NL

Multiple HKU students among winners of Dutch Game Awards

  • 05 October 2023

The Dutch Game Awards were handed out for the thirteenth time this year. HKU Alumni Adriaan de Jongh and Esmeé van't Hoff, along with Bart Delissen, teacher at HKU Music and Technology, each took home an award.

Multiple HKU students among winners of Dutch Game Awards

Alumnus Adriaan de Jongh (HKU Games) became winner in multiple nominated categories, receiving an award for Best Innovation and Best Game Design. Teacher Bart Delissen (HKU Music and Technology) received an award for Best Audio for his soundtrack of the game Isonzo. Alumnus Esmée van't Hoff (HKU Games) took home the Special Award – Inclusion for her contribution to ‘cozy games’: a relaxing and comfortable way of gaming to relieve the players of stress.

From the jury reports:

Best Innovation and Best Game Design: Secret Shuffle – Adriaan de Jongh & Friends

Jury: “What a way to bring a smile to people’s faces! Feeling awkward never felt so great. Secret Shuffle brings a very accessible way to connect to people in a form of gameplay that has not been seen before.“

Best Audio: Isonzo – BlackMill Games - Bart Delissen

Isonzo excels with the integration of realistic audio from the historic World War I setting and excellently balances the chaos of sounds in the frantic multiplayer battles. This really adds to the immersion and depth of the game, and what’s more, the soundtrack is an orchestral masterpiece!“

Inclusion Award: Esmeé van’t Hoff

“As the driving force behind Wholesome Games and Wholesome Direct, Esmeé has been working hard to create more space and recognition for “cozy games”. She’s an advocate for making these games more visible and accessible for a wider audience, which in turn gives developers of these games a more prominent place in the game industry.”