. Back to Bed
• 11. Bientot
• 11. Zineth
• 11. Proteus
• 11. Thirty Flights of Loving
• 16. Cognition
• 16. Steam Marines
• 16. Melodisle
• 16. Mirror Moon

List 2:

• 21. Kyoto
• 21. StarDrive
• 21. Tower of the Gorillion
• 24. 6180 the Moon
• 25. Planet Explorers

 

[Toma]

List of all the games to consider for my top 50 and visual reminders:

Starship Rubicon

Avernum 2

Besiege

Earthtongue

Infinifactory

Aarus Awakening

Echoes+

iO

Quasi

CASTLE IN THE DARKNESS

Catacomb Kids

Darkest Dungeon

FREAKING MEATBAGS

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/s...ccfca4682432dfabd992.600x338.jpg?t=1423067846

Hand of Fate

Software Inc

Automation

Cities: Skylines

Ori and the Blind Forest

Deadbolt

Pillars of Eternity

Crypt of the NecroDancer

Environmental Station Alpha

Axiom Verge

Chroma Squad

Cosmochoria

Crosscode

Guns, Gore, and Cannoli

Invisible, Inc.

Serpent in the Staglands

The Curious Expedition

TIS-100

Big Pharma

Endless Legend

Her Story

Rocket League

The Swindle

Divide by sheep

STASIS

Valhalla Hills

Velocity 2X
Velocity 2X

Renowned Explorers

The Beginner's Guide

Towerclimb

Undertale

Assault Android Cactus

Downwell

Mushroom 11

Prison Architect

Broforce

Pathologic HD

Human Ressource Machine

Conflicks

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

Hard West

58 so far, not bad.

 

[More_Badass]

1) SOMA

SOMA sheds Amnesia's Lovecraftian trappings in favor of a research station on the ocean floor, but the horror and the oppressive atmosphere remains, anchored by a compelling and thought-provoking story influenced by the works of Harlan Ellison and Philip K. Dick. The horror in SOMA comes less from its terrifying creatures and more from the atmosphere, the themes, the sound design and setting. Every moment is fraught with tension, enhanced by the music and the groaning of metal being crushed by the immense ocean pressure. The game is a slow-burn experience, letting the unnerving uneasy implications of grotesque sights and of your actions stew in your mind.

2) Ori and the Blind Forest

Ori doesn't reinvent the wheel, or innovate the platformer. But what it does do is deliver what is easily the most gorgeous, most fluidly-animated, vibrant platformer in years. From mist-choked forest to caverns strangled by thorny vines, from crystal clear lakes to flaming ruins, every location in Ori is flush with color and life. The exploration, acrobatic combat, challenging platforming, and excellent music are all satisfying icing on a beautiful cake.

3) Besiege

Besiege takes the vehicle construction you love from games like Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and injects it with a dose of physics, blood, and medieval destruction, as you build powerful siege engines to level castles and lay waste to armies. It's the little details that stand out: wood beams snap in half when broken, blood stains your blades and the ground, your structure collapses and falls apart realistically when aflame, buildings crumble under the might of your cannon fire or swinging maces

4) Invisible Inc

Klei proved themselves to be masters of the stealth genre with Mark of the Ninja, but Invisible Inc is not only a fantastic stealth game, but an innovative one, combining the strategic, methodical nature of turn-based gameplay with cautious desperate sneaking. A wealth of agents and skills opens the door for a plethora of tactics, but at its core, Invisible Inc is all about careful sneaking around sight cones, avoiding patrols, stealing important data, and infiltrating secure facilities. A masterpiece of stealth gameplay

5) Elite Dangerous

Elite Dangerous was my first space sim, and it was an awe-inspiring introduction genre. Elite is like having your own personal Interstellar at your fingertips, each moment featuring glorious space vistas, looming suns and planets, a scale that never ceases to amaze. Every docking at a gargantuan station, every thrilling frame-shift jump, every fast-paced yet strategic encounter adds to the experience, and the immersive UI only makes the exploration more compelling

6) Infinifactory

At a glance, Infinifactory looks like SpaceChem in 3D. And in a sense, it is, featuring the same style of building elaborate assembly lines that always make you feel like an engineering genius when it all finally works. But at the same time, it isn't. The addition of a Z-axis changes everything, allowing for brain-breaking new challenges and building techniques that were never possible before, and the aspect of building tangible items rather than abstract elements made the construction even more satisfying.

