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."

Comments

Terrible idea.

[Red Samurai]

It would just be dominated by casual garbage like EA games and GTA.

Let's Hope Not

[p_conrad]

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

Night of glam and fashion...

[BecomingLumberg]

Although I think its a valid art form, I would be a little scared to see the 'fashion pre-show'...

Award shows are bunk.

[ShaniaTwain]

Crash was a mediocre movie at best, but they spent almost as much promoting the film for oscar as they spent to make the film. check it out

So why would a video game awards show be any different? And how would a 'serious' awards show for games improve your gaming experience?

It wouldn't.

Like films, you're more likely to find quality entertainment via reccomendations from friends that share your interests. Awards shows are just another promotional oppourtunity, and will always benefit the highest bidders.

Golden statues galore

[DrWily]

The guys at Penny-Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com/ have had the right idea for an awards show for a while: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/12/22 The're right you know...

All awards

[Turn-X Alphonse]

All awards are little more than masturbation for the community. We see all these "top 100 games ever" type of things every year filled with just the latest flashy fad game. Why not instead of wasting money on this crap they spend it on supporting companies who make awesome games but are having trouble right now, or set up contests like NASA does.

This Year's Interactive Achievement Award Winners

[iota]

From: http://www.interactive.org/awards/IAA-9/winners.as p

        The Interactive Achievement Awards have been presented annually since 1998.

        Interactive Achievement Award recipients are determined by a vote of
        qualified Academy members. As such, selection as an Interactive Academy
        award finalist or recipient represents the strongest possible peer
        recognition.

----

9th Annual Interactive Achievement Award Winners

The award winners in each category are as follows:

Game of the Year:

Overall . God of War
Computer . Battlefield
Console . God of War
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming . Guitar Hero

Outstanding Achievement:

Animation . God of War
Art Direction . Shadow of the Colossus
Soundtrack . Guitar Hero
Original Music Composition . God of War
Sound Design . God of War
Story and Character Development . Call of Duty: Big Red One
Game Play Engineering (Tie) . Nintendogs - Guitar Hero
Online Game Play . Battlefield 2
Visual Engineering . Shadow of the Colossus
Game Design . Guitar Hero

Outstanding Character Performance:

Male . God of War
Female . Jade Empire

(Game of the Year In) Genre Awards:

Sports . SSX On Tour
First-Person Action . Battlefield 2
Role-Playing . Jade Empire
Fighting . Soul Calibur 3
Action/ Adventure . God of War
Racing . Need For Speed: Most Wanted
Children's . We Love Katamari
Downloadable . WIK: Fable of Souls
Family . Guitar Hero
Simulation . The Movies
Strategy . Civilization IV
Massively Multiplayer /
Persistent World (Tie) . City Villains - Guild Wars
Handheld . Nintendogs
Cellular . Ancient Empires II

AIAS Hall of Fame Honoree Richard Garriott is the ninth member to be inducted and joins an already impressive fraternity of gaming icons, including Trip Hawkins, Peter Molyneux, Yu Suzuki, Will Wright, John Carmack, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Sid Meier and Shigeru Miyamoto. Garriott is best known for creating and publishing the best-selling Ultima series, including the first commercially successful online game, Ultima Online.

A Word From Carmack

[rsmith-mac]

In late 2004, John Carmack made a good post 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!