The first edition of the hóPLAY International Video Game Festival has ended with the announcement of its competition winners during an amusing ceremony at the Alhóndiga center in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. Indie horror title The Path by Belgian development studio Tale of Tales has received two of the six awards: one for Best Design and one for Best Sound. Each award is good for 6,000 Euros. Tale of Tales is celebrating with a 50% discount on the game.
http://www.alhondigabilbao.com
"We're very proud of these awards," exclaim designers Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn. "Our work is often praised for its experimental nature and its artistic depth, and somewhat marginalized because of this. But at hóPLAY, The Path won for its design and its sound without any reservations. This makes us proud and very hopeful for a future in which artistic achievement is rewarded as a natural aspect of videogame creation."
Other finalists in the Best Sound category were Daniel Benmergui, Kraken Empire, Medusa and Nivel21. In the Best Design category, Tale of Tales were up against DevilishGames, Ideateca, Kraken Empire and Over the Top Games. Other winners include Delirium Studios in the categories Best Idea and Best Basque Game, Milkstone Studios for Best Gameplay and Ideateca won the Audience Award.
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Despite of numerous nominations for its artistic games, these are the first awards that Tale of Tales actually wins in its 8 year existence.
To celebrate the occasion, the award winning game The Path will be on sale this week. It can now be purchased for 4.99 US Dollars from the Tale of Tales website until October 3rd.
http://Tale-of-Tales.com/ThePath/buy.html
The Path is a horror game for PC and Mac that explores the fairy tale of Little Red Ridinghood by allowing the player to guide six young women through an eerie forest to meet their wolves. It does not contain any combat or puzzles, or even a winning condition. Instead, it is designed to evoke emotions and atmosphere that fits its narrative themes. The continuously shifting musical score, composed by Jarboe and Kris Force, is the only sound that is heard in the game. The decision to have no sound effects was inspired by the uncanny effect of live music accompanying silent films.
The original soundtrack album of The Path was released by Paradigms Recordings and can also be downloaded from iTunes.
http://www.paradigms-recordings.com
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-path/id378371785
More information about the Path can be found here:
The Path story: http://grandmothers-house.net The Path trailer: http://ThePath-game.com The Path main website: http://Tale-of-Tales.com/ThePath