Latest news with #TaraSaunders
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hellblade 2 leads the way at Bafta Games Awards
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II has picked up the most nominations at this year's Bafta Games Awards. The action-adventure game, developed by Cambridge-based studio Ninja Theory, is up for awards in 11 out of 14 categories at the annual ceremony. It's in the running for best game alongside 3D platformer Astro Bot - up for eight awards - which clinched top prize at the US-based Game Awards in December. The event, considered one of the most prestigious in the games industry calendar, will be held in London on 8 April. The other contenders in the best game category are: Balatro - a poker-inspired card game Black Myth: Wukong - an action-adventure made in China and inspired by a popular myth Helldivers II - a multiplayer co-operative shooter The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - the first game in Nintendo's popular series to star the princess it's named after Thank Goodness You're Here! - a wacky cartoon adventure game developed by two friends from Barnsley Bafta hands out prizes each year in a range of categories, including acting, music and game design. Three of the six most-nominated games this year were made in the UK. Still Wakes the Deep, from Scottish studio The Chinese Room, is up for eight awards, while Thank Goodness You're Here! is up for seven. Lego: Horizon Adventures, based on the PlayStation series and largely developed by London-based Studio Gobo, is nominated in four categories. Indie hits Animal Well and Balatro, each have four nominations, as does Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is a sequel to Senua's Sacrifice - which picked up five awards at 2018's gaming Baftas. Its 11 nominations might surprise some - the game was an impressive technical showcase and received positive if not outstanding reviews. However, like the first game, it was praised for its sensitive depiction of the main character's psychosis. Bafta Games committee chair Tara Saunders tells BBC Newsbeat it represents "a strong year for British-made games". She says the voting panel is made up of members across the world who take the awards "very seriously" and vote based on a range of features. "It's all about excellence," she says. "Excellence in the crafts and maybe some of those games have nailed all of those craft areas." Bafta CEO Jane Millichip agrees, and wants to embrace the fact they have a British game category. "Our members are international and they're the people who choose," she says. Arranged by number of categories: Senua's Saga: 11 Astro Bot and Still Wakes the Deep - eight Thank Goodness You're Here! - seven Black Myth: Wukong - five Read more about the nominees: 'Dead reyt': The love letter to Yorkshire making gamers cry laughing Mind games: Hellblade returns to explore psychosis Astro Bot: Could the old-school hit reshape PS5's future? The Bafta Games Awards are no stranger to the odd upset. In 2023, Vampire Survivors - made by a tiny British studio - beat Sony's God of War: Ragnarök to the top prize. This year's best game field has a similar mix of big-budget blockbusters and indie hits. "I love that Bafta can surprise, I love that it's not a given and we can get to that night and we don't know what's going to come out on top," Tara says. "It's putting a spotlight on some really tiny games that might have slipped by." Metaphor: Refantazio and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, two games that featured prominently in nominations elsewhere, only picked up three nominations between them. Times remain tough for people working in the games industry worldwide, with mass layoffs, studio closures and cancelled projects continuing to make headlines. Tara says awards like the Baftas are "a beacon of light in the dark times". "It's really important to pause and celebrate the teams and individuals that have crafted these standout games experiences," she says. And Jane, who also oversees Bafta's events across film, TV and other creative industries, says the gaming awards are a place for people to support each other. "I've never seen a community cheer so much when they lose, it's a brilliant thing to behold," she says. "It's so wonderful to see the whole games community being so supportive of each other and there to celebrate the sector, not themselves. "It's kind of devoid of ego and that's great." You can find a full list of Bafta Games Awards nominations for 2025 here. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Extraordinary' and ‘wide open' Bafta Games Awards field hailed
British-made action-adventure game Senua's Saga: Hellblade II leads the way with 11 nominations at this year's Bafta Games Awards, with the head of Bafta calling the range of nominees 'extraordinary'. A total of 41 games have been nominated across 17 categories for the awards, which take place in April. Made by Cambridge-based studio Ninja Theory, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II's nominations include in the animation, artistic achievement, audio achievement and British game categories, while Sony's Astro Bot and indie horror game Still Wakes The Deep each have eight nominations. The nominations feature a host of independent and first-time nominees as well as big name franchises and well-known series such as Call Of Duty, Star Wars and Final Fantasy, which Bafta chief executive Jane Millichip said showed the gaming industry was 'really healthy'. 'I think it's a wide open field,' she told the PA news agency. 'That's what is extraordinary this year, it's the range of genres, the size of games – indie, big studio, multiplayer – it's a bewildering variety. 'It's really interesting to see how broad it is, and great to see so many British studios represented – 11 British studios from the length and breadth of the country, from Yorkshire to Brighton. 'It's a kind of mesmerising variety and certainly in the short time I've been involved in Bafta, it seems more than ever that that is the distinguishing factor this year, which is really exciting, and with a really open field of 41 games nominated it's really, really healthy.' Tara Saunders, chair of the Bafta Games Committee, said the nominees were a 'beacon of light' following some 'dark times' for the gaming industry in recent years, which has seen widespread job cuts in the wake of an economic downturn. 'It's a huge testament, and I think it shows the resilience of the teams and individuals that are making this content – it takes a lot of effort to make a fun product, and I think they're channelling all their energy into that,' she told PA. 'I think it's really important that we take this moment to celebrate the teams and the individuals that have crafted these standout games experiences. 'I really love that in the best game (category) we've got some indie games going shoulder to shoulder with some really big budget games. 'And I love that Bafta gives that platform for that to happen, to really shine a light on some of the smaller teams that are out there.' Comedy game Thank Goodness You're Here – made by independent Yorkshire studio Coal Supper – has seven nominations for this year's awards, including for best game, British game and debut game. In the best game category, it will compete alongside titles from industry giants Sony, the makers of the PlayStation, and Nintendo, for whom The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, the latest instalment in the hugely popular, long-running fantasy series, has been nominated.
