Atari Homebrew Awards: History + FAQ

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Atari Homebrew Awards

History + FAQ

 

Atari Homebrew Awards History

 

1st Atari Homebrew Awards: February 23, 2019 | WATCH (2h28m)

• First edition of the Atari Homebrew Awards
• 10 Categories for Atari 2600

2nd Atari Homebrew Awards: February 1, 2020 | WATCH (2h2m)

• 9 Categories for Atari 2600, Atari 7800 and Atari 8-Bit/5200
• Categories Added: Atari 2600 ≤4K, Atari 7800 Homebrew, Atari 8-Bit/5200 Homebrew, Lifetime Achievement
• Categories Removed: Atari 2600 bB, Atari 2600 Demo, Atari 2600 Hack, Atari 2600 Programming, Atari 2600 Technical Achievement

3rd Atari Homebrew Awards: February 6, 2021 | WATCH (2h36m)

• 15 Categories for Atari 2600, Atari 7800 and Atari 8-Bit/5200
• Category Split: Atari 2600 into Original and Port for Homebrew, Graphics, Music + Sound, ≤4K, WIP
• Category Split: Atari 7800 into Homebrew and WIP

4th Atari Homebrew Awards: February 12, 2022 | WATCH (3h17m)

• 18 Categories for Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari 8-Bit/5200 and Atari Lynx
• Categories Added: Atari Lynx
• Category Split: Atari 7800 into Original and Port for Homebrew and WIP

5th Atari Homebrew Awards: February 25, 2023 | WATCH (3h1m)

• 22 Categories for Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari 8-Bit/5200, Atari Lynx and Atari Jaguar
• Categories Added: Atari Jaguar Homebrew and WIP
• Category Split: Atari Lynx into Homebrew and WIP, Atari 8-Bit/5200 into Homebrew and WIP

6th Atari Homebrew Awards: February 24, 2024 | WATCH (2h56m)

• 22 Categories for Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari 8-Bit/5200, Atari Lynx and Atari Jaguar
• Category Split: Best Atari 8-Bit/5200 Homebrew into Original and Port
• Category Split: Best Atari 8-Bit/5200 WIP into Original and Port

 

 

Complete Nomination and Winners List (Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024):

Atari Homebrew Awards-Nomination and Winners List.ods

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Why are there separate categories for Original and Ports?

 

Nostalgia can play a part in the decision making process and may influence voting so a separate category for Ports was created.

 

Why is there a category for WIP?

 

A category for a work in progress is an unusual thing for an awards event but sometimes games take years to complete and honouring the hard work that developers go through and giving recognition they are on the right track felt like the right thing to do.

 

Why are there so many Atari 2600 categories?

 

The Atari Homebrew Awards started with Atari 2600 games and have added other platforms and categories as the year have gone by. The Atari 2600 platform is still consistently the most populated category by number of games but we will continue to add more categories to other platforms as the event continues.

 

Why is there a category for ≤4K for the Atari 2600?

 

Just like there are shorts categories in film award shows, the ≤4K was added to honour the developers who chose to work within the confines of a single bank of ROM. The challenge to create these games can sometimes be overlooked so it felt like the right thing to do to recognize the enjoyment the developers pack into a tiny amount of space.

 

Why aren't there separate categories for games that use non-classic hardware?

 

There is a large variety of modern hardware additions for the classic systems such as the QuadTari, MultiJoy, AtariVox, ARM chip, VBXE board, FujiNet & PlusCart, additional ROM/RAM/Sound Chips for carts/systems, etc. which have taken gaming to places never thought possible. Additional categories may be added in the future if there is enough game development using them to warrant a distinct designation but at the same time not splinter the categories into unsustainable numbers.

 

Why was my game not nominated?

 

We include every game released that fall within the voting guidelines and it's a very good idea to carefully read the whole voting guide to understand them. Some common reasons that a game may not make it to the public vote are: it was completed/for sale in a previous year, it's a re-release of a previous game, it doesn't fit into a category (such as hacks or demos), or it didn't get enough votes from the Nomination Committee. If you feel that none of these apply to your game and there was a mistake, please contact us as soon as possible so we can look into it further.

 

Why are you using an older version of the game?

 

Each year we evaluate games released between January 1st and December 31st for the Annual Atari Homebrew Awards. We had to choose a cut off date so we thought the last day of the year would be the most appropriate. If a game has had updates made after the cut off of December 31 we unfortunately will not be able to include the new builds as we've already started the evaluation process and it's also past the deadline.

 

How do I become a member of the Nomination Committee?

 

We're always looking for new people for the Nomination Committees! If you are a committed, objective game enthusiast or game developer and have the time to evaluate potentially hundreds of eligible games we would love to hear from you.