Even though CD Projekt Red's popular role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt took home the game of the year award at the Game Developers Choice Awards, it was the mobile game Her Story that really dominated Wednesday night.
OK, in all fairness, both titles took home two awards each at the 16th annual awards show: Witcher 3 for Game of the Year and Best Technology, Her Story for Innovation Award and Best Narrative.
Even still, CD Projekt RED co-founder Marcin Iwinski joked that he thought he would hear Her Story be called again when he accepted the award for the most prestigious honor at the ceremony.
There is no denying that Her Story had a really good night. It also won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Excellence in Narrative awards at the Independent Games Festival that also took place on Wednesday night at the Game Developers Conference convention in San Francisco — and with that grand prize the mobile game's creator Sam Barlow was awarded $30,000.
Being recognized by the gaming community is evidence that a compelling game for our smartphones can hold its own against the action-packed open-world games we play on our consoles. Mobile gaming has really come a long way.
But with the public's current obsession with true crime series like Netflix's Making a Murderer and the countless other titles that have popped up in this genre, it should come as no surprise that the story in Her Story has made such an impact. This interactive game has the player taking on the role of a detective, looking for old videos to help them solve a mystery about a missing person's case.
The game stars actress and musician Viva Seifert, who plays a wife who appears in a series of 1990s-style police video tapes as she is being interrogated about her missing husband. It's hard not to become obsessed with finding out what really happened to him, and if the wife had anything to do with it.
The player looks at a computer screen that features a database where they must use the search functionality to find more videos. After watching a video, the idea is that they should be able to pick up more clues and then use key words to bring up yet another video tape in hopes of uncovering the truth.
To further highlight must-play titles like Her Story, Apple is featuring a "Nominated for #GDC16 Awards" category in the App Store. Titles include Lara Croft Go, Fallout Shelter, and another popular indie title, The Room Three. There are 12 games in total that range from free to no more than $5. Her Story is available to download for $4.99.
Source: Los Angeles Times
