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The time is approaching to launch our readers Linux GOTY Award for 2019. So I want a little feedback: what categories do you want to see? (not promising I will add your suggestions, just getting feedback)
To make this clear: this is for Linux supported games only, no Proton or Wine.
I am aware it's 2020, we run our award when the year is actually over, it just makes more sense and it's fair to games released throughout December then too. I find some others run theirs far too early.
You can see an example from the 2017 Winners Article here.
Confirmed Categories:
Everything Else:
Absolute favourite game for Linux released in 2019
Best DLC release of 2019
Favourite Developer
Most impressive soundtrack in a 2019 release
Most innovative gameplay for a 2019 release
Overall best visual style for a game release in 2019
FOSS
Best visual style for a FOSS game
Favourite FOSS game
Favourite FOSS game engine reimplementation
Favourite FOSS project
Support
Best update received in 2019
Favourite long-term supported game
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 12 January 2020 at 2:57 pm UTC
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I would also love "Best FOSS engine rewrite" and "Best independent game", independent here meaning that it is not featured on Steam and the developers are self-publishing. It's like what Factorio was or what Vintage Story is.
Last edited by NeoTheFox on 11 January 2020 at 3:14 pm UTC
It could be either a big update that greatly improves Linux performance or a DLC full of new content.
Only free projects.
Games with cancelled Linux support, broken ports on release, or simply a game that failed to meet expectations.
It doesn't have to be the best game of the year, but this is an award to acknowledge developers who, despite all difficulties, struggled to have their game on Linux until they succeded.
There are so many games that it's highly likely a hidden gem was overlooked by everyone.
Potential example: Look for "Acting Lessons" on Steam (NOTE: Definitely NSFW!). It has "overwhelmingly positive" reviews.
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It would've been perfectly possible to address bad news with a positive and fun attitude, and in the process to help people remind which developers aren't worth supporting anymore...
It's not that I will complain if a category like that is not included, but personally I will feel that a lot of important information is being left behind in that case.
No problem.
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This. I think FOSS project is too much "open", having projects like Wine/Blender/Krita and OpenMW/devilutionX/VCMI etc in the same category is not really fair IMO. It can give more visibility to some too as a lot have to be discovered through Github or another repository. We really have to dig for some.
And of course the engine have to be playable.
Last edited by Cyril on 5 January 2020 at 7:42 pm UTC
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+1 for the previous suggestions of Favourite indie and Most persistent developer.
Maybe an Unexpected port category?
I share the sentiment!
Favourite Developer
Favourite FOSS game
Favourite FOSS game engine reimplementation
Favourite FOSS project
Best DLC release of 2019
Best update received in 2019
Favourite long-term supported game
Best game release of 2019
What else should we have? Ideally I want to launch it for people to actually start nominating games in a week or two :)
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Otherwise, +1 for Unexpected port.
EDIT: Oh and Best day 1 Linux release.
Last edited by Rooster on 11 January 2020 at 6:29 pm UTC
Best graphics for a FOSS game
Overall best graphics on Linux released in 2019
Absolute favourite game for Linux released in 2019
That's 11 categories now, I don't want to do many more otherwise we overload people.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 11 January 2020 at 7:15 pm UTC
Maybe organize them into groups?
General:
Best game/Absolute favorite
Best developer
Best graphics
Support:
Best DLC
Best update
Best long-term supported game
FOSS:
Best FOSS game
Best FOSS clone/recreation
Best FOSS project
Best FOSS graphics
Maybe add a category for crowdfunded games? Not sure if some categories should be divided to have indie-specific options. Being a vote, I feel like pitting the famous names against games/studios that less people heard about is a bit unfair.
I'm also not a fan of having a category for best "graphics". I'd rather it be "visual presentation", or at least separate "best graphical fidelity" from "best art". When talking about graphics, I often have the impression people are talking about completely different things.
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Yes, it would add another category, but personally I care more about gameplay and story in the games I play than the most impressive graphics (though that is nice too of course).
It's a catch-all category where more or less all games apply. For one person it may be a shooter, for another a rpg, and for another a strategy game.
I also agree best Graphics was a bit too ambiguous.
Everything Else:
Absolute favourite game for Linux released in 2019
Best DLC release of 2019
Favourite Developer
Most impressive soundtrack in a 2019 release
Most innovative gameplay for a 2019 release
Overall best visual style for a game release in 2019
FOSS
Best visual style for a FOSS game
Favourite FOSS game
Favourite FOSS game engine reimplementation
Favourite FOSS project
Support
Best update received in 2019
Favourite long-term supported game
Ideally, I want to get 2 more into the Everything Else category and 2 more in the Support category. Then I think we should be good to go.
As for update... best remake/remaster, best competitive season (or something like that, I'm not really up to date on the multiplayer stuff), and/or best early access graduate (taken inspiration from Steam). I'd personally put DLC in support, but it works either way.
Examples from previous years: the Turok saga or The Original Strife: Veteran Edition.
Also, since nobody mentioned these categories, I think they could be pretty informative as well:
Obviously, useful for people with limited time to play. They shouldn't be longer than 2 hours. This page could be used as reference to objectively measure the duration.
Example from a previous year: Reveal the Deep.
Several people mentioned they like to share some time with their kids playing games, and also the subgenre features some titles with excellent reviews.
Example from a previous year: Ultimate Chicken Horse
More seriously, if we're looking to expand the support category, I wonder whether it might be worth considering a "Biggest step up" support category that highlights developers/games who've overcome a significant Linux-specific hurdle and found positive experiences for their Linux audiences. That would help differentiate supporting a game through content updates from providing support to Linux users (both of which can have a lot of value!).
Particularly for developers who don't have a lot of experience supporting Linux, positive reinforcement showing that their efforts are recognised and appreciated (especially following significant issues that might have frustrated people) is likely to have an impact on their attitude towards supporting Linux for future projects.
An example might include CrossCode, which recently got an engine update to resolve dependency related crashes that arch users were experiencing (which would affect other distros in time), or Dead Cells which was crashing for Linux users briefly in September. Locomancer also feels like a nice example from previous years, where the developer spent a bunch of time and effort investigating and improving the game's Linux VR support.