For Your Consideration: Games from 2012 that should be nominated for the XYZZY Awards - an IFDB Poll

by Molly
RSS Feed

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!

Add a comment


Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short
2 votes
"If we can count..." [+]"If we can count this as a 2012 game (released Dec 31, iirc), then it deserves to take the crown. Sublime combination of wordplay, story and puzzles." () --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Sam Jackson...

Vote for this game

A Killer Headache, by Mike Ciul
1 vote
"Effective dark..." [+]"Effective dark comedy, and puzzle design that brings home the PC's physical limits" () --Edward Lacey...

Vote for this game

Home Sweetie-Bot Home, by Jacques Frechet
1 vote
"Innovative use of..." [+]"Innovative use of voice commands." ( - Full review) --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Guilded Youth, by Jim Munroe
1 vote
"Nifty, innovative..." [+]"Nifty, innovative Vorple UI." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Changes, by David Given
1 vote
(No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K....

Vote for this game

Endless, Nameless, by Adam Cadre
1 vote
"Fun puzzles." [+]"Fun puzzles." () --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

rat chaos, by Winter Lake
1 vote
"Smart and witty..." [+]"Smart and witty writing; the New Rat City character is a particular highlight." () --Molly...

Vote for this game

Bee, by Emily Short
1 vote
"Sensitive,..." [+]"Sensitive, memorable portrayal of the PC and her community" () --Edward Lacey...

Vote for this game

CYBERQUEEN, by Porpentine
1 vote
"Brrrrr. Genuinely (and deliberately) disturbing." [+]"Brrrrr. Genuinely (and deliberately) disturbing." --matt w (Matt Weiner)...

Vote for this game

Úrquel, the black dragon, by David T. Marchand
1 vote
"Funny subversion of second-person perspective, some neat puzzles and mechanics hidden in there." [+]"Funny subversion of second-person perspective, some neat puzzles and mechanics hidden in there.: Funny subversion of second-person perspective, some neat puzzles and mechanics hidden in there. (Note: due to some funkiness with the accented Ú, this game is listed before "Rubicon Street" in the list of games.)" --matt w (Matt Weiner)...

Vote for this game

Dinner Bell, by Jenni Polodna
1 vote
"Hilarious..." [+]"Hilarious writing." ( - Full review) --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

My Evil Twin, by Carl Muckenhoupt
1 vote
"Cool, weird..." [+]"Cool, weird setting, plus the getting-into-your-evil-twin's-lair puzzle was stellar." ( - Full review) --Molly...

Vote for this game

Zero Summer, by Gordon Levine, Tucker Nelson, Becca Noe
1 vote
"Memorable..." [+]"Memorable characters and setting." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Shuffling Around, by Andrew Schultz (as Ned Yompus)
1 vote
"Mindbending but fair (IMO) wordplay puzzles." [+]"Mindbending but fair (IMO) wordplay puzzles." --matt w (Matt Weiner)...

Vote for this game

The Statue Got Me High, by Ryan Veeder
1 vote
"Memorably..." [+]"Memorably horrible and horrifying characters, and uses apocalyptic imagery to good effect in the ending." () --Molly...

Vote for this game

Living Will, by Mark Marino
1 vote
"Innovative format..." [+]"Innovative format concept, interesting subject matter." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Eurydice, by Anonymous
1 vote
"Touching story." [+]"Touching story." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

A Colder Light, by Jon Ingold
1 vote
"Neat puzzles,..." [+]"Neat puzzles, innovative UI system." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

CYPHER: Cyberpunk Text Adventure, by Carlos Cabrera and Javier Cabrera
1 vote
"Excellent website and feelies" [+]"Excellent website and feelies" --Wade Clarke...

Vote for this game

Bigger Than You Think, by Andrew Plotkin
1 vote
"Evocative..." [+]"Evocative writing, some cool puzzles including the falling puzzle." () --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Andromeda Dreaming, by Joey Jones
1 vote
"The characters..." [+]"The characters are convincing and thoroughly integrated with the well-developed setting. Also handles a story decision that the player makes in a fascinating way." --strivenword...

Vote for this game

Fingertips: I'm Having a Heart Attack, by Andrew Schultz
1 vote
"Well written..." [+]"Well written send-up of all those awful movies they made you watch in health class. (Watch what happens when you type 'QUIT'!)" () --Molly...

Vote for this game

howling dogs, by Porpentine
1 vote
"Some genuinely..." [+]"Some genuinely stellar prose and memorable passages that stuck with me for weeks." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Almost Goodbye, by Aaron A Reed
1 vote
"Intense story..." [+]"Intense story about conflicted relationships, seamlessly introducing procedurally-generated text; the author's technical paper is also worth reading" () --Edward Lacey...

Vote for this game

Muggle Studies, by M. Flourish Klink
1 vote
"Excellent and..." [+]"Excellent and detailed feelies." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Andromeda Apocalypse — Extended Edition, by Marco Innocenti
1 vote
"The IFComp winner is strong in many areas." [+]"The IFComp winner is strong in many areas." --Wade Clarke...

Vote for this game

Nautilisia, by Ryan Veeder
1 vote
"A polished little..." [+]"A polished little game with fun writing." --Emily Boegheim...

Vote for this game

Olivia's Orphanorium, by Sam Kabo Ashwell
1 vote
"Fun writing and..." [+]"Fun writing and setting, novel mechanics." ( - Full review) --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

First Draft of the Revolution, by Emily Short, Liza Daly and inkle
1 vote
"Innovatively..." [+]"Innovatively tells an epistolary story that weaves together many intriguing characters." --Molly...

Vote for this game

Sunday Afternoon, by Christopher Huang (as Virgil Hilts)
1 vote
"Interesting PC..." [+]"Interesting PC (especially given a certain context-breaking cutscene), good writing." --Emily Short...

Vote for this game

Is there another game that you think should be on this list? Just fill in the title of a game you'd like to vote for.
Game Title (or TUID or IFID):