Community RPG Codex GOTY 2023: Results & Cool Graphs

[Stavrophore]

One ultra cringe moment can kill a movie for me or at least severely decrease its rating, then why it shouldn't also kill a game? I expect many people react in similar way, but holier than thou part of liberal squad pretend they don't. They would get assmad and butthurt when just one video game dev made a game portraying fascism as super good, and filled it with cringe stuff like keeping homos in zoo. You would cry that only neanderthal play these and if they got GOTY you would be asshurt. Don't pretend you wouldn't, no one will believe you.

 

[std::namespace]

Congrats to the winners, especially Jagged Alliance 3 which took a surprise & deserved first place this year.

wth is happening to his face? are illithids in his ass?

 

[jaekl]

Wrath of the Righteous was pretty much on par with baldurs gate as far as being completely insufferable in all aspects so that before you even get to the gameplay part, you already hate it. larian and owlcat should team up to make the ultimate game for girls and weirdos.

Steal the Deus Ex ip but set it in a high school, where a nerdy girl or trans fbi agent has to infiltrate and unravel a conspiracy in the administration to rig the prom king/queen vote. There will of course be many hunky boys to build relationships with through branching dialogue trees and maybe some combat sometimes. Skills may include makeup, smooching, flirting and acrobatics. Call it Deus Ex: Remastered.

That one's free, if any studios want more of my ideas it'll cost you big time.

Cuckdex legit got buck broken by a gay bear.
Pathfinder is woke af writing wise, OF COURSE cRPGs based on PF PNP campaigns are woke as hell. Modern D&D is woke as fuck. Modern videogame writers are people with literature degree from 4 years ago, and if you haven't been asleep for the last 100 years you know exactly what kind of person graduates with a degree in literature, fails as a writer for literature graduates, then fails as a genre fiction writer and then ends up writing for videogames or p&p RPG's - that person took all the racial/sexual agitation seriously, edit and expresses it with no subtlety end of edit there's no other way for them to survive university otherwise. As such you can assume that this is how these games are and now have the following options:
a) enjoy whatever qualities these new games have despite the reality mentioned above
b) enjoy 1990's version of the exact same thing(all the games you love are liberal and written by smug atheists, if you can't see it you're the exact kind of person who brought all the shit you're complaining about into this world)
c) scout for indies that weren't made by complete degenerates and don't engage with "bigger" releases
d) stop gaming all together, play MYFAROG PNP, but that probably means you don't have much reason to post outside of gazebo either

I'm legit wondering whether I should just make an entire thread to mock the absolute state of cuckdex these days, this shit is gnawing on me for some months now.

e) Talk trash about the games I don't like online so that I am always entertained no matter what gets released.

It's a win/win buddy, come join my club.

 

[raeven]

I didn't get to vote this year, but 2023 was a wonderful year for cRPG's.
It's a shame Rogue Trader released right at the end of the year because I think it could be higher with a couple months of patching.
Surprised Phantom Liberty isn't higher too, it was great. But I agree, expansions shouldn't win in such a stacked year.

Every time these GOTY votes come around I think of the dark days of the 00's, and how much better things are now.

It had zero good RPG releases but shit like BG3, D4, Starfield. And I count RT as 2024 because what they released in 2023 was alpha and now at start of 2024 it is finally beta. 2023 will be remembered as one of the worst RPG years in recent history (unless you are a filthy casual).

Obviously you were not playing RPGs during the decline.

I genuinely believed that games of the kind and quality that we got this year would never exist again in my lifetime. Sure starfield and D4 were kinda ass But we'll be talking about this year's crop of releases for decades to come and waxing nostalgic about the good old days of 2023 before too long, mark my words.

 

[raeven]

I didn't get to vote this year, but 2023 was a wonderful year for cRPG's.
It's a shame Rogue Trader released right at the end of the year because I think it could be higher with a couple months of patching.
Surprised Phantom Liberty isn't higher too, it was great. But I agree, expansions shouldn't win in such a stacked year.

Every time these GOTY votes come around I think of the dark days of the 00's, and how much better things are now.

Yeah, it's pretty wild.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

I didn't get to vote this year, but 2023 was a wonderful year for cRPG's.
It's a shame Rogue Trader released right at the end of the year because I think it could be higher with a couple months of patching.
Surprised Phantom Liberty isn't higher too, it was great. But I agree, expansions shouldn't win in such a stacked year.

Every time these GOTY votes come around I think of the dark days of the 00's, and how much better things are now.

