Last night, the Game Awards were held: Baldur’s Gate 3 was expectedly Game of the Year and also triumphed in five other categories. Chief developer Swen Vincke accepted the award in a very special way, and the internet is celebrating him for it.
In which categories did Baldur’s Gate 3 excel? Baldur’s Gate 3 was nominated for a total of 8 categories at the Game Awards 2023. In two of them, the game had to concede to the competitor Alan Wake 2 and Final Fantasy XVI won the award for Best Soundtrack and Music.
Nevertheless, the game won a total of five categories and also received the Player’s Voice Award. In these categories, Baldur’s Gate 3 prevailed:
- Game of the Year
- Best Performance – for Neil Newbon as Astarion
- Best Community Support
- Best Role-Playing Game
- Best Multiplayer Game
- Player’s Voice
In the podcast, MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski and her colleagues from GameStar Talk discuss why Baldur’s Gate 3 is so good.
How did Swen Vincke accept his awards? Game Director Swen Vincke accepted the award together with three colleagues. In his speech, he referred to Baldur’s Gate 3 as Larian’s Covid-Game
and dedicated the award to all those they lost during the development period – including Cinematic Animation Lead Jim Southworth, who passed away in November.
Unfortunately, Vincke’s appearance was rather short. Other winners, including Neil Newbon, who was awarded for Best Performance for his role as Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, faced a similar situation. It was stated in the introduction that the winner could take as much time for their thanks as they wanted. However, Newbon was played off by the orchestra after just a few seconds.
MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski discusses this in her conclusion to the Game Awards 2023:
Game Awards 2023: Time for mupets, ads, and Hollywood, but no time for the most important people of the show
However, it was not Vincke’s short speech that excited the internet. Much more, it was the shiny plate armor with which he took to the stage. Here you can see the spectacle for yourself:
Indeed, Swen Vincke is known for his armor. He usually wears it during developer updates as well. Like in the legendary stream for which they were banned on TikTok in July. For the Golden Joystick Awards ceremony, however, he left the armor at home – which was a good idea since he could hardly carry the six awards without the plate.
How did the internet react to Vincke’s armor? On reddit, fans are celebrating Swen Vincke for the epic outfit:
- Anthonyos:
This guy took his trophy in a damn armor! I love it
- AscendedViking7:
That’s Swen Vincke for you. The best game director in the world next to Hidetaka Miyazaki.
- Negativeedge_:
Swen is a walking legend. He is such a crazy guy.
- GoatyyZ:
The damn legend rolled over 25 + 10 with that armor.
Also on X.com (formerly Twitter), there was much support for the legend
of a chief developer:
- @Nevoc_ (X.com):
Swen Vincke is just sitting in full knight armor in the audience, what a hero 😀
- @SwampyXx (X.com):
Swen Vincke in a damn armor at the #TheGameAwards this man is a legend
- @VulonNight (X.com):
Swen Vincke showing up in armor at the #TheGameAwards is just iconic. Oh, when you get awarded in a suit of polished plate armor for a flawlessly executed labor of love with your nerd friends/colleagues.
Are you satisfied with the winners of the Game Awards 2023 or did your favorite go home empty-handed? Would you also accept an award in full plate? We look forward to your comments.
By the way: If you have fallen for Neil Newbon’s Astarion, we have a comprehensive romance guide for you so that you can fully experience his now doubly awarded performance:
Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion Romance Guide – how to easily win his heart