7) Mushroom 11

Mushroom 11 is a challenging physics-based puzzle platformer that turns the typical genre gameplay on its head by putting you in control of an amorphous fungus that can mold and shift into any shape. Each chapter introduces new mechanics and dangers, always exploring new uses of the mushroom's amorphous design. The unique gameplay was Mushroom 11's initial hook, but discovering what new hazards and puzzle elements the developers would introduce next was what keep me intrigued throughout my six-hour playthrough.

8) Sublevel Zero

Sublevel Zero combines the claustrophobic tunnels and hectic action of Descent with the looming tension and unpredictable nature of the roguelite, each playthrough delivering reckless flights down tight corridors and relentless firepower. Throughout cramped technological tunnels and lava-lit caverns where it's easy to lose your bearings to cavernous crystalline quarries, mechanical threats lurk at every turn. Permadeath looms over every new room and every unknown corner, so each encounter must be tackled like it could be your last. Each weapon feels powerful and satisfying to use, tearing through the levels in overwhelming streaks of colorful energy.

9) Crypt of the Necrodancer

Crypt of the Necrodancer's blend of rhythm game and roguelike coalesced to form the most addictive game I've played since One Finger Death Punch. Simple complexity is where the gameplay shines. The controls are so simple, but the game is complex and deep. Learning how enemies move and react to the beat. Lining up your attacks depending on what enemies you're dealing with and the weapon you have equipped. Timing. Adapting your strategy on the fly when some mini-boss barges in or you acquire an special item. Learning the rhythm of the game's excellent soundtrack

10) Duskers

The universe is dead. You are alone. Supplies are dwindling. As the lone survivor in a galaxy gone silent, you travel from ship to ship, derelict barges and stations and outposts now drifting through space, staving off starvation or certain death by sending drones onto those empty vessels. You can control these drones through command lines; a method that may sound archaic and clunky, but is actually what makes Duskers so brilliant and immersive. Every command must be planned and carefully considered, because if something goes wrong - and it will - you must adapt and improvise on the fly.

11) Exanima

Exanima is not the most complex game, offering only a grim low-fantasy dungeon crawler and an arena mode to test your skills. But the game's combat is a game-changer, delivering the weightiest, most intense melee you'll find in an action RPG. Each swing and stab feels desperate and realistic. Attacks have weight and force behind them, and blows and misses throw you off balance. Bodies and blades get tangled up and pushed around. Size, weight, and reach matter. It's Demons Souls' "Don't use broadswords or pole-arms in a narrow corridor" logic expanded with realistic physics.

12) Dark Echo

Dark Echo boasts the most minimalist of visuals, conjuring horror from the unknown and unseen and an atmospheric soundscape. The game's unique aesthetic and sound design turns each moment into a tense game of cat and mouse where sound is your only means of sight. Your footsteps, hollow against stone and squishing against undergrowth. The guttural growls of those things lurking in the dark. Water splashing and sloshing, or dripping overhead. Flies buzzing in agitated swarms, croaking frogs. Heavy locks and groaning doors.

13) Broforce

Broforce is not the most sophisticated game. A story is non-existent and there's not much motivation beyond rescue the hostages and kill the bad guys. But that's not much of a negative at all, because the gameplay blows away any wishes for a story or deeper motives. Broforce set out to be an ode to 80's and 90's action movies, the Expendables in video game form, and it succeeds on every possible level.

