Best game nominee spotlight: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
MarvelCopyright: Marvel
Many gamers will have swung their way through a virtual New York City numerous times through different Spider-Man games over the years, but never like this.
Uniting Peter Parker and Miles Morales - the men behind the masks - as dual main characters after their previous solo outings, the superhero sequel was a showcase for the PlayStation 5’s graphical and processing power.
Developer Insomniac used its intimate knowledge of the console to produce an adventure leaps, bounds and mid-air twirls above its PlayStation 4 prequel, making Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 the fastest-selling game ever made by a Sony-owned studio when it was released.
The game has three voice actors up for individual awards tonight, while it is also nominated in the game design and technical achievement categories.
Baftas host says red carpet a 'pinch me moment'
BBCCopyright: BBC
Baftas host Phil Wang is a keen gamer, and he tells BBC News that sharing the red carpet with some of his heroes is a "pinch me moment".
He says a particular highlight has been spotting Sam Lake, the creative director of best game nominee Alan Wake 2, who also provided the face of legendary game character Max Payne.
Phil says he remembers launching Max through the air with the game's innovative bullet time effects back in the day.
And, like any gamer, Phil has an idea for his own title - a game that allows players to experience his main career as a stand-up comic.
"Get a point every time you dodge a heckle... like a Guitar Hero for stand-up comedy," he says.
For tonight at least, Phil's leaving it to the professionals.
Final Fantasy XVI snubbed for music
Mel Ramsay
BBC Radio 5 Live, at the red carpet
Square EnixCopyright: Square Enix
Final Fantasy soundtrack fans, look away now.
Despite being nominated for four awards (artistic achievement, narrative, performer in a supporting role and technical achievement), Final Fantasy XVI wasn’t shortlisted for music.
This is in stark contrast to the game scooping the gong for best score & music at the US Game Awards mere months ago.
Composed by Masayoshi Soken, who was also lead composer and sound director of Final Fantasy XIV, the soundtrack has clearly struck a chord (no pun intended) with the players, as the songs have racked up millions of listens on YouTube since the game’s release.
Voice of narrator in Baldur's Gate 3 expected 'more trouble' from fans
Jacqueline Howard
Reporting from the red carpet
BBCCopyright: BBC
Amelia Tyler, who is up for best performance as the voice of the narrator in Baldur’s Gate 3 says she expected to get into far more trouble with fans of the Dungeons and Dragons style game for her approach to the role.
“I was expecting to in get way more trouble for how snarky I am to people when they roll badly because I do not hold back,” she told us.
The game format famously uses dice rolls to determine how well a player completes an action. Bad rolls result in big blunders.
Tyler says people have been very welcoming of her in the role of narrator, or dungeon master as fans of D&D will be more familiar with.
“Putting a woman in a position of power in a game like this is very rare,” she says.
Host Phil Wang ‘thrilled to get gig’
Matt CrocketCopyright: Matt Crocket
Comedian Phil Wang will be hosting the Bafta Games Awards for the first time.
You might have spotted him most recently in the film Wonka, or watched him in a Netflix stand-up special, or numerous appearances on shows like 8 out of 10 Cats and Have I Got News for You.
He told the BBC ahead of the awards that as a life-long gamer he's "absolutely thrilled" to be hosting.
"It feels like a very privileged and apt, long time coming thing for me after spending so much of my life in front of a screen and on a controller, to be presenting awards to people who have worked really hard and really deserve it."
Video games are well and truly a mainstream pastime, even if they aren’t present in the media as much as films or music.
Some 60% of the UK population above the age of 16 plays video games, whether on their phone, computer or console, according to a 2021 survey by the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom.
And, last year’s game sales topped £4.7 billion in the UK alone, which is more than double that of the music industry, the digital entertainment and retail association says.
And, on top of that, the highest grossing media franchise of all time(which basically means it makes the most money) is Pokémon, which began as a humble GameBoy game in the 90s.
So even though video games are not really talked about on the same level as film and music in the mainstream media, it’s an industry that is just as big, if not bigger.
And we're off!
Here's our team on the red carpet this year, ready to bring you all the latest from the 20th edition of the Bafta Game Awards in London!
BBCCopyright: BBC
Gamers, boot up your engines
Jacqueline Howard
Reporting from the red carpet
Welcome to the 2024 Bafta Game Awards, the UK video game industry’s night of nights.
As the stereotype goes, we gamers see very little of the sun, but it is beaming this afternoon as we set up for the BAFTA Game Awards red carpet.
There are some truly incredible games in the running tonight, including heavyweights Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as well as some brilliant new faces behind breakout releases Dave the Diver, Dredge and Lethal Company.
Shortly, we’ll hear from our colleagues reporting live from the red carpet, where the game developers are looking very dapper, having swapped their jeans and sneakers for suits and frocks (well, some of them have).
We are in for a great night, so stick with us as we take you all the way through to the end screen!
