2011 Aggie Awards big letdown!
 

Can you believe that,The Book of Unwritten Tales not nominated for best setting and best graphic design features?But instead there are games like BTTF and Ghost Trick unbelievable!

I didn't play the game so I can't comment on the setting but from the videos and screenshots i've seen of it the graphic design looks pretty mundane. Certainly nothing that leaps out.

Adventure Gamers is good for not stifling the genre by having too narrow a definition of it.

http://www.scummunity.de/~falko/pix/...ttentales2.jpg
http://www.scummunity.de/~falko/pix/...ttentales6.jpg
http://www.scummunity.de/~falko/pix/...ttentales5.jpg

Mundane eh,dont make unnecessary comments without even bother to play the game.

@Gabe Even assuming the game indeed deserved those nominations more than some of the actually nominated ones (and I do agree it looks great), is that sufficient reason to call the whole Awards a "big letdown"?

Actually it's others not even close enough only real contender is LA Noire.

Maybe if you valued other people's opinions at all instead of only your own, you wouldn't feel so disappointed. :rolleyes:

Anyway, reader poll is now up, so we'll find out what everyone else thinks now.

a telltale game nominated for anything to do with graphics design is a joke so i am already not interested.

* my opinion of course *

Huh? None of them were. Presumably you mean BTTF for Best Setting, but setting is much different than merely graphics.

I agree that it sucks Unwritten wasn't nominated, but I absolutely can't say the Aggie's is a let down.

Black Mirror III Is my choice to almost any of those points. To The Moon is also great!

Valuing other people's opinions quite debatable when they ignore incredible amount of work.

I dont think its that the aggies are a let down, I rekon its more to do with the games that are coming out and the fact that adventure games dont come close to competing with the speed that other genres are pumped out IMHO if more adventures were released then the aggies would be better SIMPLES lol ;) x

I haven't played all the games nominated that I'd like to (Stacking, L.A. Noire, To the Moon) so I can't complain about their inclusion or exclusion from certain categories but I did play both Portal 2 and Ghost Trick. So in the Best Character section for Portal 2 both GLaDOS and Wheatley were nominated, which I totally agree because they were hilarious and just thinking about them makes me want to replay the game. However, for Ghost Trick only Sissel was nominated. I really think Missile should have been included as well because you can control him in the game and he is just so awesome and positive.

Even the mainstream gaming sites nominated Missile for Best New character.


http://www.gamespot.com/best-of-2011...ex.html?page=6

http://www.destructoid.com/best-of-2...s-218007.phtml

What an utterly absurd statement. An incredible amount of work went into every game on the list. You just wanted us to "ignore" the ones you don't agree with.

I dont think so,you could extend your list for better outcome.

All this complaining... :crazy:

The only thing in the Aggie nominations I don't agree with is the omission of To the Moon for Best Music. That's it.

The Aggies are just fine the way they are...

To be honest, I think that things like the Aggies and the recent top 100 should outrage people to a certain degree.

There is a wide range of opinion on this site about what defines adventure games and opinion of specific games. There is probably no-one else on this whole site who I completely agree with on any of these points (including you wonderful staff people!), and many people who I completely disagree with. I expect most people are in the same boat.

Ultimately I have to recognise that it is not "my" top 100 and not "my" award ceremony so it would be frankly extraordinary if it reflected my own views and tastes.

Personally I don't see either the top 100 or the aggie nominations as a let down, even if I personally seriously disagree with them (and I certainly do on at least some areas).

After all people here don't want to see my top 100 or my award ceremony, but what the official site thinks and (for my money) more impartantly what the reader's poll shows.

I won't agree with all of it and I am already outraged that Gabriel Knight wasn't no. 1 in the top 100! :) but in a good way and I am not disappointed with the results of the actual site top 100 or the aggie nominations.

I have played only 5,5 games of the 67 ones on the AG list, and I would find it very hard to put those 5 or 6 in 17 categories. :crazy: I'm not going to try.

How many games have others played?

Fien, if you're referring to the reader poll, there's a "no answer" selection for each question. You don't need to nominate a game for every category, just the ones you feel are deserving.

This was a slow year for me. From the list I've only played 2.5 games: Blackwell Deception, Puzzle Agent 2, and a bit of Edna & Harvey. I've also watched a playthrough of Portal 2 if that counts.

I'm disappointed Blackwell Deception didn't get nominated for Best Character (either Joey Mallone or even Jamie) and for Best Voice Acting. But I guess that's what the Reader's Choice is for.

I'm also slightly annoyed at the double nominations of characters from Portal 2 and Book of Unwritten Tales. It just seems unfair somehow (and I adored both GlaDos and Wheatley, I just feel like there should be a choice of only one).

They aren't pairs. They just share the same game so they're listed on the same line together.

Does that mean that one of them could win seperately?
For instance GLaDos taking the award but not Wheatley?

I was a bit underwhelmed by the nominations, but then when I started replying to the poll I realised that there were several categories (including Best Writing (Drama) and Best Music) for which I couldn't think of a single game that I wanted to win. Admittedly, I have yet to play LA Noire, To the Moon and BoUT, so maybe I've missed some good stuff, but the poll made me realise that, apart from Ghost Trick and Portal 2 which were both superb, 2011 was a rather lacklustre year. Hopefully 2012 will be better.

