Saturday Side Quest - Should You Care About The Game Awards?
Where has faith and fandom intersected this week?
This week brought about the 10th Annual The Game Awards (yes, the double ‘the’ is correct). For the 5th consecutive year, Checkpoint Church hosted a viewing of the stream. It’s become one of the highlights of my year, as well as a sort of Wayfinder in the miasma that is planting a church. Few things stay the same, but some things never change—all that jazz.
As I was watching the award show, I reflected on the audience of folks gathered in the theatre. And those gathered in our stream watching along with us. And the many, many others watching the streams of others.
Gaming culture is a bizarre creature. On one hand, it’s one of the largest forms of entertainment that exists. On the other hand, when I go home to my family, they have no clue how big of a deal it is to see a new game from Fumito Ueda.
I have a tough time convincing those outside of my very specific circle of influence of the incredible culture that I’m engrossed with.
So, the question struck me: should you care? Should preachers who are subscribed to this Substack care at all about The Game Awards?
To me, the Awards are like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I’ve seen the floats a million times. I’ve seen the dancing. The musical numbers. I’ve seen Pikachu and Goku and geeked out about anime and video game characters floating in the sky next to Snoopy and Garfield. But there is still some magic in the show.
I think it’s due to the meaning behind the thing. The Parade is a sign of a season long past and just ahead (oops, my pastoral eschatological side came out there). When the show starts, Thanksgiving is here and it brings me back to the smell of my childhood home. It also gives me hope for the future I’m raising for my daughters.
In the same way, I believe that The Game Awards are a symbolic gesture of where we’ve been and where we’re going. For better or worse, we’ve played these nominated games. We’ve watched the adaptations. We’ve been disappointed by our favorite games getting snubbed. We’ve been excited to see a game we could never have predicted getting so many accolades.
But we’re also thinking about next year. What games will be in this category next year? We’re inundated with game trailer after world premiere reminding us that the industry is churning out future titles.
Amidst the whole event, we’re reminded that there are people—real flesh and blood human beings—making these games. They love them. They love gaming so much they are sitting in stuffy suits in rows and rows of gaming fans just to honor the commitment that everyone has made to this industry.
So, should you care? If you care about gamers, then I believe you should care about The Game Awards. Regardless of your thoughts on the awards themselves or Geoff Keighley or the Muppets, events like these are the glue that hold together culture. To me, it’s the first step in saying you care about Game Developers as much as the games they create.
As long as Geoff keeps making sure these things happen, I’ll be there cheering on the culture that I deeply love.
As a quick side note, I’m not sure what to do with these Side Quests. I missed one last week for two reasons:
To be frank, they aren’t performing very well.
I got scared of the topic I was writing about and chickened out.
I want these to be organic and also of value—which is a tension I’m not sure how to walk.
Regardless, I hope you are enjoying this experiment. Let me know if you have ideas for these posts or enjoy anything in particular.
Will It Preach?
I finished a few things this week, so I will reflect on them in this space. Would they preach? See if you agree with my take.
The Mythmakers (2024)
An exceptional biography of the friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s told in a graphic novel format with some fictionalized elements that make it a real delight. The exploration of myth and faith make it an absolutely compelling Christian read. Must preach.
Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet (2023)
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, but it was pretty much a 1:1 retelling of how I experienced the Internet from the 00s to today. Lorenz picks up all the details of social media to influencers and I simply must recommend this to anyone ‘new’ to Internet culture. Will preach.
Life Is Strange: Double Exposure (2024)
I love Life is Strange. It’s one of my very favorite franchises. Max returns in this one and she’s one of my favorite characters ever written. An absolute delight. Will preach, and I plan to.
Tampopo (1985)
What a movie. It’s as inspirational as it is… erotic? This movie went places I could never have expected. The wholesome elements remind me of the best bits of anime. The other elements… maybe the worst. Will preach, but will cause blushing.
The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Miyazaki kind of insists upon preaching. I enjoyed this one, but not my favorite Studio Ghibli entry. Will preach.
The Vast of Night (2019)
I loved this movie! One of the most unique alien invasion films ever made. It has a strong civil rights element mixed into the extraterrestrial bits, which are always a worthy preaching topic. Social justice, antiracism—Will preach.
Gangs of New York (2002)
Perhaps one of the most overrated movies ever made. Not for me, even a bit. I suppose it could be an interesting sermon on revenge and how it… sort of doesn’t work? Idk, this movie was weird, man. Probably shouldn’t preach.
Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
This was a bonkers film. And very, very into the occult themes. Only preach this sermon if you’re ready to get run out of the community. Won’t preach.
Paris, Texas (1984)
A true slow burn film. One infamous scene in particular could be a fascinating dive into the rights and wrongs of relationship dynamics (especially ones involving domestic violence). It offers a controversial stance on forgiveness that feels akin to a parable. It would be a great wrestling movie, for the right audience. Will preach.
Fantastic Planet (1973)
W H A T. I had no idea what this animated French flick was going to be. It certainly is not rated properly (PG it is not). The conversations of peace, equity, and treatment of nature wildlife is fascinating. Could be a great way to zoom out and imagine what it would be like to be lower of the food chain than we are. Will preach.
Vampyr (1932)
Y’know, I thought I’d like this one more, but it was just alright. Too boring to preach.
Mon Oncle (1958)
This movie was so fun! I love slapstick and deadpan type humor like this. A great look at the human dependency on technology. A fun watch and a lighthearted take on the usual tech-bad themes. Will preach.
The Credit Roll
These are some of the things I found this week that I am sharing as a bonus. Enjoy my custom For You feed.
It’s never not funny to make fun of Animal Crossing and it’s real-life simulated elements.
Robert Downey Jr brings Alex Pring, a 7-year-old amputee, an Iron Man prosthetic. Alex is just a really cool kid.
Popular streamer Thor, aka PirateSoftware, discusses how he pays his mods with benefits.