Game Connection unveiled the list of yet unsigned or highly original game projects nominated for the prestigious Development Awards 2015 – formerly known as "Game Connection Selected Projects". Out of more than 170 applicants for 10 categories, the jury had a hard choice picking the nominees. The Development Awards will take place Tuesday,
March 3rd at 10:00 AM at the AMC Theater – METREON.
Twenty-four different game projects from 15 countries are competing for the prizes. Competition will be fierce as for the first time ever, indie teams will square off against projects from large studios such as Square Enix Montreal or Bigpoint. Leading the list of nominations is Canadian Square Enix Montreal with its mobile game
Hitman GO, who are up for the award in five of ten categories. Four nominations went to the puzzle adventure PC game
Shadow Puppeteer from the Norwegian Sarepta Studio, the Shoot-Em-Up PC game
Astebreed published by Japanese Active Gaming Media and upcoming mobile action adventure game
Epic of Kings, developed by the US-based studio Dead Mage.
At the Game Development Award ceremony, each of the finalists will be presented to all the publishers, distributors, buyers, and media, providing each studio with a unique opportunity to showcase their project to a large number of potential partners. Previous winners include
Loading Human from Untold Games,
Contrast from Compulsion Games,
Badland from Frogmind,
Limbo from PlayDead and
Izle from Area Effect, which won three awards at Game Connection Europe last October.
The Game Connection Development Awards 2015 are given out in partnership with Microsoft Studios, Bandai Namco Games, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Michael Meyers Public Relations. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, March 3rd at 10.00am at the AMC Theater on the 2nd floor of the Metreon. Nominees and winners will also showcase their projects on the expo floor of Game Connection America on the 5th floor at City View – METREON.
Nominated Projects
Best Console / PC Hardcore- Planetoid Pioneers by Data Realms (USA)
- Zenith by Infinigon Games (Spain)
- Crossout by Gaijin Entertainment (Cyprus)
- Alkimya by Bad Minions (Brazil)
- Soul Axiom by Wales Interactive (UK)
Best Desktop / Downloadable- Sequenced - Episode 1 by Apelab (USA)
- The Last Word by Fourth State (UK)
- Trial by Viking by Last Life Games (USA)
- Albert and Otto by K Bros Games (USA)
- TrubadurR by ISART DIGITAL (France)
Best Mobile / Tablets- Fold The World by EON Games (Israel)
- Night Terrors by Novum Analytics (USA)
- Lara Croft GO by Square Enix Montreal (Canada)
- Dungeon Monsters by Mana Cube (France)
- The Sandbox 2 by PIXOWL by Wales Interactive (USA)
Best Casual Game- Sequenced - Episode 1 by Apelab (USA)
- The Last Word by Fourth State (UK)
- Lara Croft GO by Square Enix Montreal (Canada)
- The Sandbox 2 by PIXOWL (USA)
- Crossout by Gaijin Entertainment (Cyprus)
Best Hardcore Game- Night Terrors by Novum Analytics (USA)
- Zenith by Infinigon Games (Spain)
- Alkimya by Bad Minions (Brazil)
- Planetoid Pioneers by Data Realms (USA)
- Dungeon Monsters by Mana Cube (France)
Best Social Game- Landlord Real Estate Tycoon by Reality Games (Poland)
- Tower of Babel by DNA Studios (Switzerland)
- Kawaii by kickAlive (France)
- GOCCO of War by Playism (Japan)
- Heroes of Paragon by EVERYDAYiPLAY Sp. z o.o. (Poland)
Most Promising IP- PAC-MAN 256 by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe (France)
- The Last Word by Fourth State (UK)
- Lara Croft GO by Square Enix Montreal (Canada)
- The Sandbox 2 by PIXOWL (USA)
- Crossout by Gaijin Entertainment (Cyprus)
Best Story / Storytelling- Night Terrors by Novum Analytics (USA)
- Our Heritage by Fair Play Labs (Costa Rica)
- Zenith by Infinigon Games (Spain)
- Sequenced - Episode 1 by Apelab (USA)
- The Last Word by Fourth State (UK)
Most Creative & Original- Fold The World by EON Games (Israel)
- Planetoid Pioneers by Data Realms (USA)
- Sequenced - Episode 1 by Apelab (USA)
- The Last Word by Fourth State (UK)
- The Sandbox 2 by PIXOWL (USA)
Best Quality of Art- Project Amy by Stage Clear Studios (Spain)
- Sequenced - Episode 1 by Apelab (USA)
- Lara Croft GO by Square Enix Montreal (Canada)
- Viking Mushroom by Mobge Ltd. (Turkey)
- Heroes of Paragon by EVERYDAYiPLAY Sp. z o.o. (Poland)
Best Indie Game- Night Terrors by Novum Analytics (USA)
- Zenith by Infinigon Games (Spain)
- Planetoid Pioneers by Data Realms (USA)
- The Last Word by Fourth State (UK)
- Dungeon Monsters by Mana Cube (France)
For more details on all of the nominated projects, visit the nominees page
here.
Jury
The Development Awards is made possible thanks to the outstanding efforts of its jury. Being part of the jury requires a lot of work to go through and vote on the various projects submitted and so Game Connection would like to extend a very special thanks to: - Antti Nikander, Business Development, Rovio
- Arthur Chow, CEO, 6 Waves
- Bob Loya, Sr. Director, External Development, Head of Sierra, Activision Blizzard
- Careen Yapp, VP of Business Development and Account Management, Gaikai
- Casey Lee, Head of Com2US USA, Inc., Com2us USA, Inc.
- Deborah Papiernik, EMEA Business Development Director, Ubisoft Entertainment
- Jack Hong Suk Chun, Senior Manager, Game Service Department, LINE Corporation
- Jennie Sue, Developer Relations Manager, DeNA
- Jim Ying, VP, Games Publishing, Tango
- Levi Buchanan, Director of Sales, Chillingo
- Mitsuo Hirakawa, Producer, SCEE
- Samuel Gatté, Publishing & Product Support Director, Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Sarita Churchill-Viramontez, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Studios
- Tatiana Timoshenko, Licensing Director, G5 Entertainment
- Ted Lange, Producer, Reverb Publishing
- Vincent Dondaine, COO, Bulkypix