Thirteen Categories Later: the 2018 XYZZY Awards Winners

August 21st, 2019 Wraithkal News

Thirteen Categories Later: the 2018 XYZZY Awards Winners

The time has come: votes have been cast, tallied, and… the winners of the 2018 XYZZY Awards have been found!

Go on, continue reading, have a glance at the thirteen glorious victors…

Best Game: Bogeyman (Elizabeth Smyth)

Best Writing: Animalia (Ian Michael Waddell) and Bogeyman (Elizabeth Smyth) (tie)

Best Story: Bogeyman (Elizabeth Smyth)

Best Setting: Cannery Vale (Hanon Ondricek)

Best Puzzles: Junior Arithmancer (Mike Spivey)

Best NPCs: Animalia (Ian Michael Waddell)

Best Individual Puzzle: solving your murder in Erstwhile (Maddie Fialla, Marijke Perry)

Best Individual NPC: the Bogeyman in Bogeyman (Elizabeth Smyth)

Best Individual PC: the Magpie in Alias ‘The Magpie’ (J. J. Guest)

Best Implementation: Cragne Manor (Ryan Veeder, Jenni Polodna, et al.)

Best Use of Innovation: I.A.G. Alpha (Serhii Mozhaiskyi)

Best Technological Development: Dialog, Linus Åkesson

Best Use of Multimedia: Bandersnatch (Charlie Brooker, David Slade)

Whenever a big AAA title claims it'll "innovate with groundbreaking features", it usually turns out to be a snore-fest; one which simply mimics other games (poorly). This is where my interest indie game interest comes from: pick a random title from a pile of these, and chances are you’ll end up with something genuinely unique - often for well less than $60 too.