Digital Trends

Q: Who would you say the Academy was designed to serve then? Is it more for the individual game makers, the publishers, the people who promote these titles… who are you standing up for exactly?

A: We try to stand up first and foremost for developers, the individual artists and sound and design people who are really at the core of the game-making process. I don't want to take anything away from publishers – without their financial resources a lot of great titles would never see the light of day. But the Academy is really here to recognize the work itself, not necessarily the brilliance of a marketing decision.

I think for publishers, what the Academy does is provide an extended window to market and promote a game. Why? Because it was recognized by game makers as being a singularly great title out of the 800-plus titles which might ship in any given year.

Q: As with any major industry organization, a quick look at your board members reveals the Academy is primarily dominated by major players like Nintendo and Electronic Arts. What are you doing to reach out to all the indies out there?

A: Well, the advent of direct and digital distribution is definitely changing the game, as it allows people to craft interactive experiences without having to follow the rules of big-box publishing. I think that our goal is to embrace all those people. We do our best to reach out to casual game developers and independents… Many of our members hail from indies, and command the same respect and stature as their peers at giants like Microsoft and Atari. Board members are basically the folks who believe in our organization and are willing to underwrite the costs of it and support it so that we can have the recognition as an industry that we believe we deserve.

Q: Ah, yes… funding. Many people know that The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which deals with politics, government policy and game piracy, is paid for by publishers themselves. Truth time: Does the Academy operate on a similar system?

A: Kind of. We are a non-profit. Although we do run ourselves as a solid business so that we can continue to run and endorse programs and put on events like Into the Pixel. This allows us to improve the types of resources we bring to the membership at large. Also, we have to be very mindful that anybody can stop writing a check at any given moment. So I always need to demonstrate that the organization has value for all its constituents, including corporate members as well as individuals.

Its challenge right now is trying to bring games and gaming's message in general to a group outside the core gamer market. One of the Academy's first missions was to put an award show on television. But, of course, we're a body of individuals who aren't necessary comfortable in the spotlight. Developers aren't always exactly an outgoing bunch. They'd rather someone else dress up and get up onstage, be singled out and talk about their work. For instance, [Half-Life 2 mastermind] Gabe Newell… When his company Valve won nine awards for the game, he started opening up around the fifth award and telling some good stories. But at first, he was just like "Thank you very much."

We want the kind of people who know very little about gaming – only that they like sports or action or adventure titles or whatever – to look at a game that bears our seal of approval and be able to know they're getting a great game. The same way that the Academy Award logo on a DVD at Best Buy can help spur sales, that's what I think publishers, game makers and developers would love to see happen with our Interactive Achievement Awards stamp. But to do so, we have to get the word out to the mass market, and the best way to do that is via television.