The 2024 Game Awards has once again cast a shadow over its adjudication through a questionable nomination
Gaming's de facto night of nights has delivered an unusual, if not inevitable verdict.
Oh, the majesty of The Game Awards: a showcase for Geoff Keighley’s opulent network of celebrities and pervasive advertisements in kind. Since its inauguration in 2014, wherein Dragon Age: Inquisition claimed Game of the Year - puzzling many who were once trained to expecting the Spanish Inquisition - its profile has risen in estimation: the latest rendition drew a crowd of 118 million. Keighley has founded his commercial empire upon a foundation of shameless hawking, beginning with his confirmation as the Doritos Pope. Since, his proprietary ceremony has devoted itself primarily to spotlighting announcements and cross-promotion - from a fraught Fast and Furious feature to a Vegas Strip rollout of Amazon’s Fallout adaptation. The awards themselves are almost incidental, counter to the purpose of a celebration of the industry. Infamously, upon winning Game of the Year, representatives of the Baldur’s Gate 3 team were tactlessly encouraged to wrap their speech up - in the midst of a dedication to Jim Southworth, their lead cinematic artist who had recently passed.
Evidently, there is little integrity to its production. Keighley and co. care for furthering the corporate causes of their industry, rather than the merit of the medium. Regarding its presentation, the assemblage is haphazard, comically allowing a random teenager on stage to dedicate an award to his reformed orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton in 2022. Still, it is nice to have a measure of centrality in discussing the most important titles of a year, irrespective of their sidelining against games to come. For this latest iteration, the slate of nominees range from expected to inexplicable, particularly in an egregious case of goalpost shifting within two major categories. Thus, bear with me as I detail this latest ceremonial curio.
The following are the titles nominated both for Game of the Year and Best Game Direction:
ASTRO BOT - Team Asobi/SIE
Balatro - LocalThunk/Playstack
Black Myth: Wukong - Game Science
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree - FromSoftware/Bandai Namco
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Square Enix
Metaphor: Refantazio - Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega
With due respect to Shadow of the Erdtree, it is not a game: it is an expansion. Though its content enhanced Elden Ring writ large, it is not a standalone statement in a manner consistent with its contemporaries. The only feasible rationalisation of their decision is a desire to draw favour from its devotees, recapturing its fervour from its GOTY campaign in 2022. If Cyberpunk 2077’s expansion in Phantom Liberty was precluded from nomination in these categories, the rule should be consistent. Its Best Narrative nod, nonetheless, indicated the category could potentially serve as a compromise for GOTY recognition. However, a statement from the awards body clarified their judgement:
Expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes and remasters are eligible in all categories, if the jury deems the new creative and technical work to be worthy of a nomination. Factors such as the newness of the content and its price/value should be taken into consideration.
Again, this is rather paradoxical in its phrasing. Remakes and DLC are not similar in their constitution. Silent Hill 2, for instance, is an original project that drew upon the conceptual framework of the original. Its camera, combat, and vocal performances are entirely new. Shadow of the Erdtree is built upon a preexisting title - not only an existing property, but a game that has already won Game of the Year. A comparable parallel to the film industry would be the delivery of a director’s cut. For instance, Ridley Scott is known to tinker with his films the years following their release. In 1982, Blade Runner debuted to middling reception, compromised by its financiers who insisted upon voiceover narration to clarify certain ambiguities to the audience. As the Academy Awards only considers titles in their inaugural year of release, it could only be considered against the films of 1982. In 2007, however, Scott issued his final cut, thoroughly recontextualising the tone, narrative, and visuals; errors from its prior iterations were corrected through computer-generated imagery. Furthermore, deleted scenes were reintegrated, and its ending was changed entirely - thus influencing how one reads the film.
Shadow of the Erdtree sold an astonishing 5 million copies in three days; its crucible of combat has continued to captivate since.
If, per the guidelines of The Game Awards, the Academy allowed its jury to assess the Final Cut as a new statement, rather than a revision, I would consider it a competitive proposition, even amidst a notably strong year. Admittedly, Shadow of the Erdtree is not in the vein of a director’s cut: it is an extensive addition with a wholly original storyline, building atop base mechanics while introducing new manners of engagement. Regardless, it cannot exist without its base game. Thus, it should not be assessed against independent experiences. Returning to Silent Hill 2, Bloober Team were not tasked to repaint their past work: they were enlisted to produce a game with their own bespoke assets - in an identical manner to one of last year’s prominent GOTY contenders in Resident Evil 4. The jury perceived the latter to hold greater merit than a similarly revelatory expansion in Phantom Liberty; the opposite unfurled this year.
Ultimately, The Game Awards can hold their nominations to their own standard. As a private enterprise, they are not beholden to a collection of unions, creatives, nor a storied Academy of Arts and Sciences as the Oscars are. Their voting body is comprised of independent media outlets and content creators; their involvement is driven first by financial incentives, then as a part of their patronage of the medium. Black Myth: Wukong’s acknowledgement will codify a proud crowd on China’s Bilibili platform; Shadow of the Erdtree will draw upon its wide berth of enthusiasm to raise a viewership that would have been lost to them had it not received a pair of prominent nominations. More viewers inevitably makes for more revenue, continuing to assert this awards body as an integral cog in the industry’s marketing machine. Ironically, Elden Ring helps to raise their reputation, rather than tarnish it. Heed your steed and rest within its shadowy canopy.