For the people who watched the Annual Game Awards 2022, the only thing on their minds was the ending remarks for the event.This moment went viral as soon as it happened; after the “Elden Ring” developers had said an acceptance speech for their award, they were interrupted. Mistaken for one of the developers, a 15-year-old teenage boy named Matan Even walked up onto the stage only inches away from the devs. As they ended the speech, Even stepped up to the mic and said the now famous words:

“I think I want to thank everybody and say that I think I want to nominate this award to my reformed orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton, thank you, everybody.”

Many viewers were confused, conflicted and astounded by this out-of-nowhere event. 

Sophomore and dedicated video game enthusiast Tiago Gonhes shared his thoughts on the matter.

“The interruption at the end was quite odd and random,” Gonhes said. “When I further looked into it afterward, it was really funny.”

Hosted and directed by Geoff Keighley, the Game Awards 2022 was a three-hour event held on Dec. 8, 2022. The Game Awards are almost identical to the Oscars; however, instead of films and movies, it’s for video games. It features all of the newest game trailers and awards the best quality games, adaptations and people according to the different categories mentioned. 

Some of the most notable categories include: Independent Game, Score/Soundtrack, Art Direction, Family Game, Games for Impact, Multiplayer Game, Role Playing Game, Best Adaptation, Player’s Voice and the Game Of The Year.

Independent Game

Indie Games’ (short for Independent Games) definition is very vague to the general audience, but the idea behind the term is that they are games considered to be smaller. They aren’t “AAA” mainstream games made by the biggest developers. Developers have to start somewhere and have created amazing games even if they are not the most advertised or public.

The Debut Indie Game of the year is “Stray” by BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna Interactive Double-dagger.

Score/Soundtrack

Music in video games adds a lot of impact to scenes within the game – whether it’s action-packed combat or tactical thinking to prevent losing a unit in a strategy game. 

The Best Score/Soundtrack of the year was presented to the “God of War: Ragnarok” OST, or Original Soundtrack, by Bear McCreary.

Art Direction

Within video games, their storytelling, sound design and gameplay have their own artistic value within the time being played.

The Best Art Direction went to “Elden Ring” by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment.

Family Game

The family game award is the representation of the best game to play together with family to foster an enjoyable, less stressful experience. Being able to chill and spend time with family createsnewfound bonding experience alongside longlasting memories to be enjoyed by those of all ages.

The Family Game of the year was “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” by HAL Laboratory and Nintendo.

Games for Impact

Games aren’t always purely for entertainment as some also attempt to convey an important message or have a lasting effect on the players for years to come.

The Games for Impact category was awarded to “As Dusk Falls” by Interior Night and Xbox Game Studios.

Multiplayer Game

Some games are just not meant to be played alone. When playing with family and friends, the gaming experience and enjoyability may be significantly enhanced. Whether it is competitive or cooperative, the games within this category tend to be great for all occasions.

The best Multiplayer Game from 2022 is “Splatoon 3” by Nintendo.

Role Playing Game

When playing a Role Playing Game (or RPG), people want to be able to immerse themselves into their role as the character within good storytelling and relatable characters. 

The Role Playing Game from this year is “Elden Ring” by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment.

Best Adaptation

Ever since the 1993 “Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which in fact was a critical and financial failure, video game adaptations from games to other forms of media have only been getting better. Even to the point of this category being formed for the best out of the best.

The Best Adaptation from this year was “Arcane,” based on the game “League of Legends” and produced by Fortiche and Riot Games.

Player’s Voice

This award is given purely based on the choices of viewers out of a total of five games. The nominees for which the people could vote were “Elden Ring,” “Genshin Impact,” “God of War Ragnarok,” “Stray” and “Sonic Frontiers.”

The Player’s Voice after “removing the bot voters’ accounts” was “Genshin Impact” made by miHoYo.

The Game of the Year

The game of the year award is known to be the highlight and most prominent category which culminates the entire event. With an entire orchestra playing themes hyping up the games, nominations include “Stray,” “A Plague Tale: Requiem,” “Horizon Forbidden West,” “Xenoblade Chronicles 3,” “Elden Ring” and “God of War: Ragnarok.”

The Game of the Year is “Elden Ring” made by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment.

The contests were seen by many as a duel between “God of War Ragnarok” and “Elden Ring.” “God of War Ragnarok” won six out of 10 nominations and “Elden Ring” won four out of the seven, however it won two of the most important awards: Best Game Direction and Game of the Year.

“For different categories, I believe some are meant to win, but when it comes to let’s say games such as God of War, I personally believe it’s based on bias,” Gonhes added.

Another inner debate was for the Players Voice award mainly between “Genshin Impact” and “Sonic Frontiers.” Throughout the three voting rounds, until round three, the final round, “Genshin” and Sonic were side by side, not having a clear winner. The fans for both games both were very passionate and heated towards each other, creating a sense of rivalry. 

Allegations and harassment were spread about “Genshin Impact” such as bribery being done, as well as racism and stereotyping towards players. It got so far to the point that people began to be unable to discuss in subreddits or even know the current results of the games at that time. 

In the end, it was a huge upset when “Genshin Impact” won Player’s Voice. The host even had to clarify that they had to remove the many bot accounts from votes in both games.

Freshman and avid player of video games and of the Game Awards Kiran Mussan tells about his thoughts on “Genshin Impact” winning.

“[The Game Awards] was pretty cool,” said Mussan. “It’s pretty stupid that ‘Genshin Impact’ won.” 

Throughout the entirety of the event, many exciting announcements were made in regards to new games, games that have been teased for a while, and new modes or major updates that are to be anticipated.

Such announcements include: “Among Us”’s new hide-and-seek released on Dec. 9. “Street Fighter 6” is to be released on June 2, 2023 and “Hades II” announced for 2023. A new game created by the Celeste Creators was teased called “EarthBlade” which is to be released in 2024. “Final Fantasy 16” was announced for June 22, 2023. 

Alongside these upcoming games, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” also released many trailers throughout, hyping people up for this anticipated film. 

Casual gamer junior Allison Suchodolski talks about their thoughts on the new reveals.

“I thought that the game awards were very cool because I enjoyed getting to see all of the new video games that are going to come out,” Suchodolski said. “I am excited for the new ‘Star Wars’ game that is going to come out.”

Overall, many people enjoyed this year’s Games Awards, despite the interruption at the end, but maybe not to the liking of previous years. 

“I’d say it was a pretty good year honestly with most games, especially indie games,” Gonhes said. “I would say it was a little bit dry compared to last year.”