BOOTYs: Top 5 of 2012

My experiment in revamping the BOOTY awards was a failure. The result is not an in-depth post per category, but a top 5 and (maybe) some extra awards thrown in. What's that you say? April is almost over? What better time to look back at the best games of 2012? Having played almost every major release, I've found that there were actually a lot less games that blew me away than I thought. Last year saw a lot of big releases, but it was the smaller titles, mostly released earlier in the year, that stood out to me. I've decided to do a top five this year because I think some great games get unfairly excluded if you just do the three best. So, for those of you way behind with your games, I present the Best Offerings Of The Year for 2012. My recommendations for must-play titles are:

Crowdfund ALL the shows!

Three years ago, I did an april fools gag about a fake tv channel started by a couple of guys that were upset about their favorite shows always getting cancelled. I called it ResurecTV, and it was backed by JJ Abrams' company Bad Robot. Fast forward to today, and that's basically goddamn happening. I sure have a way of calling these things. 

In development for several years SMGO.tv (Show Must Go On), just exited beta on Saturday. The purpose of the website is to take to crowdfunding in order to resurrect cancelled tv series. The process works like this:

• Suggest a show. If it gets a good number of suggestions, it goes to voting.
• The voting stage gauges how may people are actually willing to donate, after a minimum is reached, they get in touch with the production company.
• Next, the show goes into the funding stage. This part works like Kickstarter, with rewards and everything. If the show meets the minimum budget, it goes to the next step.
• The show goes back into production for one season, then it can be watched online at SMGO.tv. If you backed the show, you get to watch commercial free!

Basically, this is the best thing ever. I can't believe somebody actually did this. There's a number of shows up for voting now that I don't give a crap about, but I'm pleased to see the excellent Motorcity is not only included, but 40% away from going into funding! Apparently, during the beta, both Young Justice and Green Lantern got such overwhelming support that SMGO is already in contact with Warner Brothers about crowdfunding the show. These two will no doubt go straight to funding relatively soon.

So tell your family, tell your friends, and tell all the random strangers you meet! I want this to take the hell off! Lets bring back ALL the shows!

Real talk for serious times

As you know, today is April Fools' Day. In the past, I have trick, duped, and outright lied to readers. This has been a tradition every April of the blog's existence, all the way back to 2005. Today is no laughing matter. Today is no joke. I have finally had time to think and I've concluded that I just don't have the time for this any more. You may have noticed that I'm not posting as much as I used to. As much as I'd like to get great content out to you, the readers, on a timely basis, I just can't. The older I get, the more complicated life gets. So I will soon be shutting down Installation 04 as you know it. It sure has been a good run (over 8 years!).

But don't cry many tears my friends! I04 will live on in spirit. You may have noticed that, for a brief period, I04 was known as Installed Base. That was a test. Since it's hard to get out articles in a timely manner, I've decided to switch to a new format: the magazine. Going forward, Installation 04 will be a magazine available both digitally and in print. This way, I can work on things when I have time and offer a big old stack of awesome content whenever it's done. I've been working on this in secret since January, and I think you'll agree it just makes sense. Why bother with the internet, where no one can find your content, when you could have a magazine instead? It's always been a dream of mine, and now it's finally coming true. I'm sure you'll agree this is a great decision. The first issue is actually available right now! Below are a few preview pages. Hope you enjoy. Head on over to the brand new Installedbase.co right now to download the first issue or order a physical copy!