Thanks to the thousands who voted (we received close to 25,000 votes) the results for the Best of 2007 are now up. You can see all the winners and view how most of the games performed in their relative categories (if a category had more than 10 nominations we list just the top 10) by visiting the Best of 2007 feature page.
Thanks again! And bring on the 2008 games! =)
In case anyone is having trouble understanding the format with which the results are published, here are the winners from each category in a simple list for easy reference:
Dolphin Olympics 2 is a sequel with some great new features. Firstly, other sea creatures will now interact with you. In fact, you can earn more points by getting other fish to follow your lead and jump out of the water. There are some new tricks and secrets to discover as you try to swim, leap and tail-slide yourself onto the high score board. [Results for category: Action or Arcade]
On of Eyezmaze continues to impress and amaze us with his game development skills, and Dwarf Complete is no exception. Perhaps his most ambitious project to date, the game was commissioned for the online RPG, Lineage II, and it even features dwarves from that game. Dwarf Complete is an amazingly good adventure puzzle game with quality, presentation and gameplay that all helped push this title to the top of the Best of 2007. [Results for category: Adventure]
The hand drawn animations and old-school Jazz music soundtrack of Miestas and Menulis set the tone for an experience that is just this side of cool. The simplicity in controls leaves you wishing for something more polished until you realize the environments more than make up for it. Both games create a surreal world interactive art adventure to point-and-click through. [Results for category: Interactive Art or Fiction]
Quadradius is an online, multiplayer, turn-based Flash game that takes the skeleton of the board game checkers, and pumps it up with a massive list of power-ups and new strategies that turns the game into an addictive and very compelling new concept. In fact, calling it checkers is an oversimplification that does not do it any justice. [Results for category: Multiplayer]
It's got action. It's got puzzles. It's got zany... everything. The Tall Stump is an action platformer that feels like an adventure game laced with short puzzles. As you travel through the game you find strange items and learn to use them in even stranger circumstances, all in the name of working your way deeper into the stump. An exceptional game that won best of show in our 4th Casual Gameplay Design Competition, and now follows-up that achievement with being the top platform game in the Best of 2007. [Results for category: Platform]
The wait is over. The next installment in the Submachine series is finally here. Submachine 4: The Lab again submerges you inside a vessel that you must escape from. The author promises that this fourth chapter takes us to the heart of the submachine, the place where all the questions will finally be answered. So grab your mouse and your favorite comfy chair, and prepare to embark on a journey you won't soon forget. [Results for category: Point-and-Click]
The latest Grow game from On of Eyezmaze! Need we say more? This is without a doubt On's greatest work-to-date, and in it he embodies an optimistic philosophy. Following the correct order of things will lead to a society where men and women get along happily, the environment is protected and technology is harnessed to discover the secrets of the universe. [Results for category: Puzzle]
It should come as no surprise to hear that great things often spring from the simplest of ideas. Gimme Friction Baby is one such simple idea turned into an award-winning arcade game of strategy and skill that will keep you coming back for more long after your first play. First place and audience prize winner from our 3rd game design competition, and now part of the elite selection of games to be called Best of 2007. Another exceptional game design by Wouter Visser. [Results for category: Simple Idea]
Papa's Pizzeria is more than your average resource-management game. While a typical entry would require little more than clicking on various hot spots to make and deliver the food to customers, Papa's Pizzeria gives it a more personal touch. Rather than clicking on an order and then on a station for topping the pizza, only to watch the pizza top itself, you must actually top the pizza yourself. [Results for category: Simulation]
Protect your precious desktop from the invading enemies by placing towers throughout the screen. Choose fast-firing but weak turrets or slow-but-powerful ones to ensure no creeps cross your borders. Desktop TD features charming hand-drawn graphics and freeform gameplay that make it a winner in the tower defense genre. [Results for category: Tactical or Strategy]
If you haven't played Feed the Head lately, there are new features to explore! It represents a piece of interactive entertainment of a type we don't often see anymore. There is perhaps no goal, no win condition. It's just plain fun to play. An enjoyable little webtoy for you to discover on your own terms. Spend a couple minutes or an hour. Lose yourself. Feed your head. Escape. [Results for category: Webtoy]
Get the Glass is a 3D board game produced as a part of a new Got Milk advertising campaign in the US. The object of the game is to get the Adachi family around the board and into Fort Fridge so that they can...erm...Get the Glass. It's an absolutely beautiful game with gorgeous scenery and surprisingly smooth animation. [Results for category: Word, Card, or Board game]
The main focus of Knytt Stories is atmosphere, environment and exploration, not complex gameplay and a barrage of media. With Knytt Stories you'll spend most of your time wandering around sparsely populated worlds looking for a few rare items, enjoying the beautiful visuals and ambient music the whole time. It's a unique experience in gaming and will pull you in from the moment you start playing. [Results for category: Download (free)]
Peggle is the latest arcade action game from PopCap, and currently available as a download for Windows or Mac. Think of a pachinko machine and an upside-down breakout game and you will be close to the unique and simple gameplay found in Peggle. It is a classic casual game: simple to understand, easy to pick-up and play, and difficult to master. Find yourself the nearest PC and download it now. [Results for category: Download (other)]
ooh, it's fun to see all the close numbers in so many categories! Congrats to all!
