Develop Industry Excellence Awards finalists revealed
Thursday, June 05, 2008 12:00 AM
The finalists for the Develop Industry Excellence Awards 2008 have been revealed today - with Rockstar and Ninja Theory the most represented with five nominations apiece.
Now in its sixth year, the Develop Industry Excellence Awards ceremony is being held at the Hilton Metropole, Brighton on July 30th.
This year's ceremony is expected to play host to over 500 of Europe's leading games designers and is the only event in the calendar to exclusively cater to the development community.
Rockstar North has four nominations: Visual Arts, Audio Accomplishment, Technical Innovation and Best In-house Developer. The company's newest studio, Rockstar London, is hoping to scoop the award for Best New UK/European Studio.
Ninja Theory/SCEE Cambridge (Heavenly Sword) is also a strong contender, nominated in five categories: Best New IP, Visual Arts, Audio accomplishment, Technical Innovation, and Best Independent Developer.
Frontier Development (Lost Winds) and Criterion Games (Burnout Paradise) are also looking to make an impact with three nominations each.
"This year's finalists showcase the massive amount of games development talent found in Europe," said Michael French, editor of Develop.
"Be it digitally-distributed games, MMOs, first-person shooters or action-adventures, there's no area of the industry that hasn't been bolstered by Europe's diverse sector of games development companies in the past year.
"We wish all of the nominees the best of luck and look forward to seeing them on what's set to be a great night."
The finalists in full:
CATEGORY: CREATIVITY
Best New IP
- Lost Winds (Frontier Developments)
- eavenly Sword (Ninja Theory)
- Crysis (Crytek)
- World in Conflict (Massive)
- Viking: Battle for Asgard (Creative Assembly)
- Overlord (Triumph)
Best Use of a Licence
- Ferrari Challenge (Eutechnyx)
- The Darkness (Starbreeze)
- Sega Superstar Tennis (Sumo Digital)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage)
- Lego Indiana Jones (Travellers' Tales)
- Metal Gear Solid Mobile (Ideaworks3D)
Visual Arts
- Rockstar North (Grand Theft Auto IV)
- Crytek (Crysis)
- London Studio (SingStar PS3 UI)
- Frontier Developments (Lost Winds)
- Criterion Games (Burnout Paradise)
- Ninja Theory/SCEE Cambridge (Heavenly Sword)
Audio Accomplishment
- London Studio (SingStar PS3)
- Rockstar North (Grand Theft Auto IV)
- Ninja Theory/SCEE Cambridge (Heavenly Sword)
- Sumo Digital (Sega Superstars Tennis)
- Codemasters Studios (Race Driver GRID)
- Criterion Games (Burnout Paradise)
Publishing Hero
- Codemasters
- Nintendo
- Sega
- LucasArts
- Gamecock
- 1C & 505 Games
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES
- Tools Provider
- Hansoft
- Epic Games
- Sony & SN Systems
- Havok
- NaturalMotion
- IDV
Technical Innovation
- Rockstar North/NaturalMotion/Image Metrics (Grand Theft Auto IV)
- Ninja Theory/SCEE Cambridge (Heavenly Sword)
- Ideaworks3D (Airplay)
- SCEE R&D Team (PhyreEngine)
- Geomerics (Enlighten)
Creative Outsourcing
- Axis Animation
- Side UK
- Richard Jacques Studios
- Outsource Media UK
- The Audio Guys
- Nimrod Productions
Services
- Testronic Labs
- Partnertrans UK
- Babel Media
- Audiomotion
- U-Trax
Recruitment Company
- Specialmove
- Day One Search
- Aardvark Swift
- Amiqus
- OPM
Games:Edu New Talent Award
- Abertay University & Dare to be Digital
- Rare
- Microsoft
- Blitz
- University of Derby
- Hull University
CATEGORY: STUDIOS
Best New UK/European Studio
- Finblade
- Konami Paris
- Oxygen Studios
- Rockstar London
- Doublesix
Best Mobile Studio
- Progressive Media
- Ideaworks3D
- Digital Chocolate Finland/Sumea
- Distinctive Developments
Business Development
- Zoë Mode
- Rebellion
- Realtime Worlds
- Team 17
- NaturalMotion
Best Independent Developer
- Rebellion
- Jagex
- CCP
- Frontier
- Splash Damage
- Ninja Theory
Best In-house Developer
- Rockstar North
- Codemasters Studios
- Criterion Games
- Sports Interactive
- London Studio
- Bizarre Creations