Keen Awards 2025: Nominations

[Quillax]

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! It may have come a bit late, but better late than never! Celebrate the keen works and people of 2025 by nominating them! It works just like the previous nominations, though there a couple differences this time:

-A new category, "Best Update to a Mod", has been added, due to a discussion regarding updated mods. If a mod got a release before 2025 and then an update in 2025, it should go to that category instead of either one of the first two categories. The exception to this are mods that had a demo release in a previous year, but not a full release until 2025.
-A one-shot category, "Best Work of the Hiatus", has also been added, as a way to acknowledge the keen work made back in the time span of 2005-2018, when the Keen Awards was in hiatus. For many years, there has been the promise of doing a Keen Awards event for the 2010s, but as we're halfway into the 2020s, I feel like the ship has sailed. At least with this category, a chance has been given to works made in nearly all of the 2010s, plus the middle-to-late 2000s.

If you have any suggestions or feedback (e.g. if you have any comments regarding the new categories), then please post them.

Nominations ended in March 7. A list of the polls can be found here.

1: Programming

1.1: Best Vorticon Mod (incl. level packs)

• Inside the Vorticon Hyve by Vortlike
• The Lost Martian Cities by Vortlike

1.2: Best Galaxy Mod (ditto)

• O-Mega-Matic by SodiumtheGlitcher and Keen Community

1.3: Best Fangame

• BomberKeen by DoomJedi

1.4: Best Vorticon Level (from any 2025 Vorticon mod or level pack)

• London Tantalus Center (Level 04) from Inside the Vorticon Hyve by Vortlike
• Cairo Tantalus Center (Level 06) from Inside the Vorticon Hyve by Vortlike
• Moscow Tantalus Center (Level 15) from Inside the Vorticon Hyve by Vortlike
• Washington Tantalus Center (Level 16) from Inside the Vorticon Hyve by Vortlike

1.5: Best Galaxy Level (from any 2025 Galaxy/Dreams mod or level pack)

• Pyramid of Armageddon (Level 12) by Gridlock from O-Mega-Matic
• Defense Tunnel Aqaxz (Level 05) by SodiumtheGlitcher from O-Mega-Matic
• Tunnel Cranmore (Level 07) by Dave216 from O-Mega-Matic
• Defense Tunnel Putzl (Level 09) by DarkAle from O-Mega-Matic
• Maze of Madness (Level 10) by DarkAle from O-Mega-Matic
• Binary Circuits (Level 24) from The Alphamatic v3.0 beta by Gridlock

1.6: Best Fangame/Other Mod Level (from any 2025 fangame or other mod)


1.7: Best Tool

• GalaxyView v2.0 by K1n9_Duk3
• IMF Processor alpha v0.001 by K1n9_Duk3

1.8: Best Update to a Mod (any mod released/finished before 2025 but updated in 2025, level packs incl.)

• Foray in the Forest v2.0a by Nisaba and K1n9_Duk3
• The Alphamatic v3.0 beta by Gridlock
• Keen Dreams Gold Edition Christmas Eve update by szemi

2: Fan Art

2.1: Best Graphical Artwork (e.g. an individual piece of art or a series of comics)


2.2: Best Narrative (fanfic, story of a fangame/mod/comic etc.)


2.3: Best Music (e.g. an individual remix or the soundtrack of a work)


2.4: Best Animation


2.5: Best Non-Computerized Art (pencil drawing, sculpture, cosplay etc.)

• Keen acrylic paintings (#1, #2) by Symphony
• Keen Dreams pencil drawings by hairmonster12
• Defender Of The Universe by Soul Monster
• Skating O'er the Ice by Quillax

2.6: Best Gameplay Video (speedruns, playthroughs etc.)

• Foray in the Forest v2.0 playthrough (part #1, #2, #3) by Emmfoolery
• Keen mod playthroughs by troublesomekeen
• Episode 58 - The Ruin of Roib playthrough by hairmonster12
• Battle of the Brains finale by Thunder Rail Productions
• Dead in the Desert glitchless speedrun by CapnClever

3: Web

3.1: Best Website

• KeenWiki by Malvineous

3.2: Best Online Entertainment (e.g. games with online support and browser games)


3.3: Online Community Service Recognition (for the hard-working admins, moderators and website owners)

• Fleexy
• Malvineous

4: Miscellaneous

4.1: Keenest Person of the Year

• Tom Hall
• K1n9_Duk3
• Vortlike
• SodiumtheGlitcher
• lethal-guitar

4.2: Really Keen Stuff (something great that came out of the blue)

