The biggest event of the year is BACK. No? Alright, the… flashiest event of the year? Oh, fine – our favourite event of the year returns. It is, of course, the annual Impy Awards, which celebrates the very best of Dreams and its brilliant coMmunity from the past year. It’s an excellent excuse for us to replay some amazing creations, ask favours of all our cool friends across the game industry (thanks again!), and hand out awesome Golden Imp Trophies.*
As ever, we’re putting on a big stage show to reflect on the year of fun we’ve had together in Dreams, and to announce the winners of the Impy Awards 2022 – some judged by us with the help of the aforementioned cool friends, some voted for by the coMmunity. Come watch it live on February 27 at 9am PT / 5pm GMT on our Twitch and YouTube channels! It’s loads of fun, honest. Minimal chaos, depending on your definition of ‘minimal’.
We’ve also been hard at work making this year’s Impys hub, a celebration space that will be available to download and play in Dreams ahead of (and during! And after!) the show. Not to give too much away, but it is truly ambitious and very special – and quite different to the Hollywood glamour of the Impy Awards of yesteryear. Because you’re a pal, we’ve decided to entrust you with this sneak peek ahead of its release on February 18.
A little look at a small section of this year’s playable Impys hub.
Oooh, mysterious. And yes – there will be new imps. All you have to do is log into Dreams between 4:00pm PT on February 17 / 12:00am GMT on February 18 and 3:59pm PT / 11:59pm GMT on February 28, and you’ll unlock these three bobby-dazzlers.
The three new imps we’ll be releasing for this year’s Impys: Avery, Gerry and Luna.
But back to business. Which talented Dreams coMmunity members made the final shortlist for this year’s awards?
Firstly, a reminder that the following categories are coMmunity-voted, meaning YOU will decide who gets to take home the trophy.
CoMmunity StarMost Helpful DreamerCoMmunity CollaborationBreakthrough Dreamer
Don’t forget to vote for your winners via this survey by Monday, February 7 for your vote to be counted!
And now, the nominees:
Excellence in Art Direction
Lullaby for a Beagle – ghostfruit64Triangle is Sentient – ItsMeJuvyThe Idyllium – ZIIQ, Helekosi and Bevis2ASCENT REMASTERED – payoffwizardTales from Dark Town: Red Zone – DirtyFlusher and dinox11
Excellence in Environment Art
The Time Looper – IansaneArtistNOGUCHI’S BELL Episode 1 – Cyber Sheep FilmsTales from Dark Town: Red Zone – DirtyFlusher and dinox11The Finalist demo – Paulo-Lameirasgo. – ghostfruit64
Excellence in Narrative
Tales from Dark Town: Red Zone – DirtyFlusher and dinox11Making the Leap – keenardoThe Vengeful Eyes 2 – InsaneAlphaBetaOPEN-WORLD BOXING GAME – hipporickThe War to End All Wars – DerAnder_96
Excellence in Sculpture
Camille the chameleon – julio_grrMEDUSA – FunK_97_ITARealistic Horse Showcase (Playable) – willow_the_bobSearch – ghostfruit64Joy – GoGoSaint
Music Track of the Year
SLEEP PARALYSIS – TheRedProphett, Dj_Frags-_-, lugadi, kaifraz4048, and ineap09Ethlx – sacboy2003A Beautiful mud – M-moleculBig Bad Bass – orionvalentine, MCalchemist42, blackcat_tracks and lugadiStarlight – Prince_Tahra
Musician of the Year
Prince_TahraGianni_no_MitakaduckenomicsVinceKullyRAKeogh
Excellence in Animation
Solar Blast – Paulo-LameirasUltimate Platformer Kit Demo – MitterMakSuper Duper Fruity Juicy Juice – ByvsenNOGUCHI’S BELL Episode 1 – Cyber Sheep FilmsStylized Character / Face Animations – willow_the_bob
Excellence in Gameplay
Starfighter Gemini – BOTheGrand, Drummin7Jeff and OkieDoKeesTRIA-GONE – AngelotjeClaustrofactory – Aecert, PieceOfCraft and duckenomicsSolar Blast – Paulo-LameirasMaster Blaster – payoffwizard
Most Original Gameplay
