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[ab.aeterno]

An interactive story getting GOTY... Oh my god...

What are news publications turning into...

Smash88
bottom-tier poster

I suppose it's not surprising when you argued that Spelunky didn't deserve to win because it's production values weren't as high as giant budget, AAA games.

 

[ultron87]

Not correct. Polygon have said numerous times that one dude may write the review but the score is given by all the team in a round table like discussion.

That's really not true. They decide a score based on the text, not how they all feel about it.

http://www.polygon.com/pages/about-reviews

Games are not scored until a review is written and finalized. Once a review is complete, the reviewer meets with a group of senior editors to determine which score on our scale properly reflects the text as written. We do not write with scores in mind.

And for what it is worth, here is a group of Polygon editors disagreeing with the TLoU score: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8iKkAP1Itg&t=36m20s (Obviously in a mostly joking manner.)

 

[TheHollowNight]

Smash88
bottom-tier poster

I suppose it's not surprising when you argued that Spelunky didn't deserve to win because it's production values weren't as high as giant budget, AAA games.

If anybody ever wants to become a games designer in the industry, fucking play Spelunky. Live and breath that game. I seriously get better in my understanding as a designer the more I play it. It has absolutely flawless mechanics, that create a perfect synergy together. So fantastic.

...no really it is.

 

[Neuromancer]

I'm not sure what's more entertaining, Gone Home or this thread. People acting like they're better than everyone else then arguing about it for four pages. smh.

Oh this thread is definitely more entertaining! Not thread of the year material though. Not enough twists.

Although, maybe the twist is that there is no twist...

 

[codhand]

this page tells me everything i need to know about this thread. see ya.

 

[Geek]

Not correct. Polygon have said numerous times that one dude may write the review but the score is given by all the team in a round table like discussion.

Not accurate.

While the GOTY voting was Polygon team-wide, that is not reflective of how scoring is done.

 

[ab.aeterno]

Oh this thread is definitely more entertaining! Not thread of the year material though. Not enough twists.

Although, maybe the twist is that there is no twist...

The Last of Us OT better fucking win Thread of the Year, shit has way better production values than this indie trash.

 

[Slixshot]

Brian Altano's impression of Arthur Gies is swirling in my head.

do you have a link to this?!?

 

[squidyj]

It's bizarre indeed.

I enjoy the GTA's and TLoU type experiences as much as anybody else, but I also thoroughly appreciate the more experimental short-form games such as The Stanley Parable & Gone Home, or Kentucky Route Zero. Games, by definition are very abstract in their form, so it's highly amusing to see that people seem to try and judge & rate things by this unspoken metric of what constitutes a 'real game'.

I really don't understand this backlash of discrediting indie developers straddling the limelight with the big hitters. The two can co-exist you know!

Games come in all shapes and sizes, we all get to like & enjoy what appeals to us as individuals, don't get offended if someone doesn't agree with you because it was regarded more important in their eyes.

I don't think it's exclusive to indies, actually I think a lot of the same people against this would be against something like TLOU winning because it's not game enough, it doesn't focus on the gameplay enough, or something else equally ridiculous. It just feels like a continuum where TLOU is more moderate and Gone Home more extreme in what it's doing.

 

[Conciliator]

video games.

 

[beril]

played Gone Home for about an hour just now, but then my computer did an automatic reboot without giving me time to save. Does it get better? is there some massive twist that makes it worth it? I'm really not feeling it at all, and hate this cheap type of storytelling mechanic. It's basically wandering around being bored and occasionally being "rewarded" with a few lines of dialogue. Why couldn't she just write a diary and keep it under the bed instead, and the game would be over in 5 minutes

 

[antitrop]

Not correct. Polygon have said numerous times that one dude may write the review but the score is given by all the team in a round table like discussion.

This thread is the first I've heard of this and I don't like it. Of course, I don't like most things about Polygon, so I'm not really surprised.

 

[Sobriquet]

This thread is the first I've heard of this and I don't like it. Of course, I don't like most things about Polygon, so I'm not really surprised.

That's incorrect, though.

I understand why they picked it being who they are though.

What does this mean.

 

[TheHollowNight]

played Gone Home for about an hour just now, but then my computer did an automatic reboot without giving me time to save. Does it get better? is there some massive twist that makes it worth it? I'm really not feeling it at all, and hate this cheap type of storytelling mechanic. It's basically wandering around being bored and occasionally being "rewarded" with a few lines of dialogue. Why couldn't she just write a diary and keep it under the bed instead, and the game would be over in 5 minutes

Why do you need such instant gratification?

 

[Basileus777]

Why do you need such instant gratification?

