Meander Books | DCP: Why This Gala?
This year, Meander Book won second place at the German Computer Game Awards (DCP). I was incredibly happy, and the €15,000 prize means I can keep working on the project. I’m naturally very grateful!
The DCP gala was, however, a complete disaster on almost every level—which I found really disappointing. If so much money (including taxpayers’ money) is being spent on an event that, according to its organisers, exists to support and legitimise the games industry, shouldn’t the main focus be on the games and the people who make them?
Almost everyone who got time on stage talked about themselves and their role at the event. Many admitted to having little contact with or knowledge of games, and often tried to push their own agenda.
Dorothee Bär, the Minister of State for Digitalisation, and her colleague Andreas Scheuer used their time on stage to praise themselves and promote their party. In moderation, I don’t even mind the first part: it can be fun and feel good to be recognised for their work on the DCP. They can have that.
But what does any of this have to do with their party?
Why is this event made so big? Over the top?
Why is there so much focus on the press? Is bad press really better than no press? In my view, this event did nothing but harm the games industry and the winners (apart from the financial support for the projects!).
Why have two musical performances when there isn’t enough time to bring the runners-up in the newcomer categories on stage?
And Ina Müller… she didn’t take the evening seriously at all. I can understand that to some extent. She didn’t know the subject, which makes it hard to strike the right tone or make the right jokes. But she had two ways she could have handled it.
1. Simply decline: “Hey, it’s kind of you to think of me, but I’m not interested in this at all. Maybe find someone who is part of the scene and knows it.”
2. Prepare.
She chose a third option: bad, inappropriate, and often embarrassing hosting.
The worst part was that she kept lumping us, the nominated game developers, together with gamers. And her idea of gamers seemed to come straight from last century’s stereotypes: in her view, gamers are overweight men with thinning hair and lots of spots who live in their mothers’ basements and only come upstairs to get soda and crisps.
It apparently wasn’t clear to Ina Müller that the nominees and winners aren’t necessarily “gamers” (at least not professionally), but game developers, programmers, designers, artists, project managers, and so on.
Of course we play games too, but we were there because we develop and design them. That was the point. If you insist on throwing around stereotypes, at least make them about game developers, game designers, programmers, artists…
For many winners, their time on stage was not a moment of recognition and joy, but a moment of having to defend themselves. Ina Müller tried to be funny at all costs, making fun of everyone and everything. Unfortunately, she crossed the line.
I was actually glad I didn’t have to go on stage because I’m really not a natural performer. I would also have had to walk up alone and face Ina Müller and her inappropriate behaviour. On the other hand, it was a little disappointing that the runners-up in the newcomer categories didn’t receive a trophy or a cheque. Not because I desperately wanted one, but it would have been useful at the party afterwards. I’m quite reserved and shy, and I didn’t talk to many people on my own initiative. The winners were easy to spot by their trophies, so people approached them directly. A trophy would have been a useful icebreaker for me—and it lights up, too. Apart from the people I already knew a little, I barely made any new connections, even though the evening would have been a good opportunity.
Why is the host chosen for her fame rather than her suitability? Why not a YouTuber, a game developer, or someone from the jury?
A host who was part of the industry would surely have joked about many of its clichés and quirks too—but in a sensitive, respectful, andaccurate way.
Why don’t we hear more about the nominated games? Why do the presenters talk so much about themselves? Take MB21: a great event, great presenters, warm, down-to-earth, and honest! There may be less money behind it, but there is much more integrity!
Why are international games being honoured when the schedule is so tight? This is the GERMAN Computer Game Award, after all, meant to support the German games industry so that one day it can reach an international standard. Was that just for the press too?
My suggestions:
For all I care, choose a hosting team—one well-known TV presenter, for tradition’s sake and to keep the politicians happy, and one presenter from the industry with expertise and, above all, an understanding that gamers and game developers are not sweaty mama’s boys.
The first could host the whole programme, while the second could respectfullyask the winners, nominees, and audience relevant questions and make thoughtful comments—respectfully, emphasis on respectfully.
In exchange, please cut one musical act that tries to get the audience to join in!
It would have been very helpful to pair the newcomer award winners with an industry mentor, a startup coach, or someone similar. Of course, we all want to finish our projects and release them successfully. But especially on legal matters, official support with setting up a company would have helped me enormously—and given me a lot more confidence. Things are working out anyway, but perhaps this could be an interesting idea for future award winners.
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