Last night was the annual Game Awards show. I was cautiously excited for it, not because I care about the awards but because it is always full of game trailers and I enjoy seeing what is headed our way.

Of course I say I don’t care about the awards but I did vote a few times. I don’t think any of the games I voted for won. Game of the Year went to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, of course. I did not like Zelda much at all. Last year Overwatch won Game of the Year. I HATED Overwatch. I mean with Zelda, I can at least get why so many people love it…it’s just not my thing. But Overwatch? ::shudder::

I get into a LOT of arguments about games, mostly in comment sections of posts. Sometimes just in my own head, by which I mean that I write the dissenting comment then delete it because who needs the hassle? No one ever changed anyone’s mind on the Internet. (I’m pulling out my Hyperbole License for that one.)

The Game Awards are a good reality check for me. A good reminder that everyone likes different things and I tend to like the stuff out on the fringe. That’s why I’m always butting heads. I don’t like the stuff that is popular with the majority, and I do like stuff that most other people don’t.

That, and the fact that I get my nose out of joint when people make statements that are either demonstrably false or state assumptions as facts. Example: In a discussion on micro-transactions the other day someone said (paraphrasing) “I wouldn’t mind these micro-transactions if the money went back into the game, but it just lines the pockets of the greedy publishers.” This comment was made in a discussion about a game that has on-going support (meaning regular new content drops) and no season pass or anything. The comment was getting voted up like mad and I was like “WTF? Where do you think the money to pay for this new content is coming from?” So of course I waded in and got down-voted into oblivion.

I think Truth is important, and it is important not to assume things are true. Question EVERYTHING. Otherwise, as a theoretical example, a reality TV star with a huge number of followers on Twitter could lie through his ass and get himself elected president, then continue to lie on a regular basis and the ignorant masses would just accept his lies rather than question whether he was fit to run a hot dog stand, let alone a country. No offense intended towards hot dog stand owners, and anyway I’m just speaking hypothetically.

Ahem, how about a brain-palate-cleanser:

But back to the Game Awards. I enjoyed them. They weren’t perfect but there was a minimum of cringe-inducing moments and some of the award winners were legitimately moved, which is always nice to see. Of course I compare the show (in my mind) to back when we had the Spike TV Game Awards, which were so god-awful they were embarrassing to watch, let alone be a part of. Still I think the show gets better every year.

This year they added a live orchestra to play some game themes, which was a nice touch. And of course they had to have a musical guest, but they went with a band called Phoenix (who I, being old, have never heard of) who worked some video game synth stuff into their sound, so they felt like they had a connection to the world. There were celebs there, but they weren’t the focus of the show…the focus was definitely on the games and the game makers.

Looking forward to next year, when my personal game-of-the-year once again won’t win!