14) Rocket League

Rocket League is the multiplayer game everyone can enjoy. No leveling or perks to worry about, no game-changing unlocks. It's 100% skill-based, as you fly gracefully through the air, drive up the walls, make glorious last-minute goals and amazing interceptions. Fast, fun, colorful, and easy to pick up and play, Rocket League is the best multiplayer experience of the year

15) Stasis

Stasis is a tense isometric horror advemnture game that delivers the kind of industrial atmosphere and gruesome visuals that would make Ridley Scott and David Cronenberg proud. Eschewing combat in favor of exploration and puzzles, Stasis crafts terror through its constantly uneasy atmosphere, fantastic sound design, and some incredibly disturbing visuals and situations. The grimy and blood-soaked industrial corridors of the Groomlake feel claustrophobic and eerie; the echoing screams and other ambient noises only add to the atmosphere.

16) Darkest Dungeon

Darkest Dungeon is perhaps most aptly described as "The Road" of dungeon crawlers. The bleak Lovecraftian game explores the human angle of dungeon crawling, delving into what would happen to the mind and body as you bled, toiled, and endured the dank darkness filled with unearthly horrors. Stylized visuals, gruesome beasts, deep tactical combat, and an atmosphere anchored by the compelling tones of narrator Wayne June makes Darkest Dungeon a gripping experience

17) Hand of Fate

Hand of Fate combines card game, dungeon crawler, and action RPG/brawler to deliver a brilliant and incredibly addictive hybrid of an experience. Other games may have more complex card mechanics or better combat, but Hand of Fate combines hefty combat and the unknown exploration of a text adventure with engaging deck-building, the varied locations, and the excellent voice acting from the mysterious Dealer, creating a compelling experience that's easy to dive back into again and again.

18) Downwell

Downwell is no simple mindless shooter. Carefully leaping around enemies to get in the best positions to fire, jumping on enemies to converse ammo, deftly avoiding hazards, is all necessary to survive. Downwell shines due to its subtle depth and challenging action. Like games such as Spelunky or Vlambeer's titles, it nails that amorphous element of "game feel", gameplay design that just feels satisfying and addicting and powerful.

19) Her Story

Whether you classify it as a game, a visual novel, interactive fiction, or something else, one thing remains constant: Her Story offers a mature and gripping experience. Her Story distills the adventure game to its purest form. Your items you gather are the parts of a story, and you're trying to discover the truth. Through deduction and learning more details, you gather new keywords and phrases to unlock more of Her Story's narrative puzzle box. Her Story strips all out those extraneous elements since in other detective game and places the onus on the player to piece together the mystery

20) Snakebird

Beneath Snakebird's colorful friendly aesthetic lies one devious puzzle game. Snakebird never evolves beyond moving and twisting those colorful birds, but uses that seemingly simple mechanic to deliver an incredibly tricky puzzler. A single puzzle could take an hour or more, but it's always satisfying to figure out the game's spatial challenges. Don't be fooled by its cutesy facade; this is an amazing gem of a puzzler

----

21) Sorcery 3

22) Jotun

23) Galak-Z

24) Prison Architect

25) Satellite Reign

26) Guns, Gore, and Cannoli

27) Catacomb Kids

28) TIS-100

29) The Swindle

30) Flywrench

 

[Moobabe]

Moved

 

[Toma]

Whats the * in your list? Just curious

 

[Moobabe]

Whats the * in your list? Just curious

Maybe the top 5.... WE'LL SEE!

 

[More_Badass]

Seeing all of these games listed reminds me of what an incredible year it's been for indies. I don't know if I can make a top 20 - but certainly a top 10 (and beyond that, who knows!)

This is my list: I'll be back to update

Indies 2015
Besiege
Darkest Dungeon
Hand of Fate *
Ori and the Blind Forest *
Pillars of Eternity
Axiom Verge
Invisible Inc
Serpent in the Staglands *
Endless Legend
Her Story *
Rocket League *
Velocity 2X
Undertale
Prison Architect
Broforce
Pathologic HD
Elite: Dangerous

Great list. I'm still on the fence regarding Pathologic HD. Sounds like a fascinating experience, but also sounds like you need to invest a lot of time and focus to grasp all the systems

 

[Toma]

Great list. I'm still on the fence regarding Pathologic HD. Sounds like a fascinating experience, but also sounds like you need to invest a lot of time and focus to grasp all the systems

Yeah, you really need to sit down with that game and blend out everything else.

