The first-ever Steam Awards have been announced, and Team Dignitas has taken home a record-breaking seven awards!
The Steam Awards celebrate the best in gaming on the platform, and Team Dignitas’ Steam profile is a testament to the incredible games they’ve played and won on Steam. There have been 24 awards given out, and the list of nominations spanned several genres, from action-adventure to strategy and more!
Best in Gaming
As the flagship Steam profile for Team Dignitas, we decided to have a look behind the scenes of Team Dignitas on Steam and investigate their incredible games and winning streak. Let’s take a closer look at some of their most popular games on Steam!
- Day of the Tentacle (Adventure)
- The Stanley Parable (Strategy/Simulation)
- COD: Ghosts (First-Person Shooter)
- Guns n’ Roses: Ten Classics (Action/Adventure)
- Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri (Strategy)
- Rocket League (Sports)
- DOTA 2 (MOBA)
- The Binding of Isaac (Action/Adventure)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (First-Person Shooter)
- Arma 3 (Strategy/Simulation)
- Fallout 4 (RPG)
- Minecraft (Game)
- Team Fortress 2 (Strategy/Simulation)
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Open-World RPG)
- Garry’s Mod (Mod Tool)
- The Division (First-Person Shooter)
The Full History of Team Dignitas On Steam
The Steam Awards shine a light on the best of Steam, celebrating the incredible games and gaming communities created on the platform. As we were planning our own Steam Awards, we wanted to have a look at Team Dignitas’ incredible track record on Steam. Here’s a quick recap of their history on the platform!
The team’s first game on Steam was Day of the Tentacle, which released on August 16, 2012. Since then, Team Dignitas’ games have become increasingly popular, achieving mainstream success on the platform. The team was nominated last year for their work on the Steam game Garry’s Mod, which achieved iconic status, and they’ve been nominated for a number of their other Steam games, including Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2. Amazingly, these are just some of Team Dignitas’ most popular games on Steam!
Day of the Tentacle
When we first heard about the Day of the Tentacle on Steam, we were instantly intrigued. It was the flagship game of the Amiga 1200, designed by the legendary Peter Molyneux. The fact that this was the original title from Bullfrog Productions, the studio behind such iconic PC games as Theme Park and Populous, only added to its allure. We were able to get our hands on a copy of Day of the Tentacle and played through it quickly. It was an incredible experience!
Day of the Tentacle is a hybrid of strategy and action-adventure gameplay. While it draws a lot of inspiration from Populous, offering up a map and task list for players to explore and discover, it also incorporates elements of games like Dungeon Master where players battle it out with the creatures they encounter. There are randomly generated worlds that players explore, and it boasts an incredible art style, using the Power Macintosh G3 as its point of reference. As you’d imagine, this being the first game by Peter Molyneux, it also featured a lot of innovative ideas, including a leveling system that allowed players to increase their gameplay power or experience by discovering different kinds of creatures and using them against each other.
The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable is the sequel to deviantArt founder Stanislaw “Stan” Lepkowski’s acclaimed iPhone minigame, The Stanley Parable. Just like its predecessor, The Stanley Parable focuses on the art of storytelling, and it succeeds in that respect too!
In The Stanley Parable, you play as Ozzie, a young mouse who lives in a tiny house surrounded by a giant peach orchard. Ozzie wants nothing more than to be left alone, but the universe has other plans for him. When the orchard’s owner begins to criticize him, calling him “weird” and “adorable,” his world is turned upside down. Angry bees, a talking cat, and a zombie plague are just a few of the many outlandish creatures that Ozzie will have to endure. The result is an incredibly colorful and vibrant game with a unique art style that draws inspiration from a number of sources, including the works of H.R. Giger and the films of George A. Romero.
COD: Ghosts
Like many games created by legendary developer Infinity Ward, the Call of Duty series stands out for its attention to detail and love for the classics. However, while many gamers may recognize the iconic weapons of the series (like the M16 and AK-47), it’s unlikely that they’ve ever heard of the titular weapon, Ghost. Intended to be a more stealth-oriented take on the series, Call of Duty: Ghosts features a protagonist with no name and will debut a brand new weapon, the Ghost, which is, as the developers put it, “an all-new tool that you’ll feel completely empowered with.”
A Call of Duty game is often called a “war game,” and you’re usually pitted against the game’s A.I. or other players online in a battle to the death. While there are elements of that in Ghosts, the game’s emphasis is on survival, with the protagonist being given the ability to take cover and stay silent as he traverses a futuristic city, looking for weapons and information. As if the task of stealthing through a futuristic city wasn’t challenging enough, each area of the city is associated with a different A.I. faction, leading to a tense struggle between the protagonist and A.I. from which you can only emerge victorious through careful planning and use of the limited resources at your disposal (like ammo and health packs).
Guns N’ Roses
Guns N’ Roses is, at the time of writing, the #1 most-played game on Steam. It was originally released in 1996, when many people may not have had the internet at their disposal, and its popularity shows no signs of dropping off. In fact, since its original release, it has achieved legendary status and is one of Steam’s most played and beloved games. Although the gameplay may seem simple (just click on the left mouse button to throw a punch), it’s a technical achievement that deserves to be celebrated!
What is it that makes Guns N’ Roses so popular on Steam? Perhaps it’s because of the game’s amazing soundtrack, which features music by the legendary Guns N’ Roses. Perhaps it’s because of the amazing animation, which is a combination of paper cut-outs and claymation. Or maybe it’s the gameplay itself, which is a combination of Tekken 3 and Mortal Kombat, where you play as a variety of iconic ’80s icons, each with their own set of special moves and fighting styles.
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri is the spiritual successor to 1991’s legendary Civilization, offering a 4X mix of strategy, exploration, and conquest. Set in the year 2484, Alpha Centauri is the last outpost of mankind where, as the developers put it, “the machines have not yet driven us to extinction.” Using an isometric perspective, the game tasks you with exploring and colonizing three planets, working with or against friendly AIs to secure an advantage in the Galactic Race.
The game’s setting is beautifully realized, with each planet having its own unique climate and ecosystem. The sheer size of the universe also creates an incredible sense of scale, with each planet feeling incredibly small in comparison. The alien life forms, while not threatening, are represented through stunning polygonal graphics and sound effects that blur the line between gameplay and graphics, achieving something that has rarely been seen in video games: beautiful, realistic visuals.
One thing that could be improved upon is the pacing of the game. It’s a common issue with isometric strategical turn-based games where the game doesn’t move quickly enough for the player. The result is that the player feels as though he’s been thrown in the deep end and is struggling to keep afloat, rather than being presented with a clear goal and given the tools to succeed.