Last night was the Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDA), a night of celebration organised by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association.
The night saw a host of incredible games and studios up for awards in different categories, with every nomination being well deserved. We have so much talent in this industry, it’s beautiful to see.
The ceremony consisted of 13 different categories, plus four cultural awards, with all being judged by 70 gaming industry professionals. In a press release from the event, CEO of IGEA Ron Curry states:
“With such a high calibre of games nominated, shortlisted and crowned winners, we expect further global success for many of our Australian creators. Australia has a strong and well-deserved reputation across the world for developing innovative, unique, and fun games for all types of players.”
Now, for the awards. In terms of who took home the most, Massive Monster’s Cult of the Lamb went home with four of the 13 awards including Game of the Year. Considering this is one of my favourite releases of this year, there’s no surprise here.
They also went home with the Excellence in Music award, which was a joy to see since River Boy’s soundtrack for Cult of the Lamb was truly out of this world. Big congratulations!
The AGDA’s also saw big wins for the Victorian game developer community, as 10 of the 13 awards went to studios situated in Victoria.
Taking into account that the Victorian games industry has the most support from their state government through the guidance of VicScreen, this is no surprise and should be a sign to other state governments to do better, in my opinion!
Here’s the full list of winners and nominees for each award, which sees bangers like Lost and Hound, Wylde Flowers, Kinder World and Queer Man Peering into A Rock Pool.jpg taking home awards.
AGDA’s winners and nominees
Game of the Year
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Wylde Flowers
- Heavenly Bodies
Excellence in Art
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Age of Darkness: Final Stand
- Heavenly Bodies
Excellence in Gameplay
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Heavenly Bodies
- JUSTICE SUCKS
Excellence in Narrative
- Wylde Flowers (winner)
- You Will (Not) Remain
- Wayward Strand
Excellence in Sound Design
- Heavenly Bodies (winner)
- JUSTICE SUCKS
- Cult of the Lamb
Excellence in Music
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Heavenly Bodies
- Age of Darkness: Final Stand
Excellence in Technical Design
- Age of Darkness: Final Stand (winner)
- Puzzle Quest 3
- Heavenly Bodies
Excellence in Accessibility – Presented by VicScreen
- Lost and Hound (winner)
- Wylde Flowers
- Raw: Emotions Unite Us
Excellence in Mobile Games
- Wylde Flowers (winner)
- Dream Hopper
- Hot Lap League
Excellence in AR/VR
- Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown (winner)
- Flush Back
- Raw: Emotions Unite Us
Excellence in Serious Games (Applied/Impactful)
- Kinder World (winner)
- Wayward Strand
- Raw: Emotions Unite Us
Excellence in Emerging Games (Student or Early Career)
- Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg (winner)
- Fantasy Town Regional Manager
- Born Punk
Excellence in Ongoing Games (Games as a Service)
- The Oregon Trail (winner)
- It’s Literally Just Mowing
- Crash of Cars
Rising Star Award
Raymond Corrigan
Ambition Award
Ryan McMahon
Adam Lancman Award
Clara Reeves
Studio of the Year
Gameloft
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