The BAFTA awards committee have announced that next year’s ceremony will be open for entries from developers and studios. Also, the judges are now headed by a new Chairman, Harvey Elliott, who said “we are offering a complimentary entry to each company, making the Awards more accessible, particularly to those smaller developers.” Hopefully meaning that it won’t just be the industry’s big dogs that are in the public spotlight, and they’ll give some well-deserved recognition to the modest indie folk.
There’s also a new award up for grabs in 2013. BAFTA is going to offer one British developer the chance to get their hands on the “Best British Game” award. It’s nice to see at the BRITISH Academy of Film and Television Arts that British developers are actually being recognised.
Does anyone actually care about award ceremonies? I normally don’t and tend to think “you don’t need to justify art by awarding people for it.” But for gaming I tend to think differently for some reason. Maybe it’s because the BAFTA’s are a relatively large-scale event (at least in the UK) and could definitely improve some of the lesser-known studios exposure.
Awards are definitely good for providing exposure to some unknowns. But, more importantly, award shows, etc. are necessary for the legitimacy of gaming as art. Many people still don’t consider it to be art at all. Most other entertainmnet/art forms have awards. I just see it as another stupid necessary hurdle.
Just please, god, stop the VGAs.