The guildford.games Awards, presented annually, celebrate the exceptional talent, creativity, and innovation within Guildford’s long-standing game development hub. As one of the UK’s most vibrant and renowned centres for game dev, Guildford has fostered some of the industry’s most iconic titles and pioneering studios.
The awards seek to recognise, honour, and reward outstanding achievements across a range of categories that reflect the diversity and talent within the g.g community. With categories such as Rising Star, Best Creative, Players' Choice and Innovation, the awards spotlight everything from emerging talent and collaboration to the prestigious Nick Ferguson Unsung Hero Award, honouring an influential and much missed member of our community and the games ind. as a whole.
Guildford’s historical game development community is a powerhouse of creativity, home to a mix of AAA studios & indie developers. The guildford.games Awards not only celebrate the games made in the town, but also honour individuals who have made significant contributions to the industry, whilst acknowledging those who help shape the industry and inspire future creators.
Award Categories
Creative Award
We're looking for the individual or team who have shown their creative prowess in the workplace. This award is not just for artists, either! Your nomination could be for creative coding, creative thinking or any other form creative action you've witnessed...
Collaboration Award
The Collaboration Award celebrates individuals or teams who excel at working together, either within their studio or across the Guildford games community. It recognizes those who bring people together, foster strong partnerships, and achieve great things through collaboration. If you know someone who’s a standout team player, this award is for them!
Education Award
The education award isn't limited to educational institutions. Do you know of a Guildford studio who offer talks at events or who actively go out into the community to help impart knowledge? Or someone who runs events to bring people together? Have you been involved in running courses or internships in your studio? Get nominating!
Hard-Mode Hero Award
This award honors a person or team that has shown remarkable determination and hard work, overcoming adversity to achieve something exceptional. Whether it's launching a game or persistently pushing forward despite setbacks, it celebrates the perseverance and resilience of the Guildford games community.
Nick Ferguson Unsung Hero Award
This award honors the memory of Nick Ferguson, a beloved game developer known for his passion, humility, and behind-the-scenes contributions to the industry. It recognizes individuals who, like Nick, have made significant yet often unrecognized impacts, celebrating those who work tirelessly in the background, driving innovation, mentoring, and uplifting others with quiet leadership and a collaborative spirit.
Rising Star Award
Guildford’s rich history in video game development has made it a cornerstone of the British games industry. The Rising Star Award honors an up-and-coming individual showing exceptional creativity and potential, ensuring Guildford’s tradition of nurturing the next generation of game developers continues to thrive.
Outstanding Studio Culture Award
The Outstanding Studio Culture Award celebrates a Guildford-based studio that fosters a positive, inclusive, and supportive work environment. This award honors a studio that prioritizes employee well-being, promotes collaboration, and nurtures creativity, all while maintaining a strong sense of community. It recognizes a workplace where team members feel valued, motivated, and empowered to grow, contributing to both personal and professional success.
Players' Choice Award
This award honors a game developed in Guildford and launched between November 2023 and now, celebrating the connection between local developers and the global gaming audience. The Players’ Choice Award reflects the worldwide community’s appreciation for Guildford’s creativity, innovation, and lasting contribution to the industry.
Rules and further information
Timetable
Entries are invited for the guildford.games Awards in 2024 from both Developers and Publishers.
Any individual or team are eligible as long as they are based in the GU (Guildford) post code.
The Individual or team must have done what they are being nominated for between 1st November 2023 and 1st October 2024.
Entry
All entries should be made via the Submission Form by 25th October 2024.
There must be careful consideration of who is proposed for nomination as changes cannot be made once nominations have been announced;
guildford.games Awards are not liable for errors in listings that are the result of incorrect information submitted on the entry form.
Fees
There is no fee for entries to the guildford.games Awards.
Voting and juries
Judging panel are made up of between eight and ten industry experts.
All voting is authenticated by the guildford.games Awards appointed scrutineers.
All decisions made by guildford.games Awards and its judges are final and no correspondence will be entered into as to why particular entries were or were not nominated.
Nominations and winners
The nominations for each category will always be listed in alphabetical order.
Nominations will be announced approximately four weeks before the ceremony.
The winners press release is the definitive source of award winners information.
All individuals or teams named as award winners will receive a guildford.games Award.
The guildford.games Awards does not issue replicas of the Award.
Clip usage - Nominated content
An important part of guildford.games Awards remit is to promote excellence in games to as large an audience as possible. In order to fulfil this, guildford.games Awards intends to show clips of nominated games at the Awards ceremony and these clips may form part of its online broadcast in the UK.