User Coggies: Best Game Writing

[bean]

Explanation: A lot of people have expressed anger about the limited choices for the Coggies, so I'm starting unofficial threads that will allow more choices.

Rules: Nominate games that you think should be choices for this category. A game must receive 3 nominations to be considered. If there are more than 10 choices that are nominated, they will be added to a poll to be made later.

Official Coggies choices for Best Game Writing (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=3431)

My Nominations (please duplicate if you would also nominate any of these, 3 are required to be listed and more than that if we have more than 10 that get 3 nominations):

Fallout 3
Fable 2
Tales of Vesparia
Lost Oddysey
Grand Theft Auto 4
WoW: Wrath of the Lich King
MGS 4
King's Bounty
No More Heroes
Penny Arcade Adventures

Edit: Nominations are now closed. The following nominations have made it into the final vote which you can find here (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=4088).

Fallout 3
Fable 2
MGS 4
Braid
Penny Arcade Adventures
Lost Odyssey
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The Witcher: EE
Far Cry 2
GTA IV

[Variable Gear]

If I'm only supposed to nominate one of these...then I choose No More Heroes.

However, since I can nominate more than one game, I'll add The World Ends With You.

[bean]

If I'm only supposed to nominate one of these...then I choose No More Heroes.
You are supposed to nominate as many as you like, and not necessarily one of the ones I nominated.

[Norse]

Fallout 3
Fable 2
Force Unleashed

[KingGorilla]

The Witcher: Enhanced edition.
Setting, woven story lines, deep personal histroy.
Sam and Max Season 2
It is hard to be funny, Yet Season 2 rarely disappoints.
Penny-Arcade adventures.
Fruit Fuckers.

[DigitalFirefly]

MGS 4
Fallout 3
Fable 2

[Gorvi]

Disgaea 3
MGS4
Crisis Core: FFVII

[Telefrog]

Fallout 3
Fable II
Force Unleashed

[itchyeyes]

The Witcher: EE
GTA IV

[Purple Santa]

The World Ends With You.

[menage]

Fallout 3
Braid
Lost Odyssey
Disgaea 3
MGS4

[Dukefrukem]

MGS 4
The Witcher

[EternalGamer]

Lost Odyssey

[VerseD]

Fallout 3
GTA4
Braid
Far Cry 2

[Ondo]

I nominate Braid.

[Grifter]

Fallout 3
Force Unleashed
Braid
The Witcher: EE
GTA IV


King's Bounty


Are you serious?

Kings Bounty has some of the worst writing I have ever read in a video game. There were times that the dialogue between characters or the mission descriptions were so bad that I couldn't bring my self to finish reading them.

[Kielaran]

The World Ends With You.

I nominate this as well.

Also, Braid.

[Spigot]

TWEWY, Prince Of Persia, Lost Odyssey and even The Force Unleashed had some great writing.

And I'm not angry at the choices in the various CoGgies polls. Just disappointed with some of the exceptions, esp. this category. The rest usually have some pretty standout selections and I can understand having to drop some games from the shortlist but the official list for the Writing category is just atrocious. If nothing else, Lost Odyssey should be on there. I can handle other games not making the list but LO NEEDS to be on the list.

[Kielaran]

And I'm not angry at the choices in the various CoGgies polls. Just disappointed with some of the exceptions, esp. this category.

Agreed. I understand that they are making their choices, but my big killer is TWEWY both not in writing or handheld. I do wonder if a few titles just get glossed over because the few people picking the lists have just forgotten about a few gems.

[Spigot]

I have a pretty big suspicion that the CoGitors who made up the list don't really play a lot of JRPGs as a matter of course. The only person 'on staff' that I know plays JRPGs on a quasi-regular basis is Tracky.

Plus games like LO and TWEWY were released early in the year and haven't really been chatted about of late, so I can understand them falling through the cracks.

If nothing else, the fact that CoD5 has zero votes in the writing poll warms the cockles of my heart :)

[Narradisall]

Fallout 3
The Witcher
Braid

[Slack3r78]

Far Cry 2.

[bean]

Are you serious?

Kings Bounty has some of the worst writing I have ever read in a video game. There were times that the dialogue between characters or the mission descriptions were so bad that I couldn't bring my self to finish reading them.
Absolutely. Occasionally, the translation is strained, but more often it is quite good in my experience. However, the reason I nominated it is that the writing created a lot of fun for me by playing with traditional fantasy story structure.

One example:

A noble asks you to find a frog so that he may kiss it and create a beautiful princess for him to marry, but when you find the frog she asks you to free all her frog friends who have been carted off and turned into humans (and sex slaves) against their will.

