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The prizes that recognize emerging talent during the Fun & Serious Game Festival already have their finalists. The international contest, FSPlay, endowed with 7,000 euros, and the Titanium Award for Best Basque Game, endowed with 5,000 euros, have just released the short-list of games that have the highest chances of winning. A jury of specialized international journalists and professionals from the sector, after analyzing the proposals in depth, will select the winners, who, on 9th December, will collect their trophies at the presentation ceremony of the already traditional Titanium Awards.
Some 134 proposals from around the world, playable both on computer and console or mobile devices, have entered these awards, which, for the first time, required a complete final build, ruling out games in beta or hands-on versions.
The nation with the highest percentage of participants is, once again, Spain (with 43 titles), followed by the United States (with 12 proposals), the United Kingdom (with 11), France (with 9), Australia (5), Germany, Iran, Sweden and Turkey (with 4 per country) and Denmark (with 3). Some 12 of the titles submitted for the contest come from the Basque Country.
In the FS Play, both the Prize for the Most Innovative Game and the Prize for Best Basque game will be decided during a day of presentations before a jury next Friday and Saturday 6 and 7 December, organized within the framework of the festival. Specialized journalists, academics and professionals from the sector make up the jury (Aimar Alonso, Daniel Muriel and Paula Ruiz) together with José Martínez Burgos ‘Hafo’, FS Play Coordinator, and this jury will be responsible for selecting the winners in both categories, who will collect their prizes during the Grand Closing Gala of the Festival.
FINALISTS
Seven titles make up the list of selected finalists to receive the FS Play Most Innovative Game Award: three come from Spain, whilst Peru, the United States and Italy also join this short-list, each with one participant. The Spanish proposals include the following: The Longest Road on Earth (a collection of small stories that entail an in-depth autobiographical reflection for each player); A Place for the Unwilling (a narrative adventure that follows the last 21 days of a city); and Yuppie Psyco (on the first days of Pasternack at Syntracorp). The list is completed by the following: a Peruvian title, Arrog, an enigmatic puzzle of adventures in black and white (with flashes of color that create an interesting aesthetic); Macdows 95 (the satirical puzzle of an imaginary operating system, from Turkey), the interactive songs of Evergreen Blues (USA); and Football Drama, an Italian title that puts the player in the shoes of the tormented manager, Rocco Galliano.
The four titles selected as finalists for the Best Basque Game, include the following: The Longest Road on Earth; Moodieval, a 3D puzzle that plays around with telekinesis; Skywolf, a title that puts us in the skin of sea captain, Larsen Wolf; and Kogarashi, a proposal in which the player transforms into a demon eager for revenge.
The presentations before the jury will be public and will be held on December 6 and 7. The winners will receive their trophies at the already traditional Closing Ceremony of F&S, the next day. They will share the stage with industry titans, such as this year’s Honorary Award-Winners, Yoko Shimomura, Bruce Straley, Tim Willits and Greg Street.
The historic honorary record of F&S brings together industry icons such as Jeff Kaplan (Overwatch, WoW), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia), John Romero (Doom, Wolfenstein), Yuji Naka (Sonic), Alexey Pajitnov (Tetris) Trip Hawkins (Founder of EA) or the Monkey Island’s father, Tim Schafer.
About Fun & Serious Festival
The Fun & Serious Game Festival, held every December in Bilbao, is the largest video-game festival in Europe and a key meeting-point for the industry as a whole.
The event’s mission is to recognize and promote the work of video-game producers, directors, artists and developers, based on a comprehensive program of conferences, roundtables, networking and activities, aimed at both companies and the general public. As is customary each year, the Festival will conclude with an exclusive Grand Prize-Winning Gala for the best video-games of the year.
The Fun & Serious Game Festival enjoys the support of the Basque Regional Government – SPRI, Bilbao City Hall and the Provincial Council of Biscay. The event’s strategic partners include Microsoft, PlayStation and Ubisoft. The Festival features the collaboration of the Spanish Video-Games Association (AEVI), UTAD, Virtualware and Digipen.
