News and Articles

Winners 2010:

The 2010 edition of Norwegian Game Awards is over. We would like to thank all the talented people who participated in this years competition. The winners were announced at the Grande Finale on the 27th of August and are presented below:

Game of the Year

Owlboy

Jury motivation: There were several good games in the competition this year and getting the list down to only three nominees for this category was not an easy task. Still, the decision to award the prize for best game to Owlboy was an easy one. The game has a distinctive 2D retro style and is full of neat little details and surprises. It stays true to its 8- and 16-bit legacy while adding its own qualities and avoiding the risk of becoming just another bland copy. We believe that the mix of puzzles, smooth platform gaming and beautifully pixeled graphics will make Owlboy appeal to a wide range of age groups and gamer types, and each member of the jury would happily buy the game as-it-is today.

Best Innovation

Apocalypse

Jury motivation: Whilst many of the entries in this years competition seemed to focus on careful execution rather than new ideas Apocalypse stood out as something entertaining even though it was far from being finished. What the demo currently lacks in variation and visual finish is less important than what it promises to become once new levels, abilities and strategies are put in place. The jury feels that the team have created a story where you play as evil & immoral not because it's supposed to be edgy or "different", but simply because it's great fun!

Best Execution

Evil Junior

Jury motivation: Several teams have demonstrated a high degree of sophistication this year, but Evil Junior is without doubt in a league of its own. The submitted demo is fairly short and doesn't provide all that much action, but what _is_ in there was more than enough to secure the first prize in this category. Everything from the polished graphics and top-notch voice acting to the interesting characters & story promises a fun point-and-click adventure in the style of vintage LucasArts games. When the jurys only real complaints can be summed up as "the demo is too short" and "some of the credits are a bit hard to read", that should in itself be a sign of very high quality.

Best Concept

Garbalicious

Jury motivation: It was a close race against Noah's Archive, but in the end Garbalicious won thanks to its focus on basic playability and peculiar mood-setting graphics. The chosen visual style allows the action to move in numerous different directions while still delivering a very consistent experience, and the entire jury were instantly hooked by the promise of enormous bosses as part of the 2D landscape itself. Garbalicious has a strong potential to become one of those games you keep playing just to see how the scenery changes. Our main recommendation for further development is to ensure that the "flip-screen" mechanics become an integral part of the game play rather than just a gimmick. And that we get bosses, lots and lots of huge bosses!

Committees Choice

The Forklift Game

Jury motivation: The jury was thoroughly charmed by the odd idea and the absurd gaming experience which felt quite a bit like driving around in a bath tub while juggling balloons. The combination of a large number of controls & buttons with the more arcade-like game play made it a confusing experience at times, and if it is to be developed further then we'd recommend making clear decision on whether this should be a full-fledged fork lift simulator or an easy-to-pick-up arcade game. But having said that, the jury admires a bit of craziness and The Forklift Game is an impressive one-man achievement and a pleasantly bizarre little project that really stood out amongst the other entries.