Outstanding gamers get Game On Awards

MANILA, Philippines — The Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) recognized the outstanding video games developed by the youth, hobbyist, and experts at the recent Game On 2019 Awards held at NuWorkSpace, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

GDAP’s Game On Awards, which aims to promote the spirit of game development and creation, was first launched as a category in the Industry Awards Night in 2011, until it became an extensive stand-alone competition in 2016 to honor works in the categories of Professional Division and Academic Track.

The students and alumni of the Interactive Entertainment and Multimedia Computing (IEMC) and Game Design and Development (GDD) Programs of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) garnered several distinctions.

“Love Esquire” bagged the Game of the Year and Best Narrative and Story Awards under the professional division. The romantic-comedy visual novel and dating simulator produced by GDD alumni and YangYang Mobile founders Danni Ann Taylan and John Pineda, explores the player’s role as a lowly squire who discovers life’s greatest treasures before he joins the war.

“Piece of Home” won the Game of the Year award under the Academic Track. From IEMC students Vearce Micah Amaro, Cesar Paolo Donato, and Mary Sistine Cinco, Piece of Home takes the player to a mysterious house to revisit and explore her childhood and is challenged to solve puzzles left behind by her grandfather.

“Spirit of the Animals” was awarded the Best Desktop and Console Games. Created by IEMC apprentices Deshawn Lyndell Heringer, Clifton Kyle Marasigan, and Keizarina Mihara, the game transforms the player into a former scientist modified to become a mystical half-human fox with magical skills who needs to save himself and all affected animals.

Turtle Tale was honored with Best Mobile Handheld and Best Game Art. From IEMC pupils Nahyan Zayed Saqer Al Falahi, Maria Angelica Canta, Alfred Joseph Intal, Michelle Lim, and Trina Francesca Pagtakhan, it revolves around a volunteer for the Turtle Conservation Society with a task to clean and rehabilitate a once-pristine island now laden with waste.

“The Yellow Boat Reimagined” was lauded as both the Best AR/VR/MR Game and Best Narrative and Story. From the team of GDD students Rea Patricia Adela, Kristine Ong, Trixie Ylanan, Shellina Magarzo, Nathaniel Gonzales, David Justin Pacheco, Anton Miguel Arcega, and John Cyrus Tuico, the action-adventure virtual reality game puts one in the shoes of a young girl whose journey involves overcoming perils to achieve education.

Benilde, whose IEMC Program aims to train the next generation of professional game developers, has been an active participant of Game On Awards since 2011. The course provides a hybrid discipline in the craft that combines the technical, art, and business aspects of gaming.