It had zero good RPG releases but shit like BG3, D4, Starfield. And I count RT as 2024 because what they released in 2023 was alpha and now at start of 2024 it is finally beta. 2023 will be remembered as one of the worst RPG years in recent history (unless you are a filthy casual).

Obviously you were not playing RPGs during the decline.

I genuinely believed that games of the kind and quality that we got this year would never exist again in my lifetime. Sure starfield and D4 were kinda ass But we'll be talking about this year's crop of releases for decades to come and waxing nostalgic about the good old days of 2023 before too long, mark my words.

I will be talking like that, because retards like you shilling for banal, movie cutscene shit nuRPGs have the buying power. You on the other hand will be on your knees consuming goyslop at every opportunity and loving it

 

[raeven]

If any of you came here because some devs posted here a few times you are just bitches and cucks.
If you are here because you got shit to sling at bad games and devs and you know you will be allowed to do it you are true chads.

Real "chads" elevate games they are passionate about, not just slag ones they don't like.

 

[mediocrepoet]

One ultra cringe moment can kill a movie for me or at least severely decrease its rating, then why it shouldn't also kill a game? I expect many people react in similar way, but holier than thou part of liberal squad pretend they don't. They would get assmad and butthurt when just one video game dev made a game portraying fascism as super good, and filled it with cringe stuff like keeping homos in zoo. You would cry that only neanderthal play these and if they got GOTY you would be asshurt. Don't pretend you wouldn't, no one will believe you.

Some of us can separate fiction and reality. Either way that sounds funny as hell, both in terms of game content and because of the internet shit storm that would follow.

 

[Roguey]

I don't know. Perhaps I just expected people to remember those that helped them back when campaign fund was a good thing.

Second place is nothing to brag about when you've won so many first place awards. It'd show weakness to do so.

 

[raeven]

Wrath of the Righteous was pretty much on par with baldurs gate as far as being completely insufferable in all aspects so that before you even get to the gameplay part, you already hate it. larian and owlcat should team up to make the ultimate game for girls and weirdos.

Steal the Deus Ex ip but set it in a high school, where a nerdy girl or trans fbi agent has to infiltrate and unravel a conspiracy in the administration to rig the prom king/queen vote. There will of course be many hunky boys to build relationships with through branching dialogue trees and maybe some combat sometimes. Skills may include makeup, smooching, flirting and acrobatics. Call it Deus Ex: Remastered.

That one's free, if any studios want more of my ideas it'll cost you big time.

Cuckdex legit got buck broken by a gay bear.
Pathfinder is woke af writing wise, OF COURSE cRPGs based on PF PNP campaigns are woke as hell. Modern D&D is woke as fuck. Modern videogame writers are people with literature degree from 4 years ago, and if you haven't been asleep for the last 100 years you know exactly what kind of person graduates with a degree in literature, fails as a writer for literature graduates, then fails as a genre fiction writer and then ends up writing for videogames or p&p RPG's - that person took all the racial/sexual agitation seriously, edit and expresses it with no subtlety end of edit there's no other way for them to survive university otherwise. As such you can assume that this is how these games are and now have the following options:
a) enjoy whatever qualities these new games have despite the reality mentioned above
b) enjoy 1990's version of the exact same thing(all the games you love are liberal and written by smug atheists, if you can't see it you're the exact kind of person who brought all the shit you're complaining about into this world)
c) scout for indies that weren't made by complete degenerates and don't engage with "bigger" releases
d) stop gaming all together, play MYFAROG PNP, but that probably means you don't have much reason to post outside of gazebo either

I'm legit wondering whether I should just make an entire thread to mock the absolute state of cuckdex these days, this shit is gnawing on me for some months now.

If you think that people who write videogame stories are people who failed at a bunch of other stuff first, you are deeply, deeply delusional.

There are a billion easier ways to make money in this world than to become a writer in the games industry. Whether or not you like their work, most of the people that do this stuff very much want to be doing it.

 

[Butter]

We'd have a lot more interactive stories in video games if the writers first and foremost had a passion for video game writing.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Their "passion" amounts to a need to share their "genius" to the world when they've never even written a proper RPG in the first place.

Make something that sticks to the fundamentals, then try to reinvent the wheel.

But that's too much to ask from these entitled retards

 

[Tyranicon]

I'm about as professional as it gets for an obscure indiedev writer (10+ years corporate copywriting, 10 years part-time deving, 5 years fulltime solodeving, I've sold something around 30k copies of paid game product™).

