After putting aside all the new games that came out in 2016 in order to try out this experimental awards show, I played a ton of games. Many I used to love fell short of the nostalgia I had for them, and many others surprised me now that I had a chance to finally try them out. Portal 2 was a game I enjoyed just fine back in 2011, but I had only really begun to study game design at that point in my life. Five years later, and I know a hell of a lot more. So I was able to greater appreciate the incredibly seamless collaboration between the environmental modelers and the level designers. The programmers who where convinced by the level designers to hear them out. And above all, it is the game I had the most fun playing all over again. Sure others took longer to play, but nothing else truly made me wish it wasn't over. I may not be shy to criticize Valve these days, and they do deserve it, but I have to tip my hat when appropriate.

Portal 2 was not even on my consideration list for Game of the Year when I played it back in 2011. But now I can't rightfully choose any other title.

Thank you all for joining me on this strange experiment. If there's anything you take away from this, pull out an old game from your library and see where it takes you. Good or bad. If we don't preserve the history of games, we're never going to learn how to make them better.

Good night, and good game.

-Cody