Essentially talking about the horrid experience and its interaction and effects on the game industries journalists/press. Good read, essentially calling the event demeaning. Will be interesting to see who participates.
Anywho, from the article: http://botherer.org/2013/05/24/why-the-gmas-so-called-media-academy-prize-is-so-demeaning/
This year there are definitely some claimed improvements... What hasnt changed is that its an evening funded by publishers and PRs, in which they provide the games journalists who report on them with free food and limitless free drink, and then present them with awards sponsored by themselves. Its promoted as a piss-up, and it has, for years, been the British games industry at its most tawdry, wretched, and dubious. From the first years awarding of prizes to magazines owned by the sponsors of the categories, to the despicable antics of two years ago with the Grainger Games sponsorship, to last years disgraceful mess of journalists tweeting adverts for games to win a Playstation, it has always been a horror show. That it has cleaned up a fraction of its act is progress, but its certainly not anything for celebration. That most of the UK games industry will still happily trundle along for the free booze, no matter how it associates them with it all, is hugely demoralizing.
And this year theyve added the ludicrously named Games Media Academy. This pompously grandiose title is really just a prize for a single person an unpaid hopeful writer of £1000 of commissions, and some unexplained (and indeed entirely unmentioned by the actual description at the bottom of the page) mentoring from some of the biggest names in games media.
The prize is to get some paid work.
The idea of doing exactly this, but pretending its a special prize, simultaneously demeans both the writers submitting their work, and the entire occupation itself. It reduces our job down to a special treat, given out to one lucky person, and a ruffle of their hair. And it reduces potential writers down to entrants in a competition, and then pretends that doing the work that earns the money is some manner of award! Its outrageous. There is NO prize! They get £1000 for doing £1000 worth of work!
More in the link, worth a read for sure.
Anywho, from the article: http://botherer.org/2013/05/24/why-the-gmas-so-called-media-academy-prize-is-so-demeaning/
This year there are definitely some claimed improvements... What hasnt changed is that its an evening funded by publishers and PRs, in which they provide the games journalists who report on them with free food and limitless free drink, and then present them with awards sponsored by themselves. Its promoted as a piss-up, and it has, for years, been the British games industry at its most tawdry, wretched, and dubious. From the first years awarding of prizes to magazines owned by the sponsors of the categories, to the despicable antics of two years ago with the Grainger Games sponsorship, to last years disgraceful mess of journalists tweeting adverts for games to win a Playstation, it has always been a horror show. That it has cleaned up a fraction of its act is progress, but its certainly not anything for celebration. That most of the UK games industry will still happily trundle along for the free booze, no matter how it associates them with it all, is hugely demoralizing.
And this year theyve added the ludicrously named Games Media Academy. This pompously grandiose title is really just a prize for a single person an unpaid hopeful writer of £1000 of commissions, and some unexplained (and indeed entirely unmentioned by the actual description at the bottom of the page) mentoring from some of the biggest names in games media.
The prize is to get some paid work.
The idea of doing exactly this, but pretending its a special prize, simultaneously demeans both the writers submitting their work, and the entire occupation itself. It reduces our job down to a special treat, given out to one lucky person, and a ruffle of their hair. And it reduces potential writers down to entrants in a competition, and then pretends that doing the work that earns the money is some manner of award! Its outrageous. There is NO prize! They get £1000 for doing £1000 worth of work!
More in the link, worth a read for sure.
