In case you missed it, the nominees for the 10th Annual Game Awards will air on December 12th, announced. Some front-runners were unsurprisingly nominated in multiple categories, e.g. astronomy robot and Metaphor: Fantasiareceived seven and six nominations respectively. But there are also some surprises, like independent darling Balatero Also nominated for the show’s top award. But after all these years, the timing of the awards ceremony baffles me, especially when I see it inadvertently undermining games that were eligible for nominations but were released too close to the deadline to get a proper chance of consideration. Yes, I’m talking about BioWare Dragon Age: Veiled Wardens.
For context, any game released to the public before November 22nd (a few days before Monday’s announcement of nominations) is eligible for this year’s nominations. According to the staff Jury Exit my city Interviews have been conducted and ballots are due on November 12th. my city Respondents explained that they had to vote at an earlier date in order for those votes to be counted for submission. The result is several overlapping deadlines that impact which games actually have a reasonable chance of being nominated for The Game Awards. games like this Veil GuardThe project, which can take up to 60 hours to complete and starts with less than two weeks before the vote is due, is more affected by timing than any other factor. Voters don’t have as much time to play it as they do with similar epic games Elden Ring: Shadow of the Eldtree It was released earlier and doesn’t benefit from brevity as much as some games, e.g. astronomy robot.
Since there is no time lag between the eligibility cutoff and the voting cutoff, timing determines whether certain contests make it to the ballot. Oftentimes, The Game Awards aren’t a celebration of the best and brightest in the industry; The most popular and mainstream games voters actually play. Games that haven’t launched yet are technically eligible, but many voters are unlikely to spend much time playing them, if at all. Sure, someone might have a review copy, but one or two people at a publication trying to convince colleagues who haven’t touched a game to give it a spot on a single ballot at the industry’s biggest awards show is a A wrong approach. The lack of a meaningful gap between the eligibility deadline and the voting deadline is particularly harmful for races that technically fall within the window but are only available to a select few jurors and only briefly before voting.
For example, Stalker 2 It launches today (November 20th), and while I don’t think it will get many nominations, it’s technically eligible under the current structure of The Game Awards. But a game that only a handful of the jury can devote a reasonable amount of time to is never going to have a fair chance because statistically, almost no one on the jury will be able to play it. As long as the show’s eligibility window ends before the voting deadline, games launching close to the show itself will be sprinting ahead of the competition that’s already been ahead for months. sometimes games like this spider man 2 Despite its late release, it managed to break into multiple categories because it’s a huge first-party IP that you can complete in a comfortable 20 hours. Other games end like Veil Guard, The timing of the release is so unfavorable that you only get one nomination in Accessibility, chosen by a panel of experts whose role in the awards is to tweak the pillars of game design.
compare this with Grammy Awardsone of the biggest awards shows in the music industry. The next one is scheduled for February 2, but eligibility criteria are still months away from the actual show. The 2025 Grammy Awards will honor music released from September 16, 2023 to August 30, 2024. Announcement ends on November 8th. Allow all the time and space to actually consider what should be nominated. I wouldn’t support an actual Grammy nomination because the show has its own institutional problems and a very narrow view of what deserves recognition. However, the structure of its eligibility and nomination process does sound like it could solve some of The Game Awards’ problems.
Many other video game award shows, For example, the BAFTA Game Awardsdon’t do that either, and instead put a few months between the eligibility window and the actual show date. So why does The Game Awards do this? We reached out to the show for comment but didn’t receive a reply in time for publication, but I’m assuming most of it comes down to the show It feels like a game ad Instead of celebrating them. December is a strategic time for publishers who want their games to receive accolades as people look for Christmas lists. I wonder if The Game Awards is capable of such a shake-up, given how embedded it is in the industry’s marketing cycle. But if the show considers how its structure inevitably undermines a game like this Veil Guardwhich might make for a better, more representative event.
It is inevitable that someone will say Veil Guard Not being snubbed, just not worthy of recognition. Putting aside the months of virulent transphobic and racist drivel surrounding the Olympics, here’s a discussion. There is no doubt that it is One of the most controversial games In the BioWare directory. But anyone who thinks its timing didn’t factor into its complete demise is kidding themselves, the kind of fundamental failure that will one day affect the games you love and the games you don’t. Justice to Gareth David-Lloyd, you deserve a Best in Show award for your work as Solas.
