Christophe De bont 
10/10/2016Last Saturday the cream of the crop of the VR world gathered in Hollywood, Los Angeles for the third annual Proto Awards. During this prestigious awards ceremony the Virtual Reality Foundation rewards individuals and teams making strides in the exciting field of virtual reality.
We are over the moon that proud FLEGA member I-Illusions was the big winner of the evening. Space Pirate Trainer managed to bag no less than THREE prestigious awards. They return to Belgium with the trophies for Best Sound Design, Best Independent Experience and even Best Game, beating out stiff competition from Epic Games and Crytek. It’s an amazing accomplishment for the team and a real boost for the Belgian games industry. Congratulations!
Space Pirate Trainer puts you in the middle of an 80’s arcade shoot ’em up.
In between celebrations we managed to get a hold of founder Dirk Van Welden for some quick reactions: “We did feel we had some chance to win Best Independent Experience, but we never expected to win three of them. We least expected to win Best Sound Design. I’ve spent a lot of time adding and programming subtle nuances in the audio, but I always thought most people wouldn’t notice. It seems they do!”
“I respect every other developer that was nominated, so we’re very honoured. We had a blast working on this game, so being recognised for the quality means a lot to us.”
He also has some quick advice for developers wanting to break into the field of VR. “It’s a new medium, so try out new stuff. Try breaking out of classic gameplay. Make use of those neat perfectly tracked controllers in creative ways. Spend as much time in VR as possible during gameplay development. Make something you would want to play. Do not settle with something that is below great. And one of the most important rules: have fun!”
Congratulations to the team once again! The full list of winners can be found here.
