The 2013 BAFTA Scotland awards ceremony was held in Glasgow on Sunday night. Celebrating and honouring the best in Scottish TV, film and games, the competition is open to every developer – from the smallest indie studio to the largest global behemoth.
Three nominees were chosen from nearly forty entries:
- Coolson’s Artisanal Chocolate Alphabet (Things Made Out Of Other Things)
- Mr Shingu’s Paper Zoo (Stormcloud)
- Impossible Road (Pixels On Toast)
The winner was Coolson’s Artisanal Chocolate Alphabet – a whimsical, cute and addictive word game for iPad, based around chocolate, spelling and tyrannical penguins.
Coolson’s is the first game created by the husband and wife team of Emily Thomforde & Jamie Montgomerie illustrates exactly what’s so exciting about the games sector right now. New teams, new studios and even the smallest independent developers can now create award-winning games and compete on a global level.
In addition, the BAFTA Awards have a small number of special categories, which recognise exceptional achievement within the screen industries. These can be for a lifetime in film/TV, or honouring an individual’s contribution to their craft.
This year however, the academy honoured an entire team for the first time. Rockstar North was collectively presented with a trophy recognising the staggering success of GTA V and the huge impact it’s had on the global games market.
The company was on hand to pick up their trophy, with two tables of developers at the ceremony to represent the company and show the wider film and television sectors that games are not some up-and-coming industry, but have in many ways eclipsed their older siblings, creating entirely new experiences and capturing a truly enormous, truly global audience.
Congratulations to both Rockstar North and Things Made Out Of Other Things. Congratulations too to Stormcloud and Pixels On Toast for their nominations.
And while we’re at it, support your local indies. Buy Coolson’s Artisanal Chocolate Alphabet, Mr Shingu’s Paper Zoo and Impossible Road. GTA V is available at all good retailers.