Board 8 > [BIGE] Best Indie Game Ever - Bracket, Results, and Discussion

(+) Yeah! (+)

Day 12's winners are FTL: Faster Than Light, by a 13-6 margin over Into the Breach, and Hotline Miami, by a 13-9 margin over Crypt of the NecroDancer.

Some thoughts:
- Finally, after 23 matches, our first genuine upset has happened. On top of the seeding, only 4/11 brackets called Hotline Miami's victory correctly, including just one (iirc) that wasn't a favorites bracket. In the process, Shonen_Bat lost their perfect bracket.
- It's hard to say, though, if Hotline's result means it can beat FTL and even contend with whichever Lucas Pope game escapes Round 2, or if NecroDancer is just weak.
- Yes, Into the Breach was pretty wasted, but these intra-developer / similar game matches seem to be a proven formula for attracting votes at least.

Here is Day 13's topic: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77806262
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Our latest winners are Ori and the Blind Forest, by an 18-8 margin over Rocket League, and Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, by a 13-9 margin over Baba is You.

Some thoughts:
- Yesterday was our busiest day yet - hi there, new faces! Ori v Recettear had more votes than any of our previous matches, while the other match was pacing right in line until the last five votes or so.
- Ori lived up to its lofty seed by taking care of its underseeded competition in much stronger fashion than Shovel Knight a few days back. Fun fact: Rocket League, not Ori or any other game, won our 2015 GotY bracket.
- Two 13-9 matches in two days have gone the opposite of the way I predicted them to go, only this one wasn't an upset.

Here is Day 14's topic: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77808539
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I'm a couple of weeks late but I'm surprised that Limbo didn't get more nominations considering Inside made it in.
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LIMBO? Gross!
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Limbo's better than Inside!
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i'm a big Inside fan but I have never heard someone call Limbo "gross" before, let alone "gross" with an exclamation point
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What a terrible night to hold matches! Yesterday's expected winners are Dead Cells, with just 8 votes versus 4 for La-Mulana 2, and Cuphead, with 11 votes versus only 2 for Iji.

Some thoughts:
- The big story of the day is pitiful vote totals, with Dead Cells v La-Mulana 2 setting our new seasonal low, while Cuphead v Iji tied our previous low. It's even more striking since the previous day was so popular.
- BIGE was not alone in its vote crunch. Quality user Zen's Most Quotable Media Ever contest saw its fewest votes by far yesterday. Makes me wonder where everyone was...
- If I can conclude one other thing from these results, it's that Dead Cells v Cuphead looks like a close match, and by extension, Cuphead seems like an extreme long shot to win the bracket.

Here is Day 15's topic: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77811371?results=1#1

Also, about Limbo v Inside, I could be wrong, but it certainly feels like the latter has completely outdone the former for most people, almost as if Limbo was just a work-in-progress version of Inside.
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MetalmindStats posted...

- If I can conclude one other thing from these results, it's that Dead Cells v Cuphead looks like a close match, and by extension, Cuphead seems like an extreme long shot to win the bracket.

I wouldn't really count on the former being true but the latter probably is. Bit of a vacuum here but remember Rabi Ribi? LM2 has a playerbase only a fraction as large, and Iji probably does likewise, and that also may correlate here... so these results look kinda bad for Cuphead and Dead Cells imo

Day 15's winners are Doom, by a 13-11 margin over Super Meat Boy, and RollerCoaster Tycoon, by a 17-8 margin over Spelunky.

Some thoughts:
- Not one, but two shocking results, happened yesterday, tripling this contest's upset total to date.
- RollerCoaster Tycoon seemed much more likely to win its match, but doubling Spelunky is, to me, just as impressive as Doom pulling off a win.
- We can officially add Edmund McMillen to the Supergiant pile of having a bad contest.
- The classics roped in the votes, setting the stage for what should be an exciting showdown in Round 2,

Here is Day 16's topic, for our last two Round 1 matches: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77813764
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UF8 posted...

LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

Roller Coaster Tycoon v Doom set up for Round 2 is planned right?

I really wouldn't count on either, meat boy and spelunky should have strength, especially meat boy

I wish I had never said "prob"
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LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

UF8 posted...

LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

Roller Coaster Tycoon v Doom set up for Round 2 is planned right?

