The 2023 The Game Awards (TGA) shortlist has been announced. Many players are dissatisfied that “Hogwarts Legacy” (Hogwarts Legacy) was not shortlisted for any award, and protested that “Dave the Diver” (Dave the Diver) was nominated for ” Best Indie Game”.
“Harry Potter” extended magic RPG “Hogwarts Legacy” was released in March this year and affected 880,000 Steam players. Same as above, it officially launched on Switch yesterday (14th). The reduced capacity still maintains a smooth open world and immersive experience. Players have It is expected to be shortlisted for the TGA Best Role Playing Game (BEST RPG).
As a result, the best RPG shortlist was announced: “Star Sea”, “P’s Lie”, “Baldur’s Gate 3”, “FF16” and “Star Sky”, “Hogwarts Legacy” did not receive any nominations, causing controversy.Many fans protestedThe game was snubbed, but its critical acclaim was worthy of being shortlisted for at least one of the awards.
Look, I understand the association issues with the IP. Truly.
But it’s still a shame that Hogwarts Legacy, developed by several hundred devs who also understand the issues, is going to be completely ignored during awards season despite being one of the best games of the year. pic.twitter.com/z4buzrBdcY
— Ains (@Porshapwr) November 13, 2023
Foreign media Forbes reportedIt is believed that the best-selling “Hogwarts Legacy” was implicated in the “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling’s cross-border controversy. The publisher Warner and the developer Avalanche Software tried their best to distance themselves from her, and even created original works. Transgender game characters still cannot shake public opinion.
The article also adds that the reason for the failure of “Hogwarts Legacy” is not just political factors. Its Metacritic overall score of 84 is quite stable, but in 2023, when there are so many masterpieces, there is no particularly outstanding part compared to its competitors.
“It’s hard to find the right categories to nominate, in 2023 you have to go beyond excellence and I’m not sure it meets that standard.”
On the other hand, TGA’s BEST INDEPENDENT GAME also attracted attention. The finalists include “Cocoon”, “DREDGE”, “Star Sea”, “Viewfinder” and “Diver Dave”.
Among them, “Diver Dave” was questioned as not being included in the “Independent Game” nomination. The game was created and published by the small development team MINTROCKET, which is a South Korean game manufacturer Nexon. independent sub-brandfocusing on the “bottom-up” development process, exploring original games that can bring fun to players.
If the official statement is true, “Diver Dave” is a developer-led and initiated work, which is in line with the spirit of “independent games” that values ”showing ideas and creativity.”
However, MINTROCKET is backed by Nexon, one of the top ten game companies in the world by market value. Its abundant capital provides a stable development environment, plus a strong publishing advantage that most independent game teams lack.
And the official has always emphasized that “Diver Dave” is produced by Nexon’s internal team, and has never used “independent game” to describe this game.
There is actually no standard definition of the term “independent game”. The most commonly mentioned characteristic of being called “independent” is the lack of major capital support. Therefore, Nexon’s “Diver Dave” does not meet the expectations of many developers. Indie game.
Tyler Glaiel, the developer of “The End Is Nigh” and “Closure”, believes that TGA should nominate the overwhelmingly positive “Pizza Tower” (Pizza Tower）。
there is no reasonable definition of “independent game” that could possibly apply to Dave the Diver
not too late to swap that with pizza tower
— Tyler Glaiel (@TylerGlaiel) November 13, 2023
Developers of pixel games such as “Chinatown Detective Agency” Ricardo Juchem pointed out that “Diver Dave” looks like an independent game, but MINTROCKET has stated that it is not an independent developer. “As of November 10, Nexon’s net assets reached US$18.71 billion.”
Don’t vote for Dave The Diver.
Dave The Diver is not a standalone game.
Despite the indie appearance, Mintrocket has stated that it is not an independent developer.
Mintrocket is a sub-brand of Nexon.
Nexon’s net worth was $18.71 billion as of November 10, 2023.
— Ricardo Juchem (@RicardoJuchem) November 14, 2023
Japanese independent game developer ichijo said that TGA’s nomination of “Diver Dave” as an independent game is ridiculous. “What’s surprising is that no one seems to know that this is a game produced by Nexon.”
The tweet cited by ichijo comes from Ryan T. Brown, the game marketing director who served as the game marketing director from 2020 to 2023British Academy Games Awards BAFTA jury, he ridiculed the TGA for allowing a large company with more than 7,000 employees to be certified as “independent”, telling those developers (genuine independent developers) who are alone in their bedrooms who is the boss.
Well, Dave the Diver’s TGA Indie Award entry is definitely an overkill.Surprisingly, people don’t know that it’s a Nexon game.
— ichijo (@Takaaki_Ichijo) November 14, 2023
The TGA Game Awards finalists are nominated by a jury composed of more than 100 influential media, institutions and KOLs from around the world. The finalists for the Best Independent Game Award in the past two years include “Cyna: Bridge of Souls”, “Stray” and “Attack on the Lamb” and so on, there are also teams that have received support from large publishers.
In the TGA community post, “Diver Dave” was also specially noted for its development background by Reason for review.
Lmao get community noted pic.twitter.com/KVzmfDxVud
— DANNYonPC (@DANNYonPC) November 14, 2023
