Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for Game Dev Heroes 2020!
It's been a... weird year. In the midst of the world shutting down, for us to receive nearly 700 nominations was truly unexpected but also very reassuring. As ever, the nominations that you've sent in have surprised, impressed and delighted, and with 700 to manage it's been tougher than ever to objectively reduce that down to the shortlists for each category.
One result of this is that we're introducing 'honourable mentions' for each category this year. We don't want you to think of these mentions as simply those who "didn't make the cut" or "runners up". These are people that would certainly have made the shortlist under different circumstances. They've shown that they are just as much a hero to people as anyone can be.
The category shortlists have been compiled below, alongside many very notable honourable mentions. The shortlists themselves have been formed entirely based on the merit of the nominations that we've received.
The nominations this year have been, as ever, numerous and heartfelt. Every one of the people below has impressed and inspired, and is already seen as an unsung hero or role model to others, and we hope you'll join us in congratulating their achievement.
With no physical awards event this year, winners will be revealed here and on our social channels from the 12th October onwards. Follow our social channels or join our mailing list on the banner below for updates on the event.
Art + Animation
Amanda Jones Harris
3D Artist, Snap Finger Click
Beidi Guo
Art Director, Lantern Studio
Daniel Lim
Senior Animator, Sumo Digital
Georgia Adamson
Junior Character Artist, Jagex
Grégoire Gendron
Lead Animator, Tactical Adventures
John Hannon
3D Artist, Brain and Nerd
Laura Dilloway
Lead Environment Artist, Roll7
Loukia Kyriakidou
Freelance Artist
Art & Animation Honourable Mentions
Anastasia Wyatt, Inkle Studios; Daniel Hoang, Mediatonic; Rosie Jarvis, Netspeak Games; Shayleen Hulbert; Sophie Knowles, Playdeo.
Design
Alice Bowman
Level Designer, Trailmix
Dave Cross
Principal Game Designer, Wooga
Fawzi Mesmar
Head of Design, EA DICE
Jennifer Scheurle
Lead Designer, ArenaNet
Mihai Irimescu
Level Design Director, Fun Labs
Natalie Wicks
Product Design Manager, Double Eleven
Simon Hermitage
Design Director, PlayStation London Studio
Design Honourable Mentions
Andrew Hopkins, Jagex; Ben Gouldstone, Sumo Digital; Gary Oliver, nDreams; Joanna Haslam, Snap Finger Click; Matt Dunthorne, Double Eleven.
Writing + Narrative Design
Anna Megill
Lead Writer, Ubisoft Massive
Ed Fear
Lead Creative (Writing & Design), Mediatonic
Nina Roussakoff
Game Director, Italic Pig
Olivia Wood
Writer / Editor, Failbetter Games
Phil Harris
Lead Narrative Designer
Ruqiyah Patel
Writer, Independent
Samantha Webb
Producer / Writer, Freelance
Xalavier Nelson Jr
Director, Strange Scaffold
Writing + Narrative Design Honourable Mentions
Sarah Longthorne, Sumo Digital; Victor Ojuel, Crema.
Programming
Andy Green
Technical Artist, Bossa Studios
Dan Foster
Development Lead, No More Robots
Jamie Holding
Principal Programmer, nDreams
Jessica Falk
Software Engineer, Improbable
Laure de Mey
Programmer, ustwo
Séamus Ó Buadhacháin
Programmer, Failbetter Games
Tom Andrews
Lead Programmer & Co-Founder, Miracle Tea
Tomasz Schelenz
Lead Developer & Partner, Lykke Studios
Programming Honourable Mentions
Brendan Drain, Brain and Nerd; Connor Halford, Failbetter Games; Mattias Van Camp, Wargaming.
Sound
Almut Schwacke
Sound Designer & Composer
Barney Oram
Sound Designer, Sweet Justice Sound
Chris Dain
Audio Designer, Hammerhead VR
Jade Leamcharaskul
Composer/Audio Generalist, Freelance
Kenny Young
Composer / Sound Designer, Freelance
Kirsty Gillmore
Sound Designer & Director, Freelance
Lisa Devon
Sound Designer, Media Molecule
Matt Wieteska
Audio Director, Six To Start
Sound Honourable Mentions
Josie Brechner; Luci Holland; Nikita Danshin, Eggnut.
