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[StereoVsn]

Niantic created a movement, even if the game is shallow AF, it still created a huge phenomenan, that's enough to allow them to be on this years list.

Hello games though lmao, let's praise scammers.

This is for best developers. Niantic has no clue how to actually run and maintain their game or expand on it. They did what basically amounts to a skin of their previous game and that's it, couldn't find a clue in a clue box full of clues. Seriously they were/are terrible at post launch support.

Hello Games though - yeah...

 

[watdaeff4]

ID hadn't made a game in five years and Doom went through multiple reboots before the finished project.

Go watch that new Danny O'Dwyer doc.

Would you consider DOOM innovative?

The post I was responding to implied all the developers on the list made innovative games that were released this year.

 

[John Kowalski]

Ok list I suppose

But what I truly mean is that I've forgotten everything that's happened this year so I don't even know what other devs were doing

 

[blastprocessor]

Hello games? Is this some kind of joke? Award these guys for damaging the trust of game developers and charging full price for indie garbage.

 

[zashga]

That's an extremely sympathetic take on Hello Games. Maybe that makes sense for a publication by/for game devs, but I think the real takeaway from the NMS saga is to be careful what you promise and ship when the game is actually ready. Instead they're being praised for shipping a small indie game in the AAA $60 space and essentially treating it as an early access title months later.

 

[metalslimer]

I understand giving Hello Games another chance because they seem to want to fix their mess but they shouldn't be rewarded.

 

[ryseing]

Would you consider DOOM innovative?

The post I was responding to implied all the developers on the list made innovative games that were released this year.

Ah, I thought you were referring to the "those devs just made sequels" part. My apologies.

I would say Doom is innovative, yes, in the way it takes inspiration from the first two games and modernizes the gameplay.

 

[TimeEffect]

Yay for ConcernedApe

 

[Realeza]

This is for best developers. Niantic has no clue how to actually run and maintain their game or expand on it. They did what basically amounts to a skin of their previous game and that's it, couldn't find a clue in a clue box full of clues. Seriously they were/are terrible at post launch support.

Hello Games though - yeah...

It's a fucking free game
----

Also lmao at Hello Games. Writer of that article must be thirsty for clicks, because how else can you put them as a top developer. Top scammer maybe.

 

[rackham]

Yacht club games and cdpr getting robbed

 

[blankempathy]

+1 for concernedape. His handling of Stardew valley post launch is inspiring. With that said it's insulting that niantic is on the same list as him. They completely squandered the potential pokemon go had and made it clear they didn't care about long term players. in fact some changes were player hostile making the game conveniently harder for anyone high level compared to lower levels. Did they ever adjust the difficulty scaling for low level pokemon? It was so stupid how many pokeballs I wasted just trying to farm pidgeys and other low level pokemon thanks to uneven difficulty scaling and the flee "bug". Where most games reward high level players Pokemon go instead punished them.

 

[RexNovis]

Someday we will be able to have a discussion about Hello Games and No Man's Sky without a wall of driveby shit posts insulting the developers and making hyperbolic claims. I look forward to that day.

 

[Cerium]

Hello Games:

lmao why not put Inafune on this list.

Or Bernie Madoff.

 

[RexNovis]

lmao why not put Inafune on this list.

Or Bernie Madoff.

You cannot possibly be serious. Bernie Madoff cheated countless people out of their life savings via investment fraud. Sean Murray made a $60 game that some people bought for features he advertised that were not in the final release. This is a whole new level of hyperbole.

 

[pretty done]

Hello Games being considered one of the best developers of 2016 is incomprehensible to me.

Who would give a shit about their pointless list if they didn't add something that everyone would agree was wrong? Niantic and Hello Games makes this list a joke list, it shouldn't be taken seriously.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Some questionable picks there.

 

[Zia]

Who would give a shit about their pointless list if they didn't add something that everyone would agree was wrong?

Everyone that reads Gamasutra, meaning most of the English-speaking games industry.

 

[More_Badass]

Who would give a shit about their pointless list if they didn't add something that everyone would agree was wrong? Niantic and Hello Games makes this list a joke list, it shouldn't be taken seriously.

Yep, Gamasutra added Hello Games to annoy you in particular and get clicks.

