The 1 where we speak about our 2012 awards

Welcome back to Ask Massively. Here's your present: an edit button! What? You say you didn't get us something? Awww. Well, let's get back to the beneficial things, like your telling us how wrong our opinions are.

thatchefdude (& zaithnoc & cbv1020) asked: How can Guild Wars 2 be your game of the year & also runner-up for greatest disappointment of the year? I comprehend no gw2 gold game is perfect, but I would anticipate game of the year to not have adequate disappointments in it to warrant it a place as runner-up for disappointment of the year.

For the reason that voting.

OK, also as a result of one or two other factors.

I think individuals asked this question due to the fact they didn't realise we were taking a direct tally of the votes. Fifteen of our 19 staffers voted, & they all got to vote on something they wanted (there was no list of nominees to opt for from; the nominees were "everything"). So this is just a math game: It'd be pretty uncomplicated for pro-GW2 folks to put together sufficient votes to win best game & for its detractors to group-vote & rank it high for most disappointing. Yeah, I suppose I could have massaged those votes for consistency's sake, on the other hand I preferred to be honest.

The other thing is that the split between fans of GW2 and fans of The Secret World (runner-up for greatest MMO) is severe and polarizing. Personally, I think that a major innovative game shutting down is markedly more disappointing than a fantastic game not entirely measuring up to its launch hype, but hey, each staffer got to vote however he or she wanted, and adequate men and women voted for GW2 as a disappointment to get it on the list. It's that simple.

Worst-case scenario? Guild Wars 2 stays humble.

carson63000, NickSchipper, n13green, & Garlain asked (paraphrased): Why is Torchlight II the runner-up for Greatest Non-Time-honored MMO of the Year? It isn't even an MMO!

We in simple terms threw all of our "not so vastly" games in the running for this title -- non-time-honored MMO(FPS)es, Diablo clones, MOBAs, and so on. It made for a weird hodge-podge of an award. Is Torchlight II a traditional MMO? Not genuinely, no, however men and women play it like it were, and we wanted a category to reward all those weird not-quite-massives on the fringe.

joanromba, petersierra, & ManastuUtakata asked (paraphrased): Why is there no mention of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria? Is Hugely barred from talking about WoW and leaving all mention of it to its sister site WoW Insider?

There's no conspiracy; not enough staffers voted for WoW to earn it a top-two spot in any one category. It did score nominations for greatest expansion and greatest disappointment, just too couple of to win something (or lose something, in the case of largest disappointment -- several things, you just don't want to win).

LotOfSize asked: The Elder Scrolls Online was not even there for most anticipated MMO? Hipster much? Does everybody on Immensely wear scarfs & sip on their Starbucks coffee every morning also.

Voting for a bunnygirl-laden, space-cowboy MMO from a enormous, faceless, Korean super-business makes us hipsters?

The reality that TESO scored not a single nomination for anything suggests to me that the bulk of the staff either does not know the game plans to launch in 2013 or doesn't think it will happen and so stuck to Guild Wars 2 gold games about which so far more is known. Personally, as a substantial fan of the Elder Scrolls series stretching back to Daggerfall, I'm honestly looking forward to the MMO entry -- I'm just looking forward to WildStar (which won the award) even more.

Plus, I hate coffee.

Space Cobra asked: I am a bit surprised that Wildstar edged out ArcheAge around the Hugely offices, given my "feelers" out on some writers. Also, I am questioning who that "single staffer" is who offered up a unique game from the two top "MMO of the Year" possibilities, but I have my list of suspects!

I suspect the mixture of WildStar's sandboxy offerings and ArcheAge's hazy launch future in the U.S. had a lot to do with the result. However I will say that it wasn't genuinely close; ArcheAge barely squeaked in for quantity two thanks to the breadth of the competition. Other games nominated for the category? City of Steam, DUST 514, The War Z, Age of Wushu, and EQ Next.

You possibly can guess the odd-man-out for MMO of the year if you have been reading Hugely lengthy adequate. But I'll tell you the game: It was Wakfu, & you know what? I think that was a fair nomination, albeit it was sure not to win. It is modest, and a whole lot of men and women have probably never heard of it, although it's a genuinely clever & exquisite game with lots of innovative bits & unusual gameplay. Kudos to it and the voter for thinking outside the box.

Someone asked (I cannot keep in mind who or where!): Why didn't you let the community vote?

Honestly? Due to the fact someone at all times finds a method to cheat, plus the outcomes are worthless... except to the games that win and get to bewilderedly hoist the champion's banner for a year.

Besides, we know which games you guys like -- they're the ones you are paying for & talking about every day!