Impressionable – Entropy-TamedThe Path of Illusions – ToduCommonote – FeyzPSDungeon Roulette – oooDORIENoooNine Equals – danikaka, cutaia_net and Pixel_Gorilla
Excellence in Curation
PookachooTRIX9LyzLdyNaturiumCreepyUglySofaGaming
Excellence in Character Design
九尾－The NineTail Fox – a-tziluthSTRETCH – KermideusGrub Knight – icecreamcheeseCAVEBOT 977 – Canadian__JediCommonote – FeyzPS
Excellence in Audio Design
Solar Blast – Paulo-LameirasThe Idyllium – ZIIQ, Helekosi and Bevis2Fragments (#AutisticaPlayJam) – OptimusCries, NikoJaXs and thyonThe Vengeful Eyes 2 – InsaneAlphaBetaClaustrofactory – Aecert, PieceOfCraft and duckenomics
Excellence in Innovation
The Path of Illusions – ToduDreamsFest 2021 – DreamsFest TeamStylized Character / Face Animations – willow_the_bobNine Equals – danikaka, cutaia_net and Pixel_GorillaFrontier – sanderobros and SDorin
CoMmunity Star
D-GenerationloooDORIENoooKeduko_SNRG_DrivenKeldBjones
Excellence in Voice Acting
CAVEBOT 977 – Canadian__JediNINJA CAT III Episode 1 – YuMex196, SmurfsX3, mgs61794, xxRehab_Rejectxx, HIKOOSEN, EmilyJrulz, Esuki, eustoma and KL-05yRed and the Cursed Isles – RedSeiktasuCosmic Tale 2 – Bohalaa, Prince_Tahra, SaucelessOne, NinjaMicWZ, Sekulic0, kimerakiiOPEN-WORLD BOXING GAME – hipporick
Most Helpful Dreamer
SNRG_DrivenEntropyTamedTapGilesVinceKullySakkusMind
Contribution Beyond Dreams
Elca_GamingMade in DreamsNicco555 & Computer_CatUglySofaGamingSakkusMind
Excellence in VR
the RESTLESS DARK Demo – s-001TRIA-GONE – AngelotjeImagination VR: Dinosaurs – LifeAsNeilFrontier – sanderobros and SDorinMetro Street Racer – California Coast – atheistsw and animeboy0021
Evolving Experience
Ultimate Platformer Kit Demo – MitterMakliminal mystery box – JohnnyBiscotti and MrCaseyJonesSplatty’s Adventure – RDKatrell42, pbgamer96, NiloFranck, Sliverscreen, SoInDiverseThe Web – cat135Final Hour: Prelude to Prologue – DownerIsland
CoMmunity Collaboration
DreamFlix – KeldBjonesSpeed Create – InfiniDreamsTOTS2: TP Spree – PookachooDreamsFest 2021 – DreamsFest TeamMarble Multiverse – Entropy-Tamed
Breakthrough Dreamer
fluximuxSprattla-ArtStAnKHaNkHipporickKeenardo
Creator(s)/Team of the Year
ghostfruit64payoffwizardDreamsFest TeamCyber Sheep FilmsPaulo-LameirasfluximuxAecertDirtyflusherEntropy-TamedSDorin & sanderobros
Creation of the Year
Solar Blast – Paulo-Lameirasliminal mystery box – JohnnyBiscotti and MrCaseyJonesDreamsFest 2021 – DreamsFest TeamTales from Dark Town: Red Zone – DirtyFlusher and dinox11The Idyllium – ZIIQ, Helekosi and Bevis2Frontier – sanderobros and SDorinNOGUCHI’S BELL Episode 1 – Cyber Sheep FilmsASCENT REMASTERED – payoffwizardClaustrofactory – Aecert, PieceOfCraft and duckenomicsTriangle is Sentient – ItsMeJuvy
Whether you made it to the final shortlist or not, a massive well done to everyone who submitted their creations or themselves for consideration. We were blown away by the quality of this year’s contenders, and it was a real struggle to narrow down the nominees. You’re a credit to the Dreamiverse!
So, in summary: very talented Dreams players. Exciting playable hub coming soon to Dreams. And a virtual party on February 27 where we can all cheer on the nominees, congratulate the winners, and celebrate the coMmunity with silly jokes and some very special guests.
A picture of one of our much-coveted Impy trophies.
In the meantime, why not send us a message on our social channels? A nice one, preferably. You can use the hashtag #ImpyAwards if you want to talk to us about the upcoming show! We’re on Twitter, Instagram – even Tiktok, now. It’s wild over there.
* (Disclaimer: The trophies are not real gold. They’re still pretty great, though. And HEAVY. About the same weight as senior coMmunity manager Tom Dent’s cat – and he’s a powerful beast. The cat, we mean. But also Tom.)