So then, why is the Best Character category the only one with 7 nominations instead of 5? :P

Yep, that's exactly what it means.

Well, it was still five games total, same as every other category. And of the seven characters, I think four were tied with the same number of nominations. :D

I've played 15 (I didn't realize I played that many games last year) of them:

Back to the Future
Black Mirror III
Blackwell Deception
Blue Madonna
Book of Unwritten Tales
Drawn: Trail of the Shadows
Edna & Harvey (my game of the year)
Goin' Downtown
Gray Matter
Jurassic Park
LA Noire
Nancy Drew: Captive Curse
Nancy Drew: Alibi in Ashes
NCIS (Terrible)
The Next BIG Thing

Plus I have 3 more (Gemini Rue, A New Beginning, and Portal 2) that I have purchased but haven't had a chance to play yet.

It was there on my ballot, and that's how I voted.

Ew, overwrought comes to mind.

I've played, or should I say, 've finished 11 out of those 67.

Book of Unwritten Tales
The Next Big Thing
Trauma
Edna & Harvey
Gray Matter
Blackwell Deception
A Stroke of Fate
Black Mirror 3
A New Beginning
Gemini Rue
Alpha Polaris

LA Noire I'm still playing.

And 3 other games I simply quit without finishing...

Dead's Mountaineer Hotel
Baron Wittard
Relics Dark Hours (worst game for me this year)

Ok, lets see if I can hand out awards with just the above selection.

Best Story: Gemini Rue
Best Writing Drama: Gray Matter
Best Writing Comecy: Edna & Harvey
Best Character: emmm.....ok, the Bilbo lookalike in Book of Unwritten Tales
Best Gameplay: Book of Unwritten Tales
Best Concept: LA Noire
Best Setting: A New Beginning
Best Graphic Design: LA Noire
Best Animation: LA Noire
Best Music: Gray Matter
Best Voice Acting: Book of Unwritten Tales
Best Sound Effects: LA Noire
Best Independent Adventure: Gemini Rue
Best Non-Traditional Adventure: LA Noire
Best Traditional Adventure: Book of Unwritten Tales
Best Adventure of 2011: emmmmm.... LA Noire (5 awards) vs. Book of Unwritten Tales (4 wards)..... HELL NO.... I'm giving it to A NEW BEGINNING

I only played four games this year (Book of Unwritten Tales, Next BIG Thing, A New Beginning and Blackwell Deception) but one of those (A New Beginning) was a serious let down and in my book is not deserving of any price. Another one(BOUT) however was so great I'd award it at least half the prices to be won this year.

Don't know about portal but with BOUT I think it was really unecessary: Critter wipes the floor with poor Willbur.

Totally agree.

A New Beginning a letdown??? :crazy: even though the game is not a masterpiece and has quite a few problem areas, it's by no way a letdown and it's still my favorite for the year...

I wouldn't have nominated it for either.

Best setting? A generic mix-and-match fantasy world. No thanks. Baron Wittard had a far more imaginative setting and wasn't nominated in any category. Even Gray Matter was more original than BOUT, a university in a small town isn't a common game setting.

Best graphic design? Borrows graphic style from just about every fantasy book, movie and game out there. It didn't have a style it could call its own.

The only thing I would have nominated BOUT for is sound - the voices were quite good. Otherwise it was a decidedly average game in all aspects.

One thing I don't understand is why Stacking was included. It isn't even out for PC yet as far as I know, so a lot of people haven't played it and can't really have an opinion about it unless they'd vote for or against it based on what they can find on YouTube.

Btw, Baron Wittard was nominated in several categories.

Didn't like either game, but at least A New Beginning had a point to it - saving the world from a serious current politically-relevant issue VS a directionless, mindless and silly fantasy world.

BOUT was entertaining but it never strives to do anything more ambitious, while ANB did.

If you think a university in a small town have better adventure setting
than back of a dragon,a fortunetellers camp, a mage school,an airship and a monster's stomach that's your prerogative.

Portal 2 is so winning in any categories it's nominated in... Altho I personally do not consider it as an AG. Great game, tho.

I didn't quite follow the traditional vs non-traditional thing. Are you going to pick winners from each? That is better and should end the flaming :D

Edit: I just browsed through the nominees, and I have to admit I'm majorly dissapointed as well. Hardly any point & clicks, mostly casual games.. wow. What's happened to the industry?

Which ones? I don't see it in any of the categories, except for adventure of the year - for which I'll seriously consider voting for the game.

I suppose it depends on what you expect before playing. I guess if you expect it to be just a fun little adventure you'll be very satisfied. However I thought I was going ot play a really mature game with a lot op depth which it isn't in any way. I think if they would've developed the story a bit better and got some professional writers on board it could've been really good. But now it just felt like a childrensadventure that tried to be mature but failed at every step.

Don't get me wrong games don't have to be mature for me to like them. BOUT wasn't very mature either but it didn't pretend to be. They presented it as a grand adventure with wonderful characters and laugh out loud moments at very step. And that's exactly what it is imo.

I would personally call A New Beginning a solid adventure game. I liked it but it wasn't the best ever... At least I actually finished it! lol However, looking at the nominees that are on that list... A New Beginning is far superior to most of them.

Was it really that bad year for "traditional adventures"?

Baron Wittard is on every drop down menu they could put it on. I don't know how you're missing it unless they arranged for us to get different ballots.