Last week, the 14th New York Game Awards kicked off at the SVA Theatre with a night of celebration. The ceremony was split into two parts; a traditional game awards show which celebrates the best of the industry, with the second dedicated to their annual Andrew Yoon Legend Award.
This year, the award was presented to Sam Lake, Creative Director at Remedy, whose three decades in the games industry has been packed with creativity and exploration of the medium.
Ahead of the award, the organisers showcased a special tribute for Sam, filled with messages of congratulations from Harold Goldberg, Mary-Ellis Ryan, Khloe Wilkerson, Shannon Liao, Adam Siddiqui, Ronald Gordon, Sherri L. Smith, Isaac Espinoza, Barry Eversley (Lord Cognito), Alyssa Mercante, Luis Aguasvivas, Xalavier Nelson Jr, Molly Moloney, Janina Gavankar, David Harewood, and Navid Khonsari.
Following the incredibly sweet video was Sam's acceptance speech, dedicated to David Lynch, who influenced a lot of his work, particularly at Remedy. You can watch the full speech below, along with the transcript.
The tributes didn't stop at the ceremony, following the event, Remedy posted their own tribute on social media stating, “For us at Remedy, Sam is a constant source of motivation and unique, wonderful ideas. We are privileged to have him as a team member and Creative Director.”
Remedy fans would also recognise another face at the ceremony. To present Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game, Matthew Porretta (Alan Wake and Dr Casper Darling), took to the stage joking about his character from 90210 brought up by Harold Goldberg. In his introduction, he reads, "acting in video games has involved into something unique. Not only do we help tell the story, we connect with the gamer on a personal level. From moments that are moving, to shocking, to hilarious, as actors we laugh, we cry, we scream. A lot of screaming. Oh, and sometimes we sing and we dance. So, look, there are no boundaries to what we can do and what we will do, so let's get down to it. My name's Alan Wake, I'm a writer, and the nominations for the best actor in a video game are…”
The nominations include Abubakar Salim (Zau, Zuberi and Griot Echo in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU), John Eric Bentley (Barret, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth), Hannah Telle (Max Caulfield, Life is Strange: Double Exposure), Melina Juergens as (Senua, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2), Humberly González as Kay in Star Wars Outlaws), and ultimately won by Troy Baker (Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle).
You can watch the full category, HERE. (Starts 2:05:26)
Sam Lake's Acceptance Speech
“Thank you very much. Overwhelming. Thank you, Harold, Reggie, and thank you, New York Video Games Critic's Circle for this incredible, incredible honour. I look at the list of previous recipients of this award, true legends all, with such a legacy when it comes to video games, and honestly I can't help but to feel my imposter syndrome flare up. I'm very grateful for this award. In fact, let me just pause for a second here… and breathe. You know, so often with these moments before a big audience, to do anything, afterwards these moments are just white noise looking back. And I really want to remember this and treasure this memory. So, hello everybody.
“Okay, I want to thank my family for their love and also [for] always keeping me grounded. I want to thank Remedy and all my colleagues and collaborators there through the years. Without them, I would not be here today. Making video games is always, always a team effort. You know, Remedy will be thirty years old this fall and towards the end of this year it will be thirty years since I came in to write the texts for Death Rally, the first Remedy game. Thirty years.
“I want to thank my friends who have shared my passion for storytelling through role playing games since we were teenagers. And I want to thank all the wonderful passionate artists I've been fortunate to collaborate with; musicians, actors, all. it's so important to find partners who inspire you and energise you and drive you to do your best work. Partners who also question you and call out when you are losing the sight of the vision. It's vital to surround yourself with friends like this.
“Now, I would like to dedicate this award to David Lynch, who heartbreakingly passed away last week. I never met him, but his art has been a tremendous inspiration for me, and I'm sure can be seen as a huge influence in my work, in all the Remedy games. For me, first it was Twin Peaks and later Lost Highway, but all of his works there would not be Alan Wake without him. Our code name for Alan Wake 2 was “Big Fish” according to his book “Catching the Big Fish” where he talks about ideas being like fish and the best ideas being the big fish who swim in deep waters.
“Thinking about David Lynch and thinking about this speech, I tried to distil what inspires me and what I'm trying to catch with my story and game experiences. What excites me as an idea in art and entertainment, across all mediums. And I think it's simply this; a journey into a secret mystery. I think this is what we seek, a presence we sometimes fleetingly sense in our everyday lives, but something that is invisible to us, denied from us. We suspect it's there, but we're plying to it and we can't reach it. Until a doorway into it opens and allows us to pursue it, to journey into a hidden world. And it can be wonderful, and it can be terrifying, and it can be both at the same time. And, mind you, this does not mean that this mystery gives us any final definite answers, any one truth other than the fact that it exists. It's enough we feel it, feel the powerful emotions caused by it. And even if the answer is beyond our understanding, we can still form our theory and our personal answers. And we are touched by it and nothing will be the same after. We will never be the same after. We have been changed by it.
“Lynch himself said that why would art need to make sense when life often doesn't make sense. I believe in this. When the emotion we experience is true, and we feel it, and we believe it, we should not need it explained to us. This journey into a secret mystery is what I look when I begin reading a book, when I listen to a song, when I watch a film and yes, when I play a game. There is a specific craft to each of these mediums, and yet they overlap. I'd like to think that this pursuit is universal in art and entertainment, as human beings we are all dreamers and we are all creators. We are all inspired by works of art across all mediums. As creators, we are all part of the same, and I love all these different mediums. But what makes game special is that they can encompass all these other mediums seamlessly and, in addition, as an interactive experience. The journey is a concrete journey you make, and the secret mystery is something you actively work on to look for, to find, and to piece together. All of which draws us in and makes us an active part of the experience. Fully engaged.
“Now, I'd like to thank New York Video Game Critic Circle again for this award. What makes this even more special is the fact that you promote education and teach and mentor young people in careers in games. There's been a lot of bad news of lay-offs and studios closing, and a lot of bad news in our world overall of conflict and crisis. Because of this, it's all the more important to take action and build for the future, to hope for a better future. Thank you very much."
