NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59: Chapter : 59 : Winning
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There are only a few square pictures left on the screen. Among them are Octopath Traveler and Binding of Isaac. Luna also put down her mobile phone and looked directly at the stage. She naturally hoped that John would be able to win the prize, but soon she became disappointed. Because the grid representing Binding of Isaac and Octopath Traveler dimmed on the big screen.
Perceiving Luna's disappointment next to him, John slightly raised the corner of his mouth, gently held her other hand, and patted the back of it as if it was not him who won the award but Luna.
"Congratulations to Ansoft's Memory for winning the best plot award-!" Applause rang, and John, who sat behind Martel and Baker, smiled and faced them: "Sorry, go on stage to receive an award."
"I haven't heard of this game," Luna said a bit depressed.
"Even if its fame is not great it does not mean that it can't win the award. Although this award carries a lot of prestige, it's within the circle. The attention from the general player group is not as high as you might think," Martel explained with a low smile, clapping along.
In the next few awards, people continued to go on stage to receive them, including Martel and John, who both came to the stage to receive an award. But the weight of these awards was not very heavy, as John led Octopath Traveler to the Best Music Award. Although it was outsourced music, the award was still given to the production studio group.
The atmosphere of the venue was getting warmer, and the awards became more prestigious as the ceremony went on. Unsurprisingly, John received the Best Creative Award with Binding of Isaac, leaving only the Best Independent Game award, the biggest one of the night.
As the host came to the stage and announced, the grid on the large screen continued to rotate as before.
Luna, next to him, was holding her phone with both hands, her teeth gently biting her lower lip and staring at the big screen. She seemed very nervous, but John next to her was not nervous at all.
Soon Luna's face showed a disappointed expression because the images of Octopath Traveler and Binding of Isaac had disappeared.
"I've won two awards, which is good," John smiled and took Luna's hand, then handed one of the trophies to her.
It wasn't as big as an ordinary small trophy, about 25 centimeters tall. A bird's shape is engraved with the award name and game title on the base.
"It seems I have to go up to receive the prize again," Baker said with a smile on his face, feeling quite pleased as he turned toward Martel.
But Baker's smile didn't last long because the game screen for Memory on the big screen also disappeared, and the lights of the entire venue suddenly turned off, plunging the room into darkness.
"How did that happen? "
"Is the lighting broken?"
"What's the situation?"
The sudden darkness made everyone present stunned for a moment, and then whispers filled the room. But then, everyone's voice slowly died down as a new picture appeared on the big screen.
"There are tens of millions of blind people. On average, there is 1 blind person out of every 100 people, and an average of 1 person is added every minute. In addition, there are also tens of millions of people with low vision."
"Because of insufficient consideration of public facilities and a lack of awareness, travel safety has always been the biggest problem troubling visually impaired people. We hope that by restoring the perspective of the visually impaired in the game, everyone can feel a side of their lives, thereby raising awareness and understanding of the visually impaired."
"This is after my blindness..."
Along with the familiar picture and narration, an excited expression suddenly appeared on Luna's face. At the same time, John's face also showed a surprised expression.
Baker, who was all ready to stand up, felt embarrassed as this wasn't according to the plan. This is very awkward.
"Baker is a little embarrassed," Martel said with a smile, "Still trying to play it cool? Has your face twisted? You thought it was your prize again? Dream on-!"
"It turned out to be a public welfare game. Very creative. It uses light and dark techniques to allow players to experience the challenging lives of visually impaired groups," Baker said, seriously analyzing the game as if he hadn't heard Martel's ridicule.
His words were full of admiration and acknowledgment, basically implying that losing to this game was not something to be ashamed of.
"Congratulations to PixelPioneers Studio's Seen for winning the Best Independent Game Award."
With a brief game introduction, the lights of the venue reappeared, and the host, holding the nameplate, announced loudly. Martel and Baker were both stunned and then looked at John at the same time. Not only Martel and Baker but also the people in the game industry were surprised.
If Octopath Traveler and Binding of Isaac had won, they would not have been surprised at all, but what on earth was this charity game? It was almost like a miracle. When did you make such a game?
Martel, Baker, and everyone present were stunned.
"Let's go on stage to receive the award together," John smiled and whispered, holding Luna's still-stunned hand.
"Eh... I..." Luna, still in a daze, was dragged onto the stage by John before she could finish her sentence.
***
At the end of the Golden Bird Game Awards, the organizers also arranged the hotel and rooms for everyone participating in the game awards ceremony.
Holding a trophy in her hand, Luna's face was flushed, thinking about how she had frozen on stage and couldn't say a word when faced with the host's question. She felt utterly embarrassed.
"It's your fault-! Why did you hold me back then?" Carefully putting the three trophies away, Luna slapped at John's small arm in the hotel room.
"This game was developed by us together. The first game we developed together won the Best Independent Game Award, don't you think it's very memorable?" John said with a smile, then opened his phone, showing a picture taken with some help.
On stage, John and Luna held a small trophy, with a host beside them.
"After going back, let Evelien help and remove the host," John said with a smile.
The game Seen was produced by John, and he didn't think of all those things at all. As for winning the Best Independent Game Award, John did not expect it.
But winning this award is more symbolic than significant for the game itself. On one hand, it's a public welfare game without any commercial profit. On the other hand, it happened to resonate with the Golden Owl Game Awards' judges.
Simply speaking, it's not overly commercial, given that it's an award with a somewhat official flavor.
"No, it has to be beautiful; the lighting and shooting angle are all wrong," Luna said, clearly putting her attention on the photo after hearing John's words.
"Who took this picture? Why was it taken so badly?" Looking at the picture on the phone, Luna expressed her disapproval.
Glancing at the photo, although John felt there was nothing wrong with the shot, he wisely chose to stay silent in response to her criticism, based on his previous experience.