Chapter 95
GOTY (Game of the Year) is, quite literally, a collective term for awards given to outstanding games among the countless titles released that year.
However, its prestige would later decline due to accusations of excessive commercialism and being a popularity contest, but that was far in the future.
In the mid-2010s, it was an award that boasted absolute authority.
That's why I couldn't understand the reason for its nomination.
GOTY, then as now, tended to prioritize game quality over commercial viability.
Conversely, Mobile Games was a genre with an image quite distant from what is typically considered “game quality”.
It's awkward to say this as a Mobile Game Developer, but it was, quite literally, a genre that went all-in on commercialism.
While good Payment Accessibility was one reason, ultimately, when you got down to it, the platform's limitations were clear.
No matter how much effort was put into creating a game, the reality was that most of it couldn't be implemented due to the limitations of the mobile platform.
In any case, to sum it up, Reverse Arcadia was a game that had absolutely no connection to an award like GOTY.
*After Regression*, that's why I hadn't paid any attention to GOTY at all.
But a sudden email forced me to completely revise my understanding.
[Subject: Notification Regarding a Golden Joystick Award Nomination] Sender: GamesRader+
This email is sent only to Personnel involved with the nominated works.
We sincerely congratulate your company's game on its nomination for the Golden Joystick Awards' <Still Playing Award>.
Personnel involved with the nominated works are requested to familiarize themselves with the precautions listed below.
We ask that you strictly maintain confidentiality until the list of nominees is officially released on our website.
Once again, we sincerely congratulate you on your nomination for the Golden Joystick Awards' <Still Playing Award>.
[Reply][Forward]
Honestly, when I first received this email, I almost deleted it, thinking it was spam.
The content of the email was just that unrealistic.
But after realizing it was a legitimate email, the first thing I did was capture its contents and distribute them to the RA Studio Staff.
It's not right to keep such good news to myself.
However, more than that, I really wanted to see the surprised reactions of the RA Studio Staff.
As if to meet my expectations, less than three minutes after sending the email, cheers erupted from the floor where RA Studio was located, reaching my ears.
If the Team Members' reactions are this strong, how chaotic will the community be?
I was already starting to look forward to it.
***
A few days later.
As announced in the email, the list of Golden Joystick Award nominees was released on the official Gamesrader website.
Although it might not have the same prestige among the Top 5 GOTY Awards, it was still one of the Top 5 Awards, so the attention of gamers worldwide began to focus on it.
Gamers slowly perused the nominees, savoring each one.
What caught their attention wasn't a game that surprised everyone with its story and gameplay,
nor a game that astonished with record-breaking sales and the pioneering of a new genre,
but one of the nominees for the <Still Playing Award>.
The reason was simple.
It was the sole Mobile Game among many formidable nominated games.
That's right.
What caught their attention was Reverse Arcadia.
Gamers worldwide expressed surprise at Gamesrader's unusual move, and heated debates soon began to unfold in game communities across various countries.
Of course, Korea was no exception.
Among them, the most intense debate took place in the Ancient Game Mini Gallery.
Nickname: OO
Subject: Seriously, I'm looking at the GJA nominee list. Why are *they* on it?
[Gamesrader Website Screenshot]
<Still Playing Award Nominee List>
-Final Destination 14
-Death Frame 2
-Overwork
-War of Tanks
-Rainbow Kingdom Siege
-Sandbox Craft
-Reverse Arcadia
-Hex Stone like there's a spy among them?
[Comment List][By Registration Order]
-lololol It's so naturally mixed in there hahahaha
-Seriously, since when did shitty Mobile Games start getting into GOTY?
Re: Seems like GJA is the first to do this?
-Seriously, GOTY has completely lost its credibility now lololol
[Nickname: OO]
[Subject: But if you think about it, why *can't* a Mobile Game win GOTY?]
PC games' Monetization Structures aren't any different from mobile games'.
Online games sell Random Boxes, and package games do Piecemeal Sales with DLC, right?
Honestly, even though Reverse Arcadia is a mobile game, its quality transcends the platform.
At this point, shouldn't it get bonus points for overcoming platform limitations?
[Comment List][By Registration Order]
-Otaku detected
-Go back to Ri-gael
-This is insane hahahahahahaha
-But honestly, it doesn't seem wrong. Why are these bastards so mad lol?
Re: Even so, a mobile game is a bit much.
[Nickname: OO]
[Subject: The most illegitimate bastard among the Top 5 GOTY Awards...JPG]
[Golden Joystick Award Golden Trophy Photo]
The one that nominated a mobile game
GJY << If you think these bastards have no credibility, upvote, lol.
[Comment List][By Registration Order]
-Yeah, only you think it has no credibility~
Re: Go to Ri-gael lolol
-Where are the Moderators??? Aren't you working? Kick out these Ri-gael Otaku Bastards like those who made the first comment lololol
Re: If you're so bothered, go make your own gallery and leave lololol
The community had, quite literally, turned into a mess.
Jaehyeon couldn't help but click his tongue at the state of the community.