I really wouldn't count on either, meat boy and spelunky should have strength, especially meat boy

I wish I had never said "prob"

Truthfully i expected both myself since they both extremely felt like contenders that could and probably would go on a run, but I kind of half expected people pushing for one wouldn't necessarily want the other in the match, which would kind of be the edge. Putting aside them both having this outside, non-indie factor being regarded as classic pc classics foremost and being threats to one another in the bracket because of that, they don't have many similarities with one another.

Meatboy i pegged as being close enough to elite status in this bracket to be capable of benefiting enough to pull off the upset. Spelunky i kind of assumed would only be around top 20s, but Doom being in the same day I thought would actually have a negative effect on RCT for that upset to also be feasible, but I guess that didn't pan out.

Tldr i figured there was like no actual overlap between gory fps and theme park sim fans and the platformers would benefit

The very last winners of Round 1 are Night in the Woods, by a 14-7 margin over Rogue Legacy, and Plants vs. Zombies, by a 15-9 margin over Axiom Verge.

I don't have much to say about these results; I would say both wins are pretty expected, and with unsurprising margins. I suppose it's worth a shout that Rogue Legacy fell far short in its upset bid. As it turns out, clashes between games of distinct appeal can also be good for drawing votes, and it looks like we'll see a contentious one between these two winners.

Here is the very first Round 2 topic: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77816236
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Another (mostly) unsurprising day is in the books; both higher seeds took care of business as expected, with Celeste winning 13-10 over VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, while A Hat in Time proved more formidable than The Witness with a 14-6 win. The big intrigue here is whether VA-11 Hall-A is actually decent, because that should determine if Celeste is able to make a match of A Hat in Time next round.

Here is the next match topic: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77818777
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i'm surprised VA-11 did as well as it did considering how beloved Celeste is. good match.
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I suppose I should give an update here. There's no match topic today, because the winner of one of yesterday's matches is dependent on the uncertain eligibility of a single vote. If I disqualify said vote, I have to run a tiebreaker for Undertale v Journey, which by the rules, must be a part of the next match topic. It was also late in the afternoon my time anyways by the time yesterday's matches ended, and as stated in the OP, I'm striving to put up all matches in the afternoon. This contest will resume tomorrow.
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After a brief PM exchange with the voter in question, all votes from yesterday stand. That means our latest winners are VVVVVV, by a 28-7 margin over La-Mulana, and Undertale, by an 18-17 margin over Journey.

Some thoughts:
- I certainly hope the people who streamed in to vote yesterday stick around, because wow. Our previous votal record for a single match was 26, which VVVVVV alone outdrew.
- Undertale v Journey in particular was an incredible match, complete with its own distinct trajectory. Journey steamed off to a commanding early lead, looking like it had the match in the bag. Slowly, but steadily, Undertale came back, drawing a vast majority of the late votes in particular to complete the comeback. Incidentally, Undertale's comeback paralleled its original 2015 BGE match!
- Not to be outdone on the other side, VVVVVV notched a second straight dominant result by scoring 80% of the votes in its match, and once again proved to be a huge draw. Can anything stop this monster?

I will be putting up the next two matches tomorrow afternoon.
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Vote here for Round 2, Day 3: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77823786
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Stardew Valley prevailed over Terraria by an expected 15-10 margin, which pretty much plays it out as a contender. Meanwhile, Bastion and What Remains of Edith Finch tied 12-12, forcing our first tiebreaker of the contest.

Here's the topic for voting both in the tiebreaker and our latest two matches: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77826289
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The winners of yesterday's scheduled matches are Cave Story, by a 15-13 margin over Shovel Knight, and Doki Doki Literature Club!, by a 17-9 margin over INSIDE. As for the tiebreaker, it rages on after another 12-12 split between Bastion and What Remains of Edith Finch yesterday.

Some thoughts:
- Cave Story's upset isn't quite the tremendous shock it would have been before Shovel Knight faltered in Round 1, but it's still a major surprise. Pre-contest, more brackets expected Shovel Knight to win the whole thing (2) than correctly called Cave Story advancing to Round 3 (just 1).
- On the other side, DDLC won its match in expected fashion, recovering nicely from its Round 1 flop. However, no one should count out arguably the most important progenitor of the modern indie trend at this point; with any luck, their Round 3 match should be good.
- Same result, opposite paths. This time, Bastion was the game steaming to a commanding early lead, while Edith Finch was the one slowly coming back to force a tie. So much for trends, amirite?

Vote in today's matches right here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77828600
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MetalmindStats posted...

