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| (Image Source: Games For Change) |
Games For Change (G4C) has officially revealed the winners of the 12th annual Games For Change Awards. The event was hosted by Anjali Bhimani of Ms. Marvel, Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Dead to Me who was eventually announced as the organization's inaugural ambassador. The awards honored 13 winners across 16 categories including its big winner "Stay Alive, My Son Chapter 1 & 2" from UME Studios which was named Game of the Year and also won Best in Impact and Best Narrative Awards. The ceremony, which took place at Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York City, also celebrated Special Award Honorees which were announced ahead of the festivities including Alyssa Sweetman with the G4C Vanguard Award, Twitch for the G4C Giving Award, Minecraft and Mojang Studios for Industry Leadership, and Venba as the inaugural G4C Indie Breakout Game.
"This year's Games for Change Awards showcase a remarkable evolution in the power of games and immersive media to address complex global issues. From 'Stay Alive, My Son' tackling historical trauma through VR to 'The Plastic Pipeline' gamifying environmental policy, we're seeing this medium push boundaries not just in technology, but in their capacity to foster empathy, drive social change, and redefine how we engage with pressing societal challenges. These winners exemplify how games and immersive media are a tool for imagining and creating better futures," said G4C President Susanna Pollack. The 2024 Games for Change Awards winners are the following:
Game of the Year, Best in Impact, Best Narrative - Stay Alive, My Son Chapter 1 & 2 (UME Studios)
This virtual reality feature combines cinema and gaming, immersing viewers in a groundbreaking, interactive emotional odyssey. It unfolds Yathay Pin's painful journey through locked memories, family separation, and redemption.
Best in Innovation - Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Games)
An epic tale of gods, magic, and a millennium-long journey to rediscovery. Players take on the role of Grace in a world where Greek Gods live in hiding among us, using musical powers to unravel mysteries.
Best Gameplay - A Highland Song (inkle)
A wild adventure through the Scottish Highlands where players guide Moira McKinnon as she runs away across a wilderness of paths, peaks, and dangers. Players climb peaks, spelunk through caves, and find their way to the sea.
Best in Civics, Best in Learning - Headlines and High Water (Field Day Lab)
Players become a young journalist in the fictional town of Twin Lakes, covering a catastrophic flood during the annual Cherry Festival. They interview locals and write stories to keep the town informed while staying safe.
Best in Environmental Impact - The Plastic Pipeline (FableVision)
This game takes players through points on the 'lifecycle' of a single-use plastic product, empowering them to learn about policies being used to fight ocean plastic pollution.
Best in Health & Wellness - Soul Paint (Hatsumi & Monobanda)
Soul Paint is an immersive experience taking participants on a journey to explore and creatively express feelings of emotion and sensations in the body.
Best in XR - MLK: Now Is The Time (Flight School Studio, TIME Studios, Meta VR For Good)
An immersive journey exploring key themes of Dr. King's famous speech, highlighting systemic inequities that persist in our society through first-person stories and interactions.
Best Student Project - Stop and Breathe (One Must Imagine Games)
A game that teaches youth the importance of proper breathing techniques to help overcome anxiety.
Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact - Daybreak (CMYK)
A cooperative board game about stopping climate change, where players work together to decarbonize the world while striving to build a just and safe future for all.
Meanwhile, G4C ambassador Anjali will collaborate with the organization to participate in global events and inspire a new generation of changemakers to harness the power of games for social impact. Her commitment to celebrating diverse voices and stories in the gaming industry and her influential platform and engaged audience make her an ideal ambassador to help drive the games for good movement forward.
