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Colt Canyon crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ at GameMaker Awards 2021
The judges have deliberated. Over 33,000 votes have been cast. And we can now reveal that Colt Canyon has been crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ game of the year, at the GameMaker Awards 2021.
Created by German-based developer Retrific, Colt Canyon is a stylish western-themed pixel art shooter combining roguelike elements with real-time combat. The judges were impressed with Colt Canyon’s highly engaging gameplay and heavily pixelated artist style. While in the popular vote, members of the GameMaker and Opera GX communities voted Colt Canyon the clear winner.
The other finalists for ‘Best Game’ included: Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Jet Lancer, Post Void and Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!.
The winner of ‘Most Anticipated’ game is LUNARK, from Canari Games. LUNARK is a 2D cinematic platformer, designed in the vein of ’80s and ’90s classics. The game challenges players to run, jump, hang, climb, roll, and shoot their way through a kaleidoscope of different environments. These include mysterious alien ruins, a flying penitentiary, a high-tech megalopolis, and a majestic forest.
The judges were blown away with how the Canari Games team have pushed the creative limits of cutscenes and pixel art in GameMaker, to create a game that is both visually stunning and great to play. Set for release later this year, LUNARK also made a big impression with the voters – who overwhelmingly crowned it the ‘Most Anticipated’ game of 2021.
The other finalists for ‘Most Anticipated’ game included: NYKRA, Jitsu Squad, APICO and Toodee and Topdee.
The GameMaker Awards, in partnership with SpecialEffect, a charity that uses video games to enhance the lives of those people with physical disabilities, celebrate creativity and innovation in Indie game development, honouring the best games created using GameMaker Studio 2 as well as the Indies and Studios that designed them.
From over 200 entries, only 5 games for each category were selected by an expert panel of industry peers, including GameMaker Studio CTO Russell Kay, Opera GX Product Director Maciej Kocemba, and Into Indie Games Editor Harry Cole.
Russell Kay, CTO, GameMaker Studio, said: “This year’s GameMaker Awards has redefined what we’ve come to expect from the indies and studios that choose GameMaker as their creative engine of choice. Each of the finalists have demonstrated both amazing creativity, plus the technical ability to harness GameMaker’s powerful functionality to design a game that really pushes the boundaries. Given the incredible standard of this year’s entries, I am only glad that the final decision was left in the hands of our loyal GameMaker and Opera GX communities.”
Jonathan Mannshoven of Retrific, said: “Colt Canyon wasn’t a bestseller when it launched last year. It wasn’t free from criticism either. But by working closely with the community, I’ve been able to make many improvements to the game which have helped turn a lot of criticism into positive feedback. Having all that hard work now paying off with Colt Canyon winning ‘Best Game’ at the GameMaker Awards 2021 is an overwhelming and surreal feeling – just incredible!
“GameMaker has always been my engine of choice as it is just so easy to use yet also powerful, enabling me to reach maximum productivity. Which as a solo developer is extremely valuable. Put simply – I wouldn’t be a game developer now if it wasn’t for GameMaker.”
Johan Vinet of Canari Games, added: “LUNARK started as a passion project to create a game in the genre I loved in my youth. Making it a reality became so clear that I decided to quit my job, start my own studio and launch a Kickstarter campaign. Winning the “Most Anticipated Game” award is an incredible recognition from the players and the GameMaker Community, which brings some welcome legitimacy and a massive confidence boost to actually finish the game! Thank you!”
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Scientific Games and New York Lottery Continue Nearly 50-Year Primary Scratch-Off Game Partnership
More High-performance Scratch-off Entertainment from Company Coming to New York Player.
Scientific Games and the New York Lottery will continue their nearly 50-year partnership to bring world-leading instant scratch-off games to players in the state with a new primary provider contract. The partnership, which began in 1976, powered the New York Lottery’s Scratch-Off games to a $4.4 billion product by fiscal year 2022-2023 and helped contribute billions in funding for education in the state.