I really thought comments like this were just reserved for GOTY lists. Guess I was wrong.

It's more interesting to get some discussion around their arguments than just "Why not XX?!" or "YY doesn't deserve it I hate this game!"

You expected too much from a thread about an end-of-the-year list

 

[Exploratory]

If you think that writer didn't know what they were doing when they wrote that nonsense about Hello Games I have a beach house to sell you in Idaho. Let's dispel once and for all with this fiction that Sean Murray doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

 

[More_Badass]

If you think that writer didn't know what they were doing when they wrote that nonsense about Hello Games I have a beach house to sell you in Idaho. Let's dispel once and for all with this fiction that Sean Murray doesn’t know what he’s doing. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

What exactly was that writer doing? You know, a writer for Gamasutra, a site that doesn't cater to the game-playing audience at all and doesn't even do reviews or previews

 

[pretty done]

Yep, Gamasutra added Hello Games to annoy you in particular and get clicks.

I really thought comments like this were just reserved for GOTY lists. Guess I was wrong.

Do you really think they added Hello Games because they actually believe HG are a top 10 developer of 2016? Come on lol

 

[HollowCentral]

Huh. Not as bad as I was expecting.

Niantic though...

 

[More_Badass]

Do you really think they added Hello Games because they actually believe HG are a top 10 developer of 2016? Come on lol

Did you actually read the post or article?

But that doesn't matter if you can't grasp the notion that yes, people don't always believe what you believe and that a viewpoint that doesn't agree with yours isn't instantly clickbait, wrong, and/or any other common terminology that tends to pop up in these kinds of threads

 

[Alucrid]

"On one hand, Hello Games in 2016 was a terrifying case study of what could happen when a portion of a fanbase turns into a mob"

i see the mob is here

 

[astrogamer]

While I think Pokemon Go is a feat in its creation in that it became a phenomenon and held together through its launches, the post-launch isn't really all that admirable. It's still a beta release and Niantic hasn't added all that much to make the game more enticing. The main reason Pokemon Go has held on this long is because it's a cultural phenomenon that demands very little of the user.

 

[danm999]

Would argue Pokemon Go did fizzle out after launch personally.

 

[iavi]

Very good list. I agree upon the ideas that it's written up on


I'd argue 343 before Niantic, though. Pokémon GO was as shallow an experience as one can be and never really developed past that despite ample time

And the amount of love that 343 has shown Halo this year is beyond insane

 

[AudioEppa]

Lord give me strength to not type what I want to type right now..

So this is what it feels like to be triggered? lol

Ok ok, taking a deep breath 😔 ......better now

This is their list, which obviously makes it there own opinion so they can have whatever they want. But as a naughty dog fan I respectfully disagree with Gamasutra not seeing ND worthy enough to be on there list and that goes for any top developer list by websites in general, But it is what it is. Onto the next topic.

 

[tim.mbp]

Maybe we can add this to the OP for those that won't bother to read the full article.

We make a point of noting that recognition on this list isn't necessarily just about who made a good game in 2016, although that does help. These are the developers and studios that left their mark on this year in a meaningful way, shaping the year in the art and business of making games.

 

[Surface of Me]

Maybe we can add this to the OP for those that won't bother to read the full article.

It's true, Hello Games and Sean Murray paved new roads this year. Not even the old guard of Todd Howard or Peter Molyneux can keep up with their innovation!

 

[spekkeh]

ROFL @ Hello Games. They basically ran a scam and got away with it.

Yes. There was no procedurally generated space exploration and mining game. It was all a scaaaaam.


Seriously why is this shit allowed.

 

[blankempathy]

Maybe we can add this to the OP for those that won't bother to read the full article.

Thats a nice disclaimer. Too bad when it comes to the passages themselves in regards to the developers they're incredibly one sided.

 

[Oblivion]

Pokemon Go could’ve easily been a one-and-done game that fizzled out shortly after launch

Hasn't it though?

 

[Rathorial]

Hello Games and Niantic are pretty weird and dumb choices.

The former an absolute failure at PR that is notable for disappointment + a stupid price point, and the latter re-skinned their older game with Nintendo's IP...and dropped the ball in basic ways supporting/improving it.

id Software and IO Interactive make the most sense.

