why TRGA exists
I've spent almost 20 years talking about video games and the video game industry has never been this crazy.
I'm creating "The Real Game Awards" because of the glaring chasm between video game developers, the media, and the players themselves. We've all seen it: there is a disdain towards gamers from media & even developers. It's insane. We all feel the disconnect and frustration, so I'm founding TRGA with a clear mission: to empower gamers with a voice. I want to ensure your voices are heard and respected in an industry that often overlooks your perspectives.
If you've followed my career, you know that I'm a big doer and sometimes I just hop in the boat without knowing exactly where it's going. With that said, yes, this website is not great but it's a starting point. This website is a starting point. It will improve. This is all an idea but we have to start doing instead of just talking otherwise nothing will happen.
Join me as we "Take Games Back" to gamers from all this insanity!
btw, check out that picture I found when searching for "gamer". It really doesn't have anything to do with us. I just put it there because it's funny.
If you're tired of the nonsense and are ready to take action: now is the time. As we get closer to the award show, the price to Nominate & Vote will go up. This is designed to avoid bad faith voting & funny business. With that said, whatever price you join at will be the price you stay at (ie - if you join at $30, the price doesn't go up for you)
Monthly Support
5$Every monthYou just want to support on a month to month basis. Thank you!Support & Suggest
15$Every yearSuggest categories the future award showNominate & Vote
30$Every yearSuggest, nominate & vote on the future award show.Award Show Ticket
150$Every yearSuggest categories, nominate, vote and attend the future award show1337 Sponsorship
1,337$Every yearSuggest, Nominate, Vote & YOU are listed as sponsor of the future event
about TRGA
At The Real Game Awards, we believe in empowering gamers and amplifying their voices within the gaming community. Our membership represents a commitment to shaping the future of gaming by providing a platform for passionate players to engage, share insights, and participate in the recognition of outstanding achievements in the industry. As members, you join a collective movement dedicated to fostering appreciation for the artistry and innovation found within video games. Together, we aim to redefine the relationship between gamers, developers, and the media, ensuring that the perspectives and experiences of players are valued and celebrated.
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Why does TRGA need to charge money?There are a number of reasons but some of the biggest include creating a level playing field and gatekeeping our hobby. Every members vote is valued the same. If membership was free the opportunity for bot/fake/spam accounts to skew the voting process would be much higher. I'm not looking to make any money from TRGA. This is about action & passion. I also need to build & maintain the TRGA platform that everything will happen on and update this dumpy little website 😁 And most importantly, I want to create a physical award show that YOU can attend! That stuff costs (a lot) of money! With all that said, become a member!
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I want to do more. What can I do?First, thank you. If you want to help more monetarily, you can always upgrade to the insane 1337 Sponsorship or if you want to do even more, you can reach out to me directly (Take Games Back at Gmail dot com). The biggest thing you can do is SHARE TRGA with other gamers who are sick of this nonsense. The mainstream and traditional media won't touch what we're doing so it's ultimately up to us to get the word out. This is about as grassroots as it comes. Tweet. Make a YouTube video. Hell, even Tik Tok. The more people that know we're looking to TRGA the better.
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What does the timeline for TRGA look like?July: Open the our site for users to suggest categories for the award show. Collect and review the suggested categories, considering factors such as relevance, popularity, and feasibility for inclusion in the award show. August - October: Finalize the list of categories based on user suggestions and internal discussions. Launch the nomination phase, allowing users to submit their nominations for each category through the app. November: Close the nomination phase and compile the list of nominees for each category. Open the voting phase, giving users the opportunity to cast their votes for their favorite nominees in each category. Early December/Possibly January: Award Show
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Who can become a voting member The Real Game Awards?Anyone who plays games. You can become a member here.
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What about tabletop games?Right now I'm focused solely on video games BUT that doesn't mean we couldn't expand to other types of games later. Let's take on video games first and do it right THEN worry about expanding.
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Why are you creating TRGA?We can talk about how we're tired of the lies, gaslighting and disrespect that come from people who work in the video game industry but at the end of the day we have to act. That was The Real Game Awards is - action. If we're all tired of the nonsense, we have to start creating a parallel economy. I think the saying "for gamers, by gamers" is really cliché but that's the way it has to be and that's what this is.
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Can game developers or publishers influence the voting process?No, TRGA is committed to maintaining a fair and unbiased voting process. We do not accept any form of influence from game developers or publishers to ensure the integrity of our awards. You, the gamer, are the only one with influence.
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What is The Real Game Awards?TRGA is an online video game club created to empower gamers by giving them a voice ultimately creating our own industry award show that is voted on by you, the gamer, and not the old, outdated industry journalists.
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So who is this Craig guy?My name is Craig but most people know me as "Stuttering" Craig. I launched a pretty influential video game brand in the mid-2000's/early 2010's called ScrewAttack. Most people knew us for our videos but we produced some massive live events. Our biggest live event had over 15,000 people at it. I still have people tell me it was "the best weekend of their lives." Pretty cool. I eventually sold ScrewAttack, worked for Rooster Teeth for a few years, started another brand that I got bought out of and then left the video game industry entirely for a year because I was burnt out. After a year away, I looked back at the video game industry and saw how bat shit insane it had gotten which directly inspired my next move back into video games. Today I host a daily live show called Side Scrollers, which was directly inspired by seeing how insane the industry had become. We do a lot of talking about the stupidity we see, and that's important, but what's better than talking about things? Doing something about it. So let's stop talking and let's start doing.
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What's the member revenue going towards?This is not meant to be a money making venture for anyone. It's real simple: all membership revenue will go towards producing the show - both virtual & physical! Venue rental, A/V, travel, etc. The reality is that these things cost money. We hope to never to take any corporate sponsors & hope membership will cover those costs.
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Wait... Wasn't this called "Take Games Back?"Yup. When the idea of this club first came to me, I need a name and the first and best descriptor of what I (and we) want to do is "Take Games Back" from the video game establishment & access media. It became pretty clear, pretty quick that we're going to need a new name and I can't think of anything more straight forward than "The Real Game Awards" - I honestly can't believe the domain was available 🤣 While the name is different our goal is still the same: let's take games back and give gamers a voice again.
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How can I participate in voting?My goal is to create a simple, yet secure website/platform that allows all members to suggest categories, nominees and ultimately vote on them. This can all be done on your phone or home computer.
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Why is there only annual memberships?This is to avoid an influx of people acting in bad faith during voting period. The last thing anyone wants is a bunch of people coming in for a month and skewing the voting process and then bolting, never to be heard from again.