Did the site not make it's own picks this year? By the way, lots of close voting makes it exciting. There were a bunch that I didn't vot for that won, so now I have to play them. Yeah!
No, we did not make our own picks this year. There were a lot of games, and the task was huge. Maybe next year.
On a related note, if anyone is looking to help with the site, we need more writers. :)
Quite an interesting result. There were a couple of obvious winners like DO2 and DTD (I knew DTD would win hands down, but getting almost half the votes is still mindblowing), and a few winners that I had voted for, but the majority being games not on my list, some of which I haven't even played.
I am happy to see that On won 2 categories, I was hoping he'd win at least one, as he definitely deserves it for his amazing, unique games. On the other hands, I was sad to see that Sky Blocs didn't make it into the top 10.
But overall a good result, with no real surprises, just a few games that got a surprising big lead.
Congratulations to all the winners!
On & Mateusz didn't make the cut? Do what you gotta do to stay successful. I'll root for the tried and true underdogs.
Um, Corona, you really should look at those results again.
Peggle? PEGGLE? And Untitled Story wasn't even nominated? Not even in a platform nor a download (other) category?
Come on, people...
Wow! 25,000 voters can't be wrong, right?
Congratz to all the winners!
I'm more than happy than 3 of my favourites won their categories, among them my two absolute favourites of 2007, Quadradius and Gimme Friction Baby!
Jay, could you tell us which 3 games got the most votes nominally? Theoretically it should be the 3 games with the highest percentage (Feed the head 40.1%, Gimme Friction Baby 44.3%, Desktop Tower Defense 45.8%), but it might be that not everybody voted for each category, right?
baba - Untitled Story wasn't actually reviewed, it appeared in a link-dump style post, so it wasn't automatically eligible for a nomination.
And I agree that Peggle was one of the most compelling games in its category of the year.
But everyone has their own opinions, and we always hear them whenever posting results like this. Thanks for the support! :D
Yeah! Thanks for voting GFB people!
bioLarzen:
Something's wrong in your interpretation, since people could chose from 5? games in the simple idea section the percentage is obviously a lot higher than in the point and click section where people cuold choose from 15? games.
Thanks again!
Dang, powder game only got third place...
oh well.
Feed the head is fun too, but powder game is cooler...
bioLarzen - Yes, Wouter is correct. The games in categories with fewer choices received more votes, so it doesn't make sense to compare them like that.
And yes, we did see voting heavier in some categories than others, probably due to the sheer volume of games that we saw released in 2007.
Something to keep in mind for everyone: I believe the main purpose for (and benefit from) a collection like this is not necessarily about who wins, since choosing the "best game" is highly subjective and likely to mean different things to different people.
It is about discovering excellent new games to play that you may have overlooked or didn't have time for when they were first introduced. And for that, the collection of results pages is an extraordinary tool for discovering the "cream of the crop". :D
Wouters,
you're right of course - For some reason I thought each categories had the same number of entries - WHAT exactly made me think so is a good question...
Congrats, GFB deserved the title in a huge way!
Jay,
thanx for the answers!
By the way, you mentioned you're looking for more writers. What are the criteria? I guess you're not exactly looking for me :), still I'd like to know.
Criteria for reviewers for this site?
Possess a strong passion for and knowledge of casual and Web-based games and genres. Knowledge of historical context a plus.
Ability to produce publish-ready content (free of typos and grammar issues) in a consistent format to the reviews we feature at JIG.
Ability to produce supporting materials such as attention-grabbing screenshots and icons.
Knowledge of HTML/Javascript is not necessary, but preferred.
Yep, confirmed: you're not looking for me :)
But let's hope others recognize themselves :)
Kudos Peggle and Knitt! Two of my favorite games ever! If only I had money to buy Peggle I wouldn't have to keep chasing down demo versions of it!
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