RPGWatch - Official Game of the Decade Voting

Originally Posted by Lucky Day
I've noticed a number of late posters don't have Skyrim on their list like some sort of backlash.

Yes, we decided to form a secret discord group called 'The Late Posters' to lash out at Skyrim, that game got way too cocky
Not really, it would've been in my top 10, maybe even top 5, but since we were free to chose whatever format, I went for a top 3 and it is not in it.

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
how it makes one "feel"

Back when games still came in boxes I used the infallible method of sniffing at them to decide if there was some rpg-ness in it. Now that games mostly come digital I have to go by my feelings… much, much harder

I think I voted for Skyrim, but I'm not sure.

That's surprising.

Originally Posted by zypek
Back when games still came in boxes I used the infallible method of sniffing at them to decide if there was some rpg-ness in it. Now that games mostly come digital I have to go by my feelings… much, much harder

Sniffing aside, there was a different feel to buying games back then, wasn't there? One of my favorite parts of buying a new computer game was reading the manual on the way home. When my grandparents bought me The Bard's Tale for Christmas, I convinced my grandma to let me look through the manual months early. Those things really sparked my imagination for the gaming experience ahead. Other stuff too, like the keyboard overlays that came with Microprose sims, or the so called "feelies" in Infocom games.

Now you just get seizure warnings and maybe a scratch off code for an outfit. Sucks.

Originally Posted by zypek
Back when games still came in boxes I used the infallible method of sniffing at them to decide if there was some rpg-ness in it. Now that games mostly come digital I have to go by my feelings… much, much harder

I totally understand where you're coming from, however:



Suggests one's eyes are more useful than one's nose.

X-Com is and always has been a curious fish that has always been very happy to swim in its own pool, the list of genres the games have been associated with is quite astounding and almost unique in the industry. It's current list of Genres according to Wikipedia is:

Action-adventure game · First-person shooter · Real-time Strategy · Action role-playing game · Third-Person Shooter · Simulation · Strategy game · Tactical shooter · Real-time tactics · Construction and management simulation · Space flight simulation game · Turn-based tactics · Man-to-man wargame

But it has never marketed itself as RPG and no-one ever really refers to them as RPGs. It's obvious where some RPG fans see the similarity though, it's a team of characters doing missions (similar to: quests) and there's an element of character customisation. However…

The question I always ask myself for situations such as this is "does X-Com need to be held on a plateau in RPG communities for it's legacy to be maintained", to which the answer is invariably no. If RPG communities completely ignore X-com does that impact X-Com in any way? No it doesn't.

So why push out games that are 'more' RPG in favour of a game that doesn't need to be lauded. Someone's gone to all the effort to make a game which is more dedicated to the genre one is favouring and yet one still wishes to offer the prize to a game that is only mildly associated with the genre.

It might not be wrong in a philosophical sense, but it sure is demotivating?

Originally Posted by lackblogger
So why push out games that are 'more' RPG in favour of a game that doesn't need to be lauded. Someone's gone to all the effort to make a game which is more dedicated to the genre one is favouring and yet one still wishes to offer the prize to a game that is only mildly associated with the genre.

It might not be wrong in a philosophical sense, but it sure is demotivating?

I completely agree and therefore also split my votes into RPGs and not-really-RPGs and let you decide on what to count from that.

That said, here is my attempt of an explanation:

1. RPGs are not clearly defined in any regard. I know of the form to check whether or not a game is an RPG or not. However, there have been very big variations about what an RPG actually is. And while some were "normal RPGs" back then, they would likely not be today anymore. It basically even starts before computer RPGs appeared as Pen and Paper RPGs evolved from Miniature-Wargames.
There was only dungeoncrawling and looting at the beginning. Then real stories came into the genre. Stories then pushed game mechanics into the background and hardly left anything remaining from "classical" RPGs. Is Systemshock a RPG, is Deus Ex? If yes, then it's not far until you arrive at any modern shooter which all come with loot and character development. Then you got all the hack and slay games, which are basically not considered real RPGs by some people since they exist. So what is the essential part of an RPG, one element which all RPGs have? The only thing I can come up with is character development. And this element is basically covered by every other game as well these days, including Xcom.

2. The second possible explanation is the following: Classical RPGs are already quite niche. But you know what's even more niche? Tactics games, especially turn based. Yes, they had somewhat of a revival after Firaxis XCom in 2012. But before that, they were pretty much dead since Jagged Alliance 2 in 1999. So if you want to play tactics games, you basically have to look for tatical combat in other genres…like RPGs.
And RPGs are not that far of, considering how close Jagged Alliance is to XCom. Jagged Alliance already was sold as Tactics game with RPG elements, but it also had several similarities to Fallout 1/2.
So RPGs kinda also became the playground for tatics fans. Personally I was active in the community of taktikzone.de. But that page pretty much died 2012 already and went offline a short while ago
( https://web.archive.org/web/2019*/http://taktikzone.de/ )
But with RPGs being used as tactics games, that also means that people might want to vote for them. I also remind of Tahira. A game which advertises itself as RPG in the steam store. A game which as absolutely no RPG elements. But apparently the RPG genre is the way to appeal to tactics fans.

