Crackdown Tops Develop Award Finalists

Organizers of the Develop Conference & Expo in the UK have announced the finalists for its accompanying Develop Industry Excellence Awards ceremony, with Realtime Worlds's Crackdown taking a record seven nominations across multiple categories. The European developer focused ceremony is to be held on July 25th at the Hilton Metropole, Brighton, to honor, says Develop, "those at the forefront of the development community – the creative geniuses behind the very best games our industry have to offer." Crackdown and its creator Realtime Worlds were nominated for a number of different achievements, including: New Console/PC IP, Visual Arts, Audio Accomplishment, Best Use of Online, Innovation, New UK/European Studio and Independent Developer categories. Develop also notes that three nominations each also came for the following studios and titles: Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Rare (Viva Pinata), SCEE Studio Liverpool (Formula One Championship Edition) and Introversion (Defcon). Said Intent Media managing director Stuart Dinsey, “The last 12 months have seen European developers literally raise their games. In a period which has seen the launch of two home consoles, the continued improvement of Xbox 360 and PC software, and the mobile games market emerge as a genuine creative and commercial alternative to the more traditional games platforms, only the most excellent titles have any chance of standing out from the crowd. To be nominated for an award during this exceptional period is a real honour – and we congratulate all those teams involved.” The full list of nominees follows: CATEGORY: Creativity New console/PC IP Just Cause (Avalanche) Crackdown (Realtime Worlds) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (GSC Game World) Viva Pinata (Rare) MotorStorm (Evolution, SCEE External Development) Red Steel (Ubisoft France) New handheld/mobile IP Crush (Zoe Mode) Zendoku (Zoonami) B-Boy (FreeStyleGames, SCEE External Development) Galaxy on Fire (Fishlabs) Thrillville (Frontier) Best Use of a Licence Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Traveller’s Tales) Burger King games (Blitz games) The Fast and the Furious (Eutechnyx) Who Wants to be a Millionaire (Climax) Pirates of the Caribbean (Eurocom) Visual Arts Rare (Viva Pinata) Realtime Worlds (Crackdown) Evolution (MotorStorm) SCEE Studio Liverpool (F1 Championship Edition) Ubisoft France (Montpelier) (Rayman Raving Rabbids) Audio Accomplishment Eidos Hungary (Battlestations Midway) Creative Assembly (Medieval II Total War) Freestyle Games (B-Boy) Introversion (Defcon) Realtime Worlds (Crackdown) Deadline Games (Chili Con Carnage) Publishing hero Codemasters Microsoft Sony Eidos Sega CATEGORY: Technology and Services Best Use of Online Introversion (Defcon) Realtime Worlds (Crackdown) Eden Studios (Test Drive Unlimited) SCEE Studio Liverpool (F1 Championship Edition) Opera (Wii/DS web browser Nintendo) Innovation SCEE Technology Group (SCE MultiStream audio engine) Sumo Digital/Sheffield Hallam University (Super Rub-a-Dub water simulation) Realtime Worlds (Crackdown) Ideaworks3D (Airplay middleware) Tools provider Kynogon Havok Autodesk Epic Games Perforce NaturalMotion Services & outsourcing Babel Side UK Audiomotion Air Studios Escape Studios Image Metrics Recruitment company Day One Amiqus OPM Prospero Datascope Specialmove CATEGORY: Studios New UK/European Studio FreeStyle Games Avalanche Shadow Light Games Realtime Worlds Zoonami Cohort Studios Handheld/mobile games studio Exient Rebellion Distinctive Developments Rockstar Leeds Rockpool Games Full Fat Business development Blitz Relentless Instinct Kuju Rebellion EA UK In-house developer Rockstar Leeds SCEE Studio Liverpool Ubisoft France Rare EA DICE Independent Developer Relentless Traveller’s Tales Evolution Introversion Sumo Digital Realtime Worlds Development Legend and Grand Prix awards will be announced on the night of the ceremony itself.