Tokyo Design Awards Gold Winner

2026 | Professional

Awaken 8 : Fragments left behind

Entrant Company

Awaken 8

Category

Honorary Designer - Outstanding Independent Designer

Client's Name

Country / Region

United States

Awaken 8: Fragments Left Behind began as a story I wrote to myself during one of the hardest chapters of my life. I didn’t come from a game development background everything you see was learned within nine months. From rendering, composition, and cinematic direction to trailers, character reveals, and music videos, every part of the project was created by me alone. I personally selected and directed all of the music, collaborating with independent producers and K-pop artists to shape the emotional sound of this world. Set in the futuristic city of Virex, society appears perfect glowing lights, tall towers, and calm streets but beneath the surface, emotion is forbidden. Those who cry, love, or feel deeply are labeled unstable. The Purges, led by the Blood Monarch, “cleanse” anyone who begins to feel again. He claims to erase their pain, but in truth, he erases those who begin to awaken the ones who still remember what it means to feel. Beyond this cold reality lies Mythfall, a hidden realm between memory and emotion. When the chosen awaken, they cross into this realm, where their buried pain becomes power and their pasts begin to heal. Though the designs may appear stylized and cinematic, Awaken 8 is ultimately about eight lost souls each scarred, each chosen to remember who they were. It’s a story about emotion, trauma, and rediscovering what it means to be human. All project video links have been uploaded exclusively for judging. Public reveal campaigns will begin around January 2026.

Credits

Solo developer / Heartily studios
Linda Nguyen
Music producer / Trunxks Beats
Huy Tran
music producer
Freek Van workum
kpop group vocalist
Valkyria
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