Judges for the second annual Scottish Games Awards are announced with a lineup spanning from the gaming industry to Parliament.
The Scottish Games Awards is a yearly event to recognise excellence in the Scottish gaming industry. There will be awards across 15 categories spanning achievements for technology, creativity, development, and many more.
Big names in gaming will be recognized alongside indie game developers, showcasing the breadth of the industry at Platform in central Glasgow in November. The event will be opened by Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf MSP.
This second annual event will see the following judges take the panel:
- Brian Baird, Technical Director at Bethesda: Baird has worked as an engineer on games like Grand Theft Auto, Pogo Puppies, and Star Wars Force Unleashed. He is currently working on Fallout 76 as a technical director.
- Lauren Bergin, News Editor at PCGamesN. Bergin is an avid gamer who also has by-lines in Loadout, Wargamer, and Dexerto.
- Natalie Don, Member of the Scottish Parliament, representing Renfrewshire North & West. Don is raising awareness and promoting the positive impacts of gaming.
- Joe Donnelly, Features Editor at Games Radar. Video game enthusiast and mental health advocate, Donnelly has by-lines in the Guardian, New Statesman, Vice, GamesRadar+ and believes in the power of video games to educate and inform.
- Keza Macdonald, Games Editor at The Guardian. Macdonald has been writing about the art and culture of video games for nearly 20 years.
- Neil Mackay, Journalist and Columnist at The Herald. An award-winning investigative journalist, author, filmmaker, who has been playing video games since Space Invaders in 1980.
- Jordan Middler, Staff Writer and Podcast Host at Videogames Chronicle. Middler is a video game critic who previously worked for BBC Scotland.
They will be selecting individuals, games, and organisations who were created in Scotland in the last 12 months as winners.
The categories include educator of the year, community leader, diversity champion, rising star, lifetime achievement, technical achievement, art, animation, audio, best small budget and best big budget games.
The judges will be joined by Chris Scullion, games journalist and author of numerous books and encyclopaedias on classic game consoles, who is returning as chair of judges.
“The inaugural Scottish Games Awards last year was a fantastic way to raise awareness of some of the most talented game developers in Scotland. I’m delighted to be returning to chair the judging panel for this year’s awards, and have no doubt the calibre of entries will be just as impressive,” said Scullion.
Source: DIGIT