The GNamer Forum Awards 2023 - And We're Off!

Yep, it's time for this nonsense again!

THE GNAMER FORUM AWARDS 2023

You know the drill by now.  Don't feel obligated to vote in every category, don't feel obligated to fill in every category, nobody wants just a dry list of results so give us some comments please.  The only interesting bits are:
- No contributor award.  It's felt odd on such a small close-knit community for a bit, for some longer than for others.  This year Jay and I finally agreed that it was feeling a bit too odd.  (Jay also said that Funniest Forumite feels like the top award anyway.  As somebody who'll never place for that unless people are laughing at me, )
- Honourable mentions split.  To give aspects of games a bit more of the limelight.  Again, I ran this past Jay, this isn't just Balla getting more attention for his list of Top JRPG Waifus In 2023.  (It'll have Jay's waifus as well.)

We usually have a three week cut-off for votes apparently, so you've got until Sunday 28th of January at 23:59.  Send them in to me via PM, as per usual.  Looking forward to receiving them!

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The awards themselves:

Funniest Forumite (one vote): The "real grand prize", apparently.  Who's been the deliverer of the best gags this year?

Post of the Year (three votes, in order of preference): It could have been a well-written review, a thought-provoking reply, or just a funny post that made you chuckle.  Which were your favourite posts on the forum this year past?  For inspiration, feel free to check out the Post Appreciation Thread starting from here.  If that thread's missed out your fave, please do put it there to get more eyes on it!

Topic of the Year (three votes, in order of preference): Which threads have provided us with the best times in 2023?  They don't even have to be Last Game You've Finished 5!

Nintendo Game of the Year (five votes, in order of preference): Which games released on Switch in 2023 shone the brightest for you?  This can be retail, digital or even Switch Online if Let's All Play inspired a real love for JFG.  Yes they can have come out on other machines in a previous year.

Nontendo Game of the Year (five votes in order of preference): Which games released on PC, PlayStation, XBox etc. etc. in 2023 were your absolute faves?  (Other machines are available.)  Remember: if it made Switch owners cheer, it doesn't go here!

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These next awards won't have proper winners, but the comments are the best part of the awards anyway, so let's read some more of them!

Honourable Mentions - Games: For those games that didn't make your top five but that you want to give a shout-out to, or if there's anything not from 2023 you played in 2023 that you want to let people know about via anonymous comment.

Honourable Mentions - Other: Anything else that deserves a shout-out!  Could be a piece of DLC, could be a character or a level or a tune, could be a machine or a company or an industry trend, could be something here on this very forum.  Could even be nothing to do with games at all!

Dishonourable Mentions: The flip side of the coin.  Put your size 11s into the games, the parts of games, and the real-world gubbins that made you in 2023.

GNew Year's Resolutions: Finally, what are you looking to do differently in 2024?  I've got one for this already, so we'll have at least one contribution!

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As always, looking forward to reading your comments!

Sent mine and something that need to get off my chest, which will you will see first Balla, but hope getting out to even you will help with my mental health and someone to talk to about it all.

I can't help but feel my comment about the Funniest Forumite award was taken to heart.

I'll hopefully have a quiet spell at work to fire my votes across to you, but failing that I'll send them over one evening in the next couple of weeks.

But without a Contributor of the Year award, how will anybody know if it’s been a good year for big men?

I’d be sacking off the Funniest Forumite award instead of the Contributor one if it were my choice. There’s a lot of good input and continued involvement from folks who make valuable contributions to the wider conversation here and keep this place ticking over, but I don’t necessarily appreciate those forumites because of their humour. I wouldn’t say that funniness is one of GNamer’s main characteristics.

I can understand that side of things too, subtle shade on everybody who's not me (I know y'all don't think I'm funny) aside.  I've left it a bit late to take feedback on that decision and the first vote's already in (thanks Mas!), so we'll go with Funnyman only this year - but if more people agree with you, I'm sure Jay will bring back Contributor for 2024!  Possibly at Funnyman's expense. Also I'd definitely encourage you and everybody to include those forumites in the Honourable Mentions Other section!


And now for something you give not two monkeys about.  Those who played the Xenoblade 3 DLC, Future Connected: does that count as its own game?  You can't play it without the original unlike Torna, so I was going to relegate it to Honourable Mentions fodder, but it is pretty substantial.

Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty another expansion from 2023 was up for quite a bit at the game awards and other places.

If folks want to try it the other way around or something next year, I'll be happy to oblige.

Balladeer wrote:

And now for something you give not two monkeys about.  Those who played the Xenoblade 3 DLC, Future Connected: does that count as its own game?  You can't play it without the original unlike Torna, so I was going to relegate it to Honourable Mentions fodder, but it is pretty substantial.

Yeah, I'd say vote for it! It's a full on expansion, not just a wee piddly bit of DLC.

The people have spoken! Time to change my votes...

I would even say the Pokémon Expansion from this year should be allowed, as it does come in on HTLB at 15hrs.

Sure why not.  I don't mind!

As usual, with the last week of the voting period almost upon us I've got all of two votes - me and Mas.  This then is your first reminder to get those votes in.  If you'll be busy next weekend, why not vote this one?

