The 2024 Golden Gulix Awards
Other versions
The end of a year is often a time of review, a time for awards. And this year, on this blog, it's time for the Golden Gulix Awards!
I've decided to not go on a Top 10 or similar. Just a load of categories. One award and one runner-up each time. It's my ranking of today, and tomorrow or yesterday would got another list. I'm the only judge. I'm the only one responsible.
If you're a creator, an author of something I mentioned on this page, feel free to use that logo, to brag about it! It's its purpose!
Last note before we start. I've deliberately messed up the order of the rewards. Via good old random sorting. But why? Because I don't see any of the categories as superior to the others. Because I don't want to play with false suspense with the best for last. And also because it will force you to poke around, look at all those categories and, who knows, stumble across something intriguing that you wouldn't have looked at if it was categorized otherwise. And, to tell you the truth, as I write these lines, the order isn't even defined. The fourth will surprise you!
A little reminder. I'm french, and some of these entries are only available in french language. I'll mention it.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Rerun
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Rerun goes to The Grand Budapest Hotel. A rerun late in the year, but one that reminded me just what a marvel this film is, right down to its flaws. A pertinent message behind an impeccable direction, with just the right amount of love, humor, action and little thrills. An excellent piece of candy.
The runner-up is Little Miss Sunshine. Here again, a whole range of emotions, a few heartfelt moments, and a film that's always good to see again with the family.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Newsletter
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Newsletter goes to La Compote de Côme. It's simple: it's what makes me want to open my e-mails on Sunday mornings. I often discover new things to read, discover and play with. The recommendations are varied, numerous and pertinent. And Côme knows how to be incisive when he needs to be. A weekly rendez-vous that I can only recommend! (Content in french)
The runner-up is Explorer's Design. RPGs, seen through the prism of graphic design, but not only. Both game explorations, but also posts devoted to certain areas of design, such as accessibility, fonts... A must-read for creators.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Videogame
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Videogame goes to Lonely Mountains: Downhill. A game from 2020 that I was delighted to get back to this year. Because content has continued to be added (a new mountain, new trails on each mountain), because I wanted to be a completionist and try to finish as many challenges as possible, because I love the feeling the game gives me. And I'm looking forward to the sequel, on snowboard and ski.
The runner-up is Stardew Valley. A game I played a lot with Alicia again this year. It's jam-packed with content, and continues to be updated regularly with new features.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Video
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Video goes to Too Many Cooks from Adult Swim. Such a Public Access vibe, but above all a tribute video to sitcom credits, that knows how to draw on tropes before completely losing it and going off on... something else?
The runner-up is AI Copyright Claimed My Last Video from Venus Theory. A video that shows us that, faced with the automated generation of content, creators could already be screwed. And be robbed of what they duly created. A vibe I naively (?) hope to see reversed by 2025.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Physical TTRPG
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Physical TTRPG goes to Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast. A magnificent work, with an ultra-soft touch (you only realize how important touch is when you've experienced this kind of finition) and a sparkling game design that makes you want to dive right in. The opportunity hasn't presented itself yet, but who knows?
The runner-up is Trouilleville. A beautiful book, with magnificent drawings. Enchanting and evocative. (Content in french)
2024 Golden Gulix Award for TTRPG extension
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for TTRPG extension goes to Totally Killer, from Bloodygorgeous. A mystery for Public Access, who manages to come up with something pretty crazy, in an electro-giallo atmosphere, with the theme of consumerism in the background. There's a good chance this mystery will land in my Deep Lake one day.
The runner-up is The Unofficial Brindlewood Bay Mysteries Volume 1. A collection of highly inspired mysteries for Brindlewood Bay, some of which take the game into a new mood.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Game convention
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Game conventiongoes to Queervention Rôliste ! I invite you to reread my posts on this subject, but I really enjoyed going back to this convention in Rennes at the end of the summer, making people play, playing, discovering new people, chatting and exchanging ideas. And it's clearly a convention I've booked on my calendar!
