Image: Flickr
1337! Video game animation is crossing over to the mainstream. Well, the art world mainstream. The Ottawa International Animation Festival, commonly known as the OIAF, is introducing a new category this year, recognizing animators who create non-gameplay videos. The OIAF is the largest festival of its kind in North America, bringing animation fans, film buffs and industry professionals to Ottawa, of all places.
The Best Non-Gameplay Animation award will be given to an animator who creates the best piece of video animation. For video games, animation is an essential piece of storytelling, just like any other medium. Quick-timed trailers, cinematic cuts within a game, or animated pieces of exposition are all eligible to be nominated in this category.
In a news release, OIAF organizers said the new category was a response to video game animators who were hungry for more competitive recognition and exposure. This demand mirrors the question posed by Toronto Standard’s own tech critic, Navneet Alang, who asks if, “Smart people should care about video games.”
And, should they? As the OIAF shows, if the animator’s innovative use of creativity enhances the medium’s story, even if it is a video game, the art is worthy of esteemed industry recognition.
Animators can submit their work to the festival until May 18. The OIAF runs from Sept. 19 to 23, right after TIFF.
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Joanna Adams writes for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at†@nowstarringTO.
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