He doesn't enjoy the gameplay loop or audiolog storytelling. There's no need to dismiss that as a need for instant gratification.

 

[jet1911]

This thread is the first I've heard of this and I don't like it. Of course, I don't like most things about Polygon, so I'm not really surprised.

Look at post 409.

 

[toastyToast]

played Gone Home for about an hour just now, but then my computer did an automatic reboot without giving me time to save. Does it get better? is there some massive twist that makes it worth it? I'm really not feeling it at all, and hate this cheap type of storytelling mechanic. It's basically wandering around being bored and occasionally being "rewarded" with a few lines of dialogue. Why couldn't she just write a diary and keep it under the bed instead, and the game would be over in 5 minutes

The twist is

Spoiler

that's it

 

[Nocturno999]

The game has clever 90's references and tension while exploring the house alone.
Is nice to see games that doesn't need to shoot people in the face to advance,
but I laughed out loudly at the anti climatic ending and wanted my 7 dollars back after such a shallow experience.

 

[TheHollowNight]

He doesn't enjoy the gameplay loop or audiolog storytelling. There's no need to dismiss that as a need for instant gratification.

it is when you pretty much ask for the answers or the desire for a 'twist' to be the only reason to continue playing & describe the voiceovers from Sam as cheap 'rewards'. It's a game almost completely about the journey through the environment & narrative, if you play it in the mindset of constantly 'expecting', you are not exactly consciously engaged in the moment & likely to not enjoy it. It's pretty hard to describe so much of the small subtle nuances this game presents in a bunch of words. if you're not feeling it from the start, none of what makes this special will feel important or noteworthy to you as a player.

 

[mattiewheels]

I really enjoyed it.
But lol, its a nicely made mod, basically.

Calling it GOTY in the same year as The Last of Us is an insult to all gaming "journalism".

I know! Can you believe they didn't fall lockstep in line with every other outfit? What nerve.

 

[border]

Spoiler

I think the inclusion of the Christian element actually takes away from potentially interesting nuances by making it incredibly black and white. In a way, it doesn't even matter what happened between the other two characters, because OF COURSE Sam's parents would be against her relationship, even if that other stuff never even happened.

I don't think that owning a Bible is really clear proof of instant prejudice against gay relationships. Nearly every suburban white family probably has a bible somewhere in their house.

Terry's experiences certainly make him a more interesting and compelling character, and make his reactions to Sam more informed (or perhaps "misinformed"). It's certainly an interesting twist, and it would have been less interesting if his motivation was just "You can't do that cuz the Bible says not to." I think you can pretty easily intuit that he's trying to keep his daughter away from the same shame and pain he went through.

 

[zeldablue]

I...

I like their reasoning, so I won't protest at all. It's nice that a few sites are looking for games that do something different.

 

[Curly]

Good to know that I still have zero reason to read Polygon. Thanks for the heads up, OP!

 

[Curly]

I...

I like their reasoning, so I won't protest at all. It's nice that a few sites are looking for games that do something different.

Doing something different...

...by ripping off other mediums wholesale thereby being entirely derivative.

 

[beril]

it is when you pretty much ask for the answers or the desire for a 'twist' to be the only reason to continue playing & describe the voiceovers from Sam as cheap 'rewards'. It's a game almost completely about the journey through the environment & narrative, if you play it in the mindset of constantly 'expecting', you are not exactly consciously engaged in the moment & likely to not enjoy it. It's pretty hard to describe so much of the small subtle nuances this game presents in a bunch of words. if you're not feeling it from the start, none of what makes this special will feel important or noteworthy to you as a player.

there's only so long you can wander about in an empty house looking at stuff before it becomes tedious as hell, and it became pretty clear early on that the voice logs, scattered semi-randomly over the place, were the main focus. And being slowly drip-fed a generic story while walking around doing nothing is not my idea of great interactive storytelling.

youtubed the rest

for a moment I though

Spoiler

she had killed herself and you'd find her body in the attic. That would have been hilariously cheap and awful, but the real ending was just meh

 

[border]

Its very, very, very popular right now to worship minimalism. They've been sweeping the GOTY awards for 3 years now.

Game is interesting, but I'm tired of the Gone Home and Brothers worship lately. I'm glad people enjoy the games, but I hope we don't start seeing more casual games and less skill-based games collecting GotY awards in the future.

Thank you, you said exactly what I'm thinking. I'm tired of this growing trend of indie worship the last few years. I think they are some awesome games and very creative, but I wouldn't trade 100 Gone Home's for the amount of enjoyment I got out of playing GTA 5 or AC4 last year.

An interactive story getting GOTY... Oh my god...

