Production design for the stageand for the game screen
Setpiece reviews production design as craft, and keeps a sourced index of 72 seasons
of award records. Two industries, one trade: the people who build what a theatre
audience looks at, and the people who draw and score what a game player looks at. A backdrop
has to convince from twenty rows back; a slot reel has to convince at arm's length on a phone.
Both are judged, most years, by someone handing out an award for it.
- AwardsEvery season on record, 1955 to 2026, grouped by decade
- DesignSets, costume and lighting, and the game art doing the same job
- SoundScoring for stage and games, and what the research measured
- IndustryWho owns the studios, and which markets are opening
- HistoryThe decade these awards ran under a different name
Records2,060
Winners688
Seasons72
Earliest1955
07 / 26 Production design, step by step Build it · Draw it · Score it
01 / Build it A flat is built to be believed from twenty rows back and from nowhere else. Scenic carpentry, paint frames, and the trades that carry from one production to the next.
02 / Draw it Peter and Sons works in hand-drawn comic-book letterforms and Eastern European folklore, from studios in Barcelona and Yerevan. Forty-five titles since 2019.
03 / Score it Players overestimated their winnings by 24 per cent with game audio present, against 15 per cent without it.
University of Waterloo / Journal of Gambling Studies
Stage and game production design: one problem, two trades
Stage and game production design get written about in separate places, by separate people, for
separate readers. The trade press for one almost never mentions the other. That split is a
habit rather than a real division. The working problem is close to identical: build a surface
that reads as somewhere, on a budget, to a deadline, for an audience that decides in about two
seconds whether it believes you.
The tools differ and the vocabulary differs. A scenic carpenter frames a flat; a game artist
builds a symbol sheet. But both are working out how much detail survives at the distance the
thing will actually be seen from, and both live with the fact that the answer is usually less
than they would like. Read the two side by side and the shared craft is obvious.
Awards are where stage and game production design gets recorded, which is why the index sits at
the centre of this site rather than off to one side. Seventy-two seasons of stage awards name the people who lit,
dressed and built the work, year by year, in categories that barely existed when the awards
started. The game industry now runs its own awards with a category for art direction, judged
on the same question: does the work hold up when you look at it.
Games are covered here as designed objects: who drew them, who scored them, which studio has a
house style you could pick out of a line-up, and whether the result actually holds up. That is a
different question from how to play them, and this site does not answer the second one. Where a
platform is linked the link is marked as such, and the editorial judgement was made before the
link existed rather than because of it.
Editorial FAQ
How is Setpiece funded?
Setpiece earns a commission on some links to social-casino platforms, and those links are marked where they appear. Commission plays no part in whether a game, studio or production gets covered, or in how it is assessed. Nothing here is paid placement.
How are games and productions assessed?
On their craft: art direction, illustration, typography, sound design and scoring, and how well the work reads to the person sitting in front of it. Coverage is evaluative rather than promotional, and it says plainly when something does not come off.
Where do the award records come from?
Two places, and every entry says which. Seasons up to 1974 come from the announcements issued at the time. From 1975 the records are cross-checked against published sources, and where the surviving copy lost a category heading the page says so rather than quietly filling it in.
What does Setpiece cover?
Two production cultures that share a craft: live theatre, and the studios that design casino games. The focus stays on how work is made — who draws it, who scores it, who lights it — and on the awards documenting it. Gameplay guidance and betting strategy are outside the remit.
Can I submit work for consideration?
Yes, from studios, designers, composers and production teams. Send the work itself with credits and dates. Submitting costs nothing and buys nothing, and no submission is guaranteed coverage.
Social gaming Section 08
This section covers social and prize-based gaming platforms as an industry. Setpiece hosts no
wagering, holds no gaming licence and takes no deposits. Where a platform is linked, the link
is marked and the terms are the operator's own.
Advisory
Social casino platforms operate under sweepstakes law. No purchase is necessary to play.
Gold Coins hold no cash value. You must be 18 or older, and 21 or older in some states.
Not available in Washington. If gambling is causing harm to you or someone you know, call
1-800-GAMBLER.
Industry analysis
The record Updated July 2026 · 2,060 entries
History 1955–1964 · 9 min
Research Peer-reviewed · 12 min
