Everything is the first video game to qualify for an Oscar

Independent developer David O'Reilly has become the first to have a video game qualify for an Oscar award.

The nomination technically goes to a 11-minute short film that serves as a trailer for his recently released title, Everything. The film won the jury prize for Animation at the Vienna Shorts Festival, and as such automatically makes the longlist for Animated Short Film at the next Academy Awards.

O'Reilly notes via Twitter this is the first time a video game or interactive project has ever qualified for these awards.

The game, as the title suggests, lets you possess and control absolutely everything, from creatures to inanimate objects such as rocks. As you play, you gain the ability to possess even smaller objects, eventually down to the sub-atomic level, as well as larger objects such as landmasses, planets and entire star systems. O'Reilly has said this is to offer a more philosophical look at the universe and our relationship with everything in it.

The press release from the Vienna Shorts Festival describes O'Reilly's short film as something that goes "beyond being entertaining has a strong poetic and philosophical theme" and "serves a highly educational purpose, including an important political statement, that encourages to let our egos dissolve and gain a new perspective on the world."

Video games are already recognised with their own dedicated awards ceremony from BAFTA, but an Oscar nomination for this indie title can only help further elevate the status of our medium when compared to other forms of entertainment.