The Scottish Games Awards 2023 has included an esports project in its list of nominations, which features a host of Scottish talent, games and initiatives.
The Angus Esports Interdisciplinary Learning Project from Angus Council has been nominated. This project was funded by Round 4 of the Education Scotland STEM CLPL Grants and Angus Council, and worked in partnership with Esports Scotland, Dundee and Angus College, and SSERC.
Teachers in Angus Council primary schools engaged in learning around what esports is and its place in the Scottish curriculum. Teachers used Xbox Series S consoles provided with funding by Microsoft and Angus Council, alongside Dundee-based The Gaming Van, in lessons.
The Angus initiative is one of several nominees in the Scottish Games Awards 2023. Over 110 entries were received across the 15 categories, recognising and celebrating the achievement and success of individuals, organisations and games from across the whole Scottish Ecosystem.
The competition’s new categories including Rising Star, which recognises new talent, Spirit Of Scotland, which rewards games which feature Scottish history, culture or language and Pure Quality, which highlights success outside the commercial realm.
“The Scottish Games Awards are so important. It gives us a chance to share the great work we’re producing with the world – and celebrate the people and organisations behind it.”
Brian Baglow, Scottish Games Week
The winners will be announced at the Scottish Games Awards 2023 ceremony, which will be opened by Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf on Thursday November 2nd 2023.
The awards are a part of Scottish Games Week, which aims to bring the Scottish gaming community together and ‘celebrate its successes, learn from its challenges and showcase its talent’. It’s sponsored by Johnston Carmichael, Scotland’s largest firm of chartered accountants and business advisers.
Scottish Games Week has also partnered with Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity to raise money for the Games For The Weans campaign, which will go towards adapted gaming equipment, consoles and video games for the boys and girls at Scotland’s biggest children’s hospital, as well as supporting the play team.
Games journalist and author Chris Scullion is chairing the judging panel at the awards.
Brian Baglow, the director of Scottish Games Week, said: “I am lucky enough to see the games and speak to the people working in Scotland’s games sector on a daily basis. I know how many technically and creatively gifted people we have working across the country – and how incredible the games we are producing can be.
“Not everybody gets that chance, which is why the Scottish Games Awards are so important. It gives us a chance to share the great work we’re producing with the world – and celebrate the people and organisations behind it.
Scottish Games Awards 2023 nominees
Art and Animation
- Super Stretchy Chicken Legs – Ping Creates
- Skye Tales – Puny Astronaut
- Tray Racers – Bitloom
- Subway Surfers Blast – Outplay
Audio
- Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot – The London Case – Blazing Griffin/Calum Robb
- Skye Tales – Puny Astronaut/Ged Grimes/Chris D’Arcey
- Eschaton – Jabuga
Best Educational Programme
- Online Diploma Programme (Game Design) – Robert Gordon College
- Computer Games Development Programme – The University of the West of Scotland
- Tinderbox Games Club – Tinderbox Collective
- BSc (Hons) Games Development – Glasgow Caledonian University
- Angus Esports Interdisciplinary Learning Project – Angus Council
- Games Development Programmes – City of Glasgow College
- CodeCraft – NESCOL
Best Educator
- Dr Thomas Hainey – University of the West of Scotland
- Hamid Homatash – Glasgow Caledonian University
- Nick Bell – Edinburgh College
- Mona Bozdog – Abertay University
- Sarah Herzog – Fife College
- Tom Methven – Heriot-Watt University
Best Large-Budget Game
- Super Stretchy Chicken Legs – Ping Creates
- Tray Racers – Bitloom
- Skye Tales – Puny Astronaut
- Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot – The London Case – Blazing Griffin
- Scathe – Damage State
Best Small-Budget Game
- Rotaboxes – Peter Trizuliak
- Operation: Pinkeye – Stormplay
- Nugget Run – Ping Creates
- The Longest Walk – Alexander Tarvet
- Beerman – VS1 Studio
Creativity
- Voyage of a Lifetime (Sea of Thieves) – Disk Two/Production Attic
- Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot – The London Case – Blazing Griffin
- Super Stretchy Chicken Legs – Ping Creates
- Marion’s Journey – Chimera Tales
- Skye Tales – Puny Astronaut
Diversity Champion
- Cari Watterton – Rebellion
- Jon Mortimer – Napier University
- Alexander Horowitz – Glasgow School of Art
- Searra Leishman – Hyper Luminal Games
- Professor Ruth Falconer – Abertay University
Lifetime Achievement
- Paul Farley
- Richard Scott, Dana Dorian & Stuart Aitken
- Chris Sawyer
- Mike Dailly
Community Spirit Award (Stewart Gilray)
- Johnny Boyle
- Fergus Coyne
- Neon Hive
- Luci Holland
- Dr Amanda Ford
Technical Achievement
- Venture’s Gauntlet – Bearhammer Games
- Talenoko (Tilt 5) – Blazing Griffin
- Viewfinder – Sad Owl Studios
- Scathe – Damage State
Tools and Technology
- CaptionAssist3D – Arboreta Games
- LisNav – 3finery
- PURE4D – DI4D
- AdInMo – AdInMo
- Game Maker Studio 2 – Opera
Rising Star
- Matthew Aston – Firebolt Games
- Briony Mckelvie – Blazing Griffin
- Ruth Carnegie – Snap Finger Click
- James Paton – Ant Workshop
- Melissa Cocker – Hyper Luminal Games
- Jamie Ferguson – Arboreta Games
- Rach Macpherson – Neon Hive
- Ruari McGhee – Blazing Griffin
- Kayla Wallace – Puny Astronaut
- Dominic Crofts – Ninja Kiwi
- Brodie Templeton – Hyper Luminal Games
- Phoebe Anderson – Hyper Luminal Games
- Dominik Gawron – Cognitive Games
- Charlotte Pang – Chirashi Games
- Richard Wilson – Blackadders LLP
Spirit Of Scotland
- Operation Pinkeye – Stormplay
- Red Rampant – Eclectic Synthesis
- Aonar – Glasgow School of Art
- SEvEN: Seven Voices, One Future – Glasgow University
- Skye Tales – Puny Astronaut
- Nae Danger VR – Pocket Sized Hands
Pure Quality
- The Longest Walk – Alexander Tarvet
- Beat Blocks – Playable Tech
- Bloons TD5 – Ninja Kiwi
- BLINNK and the Vacuum of Space – Changing Day
- Scathe – Damage State
Scottish Games Awards 2023 tickets can be found here
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
