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♪ Intro music ♪

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For over five thousands years,

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video games have been at the heart[br]of our society and way of life.

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Empires rose and fell...[br]Cultures waxed and waned...

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Flavors of Mountain Dew released...[br]then retired.

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Video games are literally the most important[br]thing in the known universe

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but until now there has been no show grand enough...

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No award monumental enough...[br]to truly honor them.

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Until now...[br]Ladies and gentlemen,

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it is my esteemed privilege[br]to present to you:

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The first Arbitrary Video Game Awards.

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♪ Intense orchestral music ♪

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Dear Lord... imagine if anything[br]took itself that seriously.

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Now, The Arbitrary Video Game Awards[br]ladies and gentlemen. Simple as that:

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I pick stuff in categories.

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There's no panel of judges,[br]there are no prizes to be won.

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I would simply like to highlight some[br]pretty cool stuff that happened this year.

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And occasionally some companies & products[br]that really REALLY messed up.

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The categories are purely arbitrary![br]The nominations are purely arbitrary!

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And of course, the winners[br]are purely arbitrary.

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BUT I will at least make some effort to explain[br]the choices and to celebrate the winner.

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That's about as much as I can promise you[br]here at The Arbitrary Awards.

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There is no physical trophy but we do have[br]a wonderful trophy of the imagination...

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Which can off course absolutely anything[br]your heart desires...

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As long as that desire is entirely ineffable[br]and not in any way costly to me...

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Perhaps you'd like to know what categories[br]we have here at The Arbitrary Awards.

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We have every category you can imagine

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as long as those categories happen to be[br]the ones on the list.

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We have:[br]- Best Soundtrack

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- Best Thing To Come Out Of Crowdfunding

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- Most Interesting Gaming YouTube Channel[br]That Isn't Mine

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-Stop Pre-Ordering Videogames Award for[br]Biggest Launch Disaster

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- Most Impressive Aesthetic[br]- Best Expansion & DLC Content

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- Best Mobile Game

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- The Game I Turned My Consoles On[br]For The Most This Year

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- The Game That Most Surpassed[br]My Expectations

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- The Sharpened Pitchfork Award For[br]Dodgiest Games Company Of The Year

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And of course:

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- The Game That Mosts Needs To See[br]The Light Of GabeN for the PC port

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Let us begin, shall we, with nominations[br]for Best Soundtrack.

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♪ Intense orchestral music ♪

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The nominations for Best Soundtrack are:[br]- Shovel Knight

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This thoroughly 8-bit inspired soundtrack[br]is brought to you by Jake Kaufman.

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The fellow behind:[br]Shantae and the Pirate's Curse;

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Double Dragon Neon; Mighty Switch Force! ;[br]Red Faction: Guerrilla;

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and many many more games besides.

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Despite it's deliberately limited fidelity,

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the Shovel Knight sountrack is both imaginative[br]and extremely fun to listen to.

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Reminiscent of 2D platforming[br]classics of old,

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the Shovel Knight soundtrack is packed[br]with classic tune after classic tune.

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All of them driving you towards[br]your destination

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demanding that you strike the earth and do battle[br]for shovelry on this one fateful night.

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Transistor by Darren Korb.

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This is a composer that hasn't worked[br]on too many games.

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BUT he did create one of my favorite[br]soundtracks over the last few years.

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That is of course of the game Bastion[br]also produced by Supergiant,

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the studio behind Transistor.

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While Bastions soundtrack[br]was absolutely phenomenal.

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The addition of many vocal tracks[br]by Ashley Barrett

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as well as hauntingly beautiful[br]humming parts make

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the Transistor soundtrack truly something[br]unique and very very special in 2014.

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Crypt of the NecroDancer,

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the name Danny Baranowsky[br]aka Danny B.

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should be very familiar to you[br]if you happen to like either

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Binding of Isaac or[br]Super Meat Boy.

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Perhaps the two soundtracks[br]he is best known for

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although he has collaborated on a number[br]of different projects besides.

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Crypt of the NecroDancer needed a good[br]soundtrack to be a decent game.

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It is of course a rhythm based roguelike.[br]And thankfully Danny B. provides

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the pumping soundtrack to one of[br]the more unusual titles this year.

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A game which as far as I'm concerned[br]is partially responsible for

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online embarrassment and[br]almost breaking my ankles.

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Persona Q,[br]the soundtrack to this game

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is composed by Atsushi Kitajoh[br]and Toshiki Konishi.

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A melding of previous Persona titles by[br]two very experienced composers.

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Both are responsible for work on[br]various Persona games

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as well as Devil Survivor as well[br]as the game Catherine.

