GameFAQs Contests

Best year in gaming?

Better than nothing, I guess.



~*creativename's contest site (all things contest!)*~
http://www.gamefaqscontests.com/drupal/

~*The Board 8 Wiki (lots of useful contest and board information, including all past Post-Contest Analysis from Ulti, transience, Ed Bellis, and others)*~
http://board8.wikia.com/

~*List of All Polls (a search bar is at the bottom)*~
http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html

~*NGamer64's Archive Sites (good stuff!) and (LOL) X-Stats Sim*~
http://www.thengamer.com/
http://thengamer.com/xstats

~*GameFAQs Contests Hall of Fame*~
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/GameFAQs_Contests_Hall_of_Fame
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/GameFAQs_Contests_Match_Hall_of_Fame

~*Character Contest Histories*~
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Contest_Histories

~*Simple Explanation of Extrapolated Standings*~
A = Strongest Character
B = Character Weaker than A
C = Character Weaker than B
To figure out a character's Xsts Percentage ---> [(CvB)(BvA)]/50 = CvA
To compare how C would do against B ---> [(CvA)/(BvA)]*50 = CvB
To figure out how B would do against A ---> [(CvA)/(CvB)]*50 = BvA

~*All the Match Pics*~
http://www.gamefaqscontests.com/gallery/index.php

~*Leonhart4's Trend Charts*~
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?hl=en&key=tOGmynfNIiNy5VukpEF-PdA&hl=en#gid=0

~*Daily Vote Trends - An Explanation for Dummies*~
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Daily_Vote_Trends

~*Acronyms and Percentages for Dummies*~
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Acronyms_and_Percentages

~*Say What? Common Stats Topic Lingo Defined*~

SFF (Same Fanbase Factor) - Same Fanbase Factor is the theory that, if two contestants share a common fanbase, the weaker of the two options will underperform in a direct matchup. For instance, Link was expected to defeat Ganon with 65% of the vote in 2004, based on their 2003 values. Instead, Link collected near 88% of the vote. This is the best example of SFF we've ever seen. However take some SFF labels with a grain of salt, as many people will slap it onto any match that doesn't make perfect sense.

Extrapolated Standings (X-Stats) - The mathematical "strength" of a contestant that's determined based on their performance relative to the rest of the field. This number is typically based on the contest entrant's loss, but adjustments are sometimes made. See above for a watered down explanation for how the stats are calculated.

LPF - Last Place Factor, which a term used in matches that have three or four entrants. Usually when there is an obvious choice for last place, that entrant performs weaker than usual since voters are smart enough these dates to put their votes on something that matters. A good example is Link/Shepard/Draven.

ASV - After school vote, which is usually the biggest trend in a poll other than the first hour and the morning vote.

probably could've waited another week to make this

bumpo

lol Xbox

A week, two days, feels the same these days.

UltimaterializerX posted...

lol Xbox

Indeed.

Well, at least the poll is on track to break 10000 votes after that really bad start where it had less votes than the 2016 Xbox One GotY poll at the freeze.

I went and voted just because you talked about it.

The Xbox poll broke 10k votes.

I'm...so happy...

Still no Vote-In polls for the contest yet. I'm guessing the first Vote-In poll will happen sometime this week before the weekend begins.

72, 78, 79 will fight for two spots.

Hopefully SBAllen makes the poll longer than 1 hour

Vote totals for the first Vote-In poll are fairly bad so far. 212 votes at the freeze, which is very similar to what our non-contest polls receive in the first 5 minutes.

That's not surprising. Most of us know nothing about these years since we weren't alive then.

Looks like the poll is only open for an hour.

To be fair the average person doesn't know a contest was about to start

I'm surprised 1972 is doing so poorly, Pong is by far the strongest game here and it isn't like 1978 and 1979 have great depth. Consoles release doesn't seem to matter too much, 1977 has both the Atari 2600 and Apple II listed and it is doing poorly

LeonhartFour posted...

Looks like the poll is only open for an hour.

I'm pretty sure this is an error in the script used for the live countdown clock. As I stated earlier, GameFAQs is currently running on DST, while the last contest happened when DST was not in effect. It could be the script for the live countdown clock wasn't properly adjusted for this DST difference.

A 1 hour poll wouldn't make much sense.

@creativename

Here are the match pictures from today's Vote-In poll:

https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1973.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1974.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1975.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1976.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1977.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1978.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1979.jpg

You might be interested in adding those to your match picture site. The match pictures for 1980-1984 (tomorrow's poll) have not been uploaded yet.

this poll is only reinforcing my apathy about this contest

I can't get excited for this at all

This poll didn't last for one hour like you originally assumed. It'll be a 24 hour poll most likely.