Now the reason I mention these credentials is so you know I have somewhere to stand on when I say most modern media writing (including vidya) is utter irredeemable garbage and you have almost a moral obligation to oppose it.

In the last 15 years I went from thinking these people were my compadres and peers, to disliking them, to furiously despising everything that they do.

All I have left is contempt and a vindictive mission to make a mockery out of this shit-hill of an industry.

Well, it's not purely vindictive. I'm having a good time :D

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Wrath of the Righteous was pretty much on par with baldurs gate as far as being completely insufferable in all aspects so that before you even get to the gameplay part, you already hate it. larian and owlcat should team up to make the ultimate game for girls and weirdos.

Steal the Deus Ex ip but set it in a high school, where a nerdy girl or trans fbi agent has to infiltrate and unravel a conspiracy in the administration to rig the prom king/queen vote. There will of course be many hunky boys to build relationships with through branching dialogue trees and maybe some combat sometimes. Skills may include makeup, smooching, flirting and acrobatics. Call it Deus Ex: Remastered.

That one's free, if any studios want more of my ideas it'll cost you big time.

Cuckdex legit got buck broken by a gay bear.
Pathfinder is woke af writing wise, OF COURSE cRPGs based on PF PNP campaigns are woke as hell. Modern D&D is woke as fuck. Modern videogame writers are people with literature degree from 4 years ago, and if you haven't been asleep for the last 100 years you know exactly what kind of person graduates with a degree in literature, fails as a writer for literature graduates, then fails as a genre fiction writer and then ends up writing for videogames or p&p RPG's - that person took all the racial/sexual agitation seriously, edit and expresses it with no subtlety end of edit there's no other way for them to survive university otherwise. As such you can assume that this is how these games are and now have the following options:
a) enjoy whatever qualities these new games have despite the reality mentioned above
b) enjoy 1990's version of the exact same thing(all the games you love are liberal and written by smug atheists, if you can't see it you're the exact kind of person who brought all the shit you're complaining about into this world)
c) scout for indies that weren't made by complete degenerates and don't engage with "bigger" releases
d) stop gaming all together, play MYFAROG PNP, but that probably means you don't have much reason to post outside of gazebo either

I'm legit wondering whether I should just make an entire thread to mock the absolute state of cuckdex these days, this shit is gnawing on me for some months now.

Is it 2008 again?

Their "passion" amounts to a need to share their "genius" to the world when they've never even written a proper RPG in the first place.

Writing for RPGs or even any game doesn't matter, these people don't have anything interesting to write about period.

 

[gogis]

I approve the results (didn't voted). JA3 is only game I fully finished from recent 'traditional' titles (logged 80 hours, restarted twice). Last game I finished before was Tyranny, and probably because it's weird and short. Just checked my library - all PoE titles - less than 100 hours, Owlcat games - less than 20 hours (so I decided for hard no on RT), DOS series 40 hours (decided hard pass on BG3).

I also absolutely don't understand 'best tabletop adaptation' argument. It's CRPG, not tabletop, I don't care what system it has, I only care if it's actually good.

Also, I realised that I absolutely hate walls of text in modern games. Holy shit. If I want good story I read the book. Not fucking game. So, they replace it now with endless hours of cutscenes, which is even worse. Fuck you with that shit. RPG for me is interesting world, combat system and characters developments. Not your lame and gay exposition shit. All of that must be delivered by gameplay, it's A GAME!, not a fucking book/movie.

Meanwhile I am logging thousands of hours(each title) in BB, Starsector, CDDA and all kind of popping roguelikes here and there. Most modern games just wasting my time. I guess my definition of RPG is just different.

 

[raeven]

I'm about as professional as it gets for an obscure indiedev writer (10+ years corporate copywriting, 10 years part-time deving, 5 years fulltime solodeving, I've sold something around 30k copies of paid game product™).

Now the reason I mention these credentials is so you know I have somewhere to stand on when I say most modern media writing (including vidya) is utter irredeemable garbage and you have almost a moral obligation to oppose it.

In the last 15 years I went from thinking these people were my compadres and peers, to disliking them, to furiously despising everything that they do.

All I have left is contempt and a vindictive mission to make a mockery out of this shit-hill of an industry.

Well, it's not purely vindictive. I'm having a good time :D

I'm not arguing that video games tend to have great writing, they don't, but to characterize those who work on them as working in their third choice of career is to fundamentally misunderstand the dynamics of the industry - as you well know.

 

[Roguey]

If you think that people who write videogame stories are people who failed at a bunch of other stuff first, you are deeply, deeply delusional.