Since he lacked sufficient experience in games, he couldn't even understand why Mobile Game Users and PC Game Users were fighting.
Whether it's a mobile game or a PC game, if it's well-made, shouldn't it be able to receive an award like GOTY or whatever?
Of course, this opinion was a biased perspective, deeply immersed in Reverse Arcadia, but what did it matter?
It's enough if the game I enjoy gets an award and makes me happy.
With that thought, he accessed his Work Email Account, and noticed a pile of emails.
“Who sent another Outsourcing request this time?”
Perhaps due to his rising reputation these days, Outsourcing request emails pile up even if he doesn't check his work email for a few days.
It was true that artists should make money when they can, and drawing was fun, but...
Honestly, he felt like taking a break now.
Even with his introverted personality, he couldn't just stay cooped up at home forever, could he?
As he was checking his emails with those thoughts,
Jaehyeon checked the content of one particular email and then pushed all the other request emails aside.
A request had come in that needed to be prioritized above all else.
It was an Outsourcing request email for a GOTY Award commemorative illustration sent directly from EnsonGT.
Should I call it incredible confidence...?
Considering they'd already put in a request for a commemorative illustration despite only being nominated, they seemed quite confident in winning.
In that case, as an Original Fan, I had no choice but to lend a hand.
Immediately after sending an email accepting the request, he began to conceptualize the composition for the commemorative illustration in his mind.
A composition that would maximize the GOTY Award celebratory atmosphere and also elicit a good response from the Commanders.
***
The GOTY nomination was unexpected, but that didn't mean I thought we wouldn't win the award.
The reason was simple.
GJA was the award ceremony we were nominated for.
If it had been an award ceremony decided by a jury's vote, like BAFTA or D.I.C.E., there would have been no chance,
but fortunately, the Golden Joystick Award's method for determining winners was an Internet Vote by netizens.
With Reverse Arcadia's popularity at its peak, it was a battle we could definitely win.
However, even so, there was still a possibility of losing in the vote...
After much deliberation on how to encourage voting among Users, I decided to personally step forward and encourage voting.
Of course, I had no intention of starting a Live Broadcast; I planned to leave it as a video, as before.
Even so, doing Vote Encouragement via Live Broadcast just wouldn't look right.
The GJA Vote Encouragement Video, filmed in this manner, quickly spread throughout the Reverse Arcadia community.
[Nickname: OO]
[Subject: A GJA vote encouragement video just went up on the Reverse Arcadia WeTube channel???]
<WeTube Link to vote encouragement video>
[Photo of Director Ji Hojin bowing deeply in greeting]
A rough transcription of the video content is as follows.
Hello, Commanders of Reverse Arcadia.
This is Ji Hojin.
First, Reverse Arcadia, as you know, has been nominated for GJA GOTY, delivering some good news to all Commanders.
However, the Award Category we have been nominated for is not the Game of the Year category this time.
The category we were nominated for is the <Still Playing Award>.
In other words, it's a category that is for the best among games that are still loved by users, even after a significant time since their launch.
This means that we were nominated thanks to your continued interest and support, even nearly two years after its launch.
We would be grateful if you would cast your precious vote for us in this GJA vote, just as you have shown us your interest and support until now.
The wind is starting to get chilly.
Please all take care of your health, and we will see you on the award announcement day in November.
Thank you.
Whoa, amazing
As soon as I saw this video, I immediately went to the GJA website and voted.
[Comment List][By Registration Order]
-Whoa, amazing
-*Great Hojin*
-But is it okay to promote voting like this?
Re: Of course, they must have checked everything lololol
Re: Other games promote it too, actually.
[Nickname: OO]
[Subject: Artists are currently doing a Reverse Arcadia Vote Encouragement Challenge on Bluebird (Twitter) lololol]
[Image of Henrietta with an Earnest Expression, holding a picket sign and pleading]
Public sentiment definitely seems good lololol
If public opinion had been completely trashed, the public would have just been mocked even if they asked, just as the games were caught in Probability Manipulation this time.
But Reverse Arcadia artists are personally stepping up for the challenge, with the vote encouragement video asking for a vote. Whoa whoa whoa
There were so many foreigners asking if it was some kind of election lololol
And what's interesting is that there were just as many Japanese Artists as Korean Artists; the Japanese server atmosphere seems good too.
I *really* couldn't have imagined a Korea-Japan Integrated, User-friendly Otaku game would emerge.
Simply *Great Hojin*
[Comment List][By Registration Order]-There were so many famous artists lolololol-Even without this, Summer Comiket was already a Reverse Arcadia field, so Winter Comiket will probably be the same lolol-I'm looking for it now. Where do I vote?
Re: Just go to the Gamesrader website and sign up.
The effect of the Vote Encouragement Video was a huge success.
It was, quite literally, a huge success.
In particular, the trend of the Vote Encouragement Challenge among Illustrators was a completely unexpected effect.
Initially, the effect I had expected was merely to get a few more votes from Users who didn't even know about the GOTY vote.
As I watched the challenge spread beyond Korea and even overseas, I gradually became more confident.
This GJA's <Still Playing Award> would be ours.