The New York Lottery boasts one of the highest total lottery profits in North America and is ranked No. 8 worldwide for instant scratch game sales (La Fleur’s 2024 World Almanac). The collaborative, primary provider partnership with Scientific Games has resulted in a well-balanced scratch-off portfolio, with three price points ranked in the top five in the U.S. for weekly per capita sales (MAP 52-week average per capita). Focus on $30 scratch-offs with innovative designs and strategic prize structures that appeal to a broad player base has delivered consistent top performers.
“The New York Lottery is proud to continue its partnership with Scientific Games,” said Gweneth Dean, Director of the New York Lottery. “For decades, our collaboration has resulted in billions of dollars for New York’s public schools, and we look forward to creating exciting new games for our players and supporting our dedicated retailers across the state.”
As part of the new contract, Scientific Games will continue to provide the New York Lottery with consumer and product research and data analytics, game development and portfolio planning to help ensure the success of the Lottery’s scratch-off games.
“We’re honored to continue as the primary scratch-off game provider to one of the world’s most successful lotteries and support their important mission to fund education for New York students,” said John Schulz, President of Americas & Global Instant Products for Scientific Games. “Our long-standing, strategic partnership has continued to bring entertaining scratch entertainment experiences to players in the state, and we look forward to many more decades of success together.”
U.S.-based Scientific Games created and produced the New York Lottery’s very first scratch-off game and has worked side-by-side with the Lottery to provide products across the state’s network of approximately 14,000 lottery retailers.
With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest lottery games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world.
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ACR POKER DEBUTS ITS FANTASY POKER LEAGUE FOR VEGAS’ HOTTEST SUMMER SERIES
Poker players who want to cash-in on Vegas’ biggest summer series without playing a hand are heading to ACR Poker.
The popular online poker site is debuting its Fantasy Poker League: Vegas. “Everyone loves Fantasy Sports and now we’re capturing the same excitement for all the hot poker action in Vegas this summer,” stated ACR Pro, Chris Moneymaker. “This is truly the ultimate Fantasy Poker showdown, and you won’t want to miss it.”
From May 15th to 28th, the Fantasy Poker League: Vegas offers players worldwide the opportunity to draft their dream poker team for a chance to win cash prizes. Participants choose up to eight poker pros with an allotted budget amount. Points are then earned as the pros compete in live poker events in Sin City’s hottest summer series.
As the series unfolds, players can track their team’s progress on the daily leaderboard to determine how their selected teams are performing against the competition.
There are three fantasy leagues to choose from, and they cost $20, $100, or $500, with no added fees from ACR Poker. And there’s no limit on the number of teams that a person can create. Moneymaker also added that participants can conveniently choose their team(s) from the Rewards Section of the ACR Poker client.
For more info on the Fantasy Poker League: Vegas, visit the promo page at ACRPoker.eu.
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ELA Games Announces New Slot Game – Big Wave Delight
ELA Games, an innovative slot provider in the iGaming industry, is thrilled to announce the release of its latest slot machine game, Big Wave Delight. This new game features an advanced design, original mechanics, and a unique “Bonus Purchase” feature, setting a new standard in the gaming industry.
“Dive into the ultimate Hawaiian surf adventure with Big Wave Delight,” says Mike Cini, Business Owner of ELA Games. “Our latest slot machine offers players a thrilling gaming experience with every spin. The unique ‘Bonus Purchase’ feature and the ‘Wild Wave Respin’ feature, where every Wild landing triggers a respin and summons a massive surfing board as a Wild symbol on the reel, are sure to keep players engaged and entertained.”
Players can also hit the waves with Free Spins, scoring 10 thrilling spins with random multipliers (up to 10x) on each whirl. With up to 3 Wild Surfboards on every spin, players can expect epic wins!
The ELA Games team has just returned from SIGMA Americas in Sao Paulo, which took place from 22-24 April. The team is now preparing for the CasinoBeats Summit 2024 in Malta, where Mike Cini will be participating in a discussion panel titled “Navigating niche – mainstream opinion on alternative games“ on 22nd May.
The post ELA Games Announces New Slot Game – Big Wave Delight appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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