 

[PandaPedinte]

1. Pillars of Eternity
1. Her Story
3. Secrets of Grindea
4. Undertale
5. Castle in the Darkness
5. Downwell
5. Snakebird
8. Assault Android Cactus
9. Celestian Tales: Old North
9. Neon Sctruct
11. Cosmochoria
12. Sanctuary RPG: Black Edition
12. Highlands
14. RymdResa
15. iO
16. Pequod
17. Relic Hunters
18. Antumbra
18. Kung Fury
20. Olympia Rising

----

Honorable Mentions
21. Shutshimi
22. Dungeon Souls
23. Emily Was Away
24. Ultra Hat Dimension
25. Viridi
26. POP: Methodology Experiment One
27. Ubinota
28. Endless Legend
29. Echoes+
30. Environmental Station Alpha

 

[Moobabe]

Great list. I'm still on the fence regarding Pathologic HD. Sounds like a fascinating experience, but also sounds like you need to invest a lot of time and focus to grasp all the systems

It's a weird one, certainly. I think if I played it today, completely blind, I might hate it? I mean, it definitely does some amazing things with narrative and world building but it's clunky and obtuse.

 

[IISANDERII]

Indie games aren't exclusive to PC. These are my favs of the year:

1. Rocket Leagues
2. CastleStorm
3. The Swapper
4. Counter Spy
5. Defense Grid 2
6. Velocity 2
7. Skyline City
8. Talon Prinicple
9. Geometry Wars3
10. Gauntlet Slayer
11. Valiant Hearts
12. Super Time Force Ultra
13. Transistor
14. Magicka 2
15. Kitten Squad
16. Apotheon
17. Grow Home
18. Teslagrad
19. Styx Master of Shadow
20. Xeodrifter
    

 

[Moobabe]

Indie games aren't exclusive to PC. These are my favs of the year:

Oh we know

3. Secrets of Grindea

I completely forgot!!!

 

[Aaron D.]

Yeah, is this exclusive to PC titles?

For example, Galactic Keep (iOS) made my overall GOTY Top 10 list, but it's mobile.

Could I rank it here?

 

[Toma]

Yeah, is this exclusive to PC titles?

For example, Galactic Keep (iOS) made my overall GOTY Top 10 list, but it's mobile.

Could I rank it here?

We have an iOS/mobile game of the year thread somewhere, so yeah, we will focus on PC games in this thread. (Does anyone have the mobile link? Is it already up? Baddy?)

 

[More_Badass]

We have an iOS/mobile game of the year thread somewhere, so yeah, we will focus on PC games in this thread. (Does anyone have the mobile link? Is it already up? Baddy?)

It's already up, but to be fair, the monthly Indie OTs included notably exceptional mobile games. Sorcery 3, Dark Echo, Galactic Keep, etc. Why exclude them now? They're still indies.

I mean, you have Divide by Sheep, Downwell, and Her Story in your prospective list

 

[Toma]

It's already up, but to be fair, the monthly Indie OTs included notably exceptional mobile games. Sorcery 3, Dark Echo, Galactic Keep, etc. Why exclude them now? They're still indies.

I mean, you have Divide by Sheep, Downwell, and Her Story in your prospective list

True, I played all of those on PC though. ;p

And I still think that the audience for Indie/mobile gaming doesnt necessarily cross over that much. If I search for mobile games GOTY, I'd want a mobile GOTY list (actually I would prefer android only in my case), same for Indies available on PC.

Similarly, if we include more of the popular mobile games, the smaller Indies get pushed out of the GOTY threads, which I am not very fond of, as those are the ones that I make these threads for. If we had included mobile games in last years thread, Tri and Ultimate Space Commando probably wouldnt have made the cut, just as an example, so if those games can shine in the mobile GOTY thread, why not give these spots to other games here?