What are news publications turning into...

The Last of Us has over 60 GOTY awards. GTAV has 30 GOTY awards. Bioshock Infinite has 10. Gone Home has maybe 2 or 3 GOTY awards.

I like how when a couple minor media outlets out of hundreds of media outlets decide to give an award to something different and unexpected, there's all this panic that something is now horribly wrong with games journalism, or the sense that indies are now being "worshiped" .

"Oh no, these small indie interactive stories are starting to sweep all the awards, so long as you ignore the 100 other awards that went to AAA $60 blockbusters!" Is it that horrible that a handful of sites didn't make the most obvious and popular choices that every other site did?

 

[mattiewheels]

Doing something different...

...by ripping off other mediums wholesale thereby being entirely derivative.

The only thing you could consider ripping from other mediums is the audiolog-type stuff, and you can turn those off and still grasp everything. Actually, with no disimbodied exposition it turns into something that is unique to its own medium. What else were you talking about?

 

[Riposte]

It's not a negative to me, Gone Home said more in an hour and a half than most games say in 20 hours. I'm a champion for good pacing. I was just saying that's about an average playtime one could expect, unless they're an obsessive-compulsive.

One may argue Gone Home does less in an hour and a half than many games do in thirty minutes. :3

 

[bj00rn_]

played Gone Home for about an hour just now, but then my computer did an automatic reboot without giving me time to save. Does it get better?

Not really, no. And the hipster ending doesn't help either. The "game" has some moments, but the best of the year, wow, no. If any narrow indie game should win a best of the year award, "Papers, Please" is a much better game anyway (and contains a clever message as well).

 

[vid]

I'm pretty okay with this. It may not be my game of the year (I'm not certain what is), but Gone Home absolutely deserves it.

In terms of game mechanics, Gone Home does something that I haven't seen since Riven... it gives you an open environment, litters the world with contextual clues, and lets you pick up on a variety of interesting subplots just from putting all of those pieces together.

Sure, there's the "main" storyline provided through the audio logs, but that's just a small part of the story of what went on in that house while you were gone. When people tell me that the game has no puzzles or gameplay and that it's the best "walking around" simulator they've ever played, it usually seems like they just managed to completely overlook the gameplay: Exploring your new home, finding the obvious clues (scraps of paper) and the subtle ones (everyone very clearly spending their time in different parts of the house) and putting them all together to tell a short series of separate but interweaving stories.

It's cool that the story of the game tackles issues that don't normally fall into video game territory, but the thing that really impressed me was that they did something different and unique with the gameplay, and I've love to see more games like it. Adventure games that have a higher focus on exploration and understanding than on finding the right key for whatever arcane puzzle is blocking your path.

 

[jamsy]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with the whole "they're giving it GOTY just to make a statement" sentiment. Just because this subject hasn't really been broached in games to date should not by any means give this game a free pass to being the best game this entire year.

Gone Home was merely OK. The story was unoriginal and the gameplay was rudimentary at best.

For those arguing in favor of the game, pray tell, what does Gone Home say that's so meaningful? That hasn't been said a million times before (and much better) in other types of media? It certainly didn't wow me with its "profound" message or whatever.

 

[JDSN]

I, Robot Simcity Wii Sports Brain Training Wii Fit The Walking Dead Journey Gone Home isnt a real game!

 

[Curly]

The only thing you could consider ripping from other mediums is the audiolog-type stuff, and you can turn those off and still grasp everything. Actually, with no disimbodied exposition it turns into something that is unique to its own medium. What else were you talking about?

Err, literally every plot point? The game is built around a narrative in which every single facet has been explored exhaustively in other forms of entertainment. Shoehorning it into a game with absolute barebones mechanics isn't something that I personally deem original/different, but rather a lazy retreading of old tropes marketed to a different audience.

 

[SmokyDave]

I really ought to give this game a go. I've seen / heard enough to know I'm missing out on something here.

These GotY threads have taught me that I'm not as adept at detecting sarcasm as I may have thought. At least, I hope that's the case.

 

[TheHollowNight]

youtubed the rest

Not even mad. It's a shame you felt that way because you missed out on a gem of a game!

Not really, no. And the hipster ending doesn't help either. The "game" has some moments, but the best of the year, wow, no. If any narrow indie game should win a best of the year award, "Papers, Please" is a much better game anyway (and contains a clever message as well).

The fuck is this noise? Hipster ending? How in the hell can ending a game a certain way be hipster? Tell me please, I'm dying to hear your marvelous suggestion of a "non-hipster" ending that would wow the hardcore mainstream with it's awesomeness of non-hipster-ism.

I don't even.

