Silent Games' Empyreal was named Best Indie Game Made in the North at the Game Republic Awards last night.
The ceremony, held at WX Wakefield in Yorkshire, was attended by over 500 gaming industry representatives and was hosted by Game Republic Jamie Sefton MD. The best indie game created in the North category was determined based on the results of public voting and 15 nominees presentedincluding The Siege and the Sandfox from Cardboard Sword and Starship Troopers Continuum from XR Games.
The remaining categories were judged by Guardian gaming journalist Keith Stewart, who was unable to attend the show in person but provided a recorded introduction to kick off the proceedings.
Ian Stewart, founder of Sheffield-based developer Gremlin Graphics, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. Gremlin was founded in 1984 and became famous for games such as Zool and Premier Manager, but was bought by Infogrames in 1999 and closed in 2003.
As well as the awards ceremony, more than 60 games from northern gaming companies were showcased, including ten from Scotland as part of a partnership between Game Republic and the Scottish Game Developers Association.
The full list of Game Republic Awards winners is below:
Best Small Studio Sponsored by Yogscast Games – Dink
Best Mid-Size Studio Sponsored by Other Things – Tanglewood Games
Best Large Studio Sponsored by Eaton Smith Solicitors – D3T
Studio Hero Award sponsored by Plus Accounting – Natasha Vincent (EA Playdemic)
Inclusion Award – Safe in our world
Inspiring Course Leader Sponsored by Double Eleven – Rob Charlish (Wakefield College)
Technology Innovation Award sponsored by HP and AMD in association with Escape Technology – Reflex arc
Community Manager Award – Pedro Silva (Double Eleven)
Martin Brown Rising Star Award – Sarah York (Panda Cat Games)
Best Gaming Research – Francesca Foffano (IGGI)
Games Legend Award sponsored by Red Kite Games — Darren Falkus
Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored by Red Kite Games — Ian Stewart
Best Indie Game Made in the North, Sponsored by Xsolla – Empyreal (Silent games)
