My Experience at The Game Awards 2015
On December 3rd this year I ventured to the Microsoft Theater in LA to see the 2nd annual Game Awards. While gaming has no real Oscars, The Game Awards is a step forward when it comes to recognizing achievements in the industry from the largest AAA titles to the single person teams that make the scene what it is today. For myself, it was an excuse to dress up, usually a practice I reserve for times when I’m contractually obligated to do so. Being able to hangout and banter with old friends and colleagues was a plus, as well as being able to evaluate the show in a way that can’t be done via the broadcast.
The Microsoft Theater is a reasonably sized venue with a fairly large main seating area and mezzanine sections. Most of the seats to the right of the stage remained unoccupied throughout the event with most of the area slated for Twitch Partners that were invited to the event I was told. It was there I enjoyed the show with a handful of industry friends and colleagues in an almost MST3K kind of way, with a continuous play by play of the goings on happening between us.
The actual stage setup was pretty well done with a combination of projection and massive arrays of LED panels making up the main screens as well as the backdrops for speakers flanking either side of the stage. These elements were complimented by the vast amount of lighting rigs in use both on the ground and suspended from truss above. Other set pieces were brought out as needed for various parts of the show including the performances to further augment the setting. Overall while not extremely impressive (I’ve been spoiled by laser systems and indoor pyrotechnics) is was a very respectable stage with custom animations taking full advantage of the visual real estate available.
The execution however, was simply not up to snuff in my opinion. The DMX lighting, and the various show elements including audio and video, most likely a Tricaster were all fine at the venue, but the major issues were procedural in nature. The biggest being when Viva Seifert won the Award for Best Performance for her role in Her Story with the game being announced as Witcher 3. This most likely was a miss-printed cue card, but the mix-up created a very awkward moment for production and a very confused Marcin Iwinski who was sitting right behind Viva. Overall it was laughed off, and while unfortunate isn’t really that big of a deal, it just comes off as a bit amateurish. My only other really major complaint on the logistics side was how Joel Zimmeran’s performance was handled, A.K.A. Canadian Producer Deadmau5.
The performance itself was great with a handful of remixes of classic video game songs and some new material to boot though it wouldn’t be my first choice for closing out this event. Though I have to say I don’t put any ill will towards Joel since the event should have had its own proper finale and closing ceremony. After the 5 minute performance had ended the stream went directly to black, while at the venue the main lights came online with Joel announcing “Shows over, go home!” The audience laughed it off, but then we quickly realized the show was indeed over and we were being escorted out of the theater. No thank you for coming, no thanks to the academy or the industry/broadcast partners, etc. With myself and my friends all having lengthy experiences in professional broadcast and production it was very puzzling and surreal to say the least, especially after not 5 minutes we were being asked to clear out of the lobby while fans were eager to take pictures with major community icons and professionals.
In contrast the tribute to the late Satoru Iwata who sadly passed away earlier this year was handled well and with a lot of thought and care put into the presentation, with Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aimé delivering a very heartfelt speech on Satoru’s impact and accomplishments. Iwata was a true Titan in this industry with a legacy to match, and undeniably one of the reasons this industry is where it is today, with Ben Harper performing a short musical tribute. Also very well produced was a short documentary about the story of Westwood Studios and Dune II, which many consider to be the birth of the Real Time Strategy genre influencing all that have followed all the way up to the hyper-competitive MOBAs that now represent the largest player bases on the planet.
One of the most talked about parts of the event however, did not induce tears but rage; In what amounted to a giant public shaming, perhaps rightfully deserved was the announcement from Keighley himself that Konami’s lawyers had barred Metal Gear Solid 5 Developer Hideo Kojima from attending the event in person. Immediately this generated not only booing live in the venue but much controversy online, adding fuel to the fire that is the backlash against Konami’s recent business practices and how it has treated its own employees and developers as well as the fans themselves. In general, Konami is positioning itself for an exodus from thecore gaming industry and moving on towards casino and gambling machines exclusively, but the way they have handled that transition has drawn the ire of both their consumers and the industry at large. While I doubt the statements made were scripted, something tells me this was at least run past production and/or standards and practices beforehand.