The runner-up is the 24h du Jeu du Vignoble Nantais. It's a convention that I'm very much involved in, and one that I hope to keep going from year to year. Stress before the event, crazy excitement, time flying by as we explain games, and then the recognition of people through their thanks, their smiles. Great encounters, and a great group.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for TV Show
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for TV Show goes to The Shield. I returned to Farmington in 2024, pulling the DVDs off the shelf and diving back into the Strike Team story. What can I say that I haven't already said? This is undoubtedly one of the best series I've seen in my entire life. Seeing it again and enjoying it just as much 20 years later is testament to that.
The runner-up is Slow Horses. I love coming back, for 6 episodes, to these stories of espionage and losers. It's modern, punchy (sometimes a bit too much in the situations), and I love the gallery of characters. The episode cliffhangers are great, and I love the credits. And the “one episode a week” rythm is really nice.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Played TTRPG
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Played TTRPG goes to Public Access. The game I've played the most, in one-shots, campaigns and even Actual Play! As a keeper and a player, I get a huge kick out of it, and relaunching a campaign is an idea I'm toying with.
The runner-up is the playtest of Sur la Route, by Nicolas Le Vif. A game to be released in 2025 by For The Story, which has managed to move away from the original clean and direct design, with added gameplay phases, but above all a perfect abstraction of what a road trip is. The possible atmospheres are endless, and I can't wait to see the final product. (Content in french)
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Digital TTRPG
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Digital TTRPG goes to Ghost+Human, by Dan Bronson-Lowe. An excellent iteration of the Coyote+Badger system, featuring some really cool stuff for creating characters and game settings. Canvases to complete, lists, sequential creation. And a very interesting identity, with lots of different play styles. A game from which I hope to draw inspiration if I manage to complete my own game based on this system.
The runner-up is Big Dog, Big Volcano. I played it, and it was really great. The gameplay, the mechanics and the atmosphere are really well done and well worth a look and the spotlight.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Actual Play
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Actual Play goes to Ain't Slayed Nobody for the (ongoing) series around The Between. A great deal of work has gone into the editing and sound ambience, while retaining the essence of actual play: people are playing a TTRPG. Laughter, emotion (sometimes in the same scene), enticing characters, it's a pleasure to follow.
The runner-up is the JDR Academy. For the variety of their work, and the hard work put into the editing, as well as the soundscape. I took part in the Public Access diptych, I'm also involved in future projects, but I'm naming them anyway, because I'm a nepotistic person if I want to be. And because I loved listening to episodes where I wasn't present at all. (Content in french)
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Novel
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Novelgoes to Penpal, by Dathan Auerbach. It's been a long time since a book made me shiver. I found the execution of the story brilliant, with this questioning between reality and the fantastic, perception and childhood memories, madness. It was horrifying and enchanting. It takes its time, it takes detours, but that's what gives this story its strength.
The runner-up is La Dernière Amazone by Estelle Faye. A modern retelling of certain ancient myths, featuring strong, human and formidable female figures. A must-have for everyone! (Content in french)
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Video channel
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Video channel goes to Le Fossoyeur de Films. Videos of the perfect length for my available time. A genuine work of editing and writing. Film culture, anecdotes, discoveries, and a desire to dive back into cinema every time I watch one of his videos. (Content in french)
The runner-up is Thriving Technologist, which explores my profession as a computer developer, through the lens of personal well-being. Good human, professional and technical advice. And there too, a good job on writing and editing.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Painted miniature
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Painted miniature goes to Griffon from Reaper Miniatures. A miniature that launched me back into a painting cycle when I started working on it. A miniature for which I decided to opt for a nature-related style of painting, and more specifically on magpies, those magnificent birds. My favorite piece of the year.
The runner-up is Svetlana, Frost Giant Princess. Still from Reaper, still in Bones, this is a miniature that's been hanging around on my workbench for a long time and which I've finally completed, and which will be perfect for a random encounter at Frostgrave.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Boardgame
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Boardgame goes to The King is Dead. A board game that I haven't been able to play as much as I'd like, the owner having returned to his native Pyrenees. I'll have to buy it to play it again. A tense game design, where every decision counts, where you can turn the game around without relying on chance, but solely on your choices and those of your opponents. A strategic must-have.
