MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The ninth annual Develop Industry Excellence Awards is just around the corner, with more than 90 studios competing for top honours at the July 20th event in Brighton.
In the run up to the big night, Develop is running a series of profiles of all the nominees in each category.
We continue here with the finalists for New Download IP. To be eligible, a studio will need to be based in Europe and have built a new digital game IP since July 2010.
The final choices, chosen by Develop’s editorial team, are found below. The ultimate winner will be decided by a 100-person-strong judging panel of industry pros, and announced at the awards show on July 20th.
To watch the event live, email Kathryn.humprey@intentmedia.co.uk to book your seat.
NEW DOWNLOAD IP
Limbo (Playdead)
The land of lost souls is not a frequently visited territory in videogames history, but Playdead’s incredible and haunting platformer Limbo makes you question just why it isn’t.
A bleak, brilliant and occasionally disturbing affair, it is proof if proof were ever needed that the indie scene is capable of producing truly world-beating content.
Fluidity (Curve)
UK-based Curve’s smart 2D physics-based puzzle platformer Fluidity is a gem of an indie title that has seen the studio swoop to prominence. The deceptively simple nature of its design only hints at the huge talent of the Curve team, but more than aptly demonstrates its innate understanding of all-out fun.
Dead Nation (Housemarque)
The top-down isometric shooter genre has survived many decades, and with the aid of studios like Housemarque, it will likely survive for many more. A 2.5D zombie apocalypse extravaganza that has set the download market alight, it displays a love of gaming history and lust for its indie future that goes straight for the brains.
Tiny Wings (Andreas Illiger)
iOS and mobile platform gamers love birds, it seems, and with titles of the quality of Tiny Wings to sate their avian admirations, there’s little wonder why. The wonderful side-scrolling title from German Illiger is a joyful example of the download market’s inherent simplicity used to its benefit. Tiny Wings is a big contender.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)
Horror from the design school of less-is-more, Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent was a critical darling and truly terrifying entry into the download games market this year. Bleak, menacing and bold in a way that horror fiction of any type rarely manages to be, the game is a rare dark gem in a market to often overloaded with dull gore.
Minecraft (Mojang Specifications)
The mighty Mojang Specifications has become such a phenomenon of the past 12 months that it’s hard to remember a time when the blocky world of Minecraft didn’t inhabit our collective conscience. Sandbox gaming in a way that no triple-A title could be, this is a game that has redefined the word ‘indie’.