 

[Fox_Mulder]

Polygon's 2013 Game of the Year:
10. Tearaway - 9.5/10
9. Kentucky Route Zero - ?/10
8. Super Mario 3D World - 9/10
7. GTAV - 9.5/10
6. Brothers A Tale of Two Sons - 9/10
5. The Last of Us - 7.5/10
4. Bioshock Infinite - 10/10
3. Towerfall - ?/10
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds - 9.5/10
1. Gone Home - 10/10



I'm laughing out loud. Thanks Polygon

 

[AniHawk]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with the whole "they're giving it GOTY just to make a statement" sentiment. Just because this subject hasn't really been broached in games to date should not by any means give this game a free pass to being the best game this entire year.

Gone Home was merely OK. The story was unoriginal and the gameplay was rudimentary at best.

For those arguing in favor of the game, pray tell, what does Gone Home say that's so meaningful? That hasn't been said a million times before (and much better) in other types of media? It certainly didn't wow me with its "profound" message or whatever.

unless you're railing against games with a heavy emphasis on story and presentation, you kinda just gave broad criticism of games with a heavy emphasis on story and presentation. you could replace 'gone home' in your post with 'bioshock' or 'the last of us' and i wouldn't bat an eye.

for what it's worth, i think the game with the best message in... well i can't remember how long, was probably tearaway. they way it was delivered was wonderfully done.

 

[Thoraxes]

It was okay, but definitely not something i'd tout as best of the year. Maybe it's just me, but I figured out the game's message pretty early on, and never experienced any real "wow" moment. That message was hammered just over and over the whole time, and the methods of delivery and the audio-logs were just really clunkily implemented.

I'm always really surprised when people tell me how the story really subverted their expectations and what they originally thought would happen. Maybe it's because I played it without knowing anything about it at all (and hell, I enjoy this genre), but the story just didn't stand up at all, nor did I gain any impact from it.

 

[Vice]

Err, literally every plot point? The game is built around a narrative in which every single facet has been explored exhaustively in other forms of entertainment. Shoehorning it into a game with absolute barebones mechanics isn't something that I personally deem original/different, but rather a lazy retreading of old tropes marketed to a different audience.

That's what all entertainment is though. Every idea has been done so people are just finding new ways to tell the same stories. If the execution clicks with someone then it's a success.

 

[Sanctuary]

Gone Home was a game that I very much enjoyed, but this just seems like they're trying to make a statement based on the "progressiveness" of the game and it's willingness to tackle complex subject matter not typically seen in games.

I respect and appreciate what the game was going for, but GOTY that does not make.

It just seems like Polygon being Polygon and trying to "stand out" by intentionally avoiding doing what any other review site does, regardless of if it's just flame bait or contentious nonsense just to get clicks. It's like they are trying too hard to not be taken seriously. They are just like IGN and Gamespot now, except in reverse. The first two sites you can always tell exactly what they are going to give X megahyped game during Y month, and Polygon always goes the complete opposite direction. If it's popular, they automatically deduct points from the score just for that.

 

[Carcetti]

Whining about top lists never seems to get any less embarrassing. It's like RPS goty thread part 2: cry harder.

The most amazing thing is how people are convinced they can offer scientific, absolutely objective arguments why game X shouldn't get a goty nod.

 

[jamsy]

unless you're railing against games with a heavy emphasis on story and presentation, you kinda just gave broad criticism of games with a heavy emphasis on story and presentation. you could replace 'gone home' in your post with 'bioshock' or 'the last of us' and i wouldn't bat an eye.

for what it's worth, i think the game with the best message in... well i can't remember how long, was probably tearaway. they way it was delivered was wonderfully done.

The thing about Bioshock or TLOU or any other such title, is that they've usually got the gameplay part that's actually meaningful. They have entertaining aspects to their gameplay besides just the narrative/presentation/what have you. You can argue that yeah, there's too much shooting in Infinite (and to some extent, yeah, perhaps that may have been the case), but the actual shooting and using plasmids and all this other stuff was really well done and a lot of fun.

Gone Home is limited to walking around the house and finding stuff. That's it. Which means its story must make up for that and be so interesting/mesmerizing/well done to offset the fact that I am merely clicking on lost diary pages in different rooms of a single house.

I'm not gonna argue that it's not a game or whatever. It sure is one. When we had Kentucky Route Zero as a GOTY winner, which I'm not sure I'd agree with either (and I loved KR0), I can see how the visuals, narrative and presentation combined to create a suberbly surreal and beautiful experience, which to me at the very least, was wholly original. Gone Home on the other hand, is really, really not.