• Reconstructed Commander Keen 1-3 source code by K1n9_Duk3
• Keen 1-3 modding tutorial by Vortlike

4.3: Most Promising Project

• Prison Escape by SodiumtheGlitcher
• Doom in Commander Keen 1 (additional screenshot) by TheBigV
• Get My Stuff by Vortlike
• Keen Meets the Meats Gold Edition by szemi

4.4: Best Work of the Hiatus (anything made in 2005-2018)

• Dead in the Desert (2009) by Ceilick
• Mink's Puzzle Pack (2010) by Mink
• Clouds Unseen (2010) by StupidBunny
• Fall Up (2010) by KeenRush
• Bananasauros (2010) by VikingBoyBilly
• Battle of the Brains (2011) by Ceilick, Mink, and Tulip
• NetKeen (2011) by lemm
• The Mystery of Isis II (2012) by Geoff
• MrBlackPack v4 (2012) by MrBlack
• Commander Keen's Valentine Bash (2013) by Levellass
• The Banana Mod (2013) by Herry Jerry
• Episode 58 - The Ruin of Roib (2013) by Bernie
• The Terror From Outer Space (2013) by Dr.Colossus
• Save Spot! (2014) by Grandy02
• Episode 59 - Underworld Ultimate! (2014) by Bernie
• Keen Meets the Meats (2015) by DoomJedi, szemi, Levellass, troublesomekeen, and VikingBoyBilly
• Atroxian Realm (2016) by Gridlock
• Bug-fixed Keen 3 (2016) by Mondae Sundae
• The Alphamatic (2017) by Gridlock
• Suburb Shenanigans (2018) by Bubbatom

[SodiumtheGlitcher]

Here are my current nominations:

1.1: Inside the Vorticon Hyve by Vortlike

1.5: Pyramid of Armageddon by Gridlock from O-Mega-Matic

1.8: Foray in the Forest v2.0 by Nisaba, K1n9_Duk3, and team

4.3: Prison Escape by me

I'll probably add more later.

[Nospike]

I wanna nominate Keen 59: Underworld Ultimate for best hiatus work this mod completely blew my mind when it came out and it still does today l. From a technical and artistic perspective it's one of the best mods ever.

Wonder where Bernie is these days...

[troublesomekeen]

Howdy
For 2.6: Best Gameplay Video
I'd like to nominate Emmfoolery for a three-part Fluffy in the Forefront 2.0 playthrough/stream
which can be viewed here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I wanna nominate Keen 59: Underworld Ultimate for best hiatus work

Well said. I second the motion. I might not appreciate drunkeen, but it's a desert island mod for me providing i get to bring 10 mods

[NY00123]

Looks like two categories, "Best Update to a Mod" and "Best Work of the Hiatus", have been added as a consequence of that discussion started me in the Keen Awards 2024 winners thread; Albeit I seemed to originally start from an idea hinting at a combination of these, i.e., a comeback following a quite long hiatus, say 10+ years long.

"Best Work of the Hiatus" is indeed a good chance to to bring older unmodified contents from 2005-2018 a chance; Albeit one question coming to mind is if there should be a single category for a total of 14 years, or maybe it can be split. Either way, the contents had already been released, and what's still available for download may be checked.

[Mobiethian]

My current nominations:

1.2 Keen Dreams Gold Edition by Szemigi
2.3 Again, same as above
4.3 Prison Escape by SoduimtheGlitcher

More may come eventually.

[K1n9_Duk3]

1.2 Keen Dreams Gold Edition by Szemigi
2.3 Again, same as above

Keen Dreams Gold was released last year, so it should go into the update category. The whole point of the update category was that new mods shouldn't compete against mere updates.

Unless the update introduced a completely new music track and you want to nominate that track, it shouldn't be nominated for best music 2025 because none of the music was composed this year.

Or maybe I misunderstood the rules of these nominations.

[Mobiethian]

I think it was me that misunderstood the rules. heh No worries, I'll reevaluate my choices and re-post them.

[Dave216]

2.5: Best Non-Computerized Art (pencil drawing, sculpture, cosplay etc.)

Symphony's acrylic paints on wooden boards.
https://i.ibb.co/6X5c6Sh/FB-IMG-1736194066253.jpg

[troublesomekeen]

I'm like to nominate hairmonster12 also for

2.5: Best Non-Computerized Art (pencil drawing, sculpture, cosplay etc.)

link
I'll fix this if it doesn't display properly

[Nisaba]

I'd like to nominate troublesomekeen for "The Daily Show, or whatever this is"

2.6: Best Gameplay Video (speedruns, playthroughs etc.)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC56Cl5 ... kKj7NtVBlw

[Quillax]

The list of nominees has been updated! I know it took quite a while, but I was inactive for a while. Besides, it seems that the nominations phase goes slow until the very end. Hopefully we get some more cool stuff to nominate by the end of the year!