Today's poll currently has 1624 votes at the end of the first hour after a somewhat slow board vote. We're on track to finish this poll with a final vote total between 16000 and 20000 votes. This expected final vote total is considered above average relative to our average non-contest vote totals, especially considering how weak the 1970s years are.

i was OK with this contest idea initially but I will admit it's hard to get excited for these matches. what would an 'interesting' match even be? 1998 vs 2007? rooting and voting for gaming years is weird :0

hopefully this contest being a gimmick means next one will be something traditional

LusterSoldier posted...

This poll didn't last for one hour like you originally assumed

oh no

I'm enjoying 1973 having three votes after over an hour of voting. You go, girl.

LeonhartFour posted...

this poll is only reinforcing my apathy about this contest

I can't get excited for this at all

tag

@Team_Rocket_Elite

I don't know if you're going to treat these Vote-In polls towards the First Vote Contest, but I got the first vote in today's poll:

http://i.imgur.com/EyunmPQ.png

These Vote-In polls are different than our past Vote-In polls because this is the first time they are advertised like contest matches.

Yay luster I too voted for '76

LeonhartFour posted...

this poll is only reinforcing my apathy about this contest

I can't get excited for this at all

Yeah what the hell

LeonhartFour posted...

this poll is only reinforcing my apathy about this contest

I can't get excited for this at all

I understand the vote totals aren't that great, but most of the site wasn't even aware of this upcoming contest because we haven't started the bracket entry phase of the contest yet. Plus, the 1970s years are quite weak, further contributing to the poor vote totals. Despite these factors working against this poll, we're expected to get above average vote totals compared to what our non-contest polls are currently averaging. Once the actual contest starts, I think we'll see vote totals in the 20000s and maybe even higher than 30000.

Surprised 1972 is looking like it will get knocked out.

I am going to rally hard over /r/spaceinvaders
1978 will not fall! we are only 300 votes behind we can do this!!
If it won't be enoough I will go to /v/
I will ask my friends
I will make fake accounts and vote for it with different IP

And when 1978 finally takes the lead I will DDOS the site until the match ends


..in reality I barely even cared enough to press the vote button twice

(Note - the DDOS thing is humor only, Luster warned me that mods might take it seriously so I just put this here)

Nanis23 posted...

1978 will not fall! we are only 300 votes behind we can do this!!

The top 2 options will advance to the main bracket and 1978 is currently in the top 2 right now. If the results hold, 1978 and 1979 will move onto the main bracket.

I'm more interested that the bracket will be 36 entries.

LusterSoldier posted...

Here are the match pictures from today's Vote-In poll:

https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1973.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1974.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1975.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1976.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1977.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1978.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1979.jpg

You might be interested in adding those to your match picture site. The match pictures for 1980-1984 (tomorrow's poll) have not been uploaded yet.

I forgot to include 1972 in that post. Here is the one for 1972:

https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/1972.jpg

*yawn*

So does this at least give us insight into what the match pics will be for this contest? Will it be just the biggest game of the year? Will a few games get crammed in? What will it be?

When doing the write-ups I knew 73-75 would be weak, but it's amazing to see that 1973 would fail to break 1% against 1979.

Expert analysis from last contest's highest placing B8er:

The '70s were dum.

cyko posted...

*yawn*

So does this at least give us insight into what the match pics will be for this contest? Will it be just the biggest game of the year? Will a few games get crammed in? What will it be?

If we have 1 match a day we could potentially have four games be shown off.

Is there some way to see write-ups for each year that I'm missing, or are they just not up yet?

Go space invaders!

Jesse_Custer posted...

Is there some way to see write-ups for each year that I'm missing, or are they just not up yet?

Doesn't look like it. Here are the ones I did from 1972-77. I learned quite a bit while writing them.

1972
1972 was the year when Pong was released. While not the first video game, Pong was the first commercially successful video game and was a major factor in establishing the video game industry. The other major factor was the release of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first commercially available home console. The Odyssey came packed in with 12 games including Cat and Mouse and Table Tennis and had a light gun available as a peripheral.

1973
With the success of Pong in the previous year 1973 saw the creation of multiple Pong clone games, including Paddle-Ball and Winner. Even Atari released a sequel in the form of Pong Doubles making it the first arcade game to feature four-player gameplay. In an effort to differentiate itself from the competition Atari released novel games such as Space Race, where two players race each other in an asteroid field to reach the top of the screen and Gotcha, where one player pursues another within a maze. The Magnavox Odyssey, the first video game console saw the release of its final four games, notably Interplanetary Voyage.