Major celebrity appearances by Mark Hamill, best known for portraying Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars Trilogy and, Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal definitely added some star power. Among the various first looks and announcements was a remake of a SNES and Genesis cartridge by the name of Shaq-Fu. Commonly ranked as one of the worst games of the era, there even used to be a website dedicated to finding and destroying every copy of the game ever made. While the prospect of a remake is hilarious, it would be a feat to pull off a decent fighting game with a campy story played mostly for laughs. Chris Roberts was also present for a new Star Citizen gameplay trailer featuring Ship-Ship combat, EVA, and FPS gameplay was shown, as well as the first gameplay for Far Cry Primal later on along with a variety of other trailers and announcements.
Also unexpected was the announcement of Psychonauts 2, and while exciting for fans of the original has generated much conversation regarding developer Tim Schafer’s history of managing development, DoubleFine’s recent projects, and a potential conflict of interest depending on just how much Double Fine is involved with Fig, a new crowd funding platform the game will be launched on offering actual investment opportunities, but the specifics could be its own article, so at the least I would encourage others to do their own research for the time being.
Moving on, I have one other major criticism regarding the event structure, namely the marketing aspect. For the time being I’m okay with the show featuring major announcements, even though the various world premieres felt like they take center stage over the actual award show itself. Star Wars Battlefront being plugged every 15 minutes or so only exacerbated the feeling that the event proper was secondary, though the effort put into the various musical acts including Chvrches performing “Leave a Trace” and Stefanie Joosten singing “Quiet’s theme” with a full choir and cryogenic effects filling the stage. A lot of care went into these sections of the show, and the production team deserves ample credit. Though I will say while GeoffKeighley performed his duties sufficiently, his role as Master of Ceremonies could use some improvement, but that’s just my personal opinion.
Overall while I expected more from the show as a professional who has been in the business of top-tier production for some time, I do think it’s a definite step in the right direction. A more conservative approach to marketing during the event and a bigger emphasis on the people who make the industry what it is and the awards themselves would aid greatly in bringing more legitimacy to the event. On the awards themselves, while we can all agree that the fan voted awards are nice “most anticipated game” is a dumb category, along with “Esports team of the year” being a popularity contest rather than based on actual merit with Optic winning out over EG and TSM. A more diverse jury panel than just media organizations if possible would be a boon as long as major conflicts of interest can be avoided.
I’ll touch on the last aspect of the event that most people won’t see, the After Party. A massive tent setup on top of one of LA Live’s parking garages was the venue of choice. After we had stood in a very long but relatively fast-moving line wrist-bands were cinched on and we finally walked up to the venue proper, greeted by multiple fog machines and more DMX lighting. The interior hosted a central bar and another off to the side featuring $4 bottled water and $7 Bud Lites which is par for the course in my experience for these types of events. On the right side were massive rear-projection screens featuring classic playable games such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Pacman, and on the left side a landscape of arcade cabinets ranging from 80’s classics to newer cabinets such Time Crisis 2.
It was a pretty well-done environment as far as these things usually go, with a stage all the way in the back and plenty of relatively high-end audio and lighting gear. You could feel the bass vibrating through your entire body. EDM and Rave scenes have always had this weird social experience that’s not only hard to explain but hard to replicate, and I won’t attempt to explain it here. Rumor had it Skrillex was showing up around midnight at the general admission party (and show up he did), but I had to get some sleep to catch my 6 AM flight that morning. Still I did partake in the excitement with my friends before I decided I desperately needed sleep.
All the pieces are in place for the game awards, they simply need to execute better on their stratagem and fine touches going into the future. For now it’s a big step forward, and I’d like to personally thank everyone involved in producing the event, as well as the industry professionals and fans both live at the venue and watching online.