On the other side, DDLC won its match in expected fashion, recovering nicely from its Round 1 flop.

more of a seeding flop seeding Katawa Shoujo so low imo
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The winners of yesterday's scheduled matches are Hollow Knight, by a 16-7 margin over To the Moon, and Braid, by a 10-7 margin over The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. In addition, What Remains of Edith Finch finally prevailed in its drawn-out tiebreaker, winning the double tiebreaker 12-9, for an overall score of 36-33.

Here is the next voting topic: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77830942
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okay, you guys win. I'm downloading Edith Finch.
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azuarc posted...

okay, you guys win. I'm downloading Edith Finch.

And I'm done.
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Done downloading or playing?
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Our latest winners are Return of the Obra Dinn, by a 14-6 margin over Papers, Please, and Hotline Miami, by a 14-11 margin over FTL: Faster Than Light.

Some thoughts:
- If I'm not mistaken, this is only the second time we've had two upsets in one day, and Hotline in particular has now scored two straight upset wins.
- In BIGE, just like in sitewide contests, SFF matches reduce votals. However, Obra Dinn's win still didn't beat Braid v Isaac's record for the fewest votes of this round.
- Arguably, Hotline's competition hasn't been all that strong, and Obra Dinn did demolish Deltarune, but I wouldn't be the one to count this upset train out from claiming another victim.

Here is the topic for Round 2, Day 7: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77833452
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fuck yeah Hotline Miami. Didn't think it would pull it off.
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Hotline vs Obra Dinn is absolutely going to be a strong match. Hotline's competition has been very strong imo, it and necrodancer were dark horse candidates from the start, and FTL is definitely no joke either, with enough of a niche of its own to be essentially worthy of its top 10 seeding.

Having said that, Obra Dinn is a game that I also pegged as a definite contest candidate if it could make it out of its first two matches (similarly expecting a low playrate to hold it back, considering it has for so many other more recent games (rip hypnospace). Thankfully for it though, the votals are similarly low enough for it to absolutely thrive here). So... Yeah. Long story short, whoever wins next round, it probably shouldn't be considered an upset, they've both proved they're legit in their own ways. Unless it ends up being a landslide.

Our latest winners are Ori and the Blind Forest, by a 16-8 margin over Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, and Cuphead, by a 13-6 margin over Dead Cells.

Some thoughts:
- Ori continues showing its strength, doubling cult favorite Recettear. However, it's one of four games to have fewer votes in its Round 2 match than its Round 1 match, joining Celeste, A Hat in Time, and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Except for Isaac, though, the other three have all faced more niche games this round than last round.
- Dead Cells v Cuphead looked like it could have been a close match, but apparently La-Mulana 2 is just really weak. Am I foolish for now thinking that Cuphead could make its match with Ori close?
- Trends have returned! Ori absolutely dominated the early voting, gaining a lead which Recettear could never break despite its best efforts, while Dead Cells was making a match of Cuphead. At one point, Ori was up 9-1, while Dead Cells was winning 5-4. Well, anyone can see what happened from there.

Here is the final match topic of Round 2: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77836034
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On Tiebreakers:

Since there was a question about my chosen method of tiebreakers, I figured I would say a few things here. My basic philosophy with running repeated tiebreaker matches, even when the first tiebreaker produces another tie as with Bastion v Edith Finch, is to maximize the capacity for voters to choose their preferred winner and minimize the arbitrariness of other potential tiebreaker methods. As long as it doesn't interfere with the schedule, I myself don't see why rerunning matches as many times as it takes would be a problem; besides, I feel the aforementioned match proved that something will give at some point.

The truly important reason I made this post is related to the interfering with the schedule bit. Specifically, this contest is currently scheduled to end on July 18, and I will (probably) be going on vacation the very next day. As such, if the second semifinal match and/or the final match requires a tiebreaker, I will run it using the quicker format of 'first to 5 votes wins'. That also goes for any previous tiebreakers which happen to run to the point where they would risk interfering with the schedule (for example, if Bastion v Edith Finch) had stayed tied until the day before the winner's Round 3 match.
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Cool. It's all good as long as there's an established rule for how they work.
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I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but as additional tiebreakers progress, I ask myself "Do I really feel that strongly about this match?" And if I don't, I abstain. As such, I stopped voting for Bastion, deciding it wasn't worth voting against a game I hadn't played.
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Our latest winners are Doom, by a 13-10 margin over RollerCoaster Tycoon, and Night in the Woods, by a 15-5 margin over Plants vs. Zombies.

(Replying to yesterday's bonus poll about the most impressive game to date):

UF8 posted...

After today it's probably going to be doom.

