Brain Candy

Spike VGA: I am Disappointed (Though Not Surprised)


What makes a good game show? Ask anyone who is even mildly interested in games for an answer and you'll hear the same thing. Hosts who know what they're talking about, good jokes and a lot of people from the industry. There's nothing like relishing in the past year of video gaming with a group of people who genuinely care and want to congratulate those who won, and console those who didn't. We want groups of awards filled with games that deserve it and delivered in a way that makes us care. Where does Spike go wrong? Everywhere.

They get one thing right. There are categories, so that's good. But they're delivered by an uninterested computer lady, not even in real time. Clips of the games are played over a voice lacking life and care, and announced by someone mustering out, "And the winner is". There are no fireworks. There are no light shows. No big cheers. It's a room full of people who don't care about the medium but know it will get their station views. It's a disgusting grab for attention, and it sickens me to my core, watching this shit.

I've grown up on videogames. I've defended them in arguments, and I've spent hundreds of hours playing them. Say what you will, but I'm a perfectly adjusted and social individual and I get good grades. I see games as an art, and to see them treated so poorly and whored out for views is something I can't stand for, and it's not something I'm going to sit down and let slide. To see people who don't care gather around to watch someone who doesn't seem to care is something I can't see. And as funny as Neil Patrick Harris is, I don't think he should have won over Rob Wiethoff.

I can't even put into words how repulsed and angered I am by this abomination. If games are to be taken seriously, we have to start by treating them seriously ourselves. Are we, as gamers, going to let them be treated like a joke?