Image: Oopsie Daisies Studio (Zurich)
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The awards ceremony is an annual event for the local gaming industry. We introduce you to the winners.
Every year, Switzerland releases many new games that offer original gameplay, fresh stories, and beautiful graphics. Most of these games come from independent studios: these independent developers usually have small teams of less than ten people, but they are more focused on their work – and often multi-task (concept, programming, graphics, sound, etc.). ) at the same time.
The annual SGDA Swiss Game Awards is a great opportunity to learn about the latest Swiss game creations. The event is hosted by the Swiss Game Developers Association (SGDA). This year, the Swiss Game Awards on November 15th were also broadcast live via YouTube. We'll introduce you to the winners in the five SGA categories – you can of course watch the entire ceremony in the replay video if you'd like. have fun!
Best Entertainment Games
“I Don't Exist – Modern Text Adventure”
studio: LUAL Games (Zurich)
type: text adventure
platform: PC, Mac, Linux
It's been a long, long time: the early days of gaming history were shaped by text-based adventure games like “Zork” or “Colossal Cave Adventure”. This year's SGA Award winner I Don't Exist – A Modern Text Adventure continues that tradition, enriching it with beautiful pixel art and adding artificial intelligence. I Don't Exist deals with themes of loss of control, isolation and mental health: the protagonist finds himself in an existential crisis, where reality as we know it becomes increasingly blurred.
One feature of the game is its reliance on linguistic data processing. What this means: Using artificial intelligence, the game attempts to interpret the text entered by the player based on emotions, goals, etc. This is to enable more meaningful interactions compared to traditional text adventures, which typically use predetermined questions and answers.
More nominations
“aesthetics” Von Hooded Traveler Games
“Sprouting” Blobfish game
“Nina” From Clark Mioh
“The Plank Builder” Provided by Diditopia Games
most anticipated games
“Postman Tom”
studio: Oopsie Daisies Studio (Zurich)
type: point and click adventure
platform: Computer, Apple Computer
This SGA category recognizes games that are still in development but are currently very promising. In 2024, the jury awarded the game Postman Tom to Oopsie Daisies Studios in Zurich: a hand-drawn 2D adventure game about a girl named Tom who delivers packages in a village. It wouldn't be surprising if Tom didn't have a habit of spying on those around him. During her delivery job, the voyeur takes every opportunity to explore the villagers' homes – and of course she's also interested in the contents of the packages!
An exciting story unfolds: Tom makes some very horrifying discoveries during his espionage operations and discovers that there are all kinds of unpleasant secrets hidden behind the scenes of this harmonious village (no more will be revealed at this time. , It’s best to play the Steam demo version that is already available).
More nominations
“Dungeon Claws” Vonstra Fawn Studio
“Predicted Dream” Studio Von Fraubly
“Time flies” Feng Kewan
“Guardian of Nature” Von Inlucio Interactive
best serious game
“MedBay-418”
studio: Atelier Sémaphore, DSM (Geneva)
type: serious game
platform: Browser serious
Games are designed to impart knowledge in a fun way. Geneva-based studio Atelier Sémaphore has done a particularly good job in this regard this year: its browser game MedBay-418 cleverly teaches players about the problem of antibiotic resistance. About fifteen minutes into the game, a spaceship crashes on a distant planet. On board are medical equipment and medicines, which the protagonist now uses to treat the planet's inhabitants. The goal is to keep them alive until help arrives from distant space. The problem is: there are antibiotics on board, but if they are used too often, they can create multi-drug-resistant bacteria, so-called “superbugs”…
“MedBay-418” addresses a serious problem: More than a million deaths worldwide are now attributable to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and the trend is rising.
More nominations
«Explore Vevey» From Yuzzzu and Vevey area
“House of Gruyère” von Yuzzzu and La Maison du Gruyère
“Citizenship Red Tape” Produced by Blindflug Studio
Best Student Games
“Copperfield Department”
Developer: Alex Häberlin, Adrian Bumann, Nabil Bhuiyan, Jonathan Beeler / Lucerne University of Applied Sciences
type: puzzle game
platform: personal computer
Many game ideas are generated in Swiss universities, and as a result more and more studios are being established. One particularly promising student project is “Copperfield Division”: a text-based puzzle game in which you play the role of a “social media detective” working for a large company. Your ethically questionable task is to identify all social media accounts that could harm the company's image. The goal is to expose the account holders and stop them.
Copperfield Division essentially consists of two gameplay loops: research on the computer on the one hand, and connections and logical deductions on the bulletin board in the detective's office on the other. Sounds exciting!
More nominations
“hide” Authors: Janosch Büchi, Dominic Sutter, David Bock, Stefan Kraft, Florian Faller / University of the Arts Zurich
“Colorless Odyssey” von Alexis Haldy, Eliaz Quentel, Nicolas Balibouse / SAE Geneva
“queue” Author: Lea Wild, Asya Fischer / University of the Arts Zurich
“Everyone wear shoes!” Author: Jan Hobi, Lilian Khov, Joel Gilardini, Ivo Keller / University of the Arts Zurich
Excellence Award
“Time flies”
studio: Playable Games (Zurich)
type: life simulation
platform: PC, Mac, PS5, Switch
The Swiss Game Awards also has an award for Outstanding Game Design. This year's winner is Zurich-based studio Playables, known for its experimental and humorous projects between animated films and games. The same goes for “Time Flies”, which won the Excellence Award: you play a housefly and do completely different things in your limited life: from playing guitar to reading to getting rich!
Of course, the whole thing is (also) a metaphor for the finitude of human existence. The housefly's “life goals” get it into strange situations, but they always happen in the blink of an eye. An existential experience – but also a hilarious one!
About the Games.ch Team
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Representing the team: Mia Cat and Friends.
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