We did it! Vancouver Film School Game Design alumni have once again taken home the biggest student prize in the video game industry. On November 16, 2023, Unity Technologies announced the winners of their 15th annual awards ceremony, including Meowmentum Mori for Best Student Project. Each year, the organization recognizes excellence in the video game industry through the Unity Awards, celebrating creative and technical excellence in Unity-powered games.
Meowmentum Mori is a first-person single player speedrunning platformer where Mori, a novice catmage, faces a series of magical trials in a pocket universe to become a full-fledged catmage.
This marks the fourth win (and seventh nomination) for VFS students in this category. VFS students previously won for Pulse, Afloat, and The Cluckening. This year, VFS students were nominated TWICE for Best Student Project; also nominated was Curtain Call, created by a core team of five VFS Game Design students.
Meowmentum Mori was developed by five students from VFS’s Game Design program: Apoorv Taneja (Technical Designer/PM), Ivan Restrepo (Tech Designer/Game Designer), Pablo Moctezuma (Level Designer/Game Designer), Ivonne Medina (3D/2D Artist), and John Santana (3D/UI Artist). External collaborators include Sound Design for Visual Media students Hojune Kwak (Sound Tech/SFX), Pedro Campos (SFX/Ambience), Gordon Smith (SFX/Sound Tech), Jenny Shim (Composition), and Benji Ruiz (Composition).
Christopher Mitchell, Head of VFS’s Game Design and Programming for Games, Web & Mobile programs commented: “We’re thrilled that our students have taken home the top student prize at this year’s Unity Awards. VFS is the most nominated and most winning school at these awards which are truly the benchmark of excellence in the game industry. To see our students take a concept, turn it into a retail-ready game, and then be recognized at this level is a very proud moment for the Game Design department at Vancouver Film School.
If you’re interested in trying out these games for yourself, Meowmentum Mori, Curtain Call, and nearly 100 other games created by VFS students are available for play for free via VFS Arcade. OR, if you’re interested in training to become a future Unity Award-winning game designer, you can learn all about VFS’s Game Design program here. Our Game Design students graduate in just 12 short months as industry-ready Game Artists, Coders, and Level Designer, are taught by industry professionals, and have access to high caliber facilities – including a world-class, 64,000 cubic foot performance and motion capture studio.
Congratulations to the team behind Meowmentum Mori on your big win, and an equal congratulations to the team behind Curtain Call on your nomination!