The Game Awards 2024 the nominees have been announced for some time now, and fans will be able to digest them ahead of the Dec. 12 showcase. While all eyes are on the Game of the Year award, each carries its own weight and represents an important element of video game design. The cohesion of this, however, is represented by The Game Awards' Best Game Director category, which focuses on “excellent creative vision and innovation in game direction and design”. That said, it's a bit hard to pin down and separate from something like Game of the Year. Essentially, the nominees for Best Director's Game and Game of the Year are the same: Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden RingShadow of the Erdtree DLC, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthand Metaphor: ReFantazio.
That doesn't mean Game of the Year won Best Game Director, but it easily could. For example, game of the year can also take into account external factors, such as reception, with BalatroThe almost viral reception is a good example, as well as the large number of players Black Myth: Ukun. BalatroThe virality, however, was a direct result of its game design and direction, but I digress. For the purposes of my prediction, I am looking exclusively at the inherent cohesion of game design, highlighted by vision, direction, and design. Not that it makes the job any easier.
OpenCritic's reviews of the nominees for Best Director of the Game
In the process of elimination, Black Myth: Ukun feels like the easiest cut. Not only is it the lowest rated of the bunch (and the lowest rated in TGA history in the GOTY nominations), but it also has the roughest sides in terms of design. It doesn't necessarily feel cohesive in its direction, even if that direction is generally appreciated by fans. On the other end of the spectrum, Elden RingThe author's Shadow of the Erdtree seems like another option. Here he more than holds his own, and this is a fact Elden Ring won both GOTY and Game Direction at TGA 2022. However, it's more of the same (which is the opposite of innovation), its narrative and story direction have been criticized many times (Consort Radahn instead of what fans wanted), and by itself I don't think it's worth as much how Elden Ring does independently. finally Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth seems like the next cut because like Elden Ringit's more of the same in terms of overall design. It's not a bad game by any means, it's a strong contender for GOTY because of how well it does everything, but its cohesive design can be seen in many games.
That leaves Astro Bot, Balatroand A metaphor.
It appears to be a tight race. Given the cohesiveness of its vision, direction and design, Astro Bot is great, fun to express, and overall is the result of a strong vision for the platform, a focus on satisfying its vision, and all the necessary design elements needed to achieve that goal. Balatrohowever, is truly unique. Roguelike games are incredibly popular, and there are now nearly a dozen of them, but no game before has applied roguelike elements to a poker-inspired game. It's a unique vision, a fun and exciting direction, all achieved by strong design pillars. metaphor'the various systems, as well as their narrative, influence each other in a way that is only possible with a holistic vision, direction and design.
I could see this happening in a number of ways including Elden Ring win again but I have to go all in Balatro. Of all the games featured here, this is the only one that is completely unique and applicable. That's what this category is meant to celebrate, and while every game here works well in its own direction, Balatro feels like the one that stands out when you look at them all, which should be the ultimate definition in this category.
