Scottish Games Week is a sparkling celebration of the industry in Scotland, and the Scottish Games Awards ceremony is the jewel in its crown; a chance for us to showcase and reward not just the best games made in Scotland, but also the people that make those games possible, through their commitment to education and community.
After a rigorous selection process, we’re proud to announce the longlist for the awards; the 5 games and individuals in each of the 12 categories who will be facing our esteemed judging panel in the weeks to come. The panel consists of the following industry heavyweights:
Brian Baird – Technical Director at Bethesda Games Studios Austin
Joe Donnelly – Feature Writer at GamesRadar+
Alisdair Gunn – Director at Glasgow City Innovation District
Steven Hamill – COO at Scottish Edge
Keza MacDonald – Video Games Editor at The Guardian
Jim Trinca – Games journalist and video producer
Jo Twist – CEO of UKIE
These experts will be whittling down the longlist below into a shortlist, and finally into winners, which will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday the 27th of October.
But enough build up; without further ado, Scottish Games Week is proud to present the longlist for the first-ever Scottish Games Awards:
Category 1: Art and Animation
Just Take Your Left (Mehrdad Rezaei)
Cloudpunk (ION LANDS)
Galaxy Fight Club Trailer (Interference Pattern)
Train Sim World 2: Island Line 2022 (Rivet Games)
Autonauts vs. Piratebots (Denki)
Category 2: Audio
SOLAS 128 (Amicable Animal)
Train Sim World 2: Island Line 2022 (Rivet Games)
A Bonnie Odyssey (Astrodreamer Studio)
Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases (Blazing Griffin)
Autonauts vs. Piratebots (Denki)
Category 3: Best Educational Programme
3D Art and Animation (Glasgow Caledonian University)
Games Development Programme (University of the West of Scotland)
Robert Burns’ Farm at Ellisland in Minecraft
HN Games Development (Dundee and Angus College)
MSc Visualisation (Glasgow School of Art)
Category 4: Best Educator
Daisy Abbott
Dr. Thomas Methven
Jane Draycott
Erin Hughes
Dr. Lynn Love
Category 5: Best Large-Budget Game
From the Depths (Brilliant Skies Ltd.)
Cloudpunk (ION LANDS)
Mystery Match Village (Outplay Entertainment Ltd)
Autonauts vs. Piratebots (Denki)
Island Saver (Stormcloud Games)
Category 6: Best Small-Budget Game
Temple of Snek (Aetheric Games)
The Black Iris (Arboreta Games)
SOLAS 128(Amicable Animal)
The Baby in Yellow (Team Terrible)
Ultimate Supremacy (GameXPlosion)
Category 7: Creativity
SOLAS 128 (Amicable Animal)
Cloudpunk (ION LANDS)
Playhead (Lowtek Games)
Temple of Snek (Aetheric Games)
Strange Sickness (Common Profyt Games)
Category 8: Diversity Champion
Joanne Lacey
Searra Dodds
Tanya Laird
Lauren Aitken
Charly Harbord
Category 9: Lifetime Achievement
Colin Anderson
Tanya Laird
Stuart Martin
Dave Jones
Chris Sawyer
Category 10: Stewart Gilray Award (For Community Spirit)
Malath Abbas
Colin Macdonald
Colin Anderson
Dr. Amanda Ford
Paddy Burns
Category 11: Technical Achievement
Conquest.eth (Etherplay)
Monstrum 2 (Team Junkfish)
Ultimate Supremacy (GameXPlosion)
A Bonnie Odyssey (Astrodreamer Studio)
From the Depths (Brilliant Skies Ltd.)
Category 12: Tools and Technology
Dislectek
Murder Mystery Machine on Tilt Five (Blazing Griffin)
Kythera AI
Zappaty
AdInMo
This longlist is a cross-section of the great stuff happening in Scottish games right now, and it’s one that Brian Baglow, Director of Scottish Games Week and Founder of the Scottish Games Network, is keen to highlight: “As the founder and director of the Scottish Games Network, I am lucky enough to see, on a daily basis, the incredible work being carried out in Scotland and meet the people, the pioneers and the games which are shaping the future of the games ecosystem.
“However, not every game – or person – doing this work gets the visibility they need or deserve. The Scottish Games Awards are designed to address this and showcase the people, the organisations and the games which make Scotland such a wonderful place to create, publish, teach, learn, love (or even play!) games.
“We were thrilled to get such a wide range of entries and such a high level of excellence across each of the categories. I don’t envy the judges trying to select the winners from such a superb range of entries.
“Good luck to every entrant!”
The Scottish Games Awards ceremony will take place on the 27th of October, at the Malmaison in Dundee. For more information on Scottish Games Week events, and to buy tickets, click here.