Live Reporting
Edited by Nadia Ragozhina
All times stated are UK
Best game nominee spotlight: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Many gamers will have swung their way through a virtual New York City numerous times through different Spider-Man games over the years, but never like this.
Uniting Peter Parker and Miles Morales - the men behind the masks - as dual main characters after their previous solo outings, the superhero sequel was a showcase for the PlayStation 5’s graphical and processing power.
Developer Insomniac used its intimate knowledge of the console to produce an adventure leaps, bounds and mid-air twirls above its PlayStation 4 prequel, making Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 the fastest-selling game ever made by a Sony-owned studio when it was released.
The game has three voice actors up for individual awards tonight, while it is also nominated in the game design and technical achievement categories.
Baftas host says red carpet a 'pinch me moment'
Baftas host Phil Wang is a keen gamer, and he tells BBC News that sharing the red carpet with some of his heroes is a "pinch me moment".
He says a particular highlight has been spotting Sam Lake, the creative director of best game nominee Alan Wake 2, who also provided the face of legendary game character Max Payne.
Phil says he remembers launching Max through the air with the game's innovative bullet time effects back in the day.
And, like any gamer, Phil has an idea for his own title - a game that allows players to experience his main career as a stand-up comic.
"Get a point every time you dodge a heckle... like a Guitar Hero for stand-up comedy," he says.
For tonight at least, Phil's leaving it to the professionals.
Final Fantasy XVI snubbed for music
Mel Ramsay
BBC Radio 5 Live, at the red carpet
Final Fantasy soundtrack fans, look away now.
Despite being nominated for four awards (artistic achievement, narrative, performer in a supporting role and technical achievement), Final Fantasy XVI wasn’t shortlisted for music.
This is in stark contrast to the game scooping the gong for best score & music at the US Game Awards mere months ago.
Composed by Masayoshi Soken, who was also lead composer and sound director of Final Fantasy XIV, the soundtrack has clearly struck a chord (no pun intended) with the players, as the songs have racked up millions of listens on YouTube since the game’s release.
Voice of narrator in Baldur's Gate 3 expected 'more trouble' from fans
Jacqueline Howard
Reporting from the red carpet
Amelia Tyler, who is up for best performance as the voice of the narrator in Baldur’s Gate 3 says she expected to get into far more trouble with fans of the Dungeons and Dragons style game for her approach to the role.
“I was expecting to in get way more trouble for how snarky I am to people when they roll badly because I do not hold back,” she told us.
The game format famously uses dice rolls to determine how well a player completes an action. Bad rolls result in big blunders.
Tyler says people have been very welcoming of her in the role of narrator, or dungeon master as fans of D&D will be more familiar with.
“Putting a woman in a position of power in a game like this is very rare,” she says.
Host Phil Wang ‘thrilled to get gig’
Comedian Phil Wang will be hosting the Bafta Games Awards for the first time.
You might have spotted him most recently in the film Wonka, or watched him in a Netflix stand-up special, or numerous appearances on shows like 8 out of 10 Cats and Have I Got News for You.
He told the BBC ahead of the awards that as a life-long gamer he's "absolutely thrilled" to be hosting.
"It feels like a very privileged and apt, long time coming thing for me after spending so much of my life in front of a screen and on a controller, to be presenting awards to people who have worked really hard and really deserve it."
Games are not a niche hobby
Jacqueline Howard
Reporting from the red carpet
Video games are well and truly a mainstream pastime, even if they aren’t present in the media as much as films or music.
Some 60% of the UK population above the age of 16 plays video games, whether on their phone, computer or console, according to a 2021 survey by the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom.
And, last year’s game sales topped £4.7 billion in the UK alone, which is more than double that of the music industry, the digital entertainment and retail association says.
And, on top of that, the highest grossing media franchise of all time(which basically means it makes the most money) is Pokémon, which began as a humble GameBoy game in the 90s.
So even though video games are not really talked about on the same level as film and music in the mainstream media, it’s an industry that is just as big, if not bigger.
And we're off!
Here's our team on the red carpet this year, ready to bring you all the latest from the 20th edition of the Bafta Game Awards in London!
Gamers, boot up your engines
Jacqueline Howard
Reporting from the red carpet
Welcome to the 2024 Bafta Game Awards, the UK video game industry’s night of nights.
As the stereotype goes, we gamers see very little of the sun, but it is beaming this afternoon as we set up for the BAFTA Game Awards red carpet.
There are some truly incredible games in the running tonight, including heavyweights Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as well as some brilliant new faces behind breakout releases Dave the Diver, Dredge and Lethal Company.
Shortly, we’ll hear from our colleagues reporting live from the red carpet, where the game developers are looking very dapper, having swapped their jeans and sneakers for suits and frocks (well, some of them have).
We are in for a great night, so stick with us as we take you all the way through to the end screen!