Now Presenting the Nominations for the 2014 Best Ofs!
Getting this list together wasn’t easy and I think it’s only fair to bring everyone up to speed.
As I mentioned before, the bulk of the nominations focused on a core group of visual novels released in 2014: leaving several out in the cold. So I involved my privileges as all-mighty Editor-in-Chief to add to this list so that it wouldn’t be too concentrated on a select group. This doesn’t mean that my nominations will win: far from it. In fact, long-time readers will most likely be able to tell what games I added. It just means that several groups that deserved recognition will at least get that before I pick the winners.
So how will that process go? There will not be a Twitter showing for this year considering the lateness and the fact that NaNoRenO is in full swing. Sometime in the coming weekend I’ll just put a Winners post up here and I will continue updating the review backlog while we watch the NaNoRenO projects take shape. With all of that said; here are your nominees for the 2014 VNs Now Best Ofs! Congratulations to everyone who was nominated!
And side note: games with partial voice acting were not considered. I appreciate the nominations towards that, but we are only focusing on fully voice acted games.
English Visual Novel of the Year
- Icebound by Fastermind Games
- Autumn’s Journey by Apple Cider Games
- Taarradhin by Cyanide Tea
- Aloners by Sonnet009
- Basiliska by Carrogath and Clua
- Romance Detective by NomNomNami
- Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf by Winter Wolves
EVN Studio/Development Circle of the Year
- Love in Space
- Winter Wolves Games
- Fastermind Games
- Visokyo Anime Production
- Detective
- Cyanide Tea
- Apple Cider Games
Rookie of the Year
- Sonnet009 (Aloners)
- NomNomNami (Romance Detective)
- llplldll (Memento Dears)
- Detective (Gods of Nowhere)
- Azuneko Studio (Black Diary)
- MikomiKisomi (Magical Boys)
Best Character
- Cecily (Basiliska)
- Auralee (Autumn’s Journey)
- Dougal (Icebound)
- Romance Cop (Romance Detective)
- The Girl (Petrichor)
- Trash (Aloners)
- Neqtia (Taarradhin)
Best Director
- Sam Yang (Sunrider)
- Jonathan Xikis (Icebound)
- Celso Riva (Seasons of the Wolf)
- Milan Kazarka (Invisible Apartment)
- Kaleidofish (Saving Zoey)
- Marcus Lam (Unhack)
Best Writer
- Boniae (Forget-Me-Not)
- Carrogath (Basiliska)
- Uncle Mugen (Hammer)
- Lorelei (Taarradhin)
- Donmai (The One In Love)
- Clea (Petrichor)
Best Artist/Art Team
- Clua (Basiliska)
- The Apple Cider Team (Autumn’s Journey)
- The Petrichor Team (Petrichor)
- Detective (Gods of Nowhere)
- The Icebound Team (Icebound)
- The Saving Zoey Team (Saving Zoey)
- Auro-Cyanide (Taarradhin)
Best Original Song
- Seasons of the Wolf (Boossara)
- Halloween Otome Theme Song (Tyler Thompson)
- Pizz’Amore Theme Song (Christopher Escalante)
- Sora no Senritsu-The Melody of the Cosmos (Iced Blade)
- It’s Not Easy To Say Goodbye (Tomas Krze)
- My Name in Lights (Matthew Myers)
Best Original Soundtrack
- Matthew Myers (Roommates)
- Julian Langdon (Icebound)
- Carmen Chow (Princess of Ruin)
- Tomas Krze (Invisible Apartment)
- Matt Hamm (Unhack)
- Philipp A. (Saving Zoey)
- Jenny Gibbons (Quantum Conscience)
Best Editor
- R-bit (Saving Zoey)
- Clea (Petrichor)
- Tina Ryu (Princess of Ruin)
- The TOA Team (Seasons of the Wolf)
- Reika Aoyama (EVOVLEd)
- Shadow (The Reject Demon: Toko)
Best Programmer
- John Doran (Saving Zoey)
- Marcus Lam (Unhack)
- Vaendryl (Sunrider)
- The Icebound Team (Icebound)
- The Soul Gambler Team (Soul Gambler)
- Sonya X (Skights)
- The TOA Team (Seasons of the Wolf)
Best Male VA
- Jon Bullock (Victorian Olives)
- Ethan Nakashima (Pizz’Amore)
- Youngee Brummett (EVOLVEd)
Best Female VA
- Tina Kim (Victorian Olives)
- Xanthe Huynh (Unhack)
- Helene Daviau (Pizz’Amore)
- Annie Quin (EVOLVEd)
Best Romance EVN
- LongStory Episode 1 by Bloom Digital
- Rhyme or Reason by Ludeshka
- Roommates by Winter Wolves
- Halloween Otome by Synokoria
- Princess of Ruin by Unbroken Hours
- Memento Dears by Otome Palace
- Skights Episodes 1-4 by Sonya X
Best Hybrid EVN
- Visual Novel Tycoon by
- Unhack by InvertMouse
- Soul Gambler by M.Gaia Studio
- Sunrider: The Mask of Arcadius by Love in Space
- Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf by Winter Wolves
Best Comedy EVN
- Pizz’Amore by Seraphim Entertainment
- Romance Detective by NomNomNomi
- Magical Boys by MikomiKisomi
- The Mishka Effect by Kaleidofish and Co.
- The Residuals by Sasuga Studios
- Grinning Heart: The Voyage by
- Fortune Island: The Interview
Best Drama EVN
- Hammer by Studio Mugenjohncel
- The One in Love by Donmai
- Invisible Apartment by Vysoko Anime Production
- Forget-Me-Not by Little Lake Studios
- Petrichor by Orfeyus Studios
- To Kill A Black Swan by Marcel Weyers
- Saving Zoey by Kaleidofish & Co.
Best Fangame EVN
- Being Beauteous by Träumendes Mädchen
- Lloyd Irving Dating Sim Lubrian and Silence-
- The Cask of Amontilllado by Charles Sutton
- Regeria Hope Episode 1 by Golden Game Barn
- In Miko We Trust by
- Quiz RPG: Tenshi Christmas 2014 by Route/0
- Ragnarok: Believe by Eruku
Most Improved Writer
- Marcel Weyers (To Kill A Black Swan)
- Cera Hendry (Ex Astris Episode 2)
- Ludeshka (Rhyme or Reason)
- Sonya X (Skights)
- VenusEclipse (Princess of Ruin)
Most Improved Artist
- Nuge (Quiz RPG: Tenshi Christmas 2014)
- Auro-Cyanide (Taaradhin)
- VenusEclipse (Princess of Ruin)
- Cera Hendry (Ex Astris Episode 2)
- Chronica (Grinning Heart: The Voyage)
- Deji (Autumn’s Journey)