Games Aren't Numbers

Ever since the Spike Video Game Awards' forgettable mess of hype and marketing last year I've been aching for a real awards show that actually puts forth an honest effort. No matter how flawed the concept is of designating a single game to be the greatest of the entire year, award shows that acknowledge genuine merit ultimately are healthy for the community because they promote excellence. Of course this goes two ways though, and awards simply about hype like Spike VGA promote mediocrity.

I love indie games but this is why I hate them

There aren't very many decent videogame awards out there, and those that do exist are not nearly large enough to make a difference outside of small circles. There is however one I wish to draw attention to: the Writer's Guild Awards. These folks have been giving out awards since 1949 for film and television, and just last year began recognizing videogames as a legitimate category. Last year's winner was Dead Head Fred (written by Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan) and you can check out the nominations for this year on their site. One of them, Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!, is even a small time game I would never have noticed if it wasn't for their promotion of it. I don't expect this event to shake the industry or anything, but it's a step in a good direction for videogames. As an adolescent industry it's slowly learning to act like an adult now and be taken seriously by other adults. Hopefully it can learn to handle this responsibility maturely, both at awards like these and in everything it does.