The same week that Tequila Works has declared bankruptcy and has joined the long list of companies that are victims of the crisis that the video game sector is going through, five content creators have decided to encourage the staff in one of the worst years that has experienced this creative industry. Pazos64, EricRod, Enoc, Rangu and KarmaDoc are a group of friends who have been enjoying video games for years and sharing their hobby with hundreds of thousands of people through YouTube and Twitch. This weekend, however, they have decided to leave the rooms where they perform live to celebrate an awards gala that has not been conventional at all.
You don’t have to be too sharp to realize that the Then’t Gamen’t Awards are a parody of The Game Awards, the annual gala held in the United States and commonly considered “the Oscars of video games.” Now, while the event organized by Canadian Geoff Keighley seeks to reward the best games of the year, this satirical replica is not so interested in determining which was the GOTY – of game of the year– of 2024, as in taking shame out of the miseries of an industry that so far this year has already accumulated more than 13,000 layoffs and dozens of studio closures. All of this, of course, with the recommended doses of humor and bad humor.
Content creators Enoch, Pazos64, EricRod, KarmaDoc and Rangu
The event wants to take the shame (with humor) out of a sector that has accumulated more than 13,000 layoffs so far this year
After paying their corresponding entrance fee, around six hundred attendees gathered last Saturday afternoon at the Cotxeres de Sants auditorium in Barcelona to see their favorite YouTubers and – if possible – take a photo with them. Meanwhile, around six thousand people followed the event via streaming and participated through chat. In total, there were just over three hours of gala in which there was no shortage of sharp gags, loaded jokes, endless technical errors, “subtle” promotions and many – I repeat, many – videos of kittens.
The first prize of the evening was “the most spectacular host”, a close category in a year of historic failures such as that of Skull & Bones or the one from the movie Borderlandsbut in which –inevitably– he ended up winning concord. The multiplayer game from Firewalk Studios, which Sony closed less than two weeks after its launch and after costing it more than four hundred million dollars, was one of those that received the most blows. This title has become the target of blame for many of the ills of this industry and, the truth is that many times it seems that the frustration that this fact will have caused in the hundreds of employees who have been working in it for years is forgotten. .
Queue of attendees to enter the Cotxeres de Sants auditorium in Barcelona
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The Then’t Gamen’t Awardn’t guest list was by no means short. Among the content creators who participated in the gala were Dayo, Yuffie, Lynx Reviewer, Sara López, Joseju, Zequio, Rebecca Vilchez, Illojuan, Baitybait and Felipez, among others. In fact, some of them attended the event in person, something that did not go unnoticed by the audience, who did not hesitate to take out their cell phone for a photo. Likewise, the event also had the participation of video game developers such as Valeria Castro, Guinxu or Jandu; the latter even presented a new game in the form of World Premierea visual novel inspired by TV soap operas Indomitable destiny.
Reviewing the award-winning categories is like reviewing a list of some of the main problems in the industry. The “Is that game out?” It can be interpreted as a reflection of the saturation of releases that the sector is experiencing, where a title that has perhaps taken years of work can end up forgotten in a matter of days. Another sarcastic award was for “best use of AI”, although one of those that caused the most laughter was “best game to introduce children to gambling”, which Nintendo won with a poker game starring Luigi .
Several content creators and developers attended the event in person, such as Guinxu, Joseju, Rebecca Vilchez or Felipez, among others
Reality is stranger than fiction
The video game sector in 2024 has provided plenty of material for a satirical gala
Although it may be annoying, you have to laugh at the fact that there is an award “for the best photo before announcing layoffs”, and this year there have been many occasions in which important executives in this industry, such as Phil Spencer from Xbox or PlayStation’s Jim Ryan have posted photos with their workers just days before announcing studio closures and mass layoffs. Finally, there was no shortage of the “award for the best Spanish game that doesn’t look Spanish” which, as expected, went to the wonderful Snow by Nomada Studio. That the attending public could participate in these votes thanks to colored cards – something that was already put into practice in the last edition – was a successful dynamic.
It is striking how many of the jokes that Pazos64, EricRod, Enoc, Rangu and KarmaDoc threw on stage could be absolutely cryptic to a viewer outside their live shows. It is something that I shared with Américo Ferraiuolo, one of the people in charge of the video game magazine of Loop who, sitting on my left, sometimes felt as lost as a servant. Luckily, on my right I had Enrique Gil, alias Reseñas Cortas, who updated me on all the details of the “lore” of his channels.
The Then’t Gamen’t Awardn’t gala has accumulated nearly 250,000 views on the Pazos64 Twitch channel
Like any good Twitch event, there was no shortage of technical problems, something that made the gala slow down at times. However, the production team reacted quickly and, between this and the fantastic performances of the rock band that entertained the event – blessed performance of Herald of Darkness–, we managed to overcome a somewhat bumpy start. Beyond this small setback, the logistics organized by the tireless members of IndieDevDay worked efficiently.
Although The Game Awards are the main reference, there is no doubt that one of the greatest inspirations of these Then’t Gamen’t Awardn’t are the Indie Burger Developer, the satirical awards that emerged more than fifteen years ago to vindicate the work of the independent developers. Although the latter have a little more bite due to their protest nature and for putting their finger on the sore spot of the Spanish industry itself, the event organized by Pazos64, EricRod, Enoc, Rangu and KarmaDoc has managed to connect with a broader audience, thanks in part to its festive nature, but also through some truly memorable comedy numbers. The truth is that it’s going to be difficult for me to forget the gags of Zelda: Echoes of the Wisdom, Yakuza, Prince of Persia and Alone in the Dark.
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