PLAY19

Creative Gaming Award 2019

The Creative Gaming Award is granted anually during the PLAY – Creative Gaming festival and honors the most creative and innovative games and media. There are two categories: while the Most Creative Game Award will be given to the most creative project, the Most Innovative Newcomer Award honors the best newcomer production. Indie game developers from all over Europe have the chance to submit their games and prototypes. The nominated media will be shown at the PLAY19 exhibition and winners will be chosen by an international jury. The winners will be announced at the awarding ceremony on 16 November 2019 in Hamburg.

See all nominees here.

Laudatories 2019

Most Innovative Newcomer
Among the thousands of games that are published every year, it can be scary to be a newcomer. All nominees in the catergory Most Innovative Newcomer turned their ideas into games with new approaches. And if we could, we would give an award to all of them. We saw a game you play with your eyes. There was another game that you play with your voice. But in the end we decided on a game, that you play together.
The Most Innovative Newcomer of the Creative Gaming Award 2019 is PileUp by Seed by Seed.
The strengths of our winner have been most clear at the exhibition here at PLAY Festival. Children and adults could join and leave the game any time, help each other out, as well as compete in mini games. It’s accessible and inviting for all kinds of players. For one year the team has put their heart and soul into crafting this joyful experience. Now they are facing the next big step: releasing PileUp.
We believe that Seed by Seed will profit most from the professional mentoring, especially at this important point of their career.

Most Creative Game
Naming a single game as the „most creative“ one is a tough choice. Creativity means finding new ways to express stories through the medium games. Just like our newcomer, the winning game brings people together. It does not do so through gameplay alone, but through the unique stories it tells.
The Most Creative Game of the Creative Gaming Award 2019 is Welcome to Elk by Triple Topping Games!
With its whimsical cartoon looks Welcome to Elk immediately draws you into its world. But the stories it tells reach far beyond the screen of a computer. Welcome to Elk tears down the wall between fiction and reality and stays with you long after you have stopped playing it.
It accomplishes to be funny and tragic at the same time, while always remaining respectful of the real people it portrays.
While all nominated games find creative new ways of using the medium, the jury remains most excited for what other stories Welcome to Elk will continue to tell in the future.

The award focuses on creative games and playful media that give the player the possibility to interact creatively with and within the game. The innovation can be showcased by a special gameplay, transmediality, unknown possibilities of interaction within the game, essential graphic innovations, new interfaces, uncommon atmospheres, visual breakthroughs or interesting topics that the game deals with in a novel manner.

Most Creative Game

This category is directed to experienced developers that have already published one or more games. The award is endowed with a prize money of 1.000 Euro. The nominated games will also be showcased in the PLAY exhibition, the developers are invited to Hamburg during the festival and can participate in the awarding ceremony, taking place on 16 November 2019. Beta versions and completed projects can be submitted.

Most Innovative Newcomer

This category is directed to newcomer developers who have NOT published a game yet. In this category, prototypes as well as alpha and beta versions and finished projects can be submitted. This award is endowed with a one-year mentoring. The nominated games also receive a place in the PLAY exhibition and participate in the festive awarding ceremony on 16 November 2019. During the festival, nominated developers are invited to Hamburg.

Previous winners of “Most Creative Game” are Among the Sleep (2015), FRU (2016), Keyboard Sports (2017) and Do Not Feed the Monkeys (2018). Previous winners of “Most Innovative Newcomer” are Lucid (2015), FAR: Lone Sails (2016), Tell Me What You See (2017) and Symbio (2018).