Not trying to be a dictator though, so if my logic seems flawed to all of you, we can still change that of course.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

1) Ori and the Blind Forest
2) Undertale
3) Contradiction: Spot the Liar
4) Elite: Dangerous
5) Pillars of Eternity
6) Satellite Reign
7) Cities: Skylines
8) Thea: The Awakening
9) Renowned Explorers
10) Sunless Sea
11) Invisible Inc.
12) Crypt of the Necrodancer
13) Her Story
14) Hand of Fate
15) Chroma Squad
16) Kerbal Space Program
17) Besiege
18) Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
19) Rebel Galaxy
20) Darkest Dungeon

It's been a ridiculous game for indies and I couldn't even put some of my favourites on there like Grim Dawn and Steamworld Heist because they're still in early access or haven't hit PC yet.

Edit: Fixed the copy/paste error that put Pillar's on my list twice

 

[daydream]

Indie games aren't exclusive to PC. These are my favs of the year:

toma will correct me but most of these aren't eligible, pretty sure

 

[Moobabe]

toma will correct me but most of these aren't eligible, pretty sure

I would say most probably are. The Swapper feels like it was last year though?

 

[PandaPedinte]

Updated my list now that I had a bit more time to look trough my library.

 

[baconcow]

Is Cities Skylines considered an indie game?

 

[Toma]

Is Cities Skylines considered an indie game?

I'll include it in my list.

 

[daydream]

I would say most probably are. The Swapper feels like it was last year though?

castlestorm, the swapper, counter spy, defense grid 2, velocity 2x, geometry wars 3, valiant hearts, super time force, transistor, teslagrad and styx are all 2014 or older

now i get that some didn't hit ps4 until this year but that's a pretty arbitrary argument. we've voted on most of these in previous years, they couldn't possibly be eligible again

 

[Toma]

castlestorm, the swapper, counter spy, defense grid 2, velocity 2x, geometry wars 3, valiant hearts, super time force, transistor, teslagrad and styx are all 2014 or older

now i get that some didn't hit ps4 until this year but that's a pretty arbitrary argument. we've voted on most of these in previous years, they couldn't possibly be eligible again

Yeah.

 

[More_Badass]

Yeah.

What about Velocity 2X? That was out on PS4 last year, but come to Steam this year

 

[Wok]

1. Ori and the Blind Forest
2. Her Story
3. TIS-100
4. Infinifactory
5. Rocket League
6. The Talos Principle
7. Dyscourse
8. Hotline Miami 2
9. The Beginners Guide
10. Mushroom 11
11. Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
12. Divide by Sheep
13. Snakebird
14. Badland
15. Hand of Fate
16. Invisible, Inc.
17. Besiege
18. Viridi
19. Cradle
20. Parallax

 

[Toma]

What about Velocity 2X? That was out on PS4 last year, but come to Steam this year

Well we are counting PC release dates, so Velocity works.

 

[SnakeLordJelly]

1.The Talos Principle: Road to Gehenna
2.Dropsy
3.Underrail
4.Undertale
5.SOMA
6.Environmental Station Alpha
7.Ori and the Blind Forest
8.Her Story
9.Hand of Fate
10.Fran Bow
11.Serpent in the Staglands
12.Downwell
13.Satellite Reign
14.LISA: The Painful RPG
15.Grow Home
16.Castle in the Darkness
17.Westerado: Double Barrelled
18.Crypt of the Necrodancer
19.Mushroom 11
20.Invisble Inc

 

[daydream]

my final vote

1. Invisible Inc.
2. Undertale
3. Her Story
4. Downwell
5. Nuclear Throne
6. Pix the Cat
7. Westerado: Double Barrelled
8. Chroma Squad
9. Read Only Memories
10. Castle in the Darkness
11. Snakebird
12. Velocity 2X
13. Contradiction: Spot The Liar
14. Hotline Miami 2
15. Olympia Rising
16. Environmental Station Alpha
17. Armello
18. Shütshimi
19. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
20. Hand of Fate

21. Besiege
22. Prison Architect

need to check out:

Axiom Verge
The Beginner's Guide
Darkest Dungeon
Dropsy
Jotun
Galak-Z

so, broforce is eligible again? pretty sure we voted for that last year. same with assault android cactus and cosmochoria, iirc. not necessarily opposed to it with the latter two but broforce seems like a real edge case. also, can i vote for mini metro again?