Also, a quick reminder that even if you played something on a non-Nintendo machine, if it got a (good) Switch version this year it goes in the Nintendo vote.  So, Dave the Diver, Chants of Sennaar, Ghost Trick and the like are all for the Nintendo vote. This catches people out every year, and nobody likes the old 'would you like to swap it over' discussion!

So, er. Do people want an extension? With two and a bit days to go I've had a grand total of three votes. I don't know if everyone else was planning to get theirs in during the last weekend (par for the course), but that's cutting it awful fine for so few votes. Happy to staple on another week if people want it.

Apologies for not getting mine in yet, they're half done at the moment but will be sorted over the weekend.

Yeh I'd take an extra week as I haven't even thought about it tbh.

Balladeer wrote:

So, er.  Do people want an extension?  With two and a bit days to go I've had a grand total of three votes.  I don't know if everyone else was planning to get theirs in during the last weekend (par for the course), but that's cutting it awful fine for so few votes.  Happy to staple on another week if people want it.

Less votes means that game less likely to win

Balladeer wrote:

Also, a quick reminder that even if you played something on a non-Nintendo machine, if it got a (good) Switch version this year it goes in the Nintendo vote.  So, Dave the Diver, Chants of Sennaar, Ghost Trick and the like are all for the Nintendo vote.  This catches people out every year, and nobody likes the old 'would you like to swap it over' discussion!  

Due to the above only three votes, this has been easy for Balla to change my votes, but I do really hate this. I have said in the past the whole Nintendo/Nontendo thing is dumb, sure I get it Balla you're the host and a Nintendo only gamer along with this being a Nintendo-centric forum.

Just seems dumb as now two Switch games including an EXCLUSIVE aren't in my Top 5 Nintendo games, yet a game I played on Game Pass & PS5 are because they're better games. Then in turn means I've had to replace them on my Nontendo list, so now my 12th favourite game of 2023 has now got some points.

Where if this was just Top 10 GAMES (and wouldn't catch people out every year either), one of those two Switch games would have made it on the list, sure got honourable mentions where I now put these games but just odd to go X is a better game than Y, but it doesn't get points because reasons.

I can see hear the worry from you already if just GAMES we could end up with 10 Nontendo games as the vote, yet I don't think that would happen being as I say Nintendo-centric, all I could see in the past votes likes Elden Ring taking Number 1 pushing Xenoblade 3 down the list that sort of thing, and we would know what the actual best game is.

I'm going to be brief on this: at this point we're not changing these votes, so if you want to relitigate this (because I'm pretty sure it's come up before) ask again in the general votes thread after this lot are done.  Other people can weigh in then and there, natch. Same with the contributor/funnyman vote.

The_Jaster wrote:

Yeh I'd take an extra week as I haven't even thought about it tbh.

It's been three weeks! Okay, extension granted!  New deadline is Sunday 28th.

As I said I understand why and next year I'm guessing Jay will host (unless you get a guest host like Buska etc) that things might change, based on who does them.

It's my birthday then votes

Balladeer wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

Yeh I'd take an extra week as I haven't even thought about it tbh.

It's been three weeks! Okay, extension granted!  New deadline is Sunday 28th.

On in that case don't expect this weekend then

About your edit Smurf - they'll be in the outbox until Balla logs on and sees them.

My votes are away, so now the rest of you have no excuse because I am shit at remembering to do things on time.

there is definitely not a lost Versus Mode with Andy I've been sitting on for like 2 years and haven't edited yet

JayMoyles wrote:

there is definitely not a lost Versus Mode with Andy I've been sitting on for like 2 years and haven't edited yet

Edit that one and re-edit mine, Mas and Smurf's and save them for when we fail to record a Game Game Show.

I logged on and I saw them! Thanks Smurf and Jay. Drawing into this weekend we're still light a few, hopefully the last few people will get them in at the last moment!

And that's that!

...well.  It'll be that on Wednesday when we sit down to doing it.  Truth be told we've still only got the seven votes.  There are a couple of big names who just haven't got theirs in this time around.  If they fancy sending me their slate before Wednesday evening, when I'll actually compile and post the first award, that would be very welcome. (Maybe there are some message drafts people forgot to send...? )  If not, I'll crack on with what we have and we'll still have a good time.

Okay lads and lasses (no lasses), you've waited long enough!

The Fawful Award for Funniest Forumite (7 votes)

The only remaining forumite award, does it live up to its billing?

Third Place:

Second Place:

And your Funniest Forumite of 2023 is...:

The best of the rest and my thoughts:

I think people in the UK may not be able to watch that Buska.


The Pokémon Gold and Silver Mail Award for Post of the Year (5 voters, 13 votes)

a.k.a. "the one Balla overwrote by accident".  Does the quality of the award, like the quality of these posts, deserve the extra effort?  As always, you'll be the judges of that.

Third Place:

Second Place:

And your Post of 2023 is...:

The best of the rest and my thoughts:

I enjoy that the top two were me talking about Cappa and Cappa talking about me.