Vision VR/AR Award Winners Announced
The Vision VR/AR Award that celebrates everything that is VR and AR, and recognizes design, artistry, technical prowess and production excellence. The honors were presented at a special Vision Awards Ceremony last night hosted by Nonny de la Pena, a senior research fellow at the University of Southern California, also known as the The Godmother of Virtual Reality!
In the end it was presented to Schell Games’ brilliant, charismatic spy-escape adventure I Expect You To Die, which today stands out as one of the best case studies for immersive VR on any platform.
The Best VR Experience award, meanwhile, recognized excellence in VR in particular, and amidst stiff competition went to indie studio Innervision Games’ point ‘n’ click-inspired adventure Thunderbird: The Legend Begins, impressing immensely with an atmospheric, thought-provoking world.
Over in the Best AR Experience category, it was Gelly Bomb’s riveting murder mystery Eleanor of Ayerthat emerged victorious. With lavish production, multiple endings and a bounty of exciting ideas, it proves the potential of AR and mixed reality with ample grace.
Elsewhere Alientrap’s Modbox VR physics sandbox game for the HTC Vive scooped the Technical Achievement Award, the sumptuous cyberpunk adventure Technolust by IRIS VR took home the Artistic Achievement Award, and Immersive VR Education’s captivating Apollo 11 VR secured the Best Film/Interactive Story trophy.
Where Best Game was concerned, it was Neat Corporation’s Budget Cuts – a puzzler that expertly blends humor and deliciously smart design – that emerged victorious. And collaboration won the day where Best Live-Action Experience was concerned, with VRSE, Apple, Universal Music Group and U2’s Song for Someone VR experience claiming the award.
The winners, runners up and honorable mentions between them demonstrated the diversity, quality and creativity that can be found with the current generation of VR and AR, and painted a very exciting picture of the future; a picture best viewed with a headset.
Full List of VISION VR/AR Awards Winners & Honorable Mentions
Vision Inspire Award
WINNER:
I Expect You to Die – Schell Games
RUNNERS UP:
Fantastic Contraption – Northway Games & Radial Games
Faster Than Light – Anomaly Productions
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
BRAVEMIND Military Sexual Trauma (USC Institute for Creative Technologies), Job Simulator (Owlchemy Labs), Lucid Trips – Whateverland (Lucid Trips Team)
Best VR Experience
WINNER:
Thunderbird: The Legend Begins – Innervision Games
RUNNERS UP:
Fantastic Contraption – Northway Games & Radial Games
Job Simulator – Owlchemy Labs
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Apollo 11 VR (Immersive VR Education), Classroom Aquatic (Sunken Places), Modbox (Alientrap)
Best AR Experience
WINNER:
Eleanor of Ayer – Gelly Bomb Games
RUNNERS UP:
Faster Than Light – Anomaly Productions
Table Zombies – SRG United Solutions
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Clandestine: Anomaly (ZenFri Inc.), Kraft Interactive Placemat (Gravity Jack)
Technical Achievement Award
WINNER:
Modbox – Alientrap
RUNNERS UP:
EasyAR Engine – EasyAR
Residential Condominium – Architectural Visualization
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Fantastic Contraption (Northway Games & Radial Games), Kraft Interactive Placemat (Gravity Jack)
Artistic Achievement Award
WINNER:
Technolust – IRIS VR Inc
RUNNERS UP:
Lucid Trips: Whateverland – VR Nerds/Lucid Trips Team
SENS – Red Corner
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Arizona Sunshine (Vertigo Games), Jake and Tess’ Finding Monsters Adventure (Black River Studios), Residential Condominium: Architectural Visualization (Arch Virtual)
Best Game
WINNER:
Budget Cuts – Neat Corporation
RUNNERS UP:
Classroom Aquatic – Sunken Places
I Expect You to Die – Schell Games
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Adventure Time: Magic Man’s Head Games (Turbo Button & Cartoon Network Games), Jake and Tess’ Finding Monsters Adventure (Black River Studio), Vanguard V (ZeroTransform)
Best Film/Interactive Story
WINNER:
Apollo 11 VR – Immersive VR Education
RUNNERS UP:
The Fabulous Journeys of Teo & Leonie – Kenzan Studios, Switzerland
The Shoebox Diorama – Daniel Ernst
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Happyland360 (VOSTOKVR feat V3RA), Waves of Grace – Vrse (Gabo Arora & Chris Milk, United Nations, Vice, Vrse.Works, Vrse Inc.)
Best Live-Action Experience
WINNER:
U2 Song for Someone – Vrse, Chris Milk, U2, Apple, Universal Music Group
RUNNERS UP:
Get Barreled in Tahiti with Samsung Gear VR – Rapid VR
Sinking – Maren Demant
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Imago (Project Hypnos), Waves of Grace – Vrse (Gabo Arora & Chris Milk, United Nations, Vice, Vrse.Works, Vrse Inc.)