AGS Awards 2011 (check the results!)

[bicilotti]

A            
G Awards 2011
S            

Welcome to the AGS Awards, the annual event where the you, the player, choose the best games of the year!

Done!	Step # 0 - play them games! You have some time to play games made in 2011. Don't know where to start? Check the for your consideration thread or the old big database!	Done!
Done!	Step # 1 - nomination time! Select games you deem worthy in each category! Voting is over, check the nominees out!	Done!
Done!	Step # 2 - vote, folks! Pick from the nominees and we get a winner!	Done!
Done	Step # 3 - party! Big party to celebrate the winners (IRC and live game ceremony)! On Sun 6, May 2012 @ 22:00 BST! Here on how to participate!	Done!

Check the final result here!

[Snarky]

Ooof! That's an ambitious schedule!

Could we please have more than a couple of weeks to play the nominees?

[bicilotti]

Ooof! That's an ambitious schedule!

Could we please have more than a couple of weeks to play the nominees?

I've got a schedule to mantain, Mr. Hollywood </Ben Jordan: the movie joke>

Don't worry, I'm always behind schedule, so I won't probably meet this deadline too. Keep in mind that the "nominating" phase will also take a couple of weeks.

More in general: I don't want to rush things, so yeah, I'll add some more time.

[Radiant]

There was some talk in december about bringing back the joke game and manual categories - both classics of the AGS Awards, and removed in recent years. What about them? There was a shortage of game manuals last year, but surely that doesn't mean we'll never get an award for manuals again? There was a controversy about the joke game award several years ago, but surely we're all past that now and can laugh again at such games as Me Go Store and Oceanspirit Dennis?

How about letting the community vote on whether they like having these classic categories?

[Chicky]

+1 for joke games.

[Ghost]

Joke games do deserve special mention AFAIC. Manuals are hard to write and show extra effort, and a well-written or funny one clearly adds to a game (think Charly Foxtrot!). My vote says we include both!

BTW the Award thread looks beautiful! So many high-quality entries, all in one year. I remember when you totally owned the forums with a cheap Roger paintover and a non-broken "unlock door" puzzle.

[bicilotti]

Ok, it seems that more than few people want the Best Tutorial or Documentation award back! So I've added it to the 2011 AGS Awards categories.

A couple of years ago I decided to get rid of it because few people voted and even fewer nominated. So players, please please please, when trying out games, take a moment to appreciate and appraise this aspect.

[Radiant]

Ok, it seems that more than few people want the Best Tutorial or Documentation award back! So I've added it to the 2011 AGS Awards categories.

Thank you. What about Best Joke Game, though? Are we seriously still so afraid of that five-year-old controversy that we'll never ever touch that category again? I recall asking the same question last year and not getting an answer either.

[bicilotti]

Thank you. What about Best Joke Game, though? Are we seriously still so afraid of that five-year-old controversy that we'll never ever touch that category again? I recall asking the same question last year and not getting an answer either.

IIRC in the thread I opened last year there was not sight of consensus, which is something I think it's required for adding any new category.
Personally I am against the p3n15 award, because I find it childish (albeit joyfully so).

[Stupot]

I possibly wasn't around (or was very new) when this "P3N15" controversy occurred so maybe I'm missing the point, but why not have a category for 'Funniest Game' or 'Best Humor/comedy in a Game' that awards genuine attemtps at making games funny?  This would avoid accusing a game of being a "joke" and upsetting anybody.

[LimpingFish]

No joke, please. Most of the "Joke Game" efforts in the database are at best pointless, at worse...well, I've a reputation for being a cranky cock when it comes to "Joke" games. Regardless of this, it's not something I think people should strive to win an award for.

I also don't think Oceanspirit Dennis would actually qualify for the category, seeing as most of the non-icey OSD games are actually quite well-made and playable. The joke game category was always a dumping ground for one-screen non-games that had a silly punchline or served no other purpose than to prank the people who played them.

If the "Best Documentation" category is back in - though I can't remember ever having voted in it before, seeing as it's probably one of the last things I would take the time to consider - let's at least change it's name to "Fanciest Documentation", which is really what this category will end up being about.

[Radiant]

I think people are talking past each other here.

There's the past "P3n1s" award, and there's a hypothetical award for the best joke game. These are not the same thing.

Several people are suggesting the latter would be a good idea (I haven't seen many objections). Several other people are claiming that the former, basically the yearly worst-game award, would be a bad idea (and I haven't seen many objections to that, either). It's just that people are talking about two wholly different things.

It's quite possible that there still isn't a consensus for a joke game category; but let's just be clear on the fact that nobody's suggesting to bring back the p3n1s.

[ddq]

Both ideas are bad and you should feel bad.

[Radiant]

Both ideas are bad and you should feel bad.

Awww, now you've made me feel bad. You should feel bad about that!

[Ponch]

Ooh! I want a "Best Documentation" award. My game manuals and walkthroughs are very nice and filled with pictures. No cheesy text files for my games, no sir! 

[LimpingFish]

...let's just be clear on the fact that nobody's suggesting to bring back the p3n1s.

Indeed.

Joke games are, in scope and execution, intentionally silly - or stupid, depending on your point of view. Examples of joke games would be RLBAT, Me Go Home, Lazarus Want's Pants, etc, where the game author is in on the joke.

The p3n1s award was purely about (good natured?) ridicule, usually at the expense of the person who received it. And, if I recall correctly, it wasn't limited to games.

Of the 79 games that fall under "Joke Game" in the database, 76 are one cup games...which would lead me to believe that joke games are, by and large, rubbish. And having a category for celebrating one piece of rubbish over another seems a bit redundant.

[(deleted)]

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[Kweepa]

nobody's suggesting to bring back the p3n1s.

I am!
I want P3n1s!

[Ghost]

Of the 79 games that fall under "Joke Game" in the database, 76 are one cup games...which would lead me to believe that joke games are, by and large, rubbish.

I have made a joke game* that got three cups...  

Well, p3nis, no. But sometimes there are games that are, let's say, defenitely not meant seriously. Maybe an "upper class" of joke games. They are rare indeed, though, so maybe a category for them would not be justified. Would it be allowed then to enter such a game anyways, and "raise" it to short game or something?

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* It was sorted in as one, which is the same, and surely qualifies as one.

[Stupot]

I think there are some attempts at "Joke" games that pulled off pretty well.  How about Crackwell Unhinged?  That was hilarious.  Fair enough, you could argue that it's going to appear in the 'short game' category anyway, and that if I love it so much I should vote for it... but I might want to use my vote in that category for a more serious game, but still think Crackwell deserves recognition for just being a light-hearted, spoofy piss-take.

I think I did miss the point in my previous post, but I still think (regardless of any "joke/p3n15/worst game" category) that a seperate "funny/humour/comedy" category would be a great idea.