Game Writing awards suffer from a number of problems, but one of them is that no-one is in a position to review all the relevant material. With commercial games running at 40 hours or so and sometimes longer, and requiring high game literacy to play, who are you going to find with both the time and the skills to review all the submissions?
While I agree that assessing the scripts is not going to be a fair evaluation (I think about my RPGs and adventure games and wonder who on a panel would be able to interpret such a script!), it is at least plausible. I don't believe the WGA could attempt anything else.
And compare other writing awards. The Game Developer's Choice award devolves into rewarding already successful games, because people vote for the games they love and do not really assess the narrative content at all.
I don't have a solution - if I did, I would push it through the Game Writers SIG - but I do recognise that there is a problem.
One thing that I would like to see added, though, is a Game Writing award for games developed on a budget of less than $100,000 (or some similar criteria).
Anyway, enough rambling. :)
Best wishes!
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Posted by Chris on Oct 4, 2007 five past five am
Game Writing awards suffer from a number of problems, but one of them is that no-one is in a position to review all the relevant material. With commercial games running at 40 hours or so and sometimes longer, and requiring high game literacy to play, who are you going to find with both the time and the skills to review all the submissions?
While I agree that assessing the scripts is not going to be a fair evaluation (I think about my RPGs and adventure games and wonder who on a panel would be able to interpret such a script!), it is at least plausible. I don't believe the WGA could attempt anything else.
And compare other writing awards. The Game Developer's Choice award devolves into rewarding already successful games, because people vote for the games they love and do not really assess the narrative content at all.
I don't have a solution - if I did, I would push it through the Game Writers SIG - but I do recognise that there is a problem.
One thing that I would like to see added, though, is a Game Writing award for games developed on a budget of less than $100,000 (or some similar criteria).
Anyway, enough rambling. :)
Best wishes!