With the majority of our team working from home, we cherish the opportunity to meet face-to-face and our annual Christmas party is no exception. Complete with a private cinema screening, delicious food, Secret Santa gifts and a 360-degree photo-booth, this year’s party was one to remember.
To close the year and show appreciation for our talented team, we also held the first annual Golden Gnome Awards. These internal company awards gave everyone the chance to sing the praises of their colleagues with a nominations survey which was then assessed by a judging panel so we could crown our winners in each category.
As we were already together for our Christmas party, we seized the opportunity to hold a glitz and glamour ceremony to present the winners of each award complete with their very own golden gnome trophy.
James Butlin, winner of the Slack Superstar Award 
Peter Hansen, winner of the Best Emoji/GIF Game Award 
Thom Dudley, winner of the Rising Star Award 
James Baxter, winner of the Innovator Award 
Torger Naerland, winner of the Marvellous Manager Award 
Hayley Blundy, winner of the Kindness Award 
Dennis Morgovan, winner of the Skills Award 
Amber Edwards, winner of the Team Player Award 
Sofia Emmanouilidou, winner of the Unsung Hero Award 
Bára Sigmundardóttir, winner of the Pet Pic Perfection Award 
Ike, Bára’s winning pet 
Golden Gnome trophy
Slack Superstar Award
A fun award to celebrate people who are always starting new conversations and getting involved with all things Slack (our communications channel)!
Winner: James Butlin, Lead VR Programmer
Best Emoji/GIF Game
This other fun award was all about nominating colleagues who use the funniest and most unique emojis/GIFs online and help cultivate a fun working culture.
Winner: Peter Hansen, Head of Tech
Rising Star Award
For this award, everyone nominated a newbie who has recently joined FuturLab and is already making a huge impact and doing an amazing job!
Winner: Thom Dudley, Studio Coordinator
Marvellous Manager Award
This award was a chance for everyone to shout out their amazing manager to thank them for their support, training and leadership.
Winner: Torger Naerland, Lead Artist
Innovator Award
Nominations for this award were all about celebrating people who are coming up with new ideas, solving problems and showcasing their creativity with innovative ideas.
Winner: James Baxter, Automation and Tools Engineer
Team Player Award
Every team is unique and have their own hurdles and successes. This award focused on nominating someone who is an awesome collaborator and brings people together!
Winner: Amber Edwards, Principal Artist
Humility Award
One of FuturLab’s core values is humility so we asked for nominations of team members who are always there to lift others up and will help with any task, no matter how big or small.
Winner: Alex Carroll, Game Director
Skills Award
Another of our core values, the skills award was the opportunity to shout out a talented individual who is always committed to self-improvement.
Winner: Dennis Morgovan, 3D Artist
Kindness Award
Our third and final core value is kindness as we believe happy people make great games. This award encouraged nominations for colleagues who are always helpful, patient and generous towards others.
Winner: Hayley Blundy, Studio Welfare Manager
Unsung Hero Award
An opportunity to highlight people doing incredible things which maybe don’t fit into the other categories.
Winner: Sofia Emmanouilidou, Senior QA Tester
Pet Pic Perfection Award
This final award was another bit of fun as our FuturLab team are the proud parents of many adorable pets. Everyone got the chance to vote for the pet that they wish they could take home with them due to the cuteness overload.
Winner: Bára Sigmundardóttir, Junior 3D Artist (owner of Ike)
FuturLab is now comprised of over 100 talented, lovely people and these awards were a great way for everyone to show their appreciation for one another. Whether it’s their skills, support, engagement with others or their adorable pet! We have many exciting plans for 2024 so please keep an eye out for the latest updates on what our incredible team are working on.