The Videogame Oscars

Gamasutra has responses to its weekly question of the week, this time looking at whether there will ever be an Oscars for games. The responses focused on some of the current crop of awards currently handed out, from the GDCA to Spike's debacle. From the article: "No one in the industry has taken the previous attempts at an award show seriously because they shows seem to offer up an award to the highest bidder and not the one most deserving. The only exception that I've seen come close to being a decent awards show is the Interactive Achievement Awards put on by AIAS. So how about we stop having rappers involved with the award shows based on the grounds that they like to play their Xbox? Or if we must have them involved, how about having Will Wright host the BET Awards Show? That makes about as much sense."

Let's Hope Not

[p_conrad]

Like we really need another back-patting award ceremony for entertainment that critics love and audiences ignore.

A Word From Carmack

[rsmith-mac]

In late 2004, John Carmack made a good post [slashdot.org] about why award shows like this simply do not fit for video games. I'd like to repost that comment(again), because it's still as true today as it was then.

I did the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awards show a few years ago -- I was inducted into the hall of fame one year, then the next year I inducted Will Wright.

I hated it, but it is a big industry, and there is a broad range of people involved. Honestly, I'm almost certainly in the minority. One developer that I was talking to backstage was very bullish about how important it was to legitimize the industry with events like this, but I just don't have any empathy for what I perceive as "Hollywood envy".

Some award show issues are just a result of stupidity -- I felt so bad watching Hironobu Sakaguchi of Squaresoft, a non-native english speaker, being forced to read a long speech written by some PR type about me. I threw out what they gave me to say about Will, and wrote something more to the point myself.

I do feel that there is a rather fundamental mismatch with big awards shows for game development, because game development isn't a performing art. You expect actors and musicians to show well, because that is what they do. Why aren't awards for authors the same glamorous events that the movie / TV / music ones are? Game developers are much closer to authors than actors.

John Carmack

Game devs are not performing artists, a glitzy show does not make any sense here.

Ever see the Technical Oscar Awards?

[NickFusion]

Thought not. A room full of geeky guys with a token actress-presenter. Usually gets shown...sheesh, on the slowest of news days, for about 15 seconds.

The Oscars work because people like seeing sexy, glamorous people cavorting about in expensive clothes.

Until the game community starts being sexy, glamorous people cavorting about in expensive clothes, we may have to put the Game Oscars on hold.

Unless it's EXTREME! All the kids love EXTREME!