IGEA announces the 2024 Australian Game Developer Awards Winners

Interactive Games & Entertainment Association :

Wednesday, 9 October 2024 - Tonight, solo developer Jordan Mochi won the Game of the Year for his survival horror game CONSCRIPT at the 2024 Australian Game Developer Awards (The AGDAs). Presented by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) at the Forum, Melbourne, the 2024 Australian Game Developer Awards celebrated excellence in the Australian Video Game Development industry. CONSCRIPT also won Excellence in Art and Excellence in Emerging Games. 

“The idea for CONSCRIPT came from my days at university studying history. Originally, I had no idea what I wanted the game to be, but I knew I wanted to create a survival horror game. From there, I began the ambitious task of teaching myself as many disciplines of game design as I could, from coding, to art, sound design, marketing, and so much more. To receive the Game of the Year Award for 2024 feels like such a momentous achievement and is a culmination of so many years of hard work. Thank you to all the judges, and congratulations to all the nominees and winners tonight,” said Jordan Mochi after receiving the Game of the Year award.

Five states and territories were represented among the winning games, demonstrating the talent working across Australia. Winners hailed from the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales. The AGDAs feature awards for game design elements such as art, gameplay, narrative, sound design, music, accessibility, and social impact. See the full list of winners below.

The AGDAs also celebrate teams and individuals helping to advance the industry. Studio of the Year was awarded to Chaos Theory Games, creators of Crab God, a game about coral reef preservation that aids real-life conservation efforts. As a studio, they aim to ‘improve quality of life and inspire a more sustainable future through the magic of play’. 

Chloe Appleby, Program Curator and Strategic Projects Manager at Powerhouse Museum was one of the two Australians awarded the 2024 Rising Star Award for her outstanding contribution to the video game industry. Chloe has been instrumental in bringing together the Sydney developer community through social events and exhibitions at the Powerhouse Museum. Her advocacy for the independent developer scene and game development industry has driven video games to the forefront of important discussions in NSW. Ben Armstrong also received the 2024 Rising Star Award for his longstanding support and advocacy for First Nations representation in video games, both on the screen and behind.  Ben actively participates in the game developer community and contributes extensively to the broader industry.

This year’s Adam Lancman Award was awarded to Ross Symons, founder of Big Ant Studios. Through his extensive and impressive career, Ross has helped lay the foundations of the Australian video game development industry. In addition to his incredible early contributions, Ross continues to be a voice for change, actively advocating for the video game industry to government. Ross has always been a cornerstone of the local industry, supporting numerous important programs over the years to help create careers and pathways for junior developers.

“As the Australian Game Developer scene grows, so does the calibre of games produced by Australian studios. This year, the competition was incredibly strong again, with incredibly tight scores across many of the submitted games. Our independent judges worked hard to come up with three finalists and one ultimate winner in each category. On behalf of IGEA, congratulations to all the 2024 AGDAs winners.” said Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA.

“The past year has been challenging for our local industry, but the overall attitude we are seeing across Australian studios is one of hope, support and determination. The AGDAs highlight that Australia produces games of international acclaim. We punch above our weight on a global stage and will continue to innovate and create in a way that only we know how. With more state and federal government funding available than ever before, the opportunities for Australian game developers continue to grow,” added Curry.

Judged by a panel of over 80 experts and hosted by video game talk show hosts Gemma Driscoll and Harry Jun, The AGDAs annual ceremony is the grand finale to the Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) conference. 

Please see the full list of The AGDAs 2024 winners below:
 

Media spokespeople available:

About The AGDAs

The Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) are a national event celebrating outstanding games and individual achievements by the Australian game development community.

Since 2020, the AGDAs have been run by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), the peak industry association representing the voices of Australian and New Zealand companies in the computer and video games industry.

For more information, please visit:  https://agdas.com.au
 

About IGEA

IGEA (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association) is the peak industry association representing the voice of Australian and New Zealand companies in the computer and video games industry.  IGEA supports the games industry's business and public policy interests through advocacy, research and education programs. For more information, please visit www.igea.net