Well, you were right that yesterday would produce a very strong contender for most impressive game, but wrong about which game it was going to be. Oh, Doom's cinderella run continued in admirable fashion with its win over RollerCoaster Tycoon, alright. However, it wasn't the winner to really subvert expectations this time around.

I truly thought the second match, between two seeming opposites in terms of appeal and nature of fanbase, would be far closer. Now, even the stats nerd in me has to throw out the dream of transitivity, because there's no way Axiom Verge can possibly be that much weaker than Rogue Legacy, right? Right? Heck, Plants vs. Zombies even looks worse than Rogue Legacy, which I blame in part on how both matches had fewer votes than their participants' respective Round 1 battles.

Whatever the case, it should be interesting to see what happens in Round 3. Will Night in the Woods simply mow over the next casualbait game in its way, or has Doom shown that it will make a match of it, and potentially even keep its upset streak going? I guess we'll definitively find out a week from now.

Here is our first topic for Round 3, with Celeste vs. A Hat in Time: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77838602
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how much do we count SFF in this contest
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ZenOfThunder posted...

how much do we count SFF in this contest

What particular examples are you looking at? Perhaps Obra Dinn over Papers, Please? I think the problem is that we don't have the standards of comparison to properly determine exactly how much SFF is in a given SFF match.
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Celeste prevailed over A Hat in Time 17-13 in yesterday's match. A somewhat surprising result, considering the latter seemingly looked better in both rounds. However, its match versus Transistor was probably affected by SFF, and it makes sense that Minecraft would be stronger than The Witness. Maybe transitivity isn't dead after all! Shoutout to VA-11 Hall-A for being a game I've underestimated until the results leave me with no choice but to admit it's legit.

Vote in VVVVVV vs. Undertale right here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77841010
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Our first true clash of the titans ended in a tie? Yes, indeed, VVVVVV and Undertale tied 18-18 and have headed into their first tiebreaker match.

Vote in it, as well as Stardew Valley vs. What Remains of Edith Finch, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77843178
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Yesterday, Stardew Valley won over What Remains of Edith Finch 14-11, while Undertale prevailed 18-15 in its tiebreaker against VVVVVV.

Vote in Cave Story vs. Doki Doki Literature Club! here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77845482
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Undertale just keeps escaping close shaves
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Cave Story and Doki Doki Literature Club! have tied 16-16! Vote in their overtime match, as well as Hollow Knight vs. Braid, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77847761
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Hollow Knight prevailed over Braid 17-7 after losing the early voting, while Cave Story trumped Doki Doki Literature Club! 17-13 in its tiebreaker.

Vote in Return of the Obra Dinn vs. Hotline Miami right here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77850155
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oh man rip hotline :(

obra dinn is cool as heck though, i just have a ton of fond memories of HM. I took a train to Toronto once and played it the entire way there and back.
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Return of the Obra Dinn buried two-time upset victor Hotline Miami from pillar to post, finishing with a 16-5 victory. As I said in today's match topic, do we have our future champion?

Speaking of today's match topic, vote in Ori and the Blind Forest vs. Cuphead here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77852470
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Our latest upset victory comes with Cuphead prevailing 15-10 over Ori and the Blind Forest. Round 2 arguably presaged this, but Ori hadn't looked weak by any means.

Vote in Doom (1993) vs. Night in the Woods here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77854933#2
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woo Cuphead
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boo
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whelp, everything I care about is gone then. hope Celeste can do okay at least

Cuphead is bad and Obra Dinn is vastly overrated though I can at least appreciate what the latter did I guess
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Round 3 is over. In its last match, Night in the Woods prevailed over Doom 14-11. Nonetheless, I would say the latter has validated that its upset run wasn't just due to facing paper tigers, like Hotline Miami.

Here is our first Quarterfinal match and potentially what determines the contest winner, Celeste vs. Undertale: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77857353

Edit: I'm not going to be leaving for an extra two days, so we hopefully won't need that extended tiebreaker protocol I mentioned.
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Undertale beat Celeste by a 16-15 margin, the former's third consecutive close victory.

Vote in our second Quarterfinal match, Stardew Valley vs. Cave Story, here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77859772
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Undertale has won four matches by a combined difference of nine votes between them all.
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Cave Story prevailed by a 14-12 margin against Stardew Valley.

I will be putting up the next match topic tomorrow in the early afternoon, both to return this contest's matches to starting in the afternoon and because my temporarily discombobulated sleep schedule prevented me from beginning the next match sooner.
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