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Those who have played the[br]previous Persona titles

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are going to find a lot to like here[br]as the soundtracks of both Persona 3 & 4

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are well represented with various[br]interesting fusion and mashups.

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The Persona series is well known[br]for it's music.

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So much so in fact that a dancing game[br]based on Persona 4 is in development.

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Persona Q does not disappoint[br]in the music department.

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Wolfenstein: The New Order,[br]this is a nominee for two reasons.

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One, due to the excellent work of[br]Mick Gordon,

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the composer behind games such as[br]the new Killer Instinct, Shootmania

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and Need For Speed: The Run.

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The in-game soundtrack for this[br]particular title is absolutely fantastic

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and punctuates the high action.

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However what's perhaps even more[br]interesting is the inclusion of

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various alternate history versions[br]of classic songs.

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Collaborations of various artists[br]were able to put together records

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by the fictional Neumond Recording[br]Company which you can find

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as collectables throughout the game.

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Perhaps the most well known was used[br]in a advertising campaign for the title:

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a German version of[br]House Of The Rising Sun.

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This is the part where I'm supposed to[br]arbitrarily say "And the winner is" isn't it...

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I'm not really going to do that because[br]I'd like to talk a little bit more

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
about my choices before I decide[br]to pick the winner.

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It's a really hard category to choose[br]between because each one of these

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soundtracks has their own[br]individual merit.

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Some of them are just plain fun[br]like Crypt of the NecroDancer.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Others are very haunting[br]such as Transistor.

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There is a great amount of variety there.

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And that's just in the five soundtracks[br]that I've shortlisted.

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There have been plenty of games[br]that came out this year

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with phenomenal music and I'm glad[br]to see that composers are getting

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greater recognition these days with[br]improved sales of official soundtracks

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available via various digital distribution[br]platforms as well as plenty of

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good intention sharing by gamers through[br]Twitch streams as well as YouTube videos.

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I certainly hope that we continue in 2015[br]to move towards a place where

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game music is truly considered to be[br]worthwhile in it's own right

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and standalone as something[br]worthy of purchase.

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I think that we have certainly reached[br]that point and I want it to continue to grow.

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That said, we are going to[br]have to pick a winner.

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And the winner of Best Soundtrack of 2014 is[br]...................

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Darren Korb's Transistor

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I remember the haunting outro-song[br]from Bastion and then I remember

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that Transistor contains several tracks[br]of that level of quality,

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things that are absolutely beautiful[br]yet flawn and sad.

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But there's a great variety within[br]Darren Korb's soundtrack.

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From perhaps the well known track[br]'The Spine' which frankly

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could have been a top 40 hit[br]in it's own right

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to the much needed light hearted[br]break of 'Coasting'.

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This soundtrack really does have it all.[br]It's ementily listenable;

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Masterfully put together; and with[br]the additions of the vocals

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of Ashley Barrett[br]an absolutely beautiful experience.

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The Transistor soundtrack is, at least[br]in my view, the best soundtrack of 2014.

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♪ Intense orchestral music ♪

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Best Thing To Come Out Of Crowdfunding

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The nominations for the Best Thing[br]To Come Out Of Crowdfunding are as follows:

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Xenonauts by Goldhawk Interactive

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which raised $ 154,715 of[br]it's original $50,000 goal.

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The creation of Xenonauts began[br]years ago when it appeared

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that there was no chance of a modern[br]revival of the 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown'-series.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In the development time that it took[br]to bring Xenonauts to life.

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We in fact had the release of not only[br]XCOM: Enemy Unkown by Firaxis,

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a reimagining of the original title with[br]a modern twist but also an expansion:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
XCOM: Enemy Within.

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Undaunted however Goldhawk Interactive[br]continued to work on Xenonauts

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
thanks to a large influx of crowdfunding[br]and eventually completed the title

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which is a very faithful reproduction[br]of the original.

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Those looking for a more strategic[br]and in-depth experience

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as opposed to the more modernised[br]'XCOM: Enemy Unkown'

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will certainly find it here.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Shovel Knight by Yacht Club.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It raised $311,502[br]with an original $70,000 goal.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Shovel Knight makes yet another[br]well-deserved entry

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
into the nominees list[br]for a very good reason.

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Yes, it has a great soundtrack but it also[br]has absolutely exceptional gameplay.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's a platformer on the level of the very best,[br]both 8 and 16-bit platformers of yesteryear.

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This is an example of a game that perhaps[br]would have had difficulty being developed

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were it not for Kickstarter. [br]And yet, 8-bit platformers are two a penny

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on that particular service;[br]what made Shovel Knights so special?

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Well, it's excellent presentation and[br]fantastic characterisation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
probably helped it a great deal.

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It had it's own personality coming[br]right out of the gate.

