It’s no secret that Australia has some of the best indie talent in the industry, and every year it seems like our reputation globally increases. But while it’s nice to be praised from all corners of the globe, being recognised by your local peers just hits differently. This year has seen no shortage of incredible games from Australian developers and with the Australian Game Developer Awards set to be held on October 6, the finalists for the awards have been revealed.
A panel of over 50 industry professionals assembled by IGEA determined three finalists from each of the ten categories. You can find the finalists below:
Core awards
Excellence in Art
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur)
- art of rally (Funselektor)
- Unpacking (Witch Beam)
Excellence in Gameplay
- Unpacking (Witch Beam)
- Ring of Pain (Twice Different)
- Webbed (Sbug Games)
Excellence in Narrative
- TOPOGRAPHY (Cecile Richard)
- The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller)
- Choices That Matter: And The Sun Went Out (Tin Man Games, Screwtape Studios)
Excellence in Audio
- Webbed (Sbug Games)
- TRIOS (Samurai Punk)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur)
Game of the Year
- Webbed (Sbug Games)
- The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur)
- Unpacking (Witch Beam)
Specialty awards
Excellence in Accessibility
- Submerged: Hidden Depths (Uppercut Games)
- Unpacking (Witch Beam)
- Eastern Market Murder (True Crime Games)
Excellence in Mobile Games
- The Oregon Trail (Gameloft Brisbane)
- Eastern Market Murder (True Crime Games)
- Botworld Adventure (Featherweight Games)
Excellence in Serious Games (Applied/Impactful)
- Sharmila (World Food Programme and Chaos Theory Games)
- Streets of My Town (Institute of Games)
- TRIOS (Samurai Punk)
Bespoke awards
Excellence in Ongoing Games (Games as a Service)
- Pico Tanks (Panda Arcade)
- Crossy Road Castle (Hipster Whale)
- The Sims FreePlay (The Firemonkeys)
Excellence in Emerging Games (Student or Early Career)
- Pebble Witch (Fuzzy Ghost)
- Project Wingman (Sector D2)
- Video World (Things for Humans)
If you want to be a part of the celebrations, you can tune into the awards ceremony on October 6 a 7pm AEDT on IGEA’s Twitch channel as part of this year’s Melbourne International Games Week.
Despite a childhood playing survival horrors, point and clicks and beat ’em ups, these days Zach tries to convince people that Homefront: The Revolution is a good game while pining for a sequel to The Order: 1886 and a live-action Treasure Planet film. Carlton, Burnley FC & SJ Sharks fan. Get around him on Twitter @tightinthejorts
