The third annual Canadian Video Game Awards took place at the Vancouver Convention Center last Saturday. Members and fans of the industry from across nation gathered to celebrate the best Canadian made games of the year. The show airs tonight at 8:30 (Apr 28th), so read more for spoilers and insights into the event.
My red carpet experience at the CVA’s was an adventure. It included bumping shoulders with celebrities and sampling the Playstation VITA and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in the VIP section. The drink server was no where in sight but there weren’t any lines to try games either. Everyone was busy networking and socializing with the industry personalities before the award show started.
Two studios stole the show by winning 5 awards each. Eidos Montreal, developer of the outstanding action game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, won in the categories: Best Console Game, Best Audio, Best Game Design, Best Writing and Best New Character. Their game boasts a 90 out of 100 on Metacritic.com and was a fan favorite by the audience.
Toronto based Capybara Games was the second game to win 5 awards for their iPad hit, Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP. They were also big winners at the Game Developer Conference earlier in the year. After winning their first award at the CVAs, they were summoned right back onto the stage to receive their second award before they got back to their seats. They won in the categories: Best Game on the Go, Best Downloadable Game, Best Indie Game, Best Original Music and the Innovation Award.
Yaletown based Exploding Barrel Games, won the award for Best Social Game for the free to play Facebook game, Margaritaville. MV’s Facebook page boasts 100,000 likes, indicating the large community that enjoys the game’s sunny shores. When I asked EBG’s President, Scott Blackwood, how the studio felt about winning the award he said, “It feels amazing, and a little unexpected seeing as Jimmy Buffett and the Margaritaville vibe are a lot more popular south of the border,” and he modestly followed up by commenting, “Hopefully the award is a sign of more good stuff to come for the studio as we get cracking on other projects.”
Electronic Arts Canada took home the coveted prize, Game of the Year, for their soccer franchise and international hit, FIFA 12. By the resounding cheers in the audience it is safe to assume that the fans and EA employees supported the choice. I was personally pleased to see that EA’s second award was for NHL 12 for the Future Shop Gamer’s Choice Award for the Top Selling Video Game. Both of these titles boast fantastic online gameplay, stunning graphics and life like motion capture animation.
Congratulations to all of the winners! Again, the show will be televised tonight, Saturday, April 28th and will be hosted by, David Hayter. David is most notably known for being the voice actor of the legendary character, Solid Snake, from the hit Playstation game, Metal Gear Solid.
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