This is just one example, as there are many very fun story moments in the game. . . the frog prince brothers who are obsessed with dominance over one another, the zombie bride, and the pirate without treasure but who makes a map and haunts what little he has just to keep up appearances.

[Variable Gear]

Agreed. I understand that they are making their choices, but my big killer is TWEWY both not in writing or handheld. I do wonder if a few titles just get glossed over because the few people picking the lists have just forgotten about a few gems.
Or simply not played them at all. :(

[Lint of Death]

Left4Dead
Warhammer Online

[bean]

I left all the User Coggie nominations open because they have not received many replies. Please remember that a game needs 3 nominations to be put in the list, so nominate games that someone else mentioned if you want them in the poll.

I'll be making the User Coggie polls some time after the Christmas holiday (don't want to commit to a certain day as I'm also in the process of looking for a job and there is an outside chance someone might want to interview me one of those days). If there are any nominations you would like to add, please do so ASAP.

[Talon]

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Far Cry 2
Prince of Persia
Lost Odyssey


Negative vote for Fable 2. I enjoyed Fable 2, but the narrative itself was quite...standard. I almost want to give it a vote for the way they carried out the end, but the ho-hum nature of the whole deal was off-putting.

This probably isn't the place for debate, but I'd like to hear the rationale for votes being put out there for TWEWY. I loved TWEWY (mostly for the gameplay), no doubt, but the story was basically a cheap adolescent anime with made-up terms. Yu-Gi-Oh set in Shibuya, if you'd like.

[Variable Gear]

This probably isn't the place for debate, but I'd like to hear the rationale for votes being put out there for TWEWY. I loved TWEWY (mostly for the gameplay), no doubt, but the story was basically a cheap adolescent anime with made-up terms. Yu-Gi-Oh set in Shibuya, if you'd like.
Note: this award isn't for best story, but for best writing.

[Slack3r78]

Alright, this may also be one of the most overlooked games of 2008:

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway

Top notch writing that puts some Hollywood productions to shame. Gearbox really knows how to do cinematic gaming in a polished, captivating manner.

[Talon]

Note: this award isn't for best story, but for best writing.

If you want to say that the scenario for TWEWY was great, sure, I'd buy that. Unlike most AAA releases this gen, the game had me guessing throughout.

It's just, to me, that the narrative and writing go hand-in-hand.

[Variable Gear]

If you want to say that the scenario for TWEWY was great, sure, I'd buy that. Unlike most AAA releases this gen, the game had me guessing throughout.

It's just, to me, that the narrative and writing go hand-in-hand.
Well, I'm always assuming that a game's story is going to suck. I'd love to play a modern console game whose designers realized that it's better to produce a good interactive experience than a static, unchanging experience. However, designers are still up their own asses trying to prove the "games aren't art" crowd wrong, so it'll never happen.

Anyway, like I stated previously, this award is for writing. You could have the worst premise ever (No More Heroes) and the writing could raise the quality of the entire game to something worth experiencing. It doesn't hurt if you've got some great voice actors either. The game's narrative doesn't enter into my decision-making process.

[violent]

Lost Odyssey and Metal Gear Solid 4.

[Talon]

Well, I'm always assuming that a game's story is going to suck.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. :D

[Purple Santa]

Not to turn this into a TWEWY thread but as one who touts TWEWY as a great STORY...I liked the thought provoking ideas about a God and death and an afterlife. Maybe it was only thought provoking to me. But the story is fleshed out, unfortunately, when you continue on to find revealing files that adds to the story. But even if someone didn't, I still would think the plot thought provoking.

[Spigot]

As someone who hasn't found a single of the post-game files yet (yeah, yeah. I'll get to it) I still loved the story and writing in TWEWY. Sure, it didn't necessarily step too far outside of several anime story conventions but the way it pulled it off and kept you guessing, man...

[bean]

As someone who hasn't found a single of the post-game files yet (yeah, yeah. I'll get to it) I still loved the story and writing in TWEWY. Sure, it didn't necessarily step too far outside of several anime story conventions but the way it pulled it off and kept you guessing, man...
Is this a nomination for best of the year?

[Purple Santa]

Is this a nomination for best of the year?

I'm Spigot's spokesperson. He wishes to nominate TWEWY for all the categories. He wants to see justice done with this title :cool:

[Spigot]

Is this a nomination for best of the year?I think it definately deserves to be in the running. It might not be the best (I much preferred Lost Odyssey's writing, esp. the 1000 Years Of Dreams) but it should at least be in the running.