There are a billion easier ways to make money in this world than to become a writer in the games industry. Whether or not you like their work, most of the people that do this stuff very much want to be doing it.

As BlackheartXIII has noted, a lot of the newer writers/narrative designers in the industry are failed young adult or sf/f fiction authors looking for a steady paycheck.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/obsidian-general-discussion-thread.84849/post-7827372
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/the-outer-worlds-2.138909/post-7873861
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/obsidian-general-discussion-thread.84849/post-8305998

 

[agris]

it’s interesting that some of the most vocal bg3 proponents don’t appear capable of fathoming another type of player: one that (a) appreciates mechanical complexity in their cRPGs combined with (b) tactical squad combat, and is simultaneously discontent with Owlcat and Larian’s output.

you can tell they can’t understand it due to ad hoc rationalization attempts such as “nostalgia goggles” or whatever cope-derived expression they’ve hit on this cycle.

my own reasons for disliking them are multi-faceted and I expect others would list different aspects, but i despise cRPGs that treat the player like a child who needs coddling, made to feel special, or like a resource to extract dopamine hits from to prolong “engagement with the product” (loot fever, I’m looking at you). this “treat the player like a child” design philosophy extends to aesthetics, while compounded with an orthogonal dislike of AD&D-style systems after 2.5.

 

[raeven]

If you think that people who write videogame stories are people who failed at a bunch of other stuff first, you are deeply, deeply delusional.

There are a billion easier ways to make money in this world than to become a writer in the games industry. Whether or not you like their work, most of the people that do this stuff very much want to be doing it.

As BlackheartXIII has noted, a lot of the newer writers/narrative designers in the industry are failed young adult or sf/f fiction authors looking for a steady paycheck.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/obsidian-general-discussion-thread.84849/post-7827372
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/the-outer-worlds-2.138909/post-7873861
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/obsidian-general-discussion-thread.84849/post-8305998

I love how they cite no sources and present no evidence.

Are we really trying to argue that most video games writers are failed novelists?

 

[Ladonna]

I approve the results (didn't voted). JA3 is only game I fully finished from recent 'traditional' titles (logged 80 hours, restarted twice). Last game I finished before was Tyranny, and probably because it's weird and short. Just checked my library - all PoE titles - less than 100 hours, Owlcat games - less than 20 hours (so I decided for hard no on RT), DOS series 40 hours (decided hard pass on BG3).

Similar to me, except I only bought JA3 a couple of days before this poll finished. I just got bored playing through the Kingmaker game, and lost interest after the troll episode, Haven't bothered with the second game. The only Larian game I have been able to finish was Divine Divinity years ago, so decided not to bother with BG3. I did finish POE, but I can't remember much about it except that the addons made it a lot better and kept me going before I fizzled out. I did start POE II, and about 5 minutes after the intro, just left it there and played something else.

Last CRPG's I have finished have been Caves of Lore, Realms of Antiquity and Nox Archaist. Between them I have been playing Kingdom Come.

 

[OSK]

 

[Tyranicon]

I'm not arguing that video games tend to have great writing, they don't, but to characterize those who work on them as working in their third choice of career is to fundamentally misunderstand the dynamics of the industry - as you well know.

To an outsider, most game writers do look like they have a career stemming from games journalism and professional twittering, etc. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. I haven't ever worked in a game studio or crunched the numbers by going on their linkedin pages.

I agree with you that videogame writers are there because they want to be. It doesn't pay well, you have no real power and you get shit on by the internet. In the past I've always cautioned any would-be writer from going into gamedev because it sucks -> which is a large reason why I think good writers largely do not exist in these studios.

Large corps have already concluded a long time ago that co-opting the latest fad is much better than gambling on quality. So this is now where we are.

Are we really trying to argue that most video games writers are failed novelists?

Purely empirical evidence, but I'm a failed novelist. Although I guess I'm technically not failed as I never bothered to send manuscripts anywhere.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Are we really trying to argue that most video games writers are failed novelists?

Purely empirical evidence, but I'm a failed novelist. Although I guess I'm technically not failed as I never bothered to send manuscripts anywhere.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Considering this thread has become acrimonious, Codexers should resolve their differences by listening to the wisdom of Jagged Alliance series favorite Thor Kaufman:

 

[Grauken]

I'm about as professional as it gets for an obscure indiedev writer

In the last 15 years I went from thinking these people were my compadres and peers, to disliking them, to furiously despising everything that they do.

All I have left is contempt and a vindictive mission to make a mockery out of this shit-hill of an industry.

Jealousy is such an ugly sin