 

[Toma]

Hm. Originally I said that we'd have the same rules applied as in the Indie threads, regarding prereleases and releases, butthe more I think about it, the more it makes sense to let the GOTY games stand in a thread once as I always link all GOTY threads anyway. Kinda goes against the "exposure for more indies" thing if 10 games get featured twice.

What do the others say?

 

[baconcow]

Hm. Originally I said that we'd have the same rules applied as in the Indie threads, regarding prereleases and releases, butthe more I think about it, the more it makes sense to let the GOTY games stand in a thread once as I always link all GOTY threads anyway. Kinda goes against the "exposure for more indies" thing if 10 games get featured twice.

What do the others say?

Perhaps an unreleased game gets poor exposure since being unreleased or Early Access and, when released, many more would vote for it (i.e. Mini Metro) giving it the exposure it deserves? Perhaps limit duplication to those not fully released?

 

[daydream]

Perhaps an unreleased game gets poor exposure since being unreleased or Early Access and, when released, many more would vote for it (i.e. Mini Metro) giving it the exposure it deserves? Perhaps limit duplication to those not fully released?

some games already got a lot of exposure in their early access state, arguably more than when they got out of early access (examples: nuclear throne, broforce)

my proposal would be: if the game is an edge case and did not get featured in the top 50 games thread last year, it is eligible again

now excuse me while i add pix the cat to my list

 

[Toma]

some games already got a lot of exposure in their early access state, arguably more than when they got out of early access (examples: nuclear throne, broforce)

my proposal would be: if the game is an edge case and did not get featured in the top 50 games thread last year, it is eligible again

now excuse me while i add pix the cat to my list

I agree with this.

 

[More_Badass]

On second thought, going to have to squeeze Sunless Sea and Sublevel Zero into my list somewhere. And maybe Age of Decadence, depending on how much of it I get to play

 

[Toma]

On second thought, going to have to squeeze Sunless Sea and Sublevel Zero into my list somewhere. And maybe Age of Decadence, depending on how much of it I get to play

Did you forget about Sunless Sea? Thought it would be a given for your list.

 

[daydream]

not to keep harping on this but sunless sea was in last year's list. i'd rather see 50 new games in the spotlight. if we have less than 50 new ones, sunless sea could get its encore

 

[Toma]

not to keep harping on this but sunless sea was in last year's list. i'd rather see 50 new games in the spotlight. if we have less than 50 new ones, sunless sea could get its encore

Ah Sunless was already last year? Excluded then with our current rule, yeah. If some lists end up being a few short due to rule changes.. whatever. I'll just exclude the games and crosscheck with our list last year.

 

[More_Badass]

Ah Sunless was already last year? Excluded then with our current rule, yeah. If some lists end up being a few short due to rule changes.. whatever. I'll just exclude the games and crosscheck with our list last year.

Damn, even had a kick-ass blurb for it

But yeah, definitely need to add Sublevel Zero

 

[PandaPedinte]

not to keep harping on this but sunless sea was in last year's list. i'd rather see 50 new games in the spotlight. if we have less than 50 new ones, sunless sea could get its encore

Goodbye Endless Legend then. :/

 

[More_Badass]

But...but...we featured Door Kickers in 2013 and 2014 ;_;

 

[Toma]

But...but...we featured Door Kickers in 2013 and 2014 ;_;

Our rules evolved. Door Kickers was lucky.

 

[daydream]

this also means i had to take off necrodancer, my number one

on the upside, i can include nuclear throne which as far as i can tell hasn't been featured, yet, in the previous threads

guess this means invisible inc. gets the new top spot for the time being. still need to think about my order, though

 

[Toma]

Alright, preliminary list:

1. - 10.
-----------------
1. Infinifactory
2. Cities: Skylines
3. The Beginners Guide
4. Hand of Fate
5. Invisible Inc.

