Spike’s rebranded VGX awards: Yup, that happened. Unfortunately it just wasn’t good. I guess they hoped that scaling down and going online would bring in more, newer, and younger viewers. I’m not sure how they did on that front – #VGX was trending on twitter during the live stream, so that’s good, right? As far putting on a good show, however… it just didn’t quite deliver.
Look, I understand the massive undertaking a multi-hour live show like this can be. It takes a lot of people that are on-point for the entire 3-4 hours to make sure things run smoothly, transitions are seamless, the pace and energy of the show are maintained, and that all guests and honorees are represented well. Admittedly, I didn’t tune in for the entire show. I caught about two hours in the middle somewhere. What I did see, however, was a mixed bag of interesting/funny moments with a large glut of “What the hell.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL4hrg49oTg (Woops. Looks like the YouTube copyright vultures got to it. Here’s a different one.)
Oh, the hosting. I don’t understand why Spike didn’t announce Joel McHale would be co-hosting earlier than they did. He was announced the day before the awards – that’s not good. An earlier announcement could have lent some credence to the show and garnered more viewership. I, myself, had missed the announcement, and was surprised when McHale showed up on screen when I tuned in. Being a Community fan, I probably would have made it a point to start watching earlier if I knew Joel was co-hosting. Perhaps they had lost a co-host, or maybe Geoff Keighly was meant to solo host all along, but in a last minute grasp of “Oh shit, no one’s going to watch! We need star power!” they added Joel McHale to the mix. I wonder how it would have turned out with Geoff hosting by himself. My instincts say it would have turned out like the live-stream E3 press conferences, minus the large crowd. Unfortunately, it’s the large crowd reactions that really make those things work. Judging by the wide crane shots of the loft used by the VGX awards, there werent’t very many people in attendance. Most people there seemed to be crowded around the bar, which meant very few people were even watching the main part of the show. This became readily apparent every time we were met with nigh-dead air when there would have normally been a round of applause. Every time Joel and Geoff (Joeff?) sent off a guest, or announced an award, it was always followed by a thin smattering of forced applause, which I’m guessing had to come from guests on deck or the crew themselves.
It being what it was, I’m happy Joel McHale was there. At some point in my partial viewing, I realized that he was the only reason I was even watching anymore. The constant calling out of how bad things were going and the downward spiral to Joel saying IDGAF was pretty darn hilarious. He wasn’t even being particularly vehement. He was just calling out bullshit where it lay. I understand that mindset as a performer. Yes, for the most part, you try to make the best of a bad situation on set or on stage. There is a limit, however. When something is too far gone, it breaks your willingness to work, to even try and salvage the project. It becomes a waste of time and money, and all you can think about is when you get to leave. Pretty much how I’ve felt at most 9-5 jobs I’ve held. I saw that in Joel McHale during the VGX awards, and I appreciated the hell out of it. I could feel too, whenever he felt like he had overstepped. So it’s not like the guy was remorseless. He was a prisoner of the VGXs and was lashing out at his captors.
There’s a reason why people hire experienced production teams to run the big award shows, like the Oscars, Tonys, and Emmys. There’s a reason why these shows have a team of writers and hire audience members, and seat fillers, and directors that don’t think constantly trucking the camera back and forth is a good idea. No matter the size of the audience, the problems/tasks that need to be dealt with production-wise remain constant. Your script can’t suck, your transistions have to be tight, your talent has to all be on the same page, things have to be rehearsed… etc. You don’t get to throw together a production of this scale and expect it to be something worth watching. And that’s what it felt like. It felt thrown together, and haphazardly at that. It wasn’t a complete debacle, though. The general framework of the show was there, it’s just that the details were lacking. Things were working on the technical side for the most part, which is a good thing. Nothing important crashed and left us with 10 minutes of dead air. Good job.
A few really cool things were announced too, so that rocks. Things I saw that I’m looking forward to: Telltale Games working on a Game of Thrones game, Broken Age (I love me a good adventure game), and Tomb Raider Definiteive Edition (because I’m biased).
And hey, at least it wasn’t the Jamie Kennedy’s KDOC News Year’s Eve special from last year. Wow.
I suppose I applaud Spike for the effort, in trying to do away with the massive, crazy televised awards show, in favor of a more intimate, more content dependent, online-only program. I just hope that maybe they’ll see enough success in it to try again next year, maybe.
Seriously though, what the hell was us with the camera? Why was it moving all over the goddamn place?
At least we got this:
Oh, you probably care about who won what. Here goes! I know, no love for Tomb Raider! Come on, I thought at least Camilla would have gotten the statue for Lara Croft, right? Ah, what do I know? But yeeeahhhh Naughty Dog!
Game of the Year
Winner: Grand Theft Auto 5
BioShock Infinite
Super Mario 3D World
The Last of Us
Tomb Raider
Studio of the Year
Winner: Naughty Dog
Irrational Games
Rockstar North
The Fullbright Company
Most Anticipated Game (voted on by fans)
Winner: Titanfall Destiny
South Park: The Stick of Truth
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Watch Dogs
Best Shooter
Winner: BioShock Infinite
Battlefield 4
Call of Duty: Ghosts Metro: Last Light
Best Independent Game
Winner: Gone Home
Kentucky Route Zero
Papers, Please
The Stanley Parable
Best Action Adventure Game
Winner: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Grand Theft Auto 5
The Last of Us
Tomb Raider
Best Sports Game
Winner: NBA 2K14
FIFA 14
MLB 13: The Show
NHL 14
Best RPG
Winner: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Pokemon X/Y
Best Fighting Game
Winner: Injustice: Gods Among Us
Divekick
Killer Instinct
Tekken Revolution
Best Driving Game
Winner: Forza Motorsport 5
F1 2013
Grid 2
Need for Speed Rivals
Best DLC
Winner: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep
Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall
Mast Effect 3: Citadel
Best Xbox Game
Winner: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
BioShock Infinite
Grand Theft Auto 5
Tomb Raider
Best PlayStation Game
Winner: The Last of Us
Grand Theft Auto 5
Rayman Legends
Tomb Raider
Best Nintendo Game
Winner: Super Mario 3D World
Pikmin 3
Rayman Legends
The Wonderful 101
Best PC Game
Winner: Gone Home
Battlefield 4
Papers, Please
The Stanley Parable
Best Handheld Game
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Pokemon X/Y
Tearaway
Best Casual Game
Winner: Plants vs. Zombies 2
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Disney Infinity
Skylanders Swap Force
Best Voice Actor
Winner: Troy Baker (as Joel in The Last of Us)
Troy Baker (as Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite)
Steven Ogg (as Trevor Philips in Grand Theft Auto 5)
Willem Dafoe (as Nathan Dawkins in Beyond: Two Souls)
Best Voice Actress
Winner: Ashley Johnson (as Ellie in The Last of Us)
Courtnee Draper (as Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite)
Camilla Luddington (as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider)
Ellen Page (as Jodie Holmes in Beyond: Two Souls)
Best Soundtrack
Winner: Grand Theft Auto 5
BioShock Infinite
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
The Last of Us
Best Song in a Game
Winner: “Will the Circle be Unbroken” performed by Courtnee Draper & Troy Baker (BioShock Infinite)
“A.D.H.D.” performed by Kendrick Lamar (Grand Theft Auto 5)
“Sleepwalking” performed by The Chain Gang of 1974 (Grand Theft Auto 5)
“Survival” performed by Eminem (Call of Duty: Ghosts)