Poll: Escapist GOTY 2011 - Skyrim vs Minecraft?

[Sixcess]

It's official now. Minecraft has been released. That means it's now a legitimate contender for all those GOTY arguments discussions that will fill this forum for the next month and a half.

Thinking back to the much debated triumph of Mojang over Bioware* in March Mayhem will this year come down to a clash of these open world, first person sword and bow, dragon slaying titans?

[sub]*I know Skyrim is Bethesda, not Bioware, but ME3 isn't out until next year.[/sub]

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Funny, i've been playing minecraft for at least a year

 

[the spud]

Skyward Sword got some really good reviews as well. Don't be so sure you can count that out.

But, out of those two, Skyrim just feels more abitious from what I've seen.

 

[Phlakes]

I do love Minecraft, but I really can't take it seriously as an actual release. So Skyrim. Although I've probably put more time into Minecraft over these few months.

 

[Mr Thin]

I think winning March Mayhem is already more recognition than Minecraft deserved. I don't really see how it could win game of the year; it's development cycle has made such a thing... confusing.

Imagine if Minecraft, like most games, was actually released this year (and not several years ago). It wouldn't have had nearly as much time to develop the following and impact that it's had on gaming. I reckon, by the time the decision for GOTY came around, Minecraft would be picking up steam, but not nearly a serious contender against a game like Skyrim.

To make things fair, we should let every game that comes out this year take several years to receive constant updates, texture packs and mods. Then it will be a fair fight.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Skyrim for me by far, probably more than GOTY for me. It's a total life eater.

 

[AlternatePFG]

I got tired of Minecraft long ago, and while I wouldn't say it's my favorite game that was released this year, I am really enjoying Skyrim. So between the two, Skyrim I guess.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I still play Minecraft now after all these months of owning it. That's a sign of a cocking good game in my book.

 

[wooty]

Skyward Sword, unlike the two selected games, this one is actually fully holding my attention

 

[DannyJBeckett]

It's close, but I'm gonna have to go with Skyrim.

 

[masterbazza]

i voted neither because there was no both option

 

[42]

who cares about these arbitrary titles such as Game of the year? can't we all just enjoy both and all without having to put one above the other?

 

[tokae]

Minecraft has been out for the public to play for what.. A year and a half now? It ain't new, simple as that.
My choice is Skyrim. Not that Minecraft ever could be a contender in my book, never enjoyed it.

 

[Kahunaburger]

One's a slightly updated version of the TES/Bethesada Fallout formula, the other displays actual innovation with the whole first-person Dwarf Fortress thing.

 

[Athinira]

Skyrim IMO isn't the Game of the Year material (although I'd pass it a nomination at the very least).

People say it has a sh*tloads of content, but that is actually a clever illusion. Skyrim has an above-average amount of content (for a game in it's genre), but it makes it feel more bloated by wasting your time. You have to travel way more in Skyrim than other games in it's genre (even with the fast-travel system), and it uses the Dragon Age route of making you fight sh*tloads of enemies to complete even simple quests (but it cloaks it a lot better, where Dragon Age instantly gives you the feeling that it's padding out the game with too much combat). Therefore each quest takes longer to complete.

In addition there are several sections that are artificially designed to bore the hell out of you and drag out gametime. One example that stood out to me was when i (as a mage) joined the mage college as an apprentice. When you join the college you get a place to sleep, but where most other games would just mention where your room is located, Skyrim pulled the trick of having the lead mage show you to your room.... walking very slowly, wasting a few minutes of my time, and generally making me feel like I'm participating in an old-folks marathon with a speed limit.

This might fool other people, but it didn't fool me. I will give Bethesda that Skyrim is HUGE, but again, much of the gametime is artificially padded. They cloak it better than other games in most cases, but it doesn't mean you spend it doing anything useful.

 

[Sixcess]

I got tired of Minecraft long ago, and while I wouldn't say it's my favorite game that was released this year, I am really enjoying Skyrim. So between the two, Skyrim I guess.

I think Minecraft will suffer a bit from this. Had it been officially released at the end of last year when it was still 'hot' then I think it would be a serious contender. Now we've all had a year or more to exhaust its possibilities and so it doesn't necessarily feel as fresh as it did back then.

Regardless of that I'd still pick it over just about anything, because I still consider Minecraft to be one of those rare games that invents and defines entire new genres. In decades to come it will still be brought up in gaming history when merely highly competent sequels like Skyrim are footnotes.

who cares about these arbitrary titles such as Game of the year? can't we all just enjoy both and all without having to put one above the other?

Don't get me wrong - I have no illusion that this thread, or any other, will somehow be the final word on the quality of any particular game. It's just a jump off point for discussions, nothing more.

 

[hazabaza1]

Minecraft just hasn't changed enough for me to enjoy it since early beta, so imma go with Skyrim.

 

[Xanadu84]

Minecraft takes a hit because though the release proper was recently, in most peoples minds its been out for well over a year. As it is, even a normally released game towards the beginning of the year is at a disadvantage because of the time.

Luckily for me, I don't have to choose, because Portal 2 is the game of the year.

 

[Torrasque]

Skyrim has my vote.
I have yet to play Skyward Sword (GODDAMN CLOCK! HIT 11 FASTER SO I CAN BUY YOUUUUU!!!!!) so I can't accurately say. It's a Zelda game, so it should have my attention until I beat it.
Minecraft is good, I enjoyed it, but it isn't really my thing.
I have this problem where I see videos of Minecraft, videos of people making outrageous things: a computer, middle earth, USS Enterprise, etc. and I think to myself "wow... I am wasting my time in this game... I can never make something as good as them..." which is most of the point in Minecraft: Make really cool shit.
I don't get that in Skyrim though. I have seen at least a dozen videos of people in full Daedric, who have all the shouts, and epic fucking spells, completely destroying everything in their way. All those videos do for me, is make me excited to get to that stage in the game where I am as good as them, if not better.

Maybe because I know I can actually attain the level of expertise in Skyrim? Minecraft seems to me: insert X amount of hours, receive Y amount of progress. I don't have THAT much time on my hands.