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And it made a promise, to be faithful[br]to it's 8-bit ancestors.

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And it succeeded in doing just that[br]and created a compelling experience.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It proved that some design philosophy[br]are indeed timeless.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And thanks to crowdfunding this[br]wonderful game which feels out of place,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
out of time and yet completely relevant[br]in 2014 is now available for purchase.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Tex Murphy the Tesla Effect[br]by Big Finish Games,

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this raised just over it's $450,000 goal[br]with $598,104.

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This game was not the biggest[br]Kickstarter success,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it wasn't even the biggest critical success.[br]It is overshadowed by many other titles.

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But it's on this list for one reason.[br]This game had absolutely no chance

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of being made without Kickstarter[br]and crowdfunding

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because it's effectively a dead genre.

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This is an FMB game, those kinds of titles[br]are simply not made anymore.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Back in the day when CD-ROMs were[br]first becoming relevant to gaming.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They were generally packed full of[br]full motion video.

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That's what was filling the disc.[br]This allowed for significant advances

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in cutscenes, but it also created entirely new[br]genres that were reliant on full motion video.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This more often than not created a[br]somewhat B-movie experience

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and Tex Murphy embraced that.[br]It always had a very quirky sense

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of humor and the Tesla Effect[br]brings that sense of humor back

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with slightly more modern technology.[br]Only slightly.

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And it stands as a unique testament[br]to a dead genre in 2014.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And yet, I think it is exactly what [br]fans of that genre were looking for.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The thing about Kickstarter is, [br]you don't have to sell

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
hundreds of thousands or millions [br]of copies to be successful.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You're making a unique product for a[br]niche audience that is willing to pay

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for it and that's exactly what Tex Murphy[br]The Tesla Effect succeeds in being.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The Banner Saga by Stoic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This raised a massive $723,886[br]with an initial goal of just $100,000.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This is a great success story because [br]it created a beautiful title using

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
roto-scope style animation. Again,[br]something we generally don't see anymore.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A technique of a bygone age.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The Banner Saga's development is[br]the story of former AAA's, coming together

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to make a small personal project[br]that they really cared about.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Kickstarter enabled them to do just that.[br]In it's own right,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it's a fantastic tactical RPG with some[br]Oregan Trail and a little bit of Telltale games

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
thrown in there for good measure.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It was rightfully criticised for it's somewhat[br]abrupt ending, but the journey was so enjoyable

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that the destination became[br]something of an afterthought.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The success of The Banner Saga has allowed them[br]to continue it with The Banner Saga 2,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
having been recently announced[br]at Geoff Keighley's Game Awards.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Wasteland 2 by inXile.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Raising a staggering 2.93 million dollars[br]with an initial lofty goal of $ 900,000.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Of all projects that I've listed,[br]this was no doubt the most ambitious.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A full-length classic CRPG,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
by folks that have brought you many in the past[br]but perhaps with much larger studios

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and in a somewhat different time[br]where things just cost less money.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Regardless, the sequel to the 80s game[br]Wasteland, which many people don't remember

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but was, in fact, the inspiration to Fallout.[br]It was lofty project, to say the least.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
With something that large and complex,[br]it could have easily gone wrong

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in a myriad of different ways.[br]However, the game was delivered

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to the satisfaction of many.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And it is one of the many titles in 2014 that really[br]brings back the classic style of CRPG.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Before we talk about the winner of this category,[br]I'd like to talk about the category itself once again.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Kickstarter seems to be going[br]in an unfortunate direction.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's becoming harder and harder for games[br]to get the funding.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We're seeing more and more high-profile failures[br]which, unfortunately, seem to be spurred on

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
by some of the failures from the last few years.[br]Games that were funded and yet,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
never actually came out or came out in a[br]much much poorer state

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
than what was promised in the first place.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It does really seem like[br]the crowdfunding bubble has burst.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's unlikely that we'll ever see a success[br]as large as something like Tides of Numenera

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or of course the titanic Star Citizen ever again.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And that's something of a shame.[br]Because amongst those high-profile failures

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and disapointments, we DO have titles [br]that, were it not for Kickstarter,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
probably would've never seen the light of day.[br]Especially the winner of this category,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The largest game in it:[br]Wasteland 2.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Every game in this category [br]and many more besides

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
deserve recognition and accolade [br]simply for being able to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
come out of the turbulent world of [br]crowdfunding where even some of the most

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
experienced developpers have managed [br]to squander said funding,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and in doing so have shaken the trust of[br]their backers and the market in general

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But Wasteland 2 developped a game of the[br]scale that they promised.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It was certainly delayed, there's no[br]doubt about that, but it delivered

