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SXSW Awards (Hades scoops GOTY)

cormack12

Gold Member
Source: https://www.sxsw.com/news/2021/2021-gaming-awards-winners-across-12-categories-announced/

Announcing the winners for the eighth annual SXSW Gaming Awards, recognizing the most creative and influential titles, teams, and individuals in the industry across 12 different categories.

The winners were announced during the virtual SXSW Gaming Awards show produced in partnership with IGN and presented by Discord. This year’s SXSW Gaming Awards included 43 nominees across 12 different categories, with winners determined by a weighted total between staff and advisory board input as well as public voting.


Video Game of the Year​

Winner: Hades — Supergiant Games

Indie Game of the Year​

Winner: Deep Rock Galactic — Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing

Tabletop Game of the Year​

Winner: The Search for Planet X — Renegade Game Studios / Foxtrot Games

VR Game of the Year​

Winner: Half-Life: Alyx — Valve

Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award​

Winner: Dreams — Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Excellence in Animation, Art, & Visual Achievement​

Winner: Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Excellence in Game Design​

Winner: Hades — Supergiant Games

Excellence in Score​

Winner: Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios

Excellence in Multiplayer​

Winner: Deep Rock Galactic — Ghost Ship Games / Coffee Stain Publishing

Excellence in Narrative​

Winner: The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Excellence in Audio Design​

Winner: DOOM Eternal — id Software / Bethesda Softworks

Excellence in Technical Achievement​

Winner: Microsoft Flight Simulator — Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios
 

ranmafan

Member
Overall a nice set of choices but I also have to disagree with the best narrative winner. Heck looking at the nominees, the best game narrative last year, 13 Sentinels, wasn`t even nominated. Once again proving that too few people, especially those in charge of all these year end awards in the industry, played the game at all. A total shame.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Whenever I see SXSW I call it "Six-Swoo" in my head, what an annoying acronym, don't use an X to mean "by" you bunch of wallies.
 

regawdless

Banned
Damn Right GIF by memecandy
 

Arkam

Member
There was a South by this year? Huh didn’t even notice or hear a peep. Honestly better than the chaos it brings in normally. Interesting list.
 
lmao and it got excellence in game design too? It's the typical indie "roguelike" doodoopuss. New Horizons, GoT, MSFS 2020, Half Life: Alyx, Spider Man: MM, THPS 1 and 2 remake, FF7 remake, DOOM Eternal, Star Wars Squadrons, and probably TLoU 2 are all literally better games. And all of that aside, the actual GOTY Demon's Souls really not make the list at all.....for anything? Not a good look.

tenor.gif
 

bender

What time is it?
Like most Supergiant Games, Hades didn't click with me. That's okay, Greg K is the man and I'm happy for his success.

I've tried Deep Rock Galactic a few times and it just didn't click. Maybe it's not my type of game or maybe trying to go at it solo was the issue.
 

Hugare

Member
Agree with pretty much everything. Solid picks.

lol at people mad at TLOU 2, of course

Narrative ≠ Story, fyi

I have my problems with some story decisions, but the game's narrative was amazing.

Showing one point of view, then going back in time and showing the other perspective (the "villain's" at that) , then showing what happens next was bold as fuck in terms of storytelling.

So yeah, its NARRATIVE was incredible, imo
 

DeaconOfTheDank

Gold Member
There was a South by this year? Huh didn’t even notice or hear a peep. Honestly better than the chaos it brings in normally. Interesting list.
It was online this year. Nowhere near as good as it usually is, but there were a couple of good sessions here and there. Thankfully, I got to attend for free.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
Seems like a better selection than most mainstream awards, though TLoU2 winning anything related to story or narrative or whatever still makes me chuckle inwards. Its also weird Hades gets GOTY but no Indie GOTY.
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
Showing one point of view, then going back in time and showing the other perspective (the "villain's" at that) , then showing what happens next was bold as fuck in terms of storytelling.
No, not really. Developing the villain character is like basic storytelling.
Only a really bad writer would think thats a bold move to do, which is actually the issue i have with TLoU2, with its whole narrative developed around something that should be obvious. Its as if a guy made a multiplication table and then tried to pass it as an advanced academic research.
 
Showing one point of view, then going back in time and showing the other perspective (the "villain's" at that) , then showing what happens next was bold as fuck in terms of storytelling.
That would make Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel a masterpiece in storytelling, so I can only disagree with you there.
 

Hugare

Member
That would make Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel a masterpiece in storytelling, so I can only disagree with you there.
If you actualy played both games, you know that comparing the execution of both of them is just dumb

So I disagree, but you do you, thats your opinion

No, not really. Developing the villain character is like basic storytelling.
Only a really bad writer would think thats a bold move to do, which is actually the issue i have with TLoU2, with its whole narrative developed around something that should be obvious. Its as if a guy made a multiplication table and then tried to pass it as an advanced academic research.
It does way more than just "develop the villain". It gives you more than 10h of playtime with the character, which is bigger than most games. It makes you question if said "villain" is even a villain in the first place. By going back in time and showing events thst you've already played, but now from a different point of view, at another location even.

Can you show me a AAA game that did the same in terms of storytelling?

"which is actually the issue i have with TLoU2, with its whole narrative developed around something that should be obvious."

Again, Google "narrative" and see what it means. Doesn't matter if you thought that the STORY was obvious, the NARRATIVE is something else.

You can have an amazing narrative with a shitty story
 
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Spukc

always chasing the next thrill

Excellence in Narrative​

Winner: The Last of Us Part II — Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment

(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)


this is how you award that game. Gameplay was so so everything else was amazing
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
It does way more than just "develop the villain". It gives you more than 10h of playtime with the character, which is bigger than most games. It makes you question if said "villain" is even a villain in the first place. By going back in time and showing events thst you've already played, but now from a different point of view, at another location even.
Regardless of how the villain was developed, as i said, developing the villain - often to the point it makes you question if he/she is really a villain in the first place - is VERY basic story telling.

Can you show me a AAA game that did the same in terms of storytelling?
Deus Ex, Deus Ex HR, Nier, Nier Automata (yes, the one you scorned in the other thread), Warcraft/World of Warcraft along with many other rpgs, MGS series as a whole, Halo 2... some of these aren't even story centric, and still do the thing you're calling bold. As i said, this is normal, not something to praise. I'm not even counting the ones that make you play the whole game as the villain.

"which is actually the issue i have with TLoU2, with its whole narrative developed around something that should be obvious."

Again, Google "narrative" and see what it means. Doesn't matter if you thought that the STORY was obvious, the NARRATIVE is something else.

You can have an amazing narrative with a shitty story
Sources like wikipedia and Cambridge dictionary put them as the same thing. Most i could find is that narrative is a story with a perspective, and that was still just someone's subjective opinion rather than some official definition.
 
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