Ways that The Game Awards 2024 improved and areas where it fell short

With another year of Geoff Keighley’s “The Game Awards” behind us, it feels important to take stock of the ways this latest show improved and areas where it fell short compared to previous years. Keighley’s show has been under constant scrutiny ever since its inception in 2014 (which followed from the truly awful Spike Game Awards years prior) and ever the professional, Keighley has dedicated himself to listening to all of the feedback he receives. The Game Awards 2024 stands as possibly the best show since its creation, though that doesn’t mean it’s quite achieved its perfect form just yet.

Here are some of the ways we feel TGA 2024 improved and some of the ways where it fell short of what it should be.

 

Improvements

 

The most significant change for The Game Awards 2024 is that there was some actual discussion about the state of the industry. None of it came from Geoff, but the fact that we had a segment dedicated to Amir Satvat, an influencer from Connecticut who was given the first “Game Changers” award, was more than I ever expected. Satvat worked to create a free resource where developers and aspiring industry personnel can discover open positions across different companies. While there is some contention about whether or not Satvat’s goals are truly altruistic, it’s still a positive step for the industry that has helped people land jobs at various studios.

There was also the speech Swen Vincke, director of Baldur’s Gate 3 (last year’s GOTY winner), gave when presenting the “Game of the Year” to Astro Bot. He didn’t pull any punches mocking the overall length of the show, the lackluster presentation from last year, and how safe the winners have been in previous years. In a brave move, too, he was wearing a ceasefire pin on his lapel, signaling that Geoff is at least willing to have his guests display their political affiliations on stage.

 

 

It’s also nice to see that major creators such as Hideo Kojima took a backseat to the other studios and creators receiving awards during the night. In 2022, The Game Awards practically came to a screeching halt so Kojima could present an overly long trailer for Death Stranding 2 that didn’t reveal much of anything. This year, Kojima-san sat in the audience, nodded his head when shouted out, and gave recognition to others for their hard work in creating the nominees for this year.

Faults

 

The biggest fault with this year’s presentation is that the actual awards barely made up a fraction of the show’s runtime. Everyone was maddened by last year’s “Please Wrap it Up” sign and while Keighley did attempt to change this, he did it in a way that put less emphasis on the games receiving recognition. While major categories were given speeches from developers, a majority of the 29 categories up for grabs were rattled off in quick segments between trailers. It felt disrespectful, even if that wasn’t Keighley’s intention. At the very least, it did heighten the pacing of the show, but not having anyone speak for categories such as “Best Family Game” or “Best Indie Game” was odd.

The inclusion of Statler and Waldorf from The Muppets was also a missed opportunity. While I appreciate that Keighley had the duo roast him and point out the flaws from previous shows, this year didn’t do enough to change some of the major problems that The Game Awards has. When Waldorf is bemoaning the constant advertisements after the audience just sat through a string of advertisements, that feels like a weak attempt at meta-humor more than anything.

 

 

The influx of trailers for new titles also distracted from what an awards show is supposed to be about: celebrating the past year of gaming achievements. After rapid-firing a string of awards, the show would present a new trailer, and more times than not, it was a cinematic with next to no gameplay. One could excuse the Ōkami sequel’s lack of gameplay as the announcement was more about a belated new installment and director Hideki Kamiya’s return to one of his most beloved franchises, but there didn’t seem to be much purpose in showcasing something like Mafia: The Old Country apart from highlighting a “Wishlist Now” prompt.

There’s still an over-reliance on celebrity appearances, as well. While one could point to a show such as The Oscars and its reliance on celebrity speeches and such, their presence is usually linked to one of the film’s nominated or their win from the prior year. Geoff Keighley has access to literally anyone he wants from the games industry to present and he still opts to bring in outside talent. Propping up Snoop Dogg, Harrison Ford, and Abubakar Salim when they aren’t directly connected to any games is bizarre. At least Aaron Paul’s skit with Laura Bailey not only included a known video game actor but dealt with his appearance in an upcoming game.

 

 

All in all

 

Overall, though, it’s hard to state that The Game Awards 2024 was bad. Unfortunately, the awards part makes up so little of the show, but Geoff Keighley has done a lot to improve things from previous years. Seeing as how he is still evolving and mutating the show each year, there is a chance that 2025 will be closer to the ideal form this show can take. We may never get rid of constant trailers and advertisements, but if problems within the industry and ways we can help it continue to be highlighted, this show might be worth tuning into every year.

 

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