Best studios, best bosses and best game ever made in Yorkshire and The North were announced in front of over 400 game developers from across Yorkshire and The North on 23rd November – in a special GaMaYo event hosted at the newly opened Tileyard North in Wakefield. The Awards formed part of the 20 year celebration of the largest games industry network in the North – Game Republic and final decisions were made by Boss Judge Rhianna Pratchett.
Featured image taken by Johnny Carr
MD of Game Republic Jamie Sefton sporting a sparkly jacket came on stage saying “I know what you’re thinking, that Strictly dancer has let himself go a bit.” He then added “This has been our biggest games industry event yet, and it has been fantastic to host it in this new creative hub for Yorkshire, Tileyard North. Huge thanks to the team Kerry and Katie but also Dan and crew at DSM productions for providing amazing production and Matt and Richy at creative agency Other Things for producing a fantastic video and presentation!”
Special guests included Xbox, publishers Secret Mode and Kepler Interactive, leading studios including Sumo, Team17, D3t, Rebellion North and Double Eleven and investors UK Games Fund and London Venture Partners to name a few. The huge networking event and expo which brought together independent developers alongside huge studios showcased 20 new games coming out of the region including a worldwide exclusive reveal of Just Add Water and Rebellion’s new VR game Sniper Elite: Winter Warrior, narrative games including Space Salvage, hilarious multiplayer fighting game Clodhoppers (photo below) and multi award-winning horror game Blink.
Winners of the Award categories were announced by Game Republic’s Jamie Sefton and were presented by Award sponsors as follows:
Best Small Studio presented by Wayne Smith from Lenovo
Winner: Huey Games
Best Mid-Sized Studio presented by Elaine Dowman from Barclays
Winner: Radical Forge
Best Large Studio presented by Chris Taylor from Eaton Smith Solicitors
Winner: Double 11
Commenting on the studio awards – Chris Taylor of Eaton Smith Solicitors was impressed with the range of nominations “It is wonderful to see such a breadth and depth of games studios in Yorkshire and the North of England, showing what a well-developed ecosystem there is.”
Elaine Dowman from Barclays added “What was clear in the mid-sized studio category was that companies nominated all shared a common feature of growing but staying true to their roots. Well done to Radical Forge”
Further awards included:
Best Game-Related Research presented by Simon Iwaniszak from Red Kite Games
Winner: IGGI
Inclusivity Award presented by Azaria Narine & Jessica Swiffen from Boneloaf
Winner: Sumo Group
Sustainability Award presented by Richy Pears from Other Things
Winner: Megaverse
Most Innovative Technology Award presented by Neil Parmar from Escape Technology
Winner: Dreaming Methods
Neil Parmar from Escape Technology admired the winning team in particular their Abandoned library project that has won major accolades, he explained “this project used tech to create a moving and powerful experience dealing with environmental disaster and has widened access to immersive technology and raised awareness of global issues at the same time.”
Best Company Boss presented by Matt Hitchcock from Other Things
Winner: Kimberley Turner of Double 11
Studio Hero presented by Chris Lunardi from Barclays
Winner: Anne Van Der Merwe of Red Kite Games
Most Inspiring Course Leader presented by John Stopforth from Escape Technology
Winner: Matt Novak of the University of Huddersfield
Community Player Award presented by Nick Keynes from Tileyard North
Winner: Andrew Crawshaw, Thunkd
Games Legend presented by Simon Iwaniszak from Red Kite Games
Winner: Charles Cecil and Noirin Carmody of Revolution Software
And in the Best Game Ever Made in Yorkshire and The North the same legendary team took the title against 19 other nominated games as Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was voted Best Game in a public vote.
Speaking about the Games Legends and their work Simon Iwaniszak, Studio Director of Red Kite Games said “‘I feel extremely honoured to be involved with this award – and what’s better than one games legend if not two! Over the last three decades Charles Cecil and Noirin Carmody have been instrumental in ensuring that the games industry in Yorkshire and The North prospers and evolves. In 1989, Charles and Noirin co-founded Revolution Software, a pioneering games studio that went on to develop hit titles such as Lure of the Temptress, Beneath a Steel Sky and my personal favourite, the Broken Sword series. I was 10 years old when I pointed-and-clicked my way through The Shadow of the Templars, a lasting childhood gaming memory, that I still cherish today. Charles and Noirin are the dictionary definition of a games legend, and we’re lucky to have them in Yorkshire!”
If you are interested in joining Game Republic or GaMaYo to attend future events visit this link
