2010 AG Awards: Developer of the Year

Feature from Nat - Thursday, 23 December 2010 @ 12:52pm

The 2010 AG Awards: Developer of the Year

Time to put on the nice suits and dresses; it’s the serious end of the Awards ceremony. First, we stop to commemorate the developers that have touched our little gaming hearts the most throughout the year. This is a purely subjective and personal award, but I think the nominations speak for themselves.

The AG nominations:

I have to go with Bioware. They never disappoint, they're on top of things, never less than what you'd expect. They've been on fire these last few years and this year as no exception with Mass Effect 2 and the Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings. They are constantly pushing content out while a close contender for this same place in my heart, Blizzard, take a little too long for my liking. I always know what Bioware are up to as they manage their publicity and marketing well so I always know what's coming up without feeling like I'm being teased. Case in point, The Old Republic, Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2, all getting updated with new details regularly. Again, I'm drawing comparisons against Blizzard who make brilliant games, but can't quite get that balance between sharing just enough to keep up momentum and frustrating their fans by not giving anything away. It was close, but I had to go with Bioware. If it were up to me, I'd make them developer of the year every year.

Aussie, Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!

How in the blue hell can you not be proud of the home turf boys? As far as I am aware, Fruit Ninja still ranks up there as one of the most downloaded apps on the iPhone. Now that is has been adapted to the iPhone’s big brother, the iPad, things can only get better. It’s not only Fruit Ninja that has taken the helm of Halfbrick and driven them to ‘Application Superstar’ status but the like of Monster Dash as well. Zombies are the flavour of the month (or the past three years actually) and Halfbrick played the zombie card and won, hands down. Being a successful ‘Australian’ company, in my eyes, make these guys a winner anyway. Also great to see for Australian Gamer expat Phil doing well as their resident PR guru too.

Singlehandedly revolutionising the iPhone app market with quality, low-price games that are addictive as hell and easy to play. With the phenomenally successful Fruit Ninja under their belt, as well as the addictive Monster Dash and quirky age of Zombies, these guys can do no wrong in my eyes. In a year where the Australian developmental scene has suffered a slow and painful demise, it's been incredible to see these guys continue to shine ever brighter. I cannot congratulate these guys enough - thank you for consistently delivering quality games that capture the spirit of the iPhone and congratulations for all your future endeavors.

To say I'm excited for Raskulls is an understatement - I'm friggin' pumped.

I’m biased, honestly, because I actually have regular dealings every day with local Australian developers, and the one that has impressed me the most this year is without a doubt Halfbrick Studios. Having always been a reliable studio for licenced titles on portable consoles, their gamble in the iPhone market was one of the greatest success stories to come out of Australia in ages.

I remember going into their offices before Fruit Ninja was released, sitting down with Phil Larsen (their PR Manager, previously a writer for AustralianGamer.com) and having him show me this little game they were working on. I was addicted from the start.

Not only that, their philosophy as a company is a testament to their success. They would have regular Friday brainstorming sessions for new and unique game concepts (they even released XNA games under a ‘Halfbrick Fridays’ banner), fostering an environment of creativity and expanded thinking. They’ve been at the forefront of new mobile technologies, having multiple launch titles on the PSP Go and iPad. And frankly, every time I visit their offices the atmosphere is more relaxed and friendly than any other studio I’ve ever visited.I mean seriously, check out this video I filmed there back in 2008. Congratulations Halfbrick.

Congratulations Halfbrick from all of us at Australian Gamer - our 2010 Developer of the Year.