TIS-100
Mushroom 11
Prison Architect
Software Inc.
Big Pharma

11. - 20.
-----------------
Quasi
Earthtongue
Towerclimb
Endless Legend
Darkest Dungeon

Avernum 2
Catacomb Kids
Pillars of Eternity
Rocket League
Pathologic HD

21. - 30.
-----------------
Crosscode
Her Story
The Swindle
Conflicks
Stasis

Assault Android Cactus
Divide by Sheep
The Curious Expedition
Environmental Station Alpha
Downwell

31. - 40.
-----------------
Cosmochoria
Guns, Gore & Cannoli
Ori and the Blind Forest
Castle in the Darkness
Besiege

Starship Rubicon
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
Human Resource Machine
Renowned Explorers
Aaru's Awakening

 

[Toma]

Question regarding Cities and the Paradox situation:
So we did include Cities in Motion, as they were an independent developer, but I really have no clue how to handle Paradox in that regard. Paradox isnt providing 200 man teams to their newly acquired devs and as far as I know Cities: Skylines was still mostly an effort by the same devs with some Paradox help. So even if we let that fly, how that go for other Paradox games? Paradox Studio titles? Would Europa Universalis be eligible? Questioning that rule again -___-

I am inclined to leave it out anyway, as the game got enough attention as it is and the ties to Paradox make it questionable anyway.

Same goes for Ori I suppose. Did we ever talk about its inclusion? What are you guys saying?

 

[More_Badass]

If we've included games from Adult Swim and Devolver, why not Ori?

 

[PandaPedinte]

Question regarding Cities and the Paradox situation:
So we did include Cities in Motion, as they were an independent developer, but I really have no clue how to handle Paradox in that regard. Paradox isnt providing 200 man teams to their newly acquired devs and as far as I know Cities: Skylines was still mostly an effort by the same devs with some Paradox help. So even if we let that fly, how that go for other Paradox games? Paradox Studio titles? Would Europa Universalis be eligible? Questioning that rule again -___-

I am inclined to leave it out anyway, as the game got enough attention as it is and the ties to Paradox make it questionable anyway.

Same goes for Ori I suppose. Did we ever talk about its inclusion? What are you guys saying?

Isn't Paradox involvement just publishing the game? How was the MS deal with Moon Studios?

 

[Toma]

If we've included games from Adult Swim and Devolver, why not Ori?

Adult Swim vs Microsoft? I still see Adult Swim and Devolver as Indie Publishers mostly until they release their 100+ developer games, but as I said, I am unsure myself.

Isn't Paradox involvement just publishing the game? How was the MS deal with Moon Studios?

Apparently Ori was developed by a studio and only published by MS.
"Moon Studios is an independent, distributed Games Studio founded by former AAA developers."
"Colossal Order Ltd. is an independent game studio situated in Finland."

So the difference would be whether a company is publishing or developing it? Then again, I dont see much difference between Cities and something like Crusader Kings 2 either from Paradox though.
Seems like both might be fine to vote for, I suppose once more we go with the rule "if we think we should include it, we do"

 

[PandaPedinte]

Adult Swim vs Microsoft? I still see Adult Swim and Devolver as Indie Publishers mostly until they release their 100+ developer games, but as I said, I am unsure myself.



Apparently Ori was developed by a studio and only published by MS.
"Moon Studios is an independent, distributed Games Studio founded by former AAA developers."
"Colossal Order Ltd. is an independent game studio situated in Finland."

So the difference would be whether a company is publishing or developing it? Then again, I dont see much difference between Cities and something like Crusader Kings 2 either from Paradox though.
Seems like both might be fine to vote for, I suppose once more we go with the rule "if we think we should include it, we do"

I mean CK2, EUIV were all developed by Paradox Development Studios the development team of Paradox. C:S was mad by a team of 15 people and only published by Paradox Interactive like other games e.g: Knights of Pen and Paper, Dungeonland and Teleglitch

 

[Toma]

I mean CK2, EUIV were all developed by Paradox Development Studios the development team of Paradox. C:S was mad by a team of 15 people and only published by Paradox Interactive like other games e.g: Knights of Pen and Paper, Dungeonland and Teleglitch

Baddy? What is your opinion on this? EU4 - no, Cities - yes?