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South African studio RetroEpic Software has been named the winner of the Unsung Heroes competition.
The contest was an initiative by publisher Spil Games to help boost titles that had yet to achieve the success their creators hoped for. RetroEpic was one of over 300 mobile studios that took part.
RetroEpic’s winning game was A Day in the Woods, a puzzle game for iOS and Android that is based on Red Riding Hood. The prize – a publishing contract worth $50,000 – will involve Spil localising the title for key markets around the world, including the mammoth audience of China and the lucrative mobile market of Brazil.
“So many of the games were truly awesome,” says Spil Games CEO Tung Nguyen-Khac. “It was incredibly tough deciding which should win. But in the end we stuck with our main criterion: which of these games most deserves the chance of a larger audience? And the answer was A Day in the Woods.
“The game is incredibly absorbing, which won it plaudits from the judges. But the look and feel of the game, and the attention to detail and atmosphere are what gives it that award-winning edge.”
RetroEpic co-founder Niki Boshoff added: “We’re honoured to win the Unsung Heroes Competition, particularly when you look at all the fantastic games we were up against. It’s a real boost for A Day in the Woods. We really believe it should be played by a wider audience and winning the Unsung Heroes Competitionwill give it the chance it deserves.”
Spil Games also named Irish studio Sugra Games as a runner-up, awarding the studio a publishing contract for iOS and Android puzzle adventure game Toy Rescue Story.