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bafta Game Awards 2025: Hellblade 2 gets most nominations
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II has picked up the most nominations at this year's Bafta Games action-adventure game, developed by Cambridge-based studio Ninja Theory, is up for awards in 11 out of 14 categories at the annual in the running for best game alongside 3D platformer Astro Bot - up for eight awards - which clinched top prize at the US-based Game Awards in event, considered one of the most prestigious in the games industry calendar, will be held in London on 8 April. The other contenders in the best game category are: Balatro - a poker-inspired card gameBlack Myth: Wukong - an action-adventure made in China and inspired by a popular mythHelldivers II - a multiplayer co-operative shooterThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - the first game in Nintendo's popular series to star the princess it's named afterThank Goodness You're Here! - a wacky cartoon adventure game developed by two friends from BarnsleyBafta hands out prizes each year in a range of categories, including acting, music and game of the six most-nominated games this year were made in the Wakes the Deep, from Scottish studio The Chinese Room, is up for eight awards, while Thank Goodness You're Here! is up for Horizon Adventures, based on the PlayStation series and largely developed by London-based Studio Gobo, is nominated in four hits Animal Well and Balatro, each have four nominations, as does Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is a sequel to Senua's Sacrifice - which picked up five awards at 2018's gaming 11 nominations might surprise some - the game was an impressive technical showcase and received positive if not outstanding like the first game, it was praised for its sensitive depiction of the main character's psychosis. Bafta Games committee chair Tara Saunders tells BBC Newsbeat it represents "a strong year for British-made games".She says the voting panel is made up of members across the world who take the awards "very seriously" and vote based on a range of features. "It's all about excellence," she says. "Excellence in the crafts and maybe some of those games have nailed all of those craft areas."Bafta CEO Jane Millichip agrees, and wants to embrace the fact they have a British game category."Our members are international and they're the people who choose," she says. Most-nominated games Arranged by number of categories:Senua's Saga: 11 Astro Bot and Still Wakes the Deep - eight Thank Goodness You're Here! - sevenBlack Myth: Wukong - fiveRead more about the nominees:'Dead reyt': The love letter to Yorkshire making gamers cry laughingMind games: Hellblade returns to explore psychosisAstro Bot: Could the old-school hit reshape PS5's future? The Bafta Games Awards are no stranger to the odd upset. In 2023, Vampire Survivors - made by a tiny British studio - beat Sony's God of War: Ragnarök to the top year's best game field has a similar mix of big-budget blockbusters and indie hits."I love that Bafta can surprise, I love that it's not a given and we can get to that night and we don't know what's going to come out on top," Tara says."It's putting a spotlight on some really tiny games that might have slipped by."Metaphor: Refantazio and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, two games that featured prominently in nominations elsewhere, only picked up three nominations between them. Times remain tough for people working in the games industry worldwide, with mass layoffs, studio closures and cancelled projects continuing to make says awards like the Baftas are "a beacon of light in the dark times". "It's really important to pause and celebrate the teams and individuals that have crafted these standout games experiences," she Jane, who also oversees Bafta's events across film, TV and other creative industries, says the gaming awards are a place for people to support each other."I've never seen a community cheer so much when they lose, it's a brilliant thing to behold," she says."It's so wonderful to see the whole games community being so supportive of each other and there to celebrate the sector, not themselves."It's kind of devoid of ego and that's great."You can find a full list of Bafta Games Awards nominations for 2025 here. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
