TGA Game Awards host responds to “Dave the Diver” nomination controversy: “Indie games are a general term”

The Game Awards (TGA) 2023 will be announced on December 7. This year’s masterpieces are gathered, and many games have not been nominated. Among them, “Dave The Diver” (Dave The Diver) has been shortlisted for “Best Independent Game”, which has caused controversy. Man and founder Geoff Keighley responded positively and explained.

“Diver Dave” is a pixel-style game about fishing and exploring the ocean during the day and opening a sushi restaurant at night. The overwhelmingly positive reviews from Steam’s early access led developer MINTROCKET to launch Switch and mobile versions one after another when it was officially released. However, the Behind the team is Nexon, a major South Korean game company. Opponents questioned the decision made by the TGA judges.

Further reading: Players protested against the TGA Game Awards snubbing “Hogwarts Legacy” and opposed the nomination of “Dave the Diver” as an independent game

Geoff Keighley recently conducted a TGA Q&A live on Twitch.On why Dave the Diver was nominated (27:05)“Look, that’s a good question, the word ‘independent’ can mean different things to different listeners, it’s a broad term, right?”

The senior game media person said that the definition of independent games has always been vague. Debates include budget size, funding sources, team size, and even game style. Everyone has their own opinions. “We do follow the jury vote.” determine awards and determine whether certain works count as indie games,” but unlike other industries (where independent film budgets are limited to a certain amount), there is no consensus in gaming.

Candidates for the TGA Game Awards are nominated and voted on by a jury composed of more than 120 media organizations and heavyweights from around the world.

Keighley then mentioned two works that are considered independent games: “Death Stranding” produced by Kojima and “Heroes of Might and Magic III” by Larian Studio, but Hideo Kojima has received funding from Sony, which is the problem. , he believes that the links related to investment and issuance can easily complicate the “independent” classification.

Keighley agreed that “Diver Dave” has strong group resources and support behind it. As for whether it is considered an independent game, supporters or opponents can argue from any angle, but he believes that “it is independent in spirit and has a relatively small scale.” budget, although I don’t know how much it will cost.”

“There are other games on the list with studios much smaller than MINTROCKET, even games like“Dredge”Such a game is published by Team17 (a long-established British game publisher), so is it considered independent just because it has a publisher? This is a very complex issue that requires strict rules to be clarified, so the TGA leaves it to people to use their best judgement. “

Geoff Keighley pointed out that the inclusion of “Diver Dave” on the list means that in the eyes of the judges, this game is one of the five best independent games among all independent games, or among the games they have come into contact with.

Keighley also said that he likes the “independent game” category very much. There are usually 5 to 6 works with different gameplay included in it. Indie games have performed well over the years and are even qualified to compete for the annual game award.

But in Keighley’s view, he would rather not win awards repeatedly. “I like players to get to know different works in this program, rather than just nominating 5 to 10 games repeatedly in all categories… But as for why the standards can be openly debated, the process will never be clear. Stop it, I hope there is a trace of the answer.”

Foreign media Kotaku contacted Keighley about this controversy.he revealed that the award he is most proud of is actually the “Best Debut Indie Game Award” because this award highlights a team’s first try, and the finalists are usually “independent companies that are just starting out.” Game Studio” is a real newcomer.