General News - 50 Games that Defined 2012

Myrthos

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Gamasutra have made a list of games that have defined 2012 in their opinion.
The_50_games_that_defined_2012_Part_1
In this first part 10 games are listed, so this could be a 5 part article.
In this part we see Borderlands 2, which is the only game of the 10 we have followed, but also high lights such as CoD: Black Ops II and Boyfriend Maker (not often do you see those mentioned in the same sentence) and this on Copernicus:
"Copernicus"

38 Studios

The state of Rhode Island probably never expected to own the rights to an ambitious fantasy-themed MMORPG but, hey, here we are. Copernicus was the codename for the game that 38 Studios — the developer founded by retired all-star baseball pitcher Curt Schilling and partially funded by the state — was pouring money into before its money dried up and it was forced into bankruptcy, its assets (including whatever work was done on the game) defaulting to Rhode Island. The specifics of what happened are beyond the scope of this article, but in 2012 Copernicus was a reminder of just how expensive and risky a triple-A MMO is in our rapidly evolving climate.
More information.
 
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Corrected. Thanks.
 
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50 games huh? Might as well say, 'the top 40 students of the year' in a classroom of 50 students.
 
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Gamasutra … Boyfriend Maker

That game is one of those that defined 2012?
Geez, how could I miss it!

*joxergoestobuyanothergameoftheyear*

D'uh, seems it's either iOS or facebook game and… I don't have facebook.

Thanks Gamasutra for opening my eyes! I must register on facebook otherwise I'll miss… What… Dunno… But obviously something very important.
 
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50 games huh? Might as well say, 'the top 40 students of the year' in a classroom of 50 students.

Since Copernicus was in the list I don't think it's a top list so much as a list of game (completed or cancelled) which connect to defining moments of the year for the industry.

This isn't just a list of awesome video games from 2012 (that much shorter list comes later). There will be some not-so-great games listed here as well. There will be some games that didn't release in 2012, but still made a mark on the year regardless. There will even be some games that will never release.

What all of these games have in common is that they're representative of a trend or interesting story that captured the zeitgeist of 2012 -- they all say something about what happened this year.
 
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Boyfriend Maker
36You

These days, metrics and experience design are paramount -- aren't they? Yet somehow 36You's tacky little iOS app Boyfriend Maker [see the Tumblr here] became the viral sensation to close the year. There are obvious reasons why it caught on: It stars a customizable, vacant-eyed Ken doll with a chat bot core that was prone to spewing unexpected responses and random obscenities. That every happy accident lent itself so readily to Facebook sharing meant Boyfriend Maker spread like wildfire, with the amused and the curious of all genders and predilections signing on to see what their placid, vulgar virtual man would say and do.

More interesting is that Boyfriend Maker relies on a chat bot tailored by internet users, applied in a post-release update so that this unpredictable element somehow sneaked by Apple's walled garden. Boyfriend Maker got pulled after it was revealed users could basically get their virtual boyfriend to offend egregiously, even to condone pedophilia. Yet amid this bizarre accident is an interesting kernel: Let users own randomness, feel creative and share offbeat creations, and even established best practices of viral sharing and in-app purchases seem to turn on their heads.


It does sound amusing.
 
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This is a really stupid list.
 
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