1974
In 1974 arcade cabinets became more diverse. Gran Trak 10 became the first car racing game, with the cabinet containing its own steering wheel, accelerator, brake and gear stick. Later in the year another car racing game by the name of Speed Race was released. The game featured sprites with collision detection and scrolling graphics. Among sports games many were still Pong clones though games like Rebound, a volleyball game offered their own unique twists. However, Basketball made an early attempt at accurately simulating a team sport by being the first game to offer human players as sprites. One of the most successful games of the year was Tank, where two people in tanks attempted to destroy each other. Another popular game, Qwak! involved shooting ducks with a light gun, it would go on to be the inspiration for many games.

1975
By 1975 arcades were becoming more sophisticated in their technology. One of the biggest titles released was Gun Fight, a Western where two cowboys square off in a duel. It is one of the first games to have human to human combat and it was the first game to use a microprocessor. Jaws became one of the first movie tie-in games though officially the game was unlicensed. Multi-player cabinets continued to gain popularity with releases like Steeplechase, a six player horse racing game and Indy 800, a massive car racing game where up to eight people can take part, each with their own steering wheel and pedals. Another popular car racing game was Atari’s first sit down driving game, Hi-Way. Games involving planes were also prominent in the year with titles like Anti-Aircraft while others like Jet Fighter and Pursuit placed you in the cockpit to shoot down your enemies.

1976
1976 marked the beginning of the second generation of consoles with the release of the Fairchild Channel F. The Channel F was the first console to use a microprocessor. The console came integrated with two Pong clone games; Hockey and Tennis and sold videocarts separately. Meanwhile arcade cabinets continue to be the dominant medium. The most memorable game from the year was Breakout, a game where you bounce a ball on a paddle to destroy colored boxes at the top of your screen. Also while not remembered by its title, Blockade inspired an entire genre of snake games. Heavyweight Champ had boxing glove controls allowing the player to strike their opponent with high or low punches. The year also marked one of the first video game controversies from the game Death Race where the player is able to run over gremlins to score points. This caused media criticism and people to question the psychological effects of video games.

1977
The second generation of consoles really got heated up in 1977 with multiple companies releasing their product. Bally and RCA released the Astrocade and Studio II respectively, but it would be Atari whom made the biggest splash. Initially known as the Atari VCS it later became known as the Atari 2600. The console had nine launched titles including its packed-in game, Combat. Its biggest competitor, the Fairchild Channel F released another set of games including Spitfire and Maze. One of the more influential arcade releases was Space Wars which became the first arcade game with vector graphics. Another popular game was Boot Hill, the sequel to the popular western dueling game Gun Fight. Other arcade games to be released in 1977 include Circus, Destroyer, Super Bug and Triple Hunt.

Really good write-ups! I didn't realize there was so much to say about some of those years.

Decided not to use the write-ups for the vote-ins, made it look way too busy. Once the matchups are smaller, we'll be sure to include them. Sorry!

I noticed the list of games for each year can only be seen on PC, not on phone. Is that going to be the normal?

charmander6000 posted...

To be fair the average person doesn't know a contest was about to start

I'm surprised 1972 is doing so poorly, Pong is by far the strongest game here and it isn't like 1978 and 1979 have great depth. Consoles release doesn't seem to matter too much, 1977 has both the Atari 2600 and Apple II listed and it is doing poorly

I looked at the match picture, recognized pong and two Space Invaders, and picked the colorful one because it looked more like Galaga.

A reason people aren't getting super hyped yet is because well 70s arent a generation with ltos of games to get behind.

Plus this is literally a fight for lowest seeds.

Once 90s and early 00s start going against each other and we have more varied match pics it SHOULD be more interseting

Jesse_Custer posted...

Really good write-ups! I didn't realize there was so much to say about some of those years.

Thanks, I had to add a bit more fluff relative to my write-ups for the main bracket where you can easily talk about 10+ games. I enjoyed learning about the history, like most people, to me it was Pong in 1972 and then nothing until Space Invaders in 1978. I was surprised to learn that Breakout was released in 1976.

Good write-ups charmander

Only criticism is the lack of attention to computer games!

Maze War, dnd, Colossal Cave Adventure, and Zork are some major games from the years you wrote about.

Luster what is akamaized.net

Jakyl25 posted...

Maze War, dnd, Colossal Cave Adventure, and Zork are some major games from the years you wrote about.

My research showed the release of Zork I in 1980, and I mentioned it in my write-up for that year.