Production
Adoné Kitching
Producer, Devolver Digital
Chris Murphy
Producer, Square Enix Collective
Emma Bates
Producer, Team17
Estelle Tigani
Associate Producer - Narrative Animation and Cinematic Arts, Sony Santa Monica Studio
Hollie Emery
Producer & Co-Founder, Bonsai Collective
Lana Zgombić
Producer, Bossa Studios
Sally Morgan-Moore
Producer, No Brakes Games
Sarah Wilson
Junior Producer, Coatsink
Production Honourable Mentions
Alex Perry, Media Molecule; Ben Tarrant, Firefly Studios; Bridie Roman, Square Enix; Dave Cox, 505 Games;
Rachael Gregg-Smythe, Bithell Games; Sally Blake, No More Robots; Steven Taarland, Double Eleven.
QA
Alysia Sellars-Bell
QA Tester, TT Games
Ben Simpson
QA Engineer III, Improbable
Charlotte Woolley
QA Technician, Media Molecule
Christina Harper
WWS QA Functionality Tester, Sony Liverpool
Holly Gordon
Senior QA Tester, Rocksteady Studios
Lee Wood
Senior QA Tester, Cloud Imperium Games
Nick Barrett
CEO, Proper QA
Tish Graham
Developer in Test, Bossa Studios
QA Honourable Mentions
Paul MacGillivray, PlayStation London Studio; Rachel Savage, Electric Square; Tom Miller, Frontier Developments.
Marketing & Community
Antonela Pounder
Senior Brand Community Manager, 505 Games
Bo Marit
Community Lead, Guerrilla
Gemma Cooper
PR Manager, Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe
Korina Abbott
Marketing Manager & Founder, Neonhive
Nick Tannahill
Marketing Director, Firefly Studios
Oliver Hindle
Senior Community Manager, Mediatonic
Robbie Cooke
Head of Marketing, Rebellion
Victoria Tran
Communications Director, Kitfox Games
Marketing + Community Honourable Mentions
Ben Maltz-Jones, Rebellion; Christie Moulding, Team17; Christina McGrath, Rare;
Claire Sharkey, Modern Wolf; Lauran Carter, SuperCoolComms; Veronica Heath, Rare.
Leadership
Denise Lohkemper
Localisation Manager, Jagex
Grant Bolton
Technical Director, nDreams
John Bishop
Managing Director, Brightrock Games
Kate Killick
Senior Game Designer, Mojiworks
Phil Warner
Studio Art Director, Mediatonic
Richard Semmens
Technical Director, Rare
Stewart Needham
Director of Engineering, Deep Silver Dambuster Studios
Tanya X Short
Captain, Kitfox Games
Leadership Honourable Mentions
Adrian Hon, Six To Start; Cheryl Razzle, Polystream; Claire Panter, Lockwood Publishing; Gareth Edmondson, Creative Assembly;
Helen Burnill; Jamie Brayshaw, Ripstone Games; John Merchant, 505 Games; Kevin Beimers, Italic Pig;
Matthew Wiggins, Mojiworks; Neil Ralley, 505 Games; Samuel Kahn, Darewise Entertainment; Tim Woodley, Hello Games.
Progression Advocate
Cinzia Musio
Operations Project Manager + Diversity Board Lead, Splash Damage
Karla Reyes
Product Manager, Square Enix
Khally Saarman-Jones + Sammi Luzon
Game On, Payload Studios
Leon Killin
Founder, Balance Patch
Marina Díez
Creative Director, Three of Cups
Max Downton
Brand Manager, Splash Damage
Susanne Bauer
Localisation Lead, Jagex
Progression Advocate Honourable Mentions
Alexis Trust, Chucklefish; Jean Legget, One More Story Games; Mel MacCoubrey, Cloud Chamber Studios;
Sally Blake, WOMGNE; Shay Thompson, Level Up Link Up; Tiffany Wild, Ubisoft Leamington.
Unsung Hero
Declan Setter
Ops Team Manager, PlayStation London Studio
Gene Chorba
Developer Relations Lead, Riot Games
Ian Hamilton
Accessibility Specialist
Kelly Vero
Head of Game Development, SO REAL
Len de Gracia
External Development Manager, Rocksteady Studios
Natalie Mikkelson
Director & Narrative Designer, Lo-Fi Games
Nida Ahmad
UX Researcher, Netspeak Games
Peter Kempton
Art Director, Future Games of London
Shaun Wall + Maggie Tan
Checkpoint Social
Sophia Whyte
Recruitment Coordinator, Splash Damage
Unsung Hero Honourable Mentions
Nick Hall, Lawyer, IESA; Poppy Byron, EPOS; Suzie Cook, nDreams;
Tom Katkus, Chucklefish; Vitor De Magalhaes, Improbable.