Golden Joystick Awards 2013

I had no idea what to expect she I rocked up to the Park Plaza Hotel for the Golden Joystick Awards on Friday 25th October 2013. That an event of some magnitude was occurring was obvious even from a distance as the crowd of, slightly over-dressed, folk standing outside the main entrance. I signed in, got my glittery wrist-band and my Independent Press access badge and was released into frenzy of flash-bulbs and celebrity.

OK, it wasn’t quite like that, I actually made my way to the press room, got set up and grabbed a beer as the formal attendees of the ceremony were having champagne and tucking into what looked like a pretty decent lunch with bucket-loads of booze. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, the beer was cold and the chips and sandwiches were tasty too.

As I was settling in and awaiting the call to head downstairs to the main ballroom for the awards themselves, I was joined by the lovely Clare Costigan aka TheVixenGamer, who had come all the way from Australia for the awards and the MCM event happening over the weekend. When the call did come, we all trooped downstairs, got comfortable and connected our devices to WiFi to start tweeting, liveBlogging, and generally filling the ether with results and opinion.

Most Wanted: Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Best Indie Game:Mark of the Ninja

Best Visual Design:Bioshock Infinite

Best Multiplayer: PayDay 2

Best Gaming Moment: FarCry 3: Definition of Insanity

Best Studio:Naughty Dog

Innovation of the Year: Oculus Rift

Best Storytelling: The Last of Us

Best Online Game: World of Tanks

Best Handheld Game: Assassins Creed 3: Liberation

The YouTube Gamer Award: Yogscast

Best gaming Platform: Steam

Best Mobile/Table Game:XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Game of the Year: GTA V

Inducted into the Hall of Fame: Call of Duty

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ken Levine

And that was it. 45 Minutes of frantic typing later it was all done and everyone spooled off up to the next level for the after party with World of Warplanes cocktails, seemingly endless beer and wine, and games people who are, on the whole, very nice. The industry of gaming and games-related entertainment is still one of incredible energy, drive, enthusiasm, and growth.