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Dot’s Home won Game of the Year and Best Narrative winner at the 2022 Games for Change Awards.
With thousands of voices BeatNic Boulevard was awarded the annual People’s Choice award (awarded by Facebook Gaming). The winners, representing 13 countries, were announced tonight at the awards ceremony of the 2022 Games for Change Virtual Festival.
I attended the event in person for the first time this week in New York and I will say more about it. I enjoyed it and had some good discussions about the metaverse in a few roundtables, as well as a good fireside chat with Stanley Pierre-Louis, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association.
These are the winners of the Games for Change Award 2022:
Game of the year, best story — Dot’s Home (Project Weathered Sweater & Rise-Home Stories)
Dot’s Home is a story-driven single-player video game in which Dot, a young black woman in modern-day Detroit, travels through time to key moments in her family’s history to see how individual decisions – no matter how seemingly insignificant, let alone right or wrong – also be. have a long-lasting collective impact.
Most innovative — The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel)
The Vale is an action-adventure that uses the full potential of 3D audio to deliver deep-rooted gameplay that breaks the barrier between player and character. The Vale also aims to reinvigorate medieval combat and provide a truly new experience for both visually impaired and sighted gamers.
Most significant impact — Svoboda 1945: Liberation (Charles games)
Svoboda 1945: Liberation is a unique blend of adventure gameplay, full-motion video interviews with real actors, and historically accurate interactive memories of people who lived through the chaos of the aftermath of World War II. Created by professional historians.
Best student game — There you are (Funky Dango)
There You Are is an exploratory narrative game with a stop-motion style graphic design and two endings of players’ choices and actions. In this game, players play the girl, Su, to deal with her father’s relationship, put the past behind and accept the loss of her mother.
best learning game — ava (Team Ava)
Ava is a role-playing platform adventure game series that follows an autistic star mapper as she takes on social challenges with space pirates, battles self-doubt and finds community. Our game-based approach helps neurodiverse youth safely fail and embrace their identity for social-emotional success off-screen.
Best XR4C experience — The choice (Joanne Popinska)
The debate about abortion is often heated. But behind every decision is a human story. Using volumetric video and creative design, this XR interactive documentary shows us from a different perspective the emotional and complex nature behind One Woman’s Choice.
G4C People’s Choice Award, Best Health Game — BeatNic Boulevard (skillsgapp)
Big tobacco spends a lot of money making kids addicted to vaping products. Here is the place to fight back. Volunteers put you in control of the health and happiness of your city. The healthier and happier you are, the more influence you have over who smokes what and where…like anywhere else.
Best civics game — VOXPOP (Giant Mechanic)
VOXPOP brings citizenship and history to life through personal, media-rich, collaborative role-playing. The teacher guides the experience using VOXPOP’s easy-to-use software, accessible from any internet-enabled device. With VOXPOP’s immersive, live-action role-playing games, students explore different perspectives and collaborate to navigate defining moments in American history.
Best Gameplay — For your eyes (Goodbye World Games)
Embark on an emotional first person story adventure where you determine the story – and influence its results – with your real blinks. With this innovative technique, you completely immerse yourself in a world of memories, both joyful and heartbreaking, as your whole life flashes before your eyes.
Other Special Recognitions
In addition to the above recognition, the Games for Change Award ceremony has also been recognized Eve Crevoshay as the 2022 Vanguard Award recipient, Schell games for the Industry Leadership Award, Child’s Play for the G4C Giving Award, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apartand Insomniac Games as the inaugural winner of the Accessibility Award.
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