The Geoff Game Awards show was on recently, and I watched it with interest. Not for the awards because they were mostly a foregone conclusion. Not for the trailers, really, as I wasn’t expecting anything that would interest me. Not for the cringe-inducing banter, either.
You would think that negates any incentive for watching the show for me, but I like to watch it as if it were a train wreck or a car crash. But, also, just to keep a finger on the pulse of the games industry since it’s one that I actually pparticipate in, unlike movies or TV.
The interesting thing to me this year is the robust debate on the categories of The Game Awards, how the votes are cast, and if there needs to be a tweaking of either and/or both. Clair Obscur won a vast majority of awards it was nominated for as was expected.
Full confession: this was not my top game of the year; it wasn’t even in the top ten. Everyone was raving about the story, which I thought was, ah, pedestrian at best. Ok, it was hot trash. I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it again.
The debate was mainly about whether it should have been not allowed to be nominated for best indie, best debut indie, and game of the year at the same time. Or rather, whether it should have been allowed to win all three (which it did).
Side note: the vote is such that over a hundred outlets worldwide vote in each category. There is no ranking of the votes; no ascertaining that people acutally played the games; and that’s it. In conrast, for the Golden Joysticks, individuals are chosen as judges for each category. They have to play every game in that category. They have a Zoom meeting to debate the entries, and then they vote.
I watched both shows, and I found the latter to be much better than the former. More thoughtful and not just defaulting to the big name. I was watching some guys debate the topic and arguing vociferously that Clair Obscur deserved all the love. Everybody in that company absolutely loved it, and so did most journalists in the industry. Well, one person in this particular company did not love it, but he could acknowledge that it’s a very good game..
However. The one award it did not win was the one that is voted on by the general public for best game of the year (or whatever it’s called). That was won byy Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games), which is a mobile game. It’s a free-to-play Chinese action RPG, and it’s very popular. Then again, anything made by Chinese developers is very popular in part because China hungers for games from Chinese people, and there are over a billion Chinese people in the world.
Some games journalist indicate that this means the vote should not be for the masses, which is what everyone thinks about their field. I would also bet that the people denigrating Wuthering Waves have not played it. I’m not saying that it is art or that it deserves to be game of thhe year, but I’m also not not saying it. What I am saying is that the people scoffing at it might not be in a position to say, either.
What I realized from listening to people debate about this is that once again, the view is so narrow. Even when they are talking about indie games, they mean the more well-known and safer indies. Hm. Safer might not be the right word, but something akin to that.
It’s a bell curve as I mentioned in the title. What do I mean by that? I mean that what they call weird, I don’t even raise an eyebrow at. There was a statue that was being teased a few days before the show. People datamined and found out what it was. It was from Larian Studios’ new game, Divinity, and there was a trailer for it at the show. It was gory and sweary and had one instance of sex in it. People were debating whether it was too much and over the line. I had to laugh because goriness and swearing are such staples in trailers and games, no one even thinks twice about it.
And, I have to admit that I did not see the sex bit the first time I watched the trailer. When I watched it again and was primed to spot it, I still almost missed it. Plus, it’s not really showing anything other than two ppeople gyrating against each other in a way that does not display any naughty bits. And it’s very brief.
Honestly, I found the trailer to be trying too hard. I will fully admit that I did not play Baldur’s Gate 3 or any of their previous games. I tried really hard with one of the Divinity: Original Sins, and just did not get on with it. I didn’t bother buying Baldur’s Gate 3 because I just knew it was not for me.When I found out the statue was for Divinity, I thought, “Huh. Ok.”
The fact that people were seriously debating whether it was too out there or not for TGA show just underscored how mainstream the show is. And how safe. I know that the main point of the show is to get as many eyes as possible, which means doing things aimed for the mainstream. Or rather, what is the most appealing to the a wide variety of people.
I am not one of those people. I am not close to one of those people. Of all the games I’ve played this year, only a few were even on the radar of other people. I did play all of Clair Obscur, but I wish I hadn’t. I think it’s a solid game, but it’s nowhere near the masterpiece (to me) that everyone else seems to think it is.
I gave it a 7.5, I think, and over time, my opinion on it has gone down even more. I think it’s great that they did something different and succeeded with the general population, but I honestly don’t get the hype.
I had morre fun with my game of the year, more enjoyment from other games, and I think there are a few with better art design as well. I’m not naming any of them because I don’t want to spoil the awards I’m going to give out later. Everyone talks about how much Clair Obscur affected them and how it meant so much. I’m not disparaging that, by the way. I am glad that people have that special moment/feeling about the game.
I just don’t. And I can’t relate to it.
My point is that I’m not just weird–I’m super weird. I am so outside the realm of norrmal (which, I mean, I knew that already). I don’t talk about my opinions that often because I know they are not welcome. And, I don’t want to yuckk other people’s yum.
But, my god. I had to bite my tongue hard over the hearty congratulations that Clair Obscur has gotten. I want to emphasize that I think it’s a good game; I just don’t think it’s a great game. And, the story that everyone else loves so much is shockingly bad. There are so many plot holes, you can drive a Mack truck through them, and the choice at the end, which I know is supposed to be profound and agonizing left me completely cold.
I’m done for today. I will write more about it tomorrow.