NZ Games Festival: ‘The Pavs’ Awards winners and nominees 2021

Antifascist photography game Umurangi Generation cleaned up at NZ Games Fest's annual awards this year, with nods going to Best Friend Forever, Trigger Witch and more, across The Pavs ten categories.
The pavs

The Pavs are New Zealand Games Festival’s awards, covering categories from best game to rising industry star. Here are the nominees and winners for 2021. Antifascist photography game Umurangi Generation cleaned up this year, with nods going to Best Friend Forever, Trigger Witch and more, across The Pavs’ ten categories.

Slice of heaven: Grand Prize

Nominees:

  • Best Friend Forever, Starcolt
  • Denari, Astronaut Diaries
  • Sue’s Story, Incendio Software (solo dev)
  • Trigger Witch, Rainbite
  • Umurangi Generation, ORIGAME DIGITAL

Winner: Umurangi Generation, ORIGAME DIGITAL

READ: Umurangi Generation & the rise of the antifascist videogame

The guest plate: best Australian game

Nominees:

  • Pico Tanks, Panda Arcade
  • Road to Nowhere, 15 Bit Games
  • Under a Star Called Sun, Cécile Richard
  • Video World, Things For Humans

Winner: Video World, Things For Humans

READ: Best videogames from Australia and Aotearoa in 2020 

The diverse delight: excellence in representation

Nominees:

  • Best Friend Forever, Starcolt
  • Denari, Astronaut Diaries
  • Māoringo, Trent Archer
  • Neocense, Tired Tortoise Tribe
  • Umurangi Generation, ORIGAME DIGITAL

Winner: Best Friend Forever, Starcolt

READ: Launching Best Friend Forever & the emotional cost of release day 

THE ACCESSIBLE AMBROSIA: EXCELLENCE IN ACCESSIBILITY

Nominees:

  • Neocense, Tired Tortoise Tribe
  • Trigger Witch, Rainbite
  • Umurangi Generation, ORIGAME DIGITAL

Winner: Trigger Witch, Rainbite

the perfect recipe: Excellence in Design

Nominees:

  • LongHaus, Gendly Games
  • Trigger Witch, Rainbite
  • Squiggle Drop, Aaron Neugebauer
  • Watch This Space, It’s Anecdotal

Winner: Trigger Witch, Rainbite

The decorative piece: Excellence in Visual Art

Nominees:

  • Best Friend Forever, Starcolt
  • Denari, Astronaut Diaries
  • Galilean Moons, Fantasy Workhouse
  • Umurangi Generation, ORIGAME DIGITAL
  • Wonderland Nights: White Rabbit’s Diary, Sky Bear Games

The poetic serving: Excellence in Narrative

Nominees:

  • Denari, Astronaut Diaries
  • Trigger Witch, Rainbite
  • Last Message, JamesGames
  • Wonderland Nights: White Rabbit’s Diary, Sky Bear Games

The composed segment: Excellence in Audio

Nominees:

  • Last Message, JamesGames
  • Starport Delta, Cloudfire Studios
  • Sue’s Story, Incendio Software (solo dev)
  • Umurangi Generation, ORIGAME DIGITAL
  • Watch This Space, It’s Anecdotal

The tactile taste: Excellence in Physical Games

Nominees:

  • Floating Floors, Gumboot Games Limited
  • Galilean Moons, Fantasy Workhouse
  • Soaring Lions, Imaginary Empire Games
  • Upkeep, Gametime Again

Winner: Galilean Moons, Fantasy Workhouse

The student slice: student prize

Nominees:

  • Frame of Mind, [SAMPLE TEXT] Studios ltd
  • Keep Driving, Connor, Jesse, Jordon & Sam (Yoobee Colleges)
  • LongHaus, Gendly Games
  • Radical Relocation, Winglett Entertainment

Winner: Frame of Mind, [SAMPLE TEXT] Studios ltd

Te maunga kai kapua (tuakana): Industry Pillar 

This Industry Pillar award is about recognising existing members of our community or industry who grow and support game development in NZ. They are central to our community and have been contributing to our industry for a significant amount of time.

Winner: Tim Ponting, Establishment Director at CODE – New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence

Te maunga kai kapua (teina):Unsung Hero

The Unsung Hero award is about recognising those who have not been formally recognised but deserve to be for the extra effort they put into the industry or community that goes beyond a normal job. This award honours the work of an individual who has positively influenced the game development community or industry in New Zealand from behind the scenes.

Winner: Ian Shephard, Creative Director at Cloudfire Studios

Jini Maxwell is a writer and curator who lives in Naarm. They are an assistant curator at ACMI, where they also host the Women & Non-binary gamers club. They write about videogames and the people who make them. You can find them on Twitter @astroblob