1.8: Foray in the Forest v2.0 by Nisaba, K1n9_Duk3, and team

You may have noticed that I left out the team part in the list and only credited Nisaba and K1n9_Duk3. In case you (or anyone else) is wondering why, I did this because it seems like these two people did most of the work, and Nisaba is basically the creator the mod, with K1n9_Duk3 as like a co-creator (though being the main programmer is also pretty significant). I also feel that these awards are more special when given to a single person or two. If the team was included, then we might as well give a trophy to this entire community since so many people got credited, unless if by "team" you meant the programmers and musicians (i.e. the people listed in the Terminator text sequence).

I wanna nominate Keen 59: Underworld Ultimate for best hiatus work this mod completely blew my mind when it came out and it still does today l. From a technical and artistic perspective it's one of the best mods ever.

Wonder where Bernie is these days...

A Bernie-developed Keen 60 is definitely one of my top 10 "Keen Mods I Wish Were Made", along with XkyKeen4. While his mods were difficult and buggy, the sheer creativity and artistic skill really carries them forward (and with K1n9_Duk3's updates they should be way more playable now). I would've loved to see how Bernie figures out a way to make Keen defeat the Kreegs once and for all (assuming Keen actually does so).

Looks like two categories, "Best Update to a Mod" and "Best Work of the Hiatus", have been added as a consequence of that discussion started me in the Keen Awards 2024 winners thread; Albeit I seemed to originally start from an idea hinting at a combination of these, i.e., a comeback following a quite long hiatus, say 10+ years long.

"Best Work of the Hiatus" is indeed a good chance to to bring older unmodified contents from 2005-2018 a chance; Albeit one question coming to mind is if there should be a single category for a total of 14 years, or maybe it can be split. Either way, the contents had already been released, and what's still available for download may be checked.

I originally considered splitting "Best Work of the Hiatus" into two for a decade each (2005-2009, 2010-2018). The quantity of impressive works released during the hiatus is astounding and immeasurable, though it feels like a lot of the more popular ones came from the 2010s. I mean, aside from The Keys of Krodacia and Dead in the Desert, what else is there to nominate in the range of 2005-2009? The Onward Silcar series? The thing is, I don't want to make too many categories, but at the same time 2005-2018 is such a broad range for a number of works so vast that it could potentially go beyond the poll limit. I'd be alright with splitting the category into two if people want the mid-to-late 2000s works to have a chance to shine. Or would it be better if we just did "Best Work of the Decade" and did one for the 2000s and another for the 2010s? Might be less convoluted that way and would give the XkyKeens a chance to be nominated, even if they already won Keen Awards in the distant past.

My current nominations:

1.2 Keen Dreams Gold Edition by Szemigi
2.3 Again, same as above
4.3 Prison Escape by SoduimtheGlitcher

More may come eventually.

K1n9_Duk3 is right; Keen Dreams Gold Edition should be nominated for "Best Update to a Mod" and the music shouldn't be nominated unless it's for a new music track included in an update from this year.

2.5: Best Non-Computerized Art (pencil drawing, sculpture, cosplay etc.)

Symphony's acrylic paints on wooden boards.
https://i.ibb.co/6X5c6Sh/FB-IMG-1736194066253.jpg

Your nomination is written in plural, yet you linked to only one piece. Did you intend to include the other piece Symphony made as well, or do you want to just nominate the one you put on your post? Just making sure.

I'm like to nominate hairmonster12 also for

2.5: Best Non-Computerized Art (pencil drawing, sculpture, cosplay etc.)

link
I'll fix this if it doesn't display properly

Ooh, this in neat! Thanks for sharing, both of you!

[DoomJedi]

Follow this thread since opened waiting for "BomberKeen" to get mentioned...

Should I declare "BomberKeen" as "released" to get nominated?
I can do that at any moment, as no updates are currently planned and the game is fully playable.

[SodiumtheGlitcher]

When I said "team", I wasn't intending for every contributor to get an award. I just felt the need to point out that Nisaba and K1n9_Duk3 were not the only people to make it. It's fine if you leave it as-is.

[Quillax]

Follow this thread since opened waiting for "BomberKeen" to get mentioned...

Should I declare "BomberKeen" as "released" to get nominated?
I can do that at any moment, as no updates are currently planned and the game is fully playable.

Demos can also be nominated.