Machinima's Inside Gaming Awards 2012: Highlights, Winners, and Video Recap

Watch the highlights and find out who the winners of Machinima's Inside Gaming Awards 2012 were in the video below or just have a read. It's worth it!

The Machinima Inside Gaming Awards (IGA) was one of my favorite gaming events of last year, and it was even more amazing this year. This is the second one we've attended, and it was a remarkable celebration of the best of gaming. Taking place at the Avalon in Hollywood, the Fourth IGA was a brilliant climax to a brilliant year of gaming. 2012 was the year gamers experienced Journey, Halo 4, Asura's Wrath, Fez, The Walking Dead: Season 1, and Dishonored, to name a few— creativity mixed in with blockbusters and indies proving once again that gaming can provide experiences no other medium can even come close to emulating. Developers, media, fans, and the talented crew at Machinima were present, and the atmosphere was vibrant. The ceremony was hosted by Adam Kovic with his usual wit and charm, and he quickly led the audience through the show. Interspersed with hilarious shorts from various Machinima directors, it was a great mix of original content and game recapping that constantly kept things feeling fresh.

Credit: Angela Xu

While there were many categories, I'm going to highlight three, mainly because the winners took me by surprise. Let's start with Most Original Game. Hotline Miami won, and ironically, it was the only game of the nominees I hadn't played. Described by the developers as a "top-down f-ck em' up", it's a 2D action title developed by Dennaton Games in which you wear animal masks and kill all the enemies. Considering that the other nominees included Tokyo Jungle, The Unfinished Swan, Asura's Wrath, and my personal favorite, Journey, this is definitely a game that I need to get my hands on, especially as it's inspired by a great film, Drive.

Credit: Angela Xu

Second was for the best narrative, which to me is often a more compelling reason for playing a game than even the gameplay itself. I thought The Walking Dead: Season One had a lock on this one. Even Mass Effect 3, ending controversies aside, seemed like a strong contender. Spec Ops: The Line ended up taking the award, and I have now put Spec Ops on my list of must-play games.

Finally, I wanted to talk about the Best Animation category because I was thrilled to see Skullgirls nominated. The animation in Skullgirls is fabulous, and though it eventually lost out to Max Payne 3, I hope the nomination brings the game more attention. I've worked on several animation films and have directly seen some of the best animators at work, so I tend to be very picky about animation. At the same time, the leaps gaming has taken in terms of its animation technology is truly amazing, and I look forward to seeing how Max Payne 3 represents those advances, particularly in light of this award. Congrats to the animation team!

Credit: Angela Xu

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