For Your Consideration: Games from 2014 that should be nominated for the XYZZY Awards - an IFDB Poll

by Molly
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There were a lot of great games released in the past year, and now that the XYZZYs are coming up, it seems like a very good idea to take a poll of all the games from last year people would like to see nominated.

The management has asked that we follow two rules: try to vote for a wide number of games (even/especially the games you aren't personally nominating), and don't vote for a game once it's already on the poll. Have fun!

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Coming Out Simulator 2014, by Nicky Case
4 votes
"Funny and personal." [+]"Funny and personal.: Most coming out stories are painful. This one is not an exception, but the author has enough hindsight that the trauma is buffered by recognition of the absurd humor of the situation. This inspires empathy for a solid storyteller or comedian who never makes the audience uncomfortable in the telling." ( - Full review) --Hanon Ondricek... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sdn... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Agnishom... (No comment) [+](No comment) --in_fini...

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With Those We Love Alive, by Porpentine and Brenda Neotenomie
3 votes
"Powerful and original mechanics, strong writing" [+]"Powerful and original mechanics, strong writing" () --Emily Short... "Beautifully..." [+]"Beautifully written and coded by Porpentine, with an excellent score by Neotenomie. An epic and original story that touches on themes such as child abuse, the healing process of trauma, power, friendship, and more." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) --in_fini...

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I'm Really Sorry About That Thing I Said When I Was Tired and/or Hungry, by Dietrich Squinkifer (Squinky)
2 votes
"A sweet, funny autobiographical game" [+]"A sweet, funny autobiographical game" --Emily Boegheim... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Hanon Ondricek...

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Creatures Such As We, by Lynnea Glasser
2 votes
"A touching story about video games, told with a varied cast" [+]"A touching story about video games, told with a varied cast" --Molly... "Unusual and varied plot" [+]"Unusual and varied plot: It never trods familiar ground. It goes for personal victories instead of huge epic plot points." --Hanon Ondricek...

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80 DAYS, by inkle, Meg Jayanth
2 votes
"Everything about it is good." [+]"Everything about it is good.: Exceptional music fits the game as well." --Hanon Ondricek... "Vast, immersive,..." [+]"Vast, immersive, addictive." () --Sdn...

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♥Magical Makeover♥, by S. Woodson
2 votes
"A light snack of a game, buoyed by smart, funny writing" [+]"A light snack of a game, buoyed by smart, funny writing" () --Molly... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Hanon Ondricek...

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Krypteia, by Kateri
2 votes
"Very polished presentation" [+]"Very polished presentation" --Hanon Ondricek... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Raik, by Harry Giles
2 votes
"Dual Scots/English narrative" [+]"Dual Scots/English narrative" () --Joshua Houk... "A wild, impressive experiment that makes a solid impression from a new author." [+]"A wild, impressive experiment that makes a solid impression from a new author." --Hanon Ondricek...

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Capsule, by PaperBlurt
2 votes
"Quirky, well-designed Twine" [+]"Quirky, well-designed Twine: Paperblurt is highly underrated as a Twine author. His stories may be odd and quirky and challenging, but in surprising and touching ways. Where porpentine writes humanity of aliens, Paperblurt writes the alienation of humans." --Hanon Ondricek... "Particularly..." [+]"Particularly notable for its use of multimedia." --Snoother...

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Fifteen Minutes, by Ade McT
2 votes
"Intricate puzzlebox" [+]"Intricate puzzlebox" --Hanon Ondricek... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...

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Transparent, by Hanon Ondricek
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Floating Info...

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Tea and Toast, by Matt Weiner (as Maria del Pangolin)
1 vote
"Sensitive writing about a couple, with a solid implementation beneath" [+]"Sensitive writing about a couple, with a solid implementation beneath" () --Molly...

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Surface, by Geoff Moore
1 vote
"Solid writing...." [+]"Solid writing. For me it was an enjoyable work." () --Simon Deimel...

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Hunger Daemon, by Sean M. Shore
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Anya Johanna DeNiro...

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(do not) forget, by lectronice
1 vote
"Stunning multimedia experience with a quirky cast of characters" [+]"Stunning multimedia experience with a quirky cast of characters" () --Molly...

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Light My Way Home, by Caelyn Sandel (as Venus Hart)
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --blue/green...

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13 Minutes of Light, by Jod
1 vote
"A hidden gem, I..." [+]"A hidden gem, I think. It's a sci-fi romance with a wonderfully clever letter writing mechanic." --Snoother...