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
exactly what I, as a fairly major backer[br]of this game wanted.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Full disclosure: I did put a thousand[br]dollars into this.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In fact, I backed several games on this[br]list but Wasteland 2 deliverded for me.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I've been slowly playing through it for[br]the last few month,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
just dipping in every now and again, and[br]it's delivered great writing,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
excellent depth; fun, meaningful,[br]contextual questing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in the style of old CRPGs.[br]It's story-driven and yet

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a lot of it is really done through the [br]gameplay's narrative as opposed to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
just throwing a bunch of words at you.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It has some systems which, frankly, have[br]no place in modern games

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and yet somehow works, such as the ability[br]to type in random words into the interface

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and occasionaly unlock new dialogue[br]options as a direct result of that.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It mends elements of old-school [br]interactive fiction

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with a modern title that has a distinct[br]CRPG spin on it.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This really does feel like Fallout 4 if[br]Fallout were to go back to its roots.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It really did deliver exactly what I [br]wanted from the project.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
As far as I'm concerned, I'm very very[br]happy that I backed it

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and equally happy that I promoted it back[br]in the day even if, looking back at it,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that might not have been the best idea.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thankfully, for my sake and for the sake[br]of my credibility, it was a success.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It was a critical hit and as far as I'm[br]concerned, it's the best thing that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
came out of crowfunding in 2014.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
♪ Intense orchestral music ♪

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The nominations for the Most Interesting[br]Gaming Youtube Channel That Isn't Mine

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are as follows:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Xbox Ahoy.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
What started off as little more [br]than a Call of Duty weapons guide

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
has transformed into something really[br]interesting.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The channel runs a series called[br]"Iconic Arms"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which is a documentary-style presentation[br]about the representation in history

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of various firearms in video games.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They also produced a very detailed[br]five parts history of computer graphics

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as well as some absolutely intriguing [br]niche retrospective videos

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
such as Doomed: The Embers of Amiga FPS.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Captained by the sultry tones of a[br]British narrator,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Xbox Ahoy is one of those channels where[br]you should simply ignore the name

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and look at the content.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Jim Sterling.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
If there was an award for most handsome[br]man in video games,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Jim Sterling would surely be issuing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
However, due to my own personal [br]self-esteem problems,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that category is not present this year.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Jim Sterling has made a fairly remarkable[br]transition from traditional games media

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to "the new media", whatever that means,[br]creating Youtube content based on

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
some bloody terrible video games and[br]recently tried transferring his successful

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
series "Jimquisition" from The Escapist[br]to a Patreon funded, ad-free model

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
over on his Youtube channel.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A good friend of mine and peer for quite[br]some time,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Jim Sterling has a somewhat inimitable[br]sense of humor.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Never before has the term "jizzy bears"[br]been uttered from the mouth of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a games reviewer, and I doubt we will ever[br]see its like again.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Super Bunnyhop.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Again, one of those fairly unfortunate[br]names, I suppose,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that doesn't necessarily represent the[br]content of the channel.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But Super Bunnyhop is, for the most part,[br]a games reviewer

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with occasional editorial content that is[br]often fairly interesting.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
His investigation into gaming beyond 60fps

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
was certainly good to show those that[br]don't really understand the difference.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
He's got plenty of interesting interviews[br]on his channel

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and I really enjoy his reviewing style:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it eloquently straddles the line between[br]the consumer bias style of review

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and academic critique.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It doesn't go too far off either end.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I think it really helps that George[br]actually has the intelligence

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the academic background to create[br]journalistic content.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Plenty of people try it and most people [br]don't really succeed.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thankfully, George does and as a result, [br]his channel remains relevant

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and informative.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
VaatiVidya.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I don't play Dark Souls, at least not on[br]a regular basis,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so if someone could explain to me exactly[br]why it is that I watch everything

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Vaati puts out, I would be very [br]interested in hearing it.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
No, I think I can identify it quite well:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it's a very unique channel.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's something that combines creative[br]writing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with the lore of a very vague universe,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
something that is not particularly well[br]explained

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and is really very open to interpretation.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thankfully, Vaati is very good[br]at interpretation.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I have no doubt that some of his stuff is[br]merely a flight of fancy

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and isn't actually accurate, but that's[br]actually the point of Souls, isn't it ?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It doesn't necessarily have to be, a lot[br]of this stuff isn't canon,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it's a very confusing universe.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Vaati does an incredible good job of[br]explaining exactly what's going on

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and crafting what's often a very sad [br]and forlorn story.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Regardless of whether or not I actually[br]play the game,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the universe of the Souls series is very[br]interesting to me.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Vaati does a peerless job of exemplifying[br]exactly why that is.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Matthew Matosis.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
If you want a channel that does incredibly[br]in-depth critique,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
often of fairly old titles