Is it time for a new Codex Top 50-70 thingamajig?

[PorkyThePaladin]

So the last infamous poll was done in 2014. It has now been 3 years. There are two interesting developments that might change the votes significantly from the last one.

The first is that in the last three years, quite a few decent to great RPGs have come out, games like The Witcher 3, Divinity Original Sin, Pillars of Eternity, Age of Decadence, Underrail, Serpent in the Staglands, and so on. While you may argue about their exact quality, it is clear that they are much better than what we had for much of 2000s. Given that a lot more people here played them than many of the old classics, it is inevitable that many of them will stake a claim on any new list.

The other development that might impact any new vote is the fact that the 2014 vote might have had the effect of encouraging people to play many of the older classics for the first time. I don't have any exact data on this, but I know I used the top 70 list as a guideline on which RPGs I should try to play, and have completed many of them since 2014. I have heard similar stories from many other people, so I think this was something real and tangible. What is interesting is how much this would impact any new vote, by bringing great old classics more exposure.

Anyways, weigh in, Codex.

 

[Severian Silk]

Not time yet. Ask again in 2024.

 

[Morality Games]

So the last infamous poll was done in 2014. It has now been 3 years. There are two interesting developments that might change the votes significantly from the last one.

The first is that in the last three years, quite a few decent to great RPGs have come out, games like The Witcher 3, Divinity Original Sin, Pillars of Eternity, Age of Decadence, Underrail, Serpent in the Staglands, and so on. While you may argue about their exact quality, it is clear that they are much better than what we had for much of 2000s. Given that a lot more people here played them than many of the old classics, it is inevitable that many of them will stake a claim on any new list.

The other development that might impact any new vote is the fact that the 2014 vote might have had the effect of encouraging people to play many of the older classics for the first time. I don't have any exact data on this, but I know I used the top 70 list as a guideline on which RPGs I should try to play, and have completed many of them since 2014. I have heard similar stories from many other people, so I think this was something real and tangible. What is interesting is how much this would impact any new vote, by bringing great old classics more exposure.

Anyways, weigh in, Codex.

I don't think that would be wise. The list isn't going to get any better.

 

[Sigourn]

Not really.

Do what I do: if the Top 70 was sacred, the Top 25 (2012-2016) is sacred too.

Worth mentioning is that the Top 25 is a much more valuable voting. Why? Because people were able to rate everything they played, and not just limit their votes to a handful of videogames. It's also why I think the Top 70 ranking is fairly good, yet at the same time lacks substance.

What I would kill to see is a new Top 70 poll where everyone is able to rate ALL the 72 games. So now we will truly know the Codex opinion on those 72 games. That would be very interesting to see. Free from the shackles of nomination, we can see how the classics truly stand against the newer titles.

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Let's wait untill 2018 at least! There are so many new RPG:s scheduled for release this year.

 

[felipepepe]

Take the Top 70 poll and add the recent 2012-2016 results. There you go.

Also, it takes a lot of work to do those, and people aren't even helping to do reviews for the 2012-2016 results, so don't expect me to do it any time soon.

 

[DeepOcean]

What great news? Witcha 3 GOTY from Poleware and all those nostalgia bait, Made in China versions of better games from kickstarter? Maybe AoD and Underrail deserve some place there but I'm being generous.

 

[KILLER BEAR]

Take the Top 70 poll and add the recent 2012-2016 results. There you go.

It's not the same because in the top 70 you had only a limited number of points to distribute. Also bayesian average and negative votes.

 

[felipepepe]

Of course it's not the same, but it gives a pretty good idea. W3, D:OS, AoD and Underrail surely would get into the Top 20, the rest would likely push down some classics and make people butthurt.

Regardless, you have a list with the best games from 1974-2014 and one from 2012-2016. That's all you need - it makes no difference to know if Witcher 3 is more or less popular than Wizadry 8.

 

[Sigourn]

Take the Top 70 poll and add the recent 2012-2016 results. There you go.

It's not the same because in the top 70 you had only a limited number of points to distribute. Also bayesian average and negative votes.

It's why we should vote again on the Top 70, but with the same games. And after we have those results, now littered with 1s and 2s, we can add the newer 2012-2016 results on top.