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Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight)
1 vote
"Memorable, creepy writing in a small space" [+]"Memorable, creepy writing in a small space" () --Emily Short...

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Tin Star, by Allen Gies
1 vote
"Biggest interactive novel ever made" [+]"Biggest interactive novel ever made: CoG forum players voted this the top HG of the year. It really is the biggest interactive novel ever made, at 1.3 million words of source; 80,000 words in an average playthrough. (And the words are pretty good, too!)" --Dan Fabulich...

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the uncle who works for nintendo, by michael lutz
1 vote
"Creepy, immersive, and inadvertently topical multimedia experience" [+]"Creepy, immersive, and inadvertently topical multimedia experience" () --Joshua Houk...

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Cryptophasia, by Alan DeNiro (as L. Starr Voronoi)
1 vote
"Weird and evocative writing keeps the player off-balance" [+]"Weird and evocative writing keeps the player off-balance" () --Molly...

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Origins, by Vincent Zeng and Chris Martens
1 vote
"Dual split-screen narrative experiment" [+]"Dual split-screen narrative experiment" () --Joshua Houk...

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Venus Meets Venus, by kaleidofish
1 vote
"Gritty characterization of a fumble into a relationship" [+]"Gritty characterization of a fumble into a relationship" () --Joshua Houk...

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Chlorophyll, by Steph Cherrywell
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Dan Fabulich...

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Jacqueline, Jungle Queen!, by Steph Cherrywell
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Hanon Ondricek...

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Sequitur, by Nigel Jayne (as Tin Foil Jenny)
1 vote
"Layered, fractured story" [+]"Layered, fractured story: Sequencing the tapes is an engrossing puzzle and also makes for an absorbing story. And the frame story of the detective & his wheelchair-bound assistant is well-told too." () --Doug Orleans...

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More, by Jason Dyer (as Erin Canterbury)
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --blue/green...

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Eidolon, by A.D. Jansen
1 vote
"Dark, enchanting story that hits a lot of grace notes with the writing" [+]"Dark, enchanting story that hits a lot of grace notes with the writing" --Molly...

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Following Me, by Tia Orisney
1 vote
"An ambitious interactive horror novel." [+]"An ambitious interactive horror novel." --Hanon Ondricek...

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Blood & Laurels, by Emily Short
1 vote
"sharp writing and a cast of characters you care about, with lots of replayability" [+]"sharp writing and a cast of characters you care about, with lots of replayability" --Anya Johanna DeNiro...

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AlethiCorp, by Simon Christiansen
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Anya Johanna DeNiro...

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HOLY ROBOT EMPIRE, by Caleb Wilson (as Ralph Gide)
1 vote
"My favorite of ShuffleComp." [+]"My favorite of ShuffleComp.: I enjoyed the robots-as-ruling-religion setting, and fun gadget puzzles too." () --Doug Orleans...

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Groove Billygoat, by Hanon Ondricek (as Efrain Finnell)
1 vote
"The dancing puzzle was silly but fun." [+]"The dancing puzzle was silly but fun." () --Doug Orleans...

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Contrition, by Porpentine
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Anya Johanna DeNiro...

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Monkey and Bear, by Carolyn VanEseltine (as the opposite of sublimation)
1 vote
"Lovely, evocative story" [+]"Lovely, evocative story" () --Emily Short...

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Zest, by Fear of Twine (Richard Goodness, lectronice, PaperBlurt)
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Hanon Ondricek...

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Invisible Parties, by Sam Kabo Ashwell (as Psychopup)
1 vote
"Terrific setting..." [+]"Terrific setting and writing, unusual handling of NPC romance." () --Emily Short...

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Hadean Lands, by Andrew Plotkin
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Matt W...

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The Urge, by PaperBlurt
1 vote
"An unusual relationship, surprisingly sweet story." [+]"An unusual relationship, surprisingly sweet story." --Hanon Ondricek...

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Weird City Interloper, by C.E.J. Pacian
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --Anya Johanna DeNiro...

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An Earth Turning Slowly, by Mæja Stefánsson
1 vote
"Great story, great setting, great game engine." [+]"Great story, great setting, great game engine.: I would nominate this for Innovation at least. " --matt w (Matt Weiner)...

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Everything you swallow will one day come up like a stone, by Porpentine
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) --Sdn...

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Choice of Robots, by Kevin Gold
1 vote
"CoG of the year" [+]"CoG of the year: Choice of Games players voted this the CoG game of the year. It was, by far, the top-rated CoG on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store." --Dan Fabulich...

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Poll created on March 15, 2015