Well ladies and gentlemen, 2015 has almost come to an end. It seems weird to think of that, since it doesn’t feel like it’s been a very long year. These have been twelve very short months. Yet in those twelve months, hundreds of great video games have seen launches. On December 3, IGN celebrated this year of gaming in the Microsoft Theater, where the greatest games, game developers, and even gamers were were given awards to commemorate their accomplishments, while people discussed the games of the year and even announced new games. Here are my thoughts on some of my favorite parts of the event. Also if you want to watch the show before you read my article, it’s right here.
First of all I must say that the pre-show was very entertaining and you shouldn’t skip it on your viewing of it. The pre-show introduced the nominees of the different categories with commentary by several gamers from shows and organizations like Mega64, Polygon, Nerdist, and of course IGN. This was a great way to introduce the nominees and the commentators (especially Rocco Botte) gave explanations to the games that were informative and often hilarious.
Before we get to the actual awards I should mention some of the games that were announced during the presentation. Rock Band VR looks very interesting. Rock Band was always the game that makes you feel like a rock star, and soon you’ll be able to experience it all in virtual reality. The only thing I can think of that could ruin the realism is the rhythm bar that tells you when to press the buttons, but the funny thing is during the trailer I couldn’t see one, so that’s kind of weird.
A crowdfunding campaign for Psychonauts 2 was announced also. From what I heard Psychonautswas a game about a psychic who went to a camp to strengthen his psychic abilities. I mainly know about the game from a crossover with Bit.Trip Runner 2, but I’ve heard it’s a very popular game. I’ve also heard that it came out in 2005, so it’s about time that it gets a sequel! It definitely looks like something I might check out when it’s made. If you want to make sure this game becomes a reality, maybe donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.
Splatoon won best shooter and best multiplayer game, and you can see how I feel about that game in my review of it. Super Mario Maker also won best family game, and to that I have to say SUPER MARIO MAKER IS ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES I HAVE EVER PLAYED, IT TOTALLY DESERVES THIS SPOT! HEY, DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO TURN OFF CAPS LOCK BECAUSE I CAN’T FIGure it out! Oh, there we go.
Ori and the Blind Forest won best art direction, and out of the games they had in that category I say it definitely deserved it. The other choices all went with a super-realistic approach to the art, and while some may say that looks good, it definitely isn’t creative enough to get an art direction award.
Rocket League won best sports game and best indie game, and I have this to say on the subject. Generally, I don’t like soccer games. I also don’t like realistic racing games. Yet when you put the two together it creates something that I actually want to play.
The nominees for the trending gamer category were definitely very good choices in my opinion. We have Total Biscuit, one of the most respected game reviewers on the internet, PewDiePie, the person that more people watch on YouTube than anyone else, Markiplier, the self-proclaimed king of Five Nights at Freddy’s who some say cares about his fans more than anyone else does, and Greg Miller and Christopher Mykles, two people I had never even heard of before the award show! Out of those choices, the one that was considered the best in the end was… Greg Miller. Maybe I should watch his stuff more after this. Actually, I notice that most of the winners are games and people I either hadn’t heard of or hadn’t played before. This is the part where I stare at my Mario poster and wonder whether or not I deserve to call myself a true gamer.
Best narrative and best performance went to the game Her Story, a game where you have to use clues from witness accounts and other evidence to solve a crime. It definitely looks interesting, especially since most of the game is live action, which is uncommon in an interactive medium like video games.
Also, Lara Croft Go won best mobile game. I don’t have much to say on the matter, other than the fact that Pac-Man 256 was also nominated. I just felt like mentioning that three of the games I’ve reviewed were nominated for awards, even if I haven’t played most of the winners.
Before we get to the actual awards I should mention some of the games that were announced during the presentation. Rock Band VR looks very interesting. Rock Band was always the game that makes you feel like a rock star, and soon you’ll be able to experience it all in virtual reality. The only thing I can think of that could ruin the realism is the rhythm bar that tells you when to press the buttons, but the funny thing is during the trailer I couldn’t see one, so that’s kind of weird.
A crowdfunding campaign for Psychonauts 2 was announced also. From what I heard Psychonautswas a game about a psychic who went to a camp to strengthen his psychic abilities. I mainly know about the game from a crossover with Bit.Trip Runner 2, but I’ve heard it’s a very popular game. I’ve also heard that it came out in 2005, so it’s about time that it gets a sequel! It definitely looks like something I might check out when it’s made. If you want to make sure this game becomes a reality, maybe donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.
Splatoon won best shooter and best multiplayer game, and you can see how I feel about that game in my review of it. Super Mario Maker also won best family game, and to that I have to say SUPER MARIO MAKER IS ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES I HAVE EVER PLAYED, IT TOTALLY DESERVES THIS SPOT! HEY, DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO TURN OFF CAPS LOCK BECAUSE I CAN’T FIGure it out! Oh, there we go.
Ori and the Blind Forest won best art direction, and out of the games they had in that category I say it definitely deserved it. The other choices all went with a super-realistic approach to the art, and while some may say that looks good, it definitely isn’t creative enough to get an art direction award.
Rocket League won best sports game and best indie game, and I have this to say on the subject. Generally, I don’t like soccer games. I also don’t like realistic racing games. Yet when you put the two together it creates something that I actually want to play.
The nominees for the trending gamer category were definitely very good choices in my opinion. We have Total Biscuit, one of the most respected game reviewers on the internet, PewDiePie, the person that more people watch on YouTube than anyone else, Markiplier, the self-proclaimed king of Five Nights at Freddy’s who some say cares about his fans more than anyone else does, and Greg Miller and Christopher Mykles, two people I had never even heard of before the award show! Out of those choices, the one that was considered the best in the end was… Greg Miller. Maybe I should watch his stuff more after this. Actually, I notice that most of the winners are games and people I either hadn’t heard of or hadn’t played before. This is the part where I stare at my Mario poster and wonder whether or not I deserve to call myself a true gamer.
Best narrative and best performance went to the game Her Story, a game where you have to use clues from witness accounts and other evidence to solve a crime. It definitely looks interesting, especially since most of the game is live action, which is uncommon in an interactive medium like video games.
Also, Lara Croft Go won best mobile game. I don’t have much to say on the matter, other than the fact that Pac-Man 256 was also nominated. I just felt like mentioning that three of the games I’ve reviewed were nominated for awards, even if I haven’t played most of the winners.
At one point during the show, Nintendo of America’s president, Reggie Fils-Aime, paid tribute to Satoru Iwata, the former president of Nintendo who tragically passed away recently. I can personally say that Iwata was a man that will be missed. Even though some of his business decisions may have been controversial, Nintendo never came close to failing under his rule. When I think of the people behind Nintendo, there are three people I thought of: Shigeru Miyamoto, Reggie, and Iwata. Now there’s just two (okay, I guess Bill Trinen is fun in some of the Nintendo Direct videos, but he could never replace the guy entirely). Let’s hope that Tatsumi Kimishima can be a worthy successor to the Nintendo throne. Let’s please have a moment of silence to remember this great man. … Oh right, we can’t have a moment of silence in text, can we? Let’s have a …paragraph of ellipses to remember this great man, then!
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This awards show didn’t disappoint. The few nominees I have played got the recognition they deserved and I was even introduced to some games that I might want to play in the future. I’m looking forward to what this new year will bring us in terms of gaming.