THE VP AWARDS 2020
Welcome to the inaugural Virtual Photography Awards, celebrating the best in consumer photo modes from 2020.
With over 1,850 votes submitted on the Game Industry Photo Mode Award categories, and more than 1,140 entries into the Virtual Photograph of the Year categories, you have helped to recognise the contributions from development studios over the past year and celebrate the artistic talent that exists amongst virtual photographers all over the word. The votes have now been counted and verified, and public entries have been judged, so it is exciting to be able to announce the first ever winners of The VP Awards...
GAME INDUSTRY PHOTO MODE AWARD
WINNERS 2020
MOST INNOVATIVE FEATURES
Thanks largely to its unique use of wind within an animated photo mode environment and wide array of particle effects, you decided that Sucker Punch's samurai adventure brought things to life with the most innovative virtual photography features of the year.
🥇 (39.9 %) - Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch Productions
🥈 (33.6 %) - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Insomniac Games
🥉 (10.4 %) - Cyberpunk 2077, CD PROJEKT RED
BEST LIGHTING
With the best 3-point studio lighting implementation seen to date, and exceptional control over the intensity, elevation and direction of natural light too, it is Insomniac Games' latest web slinger that you decided offered the best lighting for virtual photography in 2020.
🥇 (45.5 %) - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Insomniac Games
🥈 (17.7 %) - Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch Productions
🥉 (15.0 %) - The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog
BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC SUBJECT
The ever popular super hero was always going to be a virtual photographer's favourite and Miles didn't disappoint with even more character and a whole host of fantastically detailed suits that meant you voted him to be the best photographic subject of the year.
🥇 (30.2 %) - Miles Morales, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
🥈 (23.9 %) - Ellie, The Last of Us Part II
🥉 (12.5 %) - V, Cyberpunk 2077
BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Having regularly engaged with the virtual photography community since 2017, Guerrilla Games have kept up the support over the last year with multiple contests and giveaways, regular artwork features and of course by bringing Horizon Zero Dawn to more players and photographers on PC.
🥇 (30.9 %) - Guerrilla Games
🥈 (19.5 %) - Ubisoft
🥉 (14.1 %) - Control Remedy / 505 Games
BENCHMARK AWARD
Was this one ever in any doubt? The game that introduced so many people to virtual photography and remains an active inspiration for many more, Horizon Zero Dawn elevated the concept of photo modes into the consciousness of consumers and set the standard of what would be expected from other titles. A deserving winner of this one-time-only benchmark award.
🥇 (46.4 %) - Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games
🥈 (22.5 %) - Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games
🥉 (11.2 %) - Assassin's Creed Origins, Ubisoft Montreal
MOST ANITICIPATED PHOTO MODE
With the highest percentage of any single nominee across all of the award categories, it seems that there is still plenty of enthusiasm for Guerrilla's red-haired heroine. Aloy's upcoming adventure into the Forbidden West is your most anticipated game for virtual photography and it will be interesting to see how it improves on Zero Dawn's baseline.
🥇 (48.0 %) - Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games
🥈 (25.3 %) - God of War Ragnarok, Santa Monica Studio
🥉 (9.3 %) - Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Ninja Theory
BEST PHOTO MODE
The biggest prize was also the most closely contested with a very narrow margin between two photo mode heavy weights. In the end though, the combination of novel features, unique aesthetic and the outright beauty of Tsushima island mean that Ghost of Tsushima is your favourite photo mode of 2020.
🥇 (41.4 %) - Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch Productions
🥈 (38.3 %) - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Insomniac Games
🥉 (7.9 %) - Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Ubisoft Montreal
VIRTUAL PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR
WINNERS 2020
VIRTUAL ABSTRACT SHOT OF THE YEAR
In a hotly contested category with a tremendous variety of styles amongst the finalists, this shot uses interesting abstract geometry with perfectly executed alignment that cleverly leads the viewer through the image, braking out from the dark foreground and into the distant sky.
GGMattt_ - Cyberpunk 2077
VIRTUAL ACTION SHOT OF THE YEAR
The use of the lasso to create a frame-within-a-frame, the prancing stance of the horse, the backlit silhouette; this is a capture that shows great forethought and demonstrates how the advantages of virtual photography can be used to achieve a creative vision.
F1mBu1V1nT3r - Red Dead Redemption 2
VIRTUAL LANDSCAPE OF THE YEAR
This shot becomes more than just the captured landscape. The sepia tones add an old-fashioned photo feel and the dusty haze works to mask what lies ahead of the man and his horse as they wander through a barren land
Fokalizer - Red Dead Redemption 2
VIRTUAL PORTRAIT OF THE YEAR
A shot that stands out from many of the portraits we often see in virtual photography. With an upward glance and slightly worried expression, this old lady sits for a formal portrait but the picture tells a tale of wisdom and experience behind an aged face.
QuasymodoXbox [ A Plague Tale: Innocence ]
VIRTUAL URBAN SHOT OF THE YEAR
The 50/50 split between the city above and its reflection in the flooded street goes some way to emphasise the verticality of this shot and also leaves the small central character placed perhaps between the duality of two alternate realities.
AndrewCull - Tom Clancy's The Division
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