My short bio: I'm Geoff Keighley and tonight I'm producing/hosting The Game Awards live in LA. It's streaming live around the world at www.thegameawards.com so check it out.

My Proof: https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/804379539707043840

Comments: 185 • Responses: 24  • Date: 

HideoKojimaAmStart58 karma

When are you finally gonna show up on the Easy Allies Podcast? ;)

geoffmk45 karma

Would love to!

abellwillring26 karma

This might not be something you can answer easily -- but I recall a few years back when you kept the awards going yourself there was talk about you going into your own pocket essentially. How financially viable is the show? Is it more an exercise in love that you keep going to keep it going or does it make a profit?

geoffmk83 karma

Yes, for the first year I invested most of my savings into building the show. I felt very deeply that I wanted to build an independent celebration of games where I could be the sole author of the show's format and voice. For many years I worked on video game awards shows that were made by committee -- it's just naturally what happens inside of big networks like G4 or Spike. Upon reflection, I realized that the work I enjoyed doing the most, like my Final Hours books on game development, were done on my own. So I decided to take a risk and bet on myself -- and the industry that has given me my career.

Each year has been a bit of a rollercoaster in trying to at least break even on the production. It's challenging because we have to commit to a production budget months in advance, and a lot of the sponsorships for shows like this end up happening in the days leading into the show. I think that's just the way things work now when you can buy a Facebook ad with a few clicks.

I not only produce/host the show, I also have to go out and sell it. It takes a huge amount of time and adds a lot of stress -- and I'm sure the show creative suffers somewhat because I have to focus on making sure we don't lose millions of dollars. But it's the price I have to pay to make sure I can "author" the show in the way I want.

Of course there are compromises along the way. Some people will be upset there are sponsors in the show, or it will feel too commercial. But it is a business at the end of the day, and my hope is that we can continue to grow it every year. It's less about making a big profit, and more about being able to do build up the show to celebrate gaming in a big way. If I had more money I'd invest it into marketing. Right now we spend almost everything making the actual show.

HulkHoganSama23 karma

How did you and Kojima become friends? Do you talk to each other often?

geoffmk42 karma

I spent a lot of time with Hideo around the making of Metal Gear Solid 2. It was a few weeks after 9/11, I had just graduated college, and I remember getting on a pretty empty 747 to fly to Tokyo for the first time to meet him.

I talk with him pretty frequently. I'll talk to him tonight :)

flotador716 karma

I remember from way back when no man's sky was still under development, that you said you knew what happened when you got to the center of the universe of that game, or that you knew what was in the center... something of the sort.

Was it the same thing that we got in the final product?

Was it changed?

geoffmk22 karma

Yep that's what they always had planned (or at least what they had planned when I heard about it maybe 18 months ago).

DevotedToNeurosis14 karma

Will Zelda tonight involve any story preview? I'd like to see more than chopping down trees and shield-surfing.

geoffmk20 karma

Not sure what I can say, but there will be lots to talk about. Zelda is in pre-show and the main show.

RoWaha14 karma

Hey Geoff! Awesome for you to be doing this AMA. Just wanted to ask, anything you changed for this year's Game Awards based on feedback from last year's?

geoffmk41 karma

You'll see some longer looks at games tonight -- I think we have 3 or 4 world premieres that are 3+ minutes in length, and a lot of straight "gameplay" clips versus heavily produced trailers. We're trying this format to see how people respond to it.

That's the big change. We were happy with a lot of aspects of last years show.

Cyber_Swag14 karma

How can you describe Kojima-san in one word?

geoffmk33 karma

Principled.

Aternel14 karma

How pumped are you about Zelda, personally ?

geoffmk25 karma

I'm excited, and Reggie is too. You'll see him on the show later today.

ninjapenguin113 karma

What percentage of the show will be focused on gaming announcements vs the actual awards?

geoffmk24 karma

About half and half.

GoYoshi13 karma

How long will this years Game Awards air (in hours)?

geoffmk26 karma

2 hour show

Justinsipod313 karma

What's been your favorite part of preparing for this year's show after having TGA's be so successful last year? Thanks!

geoffmk26 karma

I usually spend most of Thanksgiving weekend editing an opening film for the show -- you'll see it tonight, it's a 2 and a half minute recap of the year. It opens the show, and it's my way of trying to capture the state of the world and gaming. I personally edit it myself and it gives me a sense of focus as we lead into the show. Curious what you guys think.

ItalianJargon11 karma

What was your favorite moment in the history of The Game Awards?

geoffmk30 karma

The Koji Kondo / Imagine Dragons moment the first year was so special. To see the smile on his face was incredible. He has given us so many smiles over the years...so I was so happy to give something back to him.

jl186510 karma

How many World Premeirs/surprises are in store tonight? Thanks for all your hard work, Geoff.

geoffmk21 karma

I think there are around 10 world premieres. Some new game announcements and lots of gameplay.

justouttoday9 karma

What was the biggest challenge of this year's show?

geoffmk17 karma

The biggest challenge is always pulling together the funding to make the show happen.

supraking8989 karma

Did you get Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine to perform any of her Final Fantasy XV tracks like Stand by Me?

geoffmk14 karma

We asked her, she wasn't interested. She hasn't really done any performances or press around those tracks, I'm not sure why.

babyloniandotgov7 karma

Can you give us a hint as to what you're planning with the Thumper guys? :D

geoffmk10 karma

Been working on some stuff with them and the DOOM team. Still in development.

roxonroxoff7 karma

Thanks for doing an AMA! Is there any interview that you're especially proud of over your career?

geoffmk20 karma

Great question. I'm not sure, I always love talking to Gabe from Valve.

EdComment7 karma

Have you had a moment where you looked at this year's script/running order and said "Wow, I can't believe we're doing this tonight"?

Hope you have a great show!

geoffmk18 karma

I'm very excited by a few things tonight. A couple surprises, and of course our tribute to Hideo Kojima.

ThatOneChappy7 karma

Just curious; how have things been with Angry Joe since the original ''incident'' all those years back?

geoffmk16 karma

Joe and I are good -- he was on the YouTube live show we did this Fall.

y6y6776 karma

So Geoff, what does it feel like to start from scratch after VGA and having such a faithful fan base? That's every artist's dream!

geoffmk17 karma

It's deeply humbling. I promise you we work as hard as possible.

Tezla552 karma

Hello Geoff, I was wondering what direction you wanted to take LWYTG? I personally love the show as it's almost like a modern day Xplay, minus Adam Sessler. Have you ever thought about incorporating game reviews into the show?

geoffmk5 karma

The Live YouTube show was a fun experiment - we did 8 of them and learned a lot. Not sure reviews would work in that format, I think people would rather just find the reviews on their own versus putting them in a "live" show setting.

NeverJinxTheMinx2 karma

After Spike dropped VGA how important was it for you to bring a "Game Awards" show to the people? What was your driving factor?

geoffmk15 karma

I want to honor the people who devote their lives to building games for us. And it was time to create a show that was independent and not driven by any kind of corporate factors.

silver5liter2 karma

Any Scorpio news tonight?

geoffmk16 karma

The show isn't about hardware announcements really -- it's about the games and the content.

SourceEngineDev2 karma

Hello again Geoff ! What game have you played the most in 2016 ? and why?

geoffmk4 karma

Clash Royale!