 

[markec]

Of course it's not the same, but it gives a pretty good idea. W3, D:OS, AoD and Underrail surely would get into the Top 20, the rest would likely push down some classics and make people butthurt.

As long they push Mass Effect from the list I will be a happy person.

 

[KILLER BEAR]

Of course it's not the same, but it gives a pretty good idea. W3, D:OS, AoD and Underrail surely would get into the Top 20, the rest would likely push down some classics and make people butthurt.

I'm not so sure about that. People may give D:OS 4/5 in a "what are the best recent RPGs" thread but what if they only have 25 points to distribute in every RPG ever?

 

[felipepepe]

Then instead of being in the 20's it would end up 30's or in the 40's. Does that really change much?

I wanna know which games I should take a look at, not if people voted that Dragon Age: Origins is two positions better than Daggerfall. That's why I made it a Top 70 list, not a Top 10.

 

[DeepOcean]

It would be pretty funny to watch Witcher 3 on the top position on the Top 10, this would make the transformation of this place on Edgy RPGwatch complete.

 

[Tigranes]

People keep asking to redo the fucking poll every fucking year.

Ask again next year.

 

[tormund]

Da, komarad. Is to add Wiezmin The 3 and then more Wiezmin The 4: The Return of Kurwa Zwoljecnakja Palanuska Geraltovski on many places of list for maximum effect. Is best of potato harvest since '97.

 

[Sigourn]

Da, komarad. Is to add Wiezmin The 3 and then more Wiezmin The 4: The Return of Kurwa Zwoljecnakja Palanuska Geraltovski on many places of list for maximum effect. Is best of potato harvest since '97.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

It's probably too soon, but I do have a suggestion for the next Codex Top X poll, whenever it occurs: Have everyone input the year in which they played their first CRPG. This would easily allow examination of how tastes vary for CRPG newbies versus old-timers (choosing arbitrary years to use as a dividing line), which I think would be quite interesting.

 

[V_K]

It's probably too soon, but I do have a suggestion for the next Codex Top X poll, whenever it occurs: Have everyone input the year in which they played their first CRPG. This would easily allow examination of how tastes vary for CRPG newbies versus old-timers (choosing arbitrary years to use as a dividing line), which I think would be quite interesting.

What if it wasn't a new game though? For example, I played my first RPG in 1998, but it was Star Trail from 1994.

 

[Bohrain]

It's probably too soon, but I do have a suggestion for the next Codex Top X poll, whenever it occurs: Have everyone input the year in which they played their first CRPG. This would easily allow examination of how tastes vary for CRPG newbies versus old-timers (choosing arbitrary years to use as a dividing line), which I think would be quite interesting.

That and some approximation of how many RPG's you've played. The reason I don't like top whatever lists (besides them being cancerous Buzzfeed journalism) is that the people who make them have had extremely small and biased sample sizes.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

That and some approximation of how many RPG's you've played. The reason I don't like top whatever lists (besides them being cancerous Buzzfeed journalism) is that the people who make them have had extremely small and biased sample sizes.

What would prevent people from lying though? "Oh yeah, I completed 300 RPGs!" <goes back to Skyrim shrine>

We would need a Codex exam, with 30 multiple choice questions for each RPG to verify completion claims. octavius and Fowyr ?

 

[DeepOcean]

It's probably too soon, but I do have a suggestion for the next Codex Top X poll, whenever it occurs: Have everyone input the year in which they played their first CRPG. This would easily allow examination of how tastes vary for CRPG newbies versus old-timers (choosing arbitrary years to use as a dividing line), which I think would be quite interesting.

Smelly immigrants from decline forums must be extremely vetted too. If the only RPGs someone played is anything released after Skyrim, this person doesn't know what RPGs are.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

What if it wasn't a new game though? For example, I played my first RPG in 1998, but it was Star Trail from 1994.

The first CRPG I ever played was Rogue, but I would still count that as 1986 when I played it rather than 1980 when it was originally released.

 

[octavius]

We should also factor in people's Stats, with the value of their votes being based on their General RPG Discussion percentage.

 

[Iznaliu]

No kingcomrade option. HERESY!