TGA Was Cringe. Video Game Creators Deserve Much Better
This year's The Game Awards was, as I expected, long and hectic, even though there were no major flops – and surprises. We all know Baldur’s Gate 3 kicks ass. But the party itself was kinda iffy.
In 2013, after the failure of the Spike Video Game Awards, disappointed Geoff Keighley pulled a million American dollars out of his own pocket and covered the preparations for the first The Game Awards gala. The first event took place on December 5, 2014, the winner was Dragon Age: Inquisition. But never mind the Inquisition; it was during this event that the first gameplay trailer from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was revealed. So basically, the industry and players could immediately see that TGA was a phenomenon.
9 years later, the TGA has become a fancy event watched by millions of people – and getting millions from the sponsors. Big stage, a spectacle, electronic jingles, Hollywood stars and a hectic pace punctuated by cringe-worthy jokes. That's today's TGA and the price we pay to watch reveal trailers from new games.
What happens at TGA, stays at TGA
After lesson from last year's TGA learned, security at the Peacock Theater has been strengthened and beefy gentlemen maintaining order have appeared in force. And that's good, because we can laugh all we want at the kid who stormed the stage to talk nonsense through the microphone as the Elden Ring creators were awarded, but... that wasn't really funny at all.
There were also no uncomfortably long speeches. This record still belongs to Christopher Judge, who at last year's gala talked for 7 minutes and 59 seconds after receiving the statuette. Interestingly, this year Judge presented the award in the Best Performance category and did not pretend he didn't remember that speech, stating that at least it was longer than the single-player campaign of the new Call of Duty. For this reason too – that is, because of Judge's memorable speech – the music rushing the award recipients' speeches would start after just a minute. I did count.
I always have very ambivalent feelings towards The Game Awards. On the one hand, I like this celebration, and not just because of the trailers and new games, but precisely because it's simply that – a celebration for gamers. On the other hand, this elan, glitter, pearly smiles, silly jokes and cringe speeches make me want to pretend I don't really see and hear all that. TGA would really like to be like the Oscars of video games, but the nature of gaming doesn't go hand in hand with red carpets, Versace evening gowns costing as much as ten times my monthly rent, and apart from that: botox, and speeches about poverty delivered by people driving Aston Martins.
All galas of this type rely on a fake smiles and whitened teeth. Everything is smiling and sprinkled with sequins and glitz. Joy, carnival, party, celebration – and in the background, exuberant amounts of money. And so it goes. Stars from various universes make their appearance: Matthew McConaughey, Timothee Chalamet, Jordan Peele, Simu Liu, Anthony Mackie, the Heilung, group and the muppet Gonzo. And suddenly he comes in – the long-awaited savior of gaming, the prophet himself, Hideo Kojima, and proceeds to play a strange trailer and speak a foreign language. The crowd is left dazzled, we're headed for the commercials break.
However, this hectic TGA formula annoys me – everything is rushing as if Geoff was renting the Peacock Theater not by the hour, but by the minute and soon would have to ask everyone leave the hall, because at 6 pm the pigeon keepers' conference has to begin. Everything is rushed, in fact, to such extent that some categories simply whizz by across the screen and it's easy to miss the winner. It amuses me when you read the nominees for, for example, Best Family Game, and after a nanosecond it says that Mario won, only to find out that the next nanosecond, the creators are already on stage. Best Art Direction, an important category, is as important as Best Esports Event, although less important than Creator of the Year (I presume, because ironmouse, a character hidden behind a virtual avatar, could at least speak to the audience).
Swen Vincke in shining armor returns victorious
It's all because, of course, even though TGA has "Awards" in its name, it's actually an industry event where the big players can advertise themselves. Big announcements are sprayed with paid commercials from hits like Call of Duty and Warframe. Awards are just an excuse. It's impossible not to notice that some (most) of the categories absolutely don't matter. Hideo Kojima speaks longer than three winners combined. There is something deeply wrong with the fact that the awarded person has a minute, and any other person advertising their game can talk endlessly. And then there was the cringe dialogue with a Hollywood star and a lip-synced song.
During The Game Awards, nerds and geeks who have been writing lines of code for the past decades, instead of cruising in a luxury Ferrari on the streets of Las Vegas, receive awards. Now, these same programmers, dressed in ill-fitting suits (or shiny armor), have to utter some convincing lines from the stage, as a million viewers is watching. And these really "small" producers – indie devs – these are the most honest moments of this event, because these creators can then stand in front of millions and realize how far they have come, even though a moment ago they were designing levels in a basement.
And so it goes. This is what these kind of events look like. Geoff Keighley is not Ricky Gervais, who would at least put this glitz in brackets and reduce it to irony – this laughter, cringe and falsehood are serious. And although I sound like I'm being sarcastic, I'm actually okay with it. It's just a shame that this celebration doesn't serve those who created these beautiful games. But however sad it may sound – there was no, and there still isn't, a better gaming event, and TGA is bending over backwards to promote game development even among those who have little to do with games.
And what do I even think about the winners and losers? Oh give me a break, awards? I can play you a Samsung ad...
