Voting information
A big thank you to Hecht, Rösti, Mina, tgr_williams, Cerium, and B-Dubs for putting together this year's Games of the Year vote. Beyond that, DownUnderCoder deserves a gigantic round of applause for his work on Ballots 2.0. It's thanks to him that we now have ranked choice voting and support for categories. The annual Games of the Year vote is a beloved tradition and it's only made possible by the effort of these individuals and all those who have come before.
OFFICIAL RULES AND SAMPLE BALLOT
Every ballot must contain two things:
- Your votes, selected through Ballots 2.0, with the games you want to vote for listed in descending order: Your #1 favorite game must be at the top of the list.
- An explanation as to why you chose each game. This should be written into the normal reply box like any regular post.
Information
Final Fantasy VII Remake was an absolutely fantastic game
Animal Crossing was the most fun I had all year
I literally couldn't finish Amnesia it was so creepy.
- [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
- [Switch] [RPG] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- [PC] [Shooter] [Valve] Half-Life: Alyx
- [PC] [RTS] [Tantalus Media] Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
- [PC] [Survival horror] [Frictional Games] Amnesia: Rebirth
- [Switch] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition
Voting ends in Mar 1, 2021 at 3:00 AM on March 1st at 3:00AM EST. No extensions. No exceptions.
HOW TO VOTE
1. Write comments about every game you're voting for in the reply box where you would normally type up your posts. Tell us why you believe each of these games deserve to be on a list of the best games of the year.
2. Click on the "Vote" button directly below the reply box on the left side.
3. Type at least part of the title of a game you want to vote for in the revealed field.
4. Scroll through the list of suggested matches until you find the game that you want to vote for. Note that if it is a multiplatform game, there will be separate options for every version of the game. Make sure to select the version that you played or prefer.
If you're absolutely certain that the game you want is not listed in the system, you can enter it manually by using the following format:
Format for Manual Entries said:
5. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 until you have ten (10) titles listed. Any games on the list beyond the tenth one will receive no points.
6. The three horizontal lines next to each title can be dragged and dropped to rearrange your list. Make sure your favorite game is at the top, and that the rest of the list is in your descending order of preference.
7. Once you have written your comments in the reply box and arranged your ballot in the order you want, hit the post button and cast your ballot.
BALLOT SCORING
Here is how points are distributed according to your ordered preference. Only the first ten titles on your list will receive points, as indicated below.
- Game A - 4 points
- Game B - 3 points
- Game C - 3 points
- Game D - 2 points
- Game E - 2 points
- Game F - 2 points
- Game G - 1 points
- Game H - 1 points
- Game I - 1 points
- Game J - 1 points
- Game K - 0 points
- Game L - 0 points
GAME ELIGIBILITY
All playable games released in 2020 are eligible for GOTY and Genre Award consideration, in addition to Platform Award and Developer Award consideration. No distinction is made between "new" releases and re-releases, ports, etc. If a port or re-release earns enough votes to make the list, that result will be respected. In summary:
- Playable content released this year is eligible. This includes new games, remasters, ports, and so on.
- DLC, including expansion packs, are eligible to be voted on as long as it's playable. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is eligible. Horse Armor is not.
- Episodes of games released this year are eligible.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is (insert game here) eligible?
1. First, check the speadsheet of eligible nominated games. Note that this list isn't exhaustive, but if it's on there, you're good.
2. Not on there? Check the confirmed eligible and ineligible games listed above.
3. If a game you want isn't listed there either, and you're SURE it's missing, just post it in your ballot. We'll automatically add it to the list. If you're not sure, shoot B-Dubs or Hecht a PM and we'll get it sorted out.
Are Early Access games eligible?
No, Early Access, beta, demo, and Greenlight games are not eligible. PC games must reach full release, or version 1.0 in order to be eligible.
Can I talk about somebody else's list?
Discussion is encouraged! Want to talk about another poster's list? Quote it.
Can I use images in my ballot? I want it to be BEAUTIFUL!
Absolutely you can, but you must not edit the list of games that the vote tool creates in any way. If you do so your vote will not be counted properly and your ballot will be invalid. Place your images before or after the list.
My ballot is too long! Can I split it into two posts?
You must NOT split your ballot into two posts, because the vote tool will not count it.
I want to change my list. Do I have to make a new post?
That would be best. The vote tool will only count the most recently cast ballot, so don't worry about voting twice.
My ballot was disqualified! Why?
Most likely, you didn't follow the rules above. Some common mistakes: You messed with the text created by the vote tool. You didn't write any comments. You listed the same game more than once. You didn't follow the formatting rules.
Can I order my list from 10 to 1?
No.
OMG what about The Last of Us Part II and Final Fantasy VII Remake? Lots of people are using Arabic numerals. Will they be counted?
Just pick the game from the list generated by the Ballots 2.0 autocomplete feature. If for some reason it's not on the list, use whatever the publisher uses in the official title of the game.
When will the results be posted?
As soon as is possible.
Happy voting, everyone!
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