RPGamer 2018 Awards – Michael A. Cunningham Memorial Award

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Michael A. Cunningham Memorial Award

Minit

minit

This year we are unveiling a new special award in memoriam of our long-time Editor-in-Chief Michael A. Cunningham. RPGamer’s awards were always one of his favourite projects and it seems only right that his name should remain attached to them. Unlike the other awards that are voted on by the staff as a whole, the Michael A. Cunningham Memorial Award is determined solely by the awards committee and given to a game that we feel is deserving of special recognition for any particular reason, be it one that endeavours to try new things, brings incredible emotion to the genre, or evokes many of the positive elements that Mac himself displayed. For the first edition we at least have the ability to give it to a game that we know was easily one of Mac’s favourite titles from the year and one that he wasted no opportunity to praise. It’s one that can best summed up in his own words:

Minit is a rare exception of a game that leaves players wanting more, yet actually has the perfect length for its design. That said, I still did want more after finishing it. The New Game+ modes were great, though they were over way too soon. It’s not that the game is missing anything, but it’s just such a fantastic formula that I’d love to have more to do with it. More challenge modes, leaderboards, or alternate play modes would be welcomed, because the main game, even when including the content required to obtain the platinum trophy, can be finished within just a few hours. I never felt short-changed by Minit; I simply wanted to play it more, which is a testament to the game’s design. It’s such a simple, tight formula, but is executed so well that it just feels perfect.

 

 

by Alex Fuller

 

 

These awards are dedicated to the memory of our friend Michael A. Cunningham. Mac started at RPGamer in 2006 and would go on to become the long-running Editor-in-Chief. While Mac loved RPGs, he especially loved handheld games, founding the #TeamHandheld hashtag as well as running a personal project site, Pocket Console, where you can read more of his musings on portable games.

You can see Michael’s top games, which is to a Google Document because Mac loved organizing lists in spreadsheets, a tradition continued with our speadsheet-based awards voting form. You can also read the tributes to Michael from the community as well as a list of our favorite works by Mac as well as Francis Gayon’s musical tribute based on Mac’s favourite game, Final Fantasy IV. Also, a special thanks to our friends at RPGFan who dedicated their recent Top 25 Nintendo 3DS Games and Top 20 PlayStation Vita Games features to Michael’s memory.