There are video game awards, and then there are video game awards. This particular video game awards feature is probably of the latter, but with a lot of good-natured irreverence thrown into the mix. While it would have been easier for us to just make an article about our favorite games (and we did), we felt that the gaming year of 2007 had a lot to offer, and thus we're giving credit (and blame) where it's due.

Check out the winners in the full article.

Originally posted on January 21, 2008 at 1:14 PM.

Factor 5's boss Julian Eggebrecht has been talking about the possibility of another Star Wars: Rogue Squadron game. He said that if they were to do it, then it would be based on the Classic Star Wars universe and not the new trilogy.

This is pretty exciting considering Eggebrecht said that it won't be just an HD port. He noted that the game would have to innovate and focus more on gameplay considering the Star Wars IP was well-represented in the last generation of consoles.

Speaking of innovations, he also said that motion control, while good for controlling a dragon (ala Lair) might not be a good idea with Rogue Squadron: "If I was to do a game with an X-Wing, I don't know if I'd necessarily use motion control. It might be [analog] stick, because that is how you'd be controlling the craft - it might be more appropriate."

Unfortunately, the game isn't very high on the company's list of priorities at this point, as they're still tied up with other projects. Just as well, since it'll give them time to think of a a new hook, or reason to make players want to jump into the cockpit again.

Leipzig's heralded opening keynote has come to a conclusion, and Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht had much to say regarding authoritative hindrances to the development of games as an art form. In his delivery, Eggebrecht said that the ratings board of the game industry wasn't taking games seriously, especially in the art form viewpoint.

 

In the past, games have often been crusaded as a new form of art, complete with expression of creative content and the ability to interact with that expression. But more often than not, the game industry is besieged by elements from the outside. And even for a simple, sincere campaign to have one game viewed as an art form, there are plenty of other entities who wouldn't share the same views.

Even references to certain topics, rendered in satires, were restricted to some extent. Factor 5's Lair included hidden content of a real-life coffee maker - obviously in reference to GTA's "Hot Coffee" hidden content - but Factor 5 didn't have the liberty to call the cheat as "Hot Coffee" even if they willed.

"Everyone thought it was hilarious...but we couldn't call the cheat 'Hot Coffee', because that would imply we were mocking the authorities investigating Hot Coffee," Eggebrecht added. Later, he pinpointed how easily a game can be plucked from shelves simply because of an Easter Egg that suggested a sexual act, in contrast to movies. He also said:

I would be happy if in games we could talk about homosexuality, but we're not even at the point where we can admit that humans have heterosexual relationships, and that is a real problem - and it tends to show that games are not being seen, even by our own ratings boards, as an art form.

Though much of his speech would be considered flak against the U.S.' Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), he did offer some constructive criticism. He suggested that a new ratings scheme be drawn up to differentiate levels between Mature and Teen, where some games could be viewed as both due to differences in viewpoints. But overall, he said it would allow games to be rendered as art forms, and push the envelope a little further. He concluded:

I hope that we actually can prove that this is an art form. Show me something that proves on all levels that games are indeed an art form - push the violence, but also push the sex, and push it in an artistic way where it's not really gratuitous, but where it gets my thinking brain going.

 

Julian Eggebrecht, Factor 5 president and lead director, has been announced as the opening keynote speaker for the GC Developers Conference (GCDC) 2007 in Leipzig (also known as the Leipzig Games Convention). Details of his speech have yet to be revealed, but we can expect it to be interesting at the very least. Factor 5 is currently working on the PS3-exclusive game Lair.

Peter Molyneux, Lionhead Studios' president, will also be giving a keynote focusing on the company's classic games. The GCDC 2007 will be held from August 20 to 22 in Leipzig, Germany. Other GCDC 2007 international speakers will include:

• Jason Manley (Massive Black)
• Christopher Schmitz, (10Tacle Studios)
• Jennifer MacLean (Comcast Interactive Media)
• Dr. Michael Wimmer (The University of Vienna)
• Alexander Fernández (Streamline Studios)
• Cindy Armstrong (Webzen)
• Amir Taaki (Crystalspace)
• Jeff Strain (ArenaNet)
• Vlad Ihora (Telia Sonora)
• Barbara Lippe (Avaloop IT Solutions)
• Pamela Kato (The GamerX)
• Uwe Nikl (Level 3)
• Matt Firor (Ultra Mega Games)
• Konstantin Ewald (Osborne Clarke)