Just as glittery and celeb packed an affair as its older film related sibling, the British Academy Games Awards 2013 really did showcase how simultaneously diverse and mainstream the video game industry has become.
With a nominee line-up featuring mammoth sized blockbuster studios alongside teeny tiny indie devs set-ups, the 18 award categories represented the very best of console, PC and mobile titles from 2012 and it was thatgamecompany who are now in desperate need of some heavy duty display shelving in their office as their dreamlike, interactive walking adventure Journey led the field. Winning a whopping five awards including best Original Music, Audio Achievement, Artistic Achievement, Game Design and Online Multiplayer (the latter of which raised a few eyebrows at SFL HQ as it was up against some heavyweight multiplayer titles including Halo 4 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown), Journey has helped redefine what a game can be and how it can be experienced and was a popular winner on the night.
Our favourite sci-fi strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown didn’t end the evening completely empty handed as it was happily awarded the BAFTA for best Strategy game. With many of the awards going to downloadable titles, it was great to see 2K Games’ sci-fi turn-based title get some recognition. The other sci-fi win of the night went to one of the smallest development teams to be nominated and looks great fun. Starcrossed is a brand new title from the 5 members of studio Kind of a Big Deal who won the BAFTA One To Watch in association with Dare To Be Digital; a video games development competition for extremely talented students at Universities and Colleges of Art. Its style has echoes of "The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and features a chubby astronaut trying to get back to his home planet by jumping from asteroid to asteroid, avoiding being burnt to death by the sun or frozen to death by outer space.
Beautifully different, The Unfinished Swan by Giant Sparrow also did well for the indie game brigade, taking home two bronze BAFTA faces for Debut Game and Innovation. Its paintball revealing story charmed the judges, as did The Walking Dead by Telltale Games who can add their two BAFTA awards for Story and Mobile / Handheld title, to over 80 other Game of the Year awards. Set in the same universe as Robert Kirkman’s comic book, this gritty and emotional point-and-click series has made the survival-horror genre exciting again and relevant to modern audiences who seem were getting tired with the same old stiff shuffling zombie shooters that have crowded the games, TV and movie markets.
Best British game was a brand new award created by BAFTA this year to show their support for home grown talent and was one of the most hotly contested of the night with LEGO® Lord of the Rings, Dear Esther and Super Hexagon – all games that have gained critical success and massive following – in the running. The winner however was the brilliant iOS puzzler The Room by Fireproof Games that the jury described as “An engaging, enigmatic, beautiful, slow burn tactile puzzle game…….” British Developers TT Games narrowly missed out with LEGO® Lord of the Rings but did go on to collect the Family Award for LEGO® Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
Against a super strong line-up, having picked up 5 awards during the evening, the coveted Best Game award was looking more and more like it would have Journey engraved on its base but in true twisty BAFTA style, the stiff competition was seen off by Bethesda’s amazing stealth action, steampunk tale of revenge Dishonored.
At the end of the evening, host Dara O’ Briain guided attendees to the nearest exit or bar after Valve’s Gabe Newell was presented with the Academy Fellowship for his outstanding and exceptional creative contribution to the Games industry.
It’s been a very interesting year where smaller games and development teams have broken through to large mainstream audiences and where mobile or handheld titles are vying for places at the top of the games charts. It’s an exciting and innovative time in the industry and there were certainly fewer AAA titles taking home prizes this year. As BAFTA’s judging process focuses on innovations, the quality of the art work, music, sound, design and compelling storytelling, the smaller studios are given an equal platform in which to showcase their games and the awards seem the more diverse, positive and unique for it.
For the full list of winners, head to the BAFTA games website, or tune in to Challenge TV (Sky: Ch 125, Freeview: Ch 46, Virgin: Ch 139) on Monday 11th March at 11pm to see highlights from the ceremony.
Congratulations to all the BAFTA Games Awards Winners from the SFL team.