The runner-up is The Wolves. A game I discovered in 2023, but which I enjoy playing again and again at the club. A puzzle, a very open game, full of possibilities, and very beautiful too.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Music
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Music goes to Chinese Man. I fell back into his style with his latest album (We've been here before), and he's been playing a lot (an awful lot) at home. I still can't explain why, but I love his style.
The runner-up is Linkin Park. I really enjoyed their comeback, especially the track that launched it, The Emptiness Machine. I listened to their previous albums again, which brought back great memories.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Software
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Software goes to Obsidian ! I use Obsidian almost daily. For note-taking, writing and translating TTRPGs, blog writing, I swear by Markdown. I use very few plugins, not trying to optimize my life with them. It's really just an editor, a catalog, and I combine that with git versioning, and a few scripts (python, pandoc...) to make things easier. In short, it's become a must-have (even if some things get on my nerves).
The runner-up is Bruno. A program that will appeal mainly to developers (I'm one). I replaced Postman with Bruno because their philosophy appeals to me much more. And I'm very happy with it.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Podcast
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Podcast goes to Fureurs. This audiophonic fiction, conceived for this medium, was a first for me, and I discovered some crazy work on atmosphere and sounds, and a crazy, weird story. A pleasure that I will follow on another season.
The runner-up is The Darkened Threshold. The Gauntlet's game design podcast is a pleasure to listen to if you're interested in the Carved from Brindlewood range, but also for the many cultural recommendations.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for News site
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for News site goes to Comicsblog. I'm no stranger to comics, and even more so to independent work. My source of information is ComicsBlog (and its editor Arno Kikoo). I like their tone. I like their stance, and the positions they take. Their critiques and reviews know how to get me interested in products I'd probably have missed out on. For me, it's the major player in comics culture on the French-speaking web. (Content in french)
The runner-up is Le Fix. The daily news site on TTRPG continues to go its way, with its regular columns (Monday's freebie, foreign games, crowdfunding...). (Content in french)
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Graphic work
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Graphic workgoes to Kent State by Derf Backderf. A documentary on a piece of American history I didn't know about. Brilliant in execution, erudition and expression, it's also a terrifying story that needs to be brought back to the present day, to learn from it.
The runner-up is Better Place. A good story, well told, well drawn, that's all we ask for sometimes.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for New movie
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for New movie goes to Challengers. When I go to the movies, in addition to seeing a picture, I also want a cinematic experience. If I can experience something different than in front of my screen at home, that's better. Challengers exhausted me. The film isn't that long, but its rhythm and editing are an experience to be had on the big screen, I think. Right up to the final explosion. It was my best 2024 experience in a darkened room.
The runner-up is Furiosa. A Mad Max that takes us back to the world of Fury Road, but manages not to be Fury Road, proposing a totally different tone and rhythm. The color scheme blew me away.
If you ever want to follow my cinematic wanderings, I've decided to try Letterboxd this year, especially to discover new things. Here's a link to my profile.
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Blog article
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Blog article goes to Ecran total(ement inutile ?). An article that sets out my feelings on this classic TTRPG accessory, and on my own practice. It's made me want to write other articles, on other practices, on other ways of looking at the hobby. Maybe controversial, maybe not. (Content in french, soon to be translated)
The runner-up is Rôliste TV rate le cadre, an article that got a bit of digital ink flowing, that I wrote in the heat of passion, but that allowed me to express things and put them on the public square. Which is also what this blog is for. (Content in french, about the french TTRPG media scene)
2024 Golden Gulix Award for Radio station
The 2024 Golden Gulix Award for Radio station goes to SUN - Le Son Unique ! It's a rare day when I don't listen to SUN. Radio from Nantes (and now broadcast throughout the Pays de la Loire region, but also digitally everywhere), it's the only radio I listen to in the car. And I listen to it regularly at home (in the background when teleworking, on Sundays to brighten up the day). I appreciate its eclecticism, its lack of commercials, and its regular features. My favorites are Stack, Amarok and Les Vinyliques Anonymes. And a nod to Benoît Felten's blues show, Mood Indigo, which introduced me to a few gems.
The runner-up is OUI FM, the rock radio I listen to online, especially on its hostless webradios, when I'm looking for a certain rhythm, a rockier vibe in my ears.