I shall vote alphabetically for:
Alpha Protocol
Dead State
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Disco Elysium
Divinity - Original Sin
Divinity Original Sin 2
Dragon Age - Inquisition
Elex
Fallout 4
Fallout: New Vegas
GreedFall
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Mass Effect - Andromeda
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Pathfinder Kingmaker
Pillars of Eternity
Pillars of Eternity II Deadfire
Risen 3: Titan Lords
Shadowrun: Hong Kong
The Age of Decadence
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
The Outer Worlds
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
Torment - Tides of Numenera
Tyranny

Honorable mentions for MMORPG:
Elder Scrolls Online
Guild Wars 2

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
So you'd like me to believe that all of the participants who have posted their list are open to listing any type of game but just happen to think only RPGs constitute their top 10 or 20 or whatever. Okay.

This question was addressed in the first page of posts.

Dang, I completely forgot about Risen (released 2009…). It will be very high on my list but not sure if it is worth to rePM lackblogger. Almost nobody else voted for it.

Originally Posted by ilm
Dang, I completely forgot about Risen ……. Almost nobody else voted for it

You answered you own question right inside you own post

Originally Posted by ilm
(released 2009…)

If it was from this decade it would have gotten a vote from me.

Originally Posted by Drithius
This question was addressed in the first page of posts.

Doesn't matter. Wasn't persuasive. Everyone is voting for RPGs only.

Skyrim was 'meh' to me. Depressing world/landscape (winter sucks), bugs, no balance and I never finished it. It would probably make my top 15 but not top 10.

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory
Skyrim was 'meh' to me. Depressing world/landscape (winter sucks), bugs, no balance and I never finished it. It would probably make my top 15 but not top 10.

Better then Kenshi at least.

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory
Skyrim was 'meh' to me. Depressing world/landscape (winter sucks), bugs, no balance and I never finished it. It would probably make my top 15 but not top 10.

No balance? What people are usually talking about when they talk about balance doesn't apply to Skyrim (given that there are no classes to balance against each other and enemies are leveled up along with the player), so I'm curious what you mean by that.

These are my votes

Age of Decadence
Bards Tale Remastered
Din's Curse
Divinity Original Sin Definitive Edition
Divinity Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition
Dungeonmans
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Legend of Grimrock
Legend of Grimrock 2
Lords of Xulima
Might and Magic X Legacy
Pathfinder Kingmaker
Tangledeep
The Witcher 3
Underrail
Vaporum
Warhammer Quest
X-Com Enemy Unknown

As you can see i like a lot of Independent Developers and prefer the Classics, Roguelikes and Dungeon Master influences.

ah, this thread almost devolved into that decades old argument. I VOTE FOR NOLF…

nah . . . great game but not best of the decade and it came out in 2000.

Unlike that crazy list published by pepples, gift wrap, and clippers I agree with just about all the games mentioned. I loved Might and Magic 10, Dragon Age and Shadow Run the flawed no save version. AND Risen 3. RISEN THREE, when piranha bytes brought back flying, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, weeeeeeeeee flying. . . . (don't judge)

Originally Posted by shaf
As you can see i like a lot of Independent Developers and prefer the Classics, Roguelikes and Dungeon Master influences.

I can see one or two games you listed which do not conform to these preferences and that by selecting them kinda invalidate the effort made to list so many underdogs

Originally Posted by lackblogger
I totally understand where you're coming from, however

I tend to agree, but as long as there are news articles being written on here about these type of games and they are included in the RPGWatch database, I have no qualms about selecting them myself for a top list. And Xcom is not the only one, I've seen a few people include King's Bounty and Age of Wonders, which are not really RPG's either.

Anyway, it's a discussion I've seen going on for years. For me it's up to the editors of this site to decide what they want to post about. I have no ambition to tell them what to do.

And if you end up deciding not to include Xcom in your games of the decade list, no problem. It's your initiative to create that list, you get to decide on the rules

Originally Posted by zypek
And if you end up deciding not to include Xcom in your games of the decade list, no problem. It's your initiative to create that list, you get to decide on the rules

Although I'm making conversation in the thread, all votes will be counted, I shan't be placing any of my personal opinion into the professional aspect of regurgitating what the masses have told me to produce.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
I think I voted for Skyrim, but I'm not sure.

Wait a minute, I'll go double check…

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I have you down for Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke o: Mikaeru no Otome-tachi (A Kiss For The Petals - Maidens of Michael) ???