Gaming awards this winter, The Game Awards and The Indie Game Awards, leave a stain on our minds and many other gamers.
Were the results deserved? AI was so heavily used in developing the star of the show, the results were questionable to say the least.
Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, was released April 24, 2025, originally to great acclaim and praise. As more details came out on the development and team behind the game, though, a controversial landslide was created regarding the awards it took home.
The TGA and IGA are both once-a-year events determining the best games under a diverse set of categories; the difference between the two is that the IGA is an ‘indie’ exclusive event, while the TGA applies to all games.
“They got the best indie project, and I don’t think they deserve that at all, because indie usually means a team of 10 or fewer developers. The Exhibition 33 team was basically one guy who owned the company and 30 contractors he just hired out, so they technically weren’t part of the company,” said Esports member and OH senior Dylan Johnson.
Along with Sandfall Interactive being questioned as a development team, their development process is as well. With AI being the talk of the town, the news of Expedition 33’s awards, “Best debut game” and “Indie Game of the Year” being revoked due to the use of generative AI in its development, created a divide between gamers.
“AI frustrates me so much because of how uneducated people seem to be and how it’s just everywhere. So if you can’t tell, I am so glad the awards were taken away,” said OH sophomore Teagan Mace.
The awards being revoked were due to Interactive’s violation of the IGAs’ strict, “no-AI” policy. As some may feel these awards being revoked was enough of a punishment, we feel that not enough was done. Expedition 33 retained its “Best art direction” award, which, if you ask us, the use of the generative AI should have gotten this award revoked as well. AI completely spits in the face of artists by stealing their work to make a computer-generated version of it that diminishes the time and effort of the real artist, along with not crediting where its references came from.
“The most controversial award I heard it won and people were most outraged about was best art direction. This goes towards the use of AI,” said Johnson.
If any awards were to be removed from the landslide by Expedition 33, the best art direction award would be amongst them. The use of generative AI, especially in art, shows a lack of creative ideas and a company willing to cut corners and use lazy methods to finish its game, regardless of whether it was removed later or not. A game with art created by actual artists with skills and passion would be far more deserving to be recognized for their talents.
With the IGA standing its ground against AI, we believe the rest of the industry should follow suit. The TGA is the biggest gaming event of the year, and like the IGA, Expedition 33 made a clean sweep with its awards, including the infamous ‘Game of the Year’ award. GOTY, being the most prestigious award at shows like this, should also mean it has the strictest guidelines, especially when it comes to work not even made by a human.
“I personally am so freaking sick of seeing AI slop making profits or gaining awards that people should be earning! There needs to be more restrictions for AI all around, social media, games, art, and federal stuff. It’s ridiculous,” said Mace.
While the unfortunate use of AI makes the game significantly more controversial, what is undeniable is that Expedition 33 is an exceptionally well-made game that deserved most of the awards it took home.
Variety in titles that also deserved awards would have been more satisfying for all types of gamers everywhere, but it’s entirely true that Expedition 33 was certainly a good title.
We can only hope now that this year’s upcoming Game of the Year awards will not make the same mistake again.
Hi! My name is Anthony Martel, I am a Senior at Oswego High School and this is my first year being apart of the 42Fifty staff. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
My name is Pierre Vargas, I am a senior at OHS and this is my first year as a journalist and go by any pronouns. I am an artist, I particularly enjoy drawing cartoons, and I participate in art club and independently. You can email me through 42fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. Feedback regarding our publications are encouraged!!