 

[QuikNez]

Where's Playground!?

Come on guys...

 

[SolicitorPirate]

lmao why not put Inafune on this list.

Or Bernie Madoff.

I swear to God, it's fucking embarrassing to be a part of the video game community

 

[More_Badass]

Thats a nice disclaimer. Too bad when it comes to the passages themselves in regards to the developers they're incredibly one sided.

It's their article and their perspective/opinion

"Incredibly one sided"...

 

[Dog Problems]

Nice to see Owlchemy Labs get some recognition. I've enjoyed everything I have played by them.

 

[pretty done]

Did you actually read the post or article?

But that doesn't matter if you can't grasp the notion that yes, people don't always believe what you believe and that a viewpoint that doesn't agree with yours isn't instantly clickbait, wrong, and/or any other common terminology that tends to pop up in these kinds of threads

I read it, so they're included because maybe they'll be able to turn the game around? I guess that's top 10 developer material.

 

[Window]

Firaxis released not one but two very good games this year. That's gotta count for something right? I guess their games being mostly iterations (although Civ VI changed things in some big ways) lessens their impact on the industry.

 

[HeelPower]

Hello games? Oh boy.

Niantic? I'd rather give it to gamefreak with the help of the TPC for keeping Pokemon relevant for 20 years.

Gamefreak,up until X/Y~Sun/Moon,recycled the same shit for 20 years with little risk taking or creativity.

 

[Plesiades]

Props to IO. The episodic model did wonders for Hitman.

Who knows if another developer will try this structure.

 

[-Amon-]

I don't know.

For me at last, Pokemon GO was a shame. They took one game they made before ( Ingress ) took away some complexity out of it, and slapped Pokemons on it.

Gaming should be better, much better than obsessive collecting and nothing more.

 

[More_Badass]

I don't know.

For me at last, Pokemon GO was a shame. They took one game they made before ( Ingress ) took away some complexity out of it, and slapped Pokemons on it.

Gaming should be better, much better than obsessive collecting and nothing more.

It was a gargantuan global cultural phenomenon that captured the social essence of Pokemom's concept

 

[-Amon-]

It was a gargantuan global cultural phenomenon that captured the social essence of Pokemom's concept

Looks like a fitting description, i can't find the word "game" in it.

 

[More_Badass]

Looks like a fitting description, i can't find the word "game" in it.

Being a basic simple barely-there game doesn't somehow change the fact it had more of a real-world impact than pretty much any other game in the last decade. And trust me, I had such little interest in it that I didnt even download it or go to the App Store page

So yeah, Pokemom Go had its "mark on this year in a meaningful way" and pushed "creative, commercial, and cultural boundaries", regardless of how good or bad the gameplay was

 

[Heckler456]

lmao why not put Inafune on this list.

Or Bernie Madoff.

Aah, I get it now.

Anyway, good list. Hello Games is an interesting choice, and I'm glad they were included. I hope they can turn it around. They seem to be on that trajectory already at least, the latest patch was received fairly well.

Also glad IO interactive was included.

 

[dracula_x]

lmao why not put Inafune on this list.

Or Bernie Madoff.

because he's a business man, not a creator

Gamefreak,up until X/Y~Sun/Moon,recycled the same shit for 20 years with little risk taking or creativity.

Agreed.

 

[Exploratory]

Did you actually read the post or article?

But that doesn't matter if you can't grasp the notion that yes, people don't always believe what you believe and that a viewpoint that doesn't agree with yours isn't instantly clickbait, wrong, and/or any other common terminology that tends to pop up in these kinds of threads

Intent doesn't even matter at that point. The writer absolves Hello Games of anything they do and lambasts those who criticize them with moniker "mob". How is that not inflammatory in itself?

 

[Heckler456]

Intent doesn't even matter at that point. The writer absolves Hello Games of anything they do and lambasts those who criticize them with moniker "mob". How is that not inflammatory in itself?

Might want to look up the definition of the word "mob". Because I'd be hard-pressed to disagree with that description of the crowd who followed Hello Games around. Even now, in this thread, we have people comparing them with BERNIE MADOFF.