IamA Geoff Keighley, producer/host of The Game Awards, AMA!

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

Would love to!

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?

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.

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

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 :)

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?

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

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

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

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?

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.

How can you describe Kojima-san in one word?

Principled.

How pumped are you about Zelda, personally ?

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

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

About half and half.

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

2 hour show

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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?

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.

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

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.

Any Scorpio news tonight?

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

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

Clash Royale!