 

[Caderfix]

Gee at all the overly sensitive fans in this thread.

Anyway, I should probably give the game a go. Sounds interesting enough.

 

[GCX]

Polygon's 2013 Game of the Year:
10. Tearaway - 9.5/10
9. Kentucky Route Zero - ?/10
8. Super Mario 3D World - 9/10
7. GTAV - 9.5/10
6. Brothers A Tale of Two Sons - 9/10
5. The Last of Us - 7.5/10
4. Bioshock Infinite - 10/10
3. Towerfall - ?/10
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds - 9.5/10
1. Gone Home - 10/10



I'm laughing out loud. Thanks Polygon

They probably used voting to put the list together (hence the tie on number 4) so the review score by one staff member doesn't really matter all that much.

 

[MrCookiepants]

I'm so glad that games like gone home win awards just because of responses like this. Anything to chip away at these narrow and closed-minded definitions of gaming is welcome.

I'm open to these kinds of games. I loved Journey and Brothers is an experience I'll never forget. But this... I'm sorry, it was just crap. Would anyone have cared if they weren't

Spoiler

lesbians

? Ooh, so progressive!

In a year where we had so many great storytelling achievements, awarding GOTY to this is just confusing to me. Did I miss something?

 

[ab.aeterno]

Not really, no. And the hipster ending doesn't help either. The "game" has some moments, but the best of the year, wow, no. If any narrow indie game should win a best of the year award, "Papers, Please" is a much better game anyway (and contains a clever message as well).

You didn't use enough quotes to express your disdain for it. There's a 5 scarequote minimum now to make your point.

It's not a """"""""""game"""""""""""

For those arguing in favor of the game, pray tell, what does Gone Home say that's so meaningful? That hasn't been said a million times before (and much better) in other types of media? It certainly didn't wow me with its "profound" message or whatever.

Wait, so because a story's been done before, and possibly better, then it's meaningless? That's an incredibly shortsighted thing to argue, since pretty much every game story has been done better before, in another medium, including stuff like The Last of Us. Originality doesn't mean shit by itself, it's about execution as well, and Gone Home had an incredibly grounded story with some wonderful characterization. That's new to games, who often struggle to tell a grounded, dramatic story that doesn't involve shooting things, and the execution was arguably very good. It married its mechanics with its narrative, and one didn't come at the expense of the other.

 

[ab.aeterno]

Would anyone have cared if they weren't

Spoiler

lesbians

? Ooh, so progressive!

Well, when you lack empathy for the character, it becomes hard or impossible to enjoy the story since it rests on being able to relate to and invest in the characters and their problems. This game spoke very, very deeply to me because, for the first time in a video game, I could fully relate to a character and their struggles. Want to know what that's like? Impossible to describe.

I'm sorry that covering

Spoiler

homosexuality

as a subject is apparently only good for shock value, and not just for telling a good story.

 

[TheHollowNight]

Well, when you lack empathy for the character, it becomes hard or impossible to enjoy the story since it rests on being able to relate to and invest in the characters and their problems. This game spoke very, very deeply to me because, for the first time in a video game, I could fully relate to a character and their struggles. Want to know what that's like? Impossible to describe.

I'm sorry that covering

Spoiler

homosexuality

as a subject is apparently only good for shock value, and not just for telling a good story.

Pretty much this. Apparently for a lot of people it isn't enough to warrant a good game. 'Oh all it does is tell a story? No shooty bits? No jump scares or XP leveling up? 0/10!'

 

[MrCookiepants]

Well, when you lack empathy for the character, it becomes hard or impossible to enjoy the story since it rests on being able to relate to and invest in the characters and their problems. This game spoke very, very deeply to me because, for the first time in a video game, I could fully relate to a character and their struggles. Want to know what that's like? Impossible to describe.

I'm sorry that covering

Spoiler

homosexuality

as a subject is apparently only good for shock value, and not just for telling a good story.

I empathized with her character. I kept playing because I wanted to know what happened to her. But the conclusion wasn't satisfying.

Spoiler

Oh, you're not dead. Nobody's dead. You just ran away with your girlfriend and the folks are on a couples retreat.

I just wasted the last 2 hours of my life for that? So its just

Spoiler

Generic Coming of Age Tale: The Videogame (w/ lesbians!).

Brothers had so much more impact and it actually had an enjoyable game built around it.

 

[The Technomancer]

Well whatever they believe in I guess. I'd have ranked The Stanley Parable a bit higher in terms of the "low interaction first person adventure genre" but I can see how Gone Home would work for them

EDIT: Jesus christ people are really that salty over the TLOU score still? Its a review score. It does not effect your life in any tangible way