Announcing the 2018 G4C Awards Nominees 🎮

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Announcing G4C Awards Nominees

Games for Change is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2018 Games for Change Awards! Attend the Games for Change Festival to play these games and find out who will be the winner in each category at the annual G4C awards ceremony.

All nominees are considered for the Awards' top honor, Game of the Year, which is awarded to the nominee that best exemplifies all categories.

G4C would like to send a big shout-out to everyone who submitted their games and to our jury of leaders from the video game community, social impact sector, new media and immersive tech sphere, who invested their time to dilligently evaluate all game submissions. Share your favorite impact game on social media using #Happy15thG4C!

Don't forget to vote!

We are proud to partner for the first time with Polygon on the Polygon x G4C People's Choice Award, where gamers and the G4C community can vote for their favorite social impact game! Cast your vote here to choose a winner.

BEST GAMEPLAY

What Remains of Edith Finch
Developer: Giant Sparrow
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Set in the home of "America's most unfortunate family," this immersive and unsettling first-person narrative drama delves into hereditary issues. As Edith, players explore the colossal Finch family estate on a quest to discover why she's the last one alive in her family.

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm
Developer: Deck Nine Games
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
In this choice-based narrative prequal, players see the world through the mind of Chloe Price, a 16 year-old rebel whose self-destructive lifestyle threatens her relationships and well-being. At the helm of this angsty and emotionally powerful protagonist, the player must navigate Chloe's life decisions when an unexpected friendship throws everything off-kilter.

Please Knock On My Door
Developer: Levall Games
Platform: PC
A remarkable achievement in empathy, this story-driven PC game puts the player in charge of a person suffering from depression and social anxiety. Players experience the difficulty of carrying out everyday tasks, all the while gaining a more personal understanding of the intricacies of mental health.

Tacoma
Developer: Fullbright
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Set aboard the abandoned Tacoma space station in the year 2088, this narrative game explores issues around A.I., humanity, and personal connections. Conducting an investigation as player-character Amitjyoti, the player experiences the documented lives of the station's crew in a gripping combination of trust, fear, and resolve in the face of disaster.

MOST INNOVATIVE

Tree
Developer: New Reality Company
Platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift
Through virtual-reality, players are transformed into a majestic rainforest tree. With arms as branches and their body as a trunk, players experience firsthand nature's life cycle, starting as a seedling in the ground to seeing the view at the top of the canopy, and humanity's ecological footprint.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Developer: Ninja Theory Ltd
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Made in collaboration with neuroscientists and personal accounts of psychosis, this action-adventure hybrid pulls the player deep into the mind of Senua, a broken Celtic warrior fighting for the soul of her dead lover. As Senua, the player wrestles with mental illness and the rationalization of the incomprehensible to progess.

MyoBeatz
Developer: PlayBionic
Platforms: Android + Myo Gesture Control Armband
A music-based rhythm game for neuromuscular prosthesis training, players use their muscle contractions as input signal to control the game like they would a real prosthesis. Patients gradually improve control by flexing to visuals cues in rhythm with popular pieces of music.

Bury me, my Love
Developer: The Pixel Hunt
Platform: iOS, Android
Explore the complexities of migrant life in this interactive fiction designed for mobile phones. Players make text-based choices for Nour, a Syrian migrant trying to find her way to Europe. Her husband Majd, who remains behind in Syria, communicates with Nour through a messaging app, advising her as best he can to reach her destination safely.

MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACT

Alpha Beat Cancer
Developer: Mukutu Game Studio
Platforms: iOS, Android
This children's game demystifies cancer by teaching the terminology and information needed for informed and productive care. Built with the consultation of both doctor and patient, the 20 interactive minigames combine informed discussion with fun gameplay to give young patients a clear understanding of their medical care.

Antura and the Letters
Developers: Cologne Game Lab TH Köln - Video Games Without Borders - Wixel Studios
Platforms: PC, iOS, Android,
OpenSource and accessible by most devices, this playful adventure includes 23 games to improve Arabic literacy. It also supports psychosocial well-being among Syrian refugee children by connecting their journey to the care of a lovable dog named Antura.

BEST LEARNING GAME

Slice Fractions 2
Developer: Ululab
Platforms: iOS
In this fun and humorous adventure app, kids gain a conceptual understanding of fractions by helping Mammoth get his stolen hat back. Over 100 unique physics puzzles in three colorful worlds provide multiple levels of learning.

Erase All Kittens
Developer: Dee Saigal, Leonie Van Der Linde
Platform: PC
In this web-based platform game, unique rewards like kitten gifs and quirky characters incentivize both girls and boys to learn programming and then to apply their new skills to build additional levels of the game.

Attentat 1942
Developer: Charles University, Czech Academy of Sciences
Platforms: PC, Mac
Using cinematic-style interviews with survivors, interactive comics and historical footage, this dialogue-based game places players in the center of Nazi occupation during World War II. Players speak to eyewitnesses, live their memories and uncover compelling details of one family's story.