The Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) 2023 has come and gone but the winners will savor the memories for a long time to come. The biggest winner at the event was Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical developed by Summerfall Studios.
The first serious AGDAs was held in 2002. Then it was called the AGD Awards. It featured 14 awards that mainly focused on the “next-gen” consoles at that time. The awards have undergone several name iterations since then. You can learn more about the history of the event here. This year’s award ceremony was part of the Melbourne International Games Week and also marked the end of the three days of Game Connect Asia Pacific.
According to the awarding organization’s website, Australian Game Developer Awards celebrates “outstanding games and individual achievements by Australian game developers”. Since 2020, the awards have been run by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), the topmost association in the industry representing Australian and New Zealand companies in the video game industry.
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The award ceremony includes “13 game awards, 3 personal and studio awards, and a bespoke award category”. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical scooped up the prize in three different categories including the highly coveted Game of the Year. Interestingly, it was also the only game that won in multiple categories.
Individuals recognized at Australian Game Developer Awards 2023
In terms of individual awards, Trent Kusters was handed the Adam Lancman Award for “continuously [going] above and beyond to raise other people up in the industry and [supporting] independent game makers… [and being] a great ambassador for the Australian games industry locally and abroad.”
Kusters is the director and co-founder of League of Geeks, the studio behind interesting titles like Jumplight Odyssey, Solium Infernum, and Armello. Back in 2020, the studio won the Studio of the Year award at the same event. This year, that title went to Melbourne-based PlaySide Studios.
Dylan Bennett and Caitlin Lomax shared The Empower Award. Bennett was recognized for being a “catalyst for the growth and advancement of the video game industry in the Northern Territory”.
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Lomax, on the other hand, was honored for being “a highly active member of the Western Australian Games community, organizing the WA Games Week, writing the playbook for Screenwest to develop and fund the game development industry of the state”.
Ryan Penning of Waypoint scooped the Rising Star Award for his “dedication to providing a platform for emerging talent”. Finally, O’Sauraus Studios was handed the MIGW Award, which comes with mentorship and support from Creative Victoria.
Full list of Winners at AGDAs 2023
Here is a full list of all the 13 award categories at the Australian Game Developer Awards 2023 and their respective winners.
- Excellence in Art: The Master’s Pupil by Pat Naoum
- Excellence in Gameplay: Moving Out 2 by SMG Studio, Team17
- Excellence in Narrative: Amarantus by ub4q
- Excellence in Sound Design: Gubbins by Studio Folly
- Excellence in Music: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical by Summerfall Studios
- Excellence in Technical Design: Phantom Abyss by Team WIBY
- Excellence in Accessibility: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical by Summerfall Studios
- Excellence in Emerging Games: Partum Artifex by DalaKoala Games
- Excellence in Impactful Games: Earthlingo by Earthlingo
- Excellence in Mobile Games: My Little Pony: Mane Merge by Gameloft Brisbane
- Excellence in AR/VR Games: Espire 2: Stealth Operatives by Digital Lode Immersive Media
- Excellence in Ongoing Games: Wylde Flowers by Studio Drydock
- Game of the Year: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical by Summerfall Studios
About Stray Gods developer Summerfall Studios
After departing from Beamdog, David Gaider pondered his next industry direction. He wanted to make a narrative-driven game that builds on the narrative skills he acquired from Bioware. During a Games Developers Conference in San Francisco, he shared the idea with Liam Esler who at that time was working as a narrative and production consultant.
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Coincidentally, both shared the idea of a narrative-driven game. Eventually, that discussion turned into a partnership. Along the way, Elie Young who just walked out of the music business after a decade-long career joined the party. The three co-founded Summerfall Studios in 2017. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is the first title from the studio.
“Stray Gods was a Herculean effort from all involved, and we are deeply grateful to receive this award, and to the Australian game development community for all the support over the years,” said Esler